job hunting advice by a recruiter who is an immigrant him-/herself
I think this to be very beneficial! Hosebergine wrote this and I extracted it from here http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=35057
Job Hunting - Part of my job involves recruitment of software developers. Java developers to be specific so I'm pretty close to the IT job market in that development space.
It's an interesting market at the moment.
There are a lot of candidates out there, but the quality is not great.
Our perception is that the people already on the ground here who are any good are hanging onto their jobs.
In general of course no-one knows what to expect of the economy, but some believe we are in for a bit of a double dip recovery.
So the market has been picking up, but may well crash back again soon. Of course if I could predict such things I'd be a very rich man.
If I have any advice or observations for people it is this. When we recruit it's because we need someone.
We plan on being able to get someone into a position within six to eight weeks to allow time for the recruitment process and their notice period.
I won't even look at CV's that don't already have the right permits to work in NZ.
I get enough through who are ready and waiting on the ground here.
If I get a CV through for someone not currently living in NZ but with PR I MIGHT telephone interview them IF they are exceptional.
If they are not ready to come out immediately though, I'll probably not continue with them as a candidate.
All our good recent hires have been new people off the boat.
As an employer and an immigrant I see some risks involved in employing immigrants though.
I lost one who had to return back to the UK for various reasons.
So sound committed and sound convincing when you explain why you have moved.
It costs thousands of dollars to recruit someone.
I don't want my new starters to leave after six months and that is more likely if the family is not settling or there is a problem back in the UK or they aren't earning as much as they hoped to etc..
Although it sounds harsh, the fact that you have made this supreme effort to come out matters not one bit to me as a recruiter - even though I was on the other side of the desk at one point in time.
It's certainly an interesting conversation point and Kiwi's love you telling them how nice their country is… but at the end of the day I'm trying to build a team and I'm still looking at relevant skills and abilities and when I interview you, I want to get the feeling that you aren't a dick.
These comments are only directly applicable to the Auckland IT market.
Other locations and industries will undoubtedly vary.
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