About the COE

[mtc637242]

Hi guys,

I find this site very helpful esp for newbies like me.

I am in the process of submitting an EOI but would like get your kind opinion on my qualifications and work experience.

my qualifications: graduate of BS Computer SCience
Work exp: 2002-2008 ICT Support Engineer
2008-2009 Business Dev Mgr (Data cabling)
May2009-Dec2009 Software Engineer
Jan2010-Sep2010 Business Dev Mgr (Systems)
Sep2010-Present Technical Support

Am I right to say, that my work exp is total of 10yrs?
Also, as for COE - I only have the generic type that doesn't include any detailed job decription. My question is -is there any substitute for it? Like stat dec perhaps?

Hope anyone can advise. Thanks much!

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

Your length of experience will depend in part on when exactly you started work in 2002. If you started in e.g. December 2002, you can't claim 10 years' experience until December 2012. If you started in any part of 2002 BEFORE the date in 2012 when you send in your application, you can claim the ten years. Also, note this is only true if there are not any gaps in your employment record, that is, you didn't take a significant break anywhere between one job and the next.

The references about your work experience need to show exactly what you were responsible for, what qualifications you needed in order to hold that job, and your normal working hours (so they can see that this was a full-time job, to count up the experience). The point is that the same job title wording can actually cover a huge range of real duties, so INZ, trying to see that an applicant has worked with the skill s/he is offering, needs to know what s/he actually DID, and the description has not been flattering the pride of someone who was not skilled/qualified at all.

What people normally do is ask their previous employer to supply a more detailed description of their work. You can prepare suitable wording, and ask if they (e.g., the employer, or someone from Human Resources, or your line manager) will print it out and sign. In many cases, they are happy to do this. Or if they are not, or the company is no longer in business, you can approach such a person, or a colleague who worked along with you and knew the situation, on a private level.

There normally has to be someone of obvious standing who can be contacted by INZ to confirm each part of your work record.

[mtc637242]

Hi JandM,

Thank you for the feedback.
By the way, is my understanding correct? That for work experiences INZ will weight more importance on the past 10yrs of working? Or do i have to include my work exp starting from 1995-Dec2001? The job role was IT technical sales engineer at that time.

[JandM]

I think there will be more weight given to your most recent positions, because those are the ones giving you up-to-date skills to carry over into a NZ job. But you need to provide proof that the earlier job(s) existed, otherwise it looks as though you didn't work for those years, which leaves a suspicious gap in your CV.

[mtc637242]

I see. Thanks again. I get a clearer picture now.

Have a good day.

[JandM]

I will! I'm just about to go and weed the garden.