Understanding the New Zealand hiring process

[matchavez]

Hello all,

I'm not sure if anyone will have insight into this, but I'll ask anyhow. After more than 3 months of having a visa to live and work in New Zealand permanently, I'm still yet to find anyone willing to take my applications seriously. To this point, it's constantly "your application has been unsuccessful" and "we won't be going forward with..." Frankly, I don't get it. I understand that there may be a natural bias against someone that is not currently residing in the country, but to not be able to get any phone interviews is incredibly frustrating.

So I'd like to ask anyone who has had experience around acquiring a job from overseas - is there a strong bias? Am I to assume that I must be there in person? Are recruiters not that interested in helping bring in talent? Have I been unlucky? Are there common pitfalls that someone in my position might do without knowing it?

I quietly got my "blue bananas" and went about trying to get a job before landing. I don't want to show up and go broke, so must I go for broke? Or is there a "kiwi way"? A secret handshake I'm missing? A way to find sympathetic recruiters who don't just ignore you after the first listing doesn't go right?

Your thoughts would go a long way. Needless to emphasize, I am frustrated.

[Otaku]

I assume that you mention non-NZ contact number on your CV. This puts-off many recruiters, as it is a dead giveaway that you are not in the country and they prefer candidates to be in NZ. The reason being that, once you are in the country it means you are readily 'available' for work and have already sorted things like Visa, flights and accommodation. This also shows candidate's commitment regarding working in NZ. My 0.2 cents.

Also it would help, if you can mention your profession or work area.

[Sun777]

I think there will be quite a lot of people with similar sentiments or can relate to your experience - its just nerve wrecking! This struggle happens not just for the first NZ job but even when you want to change jobs as well. I was hired even before landing in NZ, which was with constant follow ups for about 2 years since I first contacted the employer, we had several rounds of interviews and for some reason the timing didnt work out. Retrospectively I would credit this to luck.

I took sabbatical from work for few months and when I wanted to join back, despite having 15 odd years of experience it was near impossible to get back in the market. I never understood the rationale behind it, the rejection emails which you received was a routine for me on a daily basis (all this despite being within NZ). Lot of employers would go to & fro about completing the recruitment process and at times there were 3 months wait without any answer except a positive note that they were still waiting for some xyz's approval.

To cut the long story short, I took up short term (3 month) contract and then jumped back into the game. Just dont let the robotic responses deter you at this point, from March onwards most of the companies start opening up doing some credible business, start new projects etc. Something I dont like about recruiters here is that they give so much hopes before meeting for the first time and then go cold, some take references too at your first meeting. I think its just general attitude to pile up as many CVs as possible to send to their clients and then some blame goes to the hiring managers as well, or the approval process within their company. The market here is really small (and shrinks by the day), some jobs are listed just as a formality even if the candidates are already shortlisted. Jobs are sometimes not listed on the websites and only recruitment agencies know about it via their internal/confidential contacts.

Way forward:
- Keep applying for the jobs
- Give a ring to the recruitment agencies and get at least 2 weeks worth of interviews before arriving here
- Register directly with local companies here
- Be extremely positive

[dharder]

I haven't found recruiters here very helpful at all. Can you apply directly? All interviews and subsequent job offers I got contacting employers directly, from abroad and here on the ground.

[matchavez]

I assume that you mention non-NZ contact number on your CV. This puts-off many recruiters, as it is a dead giveaway that you are not in the country and they prefer candidates to be in NZ. The reason being that, once you are in the country it means you are readily 'available' for work and have already sorted things like Visa, flights and accommodation. This also shows candidate's commitment regarding working in NZ. My 0.2 cents.

Also it would help, if you can mention your profession or work area.

First, I generally work in IT. I've been a manager and business analysis and I've done media streaming as well.

I've made it abundantly clear that I can be ready in 4 weeks or less; what I understand to be the normal time in New Zealand. I have permanent Australian residency - something that was necessary because INZ couldn't give me points because of my university major from 15 years ago... but that's another story.

Finally, while I do list a USA address, my phone number is a local Auckland number. It certainly works because the random calls are there.

Thanks. Good questions.

[matchavez]

I think there will be quite a lot of people with similar sentiments or can relate to your experience - its just nerve wrecking! This struggle happens not just for the first NZ job but even when you want to change jobs as well. I was hired even before landing in NZ, which was with constant follow ups for about 2 years since I first contacted the employer, we had several rounds of interviews and for some reason the timing didnt work out. Retrospectively I would credit this to luck.

I took sabbatical from work for few months and when I wanted to join back, despite having 15 odd years of experience it was near impossible to get back in the market. I never understood the rationale behind it, the rejection emails which you received was a routine for me on a daily basis (all this despite being within NZ). Lot of employers would go to & fro about completing the recruitment process and at times there were 3 months wait without any answer except a positive note that they were still waiting for some xyz's approval.

To cut the long story short, I took up short term (3 month) contract and then jumped back into the game. Just dont let the robotic responses deter you at this point, from March onwards most of the companies start opening up doing some credible business, start new projects etc. Something I dont like about recruiters here is that they give so much hopes before meeting for the first time and then go cold, some take references too at your first meeting. I think its just general attitude to pile up as many CVs as possible to send to their clients and then some blame goes to the hiring managers as well, or the approval process within their company. The market here is really small (and shrinks by the day), some jobs are listed just as a formality even if the candidates are already shortlisted. Jobs are sometimes not listed on the websites and only recruitment agencies know about it via their internal/confidential contacts.

Way forward:
- Keep applying for the jobs
- Give a ring to the recruitment agencies and get at least 2 weeks worth of interviews before arriving here
- Register directly with local companies here
- Be extremely positive

Thank you Sun. At this point, I think this just seems like more of the same, but at least that's a confirmation that I'm dealing in the right way. It's sometimes hard to feel that things are going the right way when you get so much rejection. I guess that's normal, and I'm encouraged about your point about March.

[matchavez]

I haven't found recruiters here very helpful at all. Can you apply directly? All interviews and subsequent job offers I got contacting employers directly, from abroad and here on the ground.

I have definitely been down the road with both methods. With recruiters, they all have the one job you contact them about. You're a good fit, just rework your CV to say these keywords... and then a few days go by, and then two weeks, and then you finally get hold of them and they tell you that "unfortunately, they went with a local candidate, but we'll stay on the lookout for you." And never do you hear from them again. As for SnapHire, I think I've seen that system enough to know what's coming every time. And while you do get the email back, it's always "thanks, but unfortunately..." It's not that hard to get an interview here in the States, but it's hell to even get a phone call with potential employers. As was stated, it seems like there is a lot of hand washing in the sense that a local candidate is all they want, but they need to be open, if only legally.

I've been trying to focus on smaller organisations, but it's an even smaller pool. It's good to know that your success has been direct. I know it only takes one good recruiter that cares, but I haven't found a "headhunter" per se - which is really what I need. I need someone to shop me, not fill positions. So from that point of view, I hope I can make headway in that direction. Thanks for the reply.

[Sun777]

I haven't found recruiters here very helpful at all. Can you apply directly? All interviews and subsequent job offers I got contacting employers directly, from abroad and here on the ground.

Ditto! The only time recruitment agency was helpful was for one of my recent short term contract, basically they setup the interview and after that got around $25 per hour till my contract turned into permanent position

[Windsmile]

According to my own experience, it is too difficult to get an offer when you are overseas. The reason is that there are so many qualified people waiting here in NZ and the positions are limited compared to other continents. I think it is better to spend time preparing your skills regarding your job title. Hopefully this is helpful.

[mudz.sri]

Its actually not that easy even when you're here. I arrived in NZ after 7 years of work exp in the IT industry in Feb and even though the job listing clearly matches my skills, I've hardly received many calls for an interview.. Its mostly the same robotic answer "we've decided not to process your application further"..

What I also don't understand is that many times the consulting companies don't even reply. I understand that its extra effort but at least its polite.