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Thread: 4 months still no job HELP PLEASE

  1. #1
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    Default 4 months still no job HELP PLEASE

    Posted before about help finding work. I'm an American with a working holiday visa that has been here with my g/f for close to four months now and still have no job living in Dunedin. The first two months I applied to specific jobs that fit my M.S degree and years of working as a teacher and in a laboratory primarily at the University here and haven't heard back to over two dozen jobs I've applied to there alone. Then the past two months I've been applying to absolutely anything whatsoever. Casual, temp, part-time, you name it.

    My g/f got a full-time job at a cosmetic store but she barely makes enough for both of us to exist here and needless to say we are both completely stressed out of our minds. Whenever I have a lead on a job or an interview, I never get a call back. Had two interviews since I've been here and I think I'm about to get a casual 10 hours per week gig at a local clothing store but I can't believe I'm even praying to get just that.

    You can find me hours of the day looking on every job website you can find applying all day all over New Zealand. I'm about to call it quits and just leave. This whole NZ life thing doesn't seem to be working out for me and I'm on the verge of splitting with my g/f because of the stress and lack of money.

    Anybody out there willing to offer some useful advice for me? or job suggestions of the like?

  2. #2
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    I would suggest turning your work holiday visa into something longer term like a work visa. If you are serious about being in NZ, then a resident visa. A WHV is more or less a temporary visa and mostly used by travellers who intend to travel around NZ supplementing their income through work. Most prospective employers who are looking for permanent long term staff will immediately discard you as soon as they see you have only a WHV. You only end up with short term or casual employment.

    If you are considering teaching as a serious profession, you need to get a minimum work visa. You also need to get your qualifications asessed by NZQA and register yourself with NZEC. Unfortunately this takes time and money and would not immediately solve your problem. The best time to apply for teaching positions is from Aug to end of the term for the following year. There will be an influx of listings during this period because schools publish their teaching vacancies seasonally. If you fail to land a teaching job in this term, yo may have to wait up to 6 months mid-semester for more vacancies to be listed.

    I would suggest moving your search area away from Dunedin as it is a small town with a small population. There is an old joke which says finding work in small towns, is to wait for someone to die or retire. Consider expanding to Christchurch, or futher north to Wellington or even Auckland.

  3. #3
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    I agree with batgirl1001 that there are likely to be more jobs available in larger centres of population.

    But of course, although already having a visa is more attractive to prospective employers, it's a Catch-22 situation - you can't get a visa without having a job offer, if, like you, your skill (at least, the teaching) is not on the Long Term Skills Shortage List.

  4. #4
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    Thanks for the response. I have been applying to jobs all over NZ for the past two months now in addition to Dunedin. How can I turn my WHV into a work visa without a job offer? That's the question.

    I am serious about NZ and have a lot of points towards an expression of interest towards residence but I need a job offer to give me enough points. It's a chicken and egg deal. Am I missing or misunderstanding something? If I could get any sort of looking for work visa or work visa without a job I am all ears and will spend whatever money I need to work towards that.

    If I had a job offer and filed my EOI my next step would be to get my qualifications assessed by the NZQA and register with the NZEC, however, it doesn't seem worth it at this stage to spend the money to get my skills and qualifications assessed without any lead on work. Perhaps I'm wrong?

    Thanks again and any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

  5. #5
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    That's what I thought. So JandM you seem like you really know your stuff. What sort of employers actually consider to take someone on like me and do you know what they need to go through to sponsor me? If I have the skills and education they are looking for I don't see why they wouldn't give me a shot. I know they have to hire a kiwi first, that's the same in any country, but I don't know why I seem to be so unattractive

  6. #6
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    How can I turn my WHV into a work visa without a job offer?
    You can't.
    If I could get any sort of looking for work visa or work visa without a job I am all ears and will spend whatever money I need to work towards that.
    It doesn't exist.

    I know this must SEEM personal when you are on the end of the refusals, or just being ignored, but honestly, you're in the same situation as thousands of foreigners who would like to stay on in NZ. It's the system. Yes, employers, by law, have to hire NZers or NZ residents if they're available, and if a foreigner's skill-set is not especially unusual within the existing NZ pool of workers, then there are ONLY occasionally going to be openings, in very few places, when for some reason there's a lack of people coming forward.

    This https://www.immigration.govt.nz/empl...al-skills-visa is what a NZ employer has to do to be able to sponsor a foreigner for an essential skills visa. That's why they can't just 'give you a shot'. In addition, for a job in teaching, the applicant would have to be registered and checked out, and if they were desperate for a substitute (which is all it would likely be in the first instance), they couldn't wait for someone who had to go through that whole procedure first. This is the procedure. https://educationcouncil.org.nz/cont...rseas-teachers

    I mentioned substitute/supply teacher. These recent years, since NZ's teacher training programme has produced most of the teachers they need, and 'teacher' came off the Skills Shortage Lists, there have been several foreign teachers who posted on the threads here, mainly people who'd got Residence as secondary applicant with a partner who had a different career. Even right in the country, WITH a visa, WITH registration, it isn't easy to get a position. Most have done the rounds of all the schools within travelling distance and met the head and office staff, leaving their details and CV, saying they would be willing to be called in to cover absences, and kept on doing that, saying they're still available. It has helped when ONE school has called them the first time, so they could tell others, then, gradually, more occasional work would come. Most of these teachers have spent two or three years, at least, getting their faces known, before they even got the sniff of short-listing for a permanent contract. Nobody has been able just to step into a job.

  7. #7
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    There was an OP recently who posted here, who obtained a teaching position whilst overseas and is now hurriedly completing her EOI and assessment and registration. She applied for a job in Auckland. It's not impossible of course to get a job offer overseas, but it is harder.

    Most will arrive here and do their jobhunt and some may take a longer time than others. Teaching is one of those professionals where postings are seasonal and most often the bulk of vacancies will be posted towards the end of Aug to November. Landing a position outside this period can be difficult and landing a position in a small city can almost be impossible. You need to check out education gazette to see the postings and see where the vacancies are. If it is not going to be in Dunedin, it won't be in Dunedin now matter how much you wish for it.

    However without having your qualifications asessed by NZQA and registered with NZEC, you will not land any teaching job, not even as a day-to-day reliever. This should have been a priority with you from the very beginning even before you arrived in NZ, if your long term goal to remain in NZ was to find a job in teaching. This was short-sightedness on your part and you need to accept some blame.

    You need to start your EOI process immediately and go through the process for residency. The minimum number of points for entry into the pool is 100 and surely with your qualifications, age and teaching experience you should be able to qualify. You can even include your partner into the application. This is a long term strategy so as you enter into the EOI process you can immediately start applying to NZQA.

    Once you are registered as a teacher, immediately start looking pro-actively for a job. You need to pound the pavement and not sit and type out emailed resumes. It's the same even for Auckland where most of the teaching shortages are. You need to walk into the schools and try to meet the HOD or VP to introduce yourself and sell yourself to them. It is harder for a school head to reject you in person than on a CV.

    There are also schools in Auckland which have been advertising for a long time for many reasons. Some are low-decile schools, some schools are too far for many to travel, some schools have chronic and continuous shortages in getting maths and science teachers because there aren't quite enough. It doesn't mean they are desperate enough to take in anyone armed with a M.Sc but it does mean they can be more open to more options.

    In our experience, we did the emailing of resumes for 2 months, received not a single response. Changed our strategy, and went from school to school dropping in to meet clerks, HODs. Landed with some day-to-day relieve work, got to know the schools, teachers, HODs and VPs. Once people have met you, they may remember you and recommend you when a vacancy comes along. We got 2 job interviews and received 2 job offers. This can be done even as your EOI is being processed as long as you are registered as a teacher.

    However in the short term, you just have to continue looking for casual employment but I suggest searching outside Dunedin if there is nothing on offer. This is the tourist season for winter holidays so consider towns like Wanaka, Queenstown for casual employment. There may be some left. Queenstown has an accommodation crunch but it worth checking out if money is disappearing fast and you need something only to pay the bills for the short term.

    G'luck.

  8. #8
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    Very useful information to process. Thanks for the links and the story as well.

  9. #9
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    Batgirl.

    Although I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post and am grateful for the information you have to offer, I am a bit insulted by your assumption that I'm short-sided about this whole process.

    Prior to my arrival I contacted a certified Immigration Lawyer and paid a retainer to work him in this process. I was made aware of the EOI points and the NZQA and what I discovered was that in my position it seemed unnecessary at this stage for me to pay the fees and take the time to apply for an EOI and NZQA credential check where I would most certainly be denied in my application for a work-to-residence visa. I have 105 points to go towards my EOI assuming my work experience would be included and NZQA and according to the history of approval by immigration. I would need more than that to be guaranteed that visa. NO matter what, I would still need a job offer to get to the amount of points I need...something which as you and others have mentioned is incredibly difficult to get.

    So lets say I spent all of this time and money on something that is not guaranteed and what seems to be at best a temporary gig while I earn my NZ stripes. Perhaps that would of been worth it. However, who in the right mind would actually do something like that? Once 3 or 4 months go by without anything full-time...who would stay? All of that money would of been a waste in my opinion. I am prepared to do all of that...however, I seriously thought that all of this would be easier and I would at least GET SOMETHING and then while I'm working full-time I can do all of that paperwork. I've saved for it.

    I admire and respect your story and now can confirm what I have learned to understand..which is.. I need to go in person to places and meet people and develop relationship with Kiwi's in order to be considered for any sort of work. Thanks.

    Also, I HAVE been applying all over and am open to moving wherever a job may be.

    What I am saying is that... This is obscenely harder than I expected. I know there are thousands of foreigners trying to do the same thing in a country of only 4 million and employers end up getting the most perfect candidates as a result of hundreds of people applying for the same position. However, I still think there is an easier way.

    I am serious about this and will continue to hit the pavement and get any position I can in hopes that I can then find a better job down the road int he near future.

    I guess at the end of the day I will accept what JandM said at how this will be a process that drags out years. While I consider actually putting up with the crap that those three years will throw at me, I will also consider submitting those docs in the meantime

  10. #10
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    However, I still think there is an easier way.
    As things currently stand, there isn't. I feel your pain, and/but I can tell you that there are any number of people who have the same feelings. They KNOW they're good, and qualified, and can't at first believe that the doors keep being barred against them.

    I wonder, might there be a possibility of your doing a course in NZ, for which you could get a student visa? Maybe qualify for some other career strand? You would have the right to work a certain amount while studying. If the course was of the right standard, you could then get a post-study work visa afterwards.

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