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Thread: Job search strategy - advice, please

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    England
    Posts
    62

    Default Job search strategy - advice, please

    I have over 10 years’ experience in Industry 1 which I want to return to as part of our move to NZ; I’ve been away from it for over 6 years and only have experience of the UK environment (which in all fairness is about 14 years ahead of NZ in terms of structure, regulations and issues so this point should in principle work in my favour).

    Following voluntary redundancy from Industry 1, I decided to try Industry 2 which is radically different but it hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. I am therefore reluctant to apply for roles similar to my current one and would rather put all my efforts into moving back into Industry 1, even if it takes me longer to get work.

    I applied for two roles in November 2018, one which required an asap start and another which led to 3 interviews, written assessment and personality tests. No news in over two weeks, so safe to assume the worst. I have since applied for 3 similar roles with other companies online, one of which has already come back with a rejection email.

    My questions are this, please:
    • I now have my Work Visa (woop woop) – does this potentially improve my chances of being considered for a role?
    • Normally, I would go back to the hiring manager to at least ask for some feedback (hopefully, some useful stuff that I can work on / take on board for next time!). I am also thinking of asking to be considered for a lower level role which has just been posted (I suspect that this was the person that got the role that I was interviewed for, but it may just be me overthinking the situation). Good or bad idea?
    • Further to the above, would it be a good strategy to perhaps look at roles one job level below the one I was in when I left Industry 1 in order to get a foot in the door, familiarise myself with the NZ landscape and bring myself up-to-speed with the current state of the specialist area?
    • I appreciate that it varies from one industry to another, but how are people finding job searching overall, in particular those doing it from abroad?
    • Would it potentially be more realistic to apply for roles in Industry 2 in order to secure employment in NZ and then focus on the industry-change?

    Another option: I've had an offer from a UK company in Industry 2 for a role which they could see me doing from NZ, but it is all very tentative (including remuneration options) and I am concerned that it would take my focus away from applying for a proper Kiwi job and from returning to my preferred industry. If we were absolutely desperate to move, that would of course be better than no job and it is a good company albeit very small. However, we don't have a set date for an actual move and it is more a matter of me getting a job first.

    I only have two weeks in NZ from next week, and at this stage it is very unlikely that I will be able to at least get an appointment / interview in which is disappointing. After that, it is back to offshore job applications.

    Thank you in advance and have a great weekend!
    Last edited by BananaFace; 25th January 2019 at 10:48 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

    Default

    No news in over two weeks, so safe to assume the worst.
    Not necessarily. NZ recruitment often moves much more slowly than Europeans are used to. On the subject of NZ employers not getting back to you when they say they will, there are lots of old threads on here talking about the really laid back attitude that seems to be widespread. Somehow many people don't seem to find it important to reply by the date they've said they would, or even to reply at all. So it would make sense to follow up gently on the lines of "do you have any idea when you may be making a decision?" rather than flat out assuming that it's a "no". If/When you get a no, THEN you could go down the route of asking for feedback, and depending on what comes back, you would know better if it's worth applying for the lower level role.
    I now have my Work Visa (woop woop) – does this potentially improve my chances of being considered for a role?
    Emphatically, yes. The trouble is that many NZ employers are mistrustful of applicants from overseas, because so many turn out to be timewasters. People apply for a job without having researched the stringent NZ immigration laws, and so without realizing the amount of time and money it will take to obtain a visa. Or they apply without having discussed the matter with their family, who are then not in agreement to such a change in their lives. In either case, the employer, who thought he had made an appointment for someone to start in the near future, would end up with nobody to do the job, and having to start all over again.

    For this reason, many NZ employers are reluctant to deal with anyone from overseas, unless and until they have come to NZ to be interviewed, and/or have started the visa application process. Both scenarios demonstrate a commitment of time and money, and go some way to proving the candidate's serious intentions to making the move.

    Quite a few members of the forum have managed to get job offers by making a recce trip, having contacted prospective employers or agents beforehand, telling them when they will be available for interview.

    Whenever you apply, tell them you've got an OPEN work visa because of partnership - this shows them that all the formalities have already been done, and they won't have to be involved with that.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    England
    Posts
    62

    Default

    The reason why I made an assumption was that the hiring manager is British, and had been very good at keeping in touch and moving the process along. I followed your advice and limited myself to gently asking for an update for now.

    As for VISA vs selection process, thank you for confirming my thoughts (I am pretty certain I read something about it on this forum!). Fingers crossed; I am still hoping for at least one meeting while we are there!

    Thank you 😊

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

    Default

    I see what you mean, but the British hiring manager may be working to practices laid down by the NZ employer. Good luck!

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