I’d say that for every
NZ job I’m working on, I get about 2 to 5 people who apply from overseas wanting
to move to New Zealand. I guess I can’t blame them. We do, after all, live in a
country blessed with beautiful landscapes, a small population (we just passed
the 4 million benchmark last year, I think), a "creative" economy, unique culture, good quality of
life . . .
For those of you who
want to move here, this is my best advice as a recruiter. But before I get to
that, I need to make something clear: Applying to jobs online from overseas is
the LEAST EFFECTIVE way of getting a job, especially for a job with a company that
will sponsor you for a visa. I’m not saying this is absolute in every
case, but it’s definitely the rule rather than the exception. I get emails from
applicants saying that they are available for phone interviews and will move to
New Zealand once they get a job offer. Sure, this makes sense for you,
the overseas applicant. You want to make sure you have something secured before
you decide to uproot yourself, your family and your things and move halfway
across the world. Let me tell you why this will not work.
1. Think of this
from the point of view of the company. The whole hiring process, from reading
CVs, to interviewing (2 to 3 times), getting references, technical tests, to
getting the offer together, is a very long and involved process involving A LOT
of different people. People who are extremely busy, with different schedules,
different concerns about the position in question, requiring different
information, and so on. It’s a big
commitment – time-wise, labour-wise and money-wise, to even consider an
applicant. Why would they invest their time and effort in interviewing an
overseas applicant, going through the whole process, when there is no
indication of commitment on your part in physically being here, other than you saying
that you will? Your physically not
being here is a BIG indication that you are not 100% committed. You could easily decide not to
move for lots of reasons: financial, family, personal, bureaucratic, political
– it’s a tenuous situation --- you’re a HUGE risk for a company to invest their
time and effort to even consider. Especially since there are a lot of highly
educated and experienced Kiwis (both born-here and immigrants) who are
physically here – the overseas applicant is hardly appealing.
2. Most companies
here in New Zealand are small. A large-size company over here would be
comparable to medium-size companies in most other more populated countries
(i.e. everywhere else). The majority of businesses here are SME with less than
10 employees. (For a better look at the profile of NZ business, take a look at
Ministry of Economic Development website.) This means the resources to recruit and hire are smaller. It also means they are most likely looking for people who come from a smaller corporate background, where the candidate is comfortable working in much smaller teams. Many overseas applicants have experience in large corporations with thousands of employees with larger resources working on larger projects and markets. While that kind of experience can always be valuable, it may not always be the case for certain smaller outfits working in a much smaller market.An online application from someone overseas with that kind of background may not be the most appealing in comparison to local talent who are physically here.
Here is my best
suggestion:
If you are serious and
committed to the idea of immigrating to New Zealand, you really need to do your
research on the kind of companies you are interested in joining (read my
earlier post on How to Get the Job You Want). Contact key people early on,
explaining your situation and your plans. Initiate your immigration
application. Make appointments with those people you’ve contacted. Then, board a
plane and physically come here! Plan a stay long enough to be able to meet with
those companies that you’re interested in and feel you really have a chance of
finding a good opportunity. Plan to meet with hiring managers and expect to
stay for a few weeks to accommodate for several interviews.
To check out
requirements and the point system for a work visa, here’s an overview of the
Skilled Migrant Application Process from the Immigration New Zealand website.
It explains everything you need to know about whether or not you can immigrate
based on your work experience and skills. Another option is a
temporary work visa. Click here for the overview.
Important Disclaimer: I am not a
legal advisor in any way, shape or form on matters of immigration. This is just my
personal general observation as a recruiter. For those who truly pursue the move by
actively going out and finding and meeting contacts, the move can happen. But
for those who expect something for no committment on their part, a move would be highly unlikely.
