Is it easy to find a job in New Zealand? This question is asked very often and by different types of people seeking migration to New Zealand. Students who are planning to come here are worried if they will be able to find a job and undertake the 20 hours of part-time work that they are permitted and skilled migrants who will be arriving shortly are worried if they will be able to find full time jobs and be able to support themselves and their families. The third type of person who asks this question is a potential skilled migrant who is falling short of the points for employability and capacity building factors and needs a job or a job offer to get the required number of points to lodge an expression of interest (EOI). Here is my opinion about each one of these types of job seekers.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS SEEKING PART TIME JOBS - I do not think this should be too much of a problem really. There are enough part-time jobs to go around especially in the larger cities. If you are not being fussy about what job you are willing to do there should be an opportunity. This may not happen immediately as you land here but eventually you will find something, especially after you get a feel for the place and create networks with classmates, tutors, flatmates, etc. The minimum wage of $14.75 is applicable for all those who are 16 or above. There are stories of how international students are exploited by not being paid the minimum wage by some unscrupulous business people but that is something I will dwell upon at length in a later blog when I have more information. (If you are an international student and think you are being exploited by your employer make a note of this information. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment - of which INZ is a part - encourages anyone with concerns about their employment situation to call its contact centre on 0800 20 90 20 where their call will be handled in a safe environment)
Suffice it to say that any student who is reasonably confident with decent English skills and has the attitude to hang in there till an opportunity presents itself will eventually get a part-time job. And be innovative in your job search. Don't rely only on conventional methods for finding jobs. Look at other not so obvious places and you may hit pay dirt ahead of others. One student I know bought a really cheap secondhand car and went a little out of town to do a part-time job. This job was packing food and the bonus was that he got free food as well. It offset the fuel costs is what he told me. I thought it was bloody smart of him to do this!! And have fun doing whatever part-time job comes across your way. A good attitude will ensure that this lays the foundation for a successful full-time job after course completion and eventual permanent residency. Having a good CV, cover letter and interview facing skills are crucial too.
SKILLED MIGRANTS SEEKING FULL TIME JOBS - The name says it all "skilled migrant"...so how difficult will it be to get a job? Well it can be quite a challenge, to be honest. I remember some of my own struggles and yes it can take some doing. Unlike students who are in a "temporary" sort of state of mind, I think a skilled migrant who comes to NZ has burnt some serious bridges to be here and he/she is in more of a "permanent" state of mind. The fact is that it is "Permanent Residency" and the stakes can be pretty high for those who have come here with family with the intention of settling down permanently. While the "skilled" tag is attached to such migrants there are a fair few challenges in terms of adjusting to the culture, language, weather and other variables. And this is uniform across all permanent residents irrespective of country of origin, race, religion, etc. I have met many such fellow migrants and heard their stories. The silver lining is that eventually something does fall into place. It may take a while but there is a breakthrough for sure. I am yet to come across a migrant who left in complete despair. I am sure there are some but I am yet to come across anyone personally. So patience is key and mentioned above having a good CV, cover letter and interview facing skills are crucial too. Plus the attitude to pick up any job and not be stuck into a mode of "I will only do a certain type of job paying a certain amount of salary." Get your foot in through the door first and then explore other opportunities. At least you won't be dipping into your savings and will have some income coming in.
The other thing I have noticed is that quite a few migrants are starting their own small businesses. I have seen many take up low cost franchise businesses and seem to be doing quite well. The person who comes to prune our trees and mow the lawns is a South African who has been here a few years. He and his wife do the work together and it is quite cute to watch them both going on about their work. I have also met a lot of other couples who take up a cleaning franchise and seem to enjoy the work and earn enough to be comfortable. I have also seen many taking up the courier franchises and they seem to be doing alright as well. So the formula is the same as anywhere else. Double income and good planning especially as the kids keep growing and the education costs go up. If you are a skilled migrant and finding it difficult to find work, self employment can be an option too. I would strongly encourage it.
POTENTIAL SKILLED MIGRANTS FALLING SHORT OF POINTS - This could be a tricky one because it is the quintessential chicken and egg story. If you are not in New Zealand already AND on a valid work visa, not too many employers are willing to even consider you for a job. But if you cannot get a job offer in the first place you will not get the work or residence visa!! That's the conundrum. A fortunate few might have family, friends or close professional contacts who can help you with a genuine job offer. But for many getting a genuine job offer might not be easy at all. There are some scamsters who take advantage of this situation and try to peddle fake job offers for huge sums of money. I strongly warn against falling for such scams because not only will you lose your money but you could also end up being labelled as someone with "bad character" when Immigration New Zealand (INZ) verifies the job offer and finds out it is a fake. And verify they will because that's what they are here for to ensure the immigration process remains honest and transparent.
As a licensed immigration adviser I have often wondered if a "targeted job search service" could be introduced especially for those with good experience and skills and who could genuinely benefit NZ with these attributes. Recently I came across two such potentials. One of them works at a senior level in one of the largest special effects companies in the world and the other is a senior officer in one of the largest vehicle manufacturing companies of the world. Due to a variety of reasons they are both not getting the required number of points to be able to lodge an expression of interest for skilled migration. It is my belief that both these people and their equally capable and respective spouses can hugely benefit NZ by being here and vice-versa. So I am undertaking a special project to see if a genuine employment opportunity can be created for them here in NZ since I have always liked to create new solutions.
Stay tuned to see how this effort goes. I am keen to experiment with a handful of high quality applicants for this "targeted job search service." If you are one, email me your CV (arun.jacob@ajv.kiwi) and we can explore the possibilities.
Arun
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