Finding work is likely to be the key to a successful relocation. For many people it will be necessary to have a job offer before applying for a visa which will allow them to work in New Zealand. There are a number of different categories that allow migrants to live and work in New Zealand and these include temporary work visas, permanent residency, working holiday visas and Family Category visas. See Visas.
Even if you work in an area of skill shortage, leaving it until you arrive in New Zealand to find a job may present a challenge as it can take as long as a few months to find an appropriate position. It is advisable to begin your research early and this can easily be done online.
Areas of skill shortage
Immigration New Zealand maintain the Essential Skills Lists which indicates which occupations have a shortage of skilled people. The list is updated six monthly and can be viewed on the Immigration New Zealand website.
Generally, New Zealand employers will fill their positions from the local talent pool. If suitably skilled people cannot be found locally, then employers look further afield. Some employers in certain sectors such as health and engineering routinely search and recruit from offshore. Other organisations in specialist fields may rely on highly skilled professionals finding their way to them.
Job search
There are two websites that list most advertised roles in New Zealand. They are Seek and Trade Me Jobs. Both recruitment companies and organisations advertising their own roles generally use either one or both of these websites. A growing number of organisations of all sizes also list their roles on their own websites and will accept direct applications. Some of these organisations in the Wellington region can be accessed through the General Industry and Niche sector pages.
As well as Seek and TradeMe Jobs there are other job search websites. Some of these specialise in a sector group or a particular segment of the workforce and others are more general. See Useful Links below for a list.
New Zealand Now is a user friendly government website with information about all aspects of relocating to NZ including finding work.
Registration
A number of occupations in New Zealand require registration by law. If you work in an occupation that requires registration it would be wise to find out what the registration requirements are early in the immigration process. The Immigration NZ website has a complete list of these occupations and links to each of the relevant professional bodies.
'Right to work' in NZ
Many advertised roles state that applicants must have the 'right to work' in New Zealand to apply. This statement can be very confusing for potential migrants, many of whom are required to have a job offer from a NZ employer before they can apply for a work visa. The job seeker needs a job offer but the work visa gives the 'right to work' in NZ!
Generally, anyone may apply for a role providing their qualifications and experience meet the requirements. That is the key. A very few government roles may require that the applicant be a NZ citizen which would preclude other applicants.
Serious applicants who consider that they are fully qualified and have the right experience for the role, particularly if it is in an area of skill shortage in New Zealand, should not be put off applying.
Be aware though, usually employers in New Zealand are required to fill positions from the local talent pool in the first instance. If there are no suitably skilled and experienced local candidates, employers may then consider other applicants.
CV’s
The expected format of a CV in NZ does differ from that used in other countries. Here are some examples of a NZ style CV.
Sample CV - Career Services
Sample CV - Jobx
Some recruitment agencies have CV information and advice on their websites.
Interviews
Employers in NZ usually want to interview an applicant face to face before a final job offer is made. Serious applicants must be prepared to come to New Zealand for at least a final interview.
Career Services give some interviewing guidelines.
Salary guides
In New Zealand salaries are often not made known until later in the application process. There are a number of salary surveys that give an indication of the range that can be expected for a particular occupation.
Absolute IT
Hays
Robert Walters
RecruitIT
Job search websites and other useful links
http://www.careerjet.co.nz/ - A general employment search engine
http://www2.careers.govt.nz/moving_to_nz.html - Government career services website with information about jobs and working in NZ
http://www.conjobs.co.nz/ - Conservation jobs in NZ
http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/ - The official magazine of the Ministry of Education for all teaching positions in NZ
http://www.lawstaff.co.nz/ - Search for positions in law
http://www.jobs.govt.nz/ - Job vacancies in the New Zealand state sector, guidelines for employers, job tips and work permit requirements.
http://www.jobs.co.nz - Widely used by recruitment agencies, mainly IT jobs
http://myjobspace.co.nz/ All jobs, national coverage
http://www.newkiwis.co.nz/ - Employment website especially for new migrants, onshore and offshore
http://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz - A government website for migrants
http://jobs.nzherald.co.nz/ - Jobs advertised in the NZ Herald
http://www.qjumpers.co.nz - A job matching service for job seekers and employers
http://www.trackmeback.co.nz - A website to connect returning Kiwis with NZ employers
http://www.wowjobs.co.nz - Aggregates roles from recruiters, jobs boards and employers
http://www.workingin-newzealand.com - Information and jobs for people moving countries
Recruitment Agencies
920 - IT recruitment
Absolute IT - IT recruitment
Avro Recruitment - Small agency specialising in engineering and automotive trades technicians
Beyond Recruitment - Government, IT, accountting & finance, legal, marketing & communications
Capital Recuitment - Government/local government, IT, health
Education Personnel - Recruitment agency for teachers
Gaulter Russell Ltd - Sales & marketing, communication
Global Career Link - International recruitment
Hays Recruitment - Recruitment across all sectors
Health ProfessionalNZ - Health sector recruitment based in Wellington
Helium Work-Search Ltd - IT recruitment
Hudson Global Resourcing - Large recruitment and HR resource consultancy
Icon Recruitment - IT & business services recruitment
JOBsmith - Small specialist agency in technical, professional and trade recruitment
Key Skills Recruitment - Trade and industrial jobs
McLaren Associates - Small agency - executive management and senior and specialist roles
Madison Recruitment - Specialising in executive, financial and IT recruitment
Manpower - Executive, Engineering, Finance, IT, Sales & Marketing recruitment
Manpower Professional - MPP place people in executive, financing, engineering and IT
MCC People - IT recruitment
Mercury Consulting Group - Medical recruitment
Momentum - IT and business services
Neal Andrews & Associates - IT recruitment
PeopleSearch Consulting - All industry groups
Plum Consulting - Specialists in HR, organisational development and change management
Power House People - Includes ICT, government, accounting, finance & banking, other business areas
Randstad - Includes accounting, banking, PR, HR, S&M, construction & engineering
Recruit IT - Specialist IT recruiters
Rob Law Maxrecruitment - Professional Engineering, Technical, Infrastructure and Engineering Jobs
Robert Walters - Finance, Accounting, Banking, Legal, Technology and Sales & Marketing, Procurement
Sabre Systems Ltd - ICT & engineering specialists
SearchWorks - Specialists in hard to find skills
Strategy Recruitment - Accounting & finance, HR, call centre, administration & other business services
SAPStudio Limited - Recruitment for SAP, Accountants and Auditors
Talent2 - ICT specialists
The Johnson Group - Specialist public sector agency
Tradestaff - Privide temporary and permanent workers to the trade sector
Technical Recruitment Solutions - Specialists in engineering and technology recruitment
Upfront Recruitment - Small, specialist agency
Wheeler Campbell - Executive recruitment – HR, accounting & finance, health, public sector and more