29 December 2010

Job Hunt Begins

Note: This is in the series of blog posts I wrote about my preparation to move to New Zealand. The original date stamps will give you an idea of how time-consuming migration takes. The 'New Zealand' tag will bring up all related posts.

[Originally written on 18/8/2010]

After my visa was approved, I began paying closer attention to my Seek RSS feed. The great thing about Seek is that you can save a job search (".Net" in my case) as an RSS feed, so you can be notified instantly of new openings. I noticed an uptick of relevant job vacancies, so I spent about 3 days re-writing my CV for the New Zealand market. According to my research, recruiters prefer longer CVs rather than short summaries. By putting in all the major experiences I've had along with generous whitespace, I managed to pull it up to 8 pages.

Till date I've submitted to almost 20 vacancies. I've had 2 outright rejections, and another one informing me that none of his clients will hire over Skype or video conferencing. That's the market these days - plenty of candidates in NZ itself. But a hopeful story emerged on ENZ forums last week. A fellow Malaysian managed to get multiple job offers by going on a 4 week recreational trip so I know the job market is receptive right now.

Dad has been urging me for the longest time to do the same thing - go for a recce (recreational) trip to scout out interviews, but I am reluctant to do so. What if I fail to secure an offer within that month? Will I have enough funds to go on another interviewing trip? But if I wait till next January to formally begin my 6 month hunt, will the jobs still be there?

Decisions, decisions...

[End of original post]

As I'm reviewing this post at the end of December, I'm glad to report that the jobs are still there. While there was a sudden decline last month, things have picked up again and I'm seeing many ads for hiring in the new year.

I've also pared my CV down to 6, and then 4, pages. While their preference for longer CVs remain, there's no point being overly wordy or having too much white space. I went back each time with more brutal rewrites and omissions of details I deem unnecessary. I'm quite happy with the 4 page version which conveys the same amount of fact as the original 8 pages.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey buddy,

I am happy for you that you manage to be in New Zealand now.

I have been thinking to migrate to New Zealand for few years.
I am currently working in Singapore, and felt that I want to run away from this place ASAP...Each day is killing.

I realize that applying through skilled migrant category seems more difficult and complicated than the silver fern visa and it costed more too.

Would you be kind to guide me through the process ? basically I have gone through all the procedures, but I would really appreciate if you could help me answer some queries along the way regarding preparation of documents..

Btw. the silver fern visa opens on every 27th April ? So we have to standby in front of the computer and do submission ? as the quota is only 300 annually

Zemien said...

dendroid: Thanks for dropping by!

I'm not a licensed immigration adviser, so I can't legally give you advice. I can just share my experience, and your own experience may vary.

Just read all the previous posts with New Zealand tag. They give you a very good idea of what to expect, like having to wake up early to be one of the 300 people to get through.

To my knowledge, it's not announced yet when the quota will open. Best you check every few days when closer to April.

Good luck!

Unknown said...

Hey again,

How are you doing now in New Zealand ?
I hope you are settling real fine :)
Can I ask you a question about silver fern visa, just to check on you previous experience when submitting the application ?
I just created an account and fill up all the information, but at the end of the online application, there is this 'Submit' button, in which if I choose to submit it now, I would not be able to edit the information I filled..
At this stage, I am sure that I have filled the correct info, but when do I get to make the payment ? is it at the time of I submit, or I have to do the 'submit' thing on the actualy day (27th April) itself ?

Zemien said...

dendroid,

I'm not sure which application you filled in. Is it the Silver Fern or some other form?

If you haven't, you should join the online community at www.emigratenz.org/forum

Lots of information and helpful people there! :)

Unknown said...

it is the silver fern visa
tx for the link :)

dendroid said...

Hi Zemien,

Are you still in New Zealand ?
Would like to gain some insight for silver fern visa..
I managed to get in this year :)