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gzt

gzt
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  #1496221 20-Feb-2016 13:37
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inderwhoisgill: I'm very quick learner and quite a tech gizmo.

Make sure you get that experience and personal interest in tech into the c.v. Ie; if you have been modding phones include some detail about the things you have completed. Likewise if you have your own experience with things like Photoshop. None of these random examples are are work skills but on a student c.v they give some idea of how far you have taken your skills beyond your qualifications.



Andib
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  #1496274 20-Feb-2016 14:55
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Have you looked into a helpdesk role? 

 

Plenty of companies will internally promote from their own helpdesk rather than someone external for a Desktop / Junior Sys admin role.

 

 

 

 





<# 
       .DISCLAIMER
       Anything I post is my own and not the views of my past/present/future employer.
#>


MadEngineer
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  #1496280 20-Feb-2016 15:03
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It boggles me when people don't follow up on job applications. You always hear how they applied for hundreds of jobs and get no reply.

All it takes is a simple phone call ... "Hey I applied for that position last week and I'm just want to confirm if you have received it ok?"




You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.



inderwhoisgill

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#1496491 21-Feb-2016 10:31
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I felt very good after all these positive and honest replies but I think some people took my post wrong! This was just an informal post about IT job scene in NZ and how graduates can start their job hunt.

xiefeile
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  #1548730 9-May-2016 15:14
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PhantomNVD: Desktop support... Sounds like you need a practical cert like the A+ (do they still do that?)



Where do you live? There are many small businesses and schools who need a technicians assistance, and quite likely will be a good route to gaining experience if you willing to work as a volunteer for a while...?

 

 

 

Hi, Can I ask how to search these organizations that needs IT volunteer? I am still looking for it. Thx.


kobiak
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  #1548735 9-May-2016 15:27
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I'd suggest contracting and freelancing if your visa allows.

 

There's agency The Creative Store in AKL CBD. I would give me a call/email they always have something for front/back-end devs.

 

Or any other agency specializing in the area of your skills, who will get you into the business, and with my experience, every second contract leads to permanent position or contract extension. So you will gain that needed experience. In most cases employers just want to see if you're able to work in NZ (communication during the employment is the KEY).





helping others at evgenyk.nz


Kiwifruta
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  #1548982 10-May-2016 07:45
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When applying for a job always call up HR and have a chat to them first, that way they'll be waiting for your C.V. Be sure to prepare by researching the company, its industry and writing down a few intelligent questions about the role and what the company is looking for in a candidate, before calling H.R.

Have your C.V. and covering letter show how you've got the qualities the employer is looking for in a candidate. Give a real life example in your covering letter.

I don't work in I.T. but I still applied for about 100 jobs, post graduation, before I started getting offers. In the end I decided to sell personality to get a role rather than qualifications etc. Employers want to know know that your personality is going to work well with their company culture and their existing staff.



A really great book to read is "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie.

 
 
 
 

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).
spearsniper
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  #1549059 10-May-2016 10:06
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Don't be afraid to start at the bottom of the stack. Jumping straight to the job role you are after will not get you the start you seek.
Do your time in a call centre, and move up through that company until your CV is full enough with skills to do the move to another company that aligns with your career ambitions.

 

If you want to jump ahead quickly in the IT game, spend all of your spare time becoming familiar with public cloud - either AWS or Azure. There is a huge vacuum in the market at the moment. Get certified at a minimum, and you will be surprised what doors get opened for you.

 

 

 

 


RUKI
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  #1549135 10-May-2016 11:25
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Lias:

 

To be brutally honest (and politically incorrect) plenty of employers are going to look at a non European name on a CV and just bin it, let alone one with anything less than perfect English skills. Changing your name to "Bob Smith" and taking some advanced ESOL courses might get you better results.

 

 

People get their name as a gift... for their birthday...

 

It is the most pathetic advice of changing name to make it sound more familiar to those lazy bustards who can't even pronounce the name of the world famous tennis player Sharapova correctly although heard it thousand times. The accent is on the second "a" not on the last one...Too hard for hundreds of sport commentators around the world? She did not change it though...

 

My Russian name may sound confusing to some. I have asked 13 years ago one very wise Aussie Manager (JS): - Should I change my name, perhaps to George (English equivalent)?

 

He replied: stick to your name mate, you are doing great, they will learn. He was so right!

 

I went a long way to learn more than one language since I was 4.

 

Why can’t you learn at least one word correctly in another language?

 

Free lesson in Russian: to say “thank you”:

 

Remember and connect 3 visuals together: SPA (imagine going to a SPA), SEA (imagine fishing at sea), BO (as in BRO but without R). Now, “after taking a SPA you are at SEA with your BrO”:

 

SPA -> SEA -> BO (Spasibo), accent on the “i” Is it too hard?

 

Arigato, Shye-Shye, Gracias - Do you have employees from Tokyo, Beijing, Mexico in the office? Learn at least those together with their names… They put a lot of efforts to learn your language….


Kiwifruta
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  #1549169 10-May-2016 12:06
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RUKI:

Lias:


To be brutally honest (and politically incorrect) plenty of employers are going to look at a non European name on a CV and just bin it, let alone one with anything less than perfect English skills. Changing your name to "Bob Smith" and taking some advanced ESOL courses might get you better results.



People get their name as a gift... for their birthday...


It is the most pathetic advice of changing name to make it sound more familiar to those lazy bustards who can't even pronounce the name of the world famous tennis player Sharapova correctly although heard it thousand times. The accent is on the second "a" not on the last one...Too hard for hundreds of sport commentators around the world? She did not change it though...


My Russian name may sound confusing to some. I have asked 13 years ago one very wise Aussie Manager (JS): - Should I change my name, perhaps to George (English equivalent)?


He replied: stick to your name mate, you are doing great, they will learn. He was so right!


I went a long way to learn more than one language since I was 4.


Why can’t you learn at least one word correctly in another language?


Free lesson in Russian: to say “thank you”:


Remember and connect 3 visuals together: SPA (imagine going to a SPA), SEA (imagine fishing at sea), BO (as in BRO but without R). Now, “after taking a SPA you are at SEA with your BrO”:


SPA -> SEA -> BO (Spasibo), accent on the “i” Is it too hard?


Arigato, Shye-Shye, Gracias - Do you have employees from Tokyo, Beijing, Mexico in the office? Learn at least those together with their names… They put a lot of efforts to learn your language….



Really if people have a hangup about a non-English name, then they aren't someone you'd want to work for anyway and probably not worth working for.

Ruki, estamos de acuerdo. Only about 1 in 50 can pronounce my wife's name correctly, and it's pretty simple, Maria Elena. We aren't changing it to Mary Helen (the English equivalent).









dejadeadnz
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  #1549279 10-May-2016 13:21
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Kiwifruta: When applying for a job always call up HR and have a chat to them first, that way they'll be waiting for your C.V. Be sure to prepare by researching the company, its industry and writing down a few intelligent questions about the role and what the company is looking for in a candidate, before calling H.R.

Have your C.V. and covering letter show how you've got the qualities the employer is looking for in a candidate. Give a real life example in your covering letter.

 

 

 

I would not always second the above advice. Working for a listed corporate, I can tell you for a fact that for many "lower end" jobs, HR goes out of their way to avoid this kind of contact. Whether this is a good idea or not is another matter but as a manager who has been hiring for my team, I know they do. Many of the more junior HR advisors/recruitment coordinators (or whatever they call themselves) recruit many roles at a time and just don't want to engage in this kind of contact. Forcing it on them may make things worse.

 

However, in the unusual event that the hiring manager's details are made available in a job ad (more common amongst government departments and smaller companies), definitely make contact but be prepared as Kiwifruta says. I have occasionally been able to put my own details down into job ads and people who make an effort to discuss the role with me always have an edge. OTOH, make sure it's done in a classy way. Either ring up/e-mail to ask when it might be a good time to talk and don't launch straight into a salesman's pitch. Also, be prepared to be told that you just don't quite fit with the team's current requirements. But to me the advantage of talking to the hiring manager first (if possible) is the ability to establish some rapport and not be a blank sheet to him/her at the shortlisting and/or interview stage.

 

But people need to understand a few home truths about recruiting. Many HR people and hiring managers are lazy and there will be times where a perfectly deserving candidate is overlooked. Don't take these things personally - it's happened to everyone. Just move on and hope to do better when you're hiring :)

 

 

 

 

 

 


Kiwifruta
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  #1549341 10-May-2016 15:41
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dejadeadnz:

Kiwifruta: When applying for a job always call up HR and have a chat to them first, that way they'll be waiting for your C.V. Be sure to prepare by researching the company, its industry and writing down a few intelligent questions about the role and what the company is looking for in a candidate, before calling H.R.

Have your C.V. and covering letter show how you've got the qualities the employer is looking for in a candidate. Give a real life example in your covering letter.


 


I would not always second the above advice. Working for a listed corporate, I can tell you for a fact that for many "lower end" jobs, HR goes out of their way to avoid this kind of contact. Whether this is a good idea or not is another matter but as a manager who has been hiring for my team, I know they do. Many of the more junior HR advisors/recruitment coordinators (or whatever they call themselves) recruit many roles at a time and just don't want to engage in this kind of contact. Forcing it on them may make things worse.


However, in the unusual event that the hiring manager's details are made available in a job ad (more common amongst government departments and smaller companies), definitely make contact but be prepared as Kiwifruta says. I have occasionally been able to put my own details down into job ads and people who make an effort to discuss the role with me always have an edge. OTOH, make sure it's done in a classy way. Either ring up/e-mail to ask when it might be a good time to talk and don't launch straight into a salesman's pitch. Also, be prepared to be told that you just don't quite fit with the team's current requirements. But to me the advantage of talking to the hiring manager first (if possible) is the ability to establish some rapport and not be a blank sheet to him/her at the shortlisting and/or interview stage.


But people need to understand a few home truths about recruiting. Many HR people and hiring managers are lazy and there will be times where a perfectly deserving candidate is overlooked. Don't take these things personally - it's happened to everyone. Just move on and hope to do better when you're hiring :)


 


 


 



Thanks for sharing, nice to get a more inside point of view.

RUKI
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  #1551457 12-May-2016 13:09
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Kiwifruta: ....

Really if people have a hangup about a non-English name, then they aren't someone you'd want to work for anyway and probably not worth working for.

Ruki, estamos de acuerdo. Only about 1 in 50 can pronounce my wife's name correctly, and it's pretty simple, Maria Elena. We aren't changing it to Mary Helen (the English equivalent).

 

dos cabezas piensan mejor que uno :-)


Kiwifruta
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  #1552070 13-May-2016 11:22
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RUKI:

Kiwifruta: ....

Really if people have a hangup about a non-English name, then they aren't someone you'd want to work for anyway and probably not worth working for.

Ruki, estamos de acuerdo. Only about 1 in 50 can pronounce my wife's name correctly, and it's pretty simple, Maria Elena. We aren't changing it to Mary Helen (the English equivalent).


dos cabezas piensan mejor que uno :-)



¡claro!
Un Ruso que habla español, ¡que churro!
(Churro es un dicho de Tarija, Bolivia, para decir "cool")

Lias
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  #1552286 13-May-2016 15:52
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RUKI:

 

 

 

It is the most pathetic advice of changing name to make it sound more familiar to those lazy bustards who can't even pronounce the name of the world famous tennis player Sharapova correctly although heard it thousand times. The accent is on the second "a" not on the last one...Too hard for hundreds of sport commentators around the world? She did not change it though...

 

 

 

 

*shrug* You don't have to like what I said, but it IS accurate. Many hiring managers will bin a CV, or at least drop it to the bottom of the stack if it has a non western name on it, and changing names is a way to get around that. As for the pronunciation, a pretty decent chunk of kiwis can't even pronounce Maori words correctly, what on earth makes you think they would care about other languages? :-P

 

PS: My current team has a Russian, a Dutchman, and an Indian in it, but they all have western names :-P

 

 

 

 





I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.


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