Immigrate to New Zealand : Chapter II

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Harorlt

12 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#182560 21-Oct-2015 03:28

Hi, I have posted a question about IT jobs on this forum 7 months ago (http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=86&topicid=170964). Today, I'm a belgian junior developer with 4 months of experience, and of course, I still want to come in New Zealand. I'm posting on this forum because I have a few questions, and I need some advices

.

-First of all, my boyfriend will probably come in New-Zealand to do an internship for his studies. At the beginning, my plan was to come to New Zealand in January 2017, but his internship begins in september 2016, so I'm hesitating between coming in September or January...

-Secondly, I'd like to know how much money do I need to come, if I want to work as soon as possible. Is it possible to find a job from Belgium or should I come and find it during a WHV ?

-What level of english should I have ?

-Are IT certifications worth it ? I have two certifications (Java and C#), but is it usefull to find a job ?

-I read that I need at least two referees in my CV, should it be my employer/team leader or is it ok if I put colleagues ? Plus, I don't know if my current employer will love the fact that I want to leave his company

-Do you have any tips for me ?

Thanks a lot :)

Inphinity

2780 posts

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#1410305 21-Oct-2015 08:28

1) This is really up to your preference. What field is your boyfriend in? Internships are less common here than in other countries, particularly in some industries.
2) I would want to have at least 3 months living expenses. How much that is, depends on which part of the country you move to and what sort of lifestyle you expect to support during that time - if you're happy staying in a backpackers and live off 2 minute noodles, or have friends/family to crash with, for example, will be cheaper than staying at a luxury hotel and going out every night. Somewhere north of NZD$8k imo.
3) You should aim to meet or exceed the Immigration New Zealand English requirements for business principal applicants as a reasonable guideline. Based on your posts, I believe you exceed this level. If you can have a casual conversation in english, or read/write a basic letter of correspondence, you should be ok.
4) Certifications are useful - perhaps less so than practical experience with good references, but certainly useful.
5) Colleagues are OK, a direct manager or team leader is better. In many cases (certainly not all) in my experience, employers use the reference to get some additional validation that your work history on your CV is true.

solival

160 posts

Master Geek
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#1410307 21-Oct-2015 08:32

I think you need visa (work/resident) first. I don't know about temporary work visa, but for permanent work visa (work towards residence) you might need to do qualification assessment by NZQA (if your university is not in the list of recognized universities by NZ), IELTS at least all 6, and number of other formal requirements. You can get more reliable answers about visa on sites like enz.org and of course immigration.govt.nz

About money. There difference between "want" and "can". If you come with work visa you will probably have job offer, so you need money for one month. Otherwise job search can take some time because many companies don't want to bother with visas. Studio in motel will cost about $100 per day. Long term rent starts from about $300 per week. Sites like trademe will give you indications on renting property prices. Food will take about $400 per month for one person. Public transport $2-$5 per trip.

Geek originally from Ukraine :)

jtan

122 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 10

#1410329 21-Oct-2015 09:11

Something that might be useful to know so that people can help you further is where abouts in NZ you and your boyfriend are looking at moving to, as there can be quite a vast difference between say, Auckland to Wellington to somewhere more regional..

Harorlt

12 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#1410366 21-Oct-2015 10:14

Hi, thanks you for all your help :) We would like to go to Auckland, we know that it's the most expesive, but it's probably the best place to find a job

We were thinking about coming with aproximatively NZD$12 000 (or 17 000 if I come in January). Concerning the visa, we are less than 30, so it's possible to come during one year (to find a job), and then we will ask the work visa/permanent visa :)

The best thing to do is to find a job from Belgium, but it seems complicated, isn't ?

frankv

5705 posts

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#1410383 21-Oct-2015 10:42

Investigate whether there are any exchange programs between NZ and Belgium.

Many years ago, I worked in Switzerland under an NZ-Swiss exchange. The exchange program basically guaranteed me a work visa for 12-18 months. I still had to find my own job, but that was much easier with the guaranteed visa.

graemeh

2080 posts

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#1410395 21-Oct-2015 10:50

It is good to try to arrange a job before you arrive but I think your chances of doing that are slim. You will, however, make a number of contacts with recruiters and others who you can follow up with when you are here.

The New Zealand job market almost shuts down over the Christmas period. This can start as early as November and usually continues until the end of January.

New Zealand weather is often very windy in September, the best weather seems to be from February onwards. There are a lot of other times when the weather is good but it is not predictable.

If I was you I'd probably come in September and be willing to take on temporary jobs like bar or restaurant work until I find an IT job.

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timmmay

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#1410470 21-Oct-2015 12:54

I do hiring. We interview people overseas but they'd have to be very experienced with particular skills we couldn't find locally. Coding in any particular language is a real entry level skill. You might be able to find a role from overseas, but entry level it will be more difficult - my feeling is there are plenty of inexperienced developers in NZ. I suspect being here will be easier.

ScuL

491 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#1410501 21-Oct-2015 14:20

For more information also check www.enz.org there is a lot of immigration information there.
It's unlikely that you can find a job if you're not in the country, but you never know.

PS: There are some Belgian beer cafes in Auckland

Haere taka mua, taka muri; kaua e wha.

Harorlt

12 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#1410777 22-Oct-2015 06:20

Hi,

Thank you for your help ! In fact I'm a Java developer

I diddn't find anything about exchange program, maybe later :) And thanks for www.enz.org!

Titan21

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1411581 23-Oct-2015 10:35

I'm very interested in following your case, I'm a German 26years old dev myself, trying to immigrate right now. I'm in the country, but I keep hearing that the market for IT jobs has changed a lot during the last year :-/ And I'm trying to find a job specifically _not_ in Auckland...
All the best, when you come over here, to you and your partner :)

Harorlt

12 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#1419409 3-Nov-2015 02:05

Ok ok, I'm pretty afraid now

I really want to come to NZ, but what if I can't find a job ? Maybe I should go to another country, but NZ is my first choice ...

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kiwitrc

4123 posts

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#1419412 3-Nov-2015 05:49

I am not into IT, so may be wrong but I thought Wellington was the place for IT in NZ?

Harorlt

12 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#1432989 23-Nov-2015 03:12

Hi dears :D

I'm seriously thinking about going to NZ with my boyfriend (so, in september). I'd like to find a job before my arrival, so I'm currently writing my CV and my cover letter .
Does anyone can correct it for me ? I'll be eternally grateful :) I have found a lot of tutorial about it, but my english isn't perfect and I don't want to have big faults in it :D .

Thanks !

aboylikedave

243 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 4

#1441048 5-Dec-2015 16:16

Harorlt: Hi dears :D I'm seriously thinking about going to NZ with my boyfriend (so, in september). I'd like to find a job before my arrival, so I'm currently writing my CV and my cover letter .
Does anyone can correct it for me ? I'll be eternally grateful :) I have found a lot of tutorial about it, but my english isn't perfect and I don't want to have big faults in it :D . Thanks !

If you still need help with this I'd be happy to help - PM me.

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