Hi SteelCity and
.
AHoney's husband is in the process of transferring from the RN in the UK to the RNZN so I don't know if they can be of assistance and give you some idea of how long it takes to receive communication from the NZ Navy. Here's a
brief thread about it.
You don't need a job offer if you're applying as a skilled migrant. It looks like you would have to undergo the application process yourself rather than have the Navy do it for you. Without a job offer the only other ways you could get into NZ would be on a Visit Visa (which won't allow you to work) or a Working Holiday Visa (on which you could only work temporarily), but at least these would give you time to approach RNZN directly.
I can't see it would hurt your chances of applying if you don't have family with you. As for using immigration consultants, they cost a heap of money for doing something you would need to participate in doing yourself, like collating all the required documents and information. All they do basically is to collect it together and submit it for you. There are a few good consultancies, but a lot of bad ones that don't do the job properly, so you would need to choose very carefully. You could easily do it yourself, like the others on here, and that is why forums like this exist, to help see people through it
.