Job update

[jamesthecarman]

Some good and bad news,

I almost had Telecom ready to give me a job offer. Unfortunately their new policy is they only hire you if you already have a work permit. It's understandable, especially since they've been burned by some former employees recently.

My visitors visa runs out in 14 days.....I could have had one for 12 months for any company, but the NZ Embassy didn't tell me about it. I can't get it now b/c I'm already here. There's always the letter writing avenue.

So now I'm heading down to Wellington. I have a contact down there with a contracting agency who said it should be pretty easy to find an entry level IT job. Less competition. I'll be there for about 5 days, and then head down to Christchurch where I was for a few weeks earlier this month.

Also when I was down in Christchurch I got a pretty good understanding how the IT hiring/prospecting happens down there, so I'm pretty confident I can find something. Once I get to CC, and if I don't have something lined up in 14 days, I can extend my Visa for another month. Should without a doubt find something by then.

What's the good news? I get out of Auckland! It looks like any other medium sized US city. I'll get to see the rest of the country (I'm going to drive) and possibly get a job in a really cool area (Wellington and Christchurch are both awesome). And it will be in IT. The position with Telecom would have been a call centre position.

Cheers, keep your fingeres crossed and the prayers comin!

[Lisa]

James

Best of luck from me, I realise how badly you want to be there..I'm sure something will crop up, In the meantime i'll be keeping everything crossed for you ::): Keep us updated :icon_razz: Good luck!!

[drumminj]

James, sorry to hear about the bad luck, but I'm sure it's good to be out of Auckland. Welly and Chch are much better, IMO.

How long have you been in NZ, again? 6 months already? I'm curious to have more detailed information on how long they'll let you extend beyond that, since you said you could extend another month easily.

[quote:7006dd446b]Also when I was down in Christchurch I got a pretty good understanding how the IT hiring/prospecting happens down there[/quote:7006dd446b]

Care to share, when you get some time? I'll be looking for employment there, so any tips/knowledge will be helpful. I imagine it's all about contacts - knowing people, since most ICT companies in that area are quite small.

Enjoy the South Island, and good luck with the job hunt.

J

[jamesthecarman]

I've been here nearly 3 months. Not being from the Commonwealth us Americans don't get the regular 6 month visa.

If you show proof that you have at least $1,000 NZ ($700ish US) you can extend for a month. $3,000 would be 3 months, the maximum extension (to total 6 months).

Word of mouth is definitely huge. Also, most companies hire you as a contractor before signing you on permanently. I know people who are still with the contracting agency after years.

[drumminj]

I knew it was 3 months, extendable to 6. I did not realize that the extension would be on a month-by-month basis, or rather that the # of months you can extend is dependent on the amount of money you have. Good to know.

J