Whether you are coming straight to a job in New Zealand, starting your own business or planning to look for a job when you arrive, this section aims to give you all the information you need to work in New Zealand - and to find out how much you're likely to earn.
Finding a jobYou may need to find a job as part of your visa requirements, or perhaps you or your partner will be looking for employment shortly after you arrive. While there are plenty of employment agencies and job sites online it can be very hard to get a job offer when you haven't moved over here yet. Added to this, as in the UK, many job vacancies are filled without being advertised. Our advice would be to find out what you can online or at an expo, then phone around likely agencies and employers to get advice and cultivate contacts. If you can, come over for a short time and meet as many of these contacts as you can. People will on the whole try to be helpful, more so of course if your field of expertise is in demand. Two of the larger job web sites are Trademe Jobs and Seek. How much will you earn?Wages are not as high as in the UK, with the median annual pre-tax income for employed New Zealanders being $27,000 in 2007, and a median family income of $59,000 reported in the 2006 Census. New Zealand Immigration Department research from 2007 suggested that 46% of the principal applicants for skilled category visas from UK/Ireland were earning more than $50,000 a year before tax, with a further 35% earning between $30,000 and $50,000. Happily, only 8% of immigrants from the UK and Ireland surveyed were dissatisfied with their jobs. Please also see our article on the Cost of Living in New Zealand. For information on average wages by industry, find your occupation underthe Jobs button on the New Zealand Career Services website, then have a look at the Pay and Job Outlook section. Another good source of information with data broken down by occupation and region is the Robert Walters Salary Survey 2008. Work conditionsNew Zealanders generally have a very good work ethic. Many businesses are quite small, so individual efforts stand out, and you may find you have quite a wide-ranging job description. You may find that you need to take a few steps back in the career ladder on emigrating, either to "prove yourself" to a new employer, or indeed until a position at your current level becomes available. This may be less disheartening if your goals for moving to New Zealand are lifestyle based. For good basic information on all aspects of working in New Zealand, we recommend the government website http://www.worksite.govt.nz/. A more in-depth look at everything from contract negotiations to holiday entitlements is available from the Department of Labour website http://www.ers.govt.nz/audienceinfo/employees.html. Updating your CVYou may be updating your CV (curriculum vitae) or resume for the first time in a number of years as your prepare to immigrate to New Zealand. There are a number of books available on the subject, including some from a New Zealand viewpoint, and many employment agencies will be happy to give you advice on the current fashions in CV content and layout. Work and Income NZ also have a good basic guide and examples available at http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/documents/brochures/writing-your-cv.pdf. |
Getting Started 
