Customise your CV and prepare for New Zealand job interviews

Before applying for jobs it’s important to make sure your CV is up to date and contains everything that potential New Zealand employers will expect to see.

IT job hunting tips

The best time of year for job seeking in New Zealand is late February to November. If you can, we recommend visiting New Zealand for a 2-4 week holiday to explore the country and meet with the Absolute IT team prior to your move.

Keep track of where you’re applying for roles, and who you’re applying with. We will always ask you if you’ve applied for a role directly or through another agency so as to avoid you being represented twice.

When applying for roles you only need to apply once, we get in touch with all applicants within 48 hours so you will definitely hear from us!

CV tips

New Zealand employers expect a high level of information and evidence of results in your CV.  You’ll need at least two references covering your last five years of employment so make sure you secure a few referees before you leave.

It is appropriate for your CV to be 2-5 pages long and include:

• Contact details
• Visa status
• Availability
• Short summary
• Education
• Key skills/technical skills
• Detailed work history

You can download the Absolute IT CV Template here

For further assistance and feedback contact the Absolute IT team.

Interview tips

It is unusual for employers to offer a role without first meeting you, unless you have a high demand or specialist skills.

Generally, 2-3 interviews, personality profiling and competency testing are required before a job offer will be made; some of these interviews can be conducted using Skype.  The team at Absolute IT can help prepare you for this.

Once a job offer has been accepted, employers will generally expect you to be available within 4-8 weeks, if not sooner.

New Zealand interviews are often:

• Formal (appropriate formal dress is required, even for Skype interviews).
• Conducted by a panel.
• Competency based.
• Will include situational questions. i.e Tell me about a time when…

It is important to do background research on the organisation you are interviewing with and to highlight your relevant experience.

If you require further assistance, the Absolute IT team are happy to help with further example questions and interview testing.

Skills in demand in New Zealand

Below is the list of the ‘Hot Skills’ in high demand for 2016. Check out our blog for market more info.

• Cloud
• Business Analyst
• Mobile Application Developer
• Business Intelligence
• Architecture
• Integration
• Security
• .NET Software Developer
• Virtualisation
• Web Developer
• Data Warehouse
• Support/systems
• Network Engineer
• Data Analyst/Modeller

Research in the New Zealand market

Register with Absolute IT
Browse current jobs in New Zealand
New Zealand Salary Guides
New Zealand ICT industry insight reports
Contact Immigration NZ