8th July 2007

Wow, what a week! Where to start….

Auckland
I only managed 2 appointments in Auckland, however the time there was well spent as it helped me recover from the jetlag. My missing luggage was a concern for a while, but it turned up on Sunday, much to my relief.

In terms of opportunities, there don’t appear to be that many for me and my skills (Programme Office Management) there. The business district feels very disparate and I didn’t get the sense that many senior management jobs come up that often. That said, the people I did meet were very complimentary about my CV and were keen to put it in front of their clients

In terms of the city itself, it was warm (the same temperature and weather as I had left Manchester 2 days earlier and it’s winter in NZ!), but felt like a cross between a small American city and large English town. Crucially, it didn’t really seem to have a ‘heart’ to it and as a result I couldn’t really picture us living there. I’m not saying that it wasn’t nice, it just didn’t feel like the place for us. The transport system wasn’t great and property was pretty expensive.

On the plus side there was a strong multicultural feel to the city with many Japanese, Indonesian and Korean restaurants and it felt clean and safe. More so than any English city I could think of.
With the time I had available in Auckland I did manage to search the web, find a couple of jobs and set up a couple more appointments for my trip to Wellington.

Wellington
Things were more than a little hectic in Wellington and it really was a productive 2 days.

I loved Wellington. Loved the feel of the city which had a buzz about it that I didn’t feel in Auckland. Plenty of shops, café’s, things to do, all in the centre, which you can traverse in about 25 mins. It was clean, well set out, not busy traffic-wise and had a vibrancy about it. At lunchtime it was busy without being crowded, the kind of place I was hoping it would be. It was also a good deal colder than Auckland, more seasonal, although in my whole time there I didn’t get to sample the famous wind.

At my first appointment, they actually prepared me for an interview they’d managed to schedule for me at 4pm that same evening, so instantly I was heartened by the opportunities for me. The further 3 appointments went really well and everyone was friendly, complimentary about the CV and encouraging about my opportunities for employment. The interview went really well and I started to get a view of the way New Zealanders work.

By the end of the second day I’d had 2 further interviews off the back of 4 appointments, all of which went as well as the previous day and indeed on my trip home on Friday I was still fielding calls from interested parties! Furthermore, I had 2 follow up (2nd) interviews arranged by phone for the next week.

It was such a hectic 2 days that with hindsight I’d have spent an extra day in Wellington and less time in Auckland. It drove home to me that you have to put yourself in front of agencies in order for them to consider you a viable candidate. Most of them said that they wouldn’t have put me in front of clients had they not seen me face-to-face. This really proves to them that you’re serious about the move and that you’re plans are in progress.

Oh and BA lost my luggage again on the way home. Note to self, don't ever fly BA again...