Working in IT

Client facing abilities and hard out experience is the repetitive theme coming from New Zealand employers. For client facing roles being able to engage with and build rapport with corporate customers as well as have strong technical skills is a strong recipe for success in both the development and infrastructure realms. Often these companies are demanding several years of pertinent experience in relevant technologies as a pre-requisite.

The labour market in general remains good for the job seeker as companies fight to keep their talent through planned ascension, thereby throttling the size of the available talent pool.

A tremendous reinvestment back into technology as an enabler, particularly with products such as VMWare, Altiris and interactive web applications that allow direct access for the end customer, is creating great opportunities. This is good news for the IT workforce as options for up-skilling and specialisation are most definitely there.

Our core expertise and deep relationships in the New Zealand market will let you develop your career in some of the leading companies like Gen-i, Westpac, Yellow Pages Group, Vector and Fonterra.

Where people are getting work

Auckland is where the majority of opportunities exist

As the commercial hub of New Zealand and where a third of the population reside, it stands to reason that most opportunities are in Auckland. Within telecommunications, business solution providers, and banking there a large number of roles available to suit all skills and experience levels. There is a real shortage of skilled practitioners at the $80,000 to $120,000 as candidates at this level are wooed off shore by the lure of higher salaries in markets such as Melbourne, Sydney and London.

As New Zealand has not embraced mass outsourcing to India, there are skill shortages across the board but the recurring requests suggest .NET and Java Developers, QA professionals, business analysts, certified project managers, network designers (of scale) , and ITIL qualified process professionals are in the greatest demand.

Wellington - absolutely positively

Windy Wellington is a completely different market for IT professionals than Auckland with only slightly less opportunity. Throw government departments into the mix to compete with the likes of banks and corporates and the war for talent is just as strong.

Wellington also has a very strong creative identity so if you’re looking to flex web design talents, apply your technical or consulting skills in areas outside the norm, Wellington may well be the hub for you. Salaries may not be quite what the larger corporate can offer, however it does provide opportunities to increase industry breadth.

Further afield

Opportunities also exist in places such as Christchurch and Hamilton. Fonterra has an IT presence in Hamilton for example which requires professionals at all levels but turnover rates are low as other IT opportunities within the region are not as ‘grunty’. Christchurch in the south hosts a number of bio-tech companies and software development houses in growth mode. Personal networks play an important part in the job search and never more so in the smaller centres.

Indicative IT salaries

IT salaries in New Zealand have risen significantly in recent times as companies look to both attract and retain the best and brightest. New Zealand struggles to compete salary wise with the larger labour pools across the Tasman and in the UK but to their credit, local employers are meeting the market and doing their bit to stem the outflow of talent abroad.

To find out your NZ market worth, contact one of our consultants today.

Things you need to know to make the most of it

There are lots of contracting options in New Zealand

While the contract market in New Zealand is not as highly evolved as that of say the UK there are still a large number of opportunities. For those returning to New Zealand this gives the opportunity to try before you commit yourself fully to company.

You only get one shot

New Zealand is a small market with a limited number of employers. So while overseas there may are multiples of telco companies to work for, in New Zealand there might be five and they all know each other. Putting your best foot forward is key and this means having done your research on the companies that you either want to work for or are interviewing with.

It's not a case of spray and pray

The New Zealand employment market is very small and you must carefully manage your job search to ensure that you do not end up applying for the same job twice. In the eyes of the employer this looks very unprofessional and at worst says if you can’t manage your job search how will you manage a job.

Manage your recruitment agencies

In New Zealand recruitment agencies are not allowed to send your details out to a client without your permission. However, this does not stop some doing just that. This can lead to a significant source of embarrassment if it happens and you do not know. Be very explicit to your agencies and manage them well.

Timing is everything

New Zealand virtually shuts up shop from Christmas until the end of January. If you are returning home in December and expect to walk into the perfect job immediately you may be disappointed. Hiring starts to pick up again in February so sit back and enjoy some back yard cricket and BBQ’s over the break.

Don't price yourself out of the market

If you have been overseas for a number of years and in particular in the UK, you will probably have been earning a lot more money in New Zealand dollars. It is important to recognise that you are not going to get paid as much in New Zealand and accept that.

To speak with one of our experienced New Zealand consultants, please contact us on nz@globalcareerlink.com.