Category: Market Updates

Market updates

Everyone Need Encouragement

Do Our Challenges Guide us to Success?

Tate

Isn’t it remarkable how our greatest achievements often come from our greatest challenges? From Albert Einstein to Michael Jordan, it seems that the most successful people in our world agree that failure + persistence = eventual success.

Recently I have been studying the ancient practice of Dream Yoga, which dates back to at least the 8th century in India. I wondered if we could adapt and simplify its teachings to address the challenges faced by modern migrants.

Let’s explore some key principles of Dream Yoga that might prove helpful:

  1. Awareness,
  2. detachment,
  3. setting clear intentions,
  4. staying grounded in who you are
  5. enjoying the resilience and growth that happens naturally when the above qualities are aligned.

Awareness of the present is all we really have. The past exists as a memory and the future is merely a projection. By cultivating awareness of the present, we can gain clarity and navigate our challenges more effectively.

Objective detachment reduces the influence of emotions and enables us to adapt more quickly to change. This is relevant for job seekers who are faced with too many rejection letters by potential employers. By disengaging from emotional responses to rejection, one can maintain equilibrium and focus on the lessons of moving forward in the search.

Setting clear intentions and visualising goals is another helpful practice and it applies to our modern world quite well. By taking the time to clarify your job preferences and setting concrete goals, you increase your chances of achieving them.

By staying grounded in one’s own sense of self and cultivating a deep sense of presence, job-seekers can navigate the changes and obstacles with greater resilience.

Question reality, because most beliefs are subjective. What is the reality behind the challenge? For example, if an employer rejects you after an interview, this can be an opportunity to seek advice. Surprisingly, local employers often offer helpful advice and even may provide contact information of their direct competitors who may be hiring. This perspective reminds us that many beliefs and perceptions are not what we might think and can be re-examined.

Even Einstein said it. Most achievers in sports also agree.

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

– Michael Jordan

Consider what lessons your challenges are trying to teach you. They may be the key to your personal growth and ultimate success.

Everyone Need Encouragement

Celebrate your Victories

Tate

Why I wrote this. I wanted to write something helpful to people who feel demoralised by the job search. It is easy to feel demoralised and then when the mood is down progress is slower and results can be even worse. We humans need to be in a positive state of mind if we want to be at our best performance, getting good results. What is also true and I see it from time to time, job seekers don’t know how well they are doing. For example, if you get a job interview, you are already a winner. You are 1 step away from getting the gold medal. Getting a job interview is like getting silver at the olympics, nothing to feel bad about. Getting short-listed is like winning bronze, this is a great space to be in, so don’t quit. Gold will come. Keep doing what works and celebrate the small victories along the way.

CELEBRATE YOUR VICTORIES

Are you struggling to find a job in today’s labour market? You’re not alone. Job hunting can be a difficult and time-consuming process, and it can be discouraging when you don’t get a job offer right away. But don’t worry, there’s a way to make the process less daunting: continuous improvement.

According to a 2015 study* it takes an average of six weeks to get an interview, and even longer to get an offer. For foreign migrants, the average numbers may be 20% higher if preparation is done really well. That’s a long time to wait, but it’s important to remember that getting a job takes time. It’s a process, not an event. If you’re feeling down because you haven’t received an offer yet, take a moment to notice the progress you’ve made.

The concept of continuous progress is one that many organisations use to guide their goals, using terms such as kaizen, lean management and change management. These approaches emphasise making small improvements over time that lead to big changes in the long run. You can apply the same principles to your job search by celebrating the small wins along the way.

Breaking big jumps down into smaller steps also allows you to see where the problems are. For example, if you’re having trouble getting interviews, ask yourself if you need to get through the AI vetting system to a real person, or if you’re getting real responses, maybe the challenge is with communication about your strengths or perhaps your job targets aren’t matched well enough yet? Breaking down your goals into smaller steps can help you identify and address these barriers.

In conclusion, continuous improvement is a powerful tool that can be applied to your job search. By breaking the process down into small steps and celebrating the progress along the way, you can stay motivated and positive even in the face of rejection. Remember that getting a job takes time, but by making steady progress you can focus on improving each step of the way. In time, you’ll get there faster and with greater confidence. Good luck with your job search!

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* The study I mentioned can be found in a report published by Glassdoor titled “Why Is Hiring Taking Longer?” The report is based on data from millions of job applications, 344,250 interview reviews from hiring events across industries and company sizes in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Australia. The report can be found at the following link: https://research-content.glassdoor.com/app/uploads/sites/2/2015/06/why-is-hiring-taking-longer.pdf

NEED HELP?

For helpful advice in about a day, send your CV and a short description of your status to tate@employmentforimmigration.nz.

Job Finding Stories

Gidion’s smooth entry into New Zealand

Tate

This case study demonstrates how even the most complex and high value profiles can be hired online if the application process is done to a high standard.

Gidion’s smooth entry into New Zealand: Gidion excelled as a health and safety manager for a global mining company, overseeing 42,000 employees at 18 sites in six countries. His type of profile requires a complex team fit. The compliance and competency checks for such position and such industry normally requires a lengthy vetting process and face-to-face interviews. We decided to go for the online job searching process, with a fallback option for face-to-face interviews if required. Our planning paid off. Gidion secured a position with a national construction company in New Zealand.

Uncategorized

My Service Rating from OUTsurances’ Favourite Plumbing Agents

Tate

At the end of the day, the clients will always define success for a business. If you want best-in-class support and an effective programme that delivers 80 times more responses from employers, you found the right place!

Practical Advice

Are you a top performer without qualifications? Not a problem!

Tate

Qualifications requirements often prevent emigration decisions. Without qualifications, many roles are not available to people. However, there is a hack that can be used if you are a top performer in your industry. Top performers have a unique demand profile from the viewpoint of employers. If this is you, give me your CV and let’s have a chat. tate@employmentforimmigration.nz

Practical Advice

WORKSHOP – Create Fast, Free and Near-perfect Cover Letters Using Artificial Intelligence

Tate

Due to pupular demand, anyone is welcome to my workshop “How to Create Fast, Free and Almost Perfect Cover Letters Using Artificial Intelligence”.

Does that sound complex? It isn’t.

Save time, create coverletters that are already integrated with the contents of your CV and the job advertisement. That isn’t the end of the story because you also need to “make the content your own”. I will show you that step as well.

Useful for any role, any country, any company. There is no fee. All job seekers are welcome this Friday at 8:15AM New Zealand time, which is 9:15PM this Thursday Central African Time. Just register for free to see the time in your own time zone.

Register early to keep your place. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUocOqrqDwsGdAT0qD0fuuSZTSCLgtKBp_m

Practical Advice

Be aware of Template Rejection Letters (and what they mean)

Tate

Please be aware of the template rejection letters. They all say the same thing. Due to the high volume of spam CVs from overseas, employers usually respond with templates to all foreigners who don’t make the shortlist.

These templates are sent out hundreds or even thousands of times a month, depending on the size of the company and its volume of foreign applicants. There is usually only one version, suggesting things like “must have work rights” or “must have local Kiwi experience”.

Most job seekers have received template rejection letters. They usually in your inbox after you apply for a job with nice words and a promise to “keep your CV on file in case a suitable position becomes available”. I doubt they even read your CV.

This is how employers manage the problem of too many spam CVs. To avoid this dead end, job seekers need to get personal responses typed out from employers if they want to get job interviews.

A personal response from an employer will not be a long letter. They have no time for that. They usually give you a few short sentences and a question or two. Without this, you have not really received feedback from your application. You can usually ignore standard rejection letters and assume that there has been no response.

Over many years I have been studying how often foreigners receive personalise responses from hiring managers. I estimate this rate is about 2%. In contrast, my clients get 80% personalised responses from their recruitment efforts because we do things differently. I have to verify the profile first and then I can get started.

Do you have any rejection letter experiences to share?

Job Finding Stories

A story about a local job seeker

Tate

Greetings everyone! I have a job-hunting story here. Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with a local consultant we can call “Laura” for the sake of this story. Laura currently works for a hospitality association. Her role is to advise 300 businesses in her territory about anything and everything they might need to improve their position in the market. During our conversation, she shared a memporable sotry about her own job search experience and how she got this job.

Half a year ago, Laura submitted her CV, which was rejected by an automated system, only she thought it was a real person who rejected her. This experience caused her to feel bad because she thought she had just missed out on her dream job but what could she do?

Two weeks later, a friend of Laura heard her story and said that he knows people in the association and they are still looking for a good candidate. He suggested that Laura should call the association and confirm if they have seen her CV.

Laura first called HR, they asked for her CV again. Shortly after sending her CV, Laura was called by the Operations Manager who confirmed she was an interesting candidate. Soon after that Laura was called by the CEO who interviewed her on the phone, apologised for the oversight, and hired her on the spot. And that is how Laura, a local New Zealand citizen found work that she was perfectly capable of doing in her own country.

When I heard the story, I immediately thought of you guys out there looking for work from abroad and often getting nowhere. The templated rejections letters all look the same and getting personal responses happens only rarely. If it was frustrating for Laura, it is even worse for foreigners applying from abroad who don’t have a friend in the industry.

Folks, the job market is broken. Not just in New Zealand, it is broken world-wide. 85% of jobs happen through networking and the other 15% are struggling to get into a different network. If you feel stalled out, stopped and ignored, you aren’t alone. Most locals feel the same, especially if they are applying outside of their network. Even top-ranked foreign applicants coming into NZ will benefit greately from having competent local support for all of the job related challenges over on this side. Let me see what I can do for you this weekend. Just send to me your CV with a few words about your status and goals. I will respond in about a day from my email at tate@employmentforimmigration.nz

Practical Advice

Create Cover Letters in Seconds with ChatGPT

Tate

Now anyone can access artificial intelligence as a support tool to empower your job-finding success today. I take you step-by-step through the process in this video. This is the latest artificial technology, avilable at no cost.

I asked OpenAI to give me the top 10 reasons why job-seekers should use ChatGPT. Here is what that this “turbo calculator” wrote:

  1. Tailor your cover letter to the specific job posting
  2. Highlight your qualifications
  3. Make your cover letter stand out
  4. Demonstrate your enthusiasm
  5. Address any gaps or issues
  6. Show your personality
  7. Highlight your achievements
  8. Avoid common mistakes
  9. Provide feedback and revisions
  10. Increase your chances of getting an interview.

I can’t say it is all true but I can say this is a great tool for saving time and assisting your writing efforts. Please always take ownership of the language of your profile text. Employers expect job seekers to be the originator of their presentation content. To have an AI engine or a CV writer do the work for you is not authentic and can feel deceptive to the employer. As long as you take ownership of 100% of the language and meaning, then you are going to be fine 🙂

Job Finding Stories

From Military Stress Life to Dog Heaven

Tate
Jason And Angelas Migration Success Story
  • from high stress to low stress
  • from career success to quality of life
  • from a chaotic environment to a stable environment

What could be more high-stress than a job in the military overseas in war zones? And let’s consider Jason and Angela’s home country. Aside from war zones, few countries offer more stressful living than South Africa today. New Zealand is their soft and fun landing spot.