Job search in Auckland

[DMNTD:Me]

Can anyone give me a heads up on a DECENT avenue to get a job in Auckland?
I have applied for nearly 30 jobs via Seek.co.nz and a couple of other places but keep being given the piss around by useless recruitment agencies.
I have no idea how these companies can justify their charges! I have had 2 replies and zero acknowledgment from the others

So...can anyone give me the names of an agency (or similar) that actually works for their crust as I loathe being out of work.

Cheers

[Mom]

I too am looking for work, here are a few tips I have learned.

An agency can receive over 100 applications for any advertised position. They generally do not even consider applications received later than a week after the advertisement. So look everyday, and email in your CV immediately.

If at all possible ring the advertiser, no doubt you can find a reason to ask a question from reading the ad. There is your opportunity to sell yourself into the position. You will either be unsuitable for the job or get invited for an interview. The likelyhood of your CV getting selected without the benefit of a phone call ni support is neglegible. They will simply send you a thanks for applying you have been unsucessful at this time standard reply, if you are lucky, there are some that dont even bother with that.

Write a really job specific cover letter, highlighting all the strengths that you can bring to the position. Does not have to be long, but match it to the job you are applying for. The force of your personality should see you suceed soon, but there are a lot of others out looking too

I also ring the agencies I am registered with every week or so to check in on what is happening and update them with what I have been up to, gives a human face to you and your CV. I have been on the hunt seriuosly for the past month or so, and have interviewed and short listed for every job I have applied for, actually no that is not true, there was one that I only got one interview at and not short listed. No luck yet, but hey God loves a trier

Good luck Ted, I am sure something will turn up for you.

[kave]

Recruitment agencies work for the companies advertising jobs, not for the applicants. Recruitment agencies get money by companies deciding to employ through their agency, and one of the points they use to sell their service is the huge number of CVs' they have on their books. To bump up the number of CVs' they will often advertise jobs that dont exist, or jobs that have already been filled. If you desperately need a job then continue to apply via employment agencies, but focus your attention and spend more time sorting your cover letters and CV for jobs that have not been outsourced to agencies.

[DMNTD:Me]

I tailor the cover letters for each application I make depending on the job itself.

Due to some inside knowledge of a certain job, I found that the agency wasn't working for neither the company nor applicants.
Some truly are slack arses!

Oh well...never surrender and some company out there will be fortunate

[rie]

some good advice here. good luck! looking for a job sucks

[Cayman911]

Applying alone isnt enough round here. after you do. give it few days. then call up and follow up on it. show you're keen.

bug them. annoy them. keep ringing until you get an answer, even a No. so you arent wasting you're time waiting

[DMNTD:Me]

Heh! Rest assured I do bug them...I'm the King of follow up calls/contact as I'm sales person after all!

[FROSTY:Me]

Mate if I could make a suggestion to you. The best salesman for you is -YOU.
Why not focus on for example bike shops and go doorknocking. "giz a job mista"
You may not get a job right away but Joe Knows bill who may know.. who's got a job going.You are being proactive which scores points in this big ol world.
Incidently if you are prepared to swap over to selling 4 wheels I'd be happy to put the word out for ya.

[DMNTD:Me]

Mate if I could make a suggestion to you. The best salesman for you is -YOU.
Why not focus on for example bike shops and go doorknocking. "giz a job mista"
You may not get a job right away but Joe Knows bill who may know.. who's got a job going.You are being proactive which scores points in this big ol world.
Incidentally if you are prepared to swap over to selling 4 wheels I'd be happy to put the word out for ya.

I'm happy to give almost anything a go...serious!
Release the word Mister! Let the masses know!


was part of the reason for this thread

[DMNTD:Me]

Heh! I just applied for a job at a recruitment agency!

[Her_C4]

I now work in the field of IT (but haven't always) and through the years, I have found the best way of getting my name out there or to find a new job, is to cultivate a relationship with a recruitment agent that you trust.

In hiring staff, I deal with a select few agencies (and only specific) agents that know me, know my environment and most of all understand what I am looking for. I don't have the time, nor the inclination to wade through piles of CV's from agents that do not match my base criteria.

Ring the HR department of various companies in your chosen field of work and ask who they use and why. Take the bull by the horns and if you find an agency or agency with a good record - ring THEM and ask THEM out for coffee or set up an interview even! There was a website around that rated agencies (from users feedback), and I can't find it now - it may even just have been Wellington based, but I will look again just in case.

Good luck!

[Mom]

To bump up the number of CVs' they will often advertise jobs that dont exist, or jobs that have already been filled.

Well that has not been my recent experience for sure, as I have progresed to 2nd interviews with prospective employers. I must admit though, I have heard told that your CV can become a bit of a commodity around the traps.

[rainman]

I know many of the recruiters and I'd ordinarily suggest finding a few that you can work with and are recommended by friends, and push them hard - you are just one CV of many, and they have very short memories. However, having recently been un/underemployed for over a year (and having probably just got a contract for a few months), I have revised my magic employment formula:

It is: who you know, + who they know, + luck. Times hundreds of attempts.

But targeted CVs, early applications, pestering the living shit out of your network, LinkedIn, follow up phone calls, spec applications, etc... can't hurt. As a friend said to me, just keep flinging shit at the wall. Some might stick.

I was going to make a sarcastic comment about Super Johnny Man and the 90 day trial bullshit but perhaps that is uncalled for.

[Neon]

I have found the best way of getting my name out there or to find a new job, is to cultivate a relationship with a recruitment agent that you trust.

+1 to that.

I was unemployed for three months at the end of '08 just as the recession was biting. It was only just starting to get difficult then and I know it has been much worse for a lot of people.

If I were doing it again now, I would totally avoid any online job advertisements - you see them so do a million others. Chances of cut-through are slim to none. It's easy to blow whole days fucking around on the internet sending emails and trying to get recruitment agencies to notice you. Pretty much a waste of space the majority of them IMO unless they know you personally and they are willing to advocate for you.

Figure out who you want to work for. Write letters, call or otherwise target hiring managers by name. Door knock. Have coffee with people (no strings). Mack your network hard. Do the things other job hunters are too lazy to do.

But at the end of the day relax because you're doing what you can, and you'll be back in work before you know it.

The twelve weeks I was unemployed felt like an eternity. In hindsight it was a blip on the radar...

Good luck!

[Neon]

As a friend said to me, just keep flinging shit at the wall. Some might stick..

That's the quote I was missing! Although someone said to me "Just keep turning over rocks. Eventually you will find something..."

The slightly more demure version