After the Interview

Your interview has passed, you might feel positive, maybe not. You might also have no idea how it went or what to make of the interview. This is where it helps to have a really good recruiter backing you. Mine was awesome and this is what she did...

After the interview I needed to update her how it went, what they asked and how I felt about the interviewers. Would I feel comfortable to work there, would I fit in?She would then call them and hear their side and how they felt, why I was not the right candidate, etc. She would then give me feedback and we would decide on the way forward. When a job offer comes she looked at the contract and provided advice. THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED FROM A RECRUITER!!!

From your side, when you have received the offer and negotiated the contract...okay calm down calm down 😀, you need to get that visa application in. Please do not leave your employer out of the process. Update them with your visa application process and timeline, they want to know when you can start, they are running a business so need to know what is going on on your side.

At this stage you would of have decided if you are going to do the application yourself or use an adviser. Time to start the visa application process. If you want to do it yourself, read here. Read it a few times so that you get it right the first time.

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa

Good luck, we will chat about waiting for your visa and getting ready to leave SA in my next post.

The Interview

So after you have put on that gorgeous smile, your interview will start. If you are not nervous at all you should not have taken that last whiskey😂. Yes I was nervous and yes my hands and armpits were soaking wet, no I did not take any whiskey😁. If you are not the nervous type, good on you.

A few things that might make it slightly more difficult is the accent of the interviewers. It might catch you off guard but don't be shy to ask them to repeat the question. The same goes if you cannot hear them clearly, tell them that, rather than giving an off topic answer. All of my interviewers were friendly and put me at ease, except one group which were a bit shy. Here I made the mistake of probably talking too much but hell, somebody had to do the talking🤔 and I am an introvert😁 (Their feedback was that they were scared I would take over the practice). 

For one company I even had to do a DISC profile, which to me, is total rubbish. You can manipulate the answers to be the personality that they are looking for.  Fooling the DISC Test
I would not suggest you doing that, explained nicely in the above link.

My personal opinion is just being yourself, trying to be somebody else now will later be really hard work when you have that job. Then you won't fit in at the office, hate every day at work and probably be job hunting soon again.

Each interview is different as their are so many personalities out there, so you need to "read" the interviewer early in the meeting, is it very corporate, laid back, relaxed, or whatever you can pick up from the situation. You need to adapt !!!

What do you need to do? There are a lot of tips out there and they all will probably help in one way or the other, I am just listing the important ones from my experience.

1. Research the company, you want the interviewer to know you are interested in their company
2. Know the job description so that you can highlight which of your skills make you the perfect fit
3. Your body language is very important, you want to create a good impression as this might be your only chance. DO NOT SLOUCH, sit upright and look interested, maybe even excited. Pay attention to what the interviewer or interviewers have to say, create eye contact with each as you would when you are consulting with clients

What more is there to say other than always be positive, be yourself and enjoy the experience. The right job will come at the right time, maybe after the 1st interview, maybe after the 20th. 

COVID-19

COVID-19 has put many peoples lives on hold, it is probably the most talked about 'word' around at the moment.

The impact of this outbreak has even affected me and my blog. I have not had time to get to my next post about the Interview process. Due to lockdown and shifting to work from home, the massive amount of clients calling and emailing around the wage support, etc that the Government has brought out, I just have not had time for anything else.

It is great working from home but difficult juggling a toddler around and getting all your hours worked.😁

Be safe out there, let's get this virus under control.

Hopefully I will get the following post out soon.

The job search experience

Ahhh, one of the most important pieces of the puzzle to emigrating, made a bit more difficult because of the visa criteria of New Zealand. As I mentioned in another post, no job no visa, but no visa and you are going to battle to find a job. A real catch 22. Well the only way then is to find an employer that is willing to employ you, offer you a good salary and be willing to wait for your Visa to be approved. Perfectly easy 🤣

So where does one start?🤔 You need to get yourself assessed by an immigration agent, know if you qualify and if you have a pathway to residency. Get yourself document ready, in other words, get all documents sorted that, when you get that illusive job offer, you can apply for a work visa immediately. Then get ready for late night and early morning phone calls, discussions with recruiters and job interviews. It is a long process until you actually get the interview. Here is what I did, it eventually worked but I will also mention where I went wrong and what was a total waste of time and money. 

Everybody was saying you need to change your CV to a New Zealand format.📝 Get a professional to do it, get your LinkedIn profile sorted to attract the right people, build your connections. This costs quite a bit when you use a professional for that. Does it help? I say NO, a total waste of money. Maybe it is just the case with my process but my recruiter totally re-wrote my entire CV anyway and it was better than the one I paid for.

But I had my CV done and my LinkedIn updated. I then job searched and searched and reached out to recruiters on LinkedIn. I applied directly for probably around 80 jobs with no success at all, not even an interview from anybody I applied to directly. Finally one recruiter reached out to me with an interview, and then a second interview. I also reached out to another recruiter that I had heard a lot of positive feedback of and almost begged her to help me. 

This is where things started getting exciting and more positive. She called and chatted away to find out who I am, what I want and to get to know me personally. She then targeted employers that she thought I would fit in with personality wise. I had four interviews lined up through her plus the other two. Stress levels started to peak, I made notes about the employer's and more notes for answers to the usual questions so that I did not stumble on my words. These were stuck all around my PC screen as the interviews were all via Skype and ZOOM. 

(Okay maybe not that bad)

The recruiter mentored me, told me what I need to say and what not, how to answer the questions, how to dress and all I needed to do to have a positive interview.

Some of these interviews were late night interviews, others very early in the morning. One has to do what needs to be done to look great, feel awake and impress the socks off your new employer haha.... I prepared myself before the time, put my clothes out beforehand, had a cup of coffee so that the caffeine could do its thing, checked my internet connection 30 mins before the interview, talked to myself to get my voice warm and ready and then waited. Remember to check the lighting on your side, how you look on the monitor, shades on your face, etc. I had to put a lamp on the one side so that I had enough light on my face. And check your background, you don't want your laundry or something like that in the video🤣 

The normal Skype ringing tone starts and your heart beats faster, you take one deep breath, put on that gorgeous smile and click the button....ACTION 🎬

To be continued with "The Interview"

Have a read here as well, great post

How to Get that Dream Accounting Job

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-get-dream-accounting-job-blake-mather