Nab That Job in New Zealand!

Have you done the CV Assessment and determined that your CV might not quite meet the expectations of New Zealand employers?  If so, you're probably wondering what's next - how can I now write a resume that will be competitive in New Zealand?

If this sounds like where you're at, then we recommend that you purchase the eGuide, "New Zealand Resumes: Secrets Revealed".  This eGuide will teach you from start to finish how to write an effective and competitive resume for New Zealand, and includes 15 of our proven NZ resume templates for you to use.

However, to give you some tips on things to keep in mind, read on.

First Section

The start of your CV should clearly state your name and contact details, including your email address, and the international dialling codes included with your telephone number.  The reason being, if you are overseas, it is most likely that New Zealand recruiters and employers will firstly contact you by email, particularly if they would like to clarify any additional information with you.

Also, including the international dialling code from New Zealand in front of your telephone number will create a situation where it is easy for recruiting managers to dial you number for an interview, rather than having search the international dialling codes themselves first.  You want to make it as easy as possible for employers and recruiters to contact you.

Objectives / Career Summary

Next on your CV should be information about your career to date, and where you are headed.  This should be a brief and concise summary full of facts, rather than 'fluff', and should be no more than 2-3 short sentences filled with action verbs and power words.  Include possible contributions that you can make to the company, and also your function and level of responsibility you would like to take.

Education & Training

Many other countries in the world as standard, include their education details later in the resume - towards the back.  This is not what is expected in New Zealand.

Following your Objectives / Career Summary, should be your Education.  It is important to list this early on in your New Zealand resume, as your education level is a heavy indication factor in the job you are applying for. 

Dates of attendance/graduation are important to include, however, it is not necessary to go into depth with your grades and subjects studied.  Additional courses and special skills could also be included.   Add awards and honours, internships and membership in professional organizations that are relevant to the job or industry within which you are applying.

Work Experience / History

Your work experience should be the next item on your New Zealand CV, including starting and leaving dates, job title, and the name, location and focus of each company.  If you have a website for your companies, you may also include these. 

You should include concise details of what each job entailed, your responsibilities, emphasising the duties/responsibilities that are relevant to the job you are applying for. 

It is sometimes useful to provide a brief overview of the employer’s business including industry sector, what they do, and company size.  This will help the New Zealand employers to put your experience into perspective.

Be sure to provide examples with each of your responsibility statements, to illustrate your achievements.  Also include power words and action verbs (i.e. contributed, organised, demonstrated, trained, managed, developed, coordinated), and use bullet points to keep information organised and easy to read.

Skills and Abilities

Your New Zealand CV should include a section detailing your skills and abilities relevant to the job you are applying for, and written in short, sharp, bullet point form.

Skills can come from all areas including work or voluntary experience, university or other academic study, or outside interests and activities, so long as they are relevant to the jobs you are applying for and support your application.

References

You should close your CV with references, which are often referred to as "Referees" in New Zealand.  You should include referees from your most recent employment (last 2-4 jobs), and be sure to contact each referee to ensure they are happy to provide references for you.  Be sure to also select referees you are confident will provide positive references for you.

If you prefer not to include you referee's details, you can just leave a statement in this section confirming that you will provide reference details on request.

Final Tips

It might be a good idea to include information on your work status, and information such as 'requires sponsorship to work in New Zealand’ or is ‘authorized to work in New Zealand for any employer’. It may also be useful to mention your level of English and any IELTS or OET scores you have obtained.

Professional New Zealand CV Writing Assistance

If you aren't confident in your ability to present your skills and experience effectively on your resume, it may be a wise idea to have a Professional New Zealand Resume Writer to write an effective resume for you.  This way you can feel sure that your will be fully meeting the expectations of New Zealand employers, and will be marketing yourself as effectively as you can.

Further, Professional New Zealand Resume Writers normally use templates that are designed to be competitive in New Zealand, further enhancing the impact you will make when applying for jobs in New Zealand.

Nab That Job in New Zealand! can assist you with your resume writing needs, and fees start from as little as NZ$97.  Click here for full details of resume writing rates.