# Rejected a Job Offer in Auckland



## civicblade

Had a job offer in Auckland but unfortunately the base renumeration did not meet my minimum expectation and I rejected it. 

Fate has it that Auckland and I are not meant for each other.. for the time being. Maybe later.


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## Liam(at)Large

Industry? Position? Remuneration?


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## civicblade

High technology industry. Senior Mechanical Engineer. NZ$82500/year. No relocation benefits. The take home after tax doesn't add up to a comfortable life for a family in Auckland.


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## escapedtonz

civicblade said:


> High technology industry. Senior Mechanical Engineer. NZ$82500/year. No relocation benefits. The take home after tax doesn't add up to a comfortable life for a family in Auckland.


Hi civicblade,

Unfortunately NZ isn't renowned for offering equivalent salaries than what would be considered decent elsewhere :-(

I'd agree that after tax and acc a family living in Auckland may struggle on this salary, however it all depends on your lifestyle and how much you indulge in partying, eating out, sports etc etc.
I think you may have to compromise and maybe somehow make it work for a while until the salary increased after proving yourself by working hard.

You will struggle to find anything better in mechanical engineering.

In my experience of job hunting, NZ employers are just reluctant to pay big bucks until you have at least shown them what you have to offer and even then its a struggle to get the salary raised much.
With no trade unions, no collective bargaining, no threats of working to rule, no threats of an overtime ban, no threats of extra shifts being banned etc etc, the NZ employers really have you over a barrel so to speak and would much rather the post remains empty than pay heaps of money to have someone in post.

Industry here is losing many employees to Australia where salaries are considerably more for the same job.
NZ employers are aware it is happening and just won't do anything about it by increasing salaries to keep people.

Same in my field electrical engineering.
Unfortunately I couldn't find an equivalent job here to that which I did in the UK - simply doesn't exist as the industry is different.
After lots of research and discussions with company's, employees and recruitment agents, I had to compromise and just secure a job with as much money as I could get. Luckily I secured my ideal role but my salary still maybe 25% less than what I earned in the UK.
Even if I was in management and being responsible for staff, I couldn't earn the same level of salary as I did in the UK.

I've been told the money here is in the gas & oil industry, which isn't what I'm into!

Good luck with your search!


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## civicblade

Hi escapedtonz, 

Thanks for the background into engineering wages in NZ. 

I have decided to concentrate my job search to Melbourne and Perth. I am moving to Melbourne soon as I have support over there and I am targeting Perth for the relative abundance of mechanical engineering jobs. 

It is good to know that you are able to find something that meets your expectation. 

Maybe NZ is not for me and my family at this point of time in our lives. Maybe later. 



escapedtonz said:


> Hi civicblade,
> 
> Unfortunately NZ isn't renowned for offering equivalent salaries than what would be considered decent elsewhere :-(
> 
> I'd agree that after tax and acc a family living in Auckland may struggle on this salary, however it all depends on your lifestyle and how much you indulge in partying, eating out, sports etc etc.
> I think you may have to compromise and maybe somehow make it work for a while until the salary increased after proving yourself by working hard.
> 
> You will struggle to find anything better in mechanical engineering.
> 
> In my experience of job hunting, NZ employers are just reluctant to pay big bucks until you have at least shown them what you have to offer and even then its a struggle to get the salary raised much.
> With no trade unions, no collective bargaining, no threats of working to rule, no threats of an overtime ban, no threats of extra shifts being banned etc etc, the NZ employers really have you over a barrel so to speak and would much rather the post remains empty than pay heaps of money to have someone in post.
> 
> Industry here is losing many employees to Australia where salaries are considerably more for the same job.
> NZ employers are aware it is happening and just won't do anything about it by increasing salaries to keep people.
> 
> Same in my field electrical engineering.
> Unfortunately I couldn't find an equivalent job here to that which I did in the UK - simply doesn't exist as the industry is different.
> After lots of research and discussions with company's, employees and recruitment agents, I had to compromise and just secure a job with as much money as I could get. Luckily I secured my ideal role but my salary still maybe 25% less than what I earned in the UK.
> Even if I was in management and being responsible for staff, I couldn't earn the same level of salary as I did in the UK.
> 
> I've been told the money here is in the gas & oil industry, which isn't what I'm into!
> 
> Good luck with your search!


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## jsharbuck

Those wages were low. My husband is also mechanical engineer and started at 100k. The company also paid for relo. After 6 mths a promotion and raise was given. We are still making far less than we did in the USA bit are content with the lifestyle. A lot of the Aussie jobs we found paid 150 to 200 aus $$$ but were fly in fly outs, working in remote areas. Their schedules were 2 weeks work then 5 days off and that was not worth the extra $$$ to us.


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## escapedtonz

jsharbuck said:


> Those wages were low. My husband is also mechanical engineer and started at 100k. The company also paid for relo. After 6 mths a promotion and raise was given. We are still making far less than we did in the USA bit are content with the lifestyle. A lot of the Aussie jobs we found paid 150 to 200 aus $$$ but were fly in fly outs, working in remote areas. Their schedules were 2 weeks work then 5 days off and that was not worth the extra $$$ to us.


Yeah I was also lucky and managed to find a job giving me a package of just over $100k which has now risen after a year in post and due another rise in 4 months so things are looking up.
Still make a lot less than I did in the UK with a higher cost of living but we love life here far better than we did in the UK and the country is a much better place to bring up our little boy. You just have to learn to adapt. Money isn't everything eh!

Ex. colleague who lives in Perth, may be on more money than me for a job at the opposite end of the spectrum in the same industry but his living costs are way more than mine in NZ. 
For a starter he's paying the equivalent of GBP 9.00 / 10.00 for a pint of beer....Ouch!


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## civicblade

Hi escapedtonz, 

I think Perth is going through some kind of cost spiral upwards that may not (or may, depending on the mining boom) be sustainable. I did my research into the cost of living in Perth and Melbourne and Melbourne is significantly cheaper in terms of rent.

I had just penned a letter to the CEO of the small company (of who's job offer I rejected) to feeback to him the need to match the world's market (at least close) renumeration for engineering talents. 

Since the company did not even bother to negotiate, I would assume that either I wasn't a real talent to them or the candidate in second place is as qualified as I am and is willing to accept the terms offered. 

I felt that my feedback to the CEO (young man) will help him and his company secure and retain talented engineering people for this company. 



escapedtonz said:


> Yeah I was also lucky and managed to find a job giving me a package of just over $100k which has now risen after a year in post and due another rise in 4 months so things are looking up.
> Still make a lot less than I did in the UK with a higher cost of living but we love life here far better than we did in the UK and the country is a much better place to bring up our little boy. You just have to learn to adapt. Money isn't everything eh!
> 
> Ex. colleague who lives in Perth, may be on more money than me for a job at the opposite end of the spectrum in the same industry but his living costs are way more than mine in NZ.
> For a starter he's paying the equivalent of GBP 9.00 / 10.00 for a pint of beer....Ouch!


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## jsharbuck

Have you tried working through a reputable recruiting firm? We found our position through a recruiting firm Dvertising a job on Indeed.co.nz.


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## zeinasoft

escapedtonz said:


> Hi civicblade,
> 
> Unfortunately NZ isn't renowned for offering equivalent salaries than what would be considered decent elsewhere :-(
> 
> I'd agree that after tax and acc a family living in Auckland may struggle on this salary, however it all depends on your lifestyle and how much you indulge in partying, eating out, sports etc etc.
> I think you may have to compromise and maybe somehow make it work for a while until the salary increased after proving yourself by working hard.
> 
> You will struggle to find anything better in mechanical engineering.
> 
> In my experience of job hunting, NZ employers are just reluctant to pay big bucks until you have at least shown them what you have to offer and even then its a struggle to get the salary raised much.
> With no trade unions, no collective bargaining, no threats of working to rule, no threats of an overtime ban, no threats of extra shifts being banned etc etc, the NZ employers really have you over a barrel so to speak and would much rather the post remains empty than pay heaps of money to have someone in post.
> 
> Industry here is losing many employees to Australia where salaries are considerably more for the same job.
> NZ employers are aware it is happening and just won't do anything about it by increasing salaries to keep people.
> 
> Same in my field electrical engineering.
> Unfortunately I couldn't find an equivalent job here to that which I did in the UK - simply doesn't exist as the industry is different.
> After lots of research and discussions with company's, employees and recruitment agents, I had to compromise and just secure a job with as much money as I could get. Luckily I secured my ideal role but my salary still maybe 25% less than what I earned in the UK.
> Even if I was in management and being responsible for staff, I couldn't earn the same level of salary as I did in the UK.
> 
> I've been told the money here is in the gas & oil industry, which isn't what I'm into!
> 
> Good luck with your search!


Thank u for the very usful information ,do you have any idea about IT area?
how much is it easy to get an IT job?
what is IT wages in NZ?
if i get NZ PR will this allow me to work @ Austria as well?

Thank u


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## escapedtonz

zeinasoft said:


> Thank u for the very usful information ,do you have any idea about IT area?
> how much is it easy to get an IT job?
> what is IT wages in NZ?
> if i get NZ PR will this allow me to work @ Austria as well?
> 
> Thank u


Hi zeinasoft,

Sorry not well educated with regards to the IT industry.
There appears to be many vacancies, however just looking on the forum, there appears to be many many people looking for a job in the industry and I'm sure employers will look more favourably at people already here in NZ than people still overseas without a visa.

No idea how difficult it would be to get an IT job, however in my opinion, I'd say it would be pretty difficult unless you are some sort of specialist and urgently needed by the NZ IT Industry.
I'm almost certain that employers wouldn't be interested unless you had a visa and firm plans to emigrate here.

NZ Residency (You cannot get PR unless you have held Residency for a minimum of 2 yrs) will not allow you to work in Austria! ;-)
I suspect you mean Australia......however the answer is still NO.
You must have NZ citizenship to enable you to work in Australia and NZ citizenship can only be applied for after you have held Residency for a minimum of 5 yrs.

It is different the other way around.

If you have Oz Residency you can bypass going to Oz and come to live study work in NZ instead, however if you did this you would lose the right to then live study work in Oz.

Regards,


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## topcat83

zeinasoft said:


> Thank u for the very usful information ,do you have any idea about IT area?
> how much is it easy to get an IT job?
> what is IT wages in NZ?
> if i get NZ PR will this allow me to work @ Austria as well?
> 
> Thank u


It really depends what your area of expertise is. 
I've been in IT for many years (too many to mention!) and have 7 years of experience in Auckland now.

For anything less than a CIO position, $100k for a permanent position of any kind is a good salary. Project Managers may earn a tad more. Senior Business Analysts will be hovering around $100k. 

I doubt if an NZ will allow you to work in Austria, but it certainly won't allow you to work in Australia


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## samkor11

Dear Fellow members,

I am Mechanical engineer with 8.5 yrs. of experience in Mechanical field with 5 yrs. experience in Oil & gas (Static equipment design). I would like to apply for NZ immigration but need job offer for that.
Can anybody tell me about hiring agency?

Thanks,


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## escapedtonz

samkor11 said:


> Dear Fellow members,
> 
> I am Mechanical engineer with 8.5 yrs. of experience in Mechanical field with 5 yrs. experience in Oil & gas (Static equipment design). I would like to apply for NZ immigration but need job offer for that.
> Can anybody tell me about hiring agency?
> 
> Thanks,


Try Jobs and recruitment in New Zealand | Hays - Recruiting experts worldwide or look on Jobs on SEEK - New Zealand's no.1 Employment, Career and Recruitment site and via the actual engineering jobs you find on that site look across to the recruitment agency that is advertising the post on behalf of the company.

Note: It isn't a good idea registering with more than one agency as employers do not like multiple applications from the same person for the same job but via different agencies.
Find an agency that specialises in your field of expertise and stick with them, but you will need to keep trawling the job adverts and ensure they are putting you forward for all jobs you consider are worthwhile.

Regards,


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## jsharbuck

We found my husbands job on Indeed.co.nz. Many recruiting firms advertise openings on this site. If you have the qualifications for their job posting, they will contact you. In our case it was less than 24 hrs. This is a better approach than just sending your resume blind to an agency. Best of luck from former recruiter .


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## samkor11

escapedtonz said:


> Try Jobs and recruitment in New Zealand | Hays - Recruiting experts worldwide or look on Jobs on SEEK - New Zealand's no.1 Employment, Career and Recruitment site and via the actual engineering jobs you find on that site look across to the recruitment agency that is advertising the post on behalf of the company.
> 
> Note: It isn't a good idea registering with more than one agency as employers do not like multiple applications from the same person for the same job but via different agencies.
> Find an agency that specialises in your field of expertise and stick with them, but you will need to keep trawling the job adverts and ensure they are putting you forward for all jobs you consider are worthwhile.
> 
> Regards,


Thanks for your reply. I will search in above mentioned sites.


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## samkor11

jsharbuck said:


> We found my husbands job on Indeed.co.nz. Many recruiting firms advertise openings on this site. If you have the qualifications for their job posting, they will contact you. In our case it was less than 24 hrs. This is a better approach than just sending your resume blind to an agency. Best of luck from former recruiter .


What is your husband's working field?...my exp. is in Static equipment design. I am not sure is there any demand for this job or not....even I never heard about any EPC companies in NZ.


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## topcat83

jsharbuck said:


> We found my husbands job on Indeed.co.nz. Many recruiting firms advertise openings on this site. If you have the qualifications for their job posting, they will contact you. In our case it was less than 24 hrs. This is a better approach than just sending your resume blind to an agency. Best of luck from former recruiter .


Is the link right? It takes me to a website design & development company - not a job recruitment website.


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## jsharbuck

Sorry, try nz.indeed.com


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## topcat83

jsharbuck said:


> Sorry, try nz.indeed.com


Aha! I haven't seen this one. It looks like a search engine that concentrates on jobs that are found on other websites. So my guess most of them will be on Seek or Trademe anyway. 
A good one to add to the toolkit though.


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## jsharbuck

Glad you found it. Good resource


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