Abzal Farmud from Bombay, India

Escaping the hustle and bustle of big city life was what attracted Abzal Farmud and his wife Huma to New Zealand in 2004.

They laugh when people complain about Auckland’s busyness and traffic problems. “This is nothing! In Bombay many many people would drive two and a half hours every morning just to get to work.”

Huma adds, “It was funny too, because we decided to come here not long after Indian Movie came out, which was shot in New Zealand. Everyone was so jealous – because we were coming to paradise.”

Abzal and Huma appreciated the lifestyle and beauty of New Zealand as soon as they got here. However, the job situation was not so welcoming. Although Abzal was a senior technical sales representative who had worked in India and then Dubai for seven years, and had an electrical engineering degree, he found it very hard to get work.

“I applied for many jobs, and had recommendations of places to go from my previous employers. However, when I approached them they said they had no positions available at the time. I think not having New Zealand experience was also an issue.”

Abzal says the job application process in New Zealand was also very different from India. “There are a lot more people and more jobs in India. Also many people who apply for jobs get video-link interviews. In New Zealand they don’t give many people chances for face-to-face interviews or working for free first – so it is hard to prove yourself.”

This job rejection scenario became an unhappy trend for Abzal as his money ran out, and he and Huma decided to return home. “We bought our tickets, started to sell our furniture and were prepared to leave the next week,” says Huma.

What stopped them was an offer of work experience from Abzal’s friend. “My friend ran a liquor store a few suburbs away in Howick. He said I could sit with him and talk to the customers while he worked. It wasn’t paid, but it was customer service experience and helped me pick up on the New Zealand accent and language.”

Around the same time Abzal’s job prospects changed for the better yet again when he stumbled across a Career Services seminar run by the Manukau team. “I was just walking past one day and saw the sign and then went along. It was a six-hour seminar and they did everything: interview tips, contacts and they completely redid my CV to make it suitable for New Zealand employers.”

Not long after this, Abzal’s job applications started getting much more attention and Abzal finally landed a job managing a store selling safety gear for New Zealand Safety.

Abzal’s advice to others is to persevere, really understand the culture, and get your CV done by Career Services. “It really is a magic CV because it has helped so many people get jobs. I have used the same format to help so many new people coming from India – it was one CV and now it has become many.”