Adapting your resume to fit into the NZ job market

The best way to ensure you get the job you want is to utilize your resources smartly. Your resume is one of the most important means of doing this. You will need to tailor it specifically for each position to highlight your relevant skills and experience accordingly. When arriving to New Zealand on your working holiday visa, it is important to adjust your CV to fit into the market. Here are a few pointers to help you customize your resume:

Keep it short
It's important to keep your resume concise, but not to the extent that it doesn't provide enough information. With that said, one way to keep your resume brief is to focus on past achievements and skills. Showcase your strong points without being too wordy or including unnecessary information. For example, if you want to highlight customer service skills, try highlighting a situation where you solved an issue with a customer. Briefly summarize the result of your work before moving on to another past achievement or skill.

Show off your skills
The skills section of your resume is your opportunity to emphasize what you're good at and what you want the employer to notice. Your skills are crucial in catching an employer's eye, so choose wisely! Almost everyone on a job hunt will include something about their skills, but very few people do it well. While it's important to mention what you can do, it's also vital to explain why that skill matters to the company looking for a new employee.

Keep it up to date
Getting a job is hard. There are hundreds of people applying for every position, and you need to sell yourself as the perfect candidate to get noticed. The first step in getting your resume noticed is to make sure it's up to date. If you have a new job, list it on your resume. If you've changed jobs or had promotions, those should be noted too. Next, make sure your resume is mixed up. It should have different lengths of experience, different jobs with varying responsibilities, and a variety of skills and keywords to keep the recruiters reading!

Include your references
You've probably heard the advice: "leave your referees a copy of your resume." There's a reason for this. Employers routinely ask for referee contact details, and it's a good idea to have them on hand before you start applying for roles. It's not enough to put down the referees' email addresses or their phone numbers - they want a full name and address too. It's also important to include referee contact details when you're applying, as some employers may want to reference your referee's contact details to confirm what they see on your resume before deciding whether or not to interview you.

Write a cover letter
A cover letter is a document that asserts your interest in a particular job or internship. It should be concise and provide a concise background as to why you are interested in this specific job. A cover letter should never be more than one page long, but it needs to provide an excellent summary of who you are, what you can offer the company, and why you would be an asset to them. If a company's application process requires a resume and cover letter, both documents should be submitted together.

Once you understand the New Zealand job market, it's time to take action. Your first step should be to develop an employment strategy that will help you stay on track throughout your job search and help you realize when it is time to move on to the next opportunity. Remember, a good plan will always beat out hard work alone!

Interested in finding a role across New Zealand? Visit our Frog Recruitment website to find the job you love and help you on your journey :  www.frogrecruitment.co.nz