NZ Recruiter

Discover Your Dream Job - Senior Business Analyst, Auckland

Have you outgrown your current job?
What excuses have you been making to yourself about staying there?

How would you like:

1. a stable company that is growing steadily internationally.
2. lots of opportunities to grow personally.
3. close interaction with customers.
4. products that have social value and benefit everyday people, not just businesses.
5. international travel.
6. the opportunity to part of an amazing team changing the world from New Zealand

Our client is only growing bigger and better - join them on the way up and get your chance to dig deep in a broad range of technology with an incredible amount of space for career development and growth. If you have at least 6 years commercial data analysis experience with the following

• Excel
• VBA
• possibly MySQL, R, SAS. 

as well as the following characteristics

• attention to detail
• ability and comfort in communicating and working with others towards common goals
• the ability to do some international travel 

then email me NOW!

Don't miss out on this opportunity. It won't last. Give us a call on 09 306 8950 or send in your CV to steven@searchniche.com, or get in touch on twitter @stevenkempton

Also, if you think I'm some faceless Recruiter who will ignore your application check out some of the quotes from candidates about me:

“I used Steven as my agent to help me find new employment. From the very beginning to the very end I really appreciated Steven's integrity as a recruiter. He really wanted the very best for me. When I am next looking for work I will definitely be speaking with Steven again.”

“Highly recommend Steven as a recruitment agent. Has a much more hands on approached compared to the standard recruitment agent. Can count on him to be there with you each step of the way as a friend and advisor. Very personable, approachable, very honest and forth coming.”

"Steven is a pleasure to deal with and is always ready to listen. If he is unable to help, he will tell you straight up and will endeavour to provide some direction.”

Going forward in your career in the IT Market - Podcast with Illegal Argument

I had a good chat with the guys at Illegal Argument , a discussion group on anything Java/JVM with an Auckland/NZ focus.

Are you truly going forward in your career? Thinking of contracting versus perm? Product dev versus services? For some candid insight into the New Zealand IT market and career development from experienced senior IT perspectives along with a recruitment perspective - listen here at Illegal Argument Podcast 59. 

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Are you a software developer in Auckland open to opportunities? Click here

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Roll up your sleeves: Auckland Startup Weekend - April 1st - 3rd !

Been walking around with that lightbulb above your head, thinking to yourself, "What if?" "How could I?" "Where do I even begin?" Save those questions in your back pocket and gear up for the Auckland Startup Weekend coming up on April 1st - 3rd!  What is this? From Startupweekend.org: 

 54-hour events where developers, coders, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and create startups!

. . . weekend-long, hands-on experiments where entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can find out if startup ideas are viable.  Most events have about 75 attendees, half of which have technical backgrounds and the other half have business backgrounds.

With access to mentors and collaborators to really give life to your ideas, or for you to be a part of an incredible startup project, this is worth a try. After all,  the winner of last month's LA StartupWeekend raised $1M in three weeks! Perhaps Rod Drury of Xero was right in saying in Computerworld that Silicon Valley careers can be had here in New Zealand.

Keep updated on Twitter and follow @AKLSW and organiser @JasonArmishaw. 

Contracting vs Permanent Roles - What to do?

There's never an easy answer when it comes to deciding which path to pursue. But at least many highly skilled and experienced professionals have this option - especially in this year. Here's a basic rundown of what to consider. It's all up to your comfort levels in terms of what you define as "security" and how you feel about taking risks.

Permanent Jobs:

Most people, when asked to describe the benefits of a permanent job, would say "secure" or "stable". They see it as a guaranteed paycheck every fortnight or at the end of the month. I'm surprised if people still think this way in this day and age of recessions and live and let die. No job or company is completely 100% secure. Performance is still a condition, and of course the profitability of the company and market climate. But aside from that, sure it's relatively stable compared to contracting.

PROS of Perm Roles:

1. Relatively secure and stable - you can expect a certain amount of pay on a regular basis. Can budget your personal finances much easier. Ease of mind.

2. Depending on the company, certain employee perks and benefits - perhaps in-house training and other employee seminars or programs to take advantage of, health and fitness perks, etc.

3. Paid sick days and paid holidays

4. Kiwi saver or employer pension plan

5. You don't have to deal with tax administration, you receive your wages and your employer reports and deducts taxes for you

6. A sense of belonging to a collective group - camraderie 

 CONS of Perm Roles:

1. Lower pay. You receive significantly less than contracting in terms of hourly wage. As a salaried employee, most often you do overtime which is unpaid and often expected.

2. There is not much room for negotiation in salary once you've taken the job. All you have is your annual appraisal and that is regulated by a certain small percentage.

3. No flexibility in time. You need to also be present during the set work hours, regardless of the situation/workload. No opportunity to take an extended period of time off if needed.

4. You are not completely in control of your own time and efforts.

 

Contracting

The overall advantage of contracting is your independence and higher pay. You are your own boss and can decide where you want to work and command how much. The downside of it is that you are taking on more risks by constantly having to find a role to keep you going, and to be more financially responsible in your own taxation.

PROS of Contracting

1. Independence and flexibility - you can choose projects/contract jobs/companies you want to work for and when (that is, if there is a contract role available). You can make yourself available to all kinds of opportunities since you're not tied down.

2. Higher pay - contractors command a higher per hour wage, and with long projects, this can translate to a high "annual salary".

3. As a contractor, you are your own business. You have tax-deductible advantages and thus, have the ability to use pre-tax dollars to invest in your career/business.

4. Because you're more aware of your financial situation, you can be more savvy in your own financial planning.

5. Because you are more likely very experienced in your area (since you're hired strictly for that expertise), you are more marketable in that industry, anywhere.

 

CONS of Contracting

1. You need to sell yourself in gaining continuous contract roles. You have to be comfortable in networking and applying for new roles more frequently.

2. You have to feel comfortable in not having consistent income in between contracts, and IF that stretches out actually earning LESS MONEY not more.

3. To maintain/upgrade your marketability, you need to invest in your own training in different technologies (rather than having an employer pay for it or provide it)

4. As a business (either as a Sole Trader or Limited Company), you now have tax responsibilities in filing GST returns, provisional taxes and your own end-of-year taxes. 

5. May not get that "sense of belonging " if doing a lot of short-term contracts.

I'm sure there a several more reasons to place on either side of the equation, pro or con, but it boils down to what you value most (security vs. more money/independence), your personal situation (singleton? providing for a family of 5? rent? mortgage? ) and how you feel about your own skills and abilities. If you're thinking about contracting, see here how 2011 will be a bumper year for contractors. And if you're open to opportunities, link with me at LinkedIn.

Will You Be Changing Jobs in 2010?

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Are you a software developer in Auckland who wants to be happier at work? Click here!

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It seems 2010 is going to be a massive year of career shift for many people. Surveys in most developed markets point to massive numbers of skilled candidates intending to change jobs this year. Some of the results include:

• 60% of US Workers intend to leave their jobs in 2010 (link).
• 25% of employees believe organization morale is low (link).
• 20% of workers plan to switch careers and/or industries within two years (link).
• Only 45% of US employers are satisfied with their jobs in 2009 down from 61% in 1987 (link).
• Only 53% of Singapore financial workers are satisfied with their jobs (link).

It makes you wonder what really happened with all these people, what is it that causes them to have so much suffering at work? I talk with a lot of people in regards to their situation at work, most will admit to wanting more of something. Sometimes when we flesh it out their needs are quite realistic. Other times they are looking for an easier path to a better reward, which unfortunately, rarely exists. Meshing reality with what the person wants is often the biggest part of understanding whether someone really needs to make a job change in order to improve their satisfaction.

This can be really difficult to do alone, even for the most experienced candidates. After all, if you're good at your job you are busy doing that, not analyzing the marketplace and/or your skills and abilities to see whether you are ready for a big move. In order to make the decision on whether the time is right I recommend answering a few of the following questions. Be honest with yourself, anything else is pointless.

• What are my biggest achievements in my current position?
• How have I grown in the last 2 years?
• Am I giving 100% of my effort to the work I'm doing?
• If not, why am I holding back?
• If yes, then is the work satisfying me?
• If it's not satisfying me despite my effort, what are the areas that are holding me back?
• Can I improve on those areas in my current position?
• If I made a job change what are all the areas I need fulfilled to make me happy in a new position. 
• Being that nowhere is perfect. What would I be willing to give up/take on to make that move anyway?

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Are you a software developer in Auckland, want to be happier at work? Click here!

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Job outlook for 2008

First off, I'd just like to wish you all an exciting and adventurous 2008! I think this year will be a challenging one for everyone but there are great opportunities out there and I think it's probably a really good time for those of you considering what you want out of your career to take stock and make some decisions. You might want to try asking yourself the following five questions to start the year:

1. What did I achieve in my career last year? (give yourself a pat on the back).
2. What would I really like to achieve in the next year? (push yourself).
3. How can I achieve that where I am now? (planning for it).
4. What is the long term goal that achieving this will support? (big dreams).
5. How can I achieve my long term goal where I am now? (more planning)

The best thing about planning like this is it will help you keep a weather report on whether or not your current employer is helping you achieve your dreams. If it becomes increasingly difficult to plan to achieve what you want where you are, then you need to start considering new places to work. Don't be overly keen to move though, the ability to creatively develop your job in any workplace can give you some very valuable skills as well. You also need to factor in some other important points that may be just as valuable as you getting the chance to achieve your goals. Good examples of that would be, the quality of mentors you have around you, and also the growth prospects of the company you are with. Both these factors can sometimes out weigh your goals because of the huge opportunities they can provide.

With all this in mind, rest assured you've got plenty of opportunities out there as companies look to increase staff, according to the latest Hudson survey of over 1700 employers. So reflect, take stock, and plan.

NZ Start-up Optima makes a name for itself Overseas

Link: Software start-up Optima scores big deals overseas - 27 Mar 2007 - NZ Herald: Technology News from New Zealand and around the World.

I love hearing about Kiwi firms kicking butt overseas. Optima Corporation, developer of resource allocation optimization and management software, has been making a name for itself overseas, primarily in emergency services with their Siren Predict and Siren Live software, and in the aviation industry with their Global Pairing software.

What's great about this company is the history and the niche that it's taken hold of. They started as a group of maths research students and lecturers from the University of Auckland. With the help from venture funding and funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, they have been able to commercialize their software to markets overseas.

One thing to think about: their biggest barrier to growth is finding and recruiting good developers. As with all companies, their greatest competitive advantage is its people.

Beating the Aussies in "Bling" @ CeBIT

Link: Computerworld > Kiwis ‘out-bling’ Aussies at Hannover’s CeBIT show.

Let's face it. Anytime New Zealand beat the Aussies in anything is time for celebration. Be it sport, IQ, or technology. So there's no holding back when sixteen innovative Kiwi technology companies "out-blinged" them with our ICT presence at CeBIT.

Kudos to Zephyr Technology for being featured on the BBC Technology website. They're a leader in Smart Fabric sensor technology, developing physiological monitoring products for the medical, sports and wellness and defence markets. They look like an interesting company with a growing niche - which seems to be a trademark of home-grown technology companies that embark on the global playing field.

2nd Annual IT Architecture Summit: March 15-16, Auckland

Link: Bright*Star Conferences & Training Ltd - 2nd Annual IT Architecture Summit.

If you haven't done so yet, register for the 2nd Annual IT Architecture Summit which will be held next Thursday and Friday (March 15th-16th) @ the Stamford Plaza in Auckland. Here are two great reasons why:

• First and foremost, there will be an enlightening and engaging presentation from a very experienced and savvy IT recruiter... yours truly! I was kindly invited to speak on recruiting strategies for enterprise architecture.
• Secondly, to help you to add value to your organization, this summit will address and explore in-depth case studies of effective architectural design, including expert speakers on topics such as the role of enterprise architecture, development of standards, Service Oriented Architecture, application delivery network, integration, IT security, and more.

Check here for the AGENDA and how to REGISTER

NZ Government Spends $1.15 million on Job Board For 2 Jobs

Link: New Zealand Herald.

Yet another fantastic effort from the govt. in wasting money on a project that really shouldn't be spent on. Have a look and see for yourself at NetworkZonline.govt.nz. Hmm. $1.15 million. Notice the very first line where they misspell their own name "NeworkZ Online". This is followed by two type-o's in the second line (there are only 2 lines of text.) Aside from the fact that there are only 5 current job vacancies listed (3 up since the Herald article!), it really isn't very attractive to jobseekers who are browsing. No job descriptions or any details provided, unless you register. Nor would it be attractive to employers to post their openings - if no one else is on there - there most likely aren't any jobseekers utilising it. And come to think of it, why aren't all government jobs listed in the job board?

Now I'm not putting in a plug for Seek or Trademe or Search4jobs, but hey - these are real online job boards that work. Why "compete" against them - NZ enterprises that employee hundreds or thousands of Kiwis? If the ultimate goal is to attract and recruit skilled migrants - I'm sure the fastest way to put them off NZ is with an interactive jobsite that has 3 jobs and doesn't work. Makes NZ look even smaller!

Recruiting and marketing is all business - and should be run like a business - not like a government expenditure. Business problems should be addressed with business solutions - not just technology solutions, like an online jobsite. Positive and effective policy and procedure changes in Immigration for working visas and family visas as well as changes in taxation or any kind of perks would probably do a lot more to attract skilled migrants than a rate-payer funded job board.