Why Can’t Asians Find Work In NZ?

unemployed asian people in nz

Continuing in our series of Migrant Tales – first hand immigrant stories about life in New Zealand, taken from locations around the net.

Today’s tale is taken from a pro-NZ, for profit, emigration forum, in it the Indian poster tells of the enormous difficulties he has had trying to find skilled employment in IT  in New Zealand.

Unfortunately he is not alone in experiencing this problem and there are many Asian engineers, accountants and doctors who have no option other than to drive cabs or run corner shops in New Zealand as there is little other work available to them.

The situation has got so bad that some countries have warned their nationals about the risks they face by migrating to New Zealand believing there to be work available to them: “Philippines consul-general Emilie Shi says Immigration New Zealand is not doing enough to warn would-be applicants about the difficulties of finding a job or telling them that Kiwis will be given preference by employers.”

For background read our blogs “Philippines Warns Citizens About Work to Residence Scheme“, “Migrants Changing Names to Get Jobs” and Skilled Migrants Drive Taxis to Survive

Here is the Tale:

“Hi,

I am a New Zealand Permanent Resident and would like to have your feedback regarding my situation.

I am a IT Professional with 9 years work experience.

I had migrated to New Zealand from India in June 2001 and stayed in New Zealand for 3 years and 9 months. I left New Zealand in late February 2005.

I have worked in 2 IT Companies in Wellington.

During the period from January 2003 – February 2005, i applied for lot of IT jobs through SEEK.co.nz & other online job sites and went for lot of interviews, but i was rejected.

As a result, i suffered huge financial loss & my time was wasted.

I returned to India in late February 2005 and i recieved job offers.

I have applied for job positions in New Zealand from India but i have been rejected.

My skill set is in huge demand, but since January 2003 – Present, i have not recieved a single job offer from a New Zealand Company.

I would like to know the reason why i have not recieved a single job offer from a New Zealand Company since the last 8 years.

Is it because New Zealand is a racist country ?

I think their attitude towards Asians is lethargic & not good.

They just don’t care.

I had to save money and then come to New Zealand.

But now everything has gone down the drain.

I would like to know who will compensate me for the financial loss that i have suffered.

So much time was wasted…

I would like to have your feedback on this.

…I think that i am not getting hired in New Zealand because i am from an Asian Country…. In India, i recieve job offers. New Zealand is a very expensive place. I had wasted 2 years and 2 months looking for a job there.

When i came to New Zealand, i had very high hopes, but now everything is finished….

If they are not willing to hire people from Asia, then why do they say that Asians are welcome to work in New Zealand…

I suffered huge financial loss as a result…. So who will compensate me for this ?….

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478 thoughts on “Why Can’t Asians Find Work In NZ?”

  1. P Ray :
    And FYI, I have already being invited back to interview by Big 4 again, ha ha, so hmm…..yes, I can apply my job to overseas after a year serving in the same company and yeah, good luck mate. Still jobless in NZ? Too free to post on all these on this blog? GOOD LUCK !
    You assume so much about me it’s funny.
    To me, you seem as one of those self-centred Asians I’ve also encountered (I have no illusions that there are good and bad human beings in every race).
    What goes around comes around, and if you do not believe standards need to be maintained … hope you have fun being a one-person expert.
    P.S. Every company can promise you the world. The question is whether they can ante up when the time comes. Enjoy the future, may you live in interesting times.

    What did you just say previously?
    “In Asia: 30 people enrol, 30 people qualify.
    In NZ: 300 enrol, 30 qualify.”

    You were concluded all Asia Universities are like that. And secondly, weird, I first asked about life in NZ, you questioned back me the University of MALAYSIA or AUSTRALIA? It’s irrelevant and in turn, criticise back as a person, that I had graduated and holding Monash University Malaysia cert is also under “those” categories. So, didn’t you assume much, did you? So who’s self centred and rude here initially? I would suggest you to change your personality in order to get you further for your future. I leave my case here.

    P.S: Apparently I have witnessed and liaised with my colleague who did that, securing his job before moving over. So, it worked.

    • And secondly, weird, I first asked about life in NZ, you questioned back me the University of MALAYSIA or AUSTRALIA? It’s irrelevant and in turn, criticise back as a person,
      If you didn’t see a criticism of a lack of transparency, you didn’t read enough.
      P.S. Is the student union in your Monash University of Malaysia … run by people who don’t speak up for student rights? There you have it, people who won’t stand up when there’s injustice.

      It’s irrelevant and in turn, criticise back as a person, that I had graduated and holding Monash University Malaysia cert is also under “those” categories.
      Again, did you not see what I said about lack of transparency?

      So, didn’t you assume much, did you? So who’s self centred and rude here initially? I would suggest you to change your personality in order to get you further for your future. I leave my case here.
      It’s fair to assume when the education system isn’t transparent, and student unions are employed by management, assignments are not returned, the marking scheme isn’t apparent, and the lecturer doing the remark … is the same lecturer setting the paper – well you can draw your conclusions as to how correct, fair or impartial the assessment is.
      P.P.S. Finance companies have plenty of people willing to stab each other in the back, watch yourself out there 🙂

  2. E2NZ :
    Why do you want to return to a company that you were resigned from? Good luck with moving forward with your life.

    Had to leave due to family business growth. And re-applied to Big 4 Audit firms (Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PWC), so not necessarily the same firm I am joining back.

    Thanks Mod

  3. It was all Indian government failure that their citizens face trouble in weak nation like New Zealand and many other and Indian embassy knows very better but remain silent. I think Indian embassy is responsible for all this. Today whole world knows very well that what India is today. India must make strict rule to send its people to go and take education and tell them about the present situation of particular country so that student will decide to choose that country on his or her risk.

  4. Beware from New Zealand again and never come into the words of greedy agents who suggest you this shit country New Zealand.

    • Shiv, what dealings have you had with agents. How realistic and honest was their marketing of New Zealand?

  6. i do have manners i just dont like hearing stuff that isnt true if you dont think our education is up to standard then why are you here?

  7. Beware from New Zealand for all those who want to develop their career and wishes comfort life. Never choose study in New Zealand and if still some student wants then pray to god to help you in New Zealand during studies. This is my personal experience in New Zealand. I again warn you Beware from wrong agents who suggest you New Zealand the right place. Rest depend on the reader who still want to take risk.

  8. (who cares you go on about fuck all.)
    Jamie Sir first learn some manner and is this the New Zealand and Aussie education teaches you. Great if yes.

  9. Is this a typical trait in New Zealand? To become rude and aggressive when held to account for your prejudice, is it so hard to provide the most simple of evidence to back up just one of your claims?

    Our readers take note, this is how easy it is to challenge racism in New Zealand. Doesn’t take much does it for the façade to drop.

    If anyone would like to share their own experience of racism in New Zealand we’d like to hear from you.

  10. maybe because the positions are nt available im guessing your indian or chinese i have an indian gp so what are you on about and most doctors in invercargill are indian or sri lankan
    and they are very professional there is racism all over new zealand and there is worse places for it then invercargill i understand where your coming from but new zealand and australia usa and england and other countries all over have racist people your entitlled to your opinion i dont have a racial problem have asian and indian friends if i was racist i would associate with them.

    • Please provide verifiable evidence that most doctors in Invercargill are Indian.

      Thank you.

  11. its hard to answer that im not racist i just like to paint the real picture but indians they come over maybe need to do some research yes if they are bringing in skilled people they shouldnt have any trouble finding work but it aint easy i can only go by my city of invercargill which has a population of around 50 000 its hard to give any advice with out being accused of being racist

    • Do you honestly believe you are not racist? Our readers may like to tell you what they think about your comments…

      WRT Invercargill, we have a number of articles about Indians encountering racism in that town. You should try to read some of them.

      Next time you catch a cab ask the driver where he or she is from and what skills and qualifications brought them to New Zealand.

      New Zealand doesn’t give out visas to taxi drivers, its not on the skills shortage list. You don’t need a degree to drive a cab or run a takeaway. So why aren’t they working as engineers, doctors, IT administrators, etc. as they did in their own countries?

    • but indians they come over maybe need to do some research yes if they are bringing in skilled people they shouldnt have any trouble finding work but it aint easy i can only go by my city of invercargill which has a population of around 50 000 its hard to give any advice with out being accused of being racist
      1. problem with research is that the “fluff” sites outnumber the realistic ones.
      2. consider that the people who employ and the people who are affected by “workers chosen by the employer” are 2 different sets of people.
      3. consider that most managers don’t have the skills they demand of their workers.
      4. since In New Zealand, it is not illegal to issue or buy fake degrees, but purchasers who use them could face fraud charges, police here said. who determines whether they are skilled?
      5. on that note, the small networks also mean people can be blackballed without proper scrutiny.
      I’d say that leads to a market where cheap and nasty is the norm for most.
      Would definitely like to hear your thoughts on that.

  12. no problem but you get sick of poor me syndrome i lived in perth for a while so i know what its like to be a foreigner but i guess at the end of the day New Zealand is a Small country with limited opportunities yes there available but its very competitive and overseas visitors asian or not must realise its obvious a kiwi or australian will most likey get considered first unless the overseas immigrant has specialised skills.

    • The Indians who come to New Zealand aren’t “living there for a while” most of them have emigrated and want to become Kiwis, just like you. What chance to they stand when faced with such rampant racism.

      BTW did you emigrate to Perth based on your skill set or did you just turn up at Australian immigration and ask for a SCV visa? Indian migrants probably had more right to be there than you, at least they got in on merit and are prepared to make the commitment to their new country. They’re not asking for anything, other than the chance to do the work they were brought over to do, not open up takeaways, drive cabs and stay away from call centres.

    • @jamie Winter
      you’ve got to be kidding,,A kiwi living in Perth doesn,t constitute being a foreigner . They speak the same language,same humour ,,same food!!! try living in india as an immigrant ,,speak the language ,,eat the food,and live in the local community,,then you will begin to understand how hard it is to truly immigrate!! you will most likely be far more welcomed in india as an immigrant than foreigners are in NZ. with all due respect I don,t think you have any idea,,,,,,Full respect to the people expressing there experience on this website,,,most NZ people have a very narrow world view.

      • Hey Bruce
        You need to go to India to experience. All western visitors and migrants are treated same , even may be better than locals. It is no rocket science that Indians and Chineese are treated very badly in New Zealand. I have been here 9 years after leaving in the UK for 32 years.
        I find job hunting difficult despite I have no language issues. I just use networking and because I have special skills I get jobs but the remuneration they try to offer is much lower.
        There is racism here, but not getting job is not the reason.
        I like Indian government and Chineese to government to take pro active approach to support these migrants .
        I would have economic section applied then we will see where our country New Zealand will stand.
        We rely on the foreign trade without it New Zealand will be a third world country, so wake up work together and let’s us be good host to be proud off.

  13. what do you mean i have no problem indians being here but when there on the phone when you ring someone with broken english and you cant understand them then its a problem i love this country and welcome foreigners have indian friends but it is an expensive country in some cases and if they cant take a joke an realise its not all handed to you then maybe they should re consider trying to immigrate here why should we pay back the money they have lost by living here thats life.

    • Thanks for making that so much clearer than we could ever do 🙂

      Racism is so deeply ingrained in New Zealand society that people like you aren’t even aware of how small minded and xenophobic you are. Ever thought about living abroad for a while and broadening your mind. Maybe you could live in India and improve your use of English, you have to admit it needs a little work.

    • i have no problem indians being here but when there on the phone when you ring someone with broken english and you cant understand them then its a problem
      The problem with “unable to understand broken English” is also “not being able to compensate for broken English”.
      You should really only have that problem … if you grew up in a place where proper English was the norm (Hint: I’m pretty sure NZ’s not it)

      i love this country and welcome foreigners have indian friends but it is an expensive country in some cases and if they cant take a joke an realise its not all handed to you then maybe they should re consider trying to immigrate here why should we pay back the money they have lost by living here thats life.
      That’s mental considering quite a few people coming over have no illusions and want to do the hard yards (I myself was turned down applying for jobs as a security guard and even as a tar-layer for roadworks).
      Well, you should be aware of your funny comment that people being cheated deserve it … hope you have good luck being a one-person expert.

      • i have no problem indians being here but when there on the phone when you ring someone with broken english and you cant understand them then its a problem
        Whoops, forgot to add: the companies involved in retaining those workers evidently feel that the benefits of keeping them, outweighs the costs of people like you complaining.
        Just as you say “no free rides”, guess what, you’re in the situation of an realise its not all handed to you.

      • Hey Peter you entirely miss my point. I loved living in UK and never expected government to support me either. The Asian contribution was well head lined in the Guardian, so it not a made up figure. The simple point I was making is that UK and New Zealand are both racist countries , that does not mean each and every one is. I have made it work for me so they can and have to live with the problem until second and third generation who will definitely sort it.
        The point I make is that despite all the obstacles we have made it , survived and will keep on doing it. I have suffered hundreds abusive behaviour and bit beaten up few times , you only have to be a foreigner to feel and see it. Like yesterday I was happily going home and these guys blocked my car and kicked it and asked me to go home? I gave them what they deserved , I told them to leave this country and go home. This is nothing new we go through all the time.
        So get the point I am making ? No point getting angry. Both UK and New Zealand are wonderful countries and I have made it my home, but the problem has to addressed and sorted.

  14. go work in a curry shop or fish n chip shop plenty of asians there you could start straight away were no more racist then anywhere else maybe we dont recognise indian qualifications as im sure there different to a new zealand or australian one.

    • Jamie, with English like that, it sounds like you got a really good education in New Zealand. *cough*, where the degrees are just SOOOO much better.

  15. I have just moved to NZ and already experienced some difficulties about working with Kiwis. I was not respected at work place, and I was the only one Asian there. I am giving up to look for jobs to Kiwis organization, as I believe there is no way I will get hired by Kiwis. I had a lot of hope to get a job before moving here. I really see the racist problem in this country that is disappointed.

  16. Thanks P Ray for telling the reality of colleges in New Zealand who graduated the students with fake degrees every year..And I have seen lot such colleges which has two to three room campus and they are offering post graduate courses. Its really shock to see when one went to live corruption free life and experience illegal activities in New Zealand. Every year these fake degree colleges earn lot of profit for New Zealand economy. And big question New Zealand is second most corruption free country. But this is just in General knowledge books not in reality.

    • Get qualified at one of the 8 universities, is all I can say. (Private) Shophouse colleges are also a problem in Asia.

  17. Whoa.. I had no idea nz had racism too… Guess dats happening all over the world. But dude lets not be too harsh here… U wouldn’t want aliens in ur house eating away ur resource s either ryt… I do want to go abroad ( m an Indian) for education n perhaps shift out ( coz frankly developed countries are desirable places to migrate as everyone dreams of hi standards of living) well in any case I don’t think il have the courage to keep nz in my options any more.. Would love to visit it sum tym tho..

  18. Thanks P Ray and PT for sharing so much of details and experience before I have even make my first move. I am holding double majors; Accounting and Finance degree that graduated from Monash University but I was resigned from one of the big 4 Audit firm last two years ago and have this migration thought recently. 4 Choices in my mind which are US, Canada, OZ and NZ. I have been interested in NZ lately and reading through all the forums and found out it’s kinda difficult to get a job in NZ, thus I google further.

    Well, 1 main reason that holding me off to OZ is due to a number of Red-neck people living there, so I put all my concentration to NZ. If NZ has no difference to OZ, then I might wanna consider Canada and US now. Literally, I can be getting a PR by holding Investment migration qualification but then if I were to faced all the Red-Neck people around while living there, hell no. Besides, a job is not only to sustain you living but also things that you can focus at.

    I thought NZ is a great place ! It turned me down so badly. My country is in bad shape, hope to migrate to a better place. I am from Malaysia, Chinese.

    • I am holding double majors; Accounting and Finance degree that graduated from Monash University
      Monash University MALAYSIA
      or
      Monash University AUSTRALIA?

      My experiences with Universities having branch campuses (or shared programmes) in Asian countries was their branch campus let through people without proper marking or returning their assignments. I was pointedly told by their local Asian staff that I “did not have the right to view my marked assignment”(turns out later that the lecturer doing the marking – did not have a qualification in that subject). Twinning from what I observed while there, the last year consisted of pointless electives and “soft skills training” NOT hard sciences and rigourous examination.

      That’s why I went to NZ for a proper STEM degree.

      Again, to repeat: I’m Asian.

      • Oh, to be specific, I was graduated from Monash University Malaysia, and the only reason that I didn’t study overseas was, by that time I have to stay here to take care of my wife and baby boy (Early marriage). I was planning to get a PR at in UK starts with my Diploma but who knows god had actually planned a baby for me 🙂

        Yes, I agree with you on sometimes the markers are not professional in that subject where they can simply giving low marks if they do not understand what you are trying to say. I think the most reputable foreign universities in Malaysia was only Monash, now we have another Nottingham University,

        So P Ray, are you leaving NZ soon or what? Never considered for Canada and US? I have liaised with kiwi (Is kiwi necessary to be White you all mentioned?) he is quite friendly though. I was actually planning to bring my family to tour NZ once again before I found this blog. I had traveled to NZ very long time ago, it was fun, natural, lovely, good weather and environment but you know, travelling and living there for rest of your life facing things are totally different experience.

        • Yes, I agree with you on sometimes the markers are not professional in that subject where they can simply giving low marks if they do not understand what you are trying to say.
          Would you hire an engineer to evaluate a doctor?
          In Asia, this was a person who was UNQUALIFIED for the role.
          Hence why they were afraid to return marked papers as there would be cause for dispute: many others whose assessments were not up to standard … were passed.
          Of course, there is a different mentality in Asian educational institutions(at least when it comes to STEM), where a teacher “is seen as good if everybody passes” vs. the West where a teacher “is seen as good if only the people who should have passed, pass”.
          This is of course, also another reason why salaries have remained stagnant.
          And, despite all the hoopla that people require qualified workers … managers are scared that those they hire can do their jobs.
          It’s rare for a manager to have the skill or qualification surpassing that of their workers (in many cases, it’s the reverse).
          In Asia: 30 people enrol, 30 people qualify.
          In NZ: 300 enrol, 30 qualify.
          Remember … the people who qualify, will be making, building and standardising things.

          • Hi P Ray, I think you shouldn’t have generalised that every University in “Asia” be the same as what you had encountered. The passing rate wasn’t that high anyway from my courses, and there were a lot of people retaking the same subjects.

            With all due respect, you are trying to prove you’re a very talented person on your professional skill. Perhaps, your hatred that had long covered your eyes from every single thing you think. Be optimistic.

            My purpose on this blog is to get more information of live in NZ. Think I should research further 🙂 Thanks and unsubscribed.

          • I think you shouldn’t have generalised that every University in “Asia” be the same as what you had encountered. The passing rate wasn’t that high anyway from my courses, and there were a lot of people retaking the same subjects.
            Retaking subjects is one thing.
            Being deliberately marked down or assignments not returned is another.
            A transparent marking policy, is something anyone who needs properly qualified people, should strive for.

            With all due respect, you are trying to prove you’re a very talented person on your professional skill. Perhaps, your hatred that had long covered your eyes from every single thing you think. Be optimistic.
            Gotta love ad hominem.

            but I was resigned from one of the big 4 Audit firm last two years ago and have this migration thought recently.
            Remember that the longer you have not been in work, your chances for re-employment get drastically reduced.

            Thanks and unsubscribed too 🙂

          • Might be of interest to you, Kurt
            http://highereducationinmalaysia.wordpress.com/2012/12/19/the-price-of-honesty-berani-buat-berani-tanggung/
            excerpt:
            Dear Madam
            As I informed you on on 17th December 2012, I could not afford to pay 10% or 50% of the debt because I have been jobless for the past 4 years. I was a government servant (a lecturer) but I was victimised by my superiors because I refused to pass students who fail my paper. I was persecuted because I was honest.
            The details of my persecution is available in http://highereducationinmalaysia.wordpress.com/
            I am not shirking my duty to pay my loan but I do not have the money to pay the loan.

            I told you about things like this happening. I guess it takes an example for you to eat your words 🙂

          • I laughed it out real HARD ! Man, you had made my day. Dude, there’s always a bad apple from the basket. And you are trying to pigeon hole all Universities in Asia are like this. Gosh….what a pessimist. Go ahead, to prove till the end of the world you are right and I am sure a lot of blog readers can understand you clearly what a person you’re.

            And FYI, I have already being invited back to interview by Big 4 again, ha ha, so hmm…..yes, I can apply my job to overseas after a year serving in the same company and yeah, good luck mate. Still jobless in NZ? Too free to post on all these on this blog? GOOD LUCK ! 😀

          • Why do you want to return to a company that you were resigned from? Good luck with moving forward with your life.

          • And FYI, I have already being invited back to interview by Big 4 again, ha ha, so hmm…..yes, I can apply my job to overseas after a year serving in the same company and yeah, good luck mate. Still jobless in NZ? Too free to post on all these on this blog? GOOD LUCK !
            You assume so much about me it’s funny.
            To me, you seem as one of those self-centred Asians I’ve also encountered (I have no illusions that there are good and bad human beings in every race).
            What goes around comes around, and if you do not believe standards need to be maintained … hope you have fun being a one-person expert.
            P.S. Every company can promise you the world. The question is whether they can ante up when the time comes. Enjoy the future, may you live in interesting times.

          • Oh, it would be interesting to check out if you have prove or some sort evidence that Monash University Malaysia has similar case, please share! If you are free, I believe you do.

          • This isn’t a Malaysia blog. Besides, you yourself did mention that Dude, there’s always a bad apple from the basket. Doesn’t excuse the impropriety. Should people who murder be freed because “murder has existed in every age?”

            Remember, as Donald Rumsfeld said: “Absence of evidence … is not evidence of absence”.
            At least universities in the West keep academic misconduct records, WHICH ARE PUBLISHED.
            Please don’t tell me there is no academic misconduct in Asia.

  19. Shiv – you need to chill. I think you missed the nuance in English – it’s called “sarcasm.” P Ray has said nothing you could or should take offense at, and is very obviously as critical of New Zealand as you are. That is why he used “italics” – he is paraphrasing the thinking of mainstream kiwi culture. His comments aren’t directed at you, the immigrant, but the NZ immigration process.

  20. (They get to tell others that “we got our qualification on merit”,
    while pointing at international students, saying “those guys bought their qualifications”).
    P Ray from your above statement it shows in NEW Zealand degrees are selling and can you please tell me the place where I can bought more degrees.

    • nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10612600
      The Oregon Office of Degree Authorisation has named four institutions it says are operating out of New Zealand – Presscott University, University of Honiara, University of Honorius and the University of Newlands – as being either degree mills or lacking in any authority to issue degrees.

      “The [New Zealand] Government needs to publish and maintain a list of approved degree-granters. If it isn’t a crime to issue an unapproved degree in or from New Zealand, it should be,” the authority’s administrator, Alan Contreras, told the Herald.

      In New Zealand, it is not illegal to issue or buy fake degrees, but purchasers who use them could face fraud charges, police here said.

      The term “degree mill” refers to “substandard or fraudulent colleges that offer potential students degrees with little or no serious work”.

      These range from either degrees that can be purchased outright, or those that require some nominal work from the student but not at the level of study normally required for a degree.

      Comment by me: However the REAL institutions (The 8 Universities NOT polytechnics) have a register of their graduates, and some even have it online (via PDF copies of the graduation magazine and alumni lists).

  21. P Ray I don’t know who you are and I don’t even know why the hell you are responding to my message and if your country is such fully self respected then just do one thing give my money back. And I have no problem with your country man I am just saying about the unfair behaviour of New Zealand employers with me.

    • Eh, I’m not a New Zealander. I’m overseas Asian just like you, and I’m relating what I know of someone related to AIS St. Helen’s management (juicy tidbit: she was also admitted into hospital for substance abuse and escaped without completing her treatment). :O

      • juicy tidbit: she was also admitted into hospital for substance abuse and escaped without completing her treatment
        Whoops, mod, I’m making unsubstantiated allegations. It’s alleged that she escaped. Unless I produce documentary proof it’s all hearsay.

  22. i dont see it as being racist maybe they need to have control on the people that come in this country not just asians everyone and be tougher on letting them in i guess we need them but do we need all of them.

    • In my opinion, tougher immigration isn’t even an issue.
      Because the individual immigration officers are given carte blanche so there is no right of appeal for qualified immigrants.
      Not to mention the fact that if people can be persuaded to come over and have no job while they have the money to be in NZ …
      they get a fair chunk of it squeezed out when they finally run out of time and have to leave because they:
      don’t meet the requirements for residency
      or cannot work in their field as their overseas qualifications are not recognised
      or have had no job offers which can assure them that what they learned while in NZ is going to be applied.
      All that money (coming from migrants, who should be grateful they are even let in, with questionable prospects for the future floating around, it’s hard for some people to turn it down.
      And I doubt any government in NZ believes that they can truly do without that money, to secure their own future (let’s face it, politicians don’t work for free).

    • Really? You don’t really have any information about immigration policies. Do you? Well, let me tell you, they are already controlling it Jamie.They only let those people in who will pay ”HUGE TUITION FEES FOR C**P STUDIES IN NZ” They have eliminated the parent/sibling category means any permanent resident immigrant can not sponsor their family in this pathetic country (The strictest conditions are applied) .If parents/siblings still want to come THEY NEED TO BRING THEIR OWN MONEY FOR STAY IN NZ. They have eliminated work visa category for most partners of students.They have eliminated many occupations from skilled migrant category, LTSS lists.What else do you want? Btw after experiencing the horrible dream of ”YOUR NEW ZEALAND” most people are going back to their mother countries. NZ is just a cash cow.NZ NEEDS BILLIONS OF DOLLAR THAT ARE BROUGHT WITH IMMIGRANTS AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AFTER THAT IT SHOWS ITS REAL COLOUR WITH DISCRIMINATION IN EVERY FIELD.Good luck with your racism, do as much as you want, just clean your face on judgement day..Because you have to answer and justify your irrational behavior to HIM.

    • The money comes with the migrant.
      Unless you want the money … without the migrant?
      From what I saw:
      That money … keeps the fees for papers taken by domestic students, affordable.
      P.S. I know domestic students who’ve taken 7 years to finish a 3 year degree.
      Yeah, I guess you need all the internationals you can get, it also helps that the people that need to be failed, get failed – it’s the only way to maintain standards.

  23. there is too many asians an indians in new zealand we have high unemployment and a new zealander with the same skills should be considered first maybe these people need to stay in there own country and find work.

    • Ignoring the overt racism of your post in this instance…Your government is happy to keep on collecting the millions of dollars in revenue it raises from immigration applications and your economy continues to benefit from the cash injection that migrants provide. See anything wrong here with this picture?

    • we have high unemployment and a new zealander with the same skills should be considered first maybe these people need to stay in there own country and find work.
      You’re ignoring what I experienced, that even if you begin and complete your studies in a skills shortage STEM field – and very few New Zealanders have the same qualification I do – you WON’T get hired even if there’s an opening.
      I’d say something, but I’m too busy enjoying the spectacle.
      P.S. If you think it’s a smart move turning away people who take the trouble to come from overseas to learn a specific skill and thinking paradigm in the right way,

      I invite you to read this (it’s tradie-related, but still relevant):
      http://auckland.scoop.co.nz/2013/05/action-taken-against-workers-after-fatal-electrocution/

      Now imagine that, as applied to, oh, pacemakers and the like. (Wasn’t Gerald Shirtcliff a guy that faked his Engineering qualifications?)
      Still think getting things done by halves is the right way to do things?

  24. Hi , I am totally agree with all comment regarding New Zealand treatment with international students. As I have done PGDBA from AIS ST HELLEN New Zealand and I was very happy that I am at right place and I will get good job and i recovered my fees and sent it back to my parents who totally depend on me but I dont know that this was the most tough time I had to face in New Zealand. For continuously 1 year and six months I applied for hundreds of job but every time I received negative answer from employers with the reason that i am not the suitable for job but honestly telling the jobs to which I applied contains people who hold less education and knowledge compare to me. Sorry I am not underestimating anyone but this is truth. And I have to leave this nation because it was unable for me to meet my expense. But It is really great for me if New Zealand rejects my study visa so that i will not lost my $40000 NZD. In the end I recommend every student in India think 1000 times to choose New Zealand for study, it might be next your turn.

    • If the current marketing manager of AIS St. Helen’s reads what you’ve written,
      he might sic his daughter on you (she’s a lawyer, now working as a service consultant in ANZ).
      She might slap you or swallow pills and claim you made her do it! You evil man! 😡

      • oops, let me correct myself. She graduated in Law, but has not been admitted to the bar, and the regulations have changed to require prior work experience in a law firm for some time before being recognised.

    • And I have to leave this nation because it was unable for me to meet my expense. But It is really great for me if New Zealand rejects my study visa so that i will not lost my $40000 NZD.
      Your fees, which are 5x that of domestic students, helps to subsidise them.
      They get to tell others that “we got our qualification on merit”,
      while pointing at international students, saying “those guys bought their qualifications”.
      Tired of hearing all that, :smh: (shake my head).

  25. WE JUST NEED THE MONEY WHAT WE INVESTED..NOTHING ELSE…WANTED TO LEAVE THIS LABOUR JOB ASAP……..NOTE WERNT BEGGING………I DO ACCEPT THAT IM FOOL TO COME HERE AND BELIEVING U PEOPLE

  26. One of the more interesting ideas I’ve entertained about this topic, have the common motivation of: paying the employee less.
    Reasons for advertising a job (beyond the obvious of filling the position with someone competent for a fair wage):
    1. Overstate the requirements so that any hires can be told “You don’t tick all the boxes so we can pay you less”.
    2. Obfuscate the requirements so that any hires can be told “It doesn’t actually use (this skill which is a progression of the requirements stated) … so we can pay you less”.
    3. The position is going to be filled internally, but they are only advertising it so they don’t cop a discrimination lawsuit.
    Remember that HR is in charge of hiring and firing (at the behest of managers). So there’s a layer of insulation and plausible deniability.
    HR gets their salary for insulating managers from direct blame of their choices.
    In a small country like NZ, it’s a safe bet to say some people get ahead by connections NOT qualifications, e.g. university students teaching English to kids at church … while not having a qualification in English.
    They’re depriving a qualified person of the right to earn a living … while claiming that migrants can’t teach because they have no qualifications.
    Or a girl doing Environmental Science, moonlighting as a babysitter.

    • Face facts. New Zealand wants international students to come in and pay for an education, and then leave again. They are cash cows only. I wish that these kinds of stories were getting more press in the native language media of the students who are suckered over to New Zealand to “study” (or learn bad English! Never seen so many supposedly educated people making so many spelling mistakes!).

      • Well the problem with that there is Asian international students will simply go elsewhere. The payment of 5x local fees, I would not be surprised if some consider it “entry fees”.
        Similar to the way “entry fees” to teach English in Asia … is paid for through having white skin.

  27. I call myself Indo-Canadian… living in the US for the past 5 years… have been doing lots of thinking about coming to NZ on a Holiday visa for a year… reason for that is life in NA is too fast and trying to find a place little laid back… heard the Aussies and Kiwi are…

    I read most of the post in here, NZ is a small country and cannot expect a lot comparing AUS or US… I did my BS in Canada and couldn’t find my first job for a year… I know the feeling about the people blogging here… but worked in Gas station initially and found a job 1000km away from my city in a remote Native Indian reserve… I took it without hesitation… got more jobs later in Canada and finally moved to US in 08… I find US is awesome finding job, because they do no discriminate on your race and have very strict anti-race laws and that made this country what it is now… But there always drawback US don’t discriminate against your race but they do against your time… meaning working like a slave for a paycheck and for healthcare….

    Its a give and take I guess… my profession in demand in NZ same as my wife’s… her case couldn’t find job in US due to registration etc… reading all this blog makes me very skeptic to come to NZ… but I guess it would be like me trying for job in Canada after finishing education… but I have nothing to lose except unemployed for x number of months in NZ… will enjoy as an vacation and return back to US….

    Now coming to the Discrimination part… its everywhere like to give you an example.. I am Tamil and I have lots of co-workers in other teams who are Telugu… I don’t find them to assimilate with any other people… they made Telugu as a second language of my work place… so this is are people everywhere they go… just spend time with their own race or people speaking that language…

    In past have told my non-white buddies in Canada, if you want to live in Canada… think like white CDNs… and I guess it is exactly happening in NZ… Kiwis have very limited jobs and just by having the skill and English language will not guarantee any job, as a HR person mentioned, have to do lots of research in the field of job they are searching… people connection, like go the company has majority of jobs and go in person show that your not just an immigrant looking for a job and you do have the skills etc…

    Now regarding Racism, its everywhere and to what degree… I have been called names in Canada so many times, but White CDNs are the friendliest people you can meet, and now in the US I never been called any names but they are not the friendliest…. remember a person saying… Kiwis are just good to drink and get laid… get job with less qualification… may be that is true and thats all they are expecting… Again Kiwis can call names to all non-white immigrants but again, one thing they should remember that they will become one moving to AUS trying to find a job….

    • Hi Mr. Snagu, do you mind to provide me your email address? I would like to ask further of the life and job in both US and Canada if you don’t mind.

      Thanks a lot in advance, I have posted my situation at the bottom there.

      • Kurt my name is manpreet nd m frm india…..i would like to know abt ur experience in nz….coz m deciding to move to nz…..my email is manpreetbawa67@……gmail.com…..plz contact if u can

  28. Hi,
    I have been in this country for ten years and yet to get a job as an english teacher. I have the qualifications and new zealand qualifications and experience but still only day relief jobs. The reason being ” you are an asian and we cant have an asian teaching english,” I speak and write better english than most. ESOL is my specialty and I have taught main stream english as well. Please let me know if there is anyone who can give me a sincere reason as to why I am not getting a permanent job. I have hundreds of reject letters to prove that i have been applying for a job every time there is a vacancy advertised.
    Thankyou and God Bless
    Amy

    • As far as I have seen, there is a global tendency to prefer native speakers of a language as translators, interpreters, and teachers of that language (the exception usually being in countries where lots of people want to learn a language, but a not sufficient supply of people who speak that language natively want to teach that language in that country – such may be the case in many Asian and African countries).

      Your being Asian may well be the main/a significant reason for your not having found employment. Other possible reasons might be if you have what might be considered a noticeably “non-native” accent, or if you were to use English in a way that native speakers would find it hard to understand (although I did not find your written message here to be at all hard to understand, and you say you speak it better and most), or if you were to use language structures/word combinations that native speakers would find strange/foreign (while not necessarily being grammatically incorrect in any standard form of that language). There is certainly an attitude that many people have that if you don’t sound like a native speaker of a language, then you’re not the best person to be teaching that language; at the same time, I have heard of many non-native speakers of English teaching English (as a school subject, not necessarily as a second language) in New Zealand schools. There could also be a plethora of other reasons for people not hiring you that could have nothing to do with how you speak the language or what country you come from (but not knowing you in the slightest, I could not know what they might or might not be).

      If you are not a native speaker of English, and you don’t sound like some particular person’s idea of one, then I myself would probably put it down to that as the main reason people are not taking you on.

      I am not very aware that there are very many paying TESOL jobs in New Zealand (although I am aware that there us a not insignificant number of groups that are pretty much run by volunteers, having participated in such a group myself); but you are a better knower of information like that than I am, having sough such work out for yourself in New Zealand.

      Are you aware of the organization Global TESOL? According to themselves, they can pretty much guarantee you employment (after you are certified by them, which, as I understand it, involves doing a course) (although as far as I can see, pretty much all of the jobs they advertise are overseas – not what you’d be wanting if you were wanting to stay in New Zealand, I think).

      Anyway, I wish you all the best. Blessings.

      • As far as I have seen, there is a global tendency to prefer native speakers of a language as translators, interpreters, and teachers of that language (the exception usually being in countries where lots of people want to learn a language, but a not sufficient supply of people who speak that language natively want to teach that language in that country – such may be the case in many Asian and African countries).

        Are the native speakers certified and scrutinised to the same degree that those of a different race are evaluated at?
        To put the stark, objectionable reality in focus, there are plenty of “English Teachers” overseas whose only qualification … is being white.
        They may not even speak English properly.
        in b4 “you must be racist if you recognise racism”.

        • i ran into this problem and feel the misconception cannot be changed overnight. it is totally unfair, but that’s how people think. they want a white person to teach English even if your English subject scores are higher than the white guy. they want a white person to be a manager of technology enterprise, even if your tech sense and know how is higher than him. they would rather want some wanker actor to be paid higher and in place to satisfy people’s fantasy. it is like buying orange juice that look orange in colour when the liquid is all artificial, fake and harmful. and yes, unfortunately that’s how many people think!!! and in western media/movies, the Asian guy is placed in the evil loser cunning role in martial arts etc. that speaks so much why in social economic market people are mass influenced and brainwashed to prefer to date and befriend a white dude that gets more power, when in fact both the Asian dude and white dude made no difference. the girls felt they’re dating a Hollywood star with the white dude, and if its an Asian guy, they felt its with a boring nerd or some 2nd line character that don’t surface in stardom roles in 90210 or western soap opera!!! if an Asian does appear in the scene, they would be an extra that show up as the noodle outlet waiter for 2 seconds! in real life, i’d be this Asian techie/scientist whose headache and workload becomes the fortune of some white credit stealer, and even though i can live with it, the worst case is when they got benefited from the fortunes you bring, they turn around and vilify you so it is only a miracle Asian people get seen in nobel prizes or public areas like sports achiever or astronauts. if its commercial airline pilots, the Asian gets to be placed as lower paid second officers as they’re assumed to be less powerful or less competent in English 🙂 on the other hand, i suppose, they are welcomed as cheery attendants and customer service for their attention to detail and slavery mindset service attitudes, people enjoy taking them in for a ride and entertainment purpose 🙂 The Asian girls make great housewife materials for the white boys in NZ, they would only be lady Gaga at home but not on tv advertisements or on stage 🙂 Just take it as it is! I’m not joking NZ would not have a Connie Chung as news caster. Also, the commercial sports icon wont have Asians, as any of these publicly seen roles have been allocated via legal contracts to an exclusive priviledged few, mainly handsome lightskined muscle buff (the deeds of Les Mi11s enterprise). Their so called trendy fitness programs will be licensed to markets so that Asians could only be in roles that keep paying to buy or license or brainwashed with their materials. Any inventions, creations, good concepts or skills would be aggressively robbed away or fought over and kept in the arms of the small group of white people. Nowadays you may see Wing Chun or martial arts taught and promoted by Caucasian masters with no mention of any so called intellectual property or legal framework around amassing fortune from Asian enterprise to milk the west. BUT, if you want to be seen leading or teaching pop music filled trendy English aerobic fitness programs, don’t even think about or imagine you may be given opportunity to do videos and sell them in popularity. Like how Apple sues Samsung for so called infringement, the system has been defined and setup so that people ignore the natural inborn talent and potential each of us have from birth about technical developments and creativity. Just count yourself lucky that they haven’t exploited the media and political influence to get you ‘judged’ for invented and imposed crime allegations and jailed yet, for many people placed in jury roles were also brainwashed that the Asian guy was the saboteur, or some discredited IP thieve who stole US secrets to China. So if you want a love relationship with a white race, in the human logic sense (not machine or academic logic), you should be an Asian women waiting to get fucked hard in bed. If you’re not, you’re in a wrong role/position, and going for roles relating to hard working labour, mathematician, computer scientist, finance consultant, architecture, fung shui consultant etc might be feasible roles ordinary people accept. Unfortunately, for USA, the president announced they ban buying any IT products from China for consumption in DOJ, NASA or other govt entities. So unfortunately it means like invading Iraq claiming they are the axis of evil with mass destruction weapons, your hopes of working as an accepted successful Asian international IT entrepreneur is defeated because now they want to install the concept among people that the tech products invented and made by Chinese are evil and trap filled that poses security threat. They want the world to believe American Microsoft products pose no security threat to Asian Department of Justice because nobody from Microsoft or FBI can hack into it. Nor can you dare to be a high spokesman for new IT features because you run into the minefield of infringing so called first hand invention by Western people, when these ideas or inventions might have been silently stolen from Asia then legally protected. Just thank God they still haven’t made up some people that claim Shaolin kungfu has infringed the fight choreography in Hollywood and allowed those Chinese to appear in shows. If they became too famously successful and dominating they will die from surprise accidents and ‘mysterious’ deaths or ‘stupid overdose of vitamins’ with nobody ever able to seek legal recourse as long as it eats into the wealth and well being of Asian people. Simple as that.

  29. I’m afraid I’m not aware of this education programme you speak of that 90% of people fail so I would be completely oblivious. Perhaps you could give more detail on this education programme. Also I will stress points 1 and 4 in my previous post.

    • Not really, Al. At least not to you (I notice you haven’t identified what company you work for).
      Because then I’d be identifying myself, and possibly get a black mark put against me by Kiwis who think I’m one of those tall poppies that need cutting down.
      Life may not be fair, but I can guarantee there’s more interesting times ahead for NZ.

    • You totally miss my point. The fact that NZ employers never respect to Asian professionist even though we’re better performance than KIWI. You only specific on stereotype of people and races such as African & European migrants are better chance to get job in NZ because Kiwi more favour participate to white Western any way. Perhaps if Kiwi are refine enough to consider candidates by professional criteria, not by words on mouth from your own community, then we can have the fair opportunity to prove to you that we’re not different from any other skin colours. ALL ABOUT KIWI’S ATTITUDE TOWARD US. TO BE REALISTIC, HOW WE CAN BE ACCEPTED IN YOUR COMMUNITY, KNOWING THAT KIWI PEOPLE ARE RACIST TO ASIAN, THEN YOU BLOCK OUR JOB OPPORTUNITY BY REQUIRE FOR YOUR COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATION !!! KNOWING THAT IT WILL NEVER EVER HAPPEN !!!!

  30. I’d like to share some hard facts from someone on the other side of the fence (I am an employer) and I’m also a kiwi but am currently based in an overseas country.

    I personally receive around 50 speculative CVs to my e-mail inbox every week from people all over the world seeking employment. Due to the shear numbers of speculative CVs I receive, I have come to treat them as little better than spam and the vast majority (around 99%) of these are immediately deleted without being read. I get a lot of CVs from countries like India (I guess due to shear population) and others are speculative CVs sent by recruitment agencies. These speculative e-mails generally get deleted without even a second thought, you can put in as much effort as you like into your cover letter and CV but it’s not going to make a difference.

    So what advice do I have for job seekers?

    1. Understand the importance of networking. As an employer I am far more likely to notice you or give you a job offer if you come with a recommendation from someone I know and trust. Yes that’s right it’s all about who you know, it matters it really does. No matter how much you try and say it shouldn’t, it does. Networking is all about your ability to market your skills to perspective employers.

    2. Of course it’s possible to get a job offer by sending out speculative “spamming” CVs (you might get lucky) but unfortunately the odds are stacked against you.

    3. Even if I do end up reading your CV, I will probably not spend and more than about 30 seconds skim reading it, so you don’t have much time to try and get your message across.

    4. Job hunting is not always fair. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best qualified and hardest working employee, if you can’t get that message across to your prospective employer you will not be noticed. Again I will stress here why networking (marketing your skills) is so important to your job prospects.

    5. Don’t take rejection too personally. As an employer, rarely do I reject an applicant because I think they are not qualified or unable. It is more likely that they simply failed to get my attention and I simply did not notice them. Or perhaps it was just bad timing, ie right person wrong time.

    I certainly don’t go out of my way to discriminate against good qualified employees but you also need to realise that employers are very often very busy people and employing/recruiting people is an expensive and time consuming activity. I certainly don’t have a lot of time for people spamming me with speculative CVs. Also remember that employers frequently receive hundreds of CVs when they advertise for a position.

    • If people gain employment by sending you e-mails,
      does it occur to you that they don’t think you are worth the price of a printed piece of paper chronicling their achievements and value they bring to your business, that is spell-checked, precise and accurate?

      BTW you mean “sheer” not “shear”.

      And what about people who have completed their entire education in a skills shortage area in YOUR country, that 90% of others taking the programme, failed?

      Are they not to be considered if their skin colour is different from yours?

    • To Mr Al, the employer NZ (comment #35 above) ; This is the reason why we call NZ employers are discrimination because you only consider people from your network connection which is not suppose to be in the international professional standard. Or otherwise, education is not the real reason for anyone to be considered for getting a job in NZ. Don’t employers in NZ should learn to recognise the valueable of human resourses who deserve to get the job, rather than the back up that candidates should have. It just only ‘FAKE’ of KIWI typical, you never realise that you lost the valueable human resources and you get the stupid one to work with you just because they have someone to back them up. JUST LEARN TO GIVE CHANCE TO THE QUALITY OF PEOPLE.

  31. I must admit this is one of the most grim view of Newzealand I have ever heard or read, I was in the UK but the visa policies there changed and had to come back to Pakistan. I was planning to move to another country to find work and NZ was one of my options. I say ‘WAS’ because after reading all that I have read I don’t think I should apply. I am of the opinion that merit is the only parameter a person should be judged (when it comes to work) hence my reason of leaving Pakistan.

    All that I knew before coming to this blog was that NZ is a beautiful place with friendly population and abundance of sports.

    I really am shocked to hear the stories I really am ….

    • The fact that most people outside of New Zealand have an unrealistic view and are not aware of the actual conditions there, is why many former migrants are coming out and mentioning it on these forums. Unlike the paid-for sponsored forums, which are run by special interests, we want to make sure that genuine information is available on the Internet. The only way we can warn people is to go on the Internet and spread the word. Then at least they will be informed if they decide to move there. Many of us did not have the information we needed to make a sensible choice, and made the bad choice of moving there. Our lives were set way back as a result. I’m glad that you have learned something valuable to your life and not made the mistake we did!

    • beautiful place? well, i.e. if you have a ton of free money and time to troll around paying for all the transport/accommodation/food costs etc. do the trees and beautiful run down buildings pay you money to do work? friendly population? so friendly they yell at you or nice to you only because the agenda is to take money away to exchange for crap? abundance of sports? or is it more like clique groups of activities that cost money anyways, and if you don’t have cash to burn, who is interested to sport with you?

  32. Hi, everyone who is migrant in here. I feel it’s really caughted deep down in my heart when I read all of your migrant experiences in NZ. As I am the one who’re in the same boat with you also.
    I came from South East Asia, the country that have the nickname of ‘Smiling Country’. I borned and brought up in this country with the environment of friendly and welcome to every foreigner in the capital city of my homecountry. I graduated Master Degree from the international standard university in my homecountry, had > 9 years experience working professionally with foreign companies in my homecountry where English is necessary. My boss were Germans, Europeans, Americans, Indians and etc.
    With my professional & international background I can applied for PR with NZ quite easy under the skill migrant scheme because my background has been recognised by NZQA automatically equivalent to Level 9 of NZ.
    First instance I felt really glad becoming Kiwi as I have acknowledged that NZ is developed country, therefore my priority assumption is everything in this country must be better than my homecountry as we’re just being ranking as developing countries. I have thought that it gonna be the real challenging of my life if I can work and live in a developed country of the world!
    I have been in NZ since 2006 never been back home yet, as I’ve tried very hard to keep my status here and keep surviving myself in NZ learning all along from my real painful experiences in NZ then knowing that what’s going wrong in Kiwi social!
    I only worked for a local Kiwi employer for 1 year in 2009 and my unrealistic working journey in NZ was end in 2010 as the similar to every unlucky professional migrants in NZ. I can’t say much about how I have been treated unfair by native people in this country, as to my experience trying to tell the truth seeking justice in NZ but it’s only become the more I tell the fact, the more I will be treated more & more mean & nasty by them ! Since then I have to remind myself to be aware of telling the truth about their people in this country. I become a silent victim living in NZ, watching things’re gone wrong about people in this country!
    Until now I haven’t got any job yet! with my age becoming lately mature I cope with difficulty coming back to get job at home. I waste my life, my time & all the whole of my saving of life to not refined people/country.
    Every time I studied in NZ, I always got the top high mark of the class whilst those Kiwi classmates failed to pass the subjects that they have dealt with it every day because they come to the classes with well-groomed showing off their young experiences working with the big high-prof. companies of NZ. These guys announce their intelligence personality being chosed by employers with their none education & background in that job at all ! This is how prof. criterias of employers choosing candidate to work for.
    I

  33. Hey Friend..I think you did good by leaving NZ as soon as Possible, not to sound harsh but I think growing up here or having a “Kiwi parent”(as in your case) could have transferred what a lot of kiwis display, a false Supremacy Claim Due to a inferiority complex, Its a defensive mechanism you will see among a lot of New Zealanders however its not limited to them, however you do see this a lot more here then maybe among the likes of the EDL. I think there is an old saying in Chinese “Enforce Your Inferiority, Encourage His Arrogance”, Its from a Chinese War Doctrine. I wouldn’t call you a “new race” but just a mixed raced person, So nothing too special about you. 😉 Actually this is exactly the kind of attitude that I see among New Zealanders, it ticks me off, New Zealanders regardless of their race, Born here, or immigrated at an early age or just excepted the NZ lifestyle, if you could call it that. They are peple with even less historical background then their ancestors and thus suffer from this inferiority complex and they somehow try to feel better for it by wanting to be “Worshiped” when they are not drowning themselves in alcohol. I know some history about New Zealand, not a lot but enought to get me by, Majority of New Zealanders are of English or Irish Heritage, There is a small minority of French as well. So that is basically they are Anglo – Celtic people, However there are many shades of “White” and what we call Europe is quite a large zone with many enthinicities and “Shades”. Not all of as come from the same tree and some of us have a lot more history and contributions. So I think calling themselvs European as an unbrella term would be selfish and very wrong since these few countries dont represent the rest of Europe. I myself come from what you’d call Aryan background and if we started talking about our history it would be longer then the nile river. Not to sound rude but personally I could never think of marrying a New Zealander or a Westerner and share my genetics with them, they share nothing of my (or any) culture or civilization, and I find their values and morals very different then mine, a preview while living in NZ tells me there is too little they value. Anyway, you didn’t tell us much about your Ancestry, what part of Asia and Europe are they/you from? East Asian as in Japanese, Chinese, Singaporean, Indonesian? How long did you spend outside and inside NZ? What goals did you or do you have?

    If it makes you feel any better, its not just a immigrant, asian or “eurasian” problem. Even New Zealanders our age 20’s up to 35 Years now are having difficulty trying to land a proper job, Many I have seen aspire something but end up being Assistants and Clerks, and if you can suck up to it and treat people real bad they might even make you a manager after a few years. Most Asians I meet were people from China or India and they all worked the bottom barrel jobs, KFC, Subway, McDonalds, And some in places such as Call Centers, Local Dairies, a bit higher ups at Farmers, K-Mart etc. You know, my friend who was raised here (white south african) has a Bachelors Degree in Computers, he spent a lot of his saving including what he got from selling his car on a university education over three years, and last time I meet him he Drives a DHL Courier Truck and borrows money from his parents. I don’t have the means to travel(Funds of Qualifications) but I can dream of getting out of here one day, 🙂 So I did some research over the past few years, and if It helps then I wanted to tell you to Stay Away from Singapore, take my word for it, instead look towards Malaysia, (Disregard what the media says all these media outlets are full of zionist lies and propaganda, they lie and boast about their own countries, you know that. They wont really tell you the truth about others). Malaysia is one of the few countries I had picked in asia actually, If I do ever move that would be one of my options. Life is very fair, its the people in these countries aren’t, Get out and stay out while you can and dont bring your kids here or they will hate you one day like I hate my parents. Best of luck 😉

  34. I’m a eurasian (50/50). I don’t consider myself asian or white at all, but of a completely different race. I find it insulting if anyone calls me an asian or white. My ancestors first came to NZ over 100 years ago. I was born in NZ but raised abroad. Even with my university degrees and years of work experience as a professional abroad, I found it impossible to secure a job offer in NZ, but I did get a lot of interviews. Both my parents didn’t have any problem getting work in NZ though after they came back to NZ from abroad. In the end, I got fed up and left the country. This time I plan to remain abroad. Perhaps I should head off to Singapore, where eurasians are regarded as the most superior race, much more superior than the whites. Now I should ask myself this question “Why Can’t Eurasians Find Work In NZ?”

    • I might be wrong and biased, please also excuse me if you find my thoughts rude and offensive (corrections welcomed). first, I want to criticize the guy above who studied years of political science and out of work – shouldn’t he have more political and social sense to access the market and situation instead of complaining not being given a ‘chance’ for his ‘talent’? also for the Eurasian, I think I can understand how he gets treated well in Singapore because the cultural setup is making Asians speak English and mixing and blending everything. I guess in nz they’re not that interested to be in the mixing mode, which I can appreciate if you may try to understand from their remote island perspective. you should rather appreciate any nimble mindedness instead of expecting them to integrate and compete with the modern world to be open and everything.

      if you’re a Eurasian, you may be a person who don’t radiate the feeling of being a western person, and carry an undesired Asian face that don’t resemble model looks that appear in movies or media which is easy on the eyes. as such, people feel while you cant gain warm and good relationships with Asian people because your way of behaviour, character, language and thinking alienates you or you think you’re different,
      from the white perspective you are also alien like and not a kind of theirs. your cultural and interests might also be out of touch with the current mindsets of the locals, so from a locals’ perspective, why risk choosing someone who they don’t feel resonating with or having a different embarassing opinion? are you able to have this introspection that I am trying to explain? do the maoris see you as a buddy? can you cook home made meals that the kiwis or pacific islanders enjoy thoroughly in a party? or if you are bad with relationships, can you up skill yourself with something such as being able to fly helicopter/plane and train people to ski with some relevant accomplishments of your own such as public awards etc, or being able to clear blocked shitholes or climb some tall poles to fix something, that kind of stunt?

      also if you have any superiority complex or looking for perks and privileged treatment, if I was the employer I might not feel at ease, because sooner or later you might have political issues or desires that render you angry or leaving and sabotaging stability of the operation. your mind might have been drifted away with other opportunities or ‘better’ treatment in Singapore instead of new Zealand.

      if there are other kiwis competing for your job role, why must they reject the kiwi brother instead? in my personal experience, when I dealt with Eurasians, I felt they were unable to speak a fluent 2nd/3rd language to engage closely and in a friendly level tone with Asians because somehow they are lazy or want to set themselves apart by reserving a European identity. some may use a convenient lie or excuse claiming English being the international language and therefore they have no need to master the Asian language, with a condescending and undependable attitude to look down upon the asian market while wanting to find perks and wealth from it, which I feel very disrespectful, rude and unaccommodating.
      these people’s relationship with you seems founded mostly on how much perks they can get from you and was very superficial and shallow. it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, you feel they want nothing to do with you other than just perks.
      while I don’t advocate serious exploitation and abuse of good employees that benefit employers, I also think employers that feel threatened by any employees that only eye on the money instead of enduring any challenge to create value and success are not obliged to hire anyone in doubt.
      for a start, previously I had the very peaceful and nice guy mindset of accommodating someone that don’t have the job skills to get an opportunity to work and earn a living by letting them slip up, trained up or learn on the job. however now I regret this type of easy going open mind equality human rights thinking, because that person has a dishonest and greed that knows no bounds. not only does she want to steal jobs, preferential renumeration without relevant qualification and training, attack you, mess up operations, lie and blame something/someone else, shows no loyalty, empathy or remorse for damage caused etc, the fact that the candidate didn’t demonstrate genuine sincerity by investing effort and time to learn and know the relevant job skill/craft indicates the candidate has no intention or ability to do the job well but merely wanting to get paid for doing little, cheating and playing politics. if they were given knowledge and training, they still remained incompetent and unable to fulfill the duties. what can you say about these people that just outright piss off the colleagues and bosses, become a liability for the business, and have no sense about expectations of people but always think you’re entitled with something from others? if a job is so easy, well rewarded and attractive, you bet there would be so many people lining up to compete to earn it. If you’re a Eurasian that is worth it, I think you should prove yourself by offering to train people on multi foreign language, equip yourself with a ton of business/legal know how to foster international trade etc so that you can foster and assist tourism and exports to make both clients and bosses win. have you done your own part on this?? even for myself I do sometimes have a victim mentality and out of employment in local and nz market. but I tried to endure the hardship by doing something productive, rather than just day dream and complain. I tell myself – if I was given the textbook and unable to get full marks on exam, am I to be blamed for making errors and failing, or should the examiner be blamed for giving me a difficult problem? obviously I think I am to blamed and I am not invincible. with such introspection, I understand my own weakness on lack of political power, financial power, intellectual power, physical power etc, and feel grateful for all coming paid job offers that I thank god for giving myself an opportunity to work and feed my own life without becoming someone else’s problem. I think any education I have received with support from parents or government I do thankfully appreciate, and where I cannot afford the budget to learn, I try to do some self learning with available opportunities, and the internet is a great place to find information. while I feel many people don’t have real powerful abilities other than writing, simple calculations, saying things and moving abit (unlike what I saw about some people being able to eat 3000 hamburgers or memorise 1 million numbers), I think the minimum value they can offer is a basic sense of responsibility and integrity. if they don’t have physical attraction etc, it is the basic humble job service and honesty that I think is worth it and all that matters, like an obese low educated office assistant I met at work, he hasn’t got looks or qualifications or anything, but he is able to take care of all the little things like typing and keeping things in order with a very humble pay. I felt he is a great colleague and human being, and if I do have any chance and time, I would try to help him land a paid job. do you have this kind of magical sense that made people enjoy your company? have you ever tried to go the the street to offer people free hugs and give people happiness instead of living under a victim mode complaining nobody gives you a shit? I have done high paid glamourous or shitty low paid work before now and if you do it great there are cases where people do come back to me and ask me if im interested in this next opportunity. so life has had many unfair sides to me also, but it still has hope if you do strive to create value and brighten someone’s day. the world is sometimes quite insane, and why you saw news about say, some people in French telecom or chinese factory suicide, says a lot how much workload and pressure they had to endure while under a paycheque. I personally think we should set a max limit of how much shit we can take for the finite amount of pay received relevant to how much problems we solved from our own ability, but also we should try to sit aside and ask ourselves the question: do people perceive you as some spoiled generation who cant take a beating and who is just all talk and no substance? if you can demonstrate your ability, say you can overcome living costs and work on no basic income to generate sales and profit for someone, bringing in a multimillion dollar deal and create no trouble for the boss, why wont bosses want your help regardless of race? mind you, to generate a fortune (i.e. not a few thousand dollars) for yourself and someone, it is not only technical skills or perseverance, you have to overcome competitors, peoples deceit and cheatings, political attack, legal minefields etc. if you complain nobody is hiring you, you could have spent some time create a great website that people like. if you cannot overcome the challenge of finding advertisers, paid subscribers, competition etc, then you should not complain it is a new Zealand employment/employer issue that you’re disadvantaged as a Eurasian, but rather your inability to create or generate money by overcoming obstacles that the kiwi themselves have to overcome in the first place before handling out money to you as nobody would probably see which person is behind the website, how can the users discriminate whether you’re Eurasian or what. if you operate a failed business again and again, im sure you learn something valuable about human nature, practical problem solving skills, only if you’re not murdered or made insane rendering lifetime hospitalization, you still get a chance to do something. just don’t think new Zealand will offer you a prime minister or some prime positions or fair go. if you can figure out a spot to feed yourself while overcoming all the prejudice and unfairness, then you deserve all the admiration and credit. I definitely think the money and livelihood don’t get handed over to anyone including myself on a gold plate 5 star hotel fashion without any pain or difficulty. otherwise why would there be so many upset or suicidal people who think their lives were screwed? obviously following a well known, established easy path cannot be counted on in our lives. people are not dependable, laws get breached, rights get violated, accidents happen, and of course I felt the most evil thing was telecom probably violating your privacy and spying on you and defeating your every move and attempt to reach out for help, and media skewing people’s impression on any target they see fit. you may say it is an uphill battle, but like bodybuilding, we do need to overcome the hardship to get anywhere. aside from all the hate and hurt, may god bless you and myself to find peace and courage to overcome life’s stress. 🙂

      if you do not equip yourself with what the employer needs that benefit him or take a beating in life with enduring hardship, why then complain nobody is hiring you, or, if you think your skill is so great and valuable, why cant you just setup your own business and find clients who buy into you speading the word around how wonderful you are instead of expecting an entity to pay for it especially if you want some easy glamourous treatment or do something that even a kid on the street is able to do? I recall seeing some pity Chinese locals not having priviledged training, backing etc did so humbly creating some old fashion low tech merchandise like clothing or hair comb etc, selling for pennies and begging tourists to buy, suking in silence seeing people’s disinterest… are you able to remove any western or European superiority thinking and create some low priced cool merchandise that everyone wants to buy so employers flood to seek your talent? if you can’t, even if you want to work as a hair dresser, you probably have to expect to be able not only to make the client happy and charge a modest fee but also compete with many other businesses that were setup. if you don’t even want to endure that kind of hardship but just put up a condescending attitude sitting at home waiting for people to come to you while watching infomercials, then you cant even afford to go to suicide at a nz lake because they cost money to get to!

      • however now I regret this type of easy going open mind equality human rights thinking, because that person has a dishonest and greed that knows no bounds. not only does she want to steal jobs, preferential renumeration without relevant qualification and training, attack you, mess up operations, lie and blame something/someone else, shows no loyalty, empathy or remorse for damage caused etc, the fact that the candidate didn’t demonstrate genuine sincerity by investing effort and time to learn and know the relevant job skill/craft indicates the candidate has no intention or ability to do the job well but merely wanting to get paid for doing little, cheating and playing politics. if they were given knowledge and training, they still remained incompetent and unable to fulfill the duties. what can you say about these people that just outright piss off the colleagues and bosses, become a liability for the business, and have no sense about expectations of people but always think you’re entitled with something from others?
        This is why I say psychopaths get ahead.
        The good candidates are ignored, the slick people with charm are chosen.
        Well and good to complain about what they do … but you also burned a decent person by choosing a psychopath ahead of them.
        But it also speaks to persons looking just at superficialities … they get what they choose, along with the consequences.

        • this i guess is why there were massive downtime and problems when telecon rolled out any projects like xt or xtra or whatever it is or will be. just because the company internally is full of foul play, politics, dishonest people and bullies. if thats how the people at the top like to live life by gaming the system and stealing the whole country’s privacy and using the financial power and secrecy, target any staff or business competitor until they are exterminated without any sense of fair play. if they mastered the asian language, they would have subjugated and eaten up other neighbouring countries using their tactics and setup a few d beckham roles for a few planned white dude to be fed for generations and suck in massive resources to plan for the trip to space at the expense of millions of other normal people that play by all the ‘rules’. i have no idea the chinese still clueless how they drive themselves into economic suicide by being cheap labour and making fortunes for app1e, providing manufactured goods for western countries where those countries make more money by gaming and reselling the sweatshop goods instead of the people that burnt the hard resources and labour. the world is like every shit tiny crap company or large country scale corporation’s so called little vice president or ceo feels they are entitled to abuse other people they recruited and yell at them or to find underhanded ways to exploit them. i.e., if their human existence living cost to be fed a healthy diet is $1000, the folks want to hire the person to intense labouring for the price/salary of $300, thus having $700 to $10000 extracted or profited, and thereafter after a short while, dump the person and even smear them and give them a bad name. this is the danger of organisations, corporations and companies demanding people to disclose all their true private data, because the people that access these data themselves are more like thieves and dishonest managers, the candidates are like sheep to be slaughtered and controlled by evil spirits.when the nation is engulfed in a culture of rugby sports where the ends justifies the means and winning at all cost, and people writing fake warning or reference letters to defame those with good character, it is very worrying some kiwis now try to hard sell their pitch about generating wealth for nz using food science/safety engineering. all that will be is just like their r1bena blackcurrent juice that claim it is so healthy and rich in vitamin c, when in reality it could be junk with no vitamin, or, like how the white bullies that damage people’s lives and careers forcing them out of workplace that sells itself as a great place to work, the same story repeats in other industries and areas, and the exported food may end up being more like a new opium war where the unenlightened asian citizens become addicted to health endangering expensive crap created and controlled by your untrue kiwi ‘friend’ backed by and powered by well financed giant corporations. if you do sue them they will run you over like the govt tank running over people in june4 massacre. they are well financed not because they want to share good life with you for real. its because they want to slowly or quickly take away your life, wealth and rights! just keep watching… they will game and cheat the system so they silence the critics.

      • Hello pt for that very long rant. I’m the eurasian guy who wrote the post. The thing is, jobs are not easy to get in NZ for anyone of any race, and I was highlighting my case in particular, that eurasians have it tough too, and the fact that this thread is about “Asians in NZ” I thought I might put eurasians in perspective, and that it’s not just the Asians who should be complaining that they are having it hard. Like I said, I am proud to be a Eurasian. There’s nothing wrong with that. But you know, I never really lived in NZ and I spent all my childhood years overseas. As a result, if you were to listen to me, you couldn’t guess where I’d be from. I’ve had people say that I’m from UK, USA, Canada, China, Kazakhstan (that’s an interesting one!), Russia, and yes Maori NZ too (yes people have said I look Maori), but I think the Maori are a loud bunch and I would rather not have them as my neighbors.

        The fact is, I get along well with some people, and not so with others regardless of their race like everyone else. Though of course, I take upon a different view due to combined western and asian influences throughout the whole of my life. You can call it perhaps an international one? I have tried to learn other languages but they can be quite hard, particularly chinese and russian, as anyone who has english as their first language would know. As for being friendly, depends on who I’m talking to and the occasion really. I don’t particularly like Singapore but I was just highlighting the fact that all countries are racist anyway in one way or another and I guess you’d just have to accept it and move on, without getting upset over it of course. But thank you for your time in writing that and I wish you well.

      • “if you’re a Eurasian, you may be a person who don’t radiate the feeling of being a western person … ”

        The “feeling of being a western person”? What, you mean he does not scream racial slurs and telling the migrants to go back to their country?

        “and carry an undesired Asian face that don’t resemble model looks that appear in movies or media which is easy on the eyes … ”

        Just how many average “Kiwis” actually “resemble model looks that appear in movies or media which is easy on the eyes”? As for “undesired Asian face”, I actually find the Asian face quite desirable, thank you very much. You sound like a white supremacist who thinks of himself a little too highly. You are probably a lout who thinks he looks as good as whoever the hottest actor in NZ is right now.

        “as such, people feel while you cant gain warm and good relationships with Asian people because your way of behaviour, character, language and thinking alienates you or you think you’re different … ”

        Not sure how your previous two points leads you to this conclusion. But you seem to love the sound of your own voice, so proceed. Anyways, instead of psycho-analyzing somebody you know absolutely nothing about, why not just take him at his words? He said he was a Kiwi, and therefore, he really had nothing in common with an Asian immigrants. That was why he could not fit in with the Asian crowd. There, done. Occam’s Razor. No need for some long-winded psychobabble that nobody will read anyways and is just designed to make think that you are some kind of a big shot intellectual.

  35. Reading all the previous comments here, I thought to tell my share of ‘fairy-tale’ of my sojourn to the great nation of New Zealand. While I could go on and on about the incidents of racism and bigotry that I experienced in New Zealand, I will at this instance keep it restricted to work.

    See, I my case, I landed in NZ as an international student and completed a Degree in Information System. I thought I would be flooded by offers, given that my area of expertise was in skill shortage list. I genuinely wanted to stay in NZ for a few more years, and gather some experience. Guess what, that was a bad call. In colleges I worked on a project for a very prominent company as part of my curriculum, so I thought I should apply there first, after some one and a half month I got a very sad looking reply that they couldn’t employ me as I didn’t fit their criteria well. Surprise surprise, these are the same folks that benefitted greatly from my project and now I wasn’t fitting into their woodwork. Alas! I should have gone back to India, my motherland , that’s what I thought seeing that rejection. But then I though that it was their loss that they didn’t employed me, and moved on. After that I literally was applying some five jobs per day, money was less so I got a part time job as a petrol pump attendant, something that I wouldn’t have done back home. But my New Zealand dream was keeping my blood warm while I was filling up people’s car at five in the morning, in bone chilling winter. I had high hopes for myself, I thought I will get an interview call today. Nothing happened.

    My friend suggested to go meet an employment consultant in Hamilton. So, one day I dropped in to the office. And guess what happened. The dude who was hardly taking any interest in me finally got over me and in a very harsh tone asked me. ‘ Would you Indians give me a job if I go begging for it in India? ‘ and ‘ Why don’t you go work at a petrol pump? Your Indian folks run that industry’ . That was the most humiliating thing ever, not because working at petrol pump is a low class job in my opinion, but it was him trying to humiliate me. Well, I thanked him my most gracious of voice, and in pure kiwi accent and walked away as I was getting late for my job at Petrol Station!

    I come from a very educated family, so I was rather concerned now. Time was flying and there wasn’t any phone call yet, my inbox was flooding with rejections.I wasn’t able to comprehend the why of it and my effort to know why often failed as the job advertisers failed to give an formidable reply for rejection. Anyways, one day I realized I had lost a significant amount of weight, was anemic and in a constant state of depression. It was hard to make ends meet working at the petrol station.

    I am a Muslim with Arabic sounding name and am definitely not a terrorist. I was in terror myself, terror of losing my sanity. One day I was visited by my friends father, he is American and owns a company in New Zealand. I talked to him and was telling what I was going through, to which he offered me a job saying that he has some industrial contacts and he can work it out for me. I had to refuse, a man of honor I was. How could I have accepted someone’s favor.

    I denied politely, to which he suggested that I should try change my name to an English sounding one and give it a try.His suggestion worked and I was got three calls in the next one month, and finally accepted a position in Tech Support, for which I was definitely overqualified but having something is better than nothing.

    My job was in Queenstown! Yay, i thought. The pay was below industry standard and there was no added perks. I knew I wouldn’t be able to save a dime there, i knew i was not going to get any return of the eighty grand of my parent’s hard earned money that was shelled upon my education in this great nation.

    Anyways, I started out. I found it too cold and very expensive place. My office environment was rather cold, I was the only non white there. It didn’t made any difference to me but I noticed that the co- workers were rather concerned by it. I ignored that, tried to be friendly and on good terms with everybody and focused on my job. Soon it came crystal clear that there was some serious cases of mismanagements inside, and there was a group of bullies who held their domain upright. Kiwis run their companies like they run their country,by boasting and not delivering. Anyway, soon I was working overtime without pay, I had the greatest workload and yet the credit went to my south African team leader who didn’t even held a diploma, and was definitely under qualified and was just baking his bread there. I was working for them, rather than the company. I felt reduced, depressed and bullied. My advices weren’t looked upon, and they looked down upon me.I was often called upon by my boss and false allegations were made! Also, very often they used racial slurs and once I was even told a terrorist by one of the managers. My complaint went in vain, and soon they created a situation to throw me out. And guess what, they were successful.

    The day I walked out of that dreary place, I gained back my lost self confidence. I felt good,I called m folks and bought a ticket back home. And within a month of my return I got a very nice job in IBM India, working with qualified and warm people who actually have knowledge. And I often regret for waiting so long, and it’s only now that when I compare, I can see how DUMB New Zealanders are!

    No wonder the country is going to the Gods, while the immigrants are facing radical problems. I wonder if John Key cares about it while trying to avail investors from Asia?

    My suggestion to potential immigrants, if you read the likes of Anton Chekov and Bertrand Russell, find a better option. If you are DUMB and are only good at guzzling tonnes of Alcohol and sleeping around, look toward the great nation of New Zealand!

    • Pretty good that u had ur way out. A sound judgement not to waste ur precious time in that country u once called “great”. So much for racism & crab mentality; sacked u after having sucked the blood in ur veins.

    • Loved Zeb’ s summary of the NZ way,’ boasting and not delivering’. Fairly astute methinks. Some Kiwis have an overinflated sense of their own importance. I am sick of hearing about the ‘kiwi connection’ on the news every night. Oh and beaches and beautiful scenery are everywhere not just in NZ.

    • I feel for you, man. I come from a Taiwanese family, and my family stayed in NZ for 4 years. And in those 4 years, my father could not find a job, even though he was a highly qualified mechanical engineer back home. Do not tell me he could not find something mechanical to fix in NZ.

      We had to survive on the NZ$1,000 my mom sent to us every month by being a teacher in NZ. But that was not enough, so we operated a small convenience store to make ends meet. That lasted 2 years, and in the end, we simply ran out of money, and we had to leave for greener pastures in America. I have never looked back since.

      New Zealand is like a vampire. All it does is suck out every drop of money in your pocket until you have nothing more to give, and then it will spit you out into another country. Do not commit the same mistake my family did and take your money elsewhere. Contrary to NZ government propaganda, the NZers do not want you here, and they will go out of their way to be as in-your-face as they can to show you that.

  36. i worked in burger king for one and half year as a strong team member.then there was delay of my visa for just five days.they terminated me saying that when u will get your visa status you can join again.i got my visa in the same week.i went back to my store and gave photocopy to my manager.she said she will call me .i waited for one month for her reply .then i called her again and she said u are not eligible for this job because you are not permanent residence of new zealand.
    I don’t know what happened in just five days that my eligibility changes from strong to non eligible.everything was same .i know it was just an excuse or we can say racism.
    we pay tax equal to a permanent residence of nz .we are allowed to work by immigration.we work hard even then we are facing this bull shit behavior.wtf!!!!

    • Very well said Mannu.I am trying to land job from last 2 years and have not received a single phone call from any “KIWI EMPLOYER” yet(Yeah, customizing CV and cover letter to each job) No consideration for my qualifications, skills and talent. I hold degree, graduate diploma-level 7 certificate,and work experience.I was told by the professional CV writer to make my name English sounding because employers toss away the CVs and applications with “Weird sounding name”(offended and feeling very sad), not even a single glance is given.They just weed you out in the name of “Diversity”. I feel this as discrimination because i never heard any positive response from these kind of organisations who mainly ask you about your ethnic backgrounds,gender, age, citizenship status and language you speak and RUN AS HELL WHEN THEY KNOW YOU DON’T HAVE ENGLISH SOUNDING NAME.This is my real experience.Actually i did a little experiment with my name and ethnic back ground thing. I created a fake CV with English name and in “Diversity section” ticked NZ citizen, NZ European and some experience but a little change in dates, did not Include home country education provider details etc…..Guess what??!!………..I GOT GODDAMN INTERVIEW CALL NEXT WEEK FROM THAT DIVERSITY LOVING ORGANISATION…..
      Now kiwi folks what do you call it???
      Employment discrimination, racism, bullshit behavior or what?

      Please NZ employers Do not judge people by their ethnic backgrounds, No employment discrimination please. I am not demanding any special treatment or playing race card.All I am saying is to respect skills, talent, experience and qualifications.Equal employment.Because NZ does not discriminate when inviting international students, bringing billions of dollars with them in education sector But does discriminate when it comes to equal employment.Why two faces???
      I am very disappointed and sad because after-all we are all HUMAN BEINGS yet treated as third class citizens.

  37. yes its just so hard as i have spent over 8 months to keep reviewing my cv and i even did a website to introduce myself, show off what i can do. But still no returns! wtf!!!

    • It was very tough for me, even with a university qualification completed totally in NZ. It may be even tougher for someone with absolutely zero NZ education background

      • Saying that “it may be even tougher for some1 w/ absolutely zero NZ educ background”, did u mean to say that NZ educ is far more superior than any other educ taken in other parts of this planet?

        • I mean that with zero idea of what to expect,
          plus a reality that if you come from an education system (Asia) where lecturers do not justify marks, and you are not used to arguing your case … beyond throwing a tanty or batting your eyelashes there’s not much you can do to improve the situation in terms of looking for a job … or even knowing where to start.
          Just to put things in perspective, the authoritarian Asian education system … leads to people who find it hard to be independent. Or speak out against wrongdoing. – Yes, I have personal experience with that.

          • Asian educ is pretty much good. Asian university graduates speak better English (as a second language) than most Kiwis,, if that is to say it bluntly.

          • Asian university graduates speak better English (as a second language) than most Kiwis,, if that is to say it bluntly.
            If they did … they’d refuse to take IELTS, in large numbers.
            They agree to it – meaning they don’t rate themselves highly. Or are scared of speaking up against what they consider unfair/biased treatment. “Respect for authority” :shake my head:
            I refused to take the IELTS test … and was given a written letter saying “You absolve the university of blame if you don’t understand the lectures”.
            They gave that notice to the wrong person – mainly because English is my first language.

          • you are well in debate bro but remember one things you can not say all the universities some universities provide much better education than international universities.

          • The fact that people falsify having degrees from certain existing universities more than others (and I know 2 STEM Master’s – DID NOT PASS – students who are doing/did just that) (there are also people who falsify having degrees from universities that DON’T EXIST) …
            means that there is obvious cachet when it comes to employment, having a degree from certain universities.
            From my experience it matters more for the management types though, as they justify big bucks through B.S.

        • @ann margaret
          I was referring to the job-hunting process. You may of course have a network of people in your community that you can count on for a job, which _may_ make things easier.
          But on the other hand, the more people that know your business … the more people have a hold on you and what you can do. Staying in a community is great – but remember that it also restricts the people you come across AND doesn’t prepare you for different opinions or the reality on the ground sometimes.

  38. whether they say its their preference for choosing the people they choose and not being racist, it is the same net result. there was a lot of dirty underhanded bullying going on when i was educated in auckland as an asian and eventually working in the largest telescum there. it was originally a life set out in good faith, but all privacy laws were breached, and your white coworker may come in and start a campaign of falsifying documentation to rob away your work credit and defame you inside out until you are overworked, stressed and burnt out, and financially manslaughtered. of course, who gives you justice or who follows any written law or policies? it is all BS. NZ is only interested to paint a pretty countryside picture to tourists and people that have potential to waste money there. the locals dont have a fair respect for your prescence and are mostly only interested to hear how much they can slaughter your wealth. i’d say, it is not a perfect world, and one way or another someone is poorer or richer, and people help or depends on each other. however, just dont have a fantasy that new zealand is some heaven with clean people and earth. when i first landed there, i faced all sorts of social injustice from bigotory to rudeness from people. bank staff at nati0nal bank dared to abuse their power and denied you opening savings bank account. and of course you are denied to lots of opportunities that are supposed to be ordinary and available to everyone. you may not even trust the police or justice system do give fair protection or justice. the only thing that i admired is their sporting culture, and a successful enterprised fitness industry like les mi11s. however, les mi11s is dumping their ‘inventions’ to foreign markets to sell ‘fitness’ which is just in a way promoting a small group of english whites and sucking blood money from neighbouring places. are you kidding the kiwi folks are interested in genuine love and friendship with you?!?! try approach some white girls, they dont give a damn about you, and many a probably brainwashed by some distorted media information!

    • It’s not just international students and immigrants facing the problems of unemployment, it’s local Asians too.

      So it seems my experiences in the time after I graduated … were not as unusual as others often dismissed it as.

      If people don’t speak out against racism and racial microaggression …
      it’ll come along to bite them later.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6633785/Year-of-the-Dragon-white-or-wong

      “A desperate job seeker is leaving New Zealand after coming up against racial bias in his job hunt, including the suggestion he needed to change his name to an English-sounding one just to land an interview.

      Anti-discrimination organisations are warning this type of racial prejudice is wasting some of New Zealand’s top talent.

      Yik Kun Heng applied for 175 jobs after graduating from the University of Auckland with a first-class masters in political science.

      He received just three interview requests, while his classmates with English-sounding names secured jobs.

      The frustrated graduate sought advice from a career adviser and colleague.

      Their advice? Change his name to an Anglo-Saxon one.

      “It’s almost like you have to give up your identity, everything you are as a person – your history – just to secure a job and pay cheque. That’s too much of an ask for anyone.”

      Heng is part of a wave of New Zealand- Asians hitting the workforce this decade.”

      …
      “Although Heng was eventually hired at a telecommunications company after a seven-month job hunt, he has decided to leave for Hong Kong.

      “No one should have to fight that hard to get a pay cheque, and that’s just to get a job. To get a career, what am I going to have to do?”

      Heng said he looked forward to being judged on his skills, rather than his name and ethnicity.

      Research shows Asian migrants are far more likely to have negative employment experiences compared to South Africans and British migrants.”

      “Strangers have abused and shouted “go home” at Fabian Low.

      His home is Auckland. He is from Christchurch. He was born in Singapore.

      He is one of the growing number of New Zealanders referred to as the 1.5 generation, with their identity wedged between Aotearoa and Asia.

      Many of the 1.5 generation came to New Zealand during the wave of migration from Asia during the 1990s.

      Low arrived at a Christchurch boarding school 18 years ago, aged 14. His parents followed a year later.

      Racial slurs aside, Low says it is difficult to gauge how deep racial bias and prejudice runs in this nation.

      “A minority of people openly expressed their [racist] views at me in Christchurch, but what I don’t know is what is going on deep in people’s minds.

      “In Auckland it’s more subtle. That’s not to say it doesn’t exist.”

      Last year Low faced an identity crisis when his Singapore passport expired. He had to either renew the passport of his birth country or adopt New Zealand as his nation.

      He chose New Zealand – the place he has now lived the majority of his life. Yet the struggles continue.

      Low said it’s not easy for the 1.5 generation to live up to the expectations of two cultures.

      Gently spoken and with a self- deprecating sense of humour, Low confesses to trying to fit in with other New Zealand men the only way he knew how – by drinking.”

      • Don’t young people have the chance of achieving their goals & dreams? No one can claim of ownership of this planet (so as to deprive anyone of fair chance).

  39. It takes time, be patience, and keep reviewing your CV + your cover letter! If you will secure any interview, keep watching Youtube about the job interview technique until you fall asleep in front of your computer or your iPhone. It took me 3 months to find a job in Auckland at the beginning of 2011. So it’s also about where you are looking for work too.

  40. Alot of kiwi’s find the chinese very arrogant and rude!..they always complain that this a racist country!..if they feel that way they should go back home!.

    • Heheh, I’d hold my laughter if I were you.
      If people can’t find work commensurate with their qualifications with a good wage in NZ …
      they’ll move on.
      Meaning that you have fewer people to tax, and hence the government may have to print more money or remove welfare for some people.
      Then you’ll really see some funny things happen.

    • lots of good hard labour and contribution made by chinese were hidden from public and sweap under the carpet. the chinese were abused or bullied by rude kiwis and went back home. it is not that they did not try to befriend or integrate or contribute to the NZ place. as a matter they have done more than what they should on many occasions, and it is not right to assume chinese is supposed to be a fat pig pending to be slaughtered until death when they may not even ask for more than just an ordinary warm work/home life. having not received fair go, many did return to asia because they see that their prescence was met with unfriendly hostility and contributions invalidated or unappreciated. would kiwis speak chinese when they are in china terroritiory? fuk no! would kiwis allow chinese to speak chinese when they’re in nz, fuk no! countless bad and rude stories of encounter with kiwis starting from boarding the air nz plane. its not worth to give a shit to these thankless folks. the only thing i admire is their fresh milk. other than that, their petrol smell shit and cars are more polluting than crowded cities in asia. aggressive and ruthless white kiwis walking on auckland’s queen street just bounce you away when they’re in your way, treating you like an invisible object! media is also corrupt. when we went to school, locals kept yelling at us claiming we are thieves of their education and we went there only because it is cheap and high quality. guess what? your education is not cheap or high quality, and we really didnt try to take it because it is better. we played by the rules, and weren’t there to rob or fight anyone. but your loud english mouth is hurtful and belligerent. whats the point if all your place has is mountains, trees, sheep, milk and crap buildings? the people being indifferent and overly financially aggressive, who likes to enjoy any true relationships or friendships only based on how much perks and money you can handout forever? we’re supposed to have our human rights trepeded over again and again and kept hidden away from your stupid media? we really enjoyed having our homes and cars broken into by your local thieves? we know how much we suffered and lost by forming association with your side, your loud english mouth does not change that. be it any of you argue us into submission, or play tricks with information manipulation, eventually large amounts of us see through your deceit.

      • Yep, some of New Zealand’s fighter pilots for World War II were Chinese. There’s plenty more non-Maori – non-White people from/resident in New Zealand that may not have been heard about.

        http://chineseanzacs.blogspot.com/

        Peoples’ investment towards and appreciation of the countries they choose to reside in increase when their contributions are recognised, and they aren’t treated badly.

    • RE: Nathan. This is their home. They are people of YOUR country. They have NZ citizenship. Stop treating people by their ethnicity and start treating them as if you were to treat yourself.

    • Already did. Now I am enjoying life in sunny California instead of that piece of crap New Zealand full of piece of crap white trash like you. And I will be sure to use that New Zealand passport as a toilet paper.

  41. Sounds like you need to harden up…And stop the crying. You could have done your homework and planned ahead via internet before you came here to nz. Maybe next time..Heheh

  42. Nathan, your use of English is embarrassing. Is that why you used an anonynmizer? (80.84.1.24)

    Understandable.

    • Lol, typical slow-witted “Kiwi”. Always throw out the racial slurs when confronted with reason.

  44. this question appeared today in a news article:
    http://nz.finance.yahoo.com/news/Give-Asians-shot-NZ-employers-yahoofinancenzwp-66016740.html?x=0

    many comments show the rabid racism present in the minds of many kiwis, this together with their deadbeat economy explains why asians (and other foreigners) can’t get jobs… now, the good thing would be that asians stopped wasting time, money and health by coming this place and went to Australia/Canada or other countries instead, leaving NZ without one of their main sources of cash, kiwis are begging for it!

    • I hope this won’t turn into a cynical exercise, with employers then choosing to employ only “Asian New Zealanders” vs. “Asian international students/graduates”.

      Some people have a tendency to pull the ladder up behind them and completely shut out opportunities for others after they have had their chance. That is what contributes towards a service stagnation and entitlement mentality, which also makes it difficult for those arriving later to establish themselves.

  45. “is a citizen and can’t find work either.” Immigrants are future citizens, and they’ve paid a heckuva lot more for their education than the domestic students. They pay full freight for all services, unless granted discounts by virtue of membership to institutions or societies. (And even in universities, for instance, they’re paying 5 times the rate of domestic students, for every paper) They don’t “game the system” with the relish of the natives.

    An important (and sobering) question to remember is: If the only industry New Zealand had to rely on was its agriculture (and the education and tourism draw did not exist), would the country be able to sustain itself? Would the country be able to develop? Would the DPB get paid to the people who scream for it? International students asking questions about whether they can find employment in New Zealand before, during, and after they attain their qualification never get their questions answered satisfactorily. It’s the elephant in the room.

  46. The fact that you address my post here, rather than in the “New Zealand Is Turning Into A Really Racist Country” article means that you don’t want people to see the full picture of what I speak about. Do you have a reason for doing that, mate?
    Drop the false kiwi bonhomie, I don’t buy it (not from you at least).

    “I love how you instantly assume because you don’t get a job, we’re “Racist””
    I love how you think you can think for me, mate! Instantly assume? The fact that you think it is a reason “worth instantly assuming” means migrants are on the right track with that assumption. It seems a lot of immigrants, have correctly “instantly assumed” racism was behind their economic hardship in a place marketed as a land of plenty, free speech and merit. Remember Occam’s Razor… And the only people who get offended in that way seem to be the covert racists, who want to write-off immigrants based on their race, without allowing anyone to speak up about it. Again, everyone (but especially victimisers) love a silent victim.

    If migrants were already talking about racism even in the good times, when Kiwis could afford to be choosy about the jobs they took, now in the bad times (and thank you for proving my point to me about your partner not being able to get a job despite their qualification)… how do you think the migrants will cope?
    And, by the way, these are the people paying for YOUR benefits so you can spend time arguing spuriously with me on the Internet…

  47. I love how you instantly assume because you don’t get a job, we’re “Racist” there’s ALOT of skilled people looking for work in New Zealand, and a piece of paper doesn’t neccesarily guarantee you a job. Plenty of Asian people get hired, so might be a good time drop the “racist” rubbish, and realise there’s more people in New Zealand than just yourself mate. My partner has a Bachelor in Electrial Engineering and Computer Engineering, is a citizen and can’t find work either, so it’s not just the Asians that are getting a raw deal.

    • yes is true actually there are many Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese, Philipino that work in NZ they are qualified and many are working in shops, offices, doctors and nurses. Not sure but i think Employers have to advertise in the paper for at least 60 days or so before employing people of other ethnicity…correct me if i am wrong. i am Kiwi inside and out…..but i do love other cultures too …..

    • I came to New Zealand just 2 months ago and I am moving back to India as I realised its all bulllshit that they welcome Asians and there are lot of jobs because moment you apply for a job they ask “do you have Newzealand experience” come on some just comes into the country and you ask for a New Zealand experience this means you don’t want to employ just say no. My advice don’t come to this country to settle . It’s a beautiful country for a holiday but not to settle down . I found London more economical and accommodating.

      • So, what is “NZ experience” in the work place?

        Learning how to suck up to the boss so you can keep your job? That’s pretty universal, kiwis just bring this to a new level.
        Not just sucking up, but tearing down as you go. Elevating via the backs of co-workers [and migrants are an easy target] has been practiced and developed to a level seldom seen elsewhere. Merit has little to do with job placement or advancement.
        So really, you won’t do well UNLESS you are familiar and have experience with this type of work environment.
        Most migrants [and people in general] want to accomplish and produce, a trait that is not valued in NZ.
        So, if you are skilled in you field and plan on making it on your abilities in that field, you will be sadly disappointed.

        • the trait valued in NZ is white skin, it is a racist country and my experience as a brown guy is awful. But who cares if NZ is a racist nation. There are better places to succeed in world. Good luck for your future.

      • I immigrate to NZ 7 years ago after I finish my Master degree and I tought it will be easier for me to get a job even as a toilet cleaner. My expectation are wrong. I was jobless for 3 months and I finally get a job as an industrial cleaner. Its a tough job esp for small woman like me but i did it very well. I try to integrate with the local coz thats what kiwi always said about asian that we dont integrate with the local. Unfortunately my working environment and the neighbourhoods are druggies, those pple who are on benefit and single mum with kids from different fathers. They are nice but these are the people u try to avoid. Still they are nice neighbour to talk to. After I met my Kiwi partner, he helps me to get a job at his work place. He also suggest me to find a group of kiwi woman to hang out so that i can have my social life like i had back in my country. Unfortunately, i was been verbally abused on my first night out with the kiwi ladies. One if the ladies said I got the job at that olace because of my partner, if not because of him i will just do odd jobs. I was very sad and i told this to my partner. This is actually not the first time. I told my kiwi partner my bad experience and how difficult I am to get a job here coz im Asian and i dont have any local qualification or job experience. He didnt believe all my stories. He just gave the typical kiwi answer,”coz u not good enough and must be something wrong with u.”
        From then on i just keep it to myself. I am no more telling any difficulty to anybody. Ive been doing all sorts of job. I suffered from depression. My life is just work home and nature. One day i will make it to where i want myself to be. In short New Zealand is not a country for you to build up a career, but for lifestyle, YES!

  48. Oh, it’s not “corruption and fraud”, it’s “making sure incentives are passed around to those that require them”… afterall, in a situation where “friends” and “inside knowledge” are the few things that get you a job, and covert racism abounds… well… let’s just say, one hand washes the other…

    • according to
      http://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/living-in-nz/safe-secure/corruption-free
      what a load of bullshit and propaganda!!! a website like that, along with telecon’s no bully website etc are big lies to paint a false picture. nz is full of underhanded maneuvers and bullying, even the folks that put up these dream messages themselves are guilty of the opposite. its too late if any stupid person believe any grain of these pictures and suddenly realised they are trapped and fooled. they’ll be in for the biggest let down in life and seeing people around them flee away leaving them damaged and unloved.

  49. Thank you for the link: “.

    ..Mr Deobhakta, who had been trying to get a group of 47 Indians to New Zealand last year, alleged that an immigration officer in New Delhi had demanded a $282,000 bribe to process their visas…”

    that’s a shocking amount of money.

    “…But a former immigration staff member, who used to work in New Delhi, said it was “common practice” for immigration staff in India to sell information. “I have no doubt he [the sacked worker] had passed on information obtained from the department for personal gain, but I know that 90 per cent of other officers at the New Delhi office also do it,” he said…”

    Perhaps we should give some thought to establishing a ‘corruption and fraud’ sub-page, there seems to be more and more stories like this coming out of the wood work.

    • But he obtained a bribe from an Indians. Right? You are very good people. NZ is not. But you will arrived to NZ. Please, choose good country. India!

      • Obtaining a “bribe” by “demanding money”, is not the same thing as being offered a bribe without asking for it.

        Can you spot the difference?

    • Over 500 agents in India have been fund to be offering false documents..
      Is it any wonder employers look sideways at Indians ????

      So many are just opportunists.. full of bullshit..

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