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Tricia Alach

For some, the move home represents the end of ‘away time as play time’ and the start of a real focus on building their career. For others, having done the ‘big career’ or the ‘big corporate thing’ while overseas, the return might be an opportunity to scale back, work for themselves or, be more selective about where they choose to work.

Undoubtedly, an individual’s experience is inextricably bound up in the complex range of reasons they chose to come back in the first place. For those who have come for family, lifestyle or health reasons, even a less than ‘perfect’ job can be perfectly fine, if it facilitates the other factors. But for those who feel they didn’t really choose to come back and don’t really want to be here, even the best opportunity can fall short.

In this post, I’ll share some of the most common experiences, along with insights and tips on navigating a happier return to working in NZ – which may actually start with (re)framing how you think about work..

Consider the possibility that small can be beautiful

One of the great shocks about working in NZ is the smaller size and relative youthfulness of organisations, compared to overseas. The challenges reported here include: jobs with a much smaller scope than what you are capable of doing, smaller budgets to play with, unprofessional ‘cowboy cultures’ and, a sense of disbelief at how many NZ organisations are just starting to engage with the challenges that are considered more or less solved in other parts of the world.

But, there can also be great opportunity in these smaller, less mature and (relatively) less well-organised businesses that constitute NZ Inc. The less structured approach to organising may create more opportunity for you to have your ideas implemented than might have been possible in the highly formalised and hierarchical organisations you worked in overseas. The smaller size, and informal culture, can also mean it’s easier to directly influence those at the top table and, the breadth of roles that comes from working in leaner, flatter organisations may mean more opportunity for you to extend your repertoire of skills beyond your area of expertise – great for those with ambition and a growth mind-set!

Go for Glocal

A number of multi-nationals have also set-up shop in NZ providing an opportunity to join a relatively small local operation which is also part of a large global group. This can provide a great ‘best of both worlds’ experience for those who want to be part of a smaller, less formal workplace while staying connected to the wider world. This may also provide a ‘softer landing’ for your return to the NZ jobs market, especially if you’ve been away a long time. Ask local recruitment consultants who might be hiring in this space.

If you’re still overseas, and working for a multi-national with an NZ presence, have a chat to HR and see if there might be a way for you to continue to work for the company from NZ. Even if there is no specific role in the local operation, many multi-nationals are so keen to keep good talent that they will create a remote role if they can.

Don’t make assumptions

The most commonly reported ‘good surprise’ is that there are lots of complex and challenging roles available in NZ organisations. The less welcome realisation though, is that in many NZ organisations, are often missing two things – a strategic mind-set and the foundations for responding to these challenges in a systematic and sustainable way.

Organisations may have a lower level of capability to what you’re used to, fewer resources or, in many cases, simply lack the experience needed to know how to organise work in an optimal way. This can be experienced as a pro or a con, depending on how you are wired – for some, being able to build something from scratch is seen as a major bonus, for others a giant red flag.

Do your research into which industries and organisations might be facing the kinds of challenges you are keen to solve and don’t make any assumptions about what the organisation might already be doing or, what structures and resources are already in place. When interviewing, ask questions to understand what you’d be walking into and discuss your ideas to gauge receptivity before you commit to taking the role. The bluntness of Kiwis is of real value in this regard – ask a direct question and most people will tell you the truth!

Accept that not everyone has an open mind so seek out those who do

Unfortunately, despite the value that internationally experienced talent can offer in solving many of the challenges facing NZ business, there are still some who maintain a closed-mind to doing things differently. Many returners report a great sense of frustration at not being able to make as big a contribution as they can, because what they’re suggesting is not ‘the Kiwi way’.

The best way to avoid this unsatisfying impasse (for both sides) seems to be; seek out organisations that already have a culturally diverse, internationally experienced workforce – especially those with an internationally diverse executive team. These are most likely the organisations where you will find value placed on those who bring a global mind-set and, offer both a receptiveness to your different ideas and, the opportunity to learn from others who might also think differently to you.

Tapping into the wisdom of specialist repat recruiters like Home Recruitment is a good way to gain some on the ground insight into which organisations might be a good cultural fit. You could also try the Kea New Zealand LinkedIn group or the Kiwis Migrating Home Facebook group.

Expect that your criteria will change

With few exceptions, most returners report that it took trying out a few different jobs to figure out what they actually wanted to do. Some formalise this process of experimentation, by choosing to contract rather than look for a permanent role – something local recruiters often recommend for those who have been out of the NZ labour market for some time.

But even for those who don’t want to contract, it’s likely that the first job you take when back in NZ won’t be your last. A variety of factors contribute to this, including:

Short vs. long term goals: many returners report that, initially at least, they’re heading home in pursuit of the traditional ‘Kiwi Dream’ – home ownership, a couple of free range kids (or fur babies) with plenty of safe, outdoorsy space for them to run about in.

This may mean the first job is the means by which they make this happen – a permanent role with a decent salary in an organisation that’s unlikely to go bust AKA one that will satisfy the banks enough to secure you a mortgage. But, once you’ve got the roof over your head sorted and are feeling more established within your professional networks, you may decide to branch out and take on work that is a bit less secure – working with a start-up, freelancing or even starting your own business. Or vice versa.

Same job, different organisation – different organisational cultures, manager and team mates can lead to vastly different experiences of the same (on paper) job. Several interviewees reported that the first job they took was such a bad experience, that they considered leaving the country again. But, then the second job was so different that it changed their perspective entirely on whether they could build a new life in NZ. And, the more time they spent here building their networks, the better intel they gained about which organisations to approach and which to avoid at all costs!

The question of location: while a lot of returners choose to move back to the cities on the belief that these offer the best job prospects, the pursuit of a particular lifestyle may mean a move to a different part of NZ is on the cards at some point. Some returners actually formalise this process of ‘finding their home first’ by choosing to housesit around NZ for the first few months, only deciding where to ‘settle down’ and get a permanent job once they’ve had a taste of what’s on offer ‘lifestyle-wise’ in a variety of places.

Focus on what you can gain rather than what you have lost

Instead of bemoaning the loss of your overseas job or international career, try and think about what you might gain from working in NZ, even if it’s not where you want to spend the rest of your professional life. Many returners report that the experience they gained working back in NZ, has been hugely valuable a springboard for them to take up an interesting opportunity overseas.

For others, it’s an opportunity to build a life that doesn’t entirely revolve around the job. As Oprah Winfrey herself has said, NZ seems to have a pretty good perspective on how work should fit into life and, reports from returners confirm that this is the case – especially in terms of employers promoting the value of work-life balance.

Interestingly, while antiquated in some ways, there are also pockets of people practices in NZ workplaces that are seen as world leading, especially in relation to flexible working. Examples include the Perpetual Guardian experiment on the four day week – gaining attention worldwide and being adopted by more companies in NZ – and the government’s plan to close the Gender Pay Gap which includes the introduction of flexibility by default for all public sector roles.

Accept that not everyone has an open mind so seek out those who do

If you can’t find a single job that ticks all your boxes – and remember few people do – consider taking a more holistic approach to your definition of work. So, maybe you take a role because it pays the bills, and then get involved in some community work that’s more aligned with your sense of purpose, or carve out some time to pursue one of your passions.

By spreading the work around, you take the pressure off any one job to be perfect and in so doing you may actually find that start to get more enjoyment out of all of the work that you do.

This story was created by Tricia Alach, creator of the How To Have A Happy Homecoming blog, check it out for more stories of Kiwis coming home and resources for making a smooth transition back.  

CONTRIBUTOR

Tricia Alach

Author

How to have a happy homecoming blog

Kea member

COMING HOME?

Join

Join the Kea community, NZ’s online home for returning Kiwis.

READ MORE

Resources

We’re here to support returning Kiwi. Here’s our list of resources to help you plan your return and next steps.

READ MORE

Jobs

Looking for a new role in New Zealand? Visit the Kea job portal and find your next career opportunity.

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Filed Under: Kiwi coming home Tagged With: career, Coming Home, jobs, Tricia Alach

The Extraction Plan

Several people Tricia interviewed reported that they had been thinking about making the move for a long time before they actually started organising in earnest. In a couple of cases, they had purchased property in NZ several years before making a firm decision to actually return to NZ.

Once a firm decision was made, the interviewees reported that it took them between two months and a year to organise their departure, depending on the complexity of their situation. The factors that influenced how much time their extraction would take included:

Who is moving to NZ? Where the person was single and moving on their own, the actual extraction plan might include nothing more than giving notice to employer and landlord and booking a flight. If, on the other hand the NZer had married a non-NZer, visas needed to be arranged for the partner which meant contacting NZ Immigration and going through that process over several months.

To facilitate job hunting in NZ, the partner might also need to have a professional qualification recognised in the NZ context which may necessitate contact with that profession’s governing body. Other considerations were to do with the length of the notice period each adult had to give or, if self-employed or a business owner, how quickly that person could wrap up their obligations and be able to leave or, continue to work from NZ.

If there were children, they might also need to apply for a NZ passport which might be more or less straight forward, depending on the citizenship rules of the country in which the child was born. If children were of school age, the parents might decide to plan their departure at the end of the school term to minimise disruption.

Animals also needed to be factored into the extraction planning as NZ has strict rules about importing pets from abroad. This meant in some cases that the interviewees had to leave their animals behind with friends who would put them on a plane once they had met the requirements set by MAF.

What to do with the house? Several interviewees owned property in the place they were living. Some decided to sell up before moving back which could add months to the time frame needed to organise their departure. Others decided to rent out their properties to enable them to move more quickly and/or retain the possibility of going back.

Sell or send? A number of interviewees actually chose not to bring their stuff back to NZ with them when they first came. Instead, a common decision was to put their things in storage for at least a year while they found their feet and decided whether or not they were going to stay. This meant some of the interviewees also had to factor in a return trip at some point to arrange transportation to NZ of the goods they wanted to keep and, to dispose of the rest. This also meant keeping bank accounts and credit cards active in order to be able to pay ongoing bills.

Staying for significant moments. Several interviewees reported that they based their extraction planning around key events in the place they were living that they didn’t want to miss. This included being in London for the Olympics as well as being able to attend certain social or family events.

Hedging your bets. Wanting to stay until they had received British Citizenship was also an important factor in extraction planning for those who were based in the UK. This was considered to be even more important in the post-Brexit context where there was a sense that the UK might be tightening the regulations all round. Many reported that even though, at this time, they didn’t want to live in the UK, they felt comforted by having the legal option to return.

The Landing Plan

The landing plan centred on deciding where they would live when they first arrived in NZ. This decision was made primarily based on the following factors and reflected the priorities of the interviewees at the time of the move:

  • Closeness to family
  • Closeness to friends
  • Job opportunities, both current and future
  • Access to a particular lifestyle
  • Affordability

For some interviewees, ranking these priorities was relatively simple and became the anchor around which all other decisions were made. Others made the initial decision on where to land based on one priority which then changed once they were back in NZ.

Many interviewees reported staying with family when they first arrived back. This could be for as short as a week or as long as two years, depending on the transitional plan (see below).

Most interviewees began exploring job opportunities while still living overseas. A number of them had considered both NZ and Australia when planning the move and reported having numerous Skype conversations with recruiters on both sides of the ditch.

Those who had done this reported that the NZ recruiters they spoke to were generally encouraging and, happy to conduct interviews via Skype and give advice on industry trends, as well as pointers on how to present their CV and translate overseas experience into the NZ context. This meant several interviewees already had a job lined up, or meetings booked, with recruiters soon after they arrived back in NZ.

Some interviewees were self-employed, or business owners, who had already put structures in place to enable them to work from NZ, with or without short trips back to their business’s home base. In most cases, they had done this before making the decision to return to NZ, driven instead by a bigger life goal of working in a location independent way.

Facebook, in particular those pages and groups targeting expats and repats, was also cited as a useful source of online information for both, practical information like which moving companies are best and, insight into the process of transition. See this blog’s facebook page for links to some of these pages and groups.

Others had done a lot of ‘on the ground’ research on trips back to NZ in the years preceding the move. There was a general sense that it is better to come and check things out for yourself, rather than believing media reports on ‘life in NZ’ which don’t always reflect the reality.

The Transitional Plan

Most of the interviewees reported that they expected their return to be a process of transition during which they would establish themselves in a new life in NZ.

Some began this experience of transition by taking the scenic route back to NZ, travelling for between two and eight months on their way back. In most cases this meant, the person chose to maintain some flexibility over their return date which meant they didn’t start making firm decisions about what they wanted to do, or where they wanted to live, until they actually arrived back in NZ.

Others, had a clear vision for the life they wanted to create in NZ and an expectation this would take several years. Some had begun working on this plan several years before they booked their flights home. For example, buying or building a new home in NZ while still abroad, which they could move into on their return.

Others wanted to take some time to try out different locations before deciding where they wanted to live. This meant they planned to live in a temporary situation – with family, housesitting, renting alone or sharing a flat – while they figured out the next step.

The desire to keep their options open, also extended to the way in which several of the interviewees chose to work when they first got back to NZ. As they had done when they first moved abroad, many of the interviewees began their job search looking for temporary or contract work. Some did this as a freelancer, while others set up a limited liability company depending on which structure was most suitable for their line of work.

Several of the interviewees had a transitional plan that included continuing to live and work some part of the year abroad. The more complex this part of the plan, the longer it generally took to put in place, especially if there were legal requirements to meet in order to make this happen. Those who had chosen to manage their transition in this way were generally open minded as to how this might play out in the future. Some seemed quite happy to be constantly on the move while others, having got settled back in to NZ life, were looking at ways to reduce the amount of time they spent away.

Complying with the taxation system in the country you have moved from, as well as NZ was also something to be addressed in the early years of relocation. This could be especially complicated for those who had assets or sources of income in different parts of the world. A good accountant, knowledgeable in international tax, was considered a must for this aspect of the transitional plan.

The Long Term Plan

A number of interviewees reported that they deliberately chose not to have a long term plan because they preferred to take life as it comes and figure things out one step at a time. Interviewees with this orientation reported the importance of being experience led and staying open to changing your mind.

Others though, had a very clear sense of the life they wanted to live in the bigger sense and, a very clear understanding of how this move to NZ, at this particular time, contributed to them achieving that goal. In some cases this was a very tangible goal e.g. building an off grid house which they would eventually run as a retreat.

In others, it was a more of sense of the kind of life they wanted to lead and the belief that being in NZ at this time was an important part of that journey. For some, NZ was essentially the final stop on that journey while many saw their relationship to NZ as more of a revolving door – one they would walk through many more times in the future.

This story was created by Tricia Alach, creator of the How To Have A Happy Homecoming blog, check it out for more stories of Kiwis coming home and resources for making a smooth transition back.  

CONTRIBUTOR

Tricia Alach

Author

How to have a happy homecoming blog

Kea member

COMING HOME?

Join

Join the Kea community, NZ’s online home for returning Kiwis.

READ MORE

Resources

We’re here to support returning Kiwi. Here’s our list of resources to help you plan your return and next steps.

READ MORE

Jobs

Looking for a new role in New Zealand? Visit the Kea job portal and find your next career opportunity.

READ MORE

Filed Under: Kiwi coming home Tagged With: Coming Home, moving home, relocating, Tricia Alach

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