If your application is short-listed, you’ll be invited to attend a panel interview with a minimum of two senior staff. Or if you’re based overseas or living outside of New Zealand, not to worry we’re still keen to speak with you and regularly conduct video interviews via various technologies such as Skype, Zoom or Face Time.

Well done for getting to this stage. An interview is a chance for us to learn more about you as well as you to learn about us. Everyone gets nervous, it’s natural. Some of our managers are also anxious, and we’ll do our best to put you at ease.

Our interviews are behavioural and competency based, asking you to call on relevant examples of your prior experience in line with the competencies we’re recruiting for the role. Take some time to prepare some specific work examples to discuss.

Here are some tips to help you prepare and put your best forward in the interview:

• Research the industry and organisation – Learning as much as you can about the organisation you want to work for is very important. Take the time to research the employer's vision, values, culture, strategic objectives, and the area of the organisation you are
  meeting with from as many sources as you can. 
• Get ready for the panel interview questions:
  • Re-read your CV and Cover Letter – Think about the skills and experiences that you can bring to the role, why you want the job and why you are the best person for the role.
  • Read the job advert and position description - Think of questions the employer may ask related to the competencies and requirements of the position.
  • Do an online search for common interview questions - Prepare answers to possible questions. Even if you aren’t asked them, it will help you plan what skills and experiences to highlight. For clinical positions, in particular, there will likely be a range of technical questions as well.
  • Behavioural-based questions – One of the most common interview styles today is to ask people to describe experiences they have had that demonstrate behaviours that the company thinks are important for a particular position. The panel will ask questions about previous experiences to find out on how you have handled various work/personal situations in the past. Your responses will reveal your skills, abilities, and personality to the panel. (More information about behavioural based interviewing and STAR technique have been described further below)
• Think about questions for the panel - it’s usual to have questions to ask the employer at the end of the interview. This will also show that you're interested in the organisation and the job.
• Practice your answers - Practicing your answers with family/friends will help you deliver your answers more easily. However, it’s the genuine content of your answers that is the most important aspect rather than an overly polished performance.
• Know who you are meeting – Our interview panel range in size from 2 to 5 people. You will be advised in your interview invitation of the exact number and who they are.
• Stay attentive, be positive, exhibit enthusiasm - It’s natural to feel anxious before an interview. By preparing well and adopting a positive mind-set you can learn to control your pre-interview nerves and channel them into something constructive. Much of the anxiety surrounding interviews is based on not knowing what to expect. If you know you’re well prepared, you’ll feel a lot more confident.

Behavioural Interviewing:

Behavioural interviewing is an increasingly popular type of job interview, where an interviewee is asked to draw on lived experience and provide real life examples from their past employment of specific situations relating to the relevant job competencies. The rationale is that past performance is predictive of future performance i.e. if they know how you performed in the past it will help give a sense of how you might do in the future and also gives you an opportunity to talk about your learnings from the past.

Examples of Behavioural questions:

• Tell me about your greatest career achievement to date. Can you describe what steps led to the outcome?
• Tell me about a time when you had to analyse information to solve a problem. How did you go about doing it, and what was the result?
• Describe a decision you made that was unpopular and how you handled implementing it.
• Have you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren't thrilled about? How did you do it?
• Tell me about a time when you haven’t achieved what you set out to do. How did you deal with it?
• Give me an example where you’ve had to work with someone who you didn’t get along with.
• How did you approach and resolve the situation?
• Can you give me an example of a time when the demands of your job were constantly changing? How did you manage the situation?

The best behavioural interview strategy includes listening carefully, being clear and detailed when you respond and, most importantly, being honest. It is absolutely fine to ask the interviewer if your response answered the question adequately or if they need more detail or another example.

Star Technique:

The STAR method is a simple yet powerful technique for answering behavioural interview questions in a structured manner by providing a real example of a specific situation, the task, actions taken, and result or outcome relating to that example.

• The STAR format stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result:
  • Situation: An event, project, or challenge faced
  • Task: Your responsibilities and assignments for the situation
  • Action: Steps or procedure taken to relieve or rectify situation
  • Result: Results of actions taken

When answering the questions using the STAR approach, use the first person singular - “I did such-and-such” rather than “we did such-and-such” - it will keep the focus on you!

If your partners or children want to look for roles, the Careers.govt.nz Job Vacancy and Recruitment Websites page has an list of hundreds of job sites in the geographical and work areas available.

For teaching roles:

Teachers from overseas looking to move to New Zealand, can now get help with the recruitment process by contacting the Ministry of Education’s new Navigator service.
 
The service is designed to support overseas teachers, along with principals and early learning centre managers, navigate the steps needed to be completed in the overseas teacher recruitment process.   
 
Navigators are available Monday – Friday, 9am – 4.30pm by phone on 0800 165 225 or +64 4 463 8466 or via email at teacher.supply@education.govt.nz.  

Find out more information about teaching in New Zealand by visiting the Teach in Aotearoa New Zealand website.

For Rail and Maritime roles:

KiwiRail moves freight and people by rail and sea, and are stewards of New Zealand’s rail network. As a state-owned enterprise, we operate a rail, ferry, property and tourism business and look for talent in Freight and Rail Operations, Engineering, Construction Project Management, Maritime, Electrical and hospitality.

Find out more information, visit careers.kiwirail.co.nz

For other roles and industries:

Immigration NZ has a great page that helps you find work using services designed to connect offshore workers with employers, and job sites to you can apply to directly.

For more information, visit the Immigration NZ Website

Job hunting can be difficult if your role is called something different over here, which is why we've pulled together a glossary of names for certain types of roles, and their ANZCO codes to more easily identify them. 

New Zealand CV/Resume Tips

For non-clinical roles, try to keep the CV length to 1-2 pages

For clinical/medical roles, 6-8 pages is OK (or it can be longer if technical medical aspects need explanation)

Some other advice is:

• Tailor your CV to different jobs - the key is making sure your experience and qualifications are easily seen as matching the job
• Use bullet points rather than wordy text
• Use key words from the job description
• Use correct grammar
• Use action words and highlight any achievements or positive changes you made in your workplace
• Use a consistent layout with the same fonts and font sizes
• List non-clinical skills such as management/leadership abilities as they are still important
• List any academic publications related to the position you’re applying to

Resources

Medical CV tips (including templates):

https://www.adhb.health.nz/health-professionals/careermed/choosing-a-specialty/curriculum-vitaes/

https://resume.io/resume-examples/healthcare

General CV tips & examples:

https://www.careers.govt.nz/job-hunting/new-to-new-zealand/tips-for-creating-a-nz-style-cv/

https://www.seek.co.nz/career-advice/article/this-is-what-a-great-resume-looks-like

Cover letter tips

Do:

• Tailor your cover letter for the different roles you apply to
• Do some research about the role - be seen as having made the effort that shows genuine interest!
• Use an attention-grabbing intro & convey a values alignment (if there is one)
• Provide evidence of your success & achievements
• Spell check and use correct grammar

Don't:

• Address the cover letter to the wrong person/company by copy and pasting your cover letters
• Repeat your CV
• Give excessive detail (keep it short!)
• Use a generic cover letter for all your applications

All of New Zealand's government organisations, including Health New Zealand work to ensure that Māori voices are heard in decision-making that affects Māori. This has not happened in the past and has meant that our Māori population has been disadvantaged for decades as a result.

When you join Health New Zealand's health workforce you will be playing an important role in ensuring that our health system better serves the needs of all Aotearoa New Zealand’s people and communities.

To help you in this work, you will receive cultural competency training and complete learning modules on the subject as part of Te Whatu Ora’s orientation process.

Outside of work, Māori culture is celebrated in all aspects of life, from the use of te reo (the Māori language) as one of New Zealand’s official languages, to the celebration of Matariki – Māori New Year.

To understand more about Aotearoa New Zealand's Māori culture, we have some resources:

Learning te reo:

• Learn Maori (languagedrops.com)

• Āke Āke app: App Store | Google Play Store

• Aki-Hauora app – te reo lessons for medical terms: App Store | Google Play Store
• Te Reo pronunciation guide and basic phrases

Addressing systemic racism in the health system:

• Whiria te Muka Tangata: Anti-Racism Systems Change
• Ao Mai Te Rā: The Anti-Racism Kaupapa Podcast

Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) and its history:

Your profession may require New Zealand registration and an Annual Practicing Certificate. If so, this will be needed before you can start work and will also be required for your visa application.

In New Zealand, some health professionals are also registered health practitioners under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (HPCAA). Not all health professions are regulated under the Act although this does not imply that a profession lacks professional standards. Some are not regulated because they pose little risk of harm to the public; some are not regulated because they work under the supervision of a regulated profession; some are regulated in other ways. For example, they may be regulated through their employer or self-regulated by their profession.

Processing times for registration applications can vary so check the processing times directly with your registration board and plan ahead.

Links to New Zealand Registration Bodies

• Chiropractic Board
• Dental Council
• Dietitians Board
• Medical Sciences Council of New Zealand
• Medical Radiation Technologists Board
• Medical Council of New Zealand
• Midwifery Council
• Nursing Council of New Zealand
• Occupational Therapy Board
• Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board
• Osteopathic Council
• Paramedic Council
• Pharmacy Council
• Physiotherapy Board
• Podiatrists Board
• Psychologists Board
• Psychotherapists Board
• Social Workers

Internationally qualified nurses may be required to complete a Competency Assessment Programme in order to gain their New Zealand registration. Find more information on the Pathway for health professionals to nursing jobs in New Zealand here.

All health professionals are in high demand and there are several visa pathways available.  For an overview of the visa options available to you, visit Immigration NZ’s Visa options page

If you want to find out if the role you want to work in is on the Green List, use Immigration NZ’s Green List tool for more information

To learn more about what other visa options are available to you, visit Immigration NZ's Visa Options page.

We also offer free immigration advice for health professionals who have been offered employment with Health NZ - feel free to talk to our team directly, and we can help.

Before you fly

There’s a broad range of locations in Aotearoa New Zealand to call home. If you haven’t already, use our interactive map to find an area of the country you’d like to live in.

Once you’ve chosen a location, you may want to check out a list of schools, accommodation and transport options in your preferred locations.

We have some further information for you to help with the decision. 

Cost of living

Immigration NZ has a cost of living calculator that can help you get an idea of what your income and expenses could be.

Shipping of belongings

We have strict rules about what can be brought into Aotearoa New Zealand. The government provides advice about how to avoid problems with border clearance.

Pets

Aotearoa New Zealand requires that all pets comply with the Ministry of Primary Industries standards. ​If you want to bring your pet with you on your trip, you must check the specific requirements relating to imports from your country of origin. Please also note that not all rental properties accept pets.

Insurance

Moving to a new country can be stressful and costly. You may wish to look into you insurance options to cover yourself for the unexpected.

Buying or renting a house

House ownership: Use the “Help us assess if you can buy a house to live in“ tool to determine if you can buy a house in Aotearoa New Zealand.​

How to rent a house: The rental market in Aotearoa New Zealand is regulated by the government under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. If you are renting for the first time you will need to sign an agreement with the landlord and pay a bond for up to four weeks rent in advance. The bond is lodged with the governments Tenancy Services. At the end of the tenancy, you will receive your bond back minus any damage's costs or unpaid rent. Aotearoa protects long term tenancies. Rules about changing the terms of the tenancy agreement are available on tenancy.govt.nz's changes to notice periods page.​

Banking

You can open a bank account here before you travel but will need to visit a branch to activate it once you arrive – this can be done with through most major banks in Aotearoa New Zealand.

You need a visa that allows you to stay in the country for some time such as a work, residence, or student visa. You may wish to provide the bank with a reference letter from your current bank which includes a credit score or rating. Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora can provide you with a letter of a confirmed work address to speed up the process.​​

To open a bank account you will need the following:​

• An identify document – NZ ID or passport​
• Proof of address – could be your current overseas address but will need to provide a permanent address in Aotearoa​
• A NZ IRD (Internal Revenue Department) number – if you don’t have one yet, you can use your tax number or tax declaration ​
  from your country of origin​
• Proof of your visa – could be work, residence, or student visa​

Tax

All personal income is taxed. If you are a New Zealand tax resident, you will need to pay income tax on all income you receive from New Zealand and overseas. You can use a calculator to work out what tax you will pay in Aotearoa. You will need to have an IRD number before you can start.​

KiwiSaver is a savings scheme, administered by the NZ government, to help people save for their retirement. KiwiSaver is currently only available to NZ residents, permanent residents or citizens, but if you are eligible, Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora will make deductions ​to the IRD who pass your contribution to the KiwiSaver provider.

IRD Numbers

You can apply for an IRD number as soon as you arrive – this is similar to a Social Security, SIN, or National Insurance number. You can easily apply online through the IRD numbers for individuals page on the Inland Revenue website.

Getting connected to phone and internet plans

A variety of companies provide internet and phone connections. Immigration NZ provides advice about how to get connected once you arrive.

Getting a driver’s licence

If you are planning to drive in New Zealand, it’s important to get to know the New Zealand road rules. Driving on your overseas driver’s licence is usually acceptable for the first 12 months, but following this you will need to convert it to a New Zealand driver’s licence. You can find out more information on  Waka Kotahi’s Driving in New Zealand page.

Libraries

There is a network of public libraries across Aotearoa. You and your family are welcome to visit in person or download e-books and audio books online with your membership.​

Use of the English language

The English language lexicon has become highly advanced in Aotearoa New Zealand. We suggest becoming familiar ​with how certain words are used.​

Public holidays

There are 12 public holidays each year.​

Dental Care

General dental care for people over 18 years is not funded by the government in New Zealand. Basic dental care for eligible school children is free up to 18 years of age.

​Dentists are distributed across Aotearoa.

Accident Compensation Corporation ​

Here in Aotearoa New Zealand we fund healthcare differently. The Accident Compensation Corporation provides comprehensive, no-fault personal injury cover for New Zealanders and visitors. ACC is funded by the government and the NZ public.​

As a clinician, you can lodge claims on behalf of your patients. You must check with your manager about how to lodge a claim in Health New Zealand. ​

ACC provides general information about the scheme for clinicians. ACC provides a series of options for clinicians to learn more about the scheme, and claims. Online learning. Foundational webinars.​

Cole’s Medical Practice in NZ gives practical advice to doctors in New Zealand (whether international or NZ medical graduates). The Goodfellow unit has resources about certifying work capacity after injury. ​

Emergencies

Ambulance and Fire: For emergencies, dial 111​

Police: Dial 111 - For emergencies (if something is happening now or has just happened, or if you or someone’s safety is at risk)​. For non-urgent things that you think the NZ Police should know, dial 105.​

Accident and Emergency services: All public hospitals have an emergency department.​ Accident and emergency centres (urgent care centres) are available for out of hours emergencies in most locations. ​

Coastguard: For emergencies, dial 111​

National Crisis and National ​Emergency Management​: The NZ government has established agencies to lead local teams to deal with disasters and other emergencies.

Support Services

Family support services: The Strengthening Families process connects a family who require assistance with more than one agency or community service when a family needs help.​ All families need help from time to time. Find support wherever you are living in Aotearoa. The health pages provide links to health services.

Domestic Violence Support: Domestic violence help can be accessed in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Counselling services: The NZ Association of Counsellors provides a list of qualified counsellors. ​Note that payment may be required. Child Abuse and Youth Services: You can report suspected abuse to Oranga Tamariki. Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) is a government department​. If you need help phone 0508 326 459 or email contact@ot.govt.nz.​ If you or someone else is in immediate danger call POLICE on 111.​ Kidshealth provides a list of various helplines for individuals and families.

Services for people with disabilities​: An acceptable standard of health is required whether moving to Aotearoa temporarily or as a resident. There are a variety of providers of services for people with disabilities.​ Te Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People’s website contains useful links for people with disabilities.​

Enrolling children at school

You can enrol your child in school before they’re 5, though they won’t start until they turn 5 ​and must have started by the time they are 6.​ Children must stay at school until they turn 16 years of age.​ Parents may apply to educate children at home.​

If you have children, and have a school in mind, you may need to live within the school zone for them to be able to successfully enrol.​

​

Childcare

Early childhood education (ECE) provides education and care for children before they are old enough to go to primary school. It is not compulsory. For three to four year olds, the first 20 hours per week are fully funded by the government.​ Most children in Aotearoa (95%) get some form of early childhood education, usually for 20-22 hours a week.​ The Ministry of Education provides practical information about education for parents and carers.​

The easiest and fastest way for you to obtain an IRD tax number, is to apply for one through The New Zealand Automobile Association (AA) once you’ve arrived in NZ. The AA has been appointed by the Inland Revenue to accept individual IRD number applications. Please see the AA website for more information on this service.

To obtain your IRD number, follow the steps below:

• You will need to present in person with the originals and also legible copies of the documents listed below, to an AA Centre that does personal IRD Number verification. Please see the AA website for a list of the AA Centres you can go to.  Whilst you are there, you can fill in your application form or you can print out a copy, fill it in and bring it with you. The form you need is an IR742 – non resident/offshore individual form. 
• Payment of a $10 urgent fee, will mean that you will get an IRD number within 4 working days.  If you do not pay the urgent fee, then it will take approximately 3 weeks for your IRD number to come through. 

You will need to present each of these documents to the AA (along with legible copies) of:

1. A current valid passport
2. A NZ bank statement or print out showing customer’s name, bank account number and at least one deposit and one withdrawal of differing amounts, or a letter from your bank showing your customer’s name, bank account number which clearly states that the account is a fully functional or an active bank account as outlined on the IRD website.
3. Proof of your address, for example, a letter or bill from your utilities company or, if you do not have a permanent address yet, you can ask your District to provide a support letter stating you are a new arrival to New Zealand and will be working for Health New Zealand, the address you are currently staying at, and that you are in the process of finding long term accommodation.
4. Copy of your Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora employment contract
5. Copy of your valid NZ work or residence visa