Greetings from the UK one’n’all. This blog comes from you from Bristol in the South West of England. A fun fact about Bristol: it is both a city and a county. Something I didn’t realise until about a day ago, and something I’ll never consider again. Nor should you. This sojourn sits somewhere between holiday/work/the crushing obligation my wife feels towards her family. Being a sociopath, I feel no obligation, so my days will be spent looking after a toddler, and also meeting Recruiters to persuade them that life really is better here/there in New Zealand. Those close to me will know that there is no point saying “lucky you, “enjoy your trip” or “can I fit in your suitcase”. As someone who spent 28 years in the UK, I feel I know as much as I need to know about the country. Coupled with 14 years of Tory rule, I compare a “holiday” in my home nation to a prison sentence, prolonged toothache, or watching my “RCSA Awards: Selected Highlights 2010-2014” VHS.
However, as my wife reminds me, I must remain upbeat. Admittedly, the differences I now spot after 15 years away makes things interesting, and observing the business and recruitment landscape is a fine distraction from talking about roadworks on Tonbridge High Street with my parents. The first things I’ve noticed are that assumptions I’ve been making have been wrong. Firstly, I’m here to source candidates, so have been exploring the “local” job boards. For many years I’ve been semi-critical of the SEEK platform. Although they’ve certainly upped their offering since my arrival in 2011, the job board I arrived to back then seemed archaic compared to the boards I was used to in the UK. This is no longer the case. The UX on SEEK puts any of the job boards I’ve explored here to shame. Hands down. There is an assumption than the UK = London, London = slick. Posting a job ad here is like coding that robotic turtle with a pen to draw a penis on that big bit of paper in your primary school hall. That analogy will make sense to someone out there. Hopefully.
There’s also the effect of the broader economic conditions to consider. If you talk to a Kiwi recruiter right now, they will, as sure as night follows day, tell you how the economy has affected their desk. Here, there is a sense that the market is picking up. However, UK recruiters don’t seem to actually care about the economy. Us Kiwis are like lake boaties complaining about excessive wake from someone doing 6 knots. UK recruiters are North Sea fisherman. They’ll chuck out their nets whatever, and leave it to ol’ Neptune to decide their fate. I think we could learn something from this devil-may-care attitude. And that is very much the attitude here. Covid isn’t a “thing”. The traffic isn’t a “thing”. The change of government isn’t a “thing”. It’s like everyone is too busy reading the Daily Mail and getting upset about some poor refugees to give credence to …well… anything.
Next week is the week I’ll actually be meeting these recruiters face to face, so I’ve started to craft my sales pitch for New Zealand. Firstly, we have a small market which a good recruiter can “own”, or at least be a name. Try doing that in the UK. Being back in a small regional city has reminded me just how big the UK market is. There is also the fact that good relationships matter in New Zealand. So if you’re a good person who can recruit, you can go well. There is also a great sense of community amongst recruiters in Aotearoa. Recruiters from rival firms are friends, they hang out, and if we exclude the blue collar trades space, mostly say good (or at least fair things) about each other. There is much to commend about what we do in New Zealand. However, if I put myself in their shoes, the thing that really sways it for me….the thing that makes me miss being back home…the thing that would get me on that plane to Auckland is…it’s almost impossible to find a good craft beer on tap served at or above 6% here.
I rest my case.
^SW
