Why come to New Zealand?
Jul. 10th, 2008 11:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izardIf I was in the position to attract best engineers from overseas to work for my current employer what would be my value proposition?
Being an engineer myself, I think the most important for a person considering new employer is a level or technical expertise within company. On this front I can testify that Endace positions are very sound comparing to companies of it's size in the world and is second to none in New Zealand. Unfortunately, to verify this claim one needs to get to technical interview or rather have a tour within the company, that is not feasible, so I'll focus on other things below.
There are actually 2 distinct value propositions: one for engineers from developing countries (India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Phillippines), and another for 1st world countries - Europe, US, Israel (I'd not count Australia here, would need suggestion from Ozzies and Kiwis on that).
I've worked in both worlds so will try to summarize:
1. Until recently, there was no doubt that almost any good engineer from developing country is willing to take any comparable (and some times even lower profile) job in any 1st world country. The difference in the pay scale and public infrastructure was enourmous.
Now, thanks for globalization and outsourcing it's no longer the case. Engineers worth hiring are very likely to be working in a big cities (Mumbai, Bangalore, Moscow, St.Petersburg, etc) for reputable international companies (Intel, Motorola, bigger software outsourcing firms and telco carriers). So the best message is clearly "With us, you can have a great job while living in a nice clean safe environment". This message works especially well if prospective employee has kids.
2. Engineer in a 1st world country does not have to live in New York or London to have a good job (though it helps), and New York and London are more livable cities than Moscow or Mumbai. So in this case the message above will not help to the same extent. People tend to move to New Zealand for other reasons: less crowded country, better lifestyle and outdoors experience, no JWBush, friendlier people. By the way the later is IMHO not an advantage inherent to New Zealanders. It's usually the same everywhere in the world where
1 not a lot of people
2 live happily
3 in a nice place.
However there are very few places in the world that have all 3, and New Zealand is one of them.
One other thing is Auckland vs Hamilton debate. I won't elaborate on this because it really depends on the person, there are important benefits about living in both cities. Still it's just 2 hours drive and it's great that my employer have offices in both - so there is a choice.
It is also worth noting that when moving a family to such a distance is logistical nightmare, it was extremely helpful to get advices and help with all this - tickets, visas, first accommodation and advices.
Here is a link to open positions at Endace. If someone is interested and if you know me in person please write me an e-mail, other ways please follow the instructions on the web page.
Being an engineer myself, I think the most important for a person considering new employer is a level or technical expertise within company. On this front I can testify that Endace positions are very sound comparing to companies of it's size in the world and is second to none in New Zealand. Unfortunately, to verify this claim one needs to get to technical interview or rather have a tour within the company, that is not feasible, so I'll focus on other things below.
There are actually 2 distinct value propositions: one for engineers from developing countries (India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Phillippines), and another for 1st world countries - Europe, US, Israel (I'd not count Australia here, would need suggestion from Ozzies and Kiwis on that).
I've worked in both worlds so will try to summarize:
1. Until recently, there was no doubt that almost any good engineer from developing country is willing to take any comparable (and some times even lower profile) job in any 1st world country. The difference in the pay scale and public infrastructure was enourmous.
Now, thanks for globalization and outsourcing it's no longer the case. Engineers worth hiring are very likely to be working in a big cities (Mumbai, Bangalore, Moscow, St.Petersburg, etc) for reputable international companies (Intel, Motorola, bigger software outsourcing firms and telco carriers). So the best message is clearly "With us, you can have a great job while living in a nice clean safe environment". This message works especially well if prospective employee has kids.
2. Engineer in a 1st world country does not have to live in New York or London to have a good job (though it helps), and New York and London are more livable cities than Moscow or Mumbai. So in this case the message above will not help to the same extent. People tend to move to New Zealand for other reasons: less crowded country, better lifestyle and outdoors experience, no JWBush, friendlier people. By the way the later is IMHO not an advantage inherent to New Zealanders. It's usually the same everywhere in the world where
1 not a lot of people
2 live happily
3 in a nice place.
However there are very few places in the world that have all 3, and New Zealand is one of them.
One other thing is Auckland vs Hamilton debate. I won't elaborate on this because it really depends on the person, there are important benefits about living in both cities. Still it's just 2 hours drive and it's great that my employer have offices in both - so there is a choice.
It is also worth noting that when moving a family to such a distance is logistical nightmare, it was extremely helpful to get advices and help with all this - tickets, visas, first accommodation and advices.
Here is a link to open positions at Endace. If someone is interested and if you know me in person please write me an e-mail, other ways please follow the instructions on the web page.
