OVERCOMING BARRIERS
English Language Communication
Very good English communication skills, both written and verbal are a necessary requirement for employment as a professional engineer in New Zealand. Employers expect to be able to communicate easily with their employees who must be able to communicate easily with clients in good English. Your CV is the first indication of English skills. A poorly written CV with grammatical errors will immediately demonstrate your lack of skill and destroy any chances of a job. However for many immigrant engineers who have good written English skills, accent is a problem. To improve your verbal English if accent is a problem you may need specialist training.
English Language Partners helps former refugees and migrants participate successfully in all aspects of life in Aotearoa New Zealand by helping to teach them English
Help with your CV
You may be confused by various organisations that may suggest different ways to write your CV. There is usually no required format by employers. Some employers will reject long CVs, particularly if they are trying to wade through many applications for a job. You must be concise, but at the same time provide sufficient information. It is your chance to show an employer what you can do on paper – your chance to sell yourself, your own personal statement. Good English and grammar are vital, so ask someone with good English skills to check your CV for you before you submit it in a job application.
You should always keep a base CV ready, but for each job application you should tailor your CV to show how your experience will match the requirement of the job being applied for.