More than 6,000 people took part in the 23rd Help the Aged Leeds Abbey Dash this past Sunday the 25th of November which is rumored to possibly be the last. Global Language Jobs team was there to partake and collect the t-shirts that might, if the rumour is true, become a collector’s item.

The 10km charity run along the A65 to Kirkstall Abbey and back was for people of all ages and abilities and plenty of big name Leeds companies were participating to race money to Help the Aged. The event was sponsored by Leeds Building Society and supported by the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Global Language Jobs language team consisted of David Hart, Jerome Beaugeois, Jim Hart, Laura Kekäläinen and Tess Bedard. They boys showing off with times a great deal below an hour, and all contestants managed to make it back in one piece for the celebration and required after-run-pint at the closest pub.

"The benefits of participating in the Abbey Dash included the enhancement of morale and teamwork, recognition of collective achievement and development of the ability to achieve set goals. Participation also prompted feelings of pride in a job well done and pleasure generated by helping others, as well as encouraging healthy lifestyles." said Jim Hart, MD.

Jim continued saying that he and his colleagues looked forward to working with others in the business community, so all could play a full part in bringing out the best of what the Yorkshire business region have to offer. Global Language Jobs was delighted to be supporting Help the Aged Abbey Dash and to be part of the teams of businesses in the area giving support to this important event.

For the next outing Global Language Jobs Rainer Krause is organising a 3 Peak Hike in the Yorkshire dales, the team can’t wait to see how a beer thirsty German will manage the lack of pubs for a ten hour walk in this rural area and of course, what will be the charity du jour.

From a personal perspective I am delighted that we have managed to launch Global Language Jobs and that we are now building a good base of candidates and a good number of high quality employers.

One of the drivers for me to set the site up was based on my background and personal experience in trying to find jobs abroad and jobs using my French and German.

When I was at school my main interests were languages in particular French and German and to a lesser degree Spanish. After finishing my A Levels I was keen to find a job for a couple of months using my French. We had a few family contacts but we didn't succeed in finding a position. Anyway to cut a long story short I ended up working in Venice as a tour guide and this was through a school connection. It was however abou the only job I could find working abroad.

So then off I went to University where I studied Joint Honours French and German and in my first summer holiday I wanted to get a job in Germany. It was impossible to land a job prior to going out so I packed my bags and headed for Stuttgart where I suspected there may be plenty of jobs. Eventually I landed one as a "Wagenschieber" in a supermarket i.e trolley collector and then moved onto be a meat packer. The next summer I went to university in Mainz and the year after that I worked as a French teacher in Belfort, France.

After graduating my main priority was to use my French and German and again jobs were few and far between but eventually after much searching I ended up in the Publishing / Direct Marketing Industry in London.

I will continue the rest in another blog but the point was it was not at all easy to use your languages in a career and equally find jobs abroad. Global Language Jobs aims to change that and make it easier of you all you language speakers and travellers find the job you really want with relatvie ease.

Our intrepid Business Development Manager Steve Potts has now returned from Sydney and fortunately he managed to fill that last Friday with meetings instead of being tempted by the beach in Manly.

As at least one of the contracts is close to sign off we can now commit to opening up the Global Language Jobs office in Sydney. Our goal is to open the offices in February 2008. This means that the really hard work begins now. Having had meetings with UK Trade and Investment we know roughly what we have to do but as ever the process will inevitably be more complicated than we at first imagined.

We have made contact with Invest Australia and have had initial discussions appointing Accountants and Lawyers.

But perhaps the most important part of the process is talking to other SME's who have set up subsidiaries down under; so on the advice of UKTI we are setting up a couple of meetings to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. The good thing is that Australian Company Law will not be radically different to UK Company Law and we are sure that setting up the Aussie office will be a good learning process for us when we move into other markets eg India and further down the line China.

We should know more about any pitfalls by the end of this week and we will be one step closer to being able to offer our candidates jobs in Australia and New Zealand and by extension more jobs abroad.

Many people want to experience New Zealand with everything the country has to offer and the best way with out a doubt is to get a Working Holiday Visa, you can then spend a year in NZ and also work to fund your traveling.

VISA
The first thing you have to do is to apply for the visa; you can easily do this on New Zealand’s immigration web site: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/workingholiday/ they have listed on this site which nationalities are eligible for this.
You have to be able to fulfill the following:

• hold a passport which will be valid throughout you time in the country as well as 3 months after leaving the country
• be at least 18 and not more than 30 years old (not having turned 31 yet)
• not bring children with you
• hold a return ticket, or sufficient funds to purchase such a ticket
• have a minimum of NZ$4,200 available funds to meet your living costs while you’re here
• meet our health and character requirements
• hold medical and comprehensive hospitalization insurance for the length of your stay
• be coming to New Zealand to holiday, with work being a secondary intention for your visit
• not have been approved a visa or permit under a Working Holiday Scheme before.

You apply for the visa online and you can get a reply in a couple of days by email stating whether it has been approved. It’s a good idea to log in on their web site and print out the information regarding your WHV. You will not receive a stamp in your passport until you arrive in the country and it is advisable to have proof of having being granted a WHV. You will need this for job and bank applications.
When your visa has been approved you have one year to enter New Zealand and your WHV will not be activated prior to entering in to the country.

INSURANCE
Prior to setting off you need to get a good travel insurance. World Nomads Travel Insurance (www.worldnomads.com), has been recommended by many as well as Lonely Planet.

ACCOMONDATION
So, you just arrived and don’t know where to stay.
Hostels:
Check out Budget Backpacker Hostels NZ, www.bbh.co.nz/, they have over 300 hostels in New Zealand, with prices to suite everybody.
There are lots of other hostels too so finding a place to stay won’t be that difficult but if you arrive in the summer time you might want to book in advance at least if you are staying in Auckland.

It is fairly easy to find your own place to stay, Columbia Apartments, www.columbia.net.nz is a good start. It is slightly more expensive then to stay in a hostel but very central in Auckland.
Other good sites to use are: www.trademe.co.nz or http://classifieds.nzherald.co.nz/, where you can find both furnished and unfurnished apartments as well as finding shared accommodation. These sites are good for many other things as well.

PHONE
You have to have a local phone number (mobil/cell), if you don’t it will prove to be very hard to open a bank account or apply for a job. The most common service providers are: Vodafone and Telecom and they both have Pre-Pay/Pay as you go numbers.
If there are a few of you going and you will be calling each other I would recommend Vodafone. They have a BestMate deal where you pay $6 a month and can call, text and make video call with no limitations.

BANK
A bank account is a must. The most common ones are:
ASB - www.asbbank.co.nz
Westpac - www.westpac.co.nz
ANZ National Bank - www.nz.anz.com
Bank of New Zealand - www.bnz.co.nz
Citibank - www.citibank.co.nz
Kiwibank - www.kiwibank.co.nz
HSBC - www.hsbc.co.nz
ANZ will give you a card straight away (it is possible that the others do too, not sure). When you go to open the account with the bank you have to say that you will be in the country for a year otherwise they won’t let you open one.
If you don’t have your own credit card it might prove difficult to acquire one under WHV. There is a similar service you can use though. New Zealand have a card which they call Prezzy Card, it’s a pre-paid card than can be used online or over phone for payments just like a credit card. The card cost $5 and you can choose the amount between $25 - $500. Find more information here: http://www.nzpost.co.nz/Cultures/en-NZ/Personal/PrezzyCard/

IRD
Next step to get what you need to work is a IRD number. You apply for one from Internal Revenue Department by visiting their web site: www.ird.govt.nz.
Download their Tax Number Application Form (IR596), print out and fill in, you need an address in New Zealand and include a copy of your passport and sent it by post or fax to:
Fax: 033536691 or 033536649
Post:
North:
Inland Revenue
Northern Processing Centre
PO Box 1454
Hamilton
South:
Inland Revenue
Southern Processing Centre
PO Box 3752
Christchurch
Your will receive your IRD number in 8 - 10 working days.
If you need the IRD number quicker you can call them on the 0800 227 774 and tell them why and they can sort it in a day or two.

TAX
Yes, you have to pay tax in New Zealand and it will most likely be drawn automatically based on the following table:
Up to $38,000 you will pay 19.5%
Between $38,000-$60,000 you will pay 33%
Over $60,001 you will pay 39%

After the 31st of March or when you are leaving the country you can apply for a tax return.
Call 0800 227 774 and tell them you are a non-resident having worked in NZ and are now leaving the country. They will send you a form that you can fill in and send back after you have ended your employment but before you are leaving the country.

TRAVELING IN NEW ZEALAND
There are a few coach companies to use:
www.intercitycoach.co.nz/
www.magicbus.co.nz
www.straytravel.com
www.kiwiexperience.com

RENT A CAR
To rent a car in New Zealand is easy and a must if you can. Ezy Rentals - www.ezy.co.nz and Bargain Rentals - www.bargainrentals.co.nz are good ones. But there are many more, just make suere they are local companies, much cheaper then the big ones.

Our man in Sydney, Steve Potts, is getting positive feedback from Down Under regarding the opportunities for establishing a physical for Global Language Jobs by the beach in Manly!

The plan is to open the office in Jan or Feb 2008 and this could open up a number of exciting opportunities for Europeans for example who want to go out to work with languages in Australia or a and work either short term or long term. We will add in a new section on our website when the offices are opened.

In preparation we have had meetings with UK Trade and Investment and they have kindly put us in touch with several UK companies who have successfully set up Australian subsidiaries. So as soon as Steve comes back we will be moving full steam ahead.

Next stop India, China and the US and perhaps Jose Luis Masso, our Sales Executive from Saltillo, Coahuila in Mexico can help develop the South American market.

Tomorrow one of our Business Development Managers is jumping on a plane and heading for Sydney.

Steve Potts is the lucky man and his task is to sound out the market in Australia for companies who require language speakers.

The plan is that we will open up an office in Sydney in February or March next year and this will complement our European operation and will also give us a stronger foothold in the Far East.

Steve will be running his own blog whilst he is out there giving us a rundown on the weather and surf no doubt and also informing us about the Aussie market and the obstacles in setting up a business over there, finding staff etc etc.

We wish him all the best and I hope he avoids those "board meetings"!

We are all very pleased to launch our brand new recruitment site www.globallanguagejobs.com.
It has taken almost 3 years to come to fruition but we are now finally there.
The main personal impetus for the launch of this site was because when I was periodically looking for jobs in my 20's and 30's it was very difficult to find a definitive site or agency which offered roles using my languages: in my case French and German. At least now for all of you who are looking to use your languages in a career here is a site which will help you achieve that.

We are organising a celebratory party on 12.09.07 and then we will start the serious business of attracting as many high calibre language speakers looking for new roles / careers and equally ensuring we have a large number of companies advertising interesting and rewarding jobs all round the world.

GLJ will also be a resource for anyone interested in International Business and the Blog area will include details of how to find jobs worldwide and also will have a big focus on doing business around the world.

As an SME, Occident International has a vast amount of experience setting up European operations and we are now planning on opening up offices in Australia and then Asia and then.... who knows?

We hope you enjoy using GLJ searching for new careers and also for learning more about doing business globally using your language skills. And equally we are interested in hearing your views through the GLJ blog.

Good luck!

Jim Hart, Managing Director : GLJ