Keeping in touch has its rewards

Make sure you reinforce ties with people who matter.

Maintaining contacts a valuable tool for expats coming home

Pursuing a career overseas can be so engrossing and exciting if things are going well that putting an effort into maintaining contacts in New Zealand can seem like a slog if a return home is remote. But the chances that you will eventually return are strong because of the pull of family, the attractive culture and lifestyle and increased employment opportunities in cities.

Despite thinking long term about her position at Google Fiber, corporate counsel Fleur Knowsley, based in San Francisco, is open to a return one day to New Zealand and has already identified the companies she might work for if she ever does come back. The consummate networker, who began her career at Kensington Swan in Wellington, is careful to stay in contact with her mentors and former clients, seeing them for a beer whenever she is home.

She can't understand Kiwis who become successful overseas, but don't stay in touch with their New Zealand contacts, then come home complete strangers and wonder why they can't get a job.

"Most New Zealanders do that very badly," she says. "They go back very experienced but with no credibility in the market."

A survey by global specialist recruitment firm Hays says the lure of better wages and faster career paths may take New Zealanders overseas, but it is the promise of a better lifestyle and improved work-life balance that will bring them home. Hays spoke to 635 New Zealand nationals or residents who are either studying or working overseas, but thinking about coming back to New Zealand for their next career step.

"With the emergence of a number of skill shortages in New Zealand, returning Kiwis offer employers the opportunity to recruit local talent with highly valued international experience," says Hays New Zealand managing director Jason Walker. He recommends that expat Kiwis maintain a LinkedIn profile, actively connecting and following businesses that they are interested in and endorsing contacts' skills while asking others to endorse theirs or provide recommendations.

"By doing this, you can stay connected to your contacts in your home country. Also consider joining online groups relevant to your industry or profession in New Zealand. Better yet, start an industry-related Twitter feed or blog to share useful insights and links."

Referees are still very relevant in today's job market despite the explosion of social media and online recommendations, Walker says. He recommends making an effort to get in touch with people you reported to directly. They can speak about how you used your skills and experience to add value to their organisation.

Kim Seeling Smith, founder and chief executive of human capital consultancy Ignite Global, says it definitely pays to keep in contact with mentors and contacts while you are overseas, especially as they reach more senior positions.

"The higher you go the more likely you are to find your next job through your network of contacts as opposed to recruiters or job ads. And New Zealand still favours local experience over that from overseas, so those contacts will be especially relevant if and when you settle in back home."

Seeling Smith suggests keeping in touch with three types of contacts: "Those who you genuinely like and want to keep in touch with anyway; those who may directly open doors for you and those who may not directly open doors but are tapped into the market or economic climate and can help you speak knowledgeably about current conditions when having conversations that matter."

With LinkedIn, be organised and effective. "Spend 15 to 20 minutes per day reading posts on your feed and in your groups, especially those with a local focus, and comment or ask questions," Seeling Smith says.

Kerridge & Partners' Chris Johnson recommends starting to network before you leave and then maintaining it. "Someone who has been offshore for a number of years faces many of the same issues as a new person from another country," he says.

Johnson suggests going beyond LinkedIn, using networks such as Kea and staying connected with a few recruiters you value and respect.

"Keep connected and contributing. A client of mine and the former chief executive of a New Zealand business visits from his base in Europe three or four times a year. He is part of the NZTE network and regularly connects virtually with New Zealand businesses."

Be clear on what's your story and why are you returning, he says. "I call it 'the leaving and joining story'."

Both parties can make assumptions and it's easy to not frame up the experience in a way that others understand.

"For example: 'Yes, I worked for a large multinational, however, the part I led was 50 individuals and we were run as a separate company.'

"This makes it easier for the connection."

Johnson cites a senior executive who went to London for five years.

"We connected him to our networks in London, we had regular email contacts, caught up with him when he was back in New Zealand, understood his timing and, when an opportunity came up, he got the chief executive role in an exciting business in Auckland."