When the voters say 'get a job' ... start looking

By ASHLEY CAMPBELL

MPs feeling the chilly wind of defeat are doing the rounds of recruitment companies, preparing for new careers should they lose their jobs in next Saturday's election.

One recruitment adviser said her company had "more than a handful" of MPs from several parties on its books.

"Now the party lists are public, people can pretty much work out what their likelihood is of getting back in," she said.

Most job-seeking MPs were looking to re-enter the fields they had been in before going into politics.

"You learn a lot when you are an MP," she said. "Unfortunately, those skills are not really transferable."

Employers usually wanted skills that related directly to the job.

Former MPs took "no longer and no shorter" a time to find a new job than other newly redundant people, she said.

But long-serving MPs would probably have more difficulty finding a job because their skills in their former occupations would be out of date.



The exceptions were politicians who were regarded as statesmen.

"Bill Clinton's not out of work," she said.

"They've always got the option of the speaking circuit, books and overseas advisory work."

Former Labour MP Richard Northey, who held Eden from 1984 to 1990 and Onehunga from 1993 to 1996, said it was tough re-entering the workforce after losing his seat.

He applied for about 40 jobs before landing a two-year contract with the Arts Council.

National MPs who could lose their jobs unless their poll ratings improve include list MPs Marie Hasler, Annabel Young, Eric Roy, Arthur Anae, Belinda Vernon and Hamilton East MP Tony Steel.

Also in trouble is Alliance MP Willie Jackson and his former colleagues now standing for the Progressive Coalition, Matt Robson and Grant Gillon.

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