Dasha Tarasova is a Senior Project Architect at Ignite Architects in Auckland. With a Masters of Architecture Degree, she has spent over 7 years working on residential and commercial projects. 

1. How did it come about that you chose a career in Architecture?

I never thought about doing Architecture until late one evening at the end of my schooling. I was waiting to get on a late plane back to boarding school and my mum asked what subjects I enjoyed, I answered “Math, Art and Economics”. She replied, “Well you should do Architecture then.” It was a moment of eureka when I realised that, this was the perfect career for me. Excitedly, we went to tell my stepfather that I have chosen my career path! His first response was “how much is the course?!” I was an international student in Auckland, so it was quite an expensive career choice, but one which I am very grateful to my parents for supporting and funding me through it. When I look back at the way I played and the things I drew as a kid, it is obvious that Architecture was always the path for me. I mostly chose to build Lego houses for the Barbies, rather than play with them and I loved to draw plans of family apartments as gifts to the family members. My highest achievement as an 8 year old architect came when I drew a floor plan of a large doll ‘mansion’ on the floor of my bedroom in order to arrange play furniture in the ‘rooms’, with permanent marker of course.

2. Which architect do you draw inspiration from?

Frank Gehry’s architecture was a big influence during my University years. I particularly love the unexpected and unintentional spaces that the complexity of his Architecture creates. It invites you to wonder around his buildings and discover beautiful details and spaces. Of course at this time Zaha Hadid has to be mentioned. Her achievements as a female Architect will have a huge influence on careers of all female Architects and she has always been my role model. Her uncompromising attitude towards pushing engineering and structural boundaries to achieve iconic architecture is truly inspiring.

3. You are currently working in the Commercial Retail space, what do you enjoy most about this sector?

I love the speed of projects within the Retail Commercial sector. Being able to start a project from scratch and see it get built within half a year is very rewarding. It helps assess quickly if your design intention has translated through paper to reality as you intended. It also allows you to constantly learn from any mistakes and improve your skills.  Retail and hospitality also allows you to be highly creative and push the design boundaries.  

4. As a Senior Project Architect, what do you find to be the most challenging and the most rewarding aspects of your job?

I love dealing with clients and being on the front line of the projects, I love being hands on on site during construction. The downside of retail being a high paced environment, is the constant intensity and time pressure that we work under. There has never has been a project that has evolved slowly and deadlines are usually in weeks. Once I became more senior, I had less time to draw and had to rely more on team members to complete drawings. That was a bit of a challenge, since I had spent the first 6 years of my career designing through drawing and now I had to quickly learn to express design intent verbally.  

5. What would you say is the biggest design influences in the commercial and retail sector?

I am very impressed with the burst of very creative and high-end design in the retail and hospitality spaces in Auckland, particularly since the Rugby World Cup. I think the push in a higher design standard in the Auckland CBD has now influenced store and commercial design across Auckland and we are seeing some very high quality interior design that is on par with the international design levels. It is very exciting to be involved in the industry at this time and witness the blossoming of Auckland.

6. There is a lot of focus on environmental and social sustainability, what role does green buildings play in your work?

This is a challenging topic in commercial design space as often budgets and client requirements dictate the extent of sustainable design employed within a building. I think this is a real shame. In future, I look forward to being able to lead projects and be able to push clients and consultants towards having sustainable design techniques becoming a normal and standard part of any construction.

7. There are many architectural graduates today trying to make their mark, what advice can you give them?

I know that a lot of my friends and I found the first 2-3 years after finishing an Architectural Degree quite challenging, especially when you see your peers that completed other degrees, 2 years earlier, getting well paid jobs and travelling or starting families, and you are still in a relatively junior position. I know a few people who quit Architecture during this time. However, once I pushed through this period and became a Registered Architect, it was all worth it. The change in career opportunities and the type of projects you are exposed to is immense and highly satisfying. I love my career path now and find it really rewarding and positively challenging. So I would advise any Graduate Architect to persevere and achieve Registration. It was not as scary as everyone thinks!

8. What is your ultimate goal when it comes to your work? What do you want to be remembered for?

My ultimate goal is to create spaces that have had a positive effect on people. I am confident that the overall feel and perception of a well-designed space has a positive influence on people’s mood and daily lives, even if they are not directly aware of it. And I would only like to hope that the spaces I design add to the positive well-being of its patrons.

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We’re here if you need help defining a role or brief, specialist insight to help shape your ideas or expert help with your recruitment process. Just get in touch to arrange a conversation with one of the team or if you’re ready for us to find the perfect person for you, send us your brief.

If you’re looking for your ideal job send your CV to us to get started or search for the latest job vacancies and we’ll get the ball rolling.

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Our team is highly knowledgeable in the planning market and we work closely with a variety of organisations ranging from local and central government agencies, large multinational consultancies to smaller local privately run planning firms, we cover a broad range of planning disciplines. Including but not limited to policy & strategy, town planning, infrastructure and land development consenting and commercial, industrial and residential applications.

We’re a passionate team equipped with the skills and support needed to be able to work in a way that suits you best. It’s just one of the reasons why we stand out from the crowd.

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As well as having the necessary recruitment experience, our consultants have come directly from residential property and homebuilding backgrounds. This enables us to have a good understanding of what makes a successful residential property professional. Our unique combination of knowledge has allowed us to work with some of the best clients in New Zealand, from leading housebuilders, developers, surveying practices, and leading estate agencies, which provides candidates with exciting opportunities and the chance to get to their goals faster.

Unfortunately, history is full of financial misdeeds. Whether it’s invoice fraud or cybercrime, the perpetrator is always looking for the same thing: personal gain. As evidence shows, it’s almost impossible not to get caught out. Even the most hardened criminals have run out of luck and faced the consequences. Accountants and financial services professionals have played a key role in putting a stop to fraud. Here we take a look at a few criminals who paid the price for their crimes.

William Yan 

Through a series of fake names and bank accounts, Chinese businessman William Yan, generated a wealth of $129 million. He concealed his fortune in New Zealand through money laundering. In 2001 he arrived in New Zealand, he was then granted permanent residency a year later. He used the names ‘Bill Liu’ and ‘Yang Liu’ to get a New Zealand passport, before changing his name to William Yang.

He was fifth on China’s most-wanted list for fraud and in 2014, New Zealand authorities took a closer look at the dormant allegation against Yan. They raided his penthouse and eventually froze a large portion of his assets as part of an ongoing inquiry. To settle the case, Yan is expected to pay back $42.8 million, which would be shared between New Zealand and China. Even though William Yan was never convicted, authorities still managed to seize his assets under the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act, without admission of “criminal or civil liability”. There wasn’t enough evidence to convict Yan, but it’s safe to assume that authorities will be keeping a close eye on him from now on.

Micky Cohen

During the 1940s and 50s, Micky Cohen was the mob king of Los Angeles, feared all across Hollywood’s underworld. Like most notorious gangsters, his reign of power came to an abrupt end. In 1961, he was convicted of tax evasion and sent to Alcatraz. He already spent time in prison for tax fraud ten years earlier, but on his second spell he spent eleven years in prison. When he was released in 1972, he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, so his criminal days were long behind him.

Terry Adams

During their height in the late nineties, Terry Adams and his family, known as the A-Team, had an estimated fortune of £200 million. They were one of the most powerful criminal organisations in London, having been linked to all kinds of crimes, including various murders and drug smuggling. During the nineties, the Inland Revenue and MI5 closely monitored Adams, tracking his affairs and gathering information about his business transactions. Eventually, the authorities started questioning how he had accumulated his wealth, and Adams invented numerous fake businesses, just so he could account for his fortune. In 2003, Adams was prosecuted for tax evasion and money laundering. He pleaded guilty to the charges and had to pay back £95,000.

Al Capone

Arguably the most infamous gangster of all time, Al Capone escaped prosecution for several years. At the age of 33, the crime boss was finally caught, prosecuted for tax evasion in 1931. The authorities had a tough time catching him as Al Capone had no bank accounts and never filed tax returns, so his wealth couldn’t be accounted for. However, the IRS were able to track his income through his illegal gambling, bootlegging and other criminal activities.

Frank J. Wilson was the former chief of the IRS and he heavily contributed to the prosecution of Al Capone. Wilson moved to Chicago to gather information and over a period time, he built a formidable case against Al Capone. Wilson even avoided an assassination attempt in order to bring down Capone. In the end, Capone was sentenced to eleven years in prison.

As you can see, these criminals made for compelling cases, but their corruption came to a swift end. It seems that even the most powerful criminals are destined to fall, and without the efforts of financial services professionals and accountants, these criminals’ reign of terror may have gone on for a lot longer.

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We’re here if you need help defining a role or brief, specialist insight to help shape your ideas or expert help with your recruitment process. Just get in touch to arrange a conversation with one of the team or if you’re ready for us to find the perfect person for you, send us your brief.

If you’re looking for your ideal job send your CV to us to get started or search for the latest job vacancies and we’ll get the ball rolling.

Looking for a new role can sometimes be an exhausting and time-consuming exercise, especially when you’re already in a full time and busy role. When working with a recruiter, to help them do the best job for you, take a bit of time at the start of a process to do the following and you’ll get much more out of it:

• Update your CV – this is also a useful exercise to get you thinking about any particular projects or matters you’ve been involved in so that you can really understand what skills/experience you’d have to bring into the next role you go into. Consider your CV as a summary of your professional brand. If you’re unsure about the structure, format or layout of your CV, send a draft to an industry specialist recruiter who will be able to give you advice on any changes you could make to the structure of your CV before it goes out.

• Get advice from an industry recruiter on how your background will be received in the market and to get a feel for the type of options available to you. If you’re not actively pursuing a new role, this can still be useful, as a recruiter can keep you in mind for roles of interest, as they come up. Timing can sometimes be key in a job search and, if you’re busy, we can alert you on roles so that you don’t miss out.

• Communicate your availability: Let your recruiter know if you have any upcoming holidays where you’ll be harder to contact or unable to interview. Also let them know your notice period and how you’re placed in the next few weeks to meet any potential employers for an interview. That way, if you do get an interview, a recruiter can work that into your schedule.

• Identify 2-3 aspects in a role that will be most important to you when you make a change. You may be looking to move into a larger team or do a different mix of work or you may be looking for a better work/life balance – by allowing a recruiter to understand your push and pull factors, it will help us focus your search and bring relevant roles to your attention. If you’re looking at a change in role purely for salary reasons, this is not usually a good reason for a move unless you have already spoken to your current employer and they are not able to raise the salary to what you require.

• Be realistic about your goals and expectations: Within the legal context, academic transcripts, the firm/organisation you’ve worked, the work you’ve done and the level of experience you have will all impact on the options that are realistically available to you. It also impacts on the salary that’s achievable. For example, if you have 2 years’ legal experience in a general practice law firm with a C+ average in grades then moving to a medium sized commercial law team is potentially achievable whereas a top tier is unlikely to be. To avoid a lot of time wastage and disappointment, it’s important to get some objective advice on what your realistic options are.

Job hunting can be full of uncertainty. But with us, you can be sure that we’ll do everything we can to get you to your ideal job. Send your CV to us to get started or search for the latest job vacancies and we’ll get the ball rolling.

Marius Salzmann, Architecture & Design Recruiter for Cobalt shares advice and answers key questions about working as a registered Architect in New Zealand. 

How do I become a New Zealand Registered Architect and get into Architecture? Is a degree essential?

You cannot call yourself an Architect without having registration in New Zealand. The usual pathway to become registered with the New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB) is to study an architectural degree and start your career as an Architectural Graduate. In order to qualify for registration, you need to have one of the following degrees:

• University of Auckland
• Unitec Auckland
• Victoria University of Wellington

If you do not hold any of the above qualifications, then you are able to undertake a Qualification and Experience Assessment. Beside the prerequisite qualifications listed, an Architectural Graduate should hold 2-3 years of work experience in the field in order to grow their project portfolio. Furthermore, applicants for registration need to show competency within New Zealand Building Codes, NZ standards, contract administration and have experience through all design stages to practice proper architecture.

What are the most important skills for a Registered Architect?  

There are six main skills that you should have and/or develop in order to be successful. It all starts with design skills to plan, visualise and develop solutions to specific problems. Drawing skills are essential to give the client an idea of the final outcome and to put the vision into detailed drawings on paper. Thirdly, maths skills come in handy. Calculations, budgets, and various different feasibility studies are going hand in hand with the drawings. You must be prepared to write reports and present your findings in various different meetings. Moreover you need to be a good communicator to discuss your ideas with clients, address problems and liaise with multiple different stakeholders. Lastly, you need to be able to manage people from the very beginning concept stage through to the final project delivery.

Who will you be working with? 
You will be working with multiple people on all levels to get a project from paper to reality; this will include your client(s), Technicians, Graduates, Interior Designers, Engineers, the Council and many more. This is where management and communication skills need to be fully exercised to produce the outcome under tight deadlines. Successful candidates must learn how to work independently when needed or in a team, manage staff and never miss deadlines or the overall picture out of their focus.

What will a Registered Architect in New Zealand earn?
As an Architectural Graduate your entry level will be around $40,000 – $45,000 per annum*. After that you can expect a gradual salary increase which grows with your experience. Remember that becoming a Registered Architect is not compulsory. Many Senior Architects are still “Graduates” as they have never done their registration – however, we see a salary increase with registration. Once registered, you can expect a salary of around $80,000 per annum. Post registration salaries with more than 15 years of experience usually rise well above the 100K mark, depending on practice, experience and performance.

What benefits should you expect?
The benefits that you can expect rely on the size of the practice. While smaller practices may ‘only’ offer a market raise base salary and bonuses, bigger practices may include: car parking, laptop, phone, health care plans, travel insurance and bonuses to name a few. Most practices mentor you towards becoming a registered Architect and pay your annual fees for the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) and NZRAB.

(*Earnings are accurate as of date posted as salary levels fluctuate over time)

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Job hunting can be full of uncertainty. But with us, you can be sure that we’ll do everything we can to get you to your ideal job. Send your CV to us to get started or search for the latest job vacancies and we’ll get the ball rolling.

The theory of renewable energy sources being able to provide 100% of our power needs has gone from intriguing academic conundrum to evermore urgent necessity in the last few decades. And with new feasibility studies and recent advances in technology, we could well be on the cusp of making it happen.

The devastating impact fossil fuels have had on the planet and its population are well understood. Worldwide air pollution kills an estimated four to seven million people each year, with many hundreds of millions more contracting serious illness. Carbon emissions are the main driver of climate change and the finite quantities of coal, gas and oil, and their subsequent price increases, cause economic, social and political instability.

It is a situation that cannot continue indefinitely, and a switch to clean power is the obvious alternative, but to fully harness the benefits of renewable energy sources, how much land needs to be sacrificed?

Solar Power

It is commonly agreed that in the race to supply the world with completely renewable energy, solar and wind are going to have to do most of the heavy lifting.

Every hour, more power from the sun hits the Earth than we can use in an entire year—yet it remains a seriously underutilised resource. Even with the recent ‘sun rush’ in the U.S and China, which saw both countries increase their amount of solar power by around 50%, it accounts for only about 4% of worldwide electricity demand. So, with that figure in mind, what are the chances of the sun being able to satisfy all the planet’s power needs?

A U.S Department of Energy report from 2009 estimated the global consumption of energy, in all its forms, reaching 678 quadrillion Btu by 2030—around a 40% increase on today. Working off current solar technology running at 20% efficiency, and with an average of 70% sunshine days per year, it would take an area of solar panels covering 496,805 square kilometres to meet the annual usage. To put that in perspective, it is about the size of Spain.

While that may seem like an unrealistic amount of land to give over to solar energy production, in reality, it is comparatively small.  If we take America as an example, the world’s biggest consumer of energy, their projected 2050 power needs across the entire country could be met with roughly 33,000 square kilometres of solar panels. If the production was concentrated in just the sunniest territories, that figure drops to only 12,000 square kilometres.

To even further reduce the land usage, instead of building massive solar farms in the country’s deserts or across undeveloped areas, and instead siting them on rooftops, car parks and other commercial and industrial land, the required energy could be produced without significantly increasing the current land use footprint at all.

Wind Energy

Wind farms cover a far larger area than a similarly productive solar farm. To supply the world’s current energy demands, around 21,000 terawatt-hours, it would take approximately four million turbines, spread across an expanse about half the size of Alaska.

But, according to a study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the amount of land taken completely out of use by the presence of a wind farm only amounts to around 1% of the entire area the wind farm covers.

Turbines can be situated on otherwise productive farming, grazing and agricultural land, sharing the space with little to no impact. Even factoring in the additional requirements for access roads, substations, transmission lines and the temporary needs for construction, adds just a further 2% to the total.

Interestingly, wind turbines are even more efficient than solar farms, averaging 30% productivity rather than 20%. Advances in technology and the physical size of the turbines are starting to both increase that level of efficiency as well as lower the expenditure—the cost of developing the infrastructure has dropped by 90% since the 1980s.

With turbines being built taller than ever, and with more installed in off-shore wind farms which can offer three times the amount of power than those on land, the number and space needed for them will continue to drop.

For the first time, being able to meet all of our power needs with renewable energy is within reach. Along with solar and wind, hydroelectricity has been growing steadily for the last 40 years and now accounts for around 18% of global electricity generation. China, by far the biggest producer in the world, has more than tripled its output in the last decade, while Norway gets 98% of its energy from renewable sources, mostly hydropower.

All the most recent investigations suggest the relevant technology and the required land exists to be completely free from fossil fuels by 2050—bringing about a solution to global warming and air pollution.

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We’re here if you need help defining a role or brief, specialist insight to help shape your ideas or expert help with your recruitment process. Just get in touch to arrange a conversation with one of the team or if you’re ready for us to find the perfect person for you, send us your brief.

If you’re looking for your ideal job send your CV to us to get started or search for the latest job vacancies and we’ll get the ball rolling.

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​Describe your area of expertise and experience?

I currently focus on legal recruitment for private practice and corporate clients across a variety of legal areas. I have in-depth experience in legal recruitment having run my own specialist legal recruitment agency in the past. I also recruit Compliance professionals for technology and financial services clients.

How would you describe your approach to work?

I have a “there’s always a way” attitude to any situation. I approach my work as a professional, realising that my efforts support genuine business progress and change candidates lives for the better. I operate as an expert in my field of recruitment and pride myself on being able to recall pertinent information about the market and people I deal with, giving advice tailored to each scenario.

Why do your clients, candidate and colleagues trust you and want to work with you?

My experience in global banking and specialised ​legal recruitment has given me exposure to how firms and businesses are structured which broadens my ability to understand and recruit for specialised positions. I understand legal and compliance terminology and can easily adopt an active listening approach to any conversation, ensuring that each person leaves a conversation with me feeling heard, understood and assured that I am able to follow through on their expectations. I see trust as the major currency in a client and candidate-centric industry and pride myself on being an ethical and trust-worthy recruiter.

What do you love about working at Cobalt Recruitment?

I can run my desk independently but have all the support of an experienced boutique business. The environment is energising and the people are professionals in their fields of recruitment. The business is focused on the well-being of clients, candidates and colleagues, so it is no surprise that we achieve outstanding results.

What do you love most about what you do?

I love the creative and problem-solving aspect of recruitment. Recruitment offers me a platform to create networks, relationships and generate sales all while being myself. It is rare to find a profession that demands a high level of business acumen and social skills in a fun and dynamic environment.

Our team of legal recruitment consultants have a strong insight into the NZ legal market, with over a decade experience in the industry. The specialist skills and knowledge of the legal team means that we are one of the top choices for recruitment in this sector, recruiting for all levels of lawyers and legal support. Our team will consult with you throughout the entire recruitment process, adding value to your search at all times.

Without the typical face-to-face interaction, showing your personality can be a challenge. Nowadays, many companies use video interviews to expedite the hiring process. In the digital era, more and more businesses will implement video interviews, so make sure you are ready (and get good at smiling). There are specific ways to ace a video interview. Here’s how. 

Dress professionally

You might be in the comfort of your own home for a video interview, but that doesn’t mean you can abandon the appropriate dress. You want to dress exactly as if you were being interviewed in person. What you wear can have an impact on your mindset. If you’re too comfortable in your jeans and t-shirt, that may come through in your attitude and the way you speak. You want to put forward the impression that you’re taking the video interview seriously.

It’s important your attire matches the company for which you’re interviewing. If you’re doing an interview for an architecture job, you may have more freedom since architecture is a creative field. While you may be able to forgo the suit, you should still dress professionally in a clean outfit that fits well.

Create the right lighting and background

Pay attention to the lighting and background. You want your environment to be well-lit and free from distractions like a dog barking or a blaring TV. You want the focus to be on you and what you’re saying. Also, when you do your interview, remove any posters or paintings. The backdrop should be clear and business-like. Paul J. Bailo, a digital executive and author of The Essential Digital Interview Handbook has said, “You want a clean, sterile environment when you’re doing a video interview.” Make sure the lights aren’t casting any shadows on your face. Above all, if the interviewer can’t see you properly or is distracted by noise, you’ll diminish your chances of landing the job.

Keep your body language open

Be mindful of your body language during the interview. Just as with an in-person interview, sit with a proper posture. It’s fine to gesture when you speak but keep your hand movements within the frame. Even if the interviewer can’t see your foot tapping under the table, try your best to avoid fidgeting. Also, don’t cross your arms or adopt rigid body language. You want to appear professional and confident. No matter how nervous you are, try your best to act natural and maintain eye contact with the employer.

Have a good handle on the technology

When it comes to video interviews, technical difficulties can happen and it might not be your fault. But you need to get a handle on the basics. For example, make sure everything on your laptop is working properly. Double check the audio, video, and internet connection. Make sure your device is fully charged and plugged in on the day. You don’t want your laptop cutting out halfway through the interview. Mayer Dahan, an LA real estate developer described her experience with a poor interview. She said, “I know technical glitches are bound to happen, but the fact her computer didn’t have adequate battery power for the interview made me feel she was unprepared.” To avoid the headache of technological issues, do thorough checks for a seamless interview.

Get on-camera practice

In the days before the video interview, get some on-camera practice. Use your webcam to record yourself answering questions and see how your facial expressions, voice, and body language comes across on camera. You’ll be able to review yourself and make sure the background and lighting are okay. You could even show the recording to a friend or a family member to get their opinion. The more you get comfortable with talking about yourself on camera, the better you’ll perform in the interview.

Video interviews are on the rise. The good news is it means you don’t have to travel. Unfortunately, being on camera doesn’t come naturally to everyone, so it comes with its pitfalls. To succeed in a video interview, you’re going to have to brush up on your presentation and ensure you come across as a complete professional.

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Job hunting can be full of uncertainty. But with us, you can be sure that we’ll do everything we can to get you to your ideal job. Send your CV to us to get started or search for the latest job vacancies and we’ll get the ball rolling.