A West Auckland butcher feels he could have built "something to go to Mars" with the calibre of applicants for a meat packer role.
New Lynn's Aussie Butcher managing director Reuben Sharples told Morning Report he was swamped with more than 1000 CVs after advertising for a full-time staff member.
The country's unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in more than a decade - described as "crisis-level" among young people in particular.
Sharples said he couldn't believe the 120 emails he received from applicants for the role.
"I thought, 'Oh my God, that's so many.' But then our admin said, 'No, you've got another 870-odd on SEEK.
"They're still coming through now, so over 1000 ... for a meat packer’s role. So pretty overwhelming actually.
"It was like, 'Oh, how do I deal with this?'"
The interest was crazy he said, as was the expertise among the applicants.
"I think the biggest difference was I could have started up lots of businesses. I had someone that had 20 years of aviation security experience."
Those vying for the job included several rest home workers and a computer engineer.
"[Could] probably build something and go to Mars ... with all the people that actually applied."
It was daunting to see people looking for work whose skill sets were "10, 20 times" what was required, Sharples said.
After trawling through the applications he ended up hiring three people, including an apprentice.
His advice to young people looking for work was to avoid showing up with parents, and to tap into friends and family networks.
"And just keep on doing it because you've got to come across positive."
