He was overlooked for almost 8000 jobs. Now he’s got the one he really wanted

Friday, 17 October 2025

This story says that Robert Purchase said he had not committed a crime since completing a prison term. Stuff would like to clarify that this refers to his criminal record in New Zealand. In 2003, Purchase received 25-year jail sentences in Florida for kidnap and for carjacking with a deadly weapon. He was released in 2023 and returned to New Zealand soon after.

Every morning for the last two years, Robert Purchase has climbed out of bed and gone straight to his computer to fire off job applications.

But on Monday, Purchase will put on his boots and head to a new job as a traffic management worker.

The struggling beneficiary had applied for almost 8000 roles, desperately doing everything possible to get into work, before telling his story on Stuff.

He believed he was being overlooked because a prison stint from almost three decades ago was showing on his criminal record.

Robert Purchase said he unsuccessfully applied for almost 8000 jobs over the past two years.

So the 48-year-old said that when he was offered the new job, in Onehunga, Auckland, after an interview on Tuesday, he couldn’t stop smiling.

“I wanted to get out of there as quick as possible… I probably looked like an idiot for the next three or four hours.”

Have you struggled to find work or housing because of a historic criminal record? Email phoebe.utteridge@stuff.co.nz

Purchase’s new role is with Traffic Management NZ. The company’s upper North Island operations manager Damon Hamilton said Purchase’s application stood out because he had included photos of himself working in traffic management and driving trucks, showing what he wanted to be doing.

Purchase’s successful application included photos of him working in traffic management.

“He had a novel way of approaching us for a job,” Hamilton said. “That deserved at least to get him in and have a yarn to him.”

Purchase received his employment contract on Thursday, and after an induction on Friday, he would start his first shift on Monday.

He was pleased the work was in traffic management.

“It’s what I’m qualified in and it’s what I was looking for,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

Robert Purchase was looking forward to starting as a traffic management worker. (File photo)

Almost three decades ago, Purchase, then 20, was sent to prison for a string of crimes ranging from shoplifting to unlawfully carrying a weapon and assault.

He served his time and said he had not committed a crime since. Purchase gave Stuff a copy of his New Zealand criminal record till September 2024. It supported his claim that he had not been convicted of a crime in New Zealand since he was jailed in 1997.

After Purchase’s story was published on October 8, readers began writing in offering job opportunities and recruitment support.

He hadn’t planned on having his story reported, but wrote to Stuff after the Government announced changes to the Jobseeker benefit eligibility for 18 and 19-year-olds, with concerns for the young people affected.

Purchase was pleasantly surprised by the positive response to his story, as he didn’t know what to expect.

He wanted his story to remind other jobseekers not to give up hope.

“I wasn’t sure which way it would go, but it was really cool.”