New Zealand Jobs - Jobs in New Zealand

The Special Category Working Holiday Visa allows you to take incidental employment during your stay in New Zealand. There is plenty of short-term and casual work available and many employers prefer backpackers for such positions. New Zealand employers place a great deal of importance on previous work experience so past references are strongly recommended. Likewise, you should provide character references showing that you are responsible, hard-working and trustworthy. Several copies of a neatly printed résumé are essential.

Remember that the seasons are reversed in New Zealand. As you will probably be there for a year, you will have the chance to experience all four seasons down under. In practical terms, New Zealand students start their summer break in mid-November and are potential job competition. So, if you are going before Christmas, we recommend that you obtain your first job as soon as you can on arrival.

New Zealand has a thriving tourist industry and there are always employers in offices, hotels, shops and restaurants looking for seasonal help. Agricultural work is also plentiful. When you arrive, find out which crops are in season and how to find this type of work.

Finding Work
Plan your job hunting strategy before you go. Think about how you can get one step ahead of the thousands of other young job hunters who arrive each year. Don’t limit your search to the main cities. If you have friends or relatives in New Zealand, write to them for advice. One of your school departments may already have an academic exchange to New Zealand. Research the many and varied tourist areas and work out how far in they are from Auckland. Talk to people who have already been to gain some inside knowledge.

Adopt a flexible “no worries” attitude about the type of work you are willing to do. Your main asset should be your willingness to take (or at least try) any kind of work, anywhere in New Zealand. You may, for instance, be prepared to follow the holiday/snow/crop seasons around the country. Combining short-term jobs wherever you happen to be with seeing New Zealand’s varied scenery is always popular.