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Find a job in New Zealand

Because New Zealand is a natural half-way stopping point for those backpackers making their way round the world, it follows that quite a few travellers are running low on cash by the time they get there!

Working when you’re backpacking, however, isn’t just about earning enough cash to buy a ticket to your next destination. It’s an experience to work in another country, whether you’re helping to harvest berries near Taupo(ideally between September and December) or assisting on a sheep farm on the Canterbury plains, you’ll be able to go home and bore all your friends senseless with countless tales of what New Zealand is really like (those casual backpackers just don’t have a clue, do they?). It’s exciting, it’s different, and it can earn you money! What are you waiting for?

Harvest hilarity

There are crops growing in NZ all year round, so you’ll never find yourself with nowhere to earn. Particularly popular are Blenheim, 30k south of Picton, and Tauranga, found near Taupo on the North Island. Tauranga is well known for the quality of its Kiwi fruit, while Blenheim has some of the most prestigious vineyards in the country. We highly recommend fruit-picking as summer work, as you are paid in proportion to the amount you pick, while in winter the weather is a lot worse and the pay less lucrative.

Another great spot to visit is Hastings - between the months of October and June there are approximately 80,000 job vacancies that need filling. The peak time for seasonal work is mid-Feburary to early May; it’s the apple-picking season, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a job, since there a projected 50,000 extra workers needed. The work will be hot and tough, but a good work ethic could see you earning a fair bit of cash. In the winter months of June to September, jobs are available, although they’re harder to lcate, and you’ll probably be required to stay until the end of winter. Rather than picking, you’ll be pruing and weeding, so don’t expect anything too glamorous.

Harvest work does, of course, depend on the weather. As a general rule, Kiwi summers are hot and pleasant, but always be prepared for a sharp downturn in the number of available jobs if the weather gets worse.

Help a hostel

It might not be the most glamorous way to pass your time, but you’ll often find hostels offering a free bed for the night for anybody willing to muck in with the cleaning and day-to-day running of the establishment. It’s a great way to operate - you mop some floors, or answer the phone a few times, and you get a free night (saving you anything from NZ$20 upwards)! No need to do anything unneccesary, like working too hard or actually having to leave the building to earn something.

If you’re looking to get some free nights at a hostel, it’s often the smaller, family-run businesses that are more willing and flexible - some of the chain hostels can have stricter regulations about who does what, so find yourself a small and cosy hostel without too many staff, have a chat with them at the front desk and see what comes of it!

Hospitality on holiday

Nina Chell

"Working in a hotel is very rewarding and for someone like me who has never worked in hospitality before, you will be surprised how quickly you pick up skills, confidence and knowledge in the hectic industry. Many of my work experiences from New Zealand have also been valuable in post-university job applications since I have been home."
Nina Chell

Restaurant, hotel and bar work are fairly standard the world over. Whether it’s a local pub in Queenstown or a four-star hotel in Auckland, there are jobs aplenty in the hospitality industry. Experience always helps when applying for these, since employers are often looking for staff willing to start yesterday and if you can jump in at the deep end you’ll have the edge on any other applicants - why not get yourself a part-time bar job in the UK in order to learn the ropes?

Horsey!

Farmyard Frolics

We know that sounds like a porn title, and we don’t care, so you can stop sniggering. One of the best ways to experience genuine Kiwi life is to stay with an NZ family on a farmstay. Available to organize through the WWoOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) or FHiNZ (Farm Helpers in New Zealand), it’s easy to sort out staying a week or more on a Kiwi farm, assisting with livestock, harvest and construction work. The positions are generally unpaid, but in return for your assistance, your host will supply, at minimum, food and a bed, so it’s a great way to massively reduce the cost of your living expenses as you move round.

Office options

This is only a practical option when you’re in one of the larger cities of Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. Although positions will be available in smaller communities, it’ll be tough to track them down and much harder to get them. However, office temp work can frequently pay more than bar work, so it’s definitely worth a look if you’re going to be in the cities for a while. One of the easiest ways of nailing a position is to apply through an office temping agency - once you’ve left your details with them, city businesses will ask the agency for the names of applicants suitable for roles like data-entry or call-centre work. Ensure the agency knows who you are by chasing them up and calling them regularly.

It isn’t really recommended to bank on finding a job in the extreme sports industry - although it’s big business in New Zealand, there’s a lot more competition than in most fields. Even off-peak, it’s very difficult to find a job in Queenstown - one story in the local paper followed a woman that had previously managed two international five-star hotels, yet was still unable to find a job working in hospitality in the resort in mid-winter! If you’re desperate to work in Queenstown, get there early and off-peak - spring and autumn are the best times. Be keen - follow up applications with phone calls, but avoid being plain pushy.

Don’t get too downhearted if you can’t find a job in your first 24 hours of searching - there will be plenty of other people in your situation - vacancies will come and go daily, so be sure to keep on top of the local jobseekers office and all the noticeboards you can find on the internet. The city hostels, like Auckland Central, actually have an NZ Job Search centre inside the building, so you’ve really got no excuse not to be completely up-to-date with all the latest offers. Whatever happens, don’t forget that you’re in New Zealand to have fun, not to work - if you find yourself working your third thirty-hour week in a month, you need to get out and start bungy-jumping from bridges as soon as possible.

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Find a job in New Zealand

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