Best Working Holiday Jobs to Consider in New Zealand

Posted on August 16, 2024 | Last Updated on December 20, 2024

Want to work and experience life in New Zealand? That’s no surprise as it’s not only known for its great quality of life but also for great job opportunities.

On top of that, it also offers breathtaking landscapes – so perfect for a working holiday!

Whether you’re planning your working holiday in New Zealand or are already on your working holiday, there are multiple jobs to consider.

But of course, on your working holiday, you can only take up temporary work which narrows the list of jobs you can take up.

Nonetheless, as a working holidaymaker, there are plenty of jobs to consider!

In this article, we’ll cover:

• 9 best working holiday jobs in New Zealand
• How to apply for jobs in New Zealand

Bartender

First on the list is a bartender, and you have a good chance of finding a job as such.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities as a bartender include taking drink orders, making those drinks, serving them, and taking payments.

You also have to ensure that your bar area stays clean and neat.

And of course, there may be other responsibilities in between.

Skills

Some of the most important skills of a bartender are social and communication skills. You also need to have great stamina.

Entry requirements

You can only work as a bartender if you’re 18 years of age or older.

The great thing is that there are no specific requirements for a bartender role as training is often provided for you on the job.

Hourly pay

The hourly pay differs for bartenders depending on experience. However typically bartenders make between $21 to $23 dollars an hour.

Au-pair

Something a little different than the average job you could do is be an au pair in New Zealand. This will give you the chance to live with a host family and work there.

Responsibilities

As an au pair, you often take care of the children of the host family and help out with some basic housework specific to the children, such as, cleaning the children’s rooms, cooking for the children, and doing the washing up for them.

Entry requirements

Some requirements for au pairs in New Zealand include:

• Be between 18 to 30 years old
• Not have any children with you on your working holiday
• Be a citizen from one of the countries in the table below:

Hourly pay

As an au pair, you will be paid at least the minimum wage, which for 2024 is $23.15 an hour.

Crop worker

As a working holidaymaker in New Zealand, you also have the option to do crop work.

Responsibilities

Tasks for a crop worker can vary, some include:

• Preparing soil for planting
• Planting crops
• Picking crops

Entry requirements

There are no requirements in particular to be a crop worker in New Zealand, but of course having prior experience in areas like gardening or farm work can be useful.

It’s also useful to have horticulture knowledge.

Hourly pay

As an inexperienced crop worker in New Zealand, you typically earn the minimum wage which is $21.20 per hour.

In time you can earn between $22 to $25.

Office Administrator

This is another job to think about whether you have experience or not. Note that if you do have prior experience, you have a higher chance of getting a role as an office administrator.

Responsibilities

Administrators work for organizations doing some of the following tasks:

• Organizing meetings
• Preparing agendas
• Ensuring staff are aware of health and safety
• Preparing and tracking budgets

Skills

As an office administrator, you need strong organizational, problem-solving and communication skills.

Also providing great customer service is often a part of the job.

Entry requirements

There are no specific requirements to be an office administrator in New Zealand, but some things that may be useful are a diploma in business administration and having prior experience as this can give you an advantage over someone who may not have prior experience.

Salary

The salary for an office administrator varies based on experience.

For an entry-level role, the salary is around $49,500 a year. If you have three years of experience, your salary can range from $51,000 to $57,000 a year.

Whereas, if you have over three years of experience, your salary can range from $56,000 to $65,000 yearly.

Tour guide

For the extroverted folks out there this is one of the great backpacker jobs in New Zealand.

Unfortunately, the demand for this role is not as great in New Zealand, but still, if you land a job as a tour guide, it’s not only a great experience but it’s also a casual job that pays well.

Responsibilities

You get to bring people on tours and guide them through the history, geography, society and nature of New Zealand.

You also answer any questions people may have and you’re in charge of arranging entry into exhibitions, museums, etc.

Skills

Of course, you need to have excellent communication skills.

On top of that, you need to be energetic, humorous but also professional.

Entry requirements

You don’t need any specific requirements because you’ll learn as you go along in this role. So it’s a great opportunity for anyone who would like to give this role a try.

Salary

There is no specific salary for tour guides but you can make between $44,000 to $60,000 a year.

Hostel worker

Working at a hostel as a helper is a great option for your working holiday!

Often as a working holidaymaker, it’s a great idea to try and obtain work in the hostel you’re staying in.

Responsibilities

There are different areas you could get work in at a hostel, some may be:

• Working at reception
• Housekeeping

Pay

Typically a job like this would pay minimum wage, which as of 2022 is $21.20 per hour.

Alternatively, you may be offered a free bed for your work in a hostel.

Retail worker

Another great job opportunity, especially during the busy seasons like Christmas or summer time is retail work.

It’s an ideal job if you enjoy working with customers.

Responsibilities

This type of job requires you to work with customers and be involved in sales. So you could be:

• Answering queries customers have
• Serving customers
• Handling payments
• Organizing products

Entry requirements

Although there are no specific entry requirements it can be useful to have prior experience in customer service.

Hourly pay

For retail work, you can receive the minimum wage but you may also find places that offer a couple of dollars above the minimum wage.

The average hourly rate for retail workers stands at $24.36 per hour.

Ski resort worker

Want to spend a season at New Zealand’s ski resorts? Then getting a job there is ideal!

Responsibilities

You can get different types of jobs in a ski resort, some include:

• Lift attendant
• Hospitality worker
• Parking warden
• Reception worker
• Rental staff

Then if you have prior experience and qualifications you can work as a ski instructor. So as you can see, you might have different responsibilities depending on the job you land in ski resorts.

Entry requirements

Having prior experience in any of the roles above is preferred.

However, if you’re looking to work as a ski instructor you should obtain a ski instructor qualification that’s recognized internationally. You need at least a Level one qualification but it’s better if you have a Level two.

Hourly pay

Typically when you work at a ski resort you’ll earn a minimum wage of $21.20 an hour.

However, if you have qualifications and you obtain a role as a ski instructor you may earn a couple of dollars over the minimum wage. It greatly depends on your experience.

Construction worker

We couldn’t end the list of the best working holiday jobs without construction work!

This is currently a highly demanded job in New Zealand.

Construction work consists of a lot of physical work on roads or building sites and can include working on all different kinds of construction projects.

Responsibilities

As a construction worker you could be doing some of the following:

• Ground leveling and putting down cables or pipes
• Pouring and finishing concrete
• Moving materials and equipment
• Building roads and pathways
• Building and demolishing buildings

Entry requirements

You don’t need to have any education in particular as you’ll gain experience while working in this domain.

Prior experience is of course useful. This includes experience in any of the following domains:

• Building
• Gardening
• Road construction
• Farm work

For this job, you need to be strong, fit and healthy. Another important point to mention is that you may be required to work high up, so being confident with heights is important.

Salary range

Pay depends on experience. In the beginning, you may earn around $25 hourly.

However, once you gain experience you can earn up to $40 an hour.

We’ve finally come to the end of the list of the best working holiday jobs in New Zealand.

Of course, there are other jobs that you can consider, however, these are top of the list for working holidaymakers.

We hope that you found this list useful!

Read also:
Top Things To Do And Places To Visit In New Zealand During Your Working Holiday

Wondering about how to find a job in New Zealand? We’ll touch on this next!

How to apply for jobs in New Zealand

People have different intentions for their working holiday in New Zealand. Some may decide to visit New Zealand and start working straight away while simultaneously exploring New Zealand.

However, some go on their working holiday and only start looking for jobs after a short while of exploring the country, which of course means you have to have more money saved up prior to arriving.

Either way, a working holiday will require you to work at some point and here’s how you go about applying for jobs.

You can apply for work in New Zealand in person, online or both.

If you decide to apply for jobs in person, you should tweak your resume to suit the job you are applying for and then set on your way to the places you would like to apply for.

If you’re applying for jobs online in New Zealand there are multiple websites that are available for you. Here is a list of them:

• Backpacker Board
• Backpacker Job Board
• Indeed New Zealand
• Jora
• PickNZ – specifically for vegetable and fruit picking jobs
• Trade Me
• Seasonal Jobs – specifically for agriculture and horticulture jobs
• Seek

And of course, don’t forget you can apply both online and in person if you land in New Zealand and haven’t got a job lined up yet!

Need a visa for your working holiday in New Zealand?

Considering a working holiday to New Zealand?

We know that preparing everything you need for your working holiday, looking for jobs and saying goodbye to all your loved ones can take up a lot of your time and may even be stressful.

That’s why Visa First, a global visa specialist is here! We can help you acquire your working holiday visa and take care of all the paperwork for you!

Why apply with Visa First?

• We organise over 9,000 visas for people all over the world yearly
• We’ll increase your chances of a successful outcome
• Fast and easy service
• We’ll guide you throughout the entire application process

You can start by completing a simple online application form today!