New Zealand CV Format

Tahatū, the government careers service that replaced the Careers New Zealand website, publishes CV tips, examples and templates that follow the structure most NZ employers expect:

1. 1.Contact details — name, town or city, mobile, email, LinkedIn. Add your driver licence class (for example “Full NZ driver licence, Class 1”) if the job involves driving.
2. 2.Personal statement — three to five lines on what you do, what you are good at and what you want next. First person without the pronoun is common.
3. 3.Key skills — the practical skills the job ad asks for, with evidence elsewhere in the CV.
4. 4.Work history — most recent first, with month and year. A short line about the employer, then achievements.
5. 5.Education and training — qualifications, institution, year; licences and short courses such as first aid or site safety.
6. 6.Referees — two people who have managed you.

Volunteer work, community involvement and interests can follow if they say something about you. For roles working with Māori or Pacific communities, or in the public sector, experience with te reo Māori or tikanga is worth stating honestly.

Two pages suits most people with some experience; three is acceptable for long careers if every line earns its place. Students and people applying for casual or part-time work can keep to one or two.

Use a single column, clear headings and a plain font. New Zealand recruiters read on screen and many larger employers run applicant tracking systems, so avoid text boxes, tables for layout and graphics.

Write in NZ English: organise, colour, centre, programme, licence (noun). Dates as month and year. Spell out acronyms once — a Kiwi recruiter will not know what an Indian, Filipino or British internal abbreviation means.

Tone matters. New Zealand workplaces tend to be informal and suspicious of self-promotion, so let numbers and specifics carry the message: “cut month-end close from eight days to five” lands better than “results-driven high performer”.

Employers in New Zealand must check that anyone they hire is entitled to work, and many job ads say they can only consider applicants who already have work rights. One line near the top answers it:

• New Zealand citizen / Australian citizen — Australians can live and work in New Zealand.
• New Zealand resident visa
• Post Study Work Visa — open work rights until June 2028 — an open work visa for eligible graduates of NZ qualifications.
• Partner of a worker work visa — open, valid until March 2027
• Accredited Employer Work Visa — current employer — the AEWV is tied to an accredited employer and a specific job, so a new employer generally needs to be accredited and support a new application.
• Requires an Accredited Employer Work Visa

Immigration New Zealand publishes the current conditions for each visa, including student work limits; check the conditions printed on your own visa before you state availability.

Reference checks are a normal final step in New Zealand, and many employers phone referees rather than accepting written letters. Two is standard: ideally your current or most recent manager and one previous manager.

For each referee give name, job title, organisation and how they know you. You can include phone numbers or say “contact details available on request” — the second is fine and protects your referees' privacy. Always ask first, and tell them which role you have applied for.

If your referees are overseas, say which country and the time difference. Recruiters will call abroad, but they appreciate not having to work out when.

Applying from outside New Zealand, put your visa status and your planned arrival date at the top — “Requires AEWV; available to relocate from August 2026” — because the first filter is whether you can start. Target employers that hold accreditation if you will need an AEWV. International students should state availability within their visa conditions for part-time work and lead with any New Zealand work, even casual. The international students guide compares post-study work routes across countries, and the Australian resume format guide covers the closely related Australian conventions if you are applying on both sides of the Tasman.

Seek NZ and Trade Me Jobs carry most advertised roles, with LinkedIn strong for professional and technology jobs. The public sector advertises on jobs.govt.nz and agency career pages. A large share of roles are filled through recruitment agencies, which re-format your CV for clients — another reason to keep it simple.

Larger employers use applicant tracking systems such as Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, SmartRecruiters and PageUp. They parse single-column CVs best. Run yours through the free ATS resume checker before applying.

A cover letter is expected for most professional roles. Keep it to one page and answer the ad's requirements directly.

If you already have an Australian resume, the conversion is light: change spelling where it differs, replace Australian visa references and adjust the job boards. A UK CV usually needs referees added and more context per role.