new zealand resume format 2023

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Develop a New Zealand-style CV

Most employers will quickly scan your CV to decide if it is worth reading in more detail. So it needs to make a good impression quickly.

What to include in your CV

New Zealand employers only want to see relevant information on your CV. They do not need a list of every job or course you have ever done.

Employers are most interested in your:

• technical and personal skills
• work experience
• qualifications and education
• community and volunteer experience.

They also like to see some evidence of how you have applied your skills.

It is best to only include relevant details of your skills and experience and to give brief examples of how you have used your skills in the past.

Skills employers are looking for | careers.govt.nz

Previous employers

Local employers may not be familiar with the organisations you have worked for overseas. It helps if you include a short description of organisations you list on your CV, like:

• the number of employees
• the location
• a website link so they can get more information if they need it.

The careers.govt.nz website has tips on how to write a CV for New Zealand employers.

How to write a CV | careers.govt.nz

Make a good impression

It is important to make a good impression of yourself as a potential employee, but not to appear too boastful about your achievements.

Many people make the mistake of writing a CV and using it for every job application. New Zealand employers expect you to adjust your CV to suit each job so that it highlights the skills that are relevant to the job.

People suggested that my CV was not what New Zealand employers would look at. Where I come from we prepare a CV in a different way: we give all our experience right from day one. Here, nobody likes to read a story! Darshan Desai

Cover letters

Most New Zealand employers expect a cover letter with your CV when you apply for a job. A cover letter is a ‘sales pitch’ about why you think you are ideal for the job.

Your cover letter should:

• briefly introduce yourself
• outline your main relevant skills and experience
• make an argument for why you are the right person for the specific job.

Just like your CV, it should focus on details that are relevant to the job you are applying for and it should be brief – no longer than 1 page.

Use a formal and persuasive style when writing a cover letter. It is a good idea to have a generic letter that you can adjust to match the job description you are applying for.

How to write a cover letter | careers.govt.nz

Your qualifications

Remember to bring your qualifications with you to New Zealand. If you are sending them in with an application, send a copy. Keep the originals safe and get copies made and certified. If you are in New Zealand, a Justice of the Peace (JP) can certify them.

Find a JP | Royal Federation of New Zealand Justices' Associations

Helpful resources

The careers.govt.nz website has many resources that can help you to make a New Zealand-style CV and cover letter. There is material to help you:

• understand the parts of a CV
• learn how to put transferable skills on your CV
• learn how to write a cover letter
• fill in job application forms.

CV and cover letter templates | careers.govt.nz

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New Zealand CV Format (Develop a NZ Style CV)

New Zealand employers dont like a story. Develop a CV for New Zealand employers who actually want to read. Like in Canada, they follow the Canadian Resume Format . However, in New Zealand, employers follow the New Zealand-style CV format . If you are a Job seeker looking for recruitment and Job opportunities in New Zealand you must follow a New Zealand CV Format . In this post, I will tell you how to Develop a CV for New Zealand.

In New Zealand, most employers like a short, easy-to-read curriculum vitae (CVs) . Your current CV Template might not be helpful for New Zealand if you want a Job there. Most employers will quickly scan your CV to decide if it is worth reading in more detail. So it needs to make a good impression quickly . Let’s see what a New Zealand CV style looks like.

What is New Zealand CV Format?

The New Zealand employers only want to see the relevant information on your CV. They do not want to know every job you have done in the past.

They also like to see some evidence of how you have applied your skills. It is best to only include relevant details of your skills and experience to the Job for which you are applying.

Previous Experience

It is also best to include a short description of the organizations you list on your CV, like:

• The number of employees
• Link, contact, and email of organization for more information if they need it.

Two Types of CV

There are two main types of CV:

• Skills-focused CV : useful for career changers, school leavers, or people with gaps in work history.
• Work-focused CV : useful for showcasing work experience and for people progressing to the next stage in their career.

You can also download the PDF Format of skills-focused or work-focused CV templates

These templates are made by the official New Zealand Government website ( https://www.careers.govt.nz/ )

Make Your CV Easy to Read

If you want to make your CV a Good look then follow these points:

• use a black, easy-to-read font in one size.
• use short sentences and break up blocks of text
• use bullet points to list information
• keep the tone formal
• avoid abbreviations, slang, or jargon
• avoid photos or images
• have strong headings and lots of white space
• keep your CV to two pages.

JPG or PDF – Which Format?

Save your CV in both formats. The NZ Employer either asks for a Word or PDF Document.

What to Write in Your NZ CV?

• Your name and contact details
• Technical and personal skills
• Work, and community and volunteer experience
• Qualifications and Education
• Referees (you can include referees or note that referees are available on request).

A CV could also include:

• an objective and personal statement
• achievements
• job-specific information (for example, a teacher would put their teaching philosophy in their CV).

What Not to Include in your CV

Please do not add:

• a photo or images
• colored or fancy fonts or design
• your date of birth or age
• your marital status, religion, or bank account details
• too much text and bad spelling
• a funny or rude email address
• work experience or interests that are not relevant to the job
• lies about your experience and skills.

Objective and Personal Statement?

An objective gives a brief description of the type of work you like and the type of industry in which you are looking to work.

A personal statement gives the employer an idea of who you are in three or four sentences.

You need at least two referees. One referee should be your current manager, team leader, or work experience supervisor. Another referee can be a formal employer, school teacher, or professor.

Referee contact details should include:

• first and last names
• the organization they work for
• phone number
• email address.

New Zealand Style CV Templates

These templates are made by the official New Zealand Government website. Follow these Templates and examples to help you create your CVs (resumes).

• New Zealand CV Templates

New Zealand CV Template Examples

New Zealand CV Builder

You can also use the CV builder for New Zealand CV which will save you enough time and within seconds your New Zealand-style CV will be ready.

• CV Builder – Create Your CV online

Tips for Making a New Zealand CV Format

• Keep it short
• Give examples of your skills
• Make sure your CV is up to date
• Include referee contact details
• Put yourself in the employer’s place
• Get it checked
• Write a cover letter

I will recommend you to visit the official careers.govt.nz website for Tips for creating a New Zealand-style CV

More CV Formats:

• For Europe:  Europass CV Format
• For Canada:  Canadian Resume Format

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How to write a great New Zealand CV (with free templates)

A good CV can make all the difference to your job hunting hopes. Check out our must-read advice and free templates.

Looking to write a great, NZ style CV? We got you.

Here’s everything you need to know and include to make your CV stand out in front of recruiters and hiring managers.

We’ve also created some free CV templates , for you to copy, fill in and send off. Easy as.

Now, let’s get cracking.

In this article, you’ll learn: 

• How to write a CV: what to include 
• What not to include on your CV 
• How to format your CV 
• And you'll get access to free CV Templates

How to write a CV: what to include

Every good CV contains the following elements:

• Your name and contact info 
• Your personal statement and objectives 
• Your work history 
• Your qualifications 
• Your referees

1. Your name and contact info

Your full name should be clearly displayed at the top of your CV, along with the following contact info:

• Phone number – this can be either a mobile or landline, but needs to be one you’ll be able to answer during standard working hours.
• Email – the majority of job applications today are done online, and you’ll likely initially hear back via email.
• Home address – this might seem outdated, but the people assessing your CV will still expect to see your home address included.

If you have an online employment profile (and we highly recommend you do), this is a great place to include its URL, or links to online work portfolios.

Talent Team Top Tips 

Our Trade Me Talent Team offers some insight: 

• If you’re still using your Hotmail account from when you were 10 (looking at you ‘beermonster98'), it’s time for a change. It’s easy to set up a more professional email address, and well worth your time. 
• Check your contact details are accurate - you’d be surprised how often we can’t contact people because their details are incorrect, or missing altogether.

Choose from one of our CV designs, then fill in your details.

2. Your personal statement and objectives

Personal statement and objectives sections are staples of New Zealand CVs. The important thing with these is to keep them short and snappy – aim for no more than 80 words. Also, avoid cliches – being unique will help you stand out from the crowd.

• E.g. 1: ‘I’m an experienced accountant, specialising in internal audits, with a passion for keeping up with the latest accounting tech trends.’
• E.g. 2: ‘I’m a hard-working carpentry apprentice, with experience in commercial and residential projects, and a passion for taking on new challenges’.
• E.g. 1: ‘With two years as an assistant manager under my belt, I’m looking to take on a full management role, and continue to grow my responsibilities’.
• E.g.2: ‘Having recently graduated, I’m keen to take the skills and experience I gained during my degree into a professional setting’.

Use positive language in your personal statement and objective, but keep them concise.

3. Your work history

If this is your first CV , and you don’t have any paid work experience to include – fear not. The above info is equally valid for any volunteer positions you’ve held or internships you’ve completed. If you haven’t done anything of this sort either – still fear not, we’ll get onto listing education and qualifications below.

There’s a knack to listing work experience on your CV. Each entry needs to include:

• The company name
• Your job title
• The dates you worked there
• Your core responsibilities. Top tip : keep this short. Just include the headlines and use bullet points, not paragraphs.

If you’re wondering how many jobs to include on your CV, there’s no single correct answer. For those who’ve held a number of roles, give five or six with proper substance, and then list the earlier (less relevant) roles with just the dates worked.

Top tip : use keywords. Many employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to auto screen candidates and save time. One of the key ways this technology works is to scan CVs for certain keywords, and eliminate those that don’t contain them.

When researching keywords for your application, a great place to start is the job ad itself. This will show you the core required responsibilities you can match with your own experience.

Volunteering and internships should go in your past experience section.

4. Your qualifications

Here, we’re talking about any qualifications employers might be interested in . Think uni degrees, professional certificates and NCEA, among others.

As with your work history, list these in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent at the top. Remember, your reader is only likely to skim this section – so make it clear and keep details to a minimum.

Here’s how to include qualifications and education on your CV:

• Qualification type – for example, Plumbing and Gas Fitting – Level 2, or Bachelor of Business.
• Your grade(s)
• Institution – for example, University of Massey.
• Date s – the time period over which you completed the qualification.

If your qualification is directly relevant to the role you’re applying for, you could also include key details of your study. For uni grads, dissertations are great here as they demonstrate independent study on a topic you found particularly gripping. If you have a professional qualification, you might want to focus on an area of specialism you developed that makes you stand out .

As you progress through your career, and complete additional courses you may feel that earlier entries (e.g. NCEA) are no longer relevant. This is your call, and will ultimately depend on the role you’re applying for.

You should list qualifications in reverse order, starting with the most recent.

5. Your referees

Common questions about this section include: ‘who can be a referee for my CV?’, and ‘how many referees should I include?’.

The first choice to make is whether you want to list referees’ details, or simply include a sentence like ‘references available upon request’. Today, the second option is generally more popular. However, if you’re specifically asked to include them up front, give your referees’ phone numbers email addresses (and their relationship to you) at the bottom of your CV.

When it comes to ‘who’, the most popular choices are former employers, but you could go with lecturers or tutors you worked closely with. And remember, former employers can include people from any volunteer or internship positions you’ve held.

Ensure you ask these people to be your referee. Then they are expecting to be contacted and can be prepared.

Bonus tip : try to choose referees you’ve worked with recently, or those most relevant for the industry you’re going for. 

What not to include on your CV

• A photo – unless specifically requested, don’t put a photo on your CV. Why? Prospective employers shouldn’t make decisions based on appearance, but, unfortunately, some still do. Instead, let your skills and experience speak for themselves.
• Boastfulness – in your personal statement, avoid adjectives like ‘expert’. Focus on your experience instead, and your value will come through organically.
• Salary info – this includes what you’re on now and/or your desired salary. The risk is that you weaken your bargaining position later on, or price yourself out of the market from the start.
• Family details – most hirers aren’t interested in whether or not you’re single, married or have kids. However, some may unfairly favour people in certain circumstances. For example, a single person with no family commitments may be favoured for a travelling sales job over a parent with young children.
• A conclusion – there’s no need to include a statement summing up your experience, or promising the info you included is true – the last point on your CV should be your references.

Only include information relevant to your application.

How to format your CV

Our free CV templates do a lot of the formatting legwork for you, but here are some additional pointers for nailing the appearance side of things:

• Length – a standard NZ CV is one to two pages long. If you go over this, you risk the reader getting bored – be clear and concise, and put the most relevant info first.
• Fonts – the best font for your CV is one that’s easy to read. As unexciting as they are, popular choices include Times New Roman, Georgie, Bell MT, Tahoma and Arial. Whichever you choose, stick to it throughout.
• Layout – clearly label each section, and remember to be brief by using bullet points for the experience and qualifications sections.
• Margins – keep the margins the same throughout to keep things neat.

An often overlooked stage in finalising your CV is naming the file. As most applications are completed online, the title you give your document is important, as this is the first thing the reader will see. Here are a few tips:

• Avoid the generic – ‘CV.doc’ is likely to get lost among all the other ‘CV.doc’s the recruiter receives.
• Avoid numbers – ‘CV7.doc’ suggests six other CVs have already been sent to different companies, and you’re not as interested in this position as you claim to be.
• Keep it simple – ‘Sarah-Davies-CV’ is just fine. If you want to add more detail, and have space, including the job title makes things even more obvious.
• Keep it consistent – you need to write a cover letter to accompany your CV. In our example, this would be titled ‘Sarah-Davies-cover letter’.

Final tips from our Talent Team: 

• Don’t skip the most important stage of all – checking. We can’t overemphasise the importance of quality controlling your CV before sending it off. 
• A stellar application can be derailed by a simple typo, an illegible font or incorrect contact details. 
• If possible, show your CV to a friend, colleague or family member – a fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference. 
• Save and send your CV as a PDF, as a PDF is a very universal format.

Don’t forget to also create a Trade Me Jobs Profile - an online platform that allows recruiters to find you.

Al Hall is a regular contributor at Trade Me Jobs and Trade Me Property. He’s dedicated to helping people succeed in their aspirations to find their dream job and place to live.

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Done right, your CV can be a powerful tool for helping you stand out from other candidates. Here, we’ll show you how.

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How to write a New Zealand CV Format in 2024?

Sashika Dilshan

As we already know employers from different countries and regions have their own way of examining CVs or resumes. Same way, New Zealand employers also have a different way of looking at CVs. They would like to filter CVs which are short, concise, and easy to read. Therefore, if you are trying to get a job in New Zealand, it is really important that you know how to write a New Zealand CV format that is short and easy to read and what to exactly include on it.

What to Include in a New Zealand CV Format?

Name and contact information.

Make sure you display your full name on the top of the CV with your contact information.

Email Address: This could be mentioned in the same section, usually in the header section right below your full name. However, what you need to keep in mind is that your email address should be an identifiable one that is not fancy. Eg. [email protected] .

Phone Number: This could be either a land phone number or a mobile phone number. But however, keep in mind that this should be a number with which recruiters can reach you anytime during the standard work hours.

Home address: this might sense you that having a home address is kind of outdated as you are living in a digital era where email has become the most common way to communicate. But, still, the recruiter may want to see where you are coming from and whether the distance of your resident would be a problem to be on time for work.

Your Digital Professional Presence: This is also a good place for you to showcase your professional profile’s URL like LinkedIn. So that the recruiters may also go through your professional profile to get further information about you and your expertise.

Your personal summary or career objective

Now you already know that Kiwis like short and concise CVs. Therefore, it is very important to include this summary or objective. Because this gives a clear and brief introduction of your background. New Zealand recruiters often easily identify whether your CV is worth reading for or not by reading this part.

Summary - Usually a summary is used by the professionals who have much experience in their fields and expertise

Objective - Often used by the freshers or novice to the industry without experience and would like to grab them

Work Experience

New Zealand employers may not perhaps be familiar with what you have done with the foreign companies. Yet this is a powerful section that will mostly determine whether you will get a job or not. Therefore, if you have experience or at least voluntary do not forget to get the best out of this.

When you mention your experience, make sure the following is included.

Your Title: Eg. Marketing Executive

Company Name: Eg. ABZ Company

Period of work: Eg. January 2016 - December 2020

What you did: Eg. Increased sales in 20% of ABC products within the first year

Note: Try to use keywords and action verbs when you mention experience. Quantify them and show them as achievements. But do not lie. Be genuine. Use bullet points, not paragraphs.

Your Skills

Always try to give examples for your both soft skills and hard skills . Because New Zealanders always like to see how you have applied your skills in the work setting.

Eg. Results Oriented: Achieved 100% sales targets in the last 10 consecutive months.

Your Qualifications

Here you may mention any related qualifications. Place the most recent qualification at the top and then the others.

Eg.  Master of Business Administration

Harvard Business School (USA)

March 2016 - February 2019

Note: employers are more likely to skim through your qualifications, Therefore, make sure that you mention them as clear and concise as possible (like in the example), or else they may find it boring to read and skip reading.

Most of the recruiters in New Zealand will ask for references. So that it is recommended to mention referee contact details in this section. And make sure that the contact details of your referees are up to date and are reachable.

How should the New Zealand CV Format Style Formatting be?

How many pages to include in a new zealand cv.

What you have to keep in mind is that Kiwis prefer CVs not exceeding two pages. Therefore, whatever you have mentioned on your CV should not exceed the page limit of two.

What is the best format to use for the CV in New Zealand?

The safe and recommended CV format to use in New Zealand is reverse chronological CV format if you have experience. However, if you do not, you may consider either functional or hybrid resume formats.

Fonts and colors to use in New Zealand CV format?

What applies to other CV formats apply here as well. Meaning you need to make sure the fonts you are using are easy and clear enough to read. Strictly avoid cursive fonts. Usually, Calibri or Arial are better choices as they are some of the best resume fonts to use.

It is not easy to define which colors to be used especially when it is a cv with a color combination. Under such circumstances, the safe way to play is going with black and white. However, colors make a good impression provided you place them right in the proper manner. When it comes to New Zealand CV formats, there’s no special color combination. But if you want to give a good impression, you better have an idea first what the best resume colors are.

Final Checks on Writing a New Zealand CV Format?

Check your grammar and spelling

Check if you have used resume buzzwords or over-generalized terms

Check if you have exceeded two pages limit. If so, try to optimize your content to a two-page.

People who read this also read: Best Resume Formats in 2024 to use for any Job in the World (Resume format samples included)

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Tips for creating a New Zealand-style CV

• Job interviews in New Zealand
• National organisations that help migrants
• Support services in your area
• New to New Zealand

You may already have a CV, but its style, length and content may be quite different from CVs in New Zealand. These tips will help you write your CV in a style that New Zealand employers prefer.

What's on this page?

1. keep it short, 2. give examples of your skills, 3. make sure your cv is up to date, 4. include referee contact details, 5. put yourself in the employer's place, 6. get it checked, 7. write a cover letter.

Your current CV may include information about every job or course you've ever done but, in New Zealand, CVs are usually only two to three pages long. Employers mainly want to know if you can do the job.

Your CV should include:

• your contact details
• work experience that is relevant to the job you want
• your skills that are relevant to the job.

You can use our CV templates or our CV-writing tool, CV Builder, to help you write your own CV.

• CV Builder - use our CV tool to create your own CV
• Use our CV templates to create a New Zealand-style CV

People suggested that my CV was not what New Zealand employers would look at. In India we prepare a CV in a different way – we give all our experience right from day one. Here, nobody likes to read a story! Darshan Desai From India

When writing about your skills, don't just list them – make sure that you give examples of how you've used each skill.

Identify what you did, the setting in which the activity was carried out, and what happened as a result.

For example:

Customer service skills - managed a busy bookstore and twice achieved a 95% grading during the annual mystery shopper survey.

For more examples, see our page about describing transferable skills in your CV. Transferable skills are skills that you have that are useful in many types of jobs. For example, communication or being able to work well under pressure.

• Learn how to describe transferable skills in your CV
• Figure out your skills

If you want an employer to contact you, you need to keep your CV up to date with your latest address and telephone number.

• Include the phone number that you are most easily contacted on, whether it's a landline or cellphone number.
• Check that you have a suitable answerphone message.
• Include an email address on your CV. If you don't have an email address, set one up.

Most New Zealand employers will ask for two referees who they can contact to ask about your work. Make sure that the contact details for your referees are current, and check this by contacting them yourself. Tell them about your plans and ask them to read your CV – you may get some good advice from them.

Some New Zealand employers prefer you to have New Zealand work experience. If you are having trouble finding work, consider taking an entry-level job or doing voluntary work. This can also be a source of referees.

Once you've written your CV it's important to ask yourself these three key questions:

• When an employer scans my CV, will they think "This CV looks interesting"? Employers have to sort and reduce a pile of CVs to shortlists of two or three people. They will respond better to a clear, well laid-out CV than a long, disorganised one.
• When an employer reads my CV fully, will they think "This person has skills we need"? Employers are looking for someone who matches the job description. Adjust and target your CV to highlight things that fit the job you are applying for.
• When an employer is shortlisting CVs will they think "This person is worth meeting"? Employers are thinking about what you can offer them. Give people a sense of who you are and what you do best.

It is important to get someone else to check your CV to see that it makes sense, is well formatted and has no spelling or grammatical mistakes.

When you send your CV to an employer, make sure you include a cover letter. Your cover letter should:

• explain why you want the job
• explain what you can offer the employer
• highlight skills, qualifications and experience that you have that match the job.
• Use our cover letter template to help you write your letter

Updated 4 Nov 2020

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