New Zealand CV format 2026, with free template

How is a New Zealand CV different from a UK CV?

Less than you might think, which is why so many UK applicants send their British CV unchanged and hear nothing. The structure carries over. What changes is the information a New Zealand recruiter needs before they will call a candidate who is still on the other side of the world: whether you can work there, when you arrive, and what you delivered, in plain words.

Tahatū Career Navigator, the New Zealand government's careers service, advises a simple layout, plain wording, bullet points, no images and two pages where you can. The table shows each line we change when we rebuild a UK CV for New Zealand.

What goes at the top of a New Zealand CV?

Your name and contact details first, as Tahatū advises, with a professional email address and a LinkedIn link. Then add two lines a UK CV never has: your location and your work rights.

For location, write the city you are moving to and the month you arrive. A UK postcode with no date reads as someone who might come one day. For work rights, use the visa's official name and say whether it is granted or needed. Recruiters in New Zealand will not chase you to find out.

• Holding a working holiday visa: Work rights: United Kingdom Working Holiday Visa, granted, valid to [date].
• Needing a work visa: Work rights: require an Accredited Employer Work Visa, available to start [month].
• Resident or citizen: Work rights: New Zealand resident, full work rights.

How should you lay out each section?

Personal statement. A short summary of who you are, your skills and experience, your goals and why you want this job. Rewrite it for every application.

Key skills and experience. Tahatū calls these skill statements: take a skill from the advert, then show where and how you used it and what happened as a result. One specific example beats five adjectives.

Work history. Most recent first, with the employer's name, your job title, where the job was and your start and end dates. You do not need every job you have ever had. Older roles can shrink to a single line.

Education and qualifications. Most recent or most relevant first: the qualification, the provider, where you studied and the dates or graduation year.

Interests. Optional. Include them only if they show a skill the employer wants, such as leadership.

Referees. Tahatū advises including at least two referees if the advert asks, ideally with your current or a former manager as one, and otherwise writing Referees available on request.

Do you need a photo on a New Zealand CV?

No. Tahatū's formatting advice is to avoid images altogether, and the only personal details on its list of what to include are your name and contact details. Leave off your photo, date of birth, age, marital status, children, religion and health. None of it helps an employer judge whether you can do the job.

Nationality is a judgement call. If you are a UK citizen applying on the UK Working Holiday Visa, the visa line already tells the employer what they need. If you hold another passport that affects your options, put it in the work rights line, not in a personal details block.

How do you present UK qualifications and employers?

Give every UK employer one line of context: what it does, how big it is and where. A recruiter in Auckland can then place you in seconds. Translate UK-only terms the same way, from NHS bands to Ofsted.

Name qualifications exactly as awarded, with the university and year. For visas, Immigration New Zealand says most qualifications from outside New Zealand need an International Qualification Assessment from NZQA when a visa requires a comparable New Zealand qualification. Engineering degrees accredited under the Washington Accord or Sydney Accord are exempt, as are qualifications on the exemption list for the Skilled Migrant Category. If you hold an assessment result, add it under the qualification.

Some jobs need New Zealand registration before you can get a visa to do them, for example nurses with the Nursing Council of New Zealand, doctors with the Medical Council and teachers with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. Architects, electricians, plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers also need registration. Put your registration status and date in its own section.

Do New Zealand employers expect a cover letter?

Yes. Tahatū says employers usually read the cover letter before the CV, so it decides whether the CV gets read at all. Keep it to one page and do not repeat the CV.

Include the date and your contact details, the employer's name and the job, your current situation and why you want the role, why that organisation, how your skills match and what you bring to a team. Address it to the named contact in the advert. If there is none, Tahatū suggests Dear hiring manager, or Kia ora where it suits the employer. From the UK, add your visa position, arrival month and that you can interview by video.

Will an applicant tracking system read your CV?

Probably. Tahatū warns that after you apply, your CV may pass through an applicant tracking system, software that searches and ranks CVs and cover letters. Use the job title, the industry name, the key skills from the advert and the tools or software it lists, in its own words.

Keep the formatting simple and consistent so the software can read it: one column, standard headings and a plain font such as Calibri 11. Send a PDF unless the employer asks for Word, and name the file with your first name, last name and CV.

What should you leave off a New Zealand CV?

Most British CVs carry the same handful of items a New Zealand employer does not need. Cut them and use the space for results.

Your tax number comes later. Immigration New Zealand explains that you need an IRD number to earn income, that without one you are taxed at the highest rate, and that you can apply as a new arrival or from overseas. Give it to your employer when you start, never on a CV.

• Photo, logos and icons.
• Date of birth, age, marital status and children.
• National Insurance number, passport number or bank details.
• Your full UK home address.
• School grades if you hold a degree.
• Interests that show no skill, such as watching TV.
• Corporate jargon. Say what you did and what changed.