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Where to find jobs in NZ: SEEK, Trade Me, Indeed, LinkedIn, government and sector job sites

10 minute readFinding work

In short

Use two or three general boards (SEEK, Trade Me Jobs, Indeed, LinkedIn) with saved alerts, then add the sector-specific boards for your field: councils, Health NZ, Education Gazette, farming, NZ Government jobs and others. Also check employers' own career pages and local Facebook groups. Never pay to apply.

The big general job boards

SiteBest forTips
SEEK (seek.co.nz)The biggest NZ board across most white-collar, trades, health, retail and hospitality jobsCreate a profile and upload your CV; set alerts by title and region; use 'quick apply' only where your CV matches; check the salary filter; note 'applications per ad'
Trade Me Jobs (trademe.co.nz/a/jobs)Strong for regional, rural, trades, hospitality, retail, small business and casual workSet saved searches; check listings daily for regional roles; watch for fake ads (Trade Me has a scam-reporting process)
Indeed (nz.indeed.com)Aggregates ads from many sources including employer sitesGood for coverage; duplicate listings are common; check the original employer site
LinkedIn JobsProfessional, corporate, tech, government, graduate rolesEasy Apply is fast but crowded; messaging the hiring manager or poster can help
Jora and similarMore aggregatorsUse as a back-up only

Government and public-sector jobs

  • NZ Government Jobs (jobs.govt.nz): central government agencies advertise here (ministries, MSD, IRD, Police, Corrections, DOC and more). Applications often involve a form, a cover letter, a CV and sometimes a competency-based questionnaire. Vacancies come and go, so check regularly.
  • Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora: hospital, community and mental-health roles are advertised on the Health NZ careers site; nursing, allied health, orderlies, kitchen and admin roles are advertised there. Hiring varies by region and role. Registration (Nursing Council, etc.) is required for clinical roles.
  • Councils: every city and district council has a careers page (parks, roading, libraries, planning, water, customer service). Look at your own council and neighbours.
  • Education Gazette (gazette.education.govt.nz): teaching and school support jobs. TeachNZ (now part of the Ministry of Education's workforce site) covers becoming a teacher, scholarships and incentives.
  • GETS (Government Electronic Tenders Service, gets.govt.nz): this is for procurement tenders, not jobs, but contractors and small firms can find work contracts there. Useful if you're going self-employed.
  • Police, Defence Force, Fire and Emergency, Corrections each recruit through their own sites.

Sector-specific boards

SectorWhere to look
Farming and ruralFarm Source and DairyNZ jobs pages (DairyNZ runs a careers site for dairy), Farmstrong for wellbeing, rural recruiters, Trade Me, the local rural supply store notice board, Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb NZ
Horticulture and seasonalNZ Apples & Pears, Zespri growers and packhouses, HortNZ, RSE employers and local labour hire firms (see seasonal calendar guide)
Construction and tradesMaster Builders, Site Safe, BCITO/Competenz job boards, merchants' noticeboards, Trade Me, Facebook trades groups
HealthcareHealth NZ, aged-care groups (Ryman, Summerset, Bupa etc. career pages), NZNO
EducationEducation Gazette, TeachNZ, early-childhood centre groups
Hospitality and tourismSEEK, Trade Me, Facebook groups for your town, direct visits during quiet hours
ITSEEK, LinkedIn, Hays, Robert Walters, Absolute IT, NZTech community
Community and not-for-profitDo Good Jobs (dogoodjobs.co.nz), Philanthropy NZ, Council of Social Services (check current boards)
Jobs for disabled peopleWorkbridge (workbridge.co.nz) offers free job search and interview support

Site names and addresses change; use a quick search to confirm the current one before relying on it.

Work and Income and student tools

  • Work and Income work brokers can match you to employers with vacancies and sometimes to employer subsidies (see the government work programmes guide).
  • Student Job Search (see the Work and Income website) is for students and recent graduates looking for part-time, holiday or graduate work.
  • Tahatū Career Navigator (tahatu.govt.nz) replaced the old careers.govt.nz site. It has job-hunting guidance, career profiles and a CV builder.

Facebook groups, noticeboards, direct visits

  • Search '[your town] jobs', '[industry] jobs NZ', and community groups. Many hospitality, farm and trade jobs appear only here.
  • Walk in with a printed CV (hospitality, retail, trades yards, cafés, garden centres) during quiet hours: not Friday lunch.
  • Look at the careers pages of the ten largest employers in your town.
  • Ask suppliers and customers in your industry who is hiring.

Sources

General information only. Confirm with the agency for your situation. Spotted something out of date? Email help@unemployed.nz.