Work and Play in the USA

What position do you hold at IEP? What has been your career path so far?

Nicola: I am a program co-ordinator in the Work New Zealand Inbound department here at IEP. I have been at IEP for almost two years now.

My career background has very much been focused in the hospitality and tourism industry. As soon as I finished school I did a one year travel and tourism course. I started off by working at various hotels in the South Island, I covered everything from doing housekeeping, front desk and even working in a souvenir shop in a hotel. After a few years of that I decided to take a break and I went to the USA to do the summer camp program – which was through IEP.

Once back in New Zealand I decided that I still had itchy feet, and I applied for a job on a cruise ship. I ended up working for P&O Australia in their customer services and sailed around the South Pacific for seven months. Once my contract was over I decided that there was still more of the world I needed to see, so I applied for a Working Holiday Visa in the UK. I ended up spending two years there working for Hilton Hotels in London and travelled Europe on my days off!

Before I knew it my visa was up and it was time to come back to New Zealand, and that is when I saw the job advertised here at IEP.

Did you do a working holiday? If so, where and what inspired you to go?

Nicola: My first big overseas adventure was to the USA in 2008. I actually applied through IEP to do the summer camp USA program. My main inspiration for this program was that I have always wanted to travel and see the USA but I also love working with children, so the two of them together seemed the perfect opportunity!

I was placed at a summer camp in North Carolina and was there from May – August, the time went very quick and I gained a lot of new life skills. Once camp was over I had the opportunity to spend a month travelling the USA, I saw a lot but there is still a lot more that I would love to see.

In 2009 I decided that I loved travelling soo much that I needed to do another overseas trip. I decided to go to the UK and I gained the two year working holiday visa. I originally planned on working in a British Pub, but as always things don’t always go to plan, so I ended up spending the whole two years in London and had the most amazing time!

I also had a pretty good job where I would work four days on and four days off, so on my days off I went to places all over Europe!

What inspires you most on a daily basis?

Nicola: I love the fact that I work with and meet people that are like minded like myself. It’s not an easy decision to decide that you are going to pack up your belongings and move to the other side of the year or so. I enjoy that people are coming to my country to experience it, and learn more about the people and culture etc.

We mainly see people once they have just arrived in New Zealand but we also see a lot of people who are at the end of the trip and about to go home. It’s always awesome to hear how they have spent the last year or so in New Zealand and to see how they have grown as a person (for the better).

What should someone considering a working holiday consider when choosing a program?

Nicola: I think it’s very important that people chose a working holiday because it is something they personally want to do, and not just something their friends are doing. There are a lot of different countries around the world that offer working holiday programs, that’s why its important to go to the place you want to see.

The main things to consider would be things like activities and sights on offer, as well as possible job opportunities. The language barrier can also be a big thing with some countries, so if your going some where that doesn’t speak your native language, make sure you get out there and interact with the local people.

When you do get to your destination make sure you get out there and do all the fun stuff on offer. Don’t spend all your days on facebook saying you are in NZ, because when you get home you can spend as much time as you like on there but those activities and experiences will no longer be available, so make the most of it!

What makes Work NZ so unique and special?

Nicola: I think Work New Zealand is special for so many different ways. We are a great support service for when you arrive in New Zealand, and can help you arrange the most difficult things like getting a tax number and bank account information (which can be very difficult to do alone).

We will also give you an orientation which covers all the basics. When you have decided how you would like to spend your time here then we can also help book your travel for you and give you some great job advice.

We also offer social events such as pub meets and movie nights, so it gives participants the opportunity to meet new people doing a similar thing to themselves.

Quite often I hear people tell us here in the office that they “don’t know how they would have survived the first few weeks without us”. It’s always very satisfying to hear this and its great to know that you have helped make someone’s experience of New Zealand awesome.