Te aratohu mō te tono mahi i Mfe Guidance on applying for jobs at MfE

We advertise our vacancies on our Careers Centre and via various external sites. 

When you view a job advertisement, click on the ‘Apply for this Job’ link at the bottom. You will be taken to our application form where you:

• will be asked to provide some key information about yourself
• attach your cover letter, resume and any other documentation required as part of the application process.

It is important that you submit your application before the closing date listed in the job advertisement, so you don’t miss out.

Pre-employment checks

Before you apply, be aware that like other government agencies, MfE conducts pre-employment checks for all roles.

The type of checks include:

• references (conducted online via Xref)
• criminal record check  
• proof of identity and right to work in New Zealand
• Workforce Assurance Model Standards serious misconduct check
• National Security Clearance – for senior level roles.

Prepare your application

• Tailor your cover letter and CV to the role you are applying for.
• Review or download the position description that is attached to the job advertisement. It will give you a deeper overview of the role, the expectations and the skills required.

We look for confirmation within your application that you have relevant or transferable knowledge, skills and/or experience required for the role.

Submit your application

• Go to the Careers Centre web page and log in to My Profile.
• Find the role you want to apply for and click the Apply link to upload your cover letter, CV and any other documentation required.
• You will receive an automatic email acknowledgement of your application.

Hearing from us

We aim to provide you with an application update or outcome within 10 business days of the advertisement close date. Sometimes you may receive a phone call from us to clarify your application or immigration status prior to the vacancy closing.

If you are shortlisted for an interview, you will be contacted by phone to arrange a suitable interview time.

We then send a confirmation email to let you know:

• the date, time, format and location of your interview
• what you will need to prepare or bring with you to the interview.

Depending on your location, you may be offered an online interview via Microsoft Teams.

If at any point in the selection process it becomes clear that you're not the right fit for the role, we will let you know as soon as we can. There may be other roles more suited to your background and/or experience.

How to withdraw your application

If you're no longer interested in the role you have applied for, you can log in to your profile and withdraw your application.

We like to have a two-way conversation when interviewing. We really do want you to be successful, so your interview preparation is key. Depending on the role, the selection process may involve more than one interview or include a task or assessment. This information is confirmed in your interview confirmation email.

Research the role

• Find out as much as you can about the role you are interviewing for to show us how interested you are.
• The interview also gives you an opportunity to decide if the job is really for you, so think of a few questions you would like to ask us.
• Familiarise yourself with MfE. You can find out more about what we do on this website. You can also email any questions to vacancy@mfe.govt.nz

Prepare your answers

To support your interview preparation, we provide you with the interview questions in advance, as part of your confirmation email. We typically ask competency-based behavioural event questions at the interview, to understand your past behaviours or experiences and to give us an idea about the way you might handle similar situations in the future.

When you answer behavioural event interview questions, try to answer them in four stages using the STAR method:

1. Situation – set the scene and tell us about the situation or challenge
2. Task – describe what your responsibility or involvement was
3. Action – explain what step/s you took to address it
4. Result – describe what outcome/s your action/s achieved

When preparing for your interview, we encourage you to practise your answers in advance and aim to use relevant examples.

You will have received an email confirmation of the interview time and place.  It may be conducted in person with the panel or online via Microsoft Teams.

You have the opportunity to bring whānau or a support person to your interview. Please advise vacancy@mfe.govt.nz whether you wish to take up this opportunity at the time of accepting your interview.

We aim to have interviews conducted by a diverse panel.

If you are successful at interview, we will contact you to confirm this and request your permission to commence pre-employment checks.

We may also offer you the opportunity to meet with your future peers or other members of the MfE whānau.

Once satisfactory pre-employment checks are completed and approvals are in place, we will be in touch regarding an offer. We then send you the formal offer of employment and supporting documentation online, via the careers portal, for your acceptance. We ask you to electronically accept the offer and submit all onboarding forms to set you up as a new employee of MfE.  

From time to time, we advertise and invite expressions of interests for current or future opportunities at MfE. 

An example of this is for our annual Intern Programme. We encourage candidates to register their interest online. We then make contact as a courtesy when the formal application process opens, and invite interested candidates to apply. 

An expression of interest can include a cover letter outlining why you are interested in joining MfE and your CV, or just the cover letter.

You may be sent an expression of interest form which will tell you what additional information we may need from you.

When you set up your profile in our Careers Centre, you can request email job alerts for future advertised roles that may be of interest to you.

We welcome overseas interest for all of our career opportunities.

However, if you are living overseas and want to work in New Zealand, you must meet one of these criteria:

• be a New Zealand citizen or hold a New Zealand residence permit
• be an Australian citizen or an Australian resident who holds a current Australian Resident Return Visa
• have lawful authority to work in New Zealand, which includes a Work Permit with conditions that allow the holder to work in the position applied for
• have a variation of condition to a Visitor or Student Permit that allows such work.

Visitors in New Zealand on a Working Holiday Scheme Permit are not permitted to take up permanent employment.

You can find out more about obtaining a Visa to work in New Zealand on the Immigration New Zealand website 

For more information about living and working in New Zealand see:

• New Zealand Now website 
• Tourism New Zealand website