Work n Holiday

Placement organization

Name of organization: Work n Holiday
Town/city: Auckland
Country: Nieuw Zeeland
Website:

Name of student: Jeanette Kiep

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Job and Travel agency
Organization’s activities: Handle phone calls and emails
Place job offers
Prepare starterpackages
Holding presentations
Pick up members at the airport
Provide Travel advice
Provide Job advice
Check CV’s
Answer questions
Help people
Keep facebook up-to-date

Target group of the organization: Young backpackers / working holiday makers
Company culture: Work n Holiday has three offices in Australia, one in Brisbane, one in Melbourne and one in Sydney, which is also the headquarter of Work n Holiday. Furthermore, it has two offices in Canada and one in New Zealand, which is located in Auckland. The boss works in Sydney and visits the office in Auckland once a year. When I started my internship, there used to be two employees, but one left. The manager is currently looking for another employee, because during high season they need at least two employees and an intern. Marine, who is my supervisor, is a young woman and comes from the south part of Belgium. She is a very kind person and really helpful and gives you the opportunity to grow if you show interest and potential.

The companies’ culture is informal. Marine is more my friend than my boss/supervisor. Furthermore, there is an informal atmosphere because of all the backpackers we receive. They come to New Zealand for travelling, not for doing business. They want to have fun and therefore we created an informal atmosphere to make them feel more welcome. Additionally, it ‘fits’ the type of market. Most of the people we receive are young (gap year) working holiday makers.

Number of employees: 1
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes, they absolutely did!

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? During New Zealand’s winter we receive more backpackers and are providing services more important. During New Zealand’s summer, we receive less backpackers and becomes the administrative part more important. Furthermore, if you show interest they give you the chance to learn more about all the different departments of the company. However, part of the financial department and marketing department are taken care of in Sydney. If you need information regarding those departments for your assignments, they are really helpful in providing the right information.
Brief description of your daily activities: Daily activities quite differ per season. During high season you hold more presentations in which you welcome the members and explain them about New Zealand, travelling and things they need to arrange. Additionally, a second presentation needs to be done in order to explain a bit more about jobs in New Zealand. Furthermore, when there are lots of backpackers are coming in, more bookings need to be done, questions need to be answered, there are also more phone calls and emails that need to be answered. As you can understand, providing the right service is very important during this period.

During low season you still hold presentations, but less compared to high season. At this point it is very important to take care of the administrative part. Tasks which couldn’t be done during high season are carried out now. To mention some things that needs to be done is reading through strategies, thinking of new solutions or opportunities, change strategies in case that is needed, do research, prepare for the next high season.

Brief description of your company assignment: For the company I had to research the backpacker / working holiday maker’s market. I had to write a report in which I describe the current changes as well as the upcoming expected changes. This will help the company to understand the changing market better as well as to address them better by changing the packages depending on the current developments that are going on.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervisor is a great woman. She is young and very kind and understands that you as a bachelor student needs to have the opportunity to grow. If you ask for that, she will give you this chance. Furthermore, she is critical, which in my opinion is good, because it gives you the chance to grow and to learn from your mistakes. She is not afraid of telling you that you have done something wrong, but she will also let you know when you have done something good!

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, sociable, representable, flexible, easy going, creative
Additional company requirements for this placement? Microsoft excel/word/powerpoint, Outlook, Internet, Social media, Writing skills, English, and preferably some German and/or French
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French: Intermediate
German: Intermediate
Italian: Basic
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? They arrange a hostel for the first week, after that you need to find your own accommodation. I searched online and on facebook and was very lucky to find a cheap appartment in the city centre.
How did you go to work every day? I have a bicycle, but I go to work by foot.

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, I had a working holiday visa, because I also have a side job here and I travel for three more months after I finish my internship. I will probably work some more during my travels.
Do you need a work permit? No, you don’t earn money
How did you arrange the necessary documents: You go to the immigration website of New Zealand and there you can apply for the right visa, it is very easy and goes really fast.
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? I can’t remember exactly, but less than a month I think
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance? –

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? no

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1000 – 1500
Accommodation (monthly): € I was lucky to find an accommodation in the city centre for €87 per week, but usually it will cost you more than €140 a week
Local transport (monthly): € I had my own bike, which saved me lots of money. It really depends on where you live, because I don’t need a bike and local transport. However, if you live outside the citycentre, a bus ticket will cost you around €1,50 – €3
General costs of living (monthly): € What we tell our members is that they spend at least €145 a week.
Costs of visa: € €100 if I remember well
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? The company paid for the hostel during the first week. Everytime you pick up people from the airport, you will receive money for that as well. $35 per pick up. As last, they do give you the opportunity to travel around with Stray, a bus company where we work with, and I received such a pass for free. However, I will travel after I finish my internship and that does not include a free bus ticket or anything.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I read a bit about the culture online as well as my brother had been here, so I knew quite a lot already. It is important to look into the culture though, because you need to talk about the cutlure during the presentations.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No, it is a western culture and quite similar to the European culture.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: No
My e-mail address: jeanette_10719@hotmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: If you have the opportunity, travel around. Auckland is just an international city, but the real New Zealand is just around the corner.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Outdoor activities, such as climbing, surfing, hiking, mountainbiking, wine tours, beaches, paddle boarding, kite surfing, caving, sand boarding, snowboarding/skiing, camping, etc.

In the city you can do lots of biking, there are lots of parks, parties, restaurants for nice dinners, cinema’s, pubs, pool cafe’s, fitness centre’s, Shopping, beaches, and many more…

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link