How to write a cover letter with little or no work experience (NZ graduates)
Writing your first cover letter feels impossible when the “experience” section is thin. But you have more to work with than you think, and New Zealand employers hiring graduates aren’t expecting a decade of history - they’re reading for something else.
Use what you actually have
Study projects, part-time or holiday work, volunteering, sports teams, clubs, a side project - all of it shows skills an employer cares about: turning up, working with people, finishing things, learning fast. Frame them for what they demonstrate, not just what they were.
A part-time retail job that taught you to stay calm with frustrated customers is real, relevant experience. Say what it built in you.
What NZ employers hiring graduates want
- Attitude and willingness to learn - they expect to train you.
- Reliability: that you’ll show up and follow through.
- Genuine interest in this employer, not just any job.
- Fit with the team and how they work.
Don’t apologise for what you don’t have
Never open with “I know I don’t have much experience, but…”. It puts the weakness first and makes the reader agree with it. Lead with what you bring, and let your enthusiasm show through specifics - why this company, why this work - rather than through the word “passionate”.
Common mistakes
- A letter so general it could go to any employer in the country.
- Listing your degree and nothing about what you can do with it.
- Underselling part-time work and volunteering as if they don’t count.