Reference Ace › Guides › No work history? Choosing a referee for your first job in NZ

No work history? Choosing a referee for your first job in NZ

Everyone starts without a manager to list. Here is who actually works.

The short version

Who counts

Teachers, coaches, volunteer leaders, someone you have done regular babysitting or yard work for, a community or church leader who knows your reliability.

What they can honestly say

Not work performance, character and reliability: turning up, effort, attitude, follow-through. Employers hiring for first jobs know exactly what they are listening for.

The brief matters more here

An unpracticed referee for a first job goes flat fast. One page of true examples doubles what they give.

Where Reference Ace fits in

The honest version of this problem is solvable, and it lasts. No usable referee? We check real examples of your work, confirm they're yours, and vouch for them openly as an independent reviewer. Got referees? We brief them properly, run a practice of the exact call employers make, and use the consent rules that keep your current employer out of it until you have signed. Nothing to hide, nothing that unravels in year two.

Common questions

open>

Is a family friend okay?

Only if they have seen you in a responsibility role and are not related. Disclose any connection if asked.

What about my current teacher?

Excellent choice. They see deadline behaviour and effort directly, every week.

Do first-job employers even check?

Often one informal call. It is still worth briefing, flat answers cost offers here too.

No referee? Show us your work

Reference Ace checks real examples of your work, confirms they're yours, and vouches for them to employers by name, always as an independent reviewer and never as a former boss. Got a referee already? We brief them and run the practice check before a real employer calls.

See how it works and pricing