Ranch Internships in New Zealand

I used Internex in 2024 as I wanted to live abroad while also gaining practical work experience. Internex provided the perfect opportunity to move to New Zealand while undertaking an internship. From my first meetings with Chris, he was extremely helpful and made the daunting decision to move abroad feel much easier and manageable. I started my internship in August 2024 with a social work organisation working with women and children. I felt fully supported by the team and began shadowing their work right away. After a couple of months, I was very excited to be given the opportunity of a job with the organisation. This meant extending my time in New Zealand, which I was very grateful for. My job involved conducting home visits with families across Auckland who needed emotional and practical support. I felt privileged to be working alongside great social workers, and I gained experience from observing their practice. This experience I was able to gain, helped me find employment in the area I was interested in when I came home in May 2025. I was also assigned a wonderful homestay by Internex. My homestay made me feel so welcome and contributed to making my time in New Zealand so great. I am grateful to Internex for providing this homestay as having a safe place to stay was very important to me. Overall, I had an amazing time living and working in New Zealand and I am so thankful for the team at Internex for making it possible! I would recommend using their services to find interesting internships that can lead to exciting opportunities, all while feeling fully supported to experience the wonderful country of New Zealand.

Through this program I was able to gain valuable professional experience in working within the non-profit sector. Internex was able to pair me with an internship experience that was truly worthwhile and fulfilling. They also provided excellent support in navigating New Zealand and especially Auckland, where my internship was placed. Throughout the experience Internex was super supportive and available for any questions or concerns that may arise during that time and even before I arrived to make sure that the transition would be successful. Because of their support I was able to experience and explore the amazing country of New Zealand while also creating professional growth.

Living in New Zealand has been a deeply rewarding experience; one that offered not just professional development, but a true sense of connection. Internex placed me at a government-affiliated training institution where I contributed to projects in digital learning and assessment design. Outside of work, I chose a homestay with a kind and welcoming couple who made me feel like part of the family. Their generosity and warmth created a home away from home and gave me a deeper appreciation for Kiwi hospitality. Renting a car made weekend adventures easy, and the balance between professional engagement and personal exploration was just right. This experience reminded me how energising it is to live in a new environment, and how much growth comes from feeling both challenged and cared for.

The Work Integrated Learning (WIL) course at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) has been one of the most valuable components of my academic journey to date, primarily due to the university’s intensive support and structured guidance throughout the placement process. This framework not only enabled me to establish meaningful connections with members of the New Zealand workforce and to experience a welcoming and supportive workplace culture, but it also consistently provided important stimuli for self-reflection. As a result, I have gained not only professional and intercultural competencies, but also valuable insights into my academic and career aspirations. These include a growing interest in undertaking further placements as well as the decision to pursue specific courses within my degree programme.

As a graduate student of social work and pastoral ministry with interests in community development, I researched a number of internship placements in a number of international settings. I soon found ISA/TEAN's wide array of opportunities. After some initial applications, their admission staff connected me with their Service-Learning program which allowed me to specialize in nonprofit work. What particularly struck me about ISA's programs in general was the amount of logistical support they lent me leading up to, during, and after my internship program. ISA/TEAN has a friendly, caring staff across the globe ready to support students. Through organized conversations, Zoom meetings, and micro-credential courses, ISA/TEAN gave me ample opportunities to reflect on my experience abroad—allowing me to approach my experience intentionally and informatively.

In October 2023 I did an internship in New Zealand to improve my English skills and to get to know a new company in a different industry. Therefore, this program helped me to find the best company. I'm glad I traveled with Internex. The program saved me from having to find a hostel and an internship on my own. I also met a lot of other people who also traveled with Internex, so I was able to make new friends.. This programm also organized some common events to talk together and to get to know each other better. Overall, it has been a great experience working with Internex!

For my midlife crisis project, I went to New Zealand to live for almost 3 months. This endeavor was greatly assisted and made possible by my incredible ISA advisors and the global opportunity staff. They took the stress away from the process and guided me through all of the steps. I only leave a five because I was only offered one internship. That turned out to be not the most pleasant experience, and it would have been nice to have been offered options.

I really loved my intern abroad experience and the connections I made in my time there. It was definitely an experience that pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me become more independent. I loved the organized activities as well as the orientation trip and believe that I was able to learn so much about the culture and history of New Zealand. It was truly an unforgettable experience and I hope to make many more trips to New Zealand in the future.

Back in 2022, I was about to be done with Uni and wanted to find an internship oversees to gain first work experiences and travel while working. I found a German organization who transferred me to Internex. I had a first skype interview to get to know the organization and see about my options in my working field. I studied life science technologies and wanted to work in a cosmetics/detergent/cleaning company to work in the lab. Chris (Director of Internex) was super great and told me about all my possibilities and where I could stay. I felt really good about choosing Internex after. Then he found a fitting company for me and organized a skype meeting to see if we were a great fit. Which we were indeed. After I signed my internship contract Chris found me a fitting home stay. I chose a home stay because I wanted to see the Kiwi culture and get to know some people. There was also the option to stay in a single room at a hostel in the central. My home stay was a perfect match and I had a really lovely time staying at their house. They even took me on little trips along the area. The organization offered me help sending me insurance websites and booked a transfer to my home stay. They also help ypu open a NZ bank account, but I did not need that. Once I got to New Zealand, we also had a welcome seminar to learn about the culture, how to find our ways here and get to know different people. Before getting to NZ I was really scared to not find any friends, but due to the welcome seminar I found lots of new contacts. I went on several trips with them which was really nice! The company I did my internship at was a perfect match. All of the staff were super friendly, and I'll definitely miss working there. I worked in the lab on new formulations, formulation changes and everything regarding the research and development. It was definitely exactly what I hoped my internship to be! Overall, I had an amazing experience here and I am happy that I chose Internex as organization to come over here! I would definitely recommend them to other people wanting to do an internship.

I’m from Germany and I stayed in Auckland for three months for an internship. I was hoping to get some work experience and get an insight into marketing. I really enjoyed working in my internship company! The people of my company where super nice and welcoming and immediately made me feel like a part of the team. The work environment and atmosphere was great and the whole team was fun to work with and I just had a really good time with them in general. Regarding my actual work in the company I feel like I did a little bit of everything.I worked on super interesting projects and helped out with a lot of different stuff that came up. Of course there was also some stuff that was not as interesting and just needed to be done but they always tried to make it as interesting as possible. I think I learned a lot during the time and got great insights into different aspects of the company. My internship was also located pretty close to my homestay! My homestay was amazing as well. My host was super nice and I had the best time staying with her. She really made me feel at home and helped with a lot of stuff that came up. It was a super fun time and I’m super thankful to her. I could always talk to her and she was really caring. The house was really nice and I was super happy with my room and the food was amazing! Overall it was a great experience and I had the best time. Internex welcomed me in Auckland with a welcome event which included a lot of helpful information and tips as well as a barbecue later. Through this event I met lots of people which was great to make some friends. I had the best time in Auckland and I’m really thankful for the amazing organization by Internex !

My name is Gracyn, and I interned at a technology company in Auckland, New Zealand during Spring 2022. I am originally from the United States, and I am a fourth year computer science major. The program I went on is through The Education Abroad Program (TEAN), and I did my internship for credit as well as take a couple more university courses at AUT. Before arriving in New Zealand, I had talked with Chris from INTERNeX over the phone to discuss what I was looking for in an internship abroad. Then once I arrived, he provided me the opportunity to meet with a potential employer for an interview. Since I had to take public transport from Auckland CBD, Chris was helpful in giving me advice for how I should get there, as I was still new to the area. He even went and picked me up from the train station to drive the rest of the way to the company for my interview, which was great to help understand how to get there for the first time and not accidentally get lost. It turned out that I really loved the company, and after receiving a job offer from them, I accepted. I did not need to meet any other companies, which was good as I wanted to start as soon as possible given that I only had a few months in New Zealand. My time at my internship was fun and I got to learn a new programming language as well as meet some incredible people. I would recommend INTERNeX to anyone considering interning abroad, as they take the time to understand what you want out of the experience and support you throughout the interview process.

My internship experience did not go the way I had envisaged it to be …. And it couldn't have turned out any better! Unfortunately, the Pandemic had began right before my travel to New Zealand. I decided to risk it and go anyway. It was madatory at the time to go into quarantine for two weeks after my arrial in NZ. Because my original host family did not want the risk of catching the virus and me staying with them, Internex had to find me a new family. They were under big time pressure as I was due to arrive the next day. I wasn't sure what was going to happen as I had no idea where I was goind to stay. But they managed to find me a wonderful host family and I had the best time with them for the whole of my stay. After quarantining for two weeks the next challenge came along. I wasn’t able to start my internship, as by that time the virus had spread and we all had to go into a seven week lockdown. After that I was finally able to visit the school in person, where I did the internship. I absolutely loved it. Due to Internex I never once felt uncomfortable or scared that I wasn’t able to travel or get to experience my gap year/internship in a normal way. Looking back at my time during the internship, I have to say it was one of the most exciting and also scary things I have done. All of the ups and downs of not knowing when the Lockdown was going to end and where I would be, was so worth it. Even though it was not always certain what the next thing was going to be, I had the best time and would do it all over again. My gap year was so far the most exciting thing I have done. I would DEFINITELY recommend this internship to other people who want to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

My Name is Simon Florack. I’m 20 years old from Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Last Summer (NZ Winter) I graduated from High School and thought about doing a gap year before studying at university to brush up my English, to meet new people and to immerse into a different culture. I wanted to see something new exciting of this world. While doing my research about possible destinations I stumbled over a German agency, which convinced me to go to NZ and put me in touch with INTERNeX World. After having a professional satisfying interview with Chris, in which we spoke about necessary documents to get to NZ, about possible internships as well as the living situation, I felt a certain confirmation to reside in NZ and was determined to go there. When I arrived in NZ, it was INTERNEX World, which suggested a short visit at a non-native English school to get faster into the language. It turned out to be absolutely the right decision, because short after NZ went into a total Lockdown due to COVID-19, I could at least still be in touch with people in online classes and therefore never felt lonely. In September I started my Chemical Engineering / Science internship in Auckland. Thankfully this company was an essential business making me an essential worker and therefore eligible to work during Lockdown. It was a family-owned business, which gave me a very warm welcome and, in the end, encouraged me to study Chemistry. The positive experience of my first internship led to the consideration of another internship organised by INTERNeX World. I enquired Chris to place me somewhere in another business, which differs from Chemistry to get a broader view of work and life in NZ. We had several conversations about possible alternatives. However, Chris mentioned that during the summer, business run low on tasks and hence there was no need for volunteers. So, we came up with the idea to spend my summer with children in a youth education summer holiday camp in Auckland starting in January. Together with the camp we went on exciting trips throughout Auckland and did a lot of activities. It was definitely the right internship at this point, because not only I had a lot of fun with the children, but also the staff members were native NZ at the same age as mine. So, I easily and effortlessly made new friends and we are still in touch. In February I had the desire to go on trip through the stunning beautiful landscape of NZ (North and South Island). I asked Chris to help me finding a suitable car for my journey and he managed to negotiate a reasonable priced car for me from a local company. While I was on my way through the countryside of NZ, Chris eagerly worked on an additional superb internship for me. Again, I requested something different from the first and second internship, this time located on the South Island. He offered me an internship in a regional football association in Christchurch working in the social media marketing department. It suits me very well because I’m really into football. The colleagues and the work were great and I had a fantastic time in Christchurch. All in all, I made superb and delightful experiences with INTERNeX World. They managed to place me into three different internships, and I don’t regret any of them. I felt genuinely well treated on a professional basis. They are reliable, have an open ear for any demands, are supportive and strive to find the perfect internship for you. Because of the exceptional experiences I had in this country so far, I can highly recommend INTERNeX World to anyone, who pursuits to work in NZ. It was a pleasure to work with Chris and the team behind him and I’m glad to have chosen a cooperation with them. In the meantime, I have successfully enrolled at the university of canterbury and will study Chemistry within a few months in NZ.

My summer interning in New Zealand through TEAN was truly one I will never forget. The application and interview process supported by TEAN’s excellent staff was smooth and I was placed in the appropriate field in which I wanted to gain work experience. I had a blast on the orientation with the other interns; it was a great way to make new friends and get to see the country before settling into the internship. I lived in a beautiful apartment that TEAN organized with other interns, balanced working hard during the week and exploring NZ on the weekends, and established connections with my supervisors. I learned so much about my field, gained real-world skills, and pushed myself out of my comfort zone. It was a summer full of personal and professional growth and I highly recommend TEAN!

I did my internship in New Zealand with Jobs and Internships Abroad. I'm very happy. They provided valuable support before my departure and during my stay. Visa, insurance, housing and internship. I really enjoyed it.

I was blessed with the opportunity to work for a boutique PR company in Auckland, New Zealand this past summer called Lily & Louis. I could not have been placed at a company that suited me better, and the work I did was actually exciting to me. I worked from 9-5 Tuesday through Friday, however, I never dreaded going. I was excited to meet more people, speak with my coworkers and my bosses, and take part in meetings where I felt like I was a part of the company. TEAN placed me with a company that allowed me to be myself and promote my own ideas, and my program advisor was always there if I needed her. I spent most of my time in the office which was perfect because it is beautifully decorated with hundreds of fashionable clothing pieces, desktop Macs for all of us to work on, a full kitchen, two separate offices for meetings (The White Room and The Black Room), and two adorable dogs that spent their days there as well (Lily and Louis). One day I was asked if I could drive, and I said, "Of course, but never on the other side of the road!" so one of my coworkers even taught me how to drive in New Zealand where we went on a mission to pick up doughnuts to decorate for a media piece we were working on. This experience was absolutely amazing, and I wish I could work here after graduation (if only NZ were closer to the US). I was able to travel to dozens of different places on my long weekends and learn and experience the work culture in what is now my favorite place in the world.

When I first watched Peter Jackson's adaptations of The Lord of the Rings at age 10, I knew I had to visit New Zealand. How could such sweeping plains, craggy volcanoes, and verdant farmland exist in one small island country? However, because of the stresses of traveling so far, I knew this would not be an easy trip to plan or execute on my own. What is a sad nerd girl to do? Luckily, I found my answer in TEAN; not only did they help with my travel and living arrangements, they offered me the chance to work for college credit and live in my dream city, Wellington, for two months. I had the opportunity to get real-life, cross-cultural work experience at Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand, a partner of the Globe in London that specializes in educational outreach for secondary school children. Aside from my 40-hour work weeks, I was able to explore the country that had fascinated me for so many years during my spare time. It took a few bouts of severe homesickness and many trips to the coffeeshop by the office, but in between searching for Hobbits and those ever-elusive Kiwi, I found a better, stronger version of myself along the way. I'm forever thankful to New Zealand and TEAN for allowing me the opportunity to live a dream and plan for my not-so-distant adulthood, all at the same time.