How to Write a WWOOF Profile
Living the Kiwi lifestyle, while saving money, is no better experienced than by WWOOFing. But before you can hop on a farm on this work for accommodation option, you’ll need to create a WWOOF profile that hosts can’t refuse! Learn more about WWOOFing and how to sign up to the website on Everything You Need to Know About WWOOFing in New Zealand.
Remember, your profile is the impression of yourself that you will present to hosts when you contact them, so you want it to look good, right?
WWOOF NZ often updates and adds new features to their profile designs and what information you can include. However, the first two written descriptions, currently headlined: “Introduction” and “General Information”, are the most important aspects of your WWOOFing profile. This is a chance to show your personality and skills to potential WWOOFing hosts, which is far more valuable than the rest of the information you can add to your profile. These are the sections we’ll concentrate on the most in this WWOOF profile guide.
6 Tips to Creating a WWOOF Profile
- Keep your writing casual!
- Keep your writing positive and upbeat!
- Spend more time and effort on your Introduction, Description/General Information and photos.
- You can quickly update other fields, such as diet, skills, interests, experience, gear, health, etc. (But this is not as important).
- Actively contact WWOOF hosts for your best chance at finding a host to stay with.
- Stick to short sentences rather than lengthy ones. Your profile should be an easy read.
Plus, many of these tips can be applied to your New Zealand job search too. Find out more at How to Quickly Find a Job in New Zealand.
© NZPocketGuide.comUpload Some Outdoorsy Photos
WWOOF New Zealand profiles allow you to upload multiple photos onto your profile. We recommend uploading 2/3 photos of yourself.
Your choice of photos is an important first impression of you! It goes without saying, but avoid using pictures of a drunken night out…Instead, use some active outdoor photos of yourself! Perhaps of yourself doing a hike, or on a farm you might have visited/worked on, going mountain biking, etc. If you are wanting to appeal to WWOOFing hosts who are looking for babysitters, add a photo of yourself looking after your nephew, for instance.
© NZPocketGuide.comWrite a Short and Casual Introduction
The introduction section of your WWOOF New Zealand profile should be short – three sentences long is enough. How you formulate the sentence is up to you, just remember to keep the tone casual and upbeat!
With this casual tone in mind, write these sentences with the following information:
Sentence 1: Your name (names, if a couple), where you are from and why you have decided to travel to New Zealand. Keep it light and fun, like if you are just meeting a friend for the first time.
Sentence 2: Why you want to do WWOOFing. This will help your hosts know if you share the same values than them, i.e. a passion for sustainable living and alternative living.
Sentence 3: What you love about the New Zealand outdoors! Most of your time WWOOFing will be spent outdoors so tell your host how much you love spending time away from the office desk.
© NZPocketGuide.comGeneral Information
The “General Information” section appears just under the introduction on your WWOOFing profile.
Although there is a “Skills” tab on the WWOOFing page, we recommend displaying your skills in the General Information section. It gets all the information you want WWOOFing hosts to see all on the first page of your profile, rather than hiding this information in the less important tabs.
Use the General Information to tell more about your work ethic and list any skills that you think will be useful on a farm. Give examples of where you gained these skills from, for instance, building work you might have done as a home project, relevant qualifications, that time you lived on a farm, how you often cook meals for your friends at home, etc.
Make this list with bullet points to make it easy to read. Use dashes (-) as bullet points, as the WWOOFing profile editor does not have bullet points.
Some useful skills you could include are:
- Cooking
- Childcare
- Trade work
- Woodwork
- Driving
- Using power tools
- Building
- Working with animals
- Gardening
- Painting and decorating
You might also like to add a sentence about what you would like to do during your time off. You can also mention what you will share with your hosts and what you would like to learn from them. Finally, finish with a fun send-off, such as: “I can’t wait to join your farm and meet your family!”
More About WWOOF in New Zealand
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Sources:
The information in this guide has been compiled from our extensive research, travel and experiences across New Zealand and the South Pacific, accumulated over more than a decade of numerous visits to each destination. Additional sources for this guide include the following:
- MBIE Immigration and Workers Rights (Working rights in New Zealand - Updated [2024])
- Immigration New Zealand (Visa and immigration advice - Updated [2024])
- Stats NZ (Statistics and travel data - Updated [2024])
- Council websites (Local travel advice region by region - Updated [2024])
- New Zealand Customs Service (Customs and Biosecurity - Updated [2024])
- Tourism Export Council New Zealand (Tourism trade association - Updated [2024])
- TIA (Independent tourism association - Updated [2024])
- Tourism New Zealand (General travel advice - Updated [2024])
Our editorial standards: At NZ Pocket Guide, we uphold strict editorial standards to ensure accurate and quality content.
