'It's A Win-Win!': Hire A Student To Help Around The House This Summer

Garden getting away on you? Struggling to keep your house tidy? Kids needing constant supervision? Hiring a student for these jobs could be the perfect solution.

Student Job Search (SJS) Chief Executive Louise Saviker said household jobs such as gardening, cleaning, and babysitting received a combined total of 53,798 applications in the 2024/25 financial year.

“Hiring a student for these kinds of jobs can be a win-win,” she said.

“The student gets some extra income, and you get some help around the house at a reasonable cost. There might be jobs in your household that you haven’t even considered asking someone else to do, but which could take a significant load off.”

The cliche for household jobs is getting a neighbour to mow your lawn, but there are plenty of different chores that you could have someone do around your house.

They could help clear your section, look after your garden, or wash your windows. It may be a one-off job, or you might need someone to come in on a more regular basis.

University of Otago student Mouhnir found a one-off job evolved into more work – benefitting himself, the owner of the household, and even some of the owner’s friends.

“A lady who advertised on Student Job Search wanted me to clear out her shed at first and I went over and helped her out,” he said.

This led to the woman asking Mouhnir if he could do more jobs.

“I thought yeah, cool as, as I was happy because she was giving me more work. By the time I finished it all, she was so happy with everything that she told all her friends about it and from there I got work from five other ladies.”

Another opportunity that we see listed is babysitting, nannying or caregiving jobs, Louise said.

“These are often well suited to students who have relatively flexible schedules and can quickly become ‘part of the family.’ Supporting someone with an illness or disability are also jobs that we see listed on our site.”

Lucy, for example, was inspired to use SJS as a householder after she used it to find jobs when she was a student.

“I found the perfect person to help with my kids on weekday mornings,” she said.

“She also helps on weekends when needed. I chose to hire a student for this because they have the flexibility and capacity to do casual nannying/babysitting on evenings and weekends too.”

Other household jobs you could consider listing on Student Job Search include helping you move house, pet sitting and dog walking, cleaning, or tutoring.

For more information and to list or apply for a job, go to www.sjs.co.nz.

© Scoop Media