Digital Marketing Jobs With No Experience in NZ: Entry Roles and What They Ask For
Oct 04, 2026
Entry digital marketing jobs in New Zealand include marketing assistant, marketing coordinator, marketing executive and social media or content roles. Tahatū says you usually need experience, so build some yourself: practice briefs, a volunteer project, free Google and HubSpot certificates and a short portfolio you can walk an interviewer through.
This guide is for people looking for their first digital marketing job in New Zealand without marketing experience. It sticks to what can be checked and says so where it is our view. 20 Minute Marketing sells self paced courses, so weigh our view with that in mind. For the bigger picture, start with our career change pathway.
Entry roles to look for
Job titles vary between employers, so search for several. Tahatū lists marketing assistant, marketing executive, digital marketing specialist, content marketing specialist, social media marketing specialist and SEO marketing specialist as titles for the marketing specialist job (Tahatū). The table describes what these roles usually involve; each employer's ad is the real test.
| Role | What the work usually involves | What to show without experience |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing assistant | Supporting a marketing team: scheduling posts, updating the website, pulling reports, organising events and suppliers | A tidy content calendar and a short monthly report from a practice brief |
| Marketing coordinator | Keeping campaigns on track across channels, briefing designers and suppliers, reporting results | A campaign plan with timings, a budget and a reporting template |
| Marketing executive | Running parts of the marketing plan, often email, social and website updates, with more responsibility than an assistant | An email sequence and a 90 day plan for a fictional business |
| Social media coordinator | Planning, writing and scheduling posts, replying to comments, reporting on reach and engagement | A 30 day content calendar and examples of posts you wrote |
| Content or SEO assistant | Writing and updating web pages and blog posts, keyword research, checking pages in Google Search Console | An SEO audit and keyword map, and two pages you rewrote |
Role descriptions are our general summary, not a survey of New Zealand job ads.
What employers ask for, and how to answer it without experience
Entry level ads often list more skills than any one person has. In our view, the things that matter most are understanding how the channels fit together, one channel you can talk about in detail, clear writing, comfort with numbers and spreadsheets, and examples of work. We cover the skills in more depth in what digital marketing skills employers actually want.
If an ad asks for experience you do not have, answer with what you have done instead: the brief you worked on, the decisions you made and what you would do differently. That is an honest answer, and it is more useful to an interviewer than a list of course names.
How to get experience before your first job
- Work on a practice brief. A fictional business gives you something real to audit, plan and build in draft, with no budget needed. Every 20 Minute Marketing course ends with one.
- Help a club, school or charity. Offer to run their social media or tidy their website for a few weeks, with their permission. Describe it accurately on your CV.
- Collect the free certificates. Google says its foundational Skillshop certifications are free of charge [2], and HubSpot Academy's Digital Marketing certification is free and takes about 3 hours [3].
- Keep a simple portfolio. Three pieces you can explain are enough to start: an audit, a plan and one piece of channel work.
What entry roles pay
Tahatū does not publish a separate figure for entry level roles. These are its figures for marketing specialists, the profile that includes digital marketing specialists.
| Tahatū figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Pay at the lower end | $52K a year |
| Most common pay | $66K to $135K a year |
| Pay at the upper end | $179K a year |
| Average pay across all jobs in Aotearoa New Zealand | $70,000 a year |
Source: Tahatū, Marketing specialist [1], checked 3 October 2026. Pay is before tax. A first job is more likely to sit toward the lower end.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a digital marketing job in New Zealand with no experience?
It is harder, but you can build experience before your first job. Tahatū says you usually need experience to become a marketing specialist. Practice briefs, a clearly labelled volunteer project and free Google and HubSpot certificates give you work to show an employer.
What is the best entry level digital marketing job?
There is no single best one. Marketing assistant and marketing coordinator roles give you the widest view of the work. Social media, content and SEO roles let you go deep on one channel early. Pick the one that matches the channel you enjoy most.
How much do entry level digital marketing jobs pay in New Zealand?
Tahatū does not publish a separate entry level figure. For marketing specialists, which includes digital marketing specialists, it shows pay of $52K a year at the lower end and $66K to $135K a year as most common, before tax. Check current job ads for the roles you want.
Do I need a degree for an entry level digital marketing job?
Not always. Tahatū says a qualification may be useful and names a New Zealand Diploma in Business (Level 5 or 6) or a Diploma in Digital Marketing (Applied) (Level 7). Some ads list a degree as essential, so read each one.
Does my portfolio need real clients?
No. Practice work on a fictional brief is fine if you label it honestly as practice work. Never present it as work for a real client. An interviewer wants to hear how you made your decisions.
Build work you can show
Essentials is $499, paid once, with over 50 lessons of about 20 minutes, a portfolio brief, expert tutor support and 12 months access. 30 day money-back guarantee from the date of purchase.
See Essentials The career change pathwayNext: how to become a digital marketer in New Zealand.
Sources
Figures on this page were read on the source's own website on 3 October 2026. Records and prices change, so check the source before you rely on a figure.
- 1. Tahatū (formerly careers.govt.nz), Marketing specialist. https://tahatu.govt.nz/work/explore-career-ideas/occupation/T00094-marketing-specialist, checked 3 October 2026.
- 2. Google Skillshop Help, certifications (foundational certifications free of charge). https://support.google.com/skillshop/answer/14746215, checked 3 October 2026.
- 3. HubSpot Academy, certification overview. https://academy.hubspot.com/certification-overview, checked 3 October 2026.
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