Transcript Why your professional career starts now

Employability: Professional Career
Start Strategies & Job Search
Olivia Doyle
WELCOME
Weds 25 November 2015
Swinburne
Olivia Doyle
International Student Advisor - Employability
International Student Life
Tel
9214 8248
Email
[email protected]
Katrina Sardellis
Global Career Adviser
Centre for Career Development
Tel
9214 5360
Email
[email protected]
SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY | INNOVATION | BUSINESS | DESIGN
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Overview of seminar
Aim
To provide you with useful insights to build your employability and launch
your professional career
Themes
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Communication
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Networking for success
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Career planning & research strategies
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Job readiness
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Job search strategies “learning to search outside the square”
Program agenda
Wednesday 25 November
9.30 am
Welcome - Your professional career starts NOW
10 am
Job search strategies (including LinkedIn)
10.45 am
Break
11 am
Writing effective resumes and cover letters
12 pm
Break
12.30 pm
Interview skills
1.15 pm
Swinburne support services
1.30 pm
Close
Swinburne
PowerPoint slides from today’s seminar
will be available on line:
Swinburne
www.swinburne.edu.au/student/international/
employability/
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Swinburne
Presentation
can be accessed
at:
Yourslides
professional
career
starts NOW
UPDATE LINK
http://www.swinburne.edu.au/careers/pep
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Your professional career starts now
Swinburne
Why you should focus on your career while at university
It’s not easy to find professional employment in Australia in the current
crowded employment market
‘International students are too focused on their studies and think about
careers and employment too late in the careers lifecycle.’
Rob Lawrence, Improving the employment outcomes of international students’ 2013
‘Professional experience provides a point of differentiation in highly
competitive global labour markets.’
Blackmore et al, Australian international graduates & the transition to employment’ 2014
SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY | INNOVATION | BUSINESS | DESIGN
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What is professional experience?
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Professional experience is more than employment
International students often align employability only with
employment – it encompasses much more!
You can demonstrate your commitment, skills, abilities by
getting involved in a diverse range of events & activities
SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY | INNOVATION | BUSINESS | DESIGN
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Why your professional career starts now
Swinburne
It is challenging to find professional employment in Australia
and internationally
Make the most of the 2 + years at Swinburne to build your
key employability skills
Contacts / network
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What skills and
attributes do
employers look for
in a graduate….
Employer expectations activity
Rank
Jumbled Key Selection Criteria
Teamwork skills
Aptitude
Leadership skills
Cultural fit
Adaptable
Communication skills
Academic results
Interpersonal skills
Work experience
Motivational fit
SSourource
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Employer expectations activity
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The survey results in the table have been jumbled
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Work in pairs or with a group
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Match the Key Selection Criteria to the correct rank by listing
the corresponding numbers in the left-hand column (ranking 1
being most important to 10 being least important)
Employer expectations activity - ANSWERS
RANK
Ordered Key Selection Criteria
1
Communication skills
49%
2
Academic results
24%
3
Teamwork skills
22%
4
Aptitude
22%
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Interpersonal skills
21%
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Leadership skills
20%
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Work experience
20%
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Cultural fit
19%
9
Motivational fit
18%
10
Adaptable
14%
Source: Graduate Outlook 2014, Graduate Careers Australia
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Barriers to employment for international
students
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Employers seek ‘work ready’ graduates
“They need to come in job-ready, to hit the ground, become a project team
member almost straight away.”
Senior Manager, large engineering firm
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Work readiness is a key priority among Australian employers.
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Employers talk about wanting graduates who are ‘job ready’ or can ‘hit the
ground running’.
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Work experience is highly valued
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Soft skills
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“We're not looking for who's the best engineer. The degrees have sorted that
out to some extent.
It's how do they cope in that communication area, the soft skills. How you can
be an effective team member with your technical toolbox under your arm”.
Human Resources, large engineering firm
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Employers are looking beyond the qualification for well rounded gradates
who can demonstrate a range of ‘soft skills’.
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Employers emphasise team work, initiative, highly developed
communication skills, motivation and attitude.
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Communication skills
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“The question I ask is: ‘Can I see this person as someone that I can sit in front of a
client?’ And if so, then I’ll move forward. So it comes down then to a language
issue. It’s being able to talk technically but also I need them to be able to talk on
the phone and present themselves like any other member in the firm”
Midsize accounting firm company
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Employers are looking for graduates who have a confident command of English
and can express their ideas freely in a team environment.
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Graduates need communication skills that can span a range of workplace
situations (clients, colleagues, social situations)
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Written communication skills are also highly valued (emails, report writing, etc)
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Australian employability skills
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The Australian government research has identified 8 key employability
skills which are vital to work on during your studies:
 Communication
 Teamwork
 Problem solving
 Initiative and enterprise
 Planning and organising
 Self management
 Learning
 Technology
International employer skills expectations
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Self reflection
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 Think about your own skills in these key areas
 How do your skills compare?
 How are you working to further develop your skills?
 Do your own self assessment and put together a
development action plan
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Swinburne
Text line
Announcing
International Student
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
SEMINARS
Stay tuned for details in semester 1 2016
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Meet Ella Chan
• Former international Master of IT
student at Swinburne University
• Now Senior Business Analyst with large
Australian consulting company
• While at uni Ella:
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Really made an effort to understand the Australian community
Moved into a flat with local students
Attended lots of social events with Australians
Joined uni clubs- was Vice President of the IT Society
Barracked for a footy team
Part time job at McDonalds
Started own IT support business
Volunteer website developer for Hawthorn Community House
Joined group projects with local students
Joined Australian Computer Society and attended events
Developed strong IT skills – Excel, Access etc
Meet Anh Nguyen
• Former international Bachelor of Business
student at Swinburne University
• Now part time accounts clerk still looking for
full time professional employment
• While at uni Anh:
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Focussed hard on his studies – gained a credit average
Lived with Vietnamese relatives
Worked part time in family Vietnamese restaurant
Played soccer in a Vietnamese student team
Joined uni group project teams with other international students
Which international student
are you?
What can you do to improve
your employability?
International students’ expectations
Swinburne
“I mean just try really hard with your English, and keep an open mind. Don’t just
hang your hat on going to work with the Big Four, because there’s some pretty
good work that small firms do and with good clients”
Director, small accounting firm
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Many international students have unrealistic expectations of post study
employment
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Careers are often non-linear and impacted by unpredictable factors
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Be open to exploring different paths and ‘stepping stones’ towards achieving
your career goal.
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Think outside the box
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Strategies to your employability
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Make a career plan
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Start planning as early as possible
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Make the most of the services and opportunities available at Swinburne to
fine-tune your skills
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Make an appointment with a careers adviser, attend workshops and industry
events
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Step out of your comfort zone
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Participate in a wide range of extra curricula activities at uni and in the local
community
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Create networks in the community – this will assist you to find work
experience & employment
 Work experience
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Relevant work experience is ideal, but a part-time job is also valuable
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Capitalise on your networks to find a work placement
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Consider getting overseas work experience – either at home or elsewhere
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