Volume 32 Issue 25 25 Aug 2023 8 Elul 5783

Careers

Claire Pech – Careers Advisor

Daniel Brockwell, Class of 2015 and co-founder of EarlyWork has given a fabulous and insightful TedxYouth talk about starting out in your career. Click here to hear his nine minutes of inspiration. This will be particularly relevant to the Class of 2023, as they are about to leave our gates in a matter of weeks.

He gives these 5 top takeaways which I feel are relevant, but sometimes overlooked: 

  1. Work Related Experience is as Important as Work Experience – I say this often to students, so the skills you learn competing in your Futsal team have direct transfer into the work environment. And that goes for any hobbies you have, teams you are involved in and volunteering you may do.
  2. Don’t Wait for a Job Listing, Make a Job Listing – Dan is a fan of contacting companies and giving them a pitch. Why not tell them you are keen, interested and full of ideas? No harm in asking. Why not offer your insights into a youth target market, or an idea that could make their business do better. Yes it takes confidence and guts, but I have seen it being done and it pays dividends.
  3. Study Different Jobs Like You Different Study Subjects – this is my favourite one. If you only take jobs that are very samey-samey and you are still unhappy – you have no other insights to inform you. Some of my more interesting jobs (teaching scuba diving in Egypt) and least favourite jobs (picking tomatoes on a farm in Queensland) have all taught me how I want to work, who I want to work with and where I want to work. These all form pieces of the big puzzle. This is why some casual jobs and temporary GAP year jobs, and work experiences and job shadowing can be so insightful.
  4. Content Creation Increases Career Luck – Dan is an avid content creator. And his line is create content on problems that either annoy you, and you want to fix, or a real interest/passion. Once you do this, your people will find you. These interests can bind and bond people in the digital age in a way that was not possible only a decade ago. I like Dan’s phrase “It’s not what you know, or who you know – it’s who knows you and what they know you for.”
  5. When Companies Start, They Don’t Look Like Companies – Try to be patient with finding the right business, company and career. It doesn’t happen early and needs to be developed over time. Some of the companies may just be two people and an idea. But if you are with them at the start – bigger things can happen. And as I say to our students often, the careers puzzle is put together differently by everyone. Some start at the sides, the corners, the middle, the edges. Comparing yourself to others is never helpful. Even if friends look like they have it all figured out (they never do), time will change the parameters for everyone.

Notices, details and links

As I repeat during the months of August and September, these are the Open Day months. These days are where decisions are made. Please see dates for open days here.

In particular to note is Sydney University, Notre Dame and UTS all being held during the last weekend in August and UNSW is being held the following weekend. These are the two weekends when it is time to be active!. Every year I hear students who make decisions based on their experiences from these open days. Universities put on great talks featuring staff, students, Q&A sessions and more. It is well worth planning your day so you don’t miss out on relevant faculty talks.

This is a snapshot of the UTS talks, just for their Business degree focusing on their different majors:

For anyone considering moving out of home for University, the below webinar could be a starting for you (even if you are not interested in Sydney University):

University of Sydney | Money Matters
Thursday 31 August 2023, 5.00 pm

In this webinar, Sydney University will be covering:

  • Fees – what you pay, how and when.
  • Financial support at uni – scholarships, bursaries, and HECS-HELP.
  • Cost of living – accommodation, food, bills, other expenses.
  • How to do a budget, track it and manage your money.
  • Getting a part-time job, and balancing work, studies, and your social life.

Find out more here.

© Jobjump.com.au August 2023