Focus inward and outward!
Try not to make it all about you but also about the employer. Focus on the fact that the hirer is seeking the right person for the role. That's you. Just try to lubricate the process and take heart because human-resource managers know that, to make a workplace thrive, they need a mix of personalities. An all-extrovert office is the wrong recipe. A newcomer afflicted by shyness may bring "a breath of fresh air" if the trait is not obstructive - as would be the case if the role entails, say, meeting and greeting at events.
Acording to an article on the Going Global website, since the year 2000 the number of staff in international schools has increased from 90,000 to almost 230,000. So if you are planning on teaching overseas, here's what some international teachers have said about their experiences in a recent survey by Teachers International Consultancy.
Teachers from 13 different nationalities said the best parts of international teaching are the adventure, developing cultural understanding and extendiing teaching skills beyond what they could have learnt in their home country. Some of the worst aspects included missing family and friends, difficulty making new friends and language and cultural barriers. Read more.
Have you looked at the Hidden Job Market for all kinds of employment?
The hidden Job market consists of jobs in companies which will never be advertised. They will not be advertised because the company may want someone quickly and can’t afford the time to advertise, shortlist, interview etc., or, the company may not want to go to the expense of advertising, or, they are not totally sure that they need an extra person but if someone good comes along, they will be interested. Over 70% of jobs in Australia are not advertised. This is common world wide – students who only look at the advertised market are missing a majority of good positions.
Students access the hidden job market through friends or any networks. Anyone who has found a job through a contact is going into the hidden job market.
Check out Google for Hidden Jobs. Currently there are one and a half million entries under that heading.
The GFC caused a significant drop in graduate jobs in the past 12 - 18 months however the graduate market is now begining to rise (see Featured News Item: Job Market Ramps up for Grads). Despite this rise in confidence, job security is still a high priority for students seeking work after graduating however the market remains highly competitive (GCA). As a result, students should consider all possible options when graduating from QUT including:
myfuture.edu.au - for work trends, labour market info, industry and occupation guides, funding, education and training and more.
graduatecareers.com.au - for graduate jobs, salaries and employment rates, postgrad study options, industry profiles and more.
graduateopportunities.com - for graduate job listings, closing dates for jobs, employer listings and more.
Volunteering Queensland - for volunteering opportunities in QLD in areas such as: HR, Admin, Finance, IT, Business, PR/Marketing, Reserach.
Going Global - for country information and career guides, visa and work permit info, job and internship postings, employer directory, interviewing advice, industry and employment trends and more.
Professional Associations:
View links to professional associations in Australia and New Zealand via the Graduate Opportunities website.
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If you have landed your dream job, have had a great work experience or WIL experience, or know of people working in an interesting career, we want to know!
Email your career story to careers@qut.edu.au
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careers@qut.edu.au
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Any queries or suggestions regarding Careers News can be directed to Careers and Employment:
Phone: 07 3138 2649
Email: careers@qut.edu.au
NOTE: Information and links contained in this newsletter are correct at time of publishing.
Dear Final Year Student,
Welcome to the June edition of Careers News. Many of you have already applied for graduate programs and jobs and are waiting anxiously to hear whether you have an interview. You may be seeking an internship or some Real World Learning? To help you prepare, we have included information about the hidden job market and links to other resources to get you ready for the next stage in the application process.
For those who are unsuccessful or still looking for work, have a read of What job options do students have when they graduate? for alternatives to full-time work.
We have also included a list of part-time, casual, scholarship and volunteering opportunities across all industries in our Featured Jobs section to help you get a foot in the door to your chosen industry while you complete your degree.
We wish you the best of luck for your end of semester assesments and the lead up to exams.
Regards,
QUT Careers and Employment Team
Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values (Vol. 5). Newbury Park, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Did you know?
More than 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Behavioural Interviewing to select potential employees.
What is Behavioural Interviewing?
Behavioural interview questions require you to reflect on real-life past experiences to demonstrate a particular skill. They usually begin with "Tell me about a time when..." or "Give me an example when..."
Can you prepare for Behavioural Interview Questions?
Yes. QUT Careers and Employment offers workshops for students so you are prepared for this type of interview. The STAR L formula (Situation, Task, Action, Result, Learn) is a good way to answer behavioural style questions. Your answers can draw on social, sporting, work, travel, and hobby situations as well as from university. The student e-Portfolio is a great way to store these experiences. Also check out our info sheets on Interview Skills, Interviews: Questions you can count on, and Personal Transferrable Skills.
Examples:
Examples of desirable employee attributes and Behavioural Interviewing approaches to questioning.
| Attribute | Behaviour | Questions | Contrary Evidence |
| Strong work ethic | Adheres to an appropriate and effective set of core values and beliefs during both good and bad times; acts in line with those values. | Can you tell me about a time when you felt you had to make an unpopular decision based on your beliefs and values? | Describe a situation in which you went against core values to accomplish something. What did you learn? |
| Team player | Able to create strong morale and spirit in her/his team; shares wins, successes, responsibility and accountability; fosters open dialogue. | Tell me about a time when you were able to find common ground when working in a team to achieve a result. | Tell me about a situation where you were unable to motivate a team to achieve a goal. What did you learn? |
| Creative | Comes up with new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions. |
Tell me about a time when you looked beyond the obvious to find an unusual solution. | Can you tell me about a time when you were unable to come up with a creative way to solve a problem? |
| Honest, trustworthy & demonstrates integrity |
Is widely trusted; is seen as direct, truthful individual; keeps confidences. | Describe a time when you told the truth when it would have been easier not to. | Tell me about a time when you didn't admit to a mistake. What did you learn? |
Employment Seeking Strategies What methods are you now using to look for work?
Although there are definitely places you can look for advertised job opportunities, if this is the only way you are looking, you could be missing out on up to 80% of jobs in the hidden job market.
| Graduate Program/Job | Closing Date | Disciplines Targeted |
| Brisbane City Council | 14 May | BEE, Business, Health, Humanities Program, Law, Science & Technology |
| GBST Holdings | 14 May | Business, Science & Technology |
| Macquarie Group Ltd | 22 May | BEE, Business, Law, Science & Technology |
| Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) | 30 May | BEE, Business, Education, Humanities Program, Law, Science & Technology |
| Attorney-General's Department (AGD) | 31 May | Business, Humanities Program, Law |
| Ausenco | 31 May | BEE, Science & Technology |
| Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) | 31 May | Business, Humanities Program, Law |
| Seymour Whyte Constructions Pty Ltd | 31 May | Built Environment and Engineering |
| Leighton Contractors Pty Limited | 31 May | Built Environment and Engineering |
| Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) | 31 May | BEE, Humanities Program, Law, Science & Technology |
| Queensland Alumina Limited | 7 June | BEE, Science & Technology |
| Casual / Part-Time / Voluntary Job | Closing Date |
| Before and After School Carer | 13 May |
| QLD State Director | 14 May |
| Web Designer XHTML / CSS / Javascript | 14 May |
| PR Assistant | 14 May |
| Casual HTML / CSS Web Developer Required for Fast Growing Brisbane-Based Internet Marketing Company | 16 May |
| HR Administration Assistant | 16 May |
| Pharmacy Student/Assistance Required for Casual Position at Your Chemist Carseldine | 18 May |
| Intern Property Valuer | 18 May |
| Marketing & Communications Internship | 19 May |
| HR Administrator | 20 May |
| BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance 2010 Scholarships - Health & Safety Students | 21 May |
| Marketing Trainer | 21 May |
| Foundation Assistant | 21 May |
| Administration Officer/Trainee Accountant | 23 May |
| Retail Sales Representatives | 24 May |
| Casual OSHC Assistants | 28 May |
| Lifeline Vacation Care Supervisor and Group Leader | 28 May |
| Tutors Required - All Brisbane Suburbs | 28 May |
| Google AdWords Technician | 30 May |
| Professional Internships and graduate traineeships in UK | 31 May |
| Estimator/Quantity Surveyor | 31 May |
For more information on these jobs, or to search for more jobs, go to the QUT CareerHub link on the Careers and Employment website.
(Content developed by Julie Farthing, FCDAA, Career Dimensions)
The above article is taken from the Career Development Association of Australia website - www.cdaa.org.au.
For help with the above steps, don't forget that QUT Careers and Employment offers free one-on-one career counselling at each campus, as well as workshops, and heaps of online resources - find them at www.careers.qut.edu.au.
| Workshop | Date | Location | Time |
| Resume and Letter Writing workshop | 11 May | GP O520 | 3:00pm-4:30pm |
| Addressing Selection Criteria | 13 May | KG B304 | 3:00pm-4:30pm |
| Accessing the Workforce in Brisbane for International Students | 14 May | GP X303 | 9:30am-11:00am |
| Presentation | Date | Location | Time |
| Seymour Whyte Constructions | 10 May | GP S310 | 2pm - 3pm |
For the most up-to-date information, or to view more workshops or employer presentations, go to QUT CareerHub on the Careers and Employment website.
Spotlight Online for Career Services Professionals, May 26, 2010
New graduates who took part in an internship program are more likely to have received a job offer than their peers who decided to forgo the experience, according to results of NACE’s 2010 Student Survey.
The study found that 42.3 percent of the seniors who had internship experience and applied for a job received at least one job offer. Conversely, only 30.7 percent of seniors without internship experience who applied for a job received an offer.
The study also found that those who had an internship were more likely to accept the offer—and have a job to go to following graduation. More than one-quarter of the intern group with offers accepted them; less than 20 percent of the non-intern group did so.
One possibility for interns’ higher acceptance rate: a higher salary than the average offered their non-intern counterparts. Survey results show the median accepted salary offer for seniors with an internship was $45,301—nearly 31 percent higher than the $34,601 median accepted salary offer to non-intern seniors.
The 2010 Student Survey was conducted February 9, 2010, through April 30, 2010. More than 31,470 students representing more than 400 colleges and universities nationwide took part; more than 13,000 of those were graduating seniors. A final report on the study’s findings will be available later this year.
Advantage Hire Thinking - Australian Market Report, March 2010. pg.4
