As an international student studying in Australia (I am a Master of Accounting student at Monash University), I am very concerned that after completing my degree I will be able to get a professional job related to my field of study. That’s why when one of my friends ‘bragged’ that his management professor is also a recruitment consultant and is always happy to provide his students with friendly advice and help landing professional jobs in Australia, I tried to ‘attract’ ‘ my dear friend to help me set up an informal meeting with that professor to discuss my future employment prospects.This is how I met Dr. Michael Baron, (CEO of Baron Consulting – Melbourne based recruitment and training agency). Michael seems to be something of a ‘cult figure’ to his students who consider him more of a mentor than a teacher I really enjoyed our conversation and feel that Michael’s advice is relevant not only to me but also to many other students and newly graduates. So I asked Michael if he minded if I recorded his answers to my questions so I could share them with others. Luckily, he didn’t ��! So here comes n our impromptu interview:
Michael, as a foreign student who has no work experience in Australia at all and only 3 months of professional work experience in China, I am naturally a little worried. I’m a year away from completing my Masters in Professional Accounting at Monash and to be honest I’m not entirely sure what to do next. How to apply for jobs?
Good question, Violet. Turning the page and starting a new stage in life is never easy. However, she doesn’t give him an excuse to give up before he even starts trying ��! The first step is to write a good resume. As far as I know, all universities, including yours, provide students with a resume building service at no cost (well, more or less at no cost, since they’re obviously funded through your and others’ fees), so I would suggest contacting Monash student services. services and will advise you who to contact to make your resume well done. In your resume, given your very limited work experience, try to emphasize your skills and abilities. Focus on the skills that are particularly relevant to the job you are applying for. Read job descriptions carefully and keep making small adjustments to your resume accordingly so that it always fits the needs of the company you’re applying to. I know it’s hard work… but it has to be done!
Ok, I feel a little better now. It’s nice to know there’s still some hope against hope for me. You mentioned making a resume and applying everywhere you can. But do you think anyone will give an applicant who doesn’t have any local work experience a chance?
Of course, many of the companies will not be willing to “take the risk” and hire a recent graduate, but some will! Don’t take rejections to heart and keep applying for as many relevant job openings as you can identify. Eventually your persistence will pay off and you can finally secure some interviews and once you get to the interview stage there is always an opportunity!
And Michael, many of my friends suggest that I get some local experience by enrolling in an Internship Training Program or a Professional Year Program. Do you think it is a good idea?
Your friends are on the right track. Either way, if you can secure an internship, go for it! Once you join a company as an intern, it will not only be a perfect opportunity to gain the required skills and experience, but also, if you manage to impress your internship supervisors, there is a high chance that you will be offered paid employment. at the end of the internship. Just make sure you select an internship that’s right for you. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get paid for your efforts, as long as there’s plenty of free training and opportunities to pick up new skills on the job.
Right, and what about getting good grades? If I study day and night (not that I intend to) and I get all the HD as a reward for my beautiful efforts. Will it help me get a job?
I don’t want to discourage you from studying hard, but the truth is that while good grades do help in some cases (for example, when you’re filling out application forms to apply for graduate jobs and you’re asked to indicate grades), but it’s Just one of many factors that can give you a competitive advantage when applying for a job, and possibly not the biggest advantage of all. While employers expect the recent graduates they are about to hire to be diligent academics, they are far more concerned with their ability to learn, enthusiasm, people skills, and actual knowledge rather than qualifications. For example, if it’s apparent from your resume that you can produce real-life tax returns, that’s much more impressive than having an HD grade for a tax topic.
And what about the jobs of Baron Consulting? Would you offer someone with little or no relevant experience a position at your company if you feel that person is enthusiastic and eager to learn? Would you always prefer someone with proven professional experience? Please be frank!
Well, since you insist that I have to answer the question honestly (not that I’m inclined to answer it dishonestly otherwise). We certainly value work experience just like other employers. Securing a senior position with us without sufficient work experience in a similar role is highly unrealistic. However, for junior jobs (internships in particular), we are sometimes happy to consider applicants with limited or no professional experience, provided they can demonstrate that they are committed to hard work, are quick learners, and are happy to work as part of our team. small and friendly. Experience is not everything! Everyone has to start at some point, and we understand that…as do many other organizations. However, we need to believe that interns can contribute to our projects and their ability to learn quickly and become valuable members of our team…and this is up to them to demonstrate during the interview process!
Ha ha. Oh well, thanks for your honesty. Now the last question: how do you and other recruitment agencies advertise available vacancies? I visit SEEK from time to time. I also check available vacancies through Monash online forums and communities (unfortunately, most of these jobs are unprofessional and related to my field of study). So where else can I find job openings to apply?
Once again, you are on the right track! Most of all employment opportunities are available through the Seek website. However, university forums and communities may not be as helpful when it comes to entering professional fields of employment. As far as I know, almost all of the jobs that are posted on the University forums are odd jobs. These jobs (eg cleaning, babysitting, etc.) are good for current students and recent graduates while they are still looking for work for study-related jobs, but have little connection to professional jobs. Another way to expand employment opportunities is to “knock on the door.” Chat with your friends to find out if they know of “someone” who might be working with a company that might accommodate recent grads like you, and try to set up a meeting with them so they can let you know if there are any openings available at their company and if so. Yes, what is the best way to request them? Also, you can also try “cold calling”. Identify organizations known for recruiting recent graduates in your field of employment and contact them by phone or email to request a meeting. This could lead to more potential employment opportunities.
Thank you Michael.