From the CEO

Welcome to the December edition of Ignition, SydneyTalent’s newsletter for pre-graduates and graduates of the University of Sydney, and SydneyTalent employees.

Further to my message last month, the jobs market has continued to show signs of recovery. According to the latest ABS Labour Force figures, the number of people in employment increased by 24,500 to 10.832 million. Of interest to student employees are those areas where new jobs were created. The rise in employment was driven by an increase in part-time employment, up 21,500 to 3.241 million, with full-time employment increasing 2,900 to 7.591 million people. As the market slowly recovers, and predicted skills shortages deepen, SydneyTalent will continue to explore ways of connecting industry with outstanding and highly skilled pre-graduates and graduates of the University of Sydney.

The release of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) Candidate Survey 2010 contained some interesting insights. Of the group surveyed currently attending university, nearly a quarter will graduate from university with no debts. Over half of the survey participants had received a scholarship, academic prize or received financial support from an employer. Training and development and long-term career prospects were considered ‘very important’ by 75 per cent of candidates when deciding which job offer to accept.

I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the holiday season ahead. We look forward to building and extending our relationship with the student body in 2010.

SydneyTalent always welcomes your feedback, ideas, and suggestions. Please send your thoughts via email to rachel.gleeson@usyd.edu.au, phone Rachel on (02) 8627 8619, or reach me directly at anne.moore@usyd.edu.au

Anne Moore

Chief Executive

Keeping it dynamic

In a demanding business environment in which the focus is increasingly shifting from survival to growth, waiting until the New Year to integrate new competencies isn’t for everyone. While many workplaces around the country are battling the ‘wind down’ mode that can easily prevail with Christmas in sight, smart organisations are keeping it dynamic with SydneyTalent employees – University of Sydney pre-graduates and graduates whose desire to impress and build great industry links isn’t tied to the calendar. Customised solutions are attractive at any time, but can be particularly effective for businesses looking to manage shifting holiday schedules without compromising on capability or agility.

“What attracted us to SydneyTalent was the ability to access quality students in a structured way that we knew protected the students and us,” said Gerald Thomas of leading management consultancy firm Sussex Partners. “The flexibility of changing the skill mix required as the project developed was also important.”

Given the range of sectors in which Sussex Partners is active, providing high-level strategic solutions to leadership groups across a diversity of very particular contexts, it is only natural that SydneyTalent’s brief centred around delivering versatile talent that could hit the ground running.

“The SydneyTalent employees fitted in very well and worked well with me. They brought in skills we did not have in design and content management,” said Mr Thomas. “At the outset we thought we needed a team of three, [but] we got a multi-talented project manager who covered two of the skill sets.”

Conscious of the proficiency-to-efficiency equation, SydneyTalent works hard to promote cross-skilling among its talent banks through delivering learning and development programs to students in their own time – programs that target the core competencies valued by employers regardless of specific industry sectors. The initiative also embraces the diversity that is the University of Sydney’s most powerful resource, and regularly places international students whose demonstrated initiative and general wealth of experience makes them valuable additions to modern Australian workforces seeking a global perspective.

“The position here has given me the opportunity to work in a multi-cultural environment,” said Jeff Glushakow of his work placement with international healthcare leader McKesson Asia-Pacific. Jeff – who hails from the US and whose posting with McKesson as a Research Analyst has strong potential to go permanent – credits SydneyTalent with kick-starting his career despite challenging economic times. “SydneyTalent definitely accelerated my development by providing me with the opportunity to utilize everything I learned during my postgraduate studies and apply it in the workplace.”

Just as the right expertise and cultural fit is SydneyTalent’s predominant consideration on behalf of industry partners, so each student’s individual interests and professional aspirations are carefully considered in order to ensure that the experiential learning they acquire and execute in the workplace is both meaningful and rewarding. “SydneyTalent was able to place me in a role conducive to my career and personal goals. My job at McKesson has been challenging and fruitful and continues to evolve as I am given more responsibility. I also really like that SydneyTalent representatives continued to serve as a resource for me even after my time at McKesson had commenced,” Jeff said.

First impressions

By SydneyTalent student employee, Amy Fox

Calling someone you’ve never spoken to before can be exhilarating but daunting. You know you have roughly 20 seconds to introduce yourself, state why you’re calling, and explain why they should be interested. After that, things get a little complicated. Have they missed the point? Should you brace for an awkward silence?

Easier just to send an email, right? Probably – but with a little charm and the right pace and tone, a well-timed phone call can be a far more effective means of communication. After all, email can’t match the immediacy of the phone or convey your personality in quite the same way.

Whether you’re calling someone professionally or personally, it often pays to plan your opening lines in advance. Concise notes can go a long way in boosting the receiver’s first impression and reduce the risk of losing your point. This could potentially lose you the interview or the sale.

It’s important not to underestimate the effect of your tone in those first few seconds – a genuine ‘how are you?’ (delivered as though you DO care) allied with a dose of enthusiasm will help put the listener at ease. And if they warm to you, they’re far more likely to part with the valuable information you need. It also makes life easier if you need to call them in the future.

While you’re considering the key message you want to impart with your opening line, you might also give some thought to your skills when it comes to phone answering. ‘Hello?’ can take on a wide variety of meanings when uttered across several kilometres of fibre-optic cables. Again, genuine warmth is advisable without going over the top.

For more information on how you can improve your communication and enhance other important workplace skills, contact SydneyTalent’s Learning and Development team at sydtalld@usyd.edu.au or register for the WorkReady Essentials Interpersonal Communication workshop at www.sydneytalent.com.au.

Graduate recruitment

Graduate recruitment is surging as business looks to life after the Global Financial Crisis.

SydneyTalent Chief Executive Anne Moore highlighted the change in tide for recruitment as the University of Sydney reported its adjusted enrolment figures for 2009.

“For the past 12 months businesses have experienced a rocky road as they retracted and stabilised their employment commitments. We now have two graduating years available to the marketplace as they slowly reengage their employment programs for 2010,” said Moore.

The University of Sydney will have 13,244 students finishing their degrees in 2009. They enter an employment marketplace in which 2008 graduates felt the full impact of the GFC.

SydneyTalent’s monitoring of first-back-to-market industries indicates that the ICT and Engineering industries have been the first to re-commit based upon the Australia’s ICT and infrastructure-led recovery program. The University of Sydney ushered 725 ICT and Engineering graduates into the marketplace in 2009, and currently has 3941 students enrolled in undergraduate and post-graduate ICT and Engineering courses.

“We have seen the ICT industry and Engineering sector respond to graduate and undergraduate employment options faster than other sectors. This is proving to be a result of their flexible employment models and their need to contract talent early for long-term projects,” Moore said.

Professional Services firms have traditionally conducted strong graduate recruitment programs with universities such as the University of Sydney. Due to global hiring freezes, these companies deployed a range of responses. These included reduced work hours for staff, cessation or reduction of graduate recruitment programs for 2009, and rolling redundancies as they managed the impact of the GFC.

“We are now seeing a turning of the tide with the Professional Services firms as they re-engage their employment programs. This is being done in reverse order to what was seen 12 months ago. Those with reduced hours are brought back to full pay and hours, employment of critical and key middle management staff on a need basis is happening cautiously, and graduate recruitment programs are slowly being geared up,” said Moore.

60 seconds with SydneyTalent student employee Dominic Heah

Dominic is a Procurement Analyst in the University’s Procurement Services Unit, a role he first undertook as on a contract basis while a SydneyTalent employee, before going permanent upon graduating.

Do you feel that your SydneyTalent experience accelerated your career development?

SydneyTalent provided me with a solid platform for the development of my skills and capabilities. With SydneyTalent’s guidance, not only am I able to carry out my work more efficiently, but I also more effectively manage my personal endeavours.

Did you find SydneyTalent helpful in striking a work-study-life balance?

It is challenging to find an employer that understands study comittments/exams and at the same time enjoy a role that is degree related. That’s why SydneyTalent represents an evolved response to student pressures.

Did SydneyTalent soften the transition from student to professional lifestyle?

Making such a major life change always has the potential to be daunting. SydneyTalent helped bridge the gap when shifting from a student lifestyle to that of a working professional by offering priceless advice and support through their invaluable learning and development opportunities. These look great on your CV, definitely, but they also give you great confidence and a sense that your working future is an exciting prospect.

Did you take advantage of any of SydneyTalent’s WorkReady Essential workshops?

I found SydneyTalent’s WorkReady Essential workshops to be very informative, engaging, and enjoyable. In addition to providing excellent professional advice directly applicable in the workplace environment, the series of workshops also helped me better manage my personal goals and objectives.

SydneyTalent Milestones

SydneyTalent recently achieved a significant milestone, having placed 20% of registered student employees across our nine targeted industry sectors.

These industry sectors are –

finance and banking, professional services, technology, consumer, natural resources and environment, infrastructure and manufacturing, public sector, health, and not-for-profit.

Since inception, SydneyTalent has found employment for 622 student employees, 355 in this year alone. Currently, there are 143 roles being filled by SydneyTalent student employees.

SydneyTalent in the Media

List of current articles

Five minutes with – Sanaz Bassiri

Sanaz Bassiri recently joined the Learning and Development team at SydneyTalent and is the facilitator of the WorkReady Essentials workshop series. She holds a degree in Masters of Organisational Psychology and has previously worked in management consulting. We caught up with her between workshops.

Likes … A clean desk, early mornings, cups of tea … Must be Twinings Lady Grey.

Dislikes … Fantales. I’m more of a Mentos person.

Currently reading ... The Catcher in the Rye. Although it’s a coming-of-age story of 16 year-old antihero Holden Caulfield, the book was originally published for adults. It’s fascinating to travel with Holden and catch a glimpse into the life of a teenager trying to find himself.

One of the best pieces of feedback I ever received about a workshop is … From a student who wanted to headhunt me for his future business! That was very a flattering and humbling experience.

Favourite WorkReady Essentials workshop? Workshop number 1, ‘Interpersonal communication at work’. I recently re-designed this workshop and I really like the activities on personality types – it creates a lot of energy in the room and it is great to watch how students with different personality types interact with each other. It’s a lot of fun.

Best part of your job ... Is learning about different topics as I am researching and designing workshops. I also thrive on the dialogue with the participants in the workshops and learning from their experiences.

In 2010, I’m really looking forward to … Designing a variety of workshops on the Aussie work culture, networking, and presentation skills. I’ve had a great deal of interest from students in these topics so I am predicting that the advanced workshop series will be quite popular.

Toughest question you’ve ever been asked in a job interview … That’s a hard one. I’ve had employers ask me sneaky questions about when I finished high school, to try and find out how old I was!

What would you do with your last $100? Probably invest in a pair of shoes. If I couldn’t find a pair that I loved, then I would go to one of my favourite suburbs, Haberfield or Five Dock, and stock up on fresh bread, cheese, olives, and antipasto. Then I’d invite the family over and relish in the food – oh, and their company, of course.

One thing you will never see me do is … Turn my back on a challenge. “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced” – James Baldwin

The best piece of advice anyone ever gave me … Keep your options open. I think this is a really important piece of advice for anyone starting a career. You never know what the future will hold.

Sanaz facilitates the WorkReady Essentials workshops that will run throughout 2010, beginning January. For more information, or to register for the workshops, click here.

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