Best Foot Forward Career Skills Workshop with CBA: Interviews

Thanks to all participants who took part in the Best Foot Forward Careers Workshop on Thursday 25 October. The workshop was the second of a three part workshop series, organised by the Women in Engineering and IT Program and facilitated by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). Elise Ianno has been running these workshops to help give UTS women an edge when applying for jobs and internships. Elise is the Manager of CBA Graduate Recruitment Programs, so we were very lucky to have the benefit of her wealth of experience in the job application process.
This second workshop revolved around interviews, and we were given many useful hints and tips about how best to present ourselves in interview situations. Some of this advice included:

·         Dress appropriately for the occasion

·         Be prepared to give examples of your experiences in dealing with difficult situations. This includes situations that ended negatively as well as positively; so long as you demonstrate your thought process and what you learnt. This is an opportunity to talk about your extra curricular activities as well, so don’t limit your examples to work experience and university projects.

·         Be professional, always sit up straight and make eye contact. Don’t look around the room or ask personal questions, it’s inappropriate.

·         The organisation is interviewing you to see if you're right for the job, but you should also be interviewing them to see if the job is right for you.

·         ALWAYS ask questions! If you’re stuck for questions, ask the interviewer what attracted them to the organisation. This might give you an idea of what the working environment will be like.

After Elise’s presentation, students all had the opportunity to participate in a mock interview. Feedback from the interviews was mostly positive, with everyone acting on Elise’s advice. One pointer that everyone received was to give more detail when providing examples and not to rush your answers. 
The third workshop will be held in early 2013, so keep your eyes posted for event details and updates!

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September Speakers Workshops at UTS

Between February and July this year, the Sydney Women in Engineering & IT (SWIEIT) Speakers Program have engaged with 25 schools and over 1000 school girls from years 8 to 12. This program is jointly sponsored by the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), NSW and GHD professional services firm. More information can be found on SWIEIT Speakers Program by clicking here.

Being an active outreach initiative that WiE&IT single-handedly coordinate, speakers for our presentations and school visits are always warmly welcomed. That’s why on Wednesday 5 September and Friday 7 September, women studying either Engineering or IT at UTS were invited to come and participate in an intensive 3 hour workshop designed to improve public speaking skills.  These workshops not only gave participants an opportunity to assess and analyse their public speaking style and presence, but it also gave them an opportunity to get to know some of the other women studying in the Faculty of Engineering and IT. Principal Advisor for Workplace Diversity and Equity from RMS, Ann Pitkeathly, also attended the evenings giving some insight into the importance of public speaking skills in the public sector workplace. The workshops were open to both undergraduates and postgraduates, so there were quite a few fresh faces over the two evenings. Ian Colley from UTS Training and Development Services facilitated the workshops, giving helpful acronyms to help us remember some of the more important aspects of public speaking. Some of these tips were:

Visuals: enhance your presentation. Photos are always better than cartoons!

Audio:  Alter your tone of voice to drive home a point.

Kinaesthetic: moving and touching, getting your audience involved by asking them to raise hands. 

Head: knowledge. Knowing what you are going to talk about makes presenting easier.

Heart: emotions, try to establish an emotional connection and pull at peoples heart strings.

Feet: movement and purpose, moving around the stage but also giving your speech a direction.

Afterwards, all SWIEIT Speakers and workshop attendees were invited to the Great Hall balcony for the annual SWIEIT Speakers Party, to celebrate the years Outreach activities and acknowledge the efforts of all those who contributed to the program throughout the past few years.

WiE&IT Program staff would like to say thank you  to all the girls who have participated in the program, particularly those that have travelled long distances to reach schools in rural communities. 
Anyone who is a female studying or working in these fields, is a cadet or a cooperative scholarship recipient, or UTS female Alumni is encouraged to join the program, so they can share their story and inspire female high school students to consider engineering or IT as a career!

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Best Foot Forward Career Skills Workshop: Writing Effective Applications

In the WiE&IT office, we know that applying for internships or graduate positions can be a daunting and rather overwhelming process. That’s why last week WiE&IT hosted a careers workshop in conjunction with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). This workshop was aimed at better equipping undergraduate and postgraduate female students to prepare for joining the workforce.

The manager of the CBA Graduate Program, Elise, gave an insightful and inspiring presentation on some of the processes involved when constructing a resume and filling out applications. She covered resume structure, cover letters, wording, psychometric testing and filling out applications in the session. The workshop was facilitated by Maria, the CBA Manager for Organisational Development, who gave some insightful comments and tips on how best to communicate achievements. Some important discussion points included:

-          How best to structure your resume

-          Protocol on providing references

-          When proofreading: read, re-read and re-re-read!

-          Use professional language

-          Apply for positions well before the closing date

-          Take your time to complete an application; its alright to save it and come back later

-          Never undersell yourself!

At the end of the presentation, students were encouraged to apply for some of the graduate programs available at CBA. Currently CBA are recruiting for their Summer Internship Program. Applications close in August so start your applications now!

As the workshop closed and attendees helped themselves to a little afternoon tea, the enthusiasm told us that that everyone had learned something new.

The next workshop is on 7 December 2012, registrations will open soon!

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