Services for Current Students
Contents
Job Blog
If you are looking for Graduate Programs, Vacation Employment, Internships or casual employment, check our the Career Development Job Blog
Lucy Mentoring Program
UNE is now implementing the Lucy Mentoring Program for women.
The Lucy Mentoring Program has been developed by the NSW Office for Women and aims to encourage the development of women, who given the right opportunities and support, will become our future leaders.
Please contact the Career Development Staff for more information on 02 6773 2897.
Work Experience, Internships and Vacation Work
Gaining professional on the job experience in relation to your studies is a major benefit to you gaining employment at the end of your time with UNE. Many employers look at previous experience, either paid or unpaid, as highly beneficial to there business. Gaining employability skills throughout your time at UNE will enhance your job prospects and the UNE can assist you in gaining these skills. Your Career officers can advise on how to look for Internships, Vacation Employment and other Work Experience placements.
Internships
Internships are an excellent way to work your way through university. Some employers will offer employment to students who are willing to take their studies off campus and work at the same time they are completing their degree. Often this means it will take longer to complete your degree, but you will have an income and excellent experience in the industry that your studies will relate to. Some examples of internships are: urban planning; accountancy; and engineering.
The Career Development unit is currently developing a number of internships that will be exclusively available to UNE students. When these positions become available they will be advertised on the Career Development Job Blog.Other opportunities will arise in both the private and public sector throughout the year. These can be advertised through various media such as newspapers, websites, or even on television. You will need to be proactive and seek out these opportunities. When the UNE is notified of these positions by employers, they will be listed on the Job Blog.
Vacation Employment
Vacation employment is usually advertised in June/July for the following December to February break, hence the term vacation. These positions are usually for students who are about to go into their final year of study.
Vacation employment is usually paid, and is a great stepping stone into a business or department. It is well known that if you have been successful in completing a vacation with an employer, that you have an excellent chance of gaining permanent employment at the end of your studies - it is your chance to prove to them how capable you are at putting your skills and abilities in motion in the workplace, a much better change than trying to sell your self on paper.
This type of employment is also advertised on the Job Blog and also in the media, but an excellent idea is to approach employers and ask them directly if they have Vacation Employment Programs for students, ask the Careers Officers for assistance.
Work Experience
Throughout your studies, it is important to plan on where you would like to take you career and a good way of doing this is to complete work experience.
The UNE has the WorkReady program. If you register for this program, you will be completely covered by the UNE’s insurance and you will also gain valuable employer feedback about your placement.
There are no limits on the amount of work experience that you can complete, so to undertake WorkReady two or three times throughout your studies is worthwhile, allowing you to try different industry areas before you graduate.
More information about work experience can be found at WorkReady.
Graduate Employment
Many companies and government departments offer employment programs that are open only to recent university graduates. These programs usually offer fulltime employment with relevant training that may go from 6 – 24 months. They are aimed at providing a ‘whole’ company experience that may incorporate rotations into different areas/divisions, on-the-job training and professional development.
Graduate employers are looking at employing new recruits with the following employability skills:
- Communication
- Team work
- Problem Solving
- Self Management
- Planning & Organising
- Technology
- Learning
- Initiative and Enterprise
By obtaining your degree through the University of New England, you now have all these skills and are an ideal applicant for a Graduate Program.
When should I apply for a job?
You will need to begin applying for graduate programs as early as February in your final year of study.
Employers like to advertise this early in the year so that they have enough time to thoroughly process all applications, implement assessment centres and perform individual interviews of suitable applicants. It also allows them time to go through a second stage of recruitment if some of the originally chosen applicants fail their final year or choose not to take up the offer of employment.
When you commence your final year of study, make sure you have the following prepared:
Resume/CV
Skills database
Academic transcript
Registration on Career Hub is update
If you have completed all of these, then it will be easier for you to apply for positions.
What is the process of Graduate Program Recruitment?
Many employers will request you to apply online – they will have an extensive Graduate Program webpage for you to source information and also provide contact details for a Recruitment Co-ordinator. It is an important step of your application to contact this person as they will be able to provide much more information than what is provided in the advertisement – make sure you take notes.
Step 1 - Apply
To apply, you may need to use an application form, write a covering letter, address a selection criteria and attach resumes, academic transcripts or references. For assistance at this stage of the process, the Career Officers at UNE are able to provide suggestions and proof read your material.
Step 2 – Selection Process
Once you submit your application online, via mail or email the employer will then select who will go onto the next step of the process. This is called the selection process and you may hear the term ‘cull’ – this is when the employer will go through and select applicants who have completed the information correctly and have been able to demonstrate the skills they require in their application. All other applications will be ‘culled’.
These steps will differ from position to position
Step 3 – Online testing
Many employers will send applicants an online numeracy/literacy test to complete. Those who do not ‘pass’, will be ‘culled’ from the next stage.
Step 4 – Assessment Centre
Congratulations! if you get to this stage, this is where you will be able to show the employer the real you and your employability skills. Often employers will pay for you to attend these centres – but you will need to clarify this at the time. The Assessment Centre is a practical interview, often used to clarify the persons skills that they have mentioned in their application. more information about these centres can be found at (link).
Step 5 – Interview
If you are successful at gaining an interview – this is usually the last step in the recruitment process. A list of helpful techniques is available at (link).
Step 6 – Offer of employment
Well done! The employer is wishing to recruit you into their business and now is the time that you need to make a decision.
Is this the job that you want?? You usually have some time – maybe a couple of weeks - to make a decision, so think wisely before rushing in and accepting.
Links
There are many sites on the internet that are readily available for the public to use. It is a good idea for you to register, using your UNE email address, and receive updates on employment that you may be interested in:
- Job Blog
- www.seek.com.au
- www.mycareer.com.au
- www.careerone.com.au
- www.cvmail.com.au
- www.nrmjobs.com.au
- www.hacjobs.com.au
- www.comjobs.com.au
- www.jobs.nsw.gov.au
- www.jobs.qld.gov.au
- www.careers.vic.gov.au
- www.vacancies.sa.gov.au/asp/public/Home.aspx
- www.jobs.wa.gov.au
- http://notes.nt.gov.au/dcis/RMS.nsf/NTGEmploymentHome
- www.jobs.tas.gov.au
- www.psgazette.gov.au
Applying for a Job
Download Fact Sheets:
3 Step Career Planner (PDF - 32KB)
Finding a Job (PDF - 32 KB)
Preparing Your Resume (PDF - 36KB)
Writing a Covering Letter (PDF - 36KB)
Addressing Selection Criteria (PDF - 36KB)
The Job Interview (PDF - 36KB)
How to plan for your Career
First year at UNE - Exploring
Embarking on life as a university student is a major transition point. It will bring a host of new experiences and the opportunity to begin exploring that age-old question, ‘what do I want to do in my life?’
Take some time out from the hurly-burly for:
See how your university experiences can develop new skills and enhance your existing skills:
Look around you and observe the world of work. It is not necessary at this stage to know exactly what you want to do when you graduate, but you can start:
Second year - Experiencing
Now that you have settled into university life and discovered more about yourself and the world around you, take some time to reflect on the following:
During your second year, you have the time and opportunity to ‘test out’ some of the types of work you have been considering, and gain valuable skills to enhance your resume. There are a variety of ways you can do this:
Third year - Targeting
Visit Career Development - Student Assist early in first semester to map our your personal career ‘plan of attack’
Make the most of the Virtual Careers Fair
Attend on-campus Employer presentations/functions
Get into the habit of scanning newspaper job ads and internet recruitment sites.
Fire up your job seeking networks
Begin making applications for graduate positions
Develop a Plan A – plus Plans B and C
Remember, there is always more than one route to get to where you want to go!
And as a bonus…..
The skills you have developed in making this transition will serve you well throughout your working life.
Career Passport
Career management skills are an essential tool for the successful navigation of repeated career transition processes that individuals will engage in during their adult life.
In order to enable UNE students to develop the competencies required to develop these skills, the UNE Careers Service offers a program of Career Education Workshops. These interactive workshops are designed to be undertaken in sequence, as each succeeding workshop assumes certain knowledge and competencies.
Students will be given a "Careers Passport" when they commence this program. It will outline the program, and logical sequence of workshops. As students attend workshops, the passport will be certified.
Successful completion of workshops will earn students points towards the New England Award, can be entered on the student's personal e-portfolio and provide support for internship applications.
The Career Education Program contributes significantly to the development of Graduate Attributes - Communication Skills, Global Perspective, Information Literacy, Lifelong Learning, Problem Solving, Social Responsibility and Teamwork.
Check our Job Blog for details of the courses, or contact Student Assist on 02-6773 2897.
Links to The Career Passport Workbooks:
Scholarships
The University of New England offers a number of scholarships for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Information can be found at UNE Scholarships.
Employers also offer a number of scholarships – to find these you will need to look at employer internet homepages, contact employers directly or they may be advertised on job search websites and in the written media.
What are the costs associated with study?
Studying at university is much different to studying at school when it comes to the costs involved. You have to take into consdieration the fees, accommodation costs, travel expenses, communications, textbooks and other living expenses.
There is some useful information on the Student Financial Assistance website. There is also helpful budgetting tips and links to organisations that can assist you with your finances.