2. The Career and Employment Service provides a supportive
environment for you to prepare for your future. We educate and
empower you to develop the skills and knowledge to successfully
transition from student to professional.
Our service offers several ways to assist you, whether you
are a domestic or international student, through one-on-one
consultations where we can brainstorm on career outcomes with
you, conduct mock interviews, assist you with finding work, career
planning and more. We also hold weekly classroom workshops on
many of these topics. Additions to our service include…
Resume Rescues – weekly rapid resume review sessions held with
2-6 students at once. We give shorter tailored resume advice to
each student.
Group LinkedIn Reviews – operates similarly to resume rescue
sessions where each student can have their LinkedIn profile
reviewed within a small group of up to six students.
Before you can access our services, however, you’ll want to first register for on our jobs board and
appointment booking system, www.careerhub.mq.edu.au.
Once you’ve done that, you can book appointments with us, register for workshops, career fairs, employer
panels, and other events held on and off campus.
To get you started with your transition from university to work life, check out some of these suggestions on
how to build up your employable skills.
FIRST YEAR
Here, we offer tools and resources learning about pathways and possibilities within various degrees of
interest. We can also...
• Offer resume assistance.
• Aside from getting a part-time or casual job, we also recommend that you find a student organisation
or two to join, especially one that directly relates to your course of study (if applicable) and a second
for fun.
• Recommend that you keep up with any hobbies, sports, community, or other activities to enhance your
resume. Also, consider joining Macquarie’s Global Leadership Program (available for postgraduates).
• Never too early to speak with the Study Abroad office about opportunities to study overseas in your
final year. This way, you can plan future units accordingly.
SECOND YEAR
• Take early advantage and look into summer internships and vacation work placement, or other
opportunities while you study. PACE (Professional and Community Engagement) is another service
tied to employment experience to take advantage of in your second and/or third year.
• Begin regularly checking Career Hub for our bi-annual career fairs as well as our smaller fairs held
throughout the year. Aside from the fairs, we also have “Careers In…” seminars, international student
employability seminars, and employer presentations.
• Look for increased responsibility and leadership roles within those student organisations that you’re a
part of!
Macquarie University Career and
Employment Service
FINAL YEAR
• Look for part-time work related to your degree at this point, but don’t discount your previous jobs in
retail or hospitality!
• Attend our career fairs, employer presentations, and “Careers In…” events to network with the very
people that could be hiring you! Be sure that when you create your LinkedIn profile, you find those
recruiters that you spoke with and connect with them.
• If graduate programs are on your radar, have your resume and application materials checked by us.
• Take a 300 level PACE unit to secure an internship within your field, run for president or secretary of
that student organisation and study abroad if possible!
• When you graduate and secure that first job, be sure to let us know via the Graduate Destination
Survey, join the Macquarie Alumni network, and if you should still need our assistance, you have an
additional year of it after you graduate!
UPCOMING EVENTS
2017 Semester 1 Careers Fair
Venue: Macquarie University
Thursday 16 March, 12 - 3pm
This is our single largest careers event of the year where we bring many of our employment partners on
campus to talk about career opportunities and services for Macquarie students.
Career & Employment Service
Career and Employment Service
C7A Level 2 (MUSE building)
T: 02 9850 7372
E: careers@mq.edu.au
Open Monday – Friday
9.30am – 5pm (by appointment only)
3. GRADUATE PROFILE
Deren
Customer Relations
Consultant
BT Financial Group
Bachelor of Commerce
Macquarie University
During university, I was not too sure where I wanted to go after it had all
finished. I had a slight interest in finance, and was interested in investing
my money, and so ultimately, I decided to learn more about that area. I
ended up starting my career in finance. I am now working in the Wealth
Management industry, looking after superannuation, retirement/pension
and investment products.
My experience at BT Financial Group
During university, I held jobs through different industries, just to have a bit of money on the side. I do rec-
ommend working part-time during university as it gives you time management skills and will also allow you
to earn some money as well.
For myself, transitioning from uni to work was relatively easy, as I was already doing quite a bit of casual
work during uni, and knew what to expect if I were to work full-time instead. I am really motivated to pro-
gress in my career so that helped my transition as well. The only difference between casual and full-time is
the flexibility, which I think, for most, would be the hardest thing to adjust to – however, you get used to it.
My best advice for you
Don’t apply for jobs that you do not see yourself doing. I made the mistake of wasting time by applying
for jobs that I did not really want, and also wasting time by going to interviews for these positions as well.
Only apply for the jobs that you can see yourself doing.
Another tip from me is to be diligent. Sometimes, you might feel your application, or your interview was
absolutely outstanding, but ultimately, you did not end up getting the job. Don’t let that bring you down –
you’ve got to keep looking and keep applying, and eventually, you will get a position that you love.
I originally applied for a different position that my company was hiring for, and even though I was not suc-
cessful for that position, the hiring manager emailed me personally, asking if I was interested in another
position they were hiring for. I interviewed for this position and was hired. Show your interviewer how much
you know about the role, how much you want it and also be genuine – experienced interviewers can tell
right away if you are being genuine or not.
GRADUATE PROFILE
Meera
Graduate Role - Audit
KPMG
Bachelor of Applied Finance with Bachelor of
Commerce - Professional Accounting
Macquarie University
My goal to work in an environment where client-facing projects are pri-
marily undertaken, led me to choose the audit & assurance stream.
My experience at KPMG
I initially began most of my experience through voluntary extracurricular activities which included becom-
ing a student ambassador, involving myself in university competitions and being a peer mentor for first
year students. These voluntary positions helped demonstrate my commitment towards creating a strong
work ethic, which later assisted my chances of attaining internships in both areas of my double degree, ap-
plied finance and accounting. Thus, these internships coupled with my extra-curricular experiences proved
to be powerful tools in helping me secure my 2017 graduate position.
My best advice for you
The best piece of advice I would give is that every bit of extracurricular activity and work experience,
unpaid or paid, makes a large difference on your CV. You should realize everything new you try (good or
not so good) will help shape your university experience and, more importantly, arm you with a variety of
business & interpersonal tools that will ensure a successful career.
4. GRADUATE PROFILE
Sana
Project Coordinator
Telstra
Bachelor of Business Administration with
Bachelor of Arts - Psychology
Macquarie University
I had been working for Telstra as a Customer Sales & Service Consultant
in their retail stores on a casual basis whilst studying at university and
was impressed by the company’s leadership and culture. Telecommuni-
cations technology plays such a fascinating yet fundamental role in our
daily lives, so it was also an exciting field to work in. I wanted to continue
being of a part an industry that will shape our future, but I was eager to
find a role that would enable me to utilise my business degree.
My experience at Telstra
As part of Telstra’s Graduate Program, I have had the opportunity to undertake rotations in various parts of
the business, including Telstra Global Enterprise, Telstra Health, and Telstra’s International, which involved
living and working in Hong Kong for six months. The transition from university to work has been an inter-
esting learning experience with the graduate program offering plenty of support. Most of the skills devel-
oped through university (e.g. teamwork, time management, communication) are applicable to the work-
place. However, there are some differences that you learn and adapt to as you start working. For example,
when completing an assignment at university, we are provided with a clear marking criteria and receive
feedback on our work from teaching staff. At work, you may not always have clear guidelines to complete
particular tasks and must learn to work with ambiguity. You also heighten your sense of self-awareness as
it isn’t always possible to rely on obtaining feedback from others on every task you work on, and may need
to self reflect on your own performance in order to grow in your role.
My best advice for you
I found about Telstra’s Graduate Program through the company’s intranet site while I was working at their
retail store, but you can also search online job search sites or find jobs through your university’s Career
Service. If you currently work for a large organisation, find out if they offer graduate programs or entry-
level roles that you may be eligible to apply for upon graduation. I would also recommend applying for
internship programs in your penultimate year as these often lead into permanent roles upon graduation,
depending on your performance.
Utilise your University’s Career Service to ensure you are on the right track with your application and are
equipped with the latest information on job opportunities that relevant to your studies. As preparation
for my application process, I regularly engaged with Macquarie University Career Service to practise my
interview skills, and attend a mock assessment centre that they had organised.
GRADUATE PROFILE
Tony
Procurement &
Contracting Graduate
Department of Defence
Bachelor of Social Science / Bachelor of Laws
Macquarie University
I applied for over a dozen graduate programs with Federal Government
Departments, and I was very fortunate to have received an offer from one
of the biggest Government agencies in the country.
My experience at the Department of Defence
I’m a Procurement & Contracting Graduate, and the work that I’m involved in falls within the commercial
operations of the Department. For me, work is all about the acquisition and sustainment of equipment that
is used by the Australian Defence Force.
As a Graduate I still have my training wheels on, and so while we do get provided with opportunities
to do meaningful work, the real focus of my experience thus far has been on learning and professional
development. Plus as a grad, it’s also been exciting for me to be involved in opportunities exclusive to
grads (ie. special tours of defence facilities, high-level briefings and the like)
The transition from uni to full-time work has been an interesting and challenging one for me. Uni is nothing
like the real world and I’ve found that you have to be prepared to invest a lot more time and effort to
maintain things you could have otherwise taken for granted while you were a uni student (ie. meeting
people, having an active social life). On the plus side though, it’s nice not to have to constantly be thinking
about the next class test, assessment or essay!
My best advice for you
I would honestly have to say that in order to stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs, you have
to not only understand the job role and prospective employer well, but also what it is that makes you
the best fit for them and vice versa. Job-hunting is a two-way street. When applying for a job with an
organisation, find something about that job or organisation that resonates with you, or find something
about yourself that you think will resonate with them. And make sure that comes across loud and clear in
your applications.
I believe that I was able to market myself as a job applicant because the organisation that I was applying
for liked to promote itself as the biggest project management organisation in the country. Having done an
internship with a local city council that gave me exposure to project management, I was able to leverage
that past experience and effectively market my experience in a way that allowed me to “speak the same
language” as my prospective employers.
