AUT Employability and Careers Info and Advice Blog

Initially shy and unsure of herself, Jennifer Susanto flourished at AUT, presenting work at two exhibitions in Sweden, becoming an industrial design peer mentor, creating start-up Foodscrapz, landing two design roles and gaining overall achievement for the AUT Edge Award.

Throughout the semester employers are invited onto campus for presentations, panels, networking and expos. With around 30 events planned over the semester, we urge students to come and make the most of these opportunities to access employers.

The experience of working with others while volunteering for the AUT Edge Award helped Ghokkul Muhunthan land the role of IT support technician in a social services organisation where he is delighted to be using his IT skills to help others.

A lot of students ask us how they can stand out in the job market. One of our best pieces of advice is to undertake the AUT Edge Award (undergraduate) or the Beyond AUT Award (postgraduate). Why? Aside from it looking good on your CV and academic transcript, it also encourages you to develop skills ad attributes that employers look for – communication, confidence, collaboration and resilience.

Be proactive about your passion, advises AUT Master of Marine Science  alumni Jaever Santos, who as a kid loved  "creepy ocean stuff". That became the pathway to marine conservation postgraduate  research and a role at Australian Museum.

Why go to career expos? Because that is where you meet real employers and have real conversations about the world after AUT. Find out more about invaluable advice from employers and insights from students about the value of career expos – and other career events.

International students often tell us they feel very confused when employers say they want NZ work experience, despite the students having a wealth of experience in their own country. We explain what employers are looking for and how you can improve your job search opportunities.

Trying to meet employers and become known outside of AUT can be a difficult thing to contemplate. Here is a way to take small steps to build up confidence and start to interact with lots of different people.

Practising how to network can feel uncomfortable, but if you push through your awkwardness it can pay off, as Lavenia Tailai-Mataitini found when she attended a career expo and learned about the internship she is now undertaking with Auckland Transport.

You have a great passion, but not the talent to make it big. Well, not everyone can be the star of the show, but there are plenty of opportunities to make the most of the skills you do have and follow your passion into that world another way. It’s simple!