AUT Employability and Careers Info and Advice Blog

It can take time to find your place in the world. If you’re feeling unsure about the study you’re undertaking, it is okay to take a deep breath and reflect on what you’re doing. Is it just a difficult point in your study or could there be a better career path for you?  As AUT graduate Jordan Anderson found out, it is better to have a break and work out what you really enjoy,  rather than slog on unhappily.

Helping people through working in recruitment for a social justice organisation ticks all the boxes for Tominika Moa. The AUT Human Resources and Employment Relations graduate works as a HR coordinator at Lifewise. She advises students to not worry about lack of experience when applying for jobs. She applied for all the HR roles she could find even though she had little experience. “Don’t be scared to put yourself out there.”

The role you take as a graduate is often a starting point from where you can develop the transferable skills you need to land the role you dream of. This was certainly the experience of Zymus International applications technologist Roselle Samaratunga.

Why do an employability award when you are already busy with study, sport, family, socialising etc?  Rosemary Heather wondered that too. But when she did check it out, she quickly saw the benefits. Now happily employed as a food science analyst, Rosemary encourages other students to make the most of the award opportunities.

Employers love meeting people who are proactive, curious and well prepared. They will remember you if you take an interest, ask questions and show an understanding of what their organisation does. Over March and April there will be crowds of employers coming on campus to career expos and events to meet you. Here are 6 tips on how to stand out.

As someone “annoyingly practical and analytical” Natalie Pettitt reckoned science was a natural fit. Her desire to understand the ‘why’ behind sour dough and cheese led her to study microbiology and food science at AUT. Now a senior technician at Ministry of Primary Industries, Natalie talks about her science career journey over the past couple of years.

Going up to strangers can feel a bit scary but the employers at the Science Career Expo are there because they want to talk to you about their work and the science careers they can offer. Here are some tips from two of the employers attending.

Getting involved in supporting other students was something Tanvi Narayan would never have had the confidence to do when she first started at AUT, but the AUT Edge Award opened up possibilities and led to Tanvi becoming a student ambassador, RUOK adviser and peer mentor.

Employers love to see you have developed good life skills and professional skills as well as academic knowledge. They also want to hear you talk positively about those skills. Sound tricky? It need not be. There are plenty of ways you can identify and/or develop the right soft skills.  Part time work, volunteering and academic projects all build a picture of someone with a great range of transferable life skills.

Gaming attracted Liam O’Reilly-Gevert into a design degree that quickly opened up “a million and one other possibilities” and the realisation that your job title doesn’t have to reflect the name of your degree