FINDING INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

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FINDING INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Frederick Stokes-Thompson Careers Adviser
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Seminar Objectives

• By the end of this seminar you will be able
  to
• Describe the value of industrial experience
• Identify three things you can do to source your
  own industrial experience
• Locate resources to help you prepare a strong
  application for an industrial experience
  placement
• Locate resources to help you prepare effectively
  for an interview
• Describe behaviours that will help you succeed on
  placement

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Why undertake industrial experience?

• Benefits to you
• Program requirement (12 weeks)
• Put academic work/theory into practice
• Improve your résumé your experiences help you
  to differentiate from others in the job market
• Research your career options through first hand
  experience
• Expand your network of contacts
• Increased confidence
• Lets you know what you should know

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Why undertake industrial experience?

• Benefits to employer (host organisation)
• Look at potential employees, reduce recruitment
  costs
• Cost effective way of staffing special projects,
  or tasks
• Access to fresh ideas and knowledge study brings
• Access to expertise in specific areas with
  minimal cost
• Professional development opportunities for staff
  who supervise or mentor students
• Promotion of a learning culture within their
  organisation

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Why undertake industrial experience?

• Should be a
• WIN WIN
• 
  
• 
  .situation

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How are placements sourced?

• Source your own placement through direct approach
  to potential host organisations
• Employers contact Career Services requesting a
  work placement student, Career Services
  advertises position on MyCareerPlan

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Sourcing your own placement

• Advantages include
• you can target specific employers or industries
  that interest you
• you are not competing with other students for a
  placement
• you gain experience in job-seeking, so you will
  be better prepared for seeking full-time
  employment.

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Identify your own placement aims

• Identify what you want to achieve in the
  placement
• improve specific skills (e.g., project
  management, using particular software, customer
  service skills)?
• find out if you enjoy working in a particular
  sort of role to assist in Career Planning?
• expand your network of contacts?
• Develop a strategy for finding a placement that
• will help fulfill your aims.

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Identify potential host organisations

• Step 1 - Identify the industry, or industry
  sector
• that most interests you.
• Step 2 - Identify specific organisations or
• companies in that industry/sector.
• Step 3 - Undertake a comprehensive search for
• potential host organisations and
  contact
• names within them e.g. establish
  who the
• key employers are.

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Finding potential host organisations

• Identify possible host organisations by
• Looking at ads and articles on industry websites
  and in industry publications
• Searching vacancy websites to find out what
  companies have positions in your area of
  interest
• Checking out the Graduate Careers Australia
  website http//www.graduatecareers.com.au
• See list of past Work Experience providers
• Using the yellow pages, which you can search
  online, or do a google search
• Networking - family, friends, lecturers, sports
  team members

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Arup(A global firm of designers, engineers,
planners and business consultants)

• Student Vacation Placements
• If youre an undergrad currently completing your
  studies, our vacation program will give you the
  chance to apply your studies in a practical way,
  receive exposure to real projects and gain new
  skills on the job. Joining a discipline or
  business unit within your area of study /
  interest, youll experience a variety of
  assignments and receive valuable guidance and
  support from leaders and engineers.      

http//www.goarup.com.au/
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Sourcing placements
Innovative option
The Advertiser 14 March, 2009, p. 9)
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• NETWORKING

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How does networking work
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Approaching potential host organisations things
to consider!

• How would you go about setting up an initial
  meeting?
• With whom would you try to meet?
• What are you aiming to achieve in the meeting?
• What do you need to prepare beforehand?
• What should you wear and take?
• What questions would be good to ask?
• How would you end the meeting?
• What would you do after the meeting?

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Summary sourcing your own placement

• Decide on your main objectives for undertaking a
  placement.
• Identify the industry sector, or type of role
  that will help you fulfil that objective.
• Use your networks, vacancy websites, the yellow
  pages and industry associations to identify
  potential host organisations.
• Follow up on contacts with phone calls and then
  letters.
• Keep good records!

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Industry (work) placement applications

• All you need to know about preparing
  applications is on the UniSA Career Services
  website at
• http//www.unisa.edu.au/careers/

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Interviews

• Top tips
• Prepare! Research the organisation, prepare
  answers to some common questions, dress
  professionally.
• Maintain focus on explaining the
  benefits/outcomes for the organisation, rather
  than on your needs/wants.
• Have some questions ready to ask the interviewer.
• Identify specific examples of occasions on which
  you have demonstrated the skills and qualities
  that the host organisation is seeking.
• Be positive in what you say and your body
  language shake hands firmly, maintain eye
  contact and keep your posture upright.

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Professional behaviour while on placement

• If you were advising a friend on
• how to make a good impression
• while they were on placement,
• what would be your top five tips?

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What will the host organisation expect of you?

• Punctuality
• Appropriate dress
• If unsure about something, ask questions
• Listen carefully to instructions and carry them
  out
• Thank people for their time when they have
  explained something to you
• To be professional and use professional language
  in all written and verbal communication,
• If you need to use e.mail or the phone for
  personal reasons, check it is OK with your
  supervisor first
• If you are going to be late or absent, phone as
  far in advance as possible

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Tips from AURECON (Connell Wagner)

• AURECON has a formal process for work experience
  selection part of process for possible later
  hiring
• Place students for 6 or 12 weeks over the summer
  break
• They have as number of business units (building,
  transport, water, mining) so you will need to
  research and choose and area in which you wish to
  have a placement
• Tailor your application to that area
• Attention to detail (spelling, grammar, good
  setting out, etc.) is paramount for a good first
  impression
• Basic résumé indication of how uni is going,
  achievements so far
• When on placement CONTRIBUTE be proactive, look
  to participate
• Placement programs designed to expose students to
  different areas.
• Look at their website for further information,
  contact the HRM section for cut off dates, etc
• Contact ACEA (consulting engineering group) for
  other options.

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FINDING INDUSTRY PLACEMENT FLOW CHART
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For any job you need to have the right.
knowledge
job
skills
attitude
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What is the employer looking for?How Well Do I
Fit Whats Needed?
attitudes
skills
knowledge
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What is the employer looking for?How Well Do I
Fit Whats Needed?
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The Résumé

• A résumé is a sales brochure on you its
  purpose is to get you an interview
• Prepare a master résumé or curriculum vitae
  (CV) this is for your eyes only
• From this master document, always tailor the
  résumé you send off with your responses to the
  selection criteria for the job you are seeking

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Résumé as a sales brochure
IN THE MIND OF THE EMPLOYER
IN YOUR RESUME
ATTITUDE BRIGHT FRIENDLY POSITIVE CUSTOMER
FOCUSED PROACTIVE SKILLS COMMUNICATION,
INTERPERSONAL TEAMWORK COMPUTING PROJECT
MANAGEMENT MULTI-TASKING EXPERIENCED KNOWLEDGE
INDUSTRY PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES IMPORTANCE OF
THE BOTTOM LINE
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Résumé Preparation - Tips

• Time taken by employers/recruiters to read your
  résumé 3045 seconds!
• The information on the first page is therefore
  critical
• No single, correct way to prepare a résumé
  depends on what you want the reader to learn
  about you

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Résumé Preparation - Tips

• Limit to around 3 pages
• Plain A4 white paper, stapled not bound
• Pay attention to layout use bold headings,
  avoid long winded narrative, use dot points where
  possible
• Avoid photographs
• Leave out information such as age and marital
  status

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Résumé Preparation - Tips

• Use simple, true fonts, size 12 e.g. arial
• Include your name in a header/footer on each
  page, and number the pages
• Make your language lively avoid I. Start
  sentences wherever possible with action words

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Résumé Front Page

• PERSONAL DETAILS
• Name
• Address
• Contact Details
• PROFILE
• Key Skills and/or Achievements
• Qualifications
• Career Summary
• Dates / Organisation / Role

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Résumé Front Page

• PROFILE or Key Skills Summary/Achievements
• Content can be arranged either as
• A descriptive paragraph (3 4 sentences) which
  describes breadth of experience, areas of key
  skill and knowledge and capability
• Short introductory narrative (as above) followed
  by bullet points
• Bullet list of statements

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Résumé Front Page

• PROFILE (or Key Skills Summary/Achievements)
• Relate the content to skills listed in job
  advert., and/or selection criteria
• Dot points under headings like
• Leadership (management level, size of group,
  etc.)
• Communication Skills (type, audience/s, purpose,
  etc.)
• Project Management (purpose, scope, budget, team
  size, etc)
• Specialised or Technical Skills

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Résumé Front Page

• QUALIFICATIONS
• (date) (qualification) e.g. Bachelor of
  XXXXXX
• (institution) e.g.
  University of South Australia
• (date) (qualification) e.g. Diploma of
  XXXXX
• (institution) e.g. TAFE.
  South Australia
• XXXXXXXXXXXX
  XXXXXXXXXXXXX
• XXXXXXXXXXX
  XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Technical Summary (Optional e.g. IT graduates)
CAREER SUMMARY
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Résumé Page 2

• EMPLOYMENT HISTORY (and/or WORK EXPERIENCE)
• mth/yr mth/yr Position
• Employer
• (maybe
  include a brief descriptive statement about what
  the organisation does)
• 
  Responsibilities
• (a brief
  description of the main purpose of the role, or a
  short dot point list of activities)
• Achievements
• (List outcomes or
  contributions. Start with an action word led,
  managed, designed)
• TRAINING/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• List other short courses, seminars e.g. senior
  first aid certificate, OHSW, project management,
  etc

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Résumé Page 2/3

• PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS/MEMBERSHIP
• RESEARCH/PUBLICATIONS
• Ideally a short list - relevant to the role
• INTERESTS
• (Optional preferably aligned to the
  position)
• REFEREES (two or three and especially from
  employers)
• Name
• Position
• Organisation
• Contact Details (Address, telephone
  including ISD prefix)

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Your achievements

• Have you ever?
• Received awards, special recognition etc (what,
  why?)
• Increased efficiency (how, results?)
• Solved difficult problems (how, results?)
• Developed, created, designed or invented
  something (what, why important?)
• Prepared original reports, papers or articles
  (what, why important?)
• Managed a work group, department (who, how many,
  results?)
• Supervised, managed or trained others (who, how
  many, results?)
• Managed a budget (how much, result?)
• Been promoted or upgraded (when, why important?)
• Increased sales, production, efficiency or
  productivity (what, how, results?)

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Which achievements to promote?

• It is important to document achievements which
  are related to the skills you are promoting in
  your application
• Read and analyse the job advertisement or job
  specification carefully as an overall part of
  preparing your résumé identify the selection
  criteria
• Note most people under-estimate, or understate
  their contributions

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Job Application/Cover Letters

• General guidelines
• Where possible always send a cover letter
• Be brief and to the point 1 page
• Address to a person, not a position or
  sir/madam
• Include your contact details, their job reference
  number
• Introduction - indicate you are applying for the
  position, and why (contribution, seeking a
  challenge)
• Body of letter linked directly to advert.
  analysis, bold sub headings and dot points
• Close indicate you are looking forward to
  meeting them in interview to further outline your
  suitability

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Analyse the advertisement or selection criteria
THEY WANT
I HAVE

• Operations Graduate
• Regency Park Site
• The Smiths Snackfood Company is Australias
  leading snackfood business and enjoys an enviable
  national market share. Leading brands include
  Smiths, Doritos and Twisties. Part of PepsiCo
  Inc, the company provides growth opportunities
  for its business, customers and employees by
  embracing a culture of teamwork, diversity and
  entrepreneurial spirit. Due to growth, the
  company seeks to appoint an Operations Graduate
  to its manufacturing division. Reporting to the
  Performance and Planning Manager, you will gain
  knowledge and understanding about the key
  functions within the TSSC Operations. The
  graduate will gain experience in the following
  key business areas Quality, Service and
  Distribution, Engineering and Purchasing.
• Key responsibilities include Manage small
  scale projects Develop Skills in the of use
  Maximo and SAP systems Willing to learn various
  aspects of Manufacturing, Service
• Distribution Engineering The
  desire and potential to progress within the TSSC
  Operations
• department To be a customer
  focused and a team player.
• The successful candidate will have
• Tertiary qualifications in
  Engineering, Operations or similar and experience
  within a manufacturing environment. The
  successful candidate will possess excellent
  communication, time management and analytical
  skills and a proven ability to work unsupervised.

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Example cover letter
Your Name Address
Contact details

• Ms Jane Marple,
• Human Resources Manager
• Smiths Snack Food Company
• XX Street etc
• XX Month 200X
• Dear Ms Marple (or Jane),
• Re Operations Graduate Position
• I consider the Smith Snack Food Company to be an
  employer of choice, and I am extremely interested
  in the career opportunity this position
  represents. Following is a summary of my
  qualifications and experience to assist you to
  evaluate my suitability for this role
• Tertiary Qualifications in Operations
• Bachelor of Management (Operations Management),
  University of South Australia, GPA 6.0
• Experience in Manufacturing Environment
• Completed two work experience placements each of
  3 months duration in a national pharmaceutical
  manufacturing company as a trainee quality
  control laboratory technician