Graduate Profile: Behavioural Science

Name: Eddie Gagliardi
Degree Awarded: Behavioural Science (Psychology, Management)
Position Gained: Graduate Officer
Organisation: South Australian Housing Trust
Commencement Date: 30 th January 2006

Could you give us a description of what your position involves or will involve?

As a Graduate Officer for the South Australian Housing Trust my primary role is to support the Business Unit and Service Delivery managers in their business functions, learning these functions from them. The majority of my work is centred on 'workplace shadowing' where I observe and participate with managers performing their duties; including Housing Management and Housing Advising. Essentially the majority of our work is to provide housing for people in the community with special needs. This involves interviewing potential clients and managing tenants of the housing trust properties.

With your experiences in securing employment what advice would you give to students who are in their first, second, and final year of study (for example, work experience, extra curricular activities, career preparation etc)?

The primary reason I gained employment was because I went to the careers centre. In your first year of study you are encouraged to join into the various extra curricular activities there are on campus and the careers centre should be looked at in this regard. It offers various activities to help you gain employment. It would be a good idea in the first year to have a look at the careers centre and see what services they have to offer.

Your second year is a good time to look at gaining work experience. Not all degrees offer work placements and most employers place as much emphasis on experience as they do education. The careers centre can help by advising on who can provide work experience and offer services to make the work placement possible.

Your final year is all about job preparation and job hunting. Most job applications are more involved than just a CV & cover letter with an interview if you are short-listed. The careers centre offers advice on various parts of the application process including selection criteria and assessment centres. Degree Plus seminars also assist in filling some gaps needed to gain employment.

How did you go about finding graduate employment?

Initially, I started looking for employment the traditional way; through the newspaper. Every Saturday I would pull out the careers section and search for jobs relevant to my degree and experience. The problem with this approach however was that often I would find very few jobs I could actually apply for. Additionally, my job-hunting experience was limited which lead me to failing to address the selection criteria adequately in job applications so I received limited responses.

Internet job sites were a little better. Many of them provide online CV builders and offer email job alerts at your request; so many of the jobs are suited to your experience and abilities. I personally found it easier to join up to the careers centre email job alert service (GRADJOBS) as they provided specific jobs to what I was looking for. Then I applied for all the jobs I wanted to until I got a reply.

Can you briefly describe the application process relevant to your position? What interview questions were you asked?

After I received the job alert I went to the Department of Families and Communities (DFC) website and downloaded the graduate application form. The form contained 7 application questions to be answered in 150 words or less each. After an initial review process I received a letter requesting an interview. The interview consisted of a 5min talk on the topic of 'something I am passionate about' and 10 interview questions - which I received 10mins reading time to prepare.

I cannot remember all of the questions but two are very memorable. The first question asked what my understanding of the Housing Trust is and its' functions. The second asked what I had to offer the Housing Trust. Some of the other questions asked what I would do in a challenging situation and whether I experienced success working in a team.

In your opinion, what factors enabled you to be successful in obtaining employment?

I was fortunate enough to participate in the Young Achievement Australia (YAA) business skills program, run through the careers centre. YAA provided me with various skills and experiences that I was able to use in answering some of the application and interview questions.

Additionally, I was selected as a finalist for tertiary businessperson of the year through YAA, which involved an interview process very similar to the Housing Trust. Although I had limited success at this interview, I was given valuable feedback on where I could improve with my communication and question answering skills. Without this initial experience I probably would have made similar mistakes at the Housing Trust interview and missed out on getting the job.

My YAA experience coupled with help from mentors and significant others gave me the background knowledge and skills I needed to be successful in obtaining employment. I chose not to take previous failures to heart and learnt from my mistakes, which was the key factor in having a successful job application and interview.

Do you have any further helpful hints for graduates?

The careers centre is there to help you find graduate employment. It has staff with a wealth of knowledge and resources to help you get started. It can offer you practice at various parts of the application process such as assessment centres and interviews. Most of all it has helped many graduates to find employment so it has a proven record of success and I recommend anyone who is seeking employment at the end of their degree to make use of it.