Graduate Profile - Bachelor of Archaeology

Degree Awarded (and majors if relevant): Bachelor of Archaeology
Positions Held:

• Receptionist, Internet provider company
• Administrative Assistant, Financial Services Industry.
• Support Officer, Department of Immigration.
• Front of House Officer, at a Theatre.
• Finance Assistant, Festival production.
• Administrative Assistant, Festival and Event Management company.
• Travel Coordinator, Festival production.

Could you give us a brief description what some of the positions you have held involved?

My first job was at an Internet provider company. It was a summer job for a month doing reception and admin type stuff. It was pretty basic but it led to getting my part-time position in the Financial Services Industry. This job involved answering phone enquiries, doing mail outs and updating databases.

After traveling around Australia for a few months I got back to Adelaide and started applying to employment agencies. Employment National got me an interview for a position at the Department of Immigration. It was a support role - processing visas applications, processing fees, and answering enquiries about visa regulations. I got the position because of my previous administrative experience, but also because of my degree in Archaeology. The cultural sensitivity issues relevant to Archaeology were also important in this job. While I was doing this job I also got a casual job in theatre Front of House. It was good fun, tearing tickets and watching theatre.

Next I went to Edinburgh where I got a job working on one of the Edinburgh festivals as Finance Assistant. I have friends who run a theatre production company and they gave me contacts at the Festival, but if it hadn’t been for all my office/admin experience I wouldn’t have got the job. This job involved assisting the Finance Manager with paying bills, handling all incoming money and reconciling bank accounts. I also worked in Box Office, selling tickets for the Edinburgh Fringe (I’m a sucker for doing two jobs at once).

I came back to Adelaide for the summer and worked as the Administrative Assistant for Womadelaide and the Adelaide International Film Festival. This involved answering phones, assisting the marketing department, (ironically) applying for visas for all international artists and other admin duties. I got this job based on all the office/admin experience I gained but also because of my experience in Edinburgh.

At the moment I’m back in Edinburgh working as Travel Coordinator on this year’s Festival. In this role I will be booking the travel for special guests (directors and actors) to come to the festival and coordinating their transport around Edinburgh when they arrive.

With your experiences in securing employment what advice would you give to students who are in their first, second, and final year of study?

You probably wouldn’t think it but office administration /temping is actually a great work while at uni as it is flexible and well paid. The other bonus is that employers look very favorably on office experience.

Never be afraid of doing interviews. Do them for any old job. The more you do the easier it gets and then you can nail the important ones.

I would definitely recommend going overseas to work for a while. There are many more opportunities and you can advance more quickly.

Many employers presenting employment information sessions have commented on the importance of students undertaking extra curricular activities during their time at university. Could you comment on this?

I’m not totally convinced that joining the Archaeology Society (which I didn’t) helps. But, I definitely think that voluntary work outside of the university helps enormously. It pads out your CV and makes you more qualified. It also helps with answering selection criteria in job applications, and questions in interviews. This is because you have a higher level of experience to draw from.

How did you go about finding employment?

I’ve never got a job from newspaper ads. I got the job in the Finance Industry from the Flinders Uni Employment Service and I would highly recommend going to them even if you don’t want hospitality work.

Employment National got me the job at the Department of Immigration. Government employment agencies like this are great for tertiary qualified people looking for work.

My other jobs have been from approaching people and using contacts from friends and family.

What did you do to prepare for interviews? What questions have you been asked?

When I prepare for interviews I try not to think too much about what questions I’m going to be asked, but rather what examples from my work experience will show certain characteristics that employers might be looking for. For example: Ability to communicate, ability to work as part of a team etc. These scenarios can then be reworked in the interview to answer various questions.

One thing I always seem to get asked is: when have you gone above and beyond the call of duty? It’s good to have a story ready for that one.

Do you have any helpful hints for current students?

This hasn’t been very helpful in terms of how to get work in Archaeology. But, there are other places you can go after an Archaeology degree. The public service is a good one. Generally the Arts industry only employs people with an Arts (or similar) degree even at the base level.

Try not to get stuck in one job for too long. I’ve found its good to move around and not get too bogged down. Unless there are opportunities for promotion there is not much point in holding on to a job for a long time as the experience you get in three months is the same on your CV as for twelve months. It’s also a good way of ruling out things you definitely don’t want to do, even if you don’t find what you do want to do for a while.