Graduate Profile - Economics (Hon)

Name: Tammy Salamon
Degree: Bachelor of Business & Economics (Hons)
Position Gained: Graduate Officer
Organisation: Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)
Commencement Date: February 2004

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

Auditing Government organisations upon the request of a Joint Committee in Parliament who advise the Auditor General on which government departments need auditing and in which areas of those departments require auditing (so it is not always financial, it could be an audit on performance, personnel for example).

Will the skills you developed at university be an important part of your job? (Have you, or are you planning to undertake further study?)

I think having a degree in Economics assisted in gaining attendance at the Assessment Centre. I have not actually studied auditing but from what I learned about the organisation at the Assessment Centre, I am sure that certain skills learned from Flinders University (eg statistics) will be most useful and valuable.

I studied Honours this year in Economics at Flinders University with the hope of perhaps undertaking further study, such as a Masters, after having worked in the Public Service for a good 5-10 years (this may or may not happen depending on where I will be with my career) but regardless, I think it is worthwhile undertaking Honours (especially in the School of Business Economics where the staff are superb).

At what stage during your studies did you begin to think about employment choices and options?

I thought about graduate employment while in my final year of the Business and Economics degree. I registered with the Flinders University Careers Centre's GRADBUS e-mail account and towards the end of the year (2002) I applied for one job in Canberra.

During my Honours year (2003) I applied to various government organisations interstate (all of which I had come across through the GRADBUS e-mail register). I would recommend to all students that they register with the Careers Centre's job e-mail account regardless to field of study as many employers contact the Careers Centre of universities to advertise positions vacant that may not always be advertised in Australian newspapers and job agencies.

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

I have attended a few skills development courses offered by the Careers Centre at Flinders University and I have found these to be most useful in preparing students for the real world. I found the "Assessment Centre" course offered by Careers Centre to be most valuable as it is a true reflection of Assessment Centres in general.

I have also been a part of the Graduate Mentor Scheme 2003 whereby students are matched with mentors who are experts in their field and graduates of the university. Flinders University, in my opinion, are very good in matching students (Mentees) with Graduates (Mentors). I would recommend the Graduate Mentor Scheme to any student in their final year of study (but please note that students need to apply in advance to be guaranteed placement on the Scheme). The advice and guidance given to students by their mentors are most valuable.

I would also recommend that students take on full time study and part time or casual work while studying at university. This shows potential employers that you can manage more than one duty at any time. I did not actually undertake vacation work (eg working in an organisation of your desired field during uni break) but would have done so if my part-time employment were not so demanding during those periods of (vacation work) availability.

Last but not least, it is most important that students maintain at least a credit average (if not better) in their studies. Good grades are usually the deciding factor when employers are faced with shortlisting after interviews and assessment centres.

How did you go about finding graduate employment?

Through the GRADBUS e-mail provided by the Careers Centre at Flinders University. I would be sent job advertisements from various organisations that would specify how to apply to them (the most common method being through visiting web sites and applying on-line through internet).

Can you briefly describe the application process relevant to your position?

I would receive e-mail from various organisations relevant to my field of study via the Careers Centre at Flinders University. The job advertisement would specify 'how to apply' for position. I would then visit the specified web site and apply on-line.

The application process involves providing personal details (such as name, address, telephone, etc), employment details (eg employment history regardless to whether paid or voluntary work), Education details (eg degree, topics studied with grade or attach academic transcript), Referee details (usually 2 or 3 people) and the most important part that involves addressing "Selection Criteria" whereby you use your own personal and/or work experience to answer criteria and provide examples for same. Sometimes an organisation will request a CV or Resume be submitted on-line.

I must stress that it is vitally important that Selection Criteria be addressed appropriately as this is what will determine whether an applicant proceeds to next step of application/selection process, that is interview and/or assessment centre and subsequent offer or rejection of employment.

What did you do to prepare for the interview? What questions were you asked? What happened at the Assessment Centre?

I prepared for the interview by undertaking personal research into the organisation. I visited the web site and tried to get as much information as I could about the organisation to demonstrate not only my research skill but my eagerness to obtain position with them.
At the Assessment Centre, I underwent individual interview (that involved answering questions to hypothetical scenarios), an aptitude test (psychological and personality testing) on computer and group work exercise that involved again a hypothetical issue with given time limit to come up with solution and present to Assessment Team thus demonstrating ability to work within a team environment.

Do you have any further helpful hints for graduates?

To summarise above-mentioned: work hard towards obtaining good grades; make the Careers Office at Flinders University your best friend (eg maintain contact and get involved in their programs); gain work experience (either through voluntary vacation work or paid work) and pay close attention to how you answer "Selection Criteria" in job applications. It is also worthwhile being involved in the Graduate Mentor Scheme as Mentors provide the best advice for your field of choice.