Graduate Profile - Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management

Name: Damian Landrigan
Degree Awarded: Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management. BA (Honours).
Position Gained: Graduate Administrative Assistant (GAA)
Organisation: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)
Commencement Date: 27 January2004

Could you give us a description of what your current position involves?

There were 32 GAA’s employed by DAFF in 2004.  Within DAFF there are a number of business groups including the Australian Quarantine and Inspections Service (AQIS), Product Integrity Animal and Plant Health (PIAPH), Fisheries and Forestry, Rural Policy and Innovation (RPI), Food and Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Market Access and Biosecurity, Bureau of Rural Science (BRS), Australian Bureau of Agricultural Economics (ABARE) and Management Services.  For the graduate year each GAA rotates within three of these business groups. That way we get a good feel for the diversity of the organisation.

What is a typical day like?

My first rotation lasted three and a half months. It was split between the Science and Innovation Policy and Biotechnology Policy sections of the RPI business group.  As a graduate I had the opportunity to organise and attend many meetings with other government agencies, industry stakeholders and other areas within the department.  An important facet of the work was to answer ministerial correspondence, write briefings for meetings and writing speeches.  This gave me a great grounding on the issues surrounding science and in particular biotechnology in Australia and the world.  My second rotation that I’ve just commenced in BRS involves the design and development of a CD in HTML format that presents the results of research conducted on salinity in the Jamestown region of South Australia.

Another facet to our graduate year is the opportunity to gain a Diploma in Government. This involves all graduates meeting a range of competencies throughout the year.  This process includes training, Parliament House visits, projects that we work on in teams, a visit to AQIS operations in Sydney and a leadership course. This is all geared to give us a solid grounding for a career in the Australian Public Service.  On average one full day a week is dedicated to these kinds of activities and along with the rotations keep your working experience a changing one.

Why did you apply to DAFF?

I decided I wanted to work in the environmental field. You just have to look at the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry part of the name to see the connection.  DAFF is at the heart of seeking the balance between human requirements for food and fibre (clothes) and preserving the environment.

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

For sure, but nothing completely prepares you for the on the job experience. I strongly believe that tailoring your degree as much as you can to suit what you want as a career helps a lot. In my one year of doing environmental management in 2003 I chose subjects that I thought would hold me in good stead in both the public and private sectors.  Professor Ian Hay’s Environmental Management class was useful as it took on a discussion rather than lecture style.  The ability to talk about environmental issues proved useful in the employment process and in the work context.  Geographical Information Systems (GIS) has been very useful as in my current rotation in BRS I am using ArcGIS.

I also incorporated an industry placement at Marion Council in their environmental section into my study.  This experience working within a local government context served me well in applying for an Australian Government position.

As far as further study goes I endeavour to return and complete my masters eventually but I won’t be doing this unless doing so increases my career prospects. For example, if I wanted to pursue a career using GIS I would return to complete my masters specialising in GIS and other IT related subjects.

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

Think hard about what you want to do, tailor your degree towards this but maintain enough subject diversity so that prospective employers can see you as adaptable to their organisation.

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?

Do as much work experience as you can for organisations relevant to your career goal and if this can count towards a degree all the better, you’ll be killing two birds with one stone.

Can you briefly describe the application process relevant to the Graduate Program?

The first stage was to apply via the website at www.daff.gov.au, the second an aptitude test and the last an assessment centre involving eight candidates.  Two assessment centres took place in Adelaide from which four graduates were chosen.  The assessment centres take place Australia wide.  The application involves providing your details and answering several questions.  The aptitude test took place in a hotel in Adelaide and involved both verbal and mathematical reasoning questions.  The assessment centre involved large and small group conversations surrounding issues relevant to the DAFF portfolio, making a short speech to a single observer and several other individual written exercises.  We were notified about a month after as to our performance.

What did you do to prepare for the interview? What questions were you asked?

The interview was incorporated into the assessment centre day.  They asked questions about conflict resolution at work, where we would like to work within the organisation and how we felt about moving to Canberra among others.  We were asked to give practical examples in our answers.

Do you have any further helpful hints for graduates?