Did You Know? Career Advice from UC Alumni

Did you know that there is a whole world waiting for you once you graduate? For many graduates completing an undergraduate degree will mean entering the workforce for the first time after 16 years of schooling. While this is an exciting time, it can also be nerve-wrecking and stressful.

To help our graduates and new alumni in their transition to the workplace or postgraduate studies, we asked some of our Alumni members for their best piece of advice.

"Take any opportunity as they arise. Calm that inner-voice and don't doubt yourself.  You can create your own opportunities. When you're in the workplace bring your best possible A-game. Do you deliver? Do you look to help others? Do you take on more responsibility? Be known as someone who can deliver and is passionate."

Kate Mason, Chief Transformation Officer Coca-Cola

"Take as many opportunities as you can and don't sell yourself short. You're not JUST a graduate; you are a highly skilled individual with a university degree. Be confident but always remember every opportunity is a chance to learn and grow. You are always learning."

Bee Smith, Founder BeeSmithFit

"My biggest piece of advice is to jump at any opportunity that comes up! Just say yes and see where it takes you! I am a huge advocate for volunteering to gain new skills and practical experience. At the Asthma Foundation ACT we've had incredibly talented interns from the UC who continue to provide a valuable contribution to our work. This is a great way for students to get meaningful experience and knowledge, while bringing fresh thinking, new ideas and an extra set of incredibly capable hansd to organisations."

Danielle Dal Cortivo, Founder raize the roof foundation

"Always learn. Learning is progress. Progression is happiness. People are most happy when they feel like they are progressing. Always look for a better way to do something. Don't just immediately accept 'this is the way we have always done it'. That phrase is one of the worst things for your career if you accept it as truth. And finally, being the best isn't about having the most talent. It is simply the person who works the hardest."

Kenny Heatley, News and Weather Presenter Prime7

"Make the most of internship and work experience opportunities. Any industry experience you can gain as an undergraduate will go a long way. In addition to industry experience, internships are a great tool for networking, for discovering what you do/don't enjoy doing, and what you might want to learn more about. Try to see the bigger picture as much as possible in your study, don't just do an assignment/project for the sake of it being required; try to gain something from it."

Aiden Brown, Program Manager Football Federation Australia

• Build a vision board each year:  Write out your top goals and passions in life both personally and professionally. Look to achieve these each year. If you don't set goals, you'll never achieve them.
• Build your skill set but don't forget to build out your professional network! Use the tools that are available to you such as LinkedIn, professional forums, Google+, Facebook etc
• Sign up for a mentorship program: Immerse yourself in it and learn as much as you can from as many people as you can. It's a great way to get a foot in the door.
• Question everything: There is always more than one solution to any problem.

Oliver Vidinovski, Google Partner Growth and Acceleration Program 

"My advice to anyone who wants to get into this business is that you have to be pretty thick skinned. You don't get many pats on the back along the way. People on social media will let you know exactly what they think of your reporting on all issues. Some of it will be good; some of it will be bad. You're never going to please everyone, and that's a good thing, because that's when you know you're doing your job. 

You have to be a self-starter and be willing to assess and critique your own work and take any advice from those willing to give it along the way. There will be many rejections along the way, so just keep knocking on that door and eventually you will get the job you want. You will spend a lot of time at work, so make sure it's something that feeds your soul and makes you feel proud of who you are."

Rosemary Church, News Anchor CNN

"There are plenty of platforms and opportunities to write stuff.  It helps to build a web presence across a range of platforms and to develop an expertise in a particular area of policy.  Always write for your audience and keep it engaging without dumbing things down.  Look for the underlying issues rather than concentrating on the surface matters (like polls, for instance).  

Solve problems for your audience and help them understand the issues.  Be prepared to talk with them via social media.  Look for opportunities to collaborate with them.  There is no need to suffer fools, but stay polite: that satisfying rant where you let fly might come back and haunt you at some point."

Tim Dunlop, Author and Columnist

• Travel all the time and stay curious: it's just the most enriching, rejuvenating experience. It totally changes you.
• Be tenacious and don't give up: that's what separates the people who succeed from those who don't.
• Work at the best place you absolutely can: the learning doesn't stop when you leave university; it actually only just kicks off. And then you want to surround yourself with the most talented and inspirational people possible because they are the ones who will shape your career and who you are.

Hema Patel, Creative Director Cheeky Home

"Although moving overseas is a scary transition, it is 100% worth it for both your personal and emotional development and your career. Working in the London/UK ( or other International) markets is highly respected in Australia – especially in law and media – and will put you in good stead for more sought after employment opportunities back home if you decide to return."

Rani Wynn, Head of Legal Digital UK