Job Smart: A Success Story

Name: Haoxiang (Victor) Gu
Degree and majors: Master of Professional Accounting (MPA)
Position and company: Marketing Coordinator at St John Ambulance Australia (NSW)

Why did you decide to participate in Job Smart? What attracted you to the program?

I first met Job Smart when it just started in my first semester. As a brand-new student, I had no clue about this, also, brand-new program. The reason I chose to participate, to be honest, was the rewards/prize for completion of each phrase. That was a local working experience. How fantastic it is! And more importantly, it was totally free to join. So, why not?

What was the best thing about Job Smart?

Rather than delivering academic knowledge, Job Smart granted us a great opportunity to equip ourselves with more professional and hands-on work-required skills through its series of training. I am from a non-English speaking background, so you can imagine how hard it was for me to deliver a professional workplace presentation whilst standing in front of all the “big bosses”. Thanks to Job Smart’s pre-placement training, I was able to deliver a satisfying presentation in the end and the managers were all impressed by our work and happy to provide an extended term.

What are some of the greatest lessons you've learned from the experience?

After completing phase 1, I was qualified for a 2-week experience with St John Ambulance (NSW), a leading first-aid services provider. During the experience, I was allocated into a team of 5, working on projects like competitor profiling, training optimisation, product cost-benefit analysis, etc. It enabled me to demonstrate teamwork, leadership, time management and most importantly, networking, which is what I valued a lot. It was an immense experience whereby someone like me, who was new to the workplace, can understand both the organization and myself well enough and what career path to pursue in the future.

How has Job Smart added to your degree and grown you professionally/personally?

Job Smart was running step-by-step programs throughout the first half of the semester. They were mostly condensed into 1 or 2-hour sessions, which allows you to easily fit into your own study without any clashes. Most of the programs are marketing or consulting focused, which probably won’t be touched on a lot in your own majors.  For example, the position I started with was a marketing assistance, which was not my academic major but gave me a really good chance to know how do marketers work and what is the synergy between accounting and marketing. Marketing requires more out-of-box thinking which needs you to demonstrate sound creativity. And again, marketing is all about networking and socialising. On the other hand, accounting emphasises more on unambiguity and reasonability. It was good to understand both areas well and then decide where you will fit into. Nowadays, I believe that the best employee must be one who is competent in more than one area.

How did Job Smart help prepare you for your career, including landing a job while studying?

Besides the hands-on skills mentioned before, the other best thing about Job Smart I think is the opportunity, or in other words, networking. I wouldn’t have known my company and managers if I hadn’t received an opportunity from Job Smart; neither would I have had the chance to show what I am capable of. Employers would definitely know your capabilities from your “doing” (internship) rather than your “saying” (resume). So, Job Smart opened the door for me and enabled me to put my foot in first.

Would you recommend Job Smart to other students?

Yes, I definitely will. I highly recommend new students, especially international students, to grab this great opportunity and set your first foothold in an Australian workplace.
When the opportunity comes, what you need to do is try your best to impress your bosses. It was only last month, I got an email from St John saying that they are currently looking for a marketing coordinator and that was how I got my current position.