What's your job about?

The Department of Human Services is one of Australia’s largest and most geographically diverse public service organisations. This is what drew me to apply for the HR professional discipline within the graduate program, as from a HR perspective, this means a lot of interesting challenges.

During my graduate program I was most prominently involved in recruitment, where the nature of the department meant that this team was full of exciting and diverse work providing a fantastic place to learn, develop and challenge myself to do better. Practically I worked on end to end recruitment and in another rotation, in a team that provided advice and coordination to the entire department on recruitment policy.

What's your background?

I grew up on the Central Coast, which is between Newcastle and Sydney. This meant it was quite a big step to move from home to Canberra. However, I’m yet to regret the decision! Canberra is a wealth of activity and full of opportunities both in the public service and the private sector.

My journey to the department’s graduate program started in university. After school I was determined to finish university with qualifications and experiences that set me apart from other applicants. To achieve this I put myself out there for every opportunity I could find including overseas study tours in Los Angeles, leadership programs within my university and participating in the department’s Summer Winter Vacation Placement (2016) all helped achieve my goals.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes! People from all different backgrounds should be encouraged to apply. Diversity in thinking and background allows for greater innovation, responsiveness and is incredibly important in an organisation such as ours, with such a diverse range of stakeholders. Those with educational backgrounds not in HR should consider applying for the generalist pathway, or other relevant professional disciplines.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

The great thing about the size and diversity of our department is you never know what is going to happen. A practical example of this occurred during my first rotation, where I was invited to sit in on an international delegation that wanted to discuss, and learn from, our statistically higher gender equality in management roles. This experience will stay with me forever as a fine example to always keep an open mind and be prepared for anything.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

• Seek all possible opportunities, you never know where they may lead!
• Meet as many new people as you can, networking is incredibly important when you are searching for jobs.
• Tailor your resumes for each job. Resumes that are specifically aimed at the organisation you are applying for will set you apart from all the other applicants, conversely resumes with low attention to detail will place you behind other applicants. Double check your work before submitting any recruitment materials.