Graduate Opportunities

University attended: Swinburne University of Technology.

Jenny has a technology graduate position with National Australia Bank (NAB). As part of her degree requirements she also undertook industry-based learning, including with NAB, and has volunteered on community-based IT projects.

What are some of your responsibilities in your graduate role with NAB?

My current role at NAB consists of analysing existing technology processes and identifying opportunities to optimise the current state. Beyond my role, I am involved in various graduate-run initiatives such as newsletter committees and graduate forums.

What advice would you offer others on the graduate application process?

Start early – and be prepared! Most applications open fairly early in the year. Start looking around for companies you think you would like to work for as soon as you can (there’s no such thing as ‘too early’), note down the approximate month that they start accepting applications and use that as a rough guideline to plan around. You will likely be overwhelmed with application deadlines, online psychometric testing requests and interviews among the other day-to-day activities which continue to occur. Keep your résumé updated, have a generic cover page which you can tailor to the position you’re applying for and have a set of prepared answers for the generic questions you may be asked in an interview.

What are some of the benefits of undertaking industry-based learning (IBL)?

The benefits of IBL are endless. The opportunity gives you an insight into what a generic role description may entail. It also helps contextualise the information learnt throughout your education. My IBL experience enabled me to establish industry contacts and substantiate the content I learnt at uni.

How has working for NAB as both a graduate and through IBL helped the continuity of your professional development?

Working at NAB as both an IBL student and a graduate has given me greater insight into the business operations and also the different teams that ‘make things happen.’ I was in a business software development and maintenance team for my placement and a relationship management and process improvement team for my first and second rotations as a graduate. Though working within the same company, some of the skills sets required and work activities as part of the roles were significantly different, thus giving me greater exposure to the different facets of the financial services industry as well as the IT industry.