Watch the Career Toolkit Series session: You Have More Experience Than You Think
Emerging professionals joined ACS recently for an insightful Career Toolkit Series webinar, You Have More Experience Than You Think: Make It Count, exploring how students and early-career professionals can recognise, articulate and confidently showcase the experience they already have when pursuing opportunities in the technology sector.
Facilitated by Alannah Grech AACS, Student and Graduate Success Manager, the session brought together Claudia McPherson, Committee Member of the ACS QLD Emerging Professionals Committee, and Hayley Crichton, Early Careers & Development Partner at Hydro Tasmania, to share practical advice on building a compelling personal brand and standing out in a competitive job market.
A key theme throughout the discussion was that valuable experience extends far beyond traditional technology roles. Attendees were encouraged to recognise the impact of academic projects, hackathons, volunteering, student clubs, committee participation, community involvement and leadership experiences when presenting themselves to employers. The speakers highlighted that when recruiting, industry is often looking for evidence of initiative, curiosity, problem-solving ability, impact, and who they are as a person, when the tech experience is limited.
The webinar also explored how experience gained in retail, hospitality and customer service roles can be effectively positioned to demonstrate highly sought-after transferable skills. Communication, teamwork, adaptability, conflict resolution and customer-focused thinking were identified as valuable capabilities that can help candidates succeed in technology careers and should not be overlooked when preparing resumes, LinkedIn profiles and job applications.
Attendees left with practical strategies for telling their story more effectively, how to utilise LinkedIn to showcase experience, identifying the skills they have developed across different experiences and translating those experiences into language that resonates with hiring managers and recruiters.
Thank you to Claudia and Hayley for generously sharing their expertise and insights, and to everyone who joined us for this engaging discussion.
Missed the webinar or want to revisit the advice shared? Watch the recording here.
The Career Toolkit Series continues to provide students, graduates and emerging professionals with practical guidance to support their career development and confidence as they navigate the evolving technology landscape. Check out the next edition – Finding your voice: Public Speaking for Emerging Professionals which will be held Tuesday 3 November at 6:30pm AEDT, more details can be found here.