EMPLOY: Seminar details

24 March 2004: 6pm - 8.30pm

Employ is an IT career specific event designed by the Faculty of IT, aimed at gearing Monash IT graduates for the workforce. It gives students an opportunity to hear directly from Monash graduates working in IT and to gain a better understanding of the IT workforce and to find out some "tips of the trade" in readiness for stepping into the industry.

The event, run by the Faculty of IT in conjunction with Careers and Employment, had one primary objective, to increase the employability of current second and third year students. In other words, the event aims to increase student chances of getting an interview and getting employed in their optimum role as they venture for the first time into the IT workplace.

The event was an evening seminar held on Wednesday 24 March from 6-8.30pm at the Caulfield Campus. It involved two key components: an industry panel and a workshop on IT resumes and interviews. Both the industry panel and the resume/interview workshop involved industry representatives working in the IT industry who could provide the 'real' story on how to find, secure and excel in an graduate IT position.

The panel members were Lisa Interligi, IT skills Hub addressing current statistics on the jobs in IT touching upon the current and future IT trends. Adrian Fox, Net Promotions, a SME entrepreneur in the IT industry discussed the path ahead for grads from a self employed perspective. Tracy Newton, Infosys discussed the effects of recent changes to the IT industry such as offshore implementation in Australia and what this means for current and future IT professionals. Jacqueline Schwarz, NAB, addressed the issue of getting prepared to work for a large enterprise providing a practical and personal side of a career/job in IT. Tips on how to find, secure, excel in and make a point of difference in the highly competitive market.

The session was then followed by a seminar by John Morrell, DST, on writing a resume specifically for an IT role, and an overview session by Marie Dermott, Careers and Employment on the tips for excelling in an interview.

The event was very well received and there has already been a demand for another "Employ". There are plans to run the event again June as there was a great response from students who attended and those students who wanted to attend but couldn't because of a restrictions of numbers.

Lisa Interligi, IT Skills Hub talks on trends in the IT Industry