6 Soft Skills Brooklyn 99 Proves are Totally Important for Your Career
By Mia Casey 1. Positivity Even when everything seems to be falling apart around you (or burning to nothing a la Boyle’s food truck), it’s important to try to have a positive outlook on how you’re going to move beyond whatever dire situation you find yourself in. Being positive can help you remain open to new opportunities, think of new solutions to whatever problem you’re facing, AND it can help minimise stress. 2. Honesty Being...
How to Get Your Motivation Mojo Back
By Mia Casey Uni’s back in session and guess what that means? You get to start balancing work, a social life, AND study! Exciting right? So maybe you’re feeling a little bit like you really can’t be bothered, and that Netflix series you started bingeing two days before uni started back is really calling for you to sink back into your couch. And hey, you’re readings will still be there for the morning, right? Right? If this sounds like...
Breaking Down the Cover Letter
By Mia Casey Whenever you’re applying for a job, it’s important you write a tailored cover letter that’s specific to the role you’re applying for. Gone are the days of cookie cutter cover letters that you can trot out every time a new job rolls around – this thing needs to be customised out the wazoo or you’ve got no hope of wowing your (hopefully) future employer. So how do you write an awesome cover letter? Well, what you say does...
Mindy Kaling and Confidence: How to Make it Your ‘Thing’
By Mia Casey Look, we can’t all be successful writer-actor-producer-directors like Mindy, but with her help we can sure as heck feel like it’s possible. (Maybe. Probably. In, like, a few years). It’s a little thing called confidence, and when it comes to using it to help your career, the girl knows her stuff. And it’s not the usual ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ advice that – while totally legit – we kind of hear all the time. Mindy’s got...
Ghosting Has Hit the Workplace: How to Quit the Right Way
By Mia Casey Ghosting is no longer being relegated to awkward Tinder convos or Facebook messages from strangers; it’s now happening in the workplace. A recent LinkedIn article shed light on the issue, noting instances of people straight up not coming to work anymore with no reason given, candidates being offered roles but not replying, and new employees never showing up on their first day – all of which never to be heard from again....
Give Your Career the Queer Eye Makeover it Deserves
By Mia Casey Guess what? Your career has been nominated to receive the makeover of a lifetime! Over the course of this blog post, the Fab 5* are going to take your career from drabulous to fabulous in five easy steps. So get ready to renew your love for avocados and learn how to French tuck your shirt, because it’s time to get to work! Fashion Now while your career does have one serviceable interview shirt, the bell bottom jeans and...
‘Thank You’: How It Can Transform Your Career
By Mia Casey When you’re a kid you’re usually taught to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ every time you either want something or someone has done something nice for you. But as you get older, and when it comes to incorporating this kind of politeness into your career, it can actually be more difficult than you’d imagine. How do you say thank you after leaving an interview? Or when someone’s asked if you’d like to do freelance work, but...
4 Things You Can Learn From Aggretsuko About Nailing Your Career
By Mia Casey If you’ve never felt a deep and spiritual connection to a 25-year-old, single, Scorpio, blood type A, red panda then you’ve obviously never watched Aggretsuko. Centered around Retsuko (said red panda), the Netflix show follows her as she struggles with the demands of her job in the accounting department of a Japanese trading firm. From disrespectful bosses and annoying co-workers, to her work friends and addiction to...
How to Prepare for Success: Expert Advice on the Future of Work
By Mia Casey Guys, I’ve got something to tell you: you know the future of work? It’s here. It’s actually happening right now, while you’re sipping at your perpetually full cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate to stave off the well-and-truly-here winter weather, and struggling through that essay or shuffling through your exam notes as Netflix summons from the other room. How do I know it’s here? Well just last week UTS held a panel event to...
Start Building Your Portfolio: A Chat with Vivid 2018’s Lester Chan
By Mia Casey (feat. Lester Chan) When you’re studying it can feel like assignments, exams, lectures, and having a social life (or at least some semblance of one) can take up every free waking hour, so the thought of taking on more work may feel a little daunting. But the best time to take on work and start building your portfolio is actually while you’re studying. This doesn’t have to be during the semester – a lot of organisations...
4 Signs You Have Impostor Syndrome, and How to Overcome it
By Mia Casey Ever feel like your success is somehow a fluke? That everyone around you is smarter and more successful? Are you just waiting for the other shoe to drop and for your boss or tutor to pull you aside and ask you to leave? Well hi, that’s called ‘Impostor Syndrome’. Impostor Syndrome can effect pretty much anyone, but is especially prominent in high achievers, perfectionists, and workaholics. This feeling that you don’t...
So You Want to Royally Change Your Career (or Degree)?
By Mia Casey So it’s been a week since one of the most public career changes of the decade was televised: the royal wedding. On May 19th 2018, Meghan Markle made the shift from American actress to member of the British royal family, changing her job title to Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Super casual. But making a huge career change isn’t easy, and there are a few things you should consider before making the jump to change degrees or...
5 Tips for Landing a Job After Uni
By Mia Casey When you wake up the day after graduation, the morning sunlight shining in through your bedroom window and your phone already in-hand as you scroll through the endless pics of your mates in their gowns on your Insta feed, it can feel like you’ve got the world at your feet. Finally, no more assignments, no more exams or early morning lectures. You’ll now actually have time to make yourself a proper dinner, rather than the...
What Does the Future of Work Look Like for Grads?
By Mia Casey We hear all the time about how the rise in technology will lead to drastic job cuts and complete industry restructuring, but as we all know: predicting the future is not an exact science. If you look at these articles over recent years, half will say X industry will see massive job cuts, while the other half will say the complete opposite. It’s impossible to guess precisely what will happen, but that doesn’t mean we can’t...
Accessing the Political Realm: A Chat With Recent Deputy Deputy Lord Mayors, Kate Dewick and Alice Rummery
By Mia Casey For many, a career in politics often seems to sit outside the world of job options available to young people. The process of entering the political sector generally feels external to the usual steps of applying for graduate roles, doing interviews, completing internships, writing a great CV, etcetera. When looking at the politicians you see on TV, the pathways to their positions can appear to be so vast and varied that...
Workplace Sexual Harassment In The Wake Of The #MeToo Movement
By Mia Casey Since the #MeToo movement gained momentum last year, the issue of sexual assault and harassment has been brought into the mainstream consciousness on a level not seen in previous years. Workplaces in particular have been shown to be a difficult landscape to navigate for those experiencing sexual harassment, and a call for a change in workplace culture has seen many organisations reviewing their sexual harassment policies,...
5 Reasons You Need a Houseplant in Your Work Space (+ 6 Plants You Might Actually Manage to Keep Alive)
By Mia Casey Beyond being great from an interior design angle, houseplants can actually keep stress levels low, help with respiration, and encourage productivity. Who’da thunk it? Do you even need any more reason to invest in some plant babies and start greening up your space? Well, regardless, here are 5: 1. Breathe easy NASA (the people who send other people to space, and apparently study plants in their spare time), have conducted...
What to do When Entry-Level Jobs Ask for Years of Industry Experience
By Mia Casey It’s something we’ve all likely stumbled across before: ‘Entry-level Graduate role – 5 years’ of industry experience required’. This barrier imposed by certain sectors of recruitment not only stifles the job opportunities open to students graduating and looking for work in their industry, but also supports an outdated and often exploitative model whereby graduates are forced to consider roles that are not only below their...
How to Figure Out What Your ‘Dream Job’ Actually Is
By Mia Casey We all go through life with aspirations – be it for that great car, a dream house, the perfect round-the-world trip. But when it comes to careers, few of us are blessed with the deep-rooted insight needed to know exactly what job we want, and how we’re going to get it. There’s usually a vague notion of the industry you wouldn’t mind working in, or a company you think your friend said had really good vacation leave, but...
How to Revive Your Passion When Burnout is on the Horizon
By Mia Casey With Easter drawing to a close, it’s time to think about rebirth, growth, and personal development y’all. It can be easy to lose that motivational drive, that push to keep doing what you’re doing – be it with work or with your studies. And when you have that dreaded burnout looming on the horizon, it can be hard to persevere and get back to your happy place. So here are a few tips on how to revive your passion when...
Career Anxiety in Pursuit of ‘Dream Job’: Sydney Millennials Losing Out
By Mia Casey Growing up, we were always told that ‘we could be anything’. Unfortunately, as we got older this adage slowly began to translate to ‘we should be everything’, creating a pressure to not only know what we want to do, but also be versatile enough to fit into whatever industry we decided our ‘dream job’ was in. And while the intended meaning behind these ideas are all positive, something’s making me think that...
You May Not Have One True Calling, and That’s Okay
By Mia Casey Let’s face it guys, the world isn’t what it used to be. We’re hopping jobs and changing careers left, right and centre (on average, up to 4 times within your first decade out of uni), and for each role we’re in it’s likely we’ll be expected to have skills that span at least two other industries. What’s a millennial to do? And with this shift to changing jobs, it’s unsurprising that more and more people are finding...
International Women’s Day: Smashing the Glass Ceiling with UTS’s Leading Ladies
By Mia Casey It’s International Women’s Day, and while women’s place in the workforce has come leaps and bounds in the last few decades, we still have a long way to go. “What do you mean?” I hear you ask. Well, dear reader, here’s a very quick rundown of a few stats for women in the workforce from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency: Women make up 46.9% of the employed Australian workforce They hold 13.7% of chair positions,...
How To Deal When Someone Tries To Steal Your Crown à la Black Panther Style
By Mia Casey (WARNING: This post contains some spoilers for the Marvel film Black Panther. You have been warned.) Black Panther (also known as one of the best Marvel films of all time) is getting some crazy (and well-deserved) hype at the moment, which is super cool because one of the key plot points looks at how to deal when someone is in competition with you for your role. Alright, so most workplaces won’t involve ritual combat to...
The 4 Commandments for Successful Networking (+ WIN Exciting Employer Opportunities!)
By Mia Casey We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: networking prep is ESSENTIAL. Each time you chat with someone new, you’re increasing your chances of discovering new opportunities and building your professional network which, in today’s world, is hugely important when trying to kick-start your career. So, in the lead up for our super exciting Careers Fair, here are your four commandments for successful networking! (PLUS:...
Staying in the Career Loop: Five Sites for Advice and Industry Insight
By Mia Casey In today’s world there is such a huge wealth of career options, but finding the time and motivation to really see what’s out there can be difficult, to say the least. But taking note of key blogs (aside from this lovely one you are reading right now) and online spaces where you can get quality career advice, industry insight, and keep up to date with what’s happening in your field is super important. Not only does it help...
4 Simple Hacks for Surviving Your Next Presentation
By Mia Casey If you had asked my 8-year-old self what my favourite part of school was, it would be show-and-tell. Each week we got to bring in a new random object to stand up and tell the class about, and basically have a bit of a one minute brag-fest about our amazing new shiny Pokémon cards or that sweet mermaid Barbie doll whose hair changed colour in the water. Flash forward five years and you’ll find me fumbling with palm cards...
Embarrassing Workplace Mess-Ups and How to Move on Like a Champ
By Mia Casey We’ve all been there: you’re working your part-time job, someone approaches the cash register, and instead of saying the usual: “Hey, how are you today?” or “Hi, just over here thanks!” you say something wild like “Hey, how are you here today?” Which will then, of course, replay in your head right before you go to sleep every night for the rest of the week. Or maybe later on, in a different job, you’re in the office and...
5 Signs It’s Time to Quit
By Mia Casey When you spend roughly a third of your life working, it’s important that your workplace is helping build you up rather than tear you down – both professionally, and mentally. Having a positive work environment is so important, and when we find ourselves in jobs that are verging on soul sucking, then there’s clearly a bit of a problem. But how do you know whether your workplace is a toxic one? And when is alright to run...
Penguins: They Exist and May Actually Help You PengWIN at Your Career
By Mia Casey Well guys, you may not know it but tomorrow is THE most exciting day of the year: Penguin Awareness Day. That’s right – penguins exist, and we need to be aware of them. So all those Happy Feet fans out there can rejoice, because tomorrow is a full day dedicated to penguiny goodness. Now, because this is a careers blog, we of course could not miss the opportunity to take a note from our feathery friends (more feathery than...
Does Music Actually Hinder Your Productivity?
By Mia Casey Study sessions, assignments, and workdays are often completed with earphones in place, music blasting. Nowadays, music is a common accompaniment to most everyday tasks, particularly for uni students and Gen Y workers, but how does bopping along to our favourite tunes influence the work we do? Music helps with repetitive tasks If your job or the task you are completing is repetitive in nature, involving an ongoing repeated...
New Year, New Workspace
By Mia Casey Guys, today is Clean Off Your Desk Day (yes, it’s an actual thing), so today it’s time to – you guessed it – clean up your workspace! Studies have shown that having a clearer workspace and maintaining control over your work or study environment, can increase your productivity and focus! So read on for three handy tips on how to get your desk in tip-top shape for that 2018 #NewYearNewMe productivity. Cables With the amount...
The Top 5 Career Resolutions You Should Be Making for 2018
By Mia Casey Guys, it’s time to drag out the classic cliché of ‘new year, new me’ for yet another New Year! And with that, comes the classic New Year’s resolutions. Now, 2017 was a bit stressful for a large population of the globe, so 2018 may just be the perfect time to get back on track and focusing on some kickass career aspirations. Because it can be so daunting, below are some resolution templates you can use to ensure 2018 you...
Get Organised! FREE 2018 Calendar and Planner Printables
By Mia Casey It’s basically 2018 and now is the time to start getting organised. Unfortunately, calendars and planners can be uber expensive, so why not use the Pinterest advantage and use some free, printable ones instead! (When clicking through to the links below, be sure to read the posts these creators have written so you don’t miss the download option). Calendars Minimal Calendar This calendar relies on simple black and...
Christmas Movie Career Advice
By Mia Casey Christmas movies may be a bastion of social morality, festive sentiment, and family feel-good fun, but they are also a great source of career advice! As you watch your favourite Christmas films over this holiday season, discover what secret career messages you may be subliminally absorbing. Elf Buddy is basically the pure embodiment of positivity and wilful ignorance. While the ignorance part isn’t so great, the...
Everything’s Ending So Let’s Look Back On 2017
By Mia Casey 2017 has been a big year, both globally and on the UTS Careers Blog. Fortunately (for many) the year is almost over and, as no one has ever said before, and certainly never will again: ‘2018 is going to be our year!’ But before we say goodbye to 2017, let’s reflect on all of the stellar advice we’ve published this year - so here’s your go-to list of must-read articles to help cap off the year!...
3 Cheap and Easy DIY Office Gift Ideas for Christmas
By Mia Casey The festive season is upon us and workplaces around the globe are getting stuck in to their office Kris Kringle buying spree. But what happens when you have next to no money and get Alison from Accounting who you’ve never even made eye contact with, let alone spoken to? Well guys it’s time to start digging into the wonderful world of Pinterest and making those cute, quirky, office gift ideas an affordable reality! For the...
5 Fun Skills You Can Work On This Summer to Help Get You Job-Ready for 2018
By Mia Casey Well guys the end of the year is nigh, and if 2017 has been a bit tough for you (as it has been for many) you may be a tad behind on building those marvellous skills that employers are on the hunt for. If this is the case, here are 5 quick soft skills you can work on over the summer break that won’t cause you too much stress (and hey, some of them are actually kind of fun!). 1. Teamwork Say goodbye to the textbooks and...
The Top 5 Skills Employers Want In Interns
By Mia Casey We recently attended the massive AAGE (Australian Association of Graduate Employers) Conference and had a chat to a few employers about what they look for in an intern – and seriously, you might be surprised by what they said. There’s an overarching idea amongst many students that employers are only after interns who are at the absolute top of their game in terms of technical skills, uni grades, and professional...
Why Big Business Is Hiring Arts Grads
By Mia Casey When you start uni, you usually have an idea in your mind about how your career is going to go: you’ll go to uni to learn all the technical skills you’ll need in your industry, maybe do an internship or two along the way, then score a graduate position in your chosen industry. Boom – all done, you’re set until retirement. One of the problems with this assumption, is that it means you’re putting a ton of pressure on...
Try Something New: Resume Inspo For The End of 2017
When you think ‘resume’ what words come to mind? Now I could be wrong, but I’m going to guess that the first words you think of aren’t always going to be things like ‘fun’, ‘exciting’, ‘colourful’, or ‘cool’. Well everyone, I’m here to let you know that resumes can not only be ‘cool’, but they can also provide a fair amount of design inspo! So, without further ado, here are 5 awesome resumes to get you inspired in time for the New...
The Benefits of Getting Involved: A Chat with 2017 Law Interview Challenge Winner, Farah Al Majed
By Mia Casey When you’re at uni, it can be hard to get a true idea of what working in your dream industry will be like, let alone what area you’d like to work in. We all build up ideas in our minds about what our workplace will be like – maybe it’ll involve large corporate offices, open plan seating, and the latest in swivelly desk chair technology – but unless you’ve undertaken extensive internships across industry, it can be hard to...
5 Ways to HalloWIN at Your Career: Resources to De-Spook Employability
By Mia Casey When you’re looking at starting your career, it can seem like a pretty scaaary process. I mean, where do you even start? Well my freaky friends, here is your quick and easy break down of top tips for some of the more spooktastic elements of the career process. RIP: Resumes Induce Panic Honestly it’s true: people freak out about writing their resume. And sure it can be tricky, and sometimes uncomfortable, but crafting your...
Surviving Your Job Search
By Mia Casey When you’re in hard-core job search mode, it can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. After sending off countless applications, hearing nothing back or being turned down, and repeating the process again and again, it’s easy to fall into a bit of a funk. If you’re currently in the job search black hole, here are a few quick tips to get you feeling your amazing, motivated self again. Keep the work-life balance...
How To Keep Your Badass Vibe While Meeting Employers
By Mia Casey In the past, people were able to land amazing jobs without a university degree. This has changed, and now having a bachelor’s degree is almost standard. This creates a strange generational divide where university is largely normalized amongst younger generations (at least in large cities such as Sydney), but pressure is still being put on students to achieve excellent results and land a successful career right after...
The Rise of Fenty Beauty: What Rihanna Can Teach You About Mastering Your Personal Brand
By Mia Casey The other day I stumbled across an article on Entrpreneur.com entitled ‘The 7 Key Elements of an Effective Personal Brand’ by Mark Orlic. Here, Orlic listed the factors around which “effective personal brands are built”: authenticity, packaging consistency, story, expertise, visibility, value proposition, and connections. Naturally, my first thought after reading the post was: ‘Rihanna’. While Rihanna was already a...
How The Robot Uprising May Impact Your Career
By Mia Casey Well it’s happening: the robots are here, and they’re taking over. New technologies including AI and automation are set to increasingly disrupt current workplaces over the coming years, with the technology becoming the norm in the coming decades. For students, this raises issues in career planning and education objectives, as automation is set to take over many of the tasks they are currently studying to be proficient in....
Want To Be Recognised By Your Industry? Here’s How
By Mia Casey After being bought by Microsoft at the end of last year, LinkedIn is seeing an increase in popularity amongst businesses. “That’s all well and good,” I hear you say (implicit eye-roll included), “but how is that helpful to me?” Well, as a university student who is (hopefully) looking to land an awesome job in your future, start your own business, or just be informed about the industry you’re in, this makes LinkedIn a very...
Cringey (and Illegal) Interview Questions, and How to Get Past Them
By Mia Casey (Note: read on to the end to learn about an awesome opportunity for students looking to kick-start their careers!) Interviews are tough enough already without the interviewer asking you super uncomfortable (and sometimes illegal) questions. I mean, it’s just a teensy bit intrusive to ask someone whether they plan to have children within the next few years, or if they were born in Australia. If you’re in the middle...
The Changing Journalism Landscape: An Interview With Student Journalist of the Year Finalist, Emily Jane Smith
By Mia Casey Change isn’t coming, it’s here I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: the career landscape is changing. And this change is becoming increasingly apparent in the Communications, namely Journalism, sector. According to the Department of Employment (2015), the number of people employed as journalists or writers is set to grow to approximately 30,300 by 2020. Yet the growth of employment for such professionals...
Positive Psychology in the Workplace
By Mia Casey Of all the soft skills you’ll likely accumulate in your lifetime, teamwork is one of the most important. It often incorporates several other transferable skills, including interpersonal communication, time management, delegation, and emotional intelligence skills. One of the most important elements of establishing successful teamwork within the workplace, is making sure positive psychology (or more specifically,...
4 Jobs That Didn’t Exist 10 Years Ago
By Mia Casey With technology the way that it is, it’s no surprise that the career landscape has changed over the last few years. But the impact these changes have had on available career paths has been intense. There are dozens of jobs available today, that didn’t even exist more than 10 years ago – and some estimate that close to 65% of kids starting school now ‘will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that aren’t...
When It’s Alright to Say No
By Mia Casey If you’ve ever seen Jim Carey’s Yes Man then you know that saying yes to everything isn’t always the best idea. Yet we are often told that saying ‘yes’ is the key to progression – to opportunities, relationships, career success, or general life achievements. While this may be true in many cases, this particular mentality has led to an influx of people whole feel guilty for saying ‘no’. Whether it’s to opportunities or to...
3 Ways to Shut Down Career FOMO And Feel Like A Total Boss Again
By Mia Casey We’ve all felt it before – that sick drop at the base of your stomach when you see your friends and colleagues on social media, living the good life, and getting promotions or dream jobs left, right, and centre. Not only are you more than a little jealous of their successes, but you also feel like a horrible person for not being completely over-the-moon excited for them. That’s Career FOMO. And it sucks. Symptoms of...
Networking Shouldn’t Be A Dirty Word (And Here’s Why)
By Mia Casey Networking gets a bad rap – people often see it as a sleazy way to make ‘fake friends’, all based around this idea that you’ll one day be able to help each other out career-wise. Well, it really doesn’t have to be that way. Networking, when done right, is a great way to surround yourself with people passionate about your industry, who can provide encouragement and support throughout your career. Ever ace an important...
What Is Background Stress, And How Do You Overcome It?
By Mia Casey Some causes of stress are obvious – an increased workload, exams and assignments, family or friend drama, or a hectic workplace. But sometimes, it’s a lot of little things that build up without us even noticing, and suddenly we’re stressing out without really knowing why. So what sorts of things could be causing this background stress? And how can we minimise its effects? Read on! Causes of stress Lack of weekly stability...
Treat Yo’self: A Chat With the Winners of the Million $ Challenge
By Mia Casey (Interview conducted by Jocelyn Airth) They’re not always talked about, but competitions are a fantastic way to increase your employability and build your network. There are new ones running every year for different organisations and they allow students and graduates alike to work of their skills, win some awesome prizes, and make a name for themselves in the process! Recently, a couple of UTS teams took part in the...
Career Advice With Colleen
By Jocelyn Airth As I punch in the string of digits belonging to my Grandparents’ landline up in Old Bar, I know exactly what my Grandma is doing. She’ll be perched on a beige leather arm chair, knitting to the beat of Phil Gould’s commentary of this afternoon’s NRL Bulldogs game. Grandma answers the phone with a warm, “Hello love!” I ask about Grandpa, my cousins, and her ginger cat. She rants about how terrible the Bulldogs are...
9 Quotes For When You’re Having A Bad Week
By Mia Casey It’s one of those weeks: it’s raining every day, the buses are packed full of wet, irritable commuters whose bags keep bumping into your head every time you turn a corner, and all you want to do is curl up in bed and pretend this week never happened. Instead, you’re heading in to uni or work, battling with your dollar store umbrella, while last night’s leftovers slowly leak in your bag because in your rush to leave the...
Phone Etiquette: 3 Easy Ways to Improve
By Mia Casey Sometimes in life, it’s the little things that count – and having proper phone etiquette is one of those little things. If you’ve ever worked in a customer service role, chances are you’ve been required to answer the phone from time to time, and know that you should be talking on the phone with the same (if not more) enthusiasm than if the customer was there in person. Even in non-customer facing roles, being able to...
3 Key Factors of Startup Success According to Founders
By Mia Casey Let’s face it, the career landscape has changed since our parents’ time. Technology has made the world a smaller place, with the dynamics shifting almost constantly between traditional and emerging industries. One of the growing changes in the career space is the rise of startup companies – organisations built around people’s passions, to provide our society with solutions that classic business structures might not yet...
5 Reasons Dropping Everything to Travel the World Can Actually Be Good for your Career
By Mia Casey Ever woken up, knowing you have uni or work that day, and just thought to yourself: “This is it. Today is when I get on a plane and never look back”. Well, it turns out that that idea may not be the worst you’ve ever had. Travelling offers a range of benefits and skill-building that can be hard to come by. So what are the benefits of travel for your career? Increased cultural intelligence If you’ve never travelled, it can...
Keep Calm and Carry On: Workplace Wellness and the Work-Life Balance
By Mia Casey Many companies have workplace wellness programs, designed to help staff stay healthy and maintain a high level of productivity in the workplace. Unfortunately, many employers (and employees) see these programs as a ‘ticking the box’ exercise that undermines many of the benefits of such initiatives. And this comes at a time where ‘76% of the world’s workers still admit to struggling with their overall wellness’. This...
Benefits of Bilingualism: How Being Bilingual Can Make You More Employable
By Mia Casey Australia is a largely monolingual culture, regardless of government initiatives to increase the level of language learning in schools. As Professor Clyne, author of Australia’s Language Potential, has noted, Australia is “a nation rich in language resources, yet characterised (at government and community level) by monolingual thinking”. Unlike Europe, where 54% of the European population speak at least two languages,...
How to Land an Internship (and Be Amazing When You Do)
By Mia Casey While internships are essential, landing one can be difficult, particularly if you’ve never approached the task before. Luckily, there are ways you can easily overcome these difficulties. Career Consultant, Helena Asher-Chiang, gave us some advice on how simple it can be to carve a place for yourself in the industry, and what you can do to discover new opportunities. You’ve got to be proactive While finding a job or...
Are Students Suffering in a Changing Job Market?
By Mia Casey If you’re studying you don’t need to be told that life can be stressful – chances are, that’s a reality you’re already dealing with. Still, reports that over 70% of students are experiencing ‘high or very high levels of psychological distress’ were met with shock, with some blaming parenting techniques or rehashing the ‘millennials have it easy’ debate. There doesn’t seem to be a single factor that can be blamed for these...
Resumes: Writing Your Employment History
By Mia Casey When it comes to resumes, the employment history section often trips people up. How far back should you go? What roles should you mention? Does formatting even matter that much? How many details should you include? With so many questions circling the topic, we thought we’d provide some guidance and help you create an awesome resume! What to mention If you’ve had a lot of previous experience, it can be difficult to...
What Are Soft Skills and Why Do You Need Them?
By Mia Casey If you’ve been in the job search realm for a while, you’ve probably stumbled across the phrase ‘soft skills’. It’s a term that’s bandied about quite regularly, and can include a wide variety of skills and attributes that employers look for in their employees. So what are these ‘soft skills’, does your industry require them, and how can you build yours? Soft skills definition Soft skills refer to the personal skills you...
Looking for a Job? Here’s Where to Look
By Mia Casey Looking for a job? With so many resources available it can be hard to know where to look! Below is a list of job sites that you can use in your job search process. Regardless of whether you’re a student, experienced graduate, or anywhere in between, these sites can help you find your next dream job or internship! Student job sites: Student job sites advertise positions that are specifically targeted towards students,...
7 Inspiring Books You Need to Read This Year
By Mia Casey How’re your career goals for 2017 going so far? Need a bit of motivation, or inspiration to get the ball rolling? Well, lucky for you I have just the thing! With such an array of books out there all purporting to help you find your purpose or change your life, it can be hard to figure out which ones are worth spending the time (and money) on. We’ve compiled a short list of book recommendations from around the office (and...
Building a Creative Portfolio When You Have No Experience
By Mia Casey Depending on the creative industry you’re trying to get into, creating a portfolio when you don’t have any paid experience may seem nigh impossible. Whether you want to be a writer, designer, or pretty much any sort of creative specialist, having a portfolio is important. Not all employers may ask for examples of your work, but many do, so having a collection of samples ready is a smart move. But what happens when you...
Top Ten Tips for Mastering Your Elevator Pitch
By Mia Casey An elevator pitch is a short (usually a minute or less) speech that draws people in and tells them about your work, your goals, and your interests. An elevator pitch is vital if you’re attending any sort of networking or industry event, but it is good to have one prepared even if you have no events planned – who knows when you’ll bump into an old friend who’s started a business, or get chatting to someone on the bus who...
Starting Uni? Set Yourself Up For Success!
By Mia Casey Starting university can be a scary prospect. Thankfully, Orientation exists. UTS Orientation helps you prepare for uni through a variety of events, workshops and tours. It can also help get you out of that post-HSC, post-high school haze that settles in after your final exams. While exciting, university is your first step into adulthood and the rest of your professional life (dun dun duuun!), so it’s important to start...
3 Tips to Get You Interview-Ready This New Year
By Mia Casey The New Year is a popular time for people to start making changes in their lives, and a change of career (or career status) is a popular choice. This is similar for employers as well – a lot of companies use the New Year as a time to take stock and start looking at hiring new people. If this is you, and you’re currently in the process of applying for new work, then it may be time to start preparing for the next step: the...
Failing Your New Year’s Resolutions? You CAN Get Back on Track
By Mia Casey So if you’re anything like 92% of the population, chances are you’ve already failed at your New Year’s resolutions. Which is a pretty depressing thought – just over 2 weeks in, and things have already gone downhill. So what made you give up, and how do you get back on track? Here are a few quick tips to help get you reinspired for 2017, and ready to retake your New Year’s resolutions by storm. Read more: Redefining...
Redefining Success: 20 Habits That Could Change Your Life
By Mia Casey When we talk about success, it’s easy to simply think of succeeding in one area of your life. Maybe success to you is achieving financial stability, becoming the best in your field, or living in a certain area. But maybe it’s time to start taking a wider view of success. James Altucher has put together an infographic (designed by Pamela Sisson), entitled The 20 Habits of Eventual Millionaires. Here, he details a number of...
Some 2017 Career-Inspo
By Mia Casey It’s now officially January 2017, and life can go on again. Did you survive your New Year’s Eve? Are your ready to get stuck back in to thinking about your career? Alright, after 2016 it’s understandable if you feel a little worse for wear. Chances are, the thought of planning for your career right now seems like an insurmountable task full of pain, suffering, anxiety… okay that might be a bit melodramatic, but making...
Start 2017 the Right Way: New Year’s Resolutions
By Mia Casey Starting a new year is always a daunting prospect (although after 2016, many people might be happy for a bit of a change). Regardless, the start of a new year is usually when we start making some big plans. Whether it’s to go traveling, actually save money, or learn a language, the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions is still going strong. Unfortunately, only 8% of people are actually successful in achieving their...
Start Planning Today: How Proactive People Stay On Top
By Mia Casey With 2017 literally days away, it may be time to start thinking about your career. Now before you freak out, you don’t have to do anything huge! Even watching a few videos, reading some articles, or chatting with people in your network can help inspire you to begin your career journey. Sharron Xiao, winner of the Festival of Future You challenge competition, agrees! During August, we ran our first ever Festival of Future...
Launching A Startup and Tackling Employability: A Chat with Rewardstudents’ Dana Achrafi
By Mia Casey Being a parent of two, studying a Masters in Interactive Multimedia, and taking part in (what feels like) almost every extracurricular program available at UTS, may make most people feel more than a little stressed out, but this has been Dana Achrafi’s life for the last couple of years. On top of this already heavy workload, she has completed a program at UTS Hatchery, landed a job at AUSTRAC as a User Experience...
Is Freelancing the Way of the Future?
By Mia Casey The nine to five slog isn’t what it used to be. Across the world, more people are calling out for flexible work hours as new technologies are introduced, and working remotely becomes a more achievable reality. This means that we’re now seeing the expansive rise of the ‘freelance economy’. So what does this mean for those of us still studying and preparing to enter the workforce? The push for more flexible work In a recent...
4 Common Types of Interview Questions and How to Answer Them
By Mia Casey When you’re researching practice questions before an interview, you’ll often come across ‘general’, ‘behavioural ’, ‘motivation’, or ‘accomplishment’ questions. These terms divide common interview questions into distinct categories that, if you know how to use them, let you figure out the interviewer’s motivation, which in turn lets you formulate the best answers. But what do these terms actually mean? And how do you...
Tips for Winning at Secret Santa
By Mia Casey Most people look forward to the end of the year because it means getting some rest, time off work, and catching up with family and friends. There is, however, another benefit: work’s Secret Santa! Alright, it may not seem like such a benefit at the time, and many people find it quite stressful, but it can actually be a really great way to get to know your fellow co-workers. So we’ve put together a quick guide to help you...
Surviving Your Work Christmas Party
By Mia Casey It’s that time of the year again – workplaces are getting ready for the holiday season, and what better way is there to celebrate than with a work Christmas party? While it’s all a lot of fun, navigating the professional minefield this presents can be exceedingly difficult. To help you out in your time of need, here are a few tips to help you survive your work Christmas party, so you can come out with your career intact!...
What is a Pain Letter and Should You Write One?
By Mia Casey Ever heard of a Pain Letter? No? Well, me neither. Regardless, Liz Ryan has claimed (in an article she wrote for Forbes), that a Pain Letter is going to replace the traditional Cover Letter. So, what is a Pain Letter? According to Ryan: The document is called a Pain Letter because in your letter, you’re going to talk about your hiring manager’s biggest problem. How will you know what your hiring manager’s biggest problem...
Work Stressing You Out? Here’s How to Deal
By Mia Casey No matter where you work, chances are you’re going to go through a rough patch every now and then. The Australian Human Rights Commission supports this, noting that ‘around 45% of Australians aged between 16 and 85 will experience a mental health issue at some point in their lives’. And, unfortunately, work-induced stressed plays a pretty important role. Workplace stress is so common in fact, that on average a total of...
Why Asking for Help Totally Isn’t the End of the World
By Mia Casey So many of us are afraid to ask for help. In an age where being independent and self-assured are vaunted traits, reaching out or admitting you don’t know something can seem really daunting. Despite this, it is important to reach out when you need it – especially when it comes to your career. There are a number of instances where asking for help can actually help you get ahead. I’ve outlined a few examples below to help...
12 Resume Blunders Recruiters Hate
By Mia Casey Regardless of the type of job you’re applying for, you’re going to need an up-to-date resume. But with the huge amount of advice out there, it can be hard to figure out the do’s and don’ts of resume writing. With it being so easy to make a misstep, or rely on outdated information, here are 12 resume mistakes you should try to avoid! 1. Using creative fonts While you may want your resume to stand out, going over the top...
How To Overcome Your Nerves, And Ace Your Next Interview
By Mia Casey Interviews aren’t particularly enjoyable. Usually, the only reason we’re even sitting for one is because we either really, really want the job for its great opportunities and career development potential, or we really, really need the job to pay the rent. Or a combination of the two. Either way, there’s usually a lot riding on an interview, and with that comes stress. So here are a few tips to help you overcome that awful...
Internships: When You Need Experience To Get Experience
By Mia Casey Getting an internship can be a competitive process. Not only do you have to compete with other students, but it may often be the first time you’re undertaking actual industry-relevant work. So how can you increase your chances of landing the perfect internship, if you don’t necessarily have the hands-on experience to back it up? (Struggling to get an internship while studying? Read to the end to find out how to do an...
7 Things You NEED To Do Before Graduating
By Mia Casey What you do at university, can help set you up for life. So outside of studying, making new friends and having new experiences, here are 7 things you should try to do before you graduate! 1. Embrace every opportunity to meet new people Sometimes the thought of meeting new people can be, well, exhausting. Despite this, the people you meet while you’re at university may end up being some of the most influential people in...
5 Easy Ways to Increase Your Creativity
By Mia Casey Creativity comes in a variety of forms – be it suggesting a new idea at a meeting, painting a picture, thinking of how to overcome a problem, taking a photo, or even discovering new ways to work more productively. Because creativity is important to so many aspects of our lives, it’s important to ensure we’re making the most of it! So, here are 5 easy ways to increase your creativity. 1. Change your environment If you’re...
How To Tell You’re in a Bad Internship
By Mia Casey Internships are like relationships – some are great, some are… well, not so great. Undertaking an internship is basically a must these days, if you want to stand out. Unfortunately, not all internships are sunshine and rainbows, and once you start one it might be difficult to realise it’s a dud. So to help you out, here are a few warning signs that could indicate you’re in a bad internship! You’re only assigned to menial...
Don’t Make it Weird: How to Successfully Network With Your Friends
By Mia Casey A lot of people feel uncomfortable about networking. Which, hey, fair enough – it’s not something that comes naturally for some. But what people don’t often realise, is that you’ve already got a network. One made up of your friends, family and current colleagues. But treating your mates as networking connections is uncomfortable right? Well, it doesn’t have to be! Be direct First thing’s first – you’ve got to be direct....
How to Ask for a Reference Without it Getting Awkward
By Mia Casey Asking for a reference can be a little unnerving, particularly if you’ve left a job on a bad note or haven’t spoken to your previous bosses or colleagues for a while. Luckily for you, I’ve put together a quick summary of how you can ask for a reference (without things getting too awkward). Who to ask Ask someone who worked above, but directly with you. That way they can give examples of your work, and have firsthand...
How to write effective emails
By Mia Casey I receive, on average, at least 20 emails a day. Most of these are sales-related (I have a problematic shopping addiction), but for those from all the real people who are emailing me, it’s easy to separate a well-written email from a poorly-written one. In today’s world, you’re likely to spend more time emailing people at work, than you are talking with them face-to-face. So knowing how to write an effective email is one...
5 Skills to Master in Your 20s
By Mia Casey For most people, their 20’s is a time of huge personal and professional development. It’s when you’re at uni, building your network, making your first real steps into a career, moving out, paying taxes – all of these steps into actual adulthood. Which can be totally scary, and more than a little intimidating at times. So the question is: what skills should you focus on mastering in your 20’s, to ensure success in the...
Want to Succeed? Don’t Fear Failure - Embrace It
By Mia Casey Why don’t we try new things? Answer: fear. Fear of judgement, of ridicule, of disappointment - but mostly, fear of failure. If failure lost its negative connotations, what could we achieve? I recently watched this video of Sara Blakely talking about redefining what it means to fail: She talks about how her father would be actively disappointed when she had not failed at anything. Rather than coming into the...
Is Competition Holding You Back?
By Mia Casey Ambition and a competitive personality often go hand in hand. And it makes sense – being competitive can give you the drive you need to get ahead. But competition doesn’t always work in your favour, and recognising when you need to chill can be vital for some serious career success. So how can you use your competitive streak to your advantage, while knowing when it’s time to rein it in? Google defines competition as:...
Settling For A Job You Hate Could Make You Sick
By Mia Casey Pretty much all of us have worked a job that we’ve hated. But what happens when that job becomes your career? Research was released this August, which suggests that low job satisfaction could be causing you lasting harm, (beyond the simple sense of dread you feel upon waking each morning). Great news, I know. So, where can you go from here? Read on to find out more! The American Sociological Association released a study...
Speaking Publicly: How to Overcome Public Speaking Anxiety
By Mia Casey I can’t say I really know anyone who actively enjoys public speaking. I sure know I don’t! But sometimes, the discomfort many of us feel can lead to symptoms of anxiety and negatively impact how we’re actually communicating our presentation. Fear not! I’ve put together a quick list of techniques you can try out to overcome your public speaking aversion. Prepare To become a good public speaker, you need to put effort into...
8 Online Learning Resources You NEED To Know
By Mia Casey Nowadays, almost everyone has a university degree, which can make standing out more than a little tricky when it comes to the job hunt or moving up in your career. So what can you do? For students, time and money aren’t usually on your side – so you want to get ahead with as little time commitment and financial constraint as possible. Luckily, there are a tonne of free online learning courses (sometimes referred to as...
Staying Sane While Working With Others
By Mia Casey Regardless of what industry you’re in, chances are you’re going to be working with others. Some of which you’ll love, and some… well, not so much. Understanding how to work with diverse personalities is a vital ability you need in advancing your career prospects, and can require a fair amount of skill. Luckily, we’ve compiled a few words of wisdom to help you through those more challenging times. Develop you...
Should You Take On a Passion Project?
By Mia Casey Regardless of what industry you’re in, tackling a passion project outside of uni and work commitments can be really rewarding. Whether it’s writing a paper to be published, trying out new software, creating an interesting concept project or doing research into a new field – the benefits can be far reaching. Read on to see how a passion project could take your career to the next level! Set yourself apart A passion project...
Stop Letting Stress Get The Better Of You
By Mia Casey Everyone gets stressed, regardless of the type of work they do or the lifestyle they lead. There will come a point where work piles up or there’s a family emergency and you get stressed out. Don’t let stress get the better of you! Check out our tips for looking after yourself during times of stress, and watch Kelly McGonigal’s TED Talk on how to make stress your friend. Sleep One of the key symptoms of stress is an...
The Office: 7 Relatable Workplace Moments
By Mia Casey There are moments that everyone experiences throughout their working life, and there’s no better way to share them than through ‘The Office’! We all know that moment when… 1. You’re trying to stay awake during an important presentation after binge-watching that new Netflix series the night before 2. The person who didn’t hold the lift for you walks in late for an important...
How to Answer 5 Common Interview Questions
By Mia Casey Nobody really likes talking about themselves – especially to a stranger. In an interview context, you not only have to talk about yourself but do so in a way that convinces the other person to hire you. Despite being unable to predict what they will ask, there are several common interview questions you can practice with. We’ve compiled a few below, and included a great resource for you to practice with! Tell us...
Why Kim K Could Be Your Next Career Icon
By Mia Casey Despite her divisive popularity, there’s no doubt that Kim Kardashian is a successful woman. So we’ve compiled a list of the top 4 career tips you can learn from her continued rise to fame. And hey, she might even become your new career icon! Branding Knowing how to sell yourself online and on paper are career-musts in this day and age. Keeping up to date on both professional and personal social media accounts and...
How to Rock the Uni/Work Balance
By Mia Casey If you’re a full time student, then university is essentially your full time job. While your face-to-face classes at uni may not take up the full 40 hours a week the usual full time job requires, the at-home work you are required to complete certainly might. Balancing a career on top of this can seem nigh impossible, but we’ve formulated some tips and strategies to help you stay on top of everything. Read on to find out...
Quick Career Quizzes
By Mia Casey Who doesn’t love a good quiz? While these ones probably shouldn’t be taken too seriously, they can help you to start thinking about your career path. Identifying your strengths, interests and personality type are good starting points when trying to decide what direction you want your career to take. Read on to check out some fun career quizzes you can do on your daily commute! What should your college major...
Creating an Awesome Portfolio
By Mia Casey Finding work in a creative industry can be difficult – that’s why we’ve compiled a few tips for creating an awesome portfolio to help you stand out from the competition! Get online Creating an online space to showcase your work is really important. You don’t have to invest in a paid domain to do this – there are a tonne of free online platforms to create portfolios or websites (a simple Google search should uncover...
Game of Thrones Career Advice!
By Mia Casey Game of Thrones fan? Read on to discover what career tips you can take from your fave characters! (SPOILERS AHEAD) Varys Knowing how to network is something Varys does very well. Born as a slave in Lys, he worked his way up from thief to Master of Whisperers by building his network of spies. While most of us (hopefully!) aren’t aiming to become a spymaster, forming connections with people in your chosen field is a great...
Mastering the Australian Workplace: Slang
By Mia Casey In Australia, there’s a slang term for almost everything. If you’re here as an international student, this may make many conversations difficult to follow – particularly in the workplace. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of common Australian workplace slang phrases and terms, so you can be prepared! Arvo Afternoon eg. ‘See you this arvo!’ Bludger A lazy person, someone who avoids work. eg. ‘He never does any...
Industry Networking: The Built Environment Industry
By Mia Casey If you work in the built environment industry, you need to be networking! Working in construction, real estate, property development or project management means you will often work with diverse groups of people. Therefore, forging positive relationships now can not only make your current work life easier, but also encourage future career opportunities. Since its so important, here are a few ways industry networking can...
Stay Motivated! Tips for Postgraduate Students
By Mia Casey Postgraduate study brings with it a whole range of stresses that previous study may not have prepared you for. Staying motivated can be difficult, especially when work and home commitments start piling up. Fortunately, we’ve put together some helpful bits of advice to help you identify stress and improve your focus! Minimise self-doubt Students often undertake postgraduate study at a later stage in life, where...
Careers Beyond the Courtroom: Where Can Your Law Degree Take You?
By Mia Casey While many students undertake a law degree without any intention of practicing law, the recent onslaught of news articles bemoaning the lack of jobs for law graduates can be more than a little off-putting. Throughout this, it is important to remember that law degrees foster a variety of skills and experiences sought after in a number of fields. So if you’re studying law and thinking of branching out beyond the traditional...
First Impressions Count: 5 Tips for Success!
By Mia Casey First impressions are vital when you’re meeting prospective employers for the first time. Studies have shown that people form their first impressions of a person within 7 to 17 seconds of meeting them – that means that how you present yourself matters! It can be difficult to know how you come across, so we’ve compiled a short list of tips to help YOU stand out from the crowd! 1. Be on time! Making a good first impression...
How to Make a Difference in Your Career
By Mia Casey Have you ever thought about using your degree and career to make a positive change in society? If so, looking at working for a socially-conscious company such as an NGO could be a great fit. If you want to know more about them, and what a career involving cause-based work could look like, read on! What is a NGO An NGO is a non-governmental organisation that is entirely not-for-profit – this means that the money they make...
What Skills Do YOU Need to Succeed?
By Mia Casey While there are certainly some skills that specific industries value above others, there are many that are valued in a variety of contexts, regardless of the field of work. These abilities can be developed through extracurricular activities, paid work, volunteering and your general life experience, and are often referred to as ‘transferable skills’. We’ve compiled a short list of a few of the transferable skills employers...
Business and Society: How can YOU make a difference?
By Mia Casey Often many view business – whether big or small – as independent capitalist structures providing more social problems than benefits. However this idea is changing. Across start-up companies and other established organisations, many are beginning to see the value in incorporating socially conscious business practice into their working understanding of where their company fits within society. For business students, it’s...
Volunteering: How Can it Help YOU?
By Mia Casey While it can be hard to find time to take on extra work, volunteering is an extremely worthwhile pursuit when it comes to increasing your employability. Opening up the opportunity for you to build skills, forge new industry connections and positively impact your community, volunteering can be super helpful when it comes to applying for new jobs. Read on to find out how volunteering can help you! Building relevant skills...
4 Ways to Customize Your Workspace to Improve Productivity
By Mia Casey Research has shown that people have increased productivity when they have more control over their work environment – from more freedom to work inside or out, to decorating their desks. While changes like windows and ceiling height are often out of many people’s abilities to alter, we’ve compiled a little list of inspiration for changes you can bring to your work or study space to make it your own! Add a plant They clean...
Cover Letters: Top 5 Tips + Free Template!
By Mia Casey A cover letter is a must-have in the application process, so we’ve put together a list of our top tips for writing an awesome cover letter! Tips 1. Format In terms of format, put your name and contact details, as well as the employer’s name and contact details at the top of the page. Following this, make sure each paragraph is clearly defined and the cover letter in general is structured to show clear opening, middle, and...
Networking at Industry Careers Fairs
By Mia Casey Networking events differ depending on their speciality – some events are general, others are chats over canapés, and others are specific to an industry. Knowing how to stand out from the crowd can be tricky, so we’ve compiled a small list of things you can do to prepare for your next industry careers fair! Prepare an elevator pitch A great technique for any fair, an elevator pitch is a short (as in a minute or less)...
CATS! + Getting Started on LinkedIn
By Mia Casey With more than 433 million registered members, LinkedIn is the world’s largest online professional network. In today’s recruitment world, managing your online profile is a MUST and LinkedIn is a great resource to get your name out to people in your industry, and start building those professional connections! It can seem a little daunting at first – so we’ve put together a little checklist of tips to help you take your...
Find Out How to Write the Perfect Resume!
By Mia Casey It’s hard to find anyone who actively enjoys writing a resume. It’s often a stressful and intimidating process that most only undertake a handful of times throughout their careers. Fear not! A large part of what stumps people when it comes to crafting their resumes is uncertainty, and this is easily overcome. Read on for a few comprehensive pieces of advice on writing the perfect resume, and discover what resources are...
4 Tips for Kick-starting Your Career this August!
By Mia Casey It can be easy to avoid setting time aside to work on your future when balancing things like assignments, work, exams and a social life can take all of your attention in the present. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to give yourself a head-start on achieving career success. August is shaping up to be an exciting and career-centric month, so read on for some tips on how to navigate the modern career...