top of page

Here you will find artifacts of my work, my career focus piece and my written report. To view my video clip 'about me' click the following link: 

https://youtu.be/6J3fBbsEq1Q 

Career focus piece

Name of major that you have selected: International Business 

​

Five industries that employ graduates from this major:

  1. International Marketing and Logistics 

  2. International trade administration

  3. Marketing 

  4. Trade and investment analyst 

  5. Country risk analyst 

​

Five organisations that employ graduates from this major:

  1. Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

  2. Cadbury Schweppes

  3. Department of Defence

  4. Telstra Corporation

  5. Bank of Tokyo

  6. ANZ Banking Group Ltd

​

A website where you may find job vacancies for this major:

New South Wales Government jobs - http://iworkfor.nsw.gov.au//?from_source=jobs.nsw

​

Three job titles for graduates from this major:

  1. Analyst

  2. Coordinator for International Relations

  3. Export Officer

​

Five duties that a graduate from this major may perform in his/her day-to-day work: 

  1. Drawing on research to come to conclusions - translating for business use 

  2. Dealings with foreign members of sister company 

  3. Using the Micriosoft Office Suite

  4. Practice cultural sensitivity in business 

  5. Represent your company internationally as a sales representative 

​

Five skills or attributes that employers might be seeking in graduates from this major: 

  1. Detailed and methodical problem solving

  2. Possess excellect customer service skills

  3. Efficient and have the ability to prioritise and multi task 

  4. Able to deal with a fast paced environment and urgency

  5. A positive attitude  

​

Workplace Reflection

Paul Hodgson

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Position: State Director of Queensland Enterprise Connect

Organisation: Sub-branch of Innovation Industries

Workplace Reflection:

Paul Hodgson, a graduate International Business student is now working as a State Director of Queensland Enterprise Connect. The Queensland initiative is designed to boost productivity, improve innovation and increase the competitiveness of Australia’s small to medium enterprises through innovation of practice and access to intelligence, services, networking, collaboration and knowledge transfer (Hodgson, Queensland State Director - Enterprise Connect, 2008). Paul enjoys his role as he says that everyday is different. This appeals to him as he enjoys variety in his everyday activities. Paul is a very sociable person and likes to meet new people, better understanding what they want to achieve. Paul says that this is integral in a graduate job from International Business as it is about managing international expectations and conflicts.

 

Paul works in an industry of individuals who act as Business advisors. His role is to raise the profile of Enterprise connect while he coaches and mentors his colleagues. He also assists in reporting roles and administrative jobs for the Queensland Government. He ensures that his administrative teams are running smoothly as well as networking with stakeholders and ensuring that the stakeholders are happy and benefiting from the services provided to them.

 

Paul admits that he attempts to avoid as much Bureaucracy in his role as possible. Some of the challenges he faces involve companies he is involved with through the Queensland Enterprise Connect not being happy with the services in which they offer. Paul must then become involved and find out what has gone wrong. His role involves managing expectations as he works for a $50 million per year Australian Government initiative and taxpayers do not want to see their taxes used correctly.  

 

Paul states that this role is good for him as he is good at working with others and getting individuals on the same page with a common vision. He commonly works with clever and passionate people which makes his role easier in trying to encourage colleagues to networks to work together and remove bureaucracy from their dealings.

 

Paul credits his International Business degree as a great base to see different perspectives. It requires systems thinking which allows for accelerated connecting. He wants to ensure that first year students know that the important thing is not to worry to much because things change unexpectedly. He would like to stress, “networking, networking, networking” to students, it is imperative to get out there and show an interest in your chosen field (Hodgson, International Business Resources). Also sharing that there are misconceptions surrounding working in Governments – Paul has worked in both private and public sectors and believes that there is little to no difference between the two. Paul says not to discount Government jobs as they give a great grounding.

 

After the interview with Paul Hodgson and reading peer reviewed articles such as ‘Improving Graduate Employability by Using Social Networking Systems’ written by Zhe Jing and Elizabeth Chang of Curtin University (Jing & Chang, 2010). I have understood the importance of networking and showing serious interest in your chosen pathway to encourage future employers in employing me once graduated. To best position myself for graduate employment I will need to ensure that I participate in Internships and ensuring that I attend networking events. Further, I believe that this studying this major will be best for me and I will enjoy my chosen path.  

​

Bibliography

Hodgson, P. (n.d.). International Business Resources. Retrieved from Learning@Griffith: https://bblearn.griffith.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_53586_1&content_id=_2482164_1

​

Hodgson, P. (2008). Queensland State Director - Enterprise Connect. Retrieved from LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauljhodgson

 

Jing, Z., & Chang, E. (2010, April 10-23). Improving Graduate Employability by Using Social Networking Systems. Retrieved from IEEEXplore Digital Library : http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/document/5474867/authors

Griffith Attributes

 

Griffith University aims to prepare its graduates to be leaders in their fields by providing a ‘Griffith Graduate Statement’. The following are the attributes that Griffith attempts to instil in their graduates to make sure that they are well equipped to enter the workforce.

 

  1. Knowledgeable and Skilled in their Disciplines

  2. Effective Communicators and Team Members

  3. Innovative and Creative with Critical Judgement

  4. Socially Responsible and Engaged in their communities

  5. Competent in Culturally Diverse and International Environments

 

The course Work and Employability has assisted my learning and the development of the attributes in the following ways. I have developed an ability to apply professional skills and learn how to be knowledgeable in the workplace, through learning about the different styles of employers and what they are looking for within their employees along the different roles within the management section of businesses. Work and Employability has assisted me to learn how to effectively communicate in the workplace and highlighted the importance to be able to effectively work and communicate with team members. Work and Employability through HRM and other similar roles has taught me how to use my knowledge and skills to devise solutions to unfamiliar problems specifically around dealing with employees and their potential concerns. Through discussion about employee’s rights and responsibilities Work and Employability has showed that it is crucial to have the ability to have strong research skills to interpret findings.  Work and Employability has emphasised the need for organisations to be socially responsible and engaged in their communities to ensure that they have a positive image on potential customers and employees of their company. This can be ensured by treating their employees in a professional way and not damaging their image through their interactions with their employees. Engaging within the community will also intrigue potential customers as they notice the assistance they are providing to the community through incentive programs and other similar assistance groups. Finally, the course has assisted me with becoming competent in culturally diverse and international environments through showing me respect, awareness, knowledge and skills to interact effectively in culturally diverse.

 

Conclusively, this course has equipped me with necessary attributes for fulfilling my roles within businesses once I have graduated from Griffith University.

What are the challenges facing students for employment after finishing University?

​

In 2014, almost 320,000 students completed their degrees within Australian Universities (Universities Australia, 2015). Universities and their graduates create new products, services and industries in which underpins the economic diversification of Australia, research undertaken in these Universities helps to solve global problems, improves the health and wellbeing of the worlds citizens and positions us into the future (Universities Australia , 2015). Many believe that getting higher education is a reliable pathway into having a great career and a comfortable life with a solid income. However, many are struggling to transition into jobs within their chosen field after graduation.

 

An organisation, Graduate Careers Australia, runs a large annual survey of new graduates to track what happens to them once completing their University Degree (Healy, 2015). This report into the work and study outcomes of recent higher education graduates shows that only 68% of bachelor graduates from the class of 2014 had a full time job four months after graduating. This result is the lowest full time employment rate for new graduates ever since Graduate Careers Australia started reporting back in 1982. They also concluded that their finishing suggests that employers would prefer to hire graduates with recent work experience – their evidence shows that those who worked during their final year at University were more likely, “to be employed full-time after graduation than those who did not work while finishing their degree” (Healy, 2015). Figure 1 shows the bachelor degree graduates available for full time employment, broken down with those in full time employment, those seeking full time employment while not working and those while working. This graph from Graduate Careers Australia’s report on graduates shows that there is a major decline in the number of Graduates in full time employment from 2011-2014, and a steady decline from 2008 (Graduate Careers Australia, 2015). An article from The Guardian highlights that “almost half of those who graduated in the last five years… are in non graduate jobs for which they are overqualified and underpaid” (White, 2012). A graduate who was recently surveyed for this article stated that, “I have commercial experience plus a postgraduate degree so frequently get told I’m underqualified and overqualified” which can be a frustrating feedback to be heard by someone who has spent 7+ years studying for their dream job. 91% of participants agreed that employers should offer more trainee roles within their businesses (White, 2012), this may increase the likelihood that graduates will be offered fulltime roles once graduated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some other major economic drivers of change include, globalisation, technology, economic shift and uncertainty, environment and sustainability, demography and social values and expectations. In 2008 the world was hit by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), by looking at Figure 1 it can be seen to have had an impact on the number of those graduates in fulltime employment. The Australian Economy had to diversify and seize new opportunities through innovation, entrepreneurship and greater integration within their region after the hit of the GFC (Universities Australia, 2016). Soon after, a report conducted by the Grattan Institute noted a shortage of health and engineering graduates and concluded that both student demand and the supply of undergraduate places are responding to these shortages.  A reason for the increase in underemployment of University Graduates may be because there are a surplus of graduates in certain fields and an undersupply in other fields. For example, there is an oversupply of Dentists. Figures from Graduate Careers Australia almost a decade ago showed that 97% of graduate dentists were in full-time employment soon after completing their degree, yet in 2013, the Australian Graduate Survey showed that the figure had dropped to 83.8% (Montague, 2014).

 

Conclusively, it can be seen that potential employers do not offer enough training opportunities to for graduate students in their specialised jobs, that some graduates are made to feel that they are too qualified which has forced a decline in those students who have made the transition into full-time employment after graduation. Finally, the economic behaviour around the year 2008 has seen a dramatic drop, and with oversupply and undersupply in certain fields employment has declined ever since.

​

Bibliography

Graduate Careers Australia. (2015). Graduate Destinations 2014: A report on the Work and Study outcomes of recent Higher Education Graduates. Retrieved from Graduate Careers: http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Graduate_Destinations_Report_2014_FINAL.pdf

 

Healy, J. (2015, July 29). Graduating into a weak job market: why so many grads can’t find work. (University of Melbourne ) Retrieved September 28, 2016, from The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/graduating-into-a-weak-job-market-why-so-many-grads-cant-find-work-45222

 

Montague, A. (2014, August 11). Unis should take responsibility for graduate oversupply . Retrieved September 28, 2016, from The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/unis-should-take-responsibility-for-graduate-oversupply-29909

Universities Australia . (2015). An Agenda for Australia Higher Education. Retrieved September 28, 2016, from Universities Australia : file:///Users/MeganO-J/Downloads/An%20Agenda%20for%20Australian%20Higher%20Education2103_2016.pdf

 

Universities Australia. (2015, November 20). Higher Education and Research Facts and Figures. Retrieved from Universities Australia: https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/australias-universities/key-facts-and-data#.V-siQJN95-U

 

Universities Australia. (2016, May 16). The graduate effect: higher education spillovers to the Australian workforce. Retrieved September 28, 2016, from Universities Australia: https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Media-and-Events/commissioned-studies/The-graduate-effect--higher-education-spillovers-to-the-Australian-workforce#.V-syZZN95-U

 

White, A. (2012, Febuary 7). The biggest challenges facing graduate jobseekers today – what you told us. (The Guardian) Retrieved September 28, 2016, from The Guardian Careers: https://www.theguardian.com/careers/challenges-graduate-jobseekers-face-today

Figure 1
bottom of page