QUTAHRS
[Volume 1, Issue 1] March 2010
Welcome back guys Well it’s that time again. After a few months of working, spending and hurting our livers we are knee deep into assignments and already counting down until the end of the semester! I hope everyone’s break was as good as mine and that you’re all refreshed and excited for the year ahead! This is the first of many issues to come to help with current HR topics, inform you of upcoming events and also to give you monthly updates on what we, the QUTAHRS group, are doing! For those of you who are returning members, and for new ones, welcome to QUTAHRS. We’ll be proactive in helping you kick-start your careers and gaining invaluable contacts to be better prepared than anyone else. I look forward to the semester ahead and hope to see you all at our upcoming event (pg2). Nick Mazzer Marketing
Contents
Straight From The President’s Mouth
Special Interest Articles From the Presidents Mouth 1
Welcome to the first issue of our monthly newsletter. We’ve got a jam packed year ahead, and in conjunction with the website this is where you can find out about upcoming events, news about the latest HR topics, and answers to questions asked by you!
Work Experience
2
Student of the Month
2
From the REAL World
3
Y Step Up
3
Our website, www.qutahrs.org is undergoing a makeover in the upcoming weeks, so keep watch for extra info soon.
Q&A
3
Upcoming Events!
2
For those who came to the AHRI Practices Day, it was a great day filled with interesting guest speakers, plenty of networking opportunities and lots of food (the desserts were great!). You might even see some of these key speakers at our events throughout the year. This week I’d like to leave you with a quote from Dr. Adrian Nowitzke, who gave a heartwarming and compelling speech, which I think sums up the profession of HR nicely; “It’s all about the people We are the people people We are the business people” Cheers Kristal Reynolds
Contact Us hrstudents@qut.edu.au President: Kristal Reynolds Vice-President: Kerry-Anne McDavitt Secretary: Rhyannon Morgan Treasurer: Anthony Purvis Marketing Team: Nick Mazzer & Tracey Deans Work Experience Coordinators: Miranda-Clare Iddon & Krystle Kiss
Student of the Month Kristal Reynolds QUTAHRS President
Work Experience
2
Like so many students at the end of last year I was looking down the barrel of a three month stretch of holidays and but wanted to further my education without completing a summer semester. I wanted practical skills and abilities that I could put on a resume that would help me stand out from other students come graduation. I also wanted the opportunity to take myself out of my comfort zone and reaffirm that I had chosen the right course for my studies as well as be exposed to a range of possibilities I hadn’t yet thought of. Through the QUTAHRS work experience program I landed a one month, unpaid work experience placement, which not only gave me exposure to amazing opportunities such as assisting with group training, assisting in the development of a new training sessions, writing internal communications material, peer reviewing e-learning material, as well as sitting in on meetings relating to a very exciting new project for the company, just to name a few of the new skills and abilities
Kristal Reynolds is a QUTAHRS veteran. She was a foundation member of the group in 2008, was encouraged to take on the role of secretary for 2009, a role in which she became the QUTAHRS linchpin and has now taken on the reigns of President for 2010. It is fair to say she has big shoes to fill, but her enthusiasm and passion for the group will see QUTAHRS achieve great things in 2010. Members can expect a personalised experience from Kristal and her executive and she will strive to ensure that the members who have a goal or big plans for their career will achieve it with the help from QUTAHRS. In her down time Kristal is an avid reader, socialiser and traveler. If she is not travelling then she is probably researching her next trip. So jump on board the Kristal Reynolds bandwagon before she jumps on a plane!
I gained exposure to, but also built my confidence in my choices, and inspired myself to work harder for my career goals. Even now, months after completing my placement, I still refer back to my experiences as a useful tool to make learning material more tangible, having seen and experienced some key concepts first hand. Not only that but my support network of individuals who would help me reach my full potential expanded, these are people in the industry who are willing to help and support me through questions and challenges I face while completing my degree. Given that summer has been and gone why is this relevant now? Well! The work experience program run thought QUTARHS is very flexible and unstructured allowing students to complete placements during the semester. Students are able to complete one or a few days a week or complete the work experience in specific blocks of time; this is agreed between the student and organisation. Miranda-Clare Iddon Work Experience Coordinator
Upcoming Events 15th April - Coffee Shop Forum @ Old Government House 4th May – Coffee Shop Forum @ Old Government House May – Gen Y & Changing Technologies Event June – Gen Y AHRI Forum July – Semester Break Event July – ‘Change Your Life’Event August – Recruitment Workshop
3
From the REAL World… A HR PERSPECTIVE If your answer to the question “why did you choose to study HR” is “because I like helping people” (or something similar) then I am sorry to say you are probably heading for the wrong career choice. HR has probably never been about helping people but is now demanding a lot more of current and future generations of HR professionals. You will often be called on to represent the interests of employees and the organisation when both of their interests or expected outcomes are different, and sometimes when they conflict to the extent that your ethics and values will be significantly challenged. You will need to develop skills to balance on this fence and not to compromise your values. You may even have to make a choice at some time like I once did to leave an organisation that “crossed my line”. To progress in an HR career you will also need to look and act like any other functional professional and to speak their language, be it marketing or finance or operational nous. There is rarely just a HR reason for implementing something in an organisation, so you need to find a hook into a business reason to hang your HR reason on. One final word – find an organisation that is willing to invest in you and a boss that you admire and trust, and avoid the opposites. Another of the many lessons I have learnt (some took a while to sink in) is that we owe it to ourselves and our families to find a job that we enjoy doing, and one where we can add value. Don’t settle for less. Ed Watts FAHRI
‘Y Step Up’ It seems the generation known best for its inflated self importance and overbearing need to be heard has fallen quiet on our favourite topic, ourselves. Many a presentation about Generation Y and meeting our expectations in the workplace is left to individuals who are Baby Boomers or Gen X to discuss and debate. If we expect to be the leaders of tomorrow and treated as such, then it’s time we take an interest, vocalise our perspective, and share this with you, our prospective employers. This interactive presentation by a panel of students and early career graduates will discuss common stereotypes of Generation Y and share with HRM practitioner’s personal stories about the things that matter to Generation Y as the next generation HRM professionals. The topics for the presentation will include; the value of work experience for Students and Graduates, Why do students choose HRM as a potential career path? Why do students/graduates choose to work for certain companies? Where does the appeal lie? What are the expectations and realities of Generation Y in the work force? This is a great opportunity for students to become involved in QUTAHRS and AHRI. Additional information will be available over the coming weeks so keep an eye out for opportunities to take part!
Q&A Well guys this section is all about you asking us questions! If we don’t know the answer, we know people who do! So email any of the executive members st questions before the 1 of every month and we’ll answer them in here. It’s also where we ask you all a question and hopefully you take the time to respond to it, sometimes it’ll be about our next drinking venue… so stay tuned! hrstudents@qut.edu.au
Books & Websites We Think You Should Read… ‘The Anti-Resume Revolution’ by Angela Lussier (can buy online as a download for only $5!! http://www.lulu.com/product/dow nload/the-anti-resumerevolution/6080636) Ted.com - Ideas worth spreading. Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world. (Try watching speeches by Jamie Oliver, Al Gore & Ken Robinson. After this there is a good chance you will become addicted!)