BIZZNESS: CAREERS
FAST TRACK YOUR CAREER! We chat to co-ops, interns and a cadet working at different financial firms about the ups and downs of being thrown into the deep end.
THE CO-OP: Hey everyone, my name’s Michael Shen and I’m here to share with you the absolute delight of an experience that is the UNSW Co-op Program.
Now, in case you ever find yourself in a situation where you have an opportunity to join the program, I’m here to convince you why you should take it.
The UNSW Co-operative Program is a work experience-based scholarship available for various degrees from the Australian School of Business and the Faculty of Engineering. The Co-op Program is technically only open to Year 12 students, but what most people don’t realise is that every year, a number of vacancies arise for those already in uni, due to Scholars leaving the program. These positions are advertised on the Co-op website, and via email communication to students of the relevant course.
A Co-op scholar undertakes three or four full time Industry Training Experience (ITE) placements during their degree. These placements are either three or six months in length, depending on your course. These ITEs are unpaid, however, every year scholars are paid $16750 AUD per annum, about
I-N-T-E-R-N-S-H-I-P? What’s that? by Jamie Lee
PwC, your friend’s girlfriend is working at Deloitte, and all these “How to Ace Your Interview” workshops are popping up everywhere. Seriously, why the fuss?
Uni students hoping to join the Co-op Program should have at least a Distinction WAM and pass the interview. This is typically done with a member of UNSW and an industry
sponsor representative. ome of you might compare the Co-op program to a cadetship. I’m now going to convince you why the Co-op program is better. • Breadth of experience – in a cadetship you work for the same company for your entire degree. Co-op allows you to work at 3-4 different sponsor companies • You’re not working through your entire degree – Co-op will give you the same, if not more, opportunities to gain industry knowledge, while allowing you to breathe in between ITEs. • The Co-op scholarship is taxfree, unlike a cadetship.
THE INTERN:
You probably went through 1st year caring only about when the next uni party was, where the free BBQs were, and receiving nasty shocks as you realised that that assignment was actually due tomorrow (which, in true uni-student fashion, you hadn’t started and didn’t for another 3 hours because you were too busy polishing off Battlefield 3). That, or you are a fresh first year, about to fall into the same trap as all of us from the previous generations. So then comes second year, and all of a sudden – internships. The word is everywhere. One of your friends was offered an internship with www.unswbsoc.com | 30
One of the biggest things employers look for is experience. Besides earning $16,750 p/a tax-free, UNSW Co-op scholars have the opportunity to work at three or four established companies. We’re talking about names like JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Microsoft. Mid-2011, I was lucky enough to join the UNSW Marketing Co-op Program as a late entrant. Being a late entrant, I only have two internships - both at Johnson & Johnson. The first was in the Overthe-Counter franchise (think Codral
and Zyrtec), and the second in Skin Care, working on the Neutrogena brand. Nothing in my studies could have prepared me for the work in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. There is so much to learn in the real world as a marketer with so many fun and exciting opportunities to take, like developing promotional material, working with social media, and helping organise PR events. Working in FMCG is challenging. I’ve had to learn things like analysing data, reconciling the budget and how to work new software and processes. But even before all that, I had to learn about the brands and understand the technology of the product. In a dynamic industry like FMCG, while everyone is happy www.unswbsoc.com | 31