Graduate Edge
The University of Sydney Careers Centre has partnered with leaders in industry to provide first and penultimate year students with this opportunity to develop highly regarded professional skills. The program consists of interactive workshops where participants will learn key employability skills such as personal branding, networking, communication, leadership, teamwork, problem solving and presentation skills. This is an exceptional program to help students gain personal and professional skills and get the edge as a globally competitive student.
Run as a one week intensive in the semester break (Monday 23 July to Friday 27 July), Graduate Edge offers students an excellent opportunity to maximize their career development right from the start of the degree!
http://sydney.edu.au/careers/student_events_workshops/graduate_edge.shtml
The program was introduced in 2010 as a way of introducing highly talented students in the early stages of their degrees to employers. The benefits to tertiary students includes an inside look at corporate organizations as each employer hosted a session in their offices. They also had the chance to gain professional skills as each employer offered a career development session on topics such as personal branding, networking, emotional intelligence and online applications amongst others. Additionally the students had the opportunity to meet 60 other students in the early stages of a degree enabling them to connect with each other and with the institution. Students felt much more aware of what a career in a corporate environment involved and formed a facebook page which they posted on regularly.
Student comments:
Ultimately, Graduate Edge provided me with the experience of gaining a competitive position with Macquarie Group’s Summer Intern Program.
A series of career development workshops helped enhance my interview skills and broaden my insights into the corporate industry.
Graduate employers benefited as they had the opportunity to directly engage with high calibre students early in their degree and not only inform them about their organization but also provide career education sessions for them. Organisations such as Australian Association of Graduate Employers indicate that graduate recruiters are more and more turning to internships and vacation work as a way of sourcing future employees. Graduate Edge gave the employers exposure to students across a range of disciplines. A prominent recruiter from a professional services firm was delighted when 4 of the Graduate Edge students were accepted into their Career Compass program. Similarly a large bank had 18 applications for vacation work from Graduate Edge participants, 7 of whom were offered positions.
Sydney University as an institution benefited as the program was seen as an innovative way of connecting students with employers and the program was concluded by an event attended by the Director of Student Support Services. Students also felt that they were representatives of their institution and were keen to behave in a professional and polished way in the corporate environment so as to “fly the flag” for the University of Sydney.
The Graduate Edge program could be of potential benefit to NAGCAS as it provides a model of connecting students and employers which is different to a careers fair, employer presentation or workshop. Employers appreciate the opportunity to engage with students on their own premises and students felt the opportunity for professional development enhanced their networking and job application skills. It was also an opportunity for the University of Sydney Careers Centre to work collaboratively as one team on a project as the Career Development Officers gave on-boarding sessions and a career education module as a part of the program and accompanied students with the industry team to various employers’ sessions. In this sense it was a great professional development exercise for all at the Careers Centre and we all gained from these industry site visits.
The Graduate Edge program was innovative because it used a number of forums to commence and build on networking relationships between employers and students. Students had to competitively apply for the program, unlike a fair, workshop or presentation where they just register and turn up and this added to the appeal of the program for both students and employers. It also meant that the students bonded more as a group and utilised Facebook more to comment on their experiences throughout the week. Research indicates that students are more likely to drop out of university in first year, so a program like Graduate Edge helps students connect with each other and with their University. It meets the needs of all involved parties – students, employers and Careers staff.
Run as a one week intensive in the semester break (Monday 23 July to Friday 27 July), Graduate Edge offers students an excellent opportunity to maximize their career development right from the start of the degree!
http://sydney.edu.au/careers/student_events_workshops/graduate_edge.shtml
The program was introduced in 2010 as a way of introducing highly talented students in the early stages of their degrees to employers. The benefits to tertiary students includes an inside look at corporate organizations as each employer hosted a session in their offices. They also had the chance to gain professional skills as each employer offered a career development session on topics such as personal branding, networking, emotional intelligence and online applications amongst others. Additionally the students had the opportunity to meet 60 other students in the early stages of a degree enabling them to connect with each other and with the institution. Students felt much more aware of what a career in a corporate environment involved and formed a facebook page which they posted on regularly.
Student comments:
Ultimately, Graduate Edge provided me with the experience of gaining a competitive position with Macquarie Group’s Summer Intern Program.
A series of career development workshops helped enhance my interview skills and broaden my insights into the corporate industry.
Graduate employers benefited as they had the opportunity to directly engage with high calibre students early in their degree and not only inform them about their organization but also provide career education sessions for them. Organisations such as Australian Association of Graduate Employers indicate that graduate recruiters are more and more turning to internships and vacation work as a way of sourcing future employees. Graduate Edge gave the employers exposure to students across a range of disciplines. A prominent recruiter from a professional services firm was delighted when 4 of the Graduate Edge students were accepted into their Career Compass program. Similarly a large bank had 18 applications for vacation work from Graduate Edge participants, 7 of whom were offered positions.
Sydney University as an institution benefited as the program was seen as an innovative way of connecting students with employers and the program was concluded by an event attended by the Director of Student Support Services. Students also felt that they were representatives of their institution and were keen to behave in a professional and polished way in the corporate environment so as to “fly the flag” for the University of Sydney.
The Graduate Edge program could be of potential benefit to NAGCAS as it provides a model of connecting students and employers which is different to a careers fair, employer presentation or workshop. Employers appreciate the opportunity to engage with students on their own premises and students felt the opportunity for professional development enhanced their networking and job application skills. It was also an opportunity for the University of Sydney Careers Centre to work collaboratively as one team on a project as the Career Development Officers gave on-boarding sessions and a career education module as a part of the program and accompanied students with the industry team to various employers’ sessions. In this sense it was a great professional development exercise for all at the Careers Centre and we all gained from these industry site visits.
The Graduate Edge program was innovative because it used a number of forums to commence and build on networking relationships between employers and students. Students had to competitively apply for the program, unlike a fair, workshop or presentation where they just register and turn up and this added to the appeal of the program for both students and employers. It also meant that the students bonded more as a group and utilised Facebook more to comment on their experiences throughout the week. Research indicates that students are more likely to drop out of university in first year, so a program like Graduate Edge helps students connect with each other and with their University. It meets the needs of all involved parties – students, employers and Careers staff.