Graduate Tips

Australian workplaces are unique, and without some valid local experience, you may not realise that there needs to be a healthy balance of both your professional self and your business self.

Being a professional in Australia starts from the moment you walk on premises for a job interview, and continues throughout your working life. But what characteristics are essential to be a professional in an Australian practice? What traits get you employed and what traits set you apart from the rest? Read below to find out.

Enthusiasm:

Try this sentence for a tongue twister: Employers employ employees for the person, not just for the skill.

If you are getting ’employed’ into the business, fair chance that the company want to keep you for more than a 6 month project. They are looking for more than your skill, they are looking at the person you are. Everyone has a ‘personal brand;’ that unique flare that makes them different from the next candidate that walks in the door.

Employers want you to blend into their culture and become a team player. If you are enthusiastic and passionate about your field of work, then show it from the moment you have your job interview and maintain it throughout your working life. Synergies can form when dynamic and enthusiastic professionals come together to work. Don’t hide your passion and enthusiasm from your work. Employers can teach certain skills, but they cannot teach these personal traits.

Manners:

In your first professional Australian experience, you will get exposure to the friendly nature of your manager and colleagues. It is really important to walk into the office every day with a smile and create small-talk with those around you, for example “did you enjoy the nice weather we had over the weekend?”

However it is always important to maintain excellent manners in the following professional ways. It is important to always address your superiors and (where appropriate) colleagues as Mr Surname or Mrs Surname until you are told otherwise. Always be thankful and courteous, wear your smile, and always be appreciative of everyone’s time. These are all small examples that build a very professional character.

Industry knowledge:

It is important to keep up to date as best as possible with your industry and what is happening. Sounds daunting? It is as simple as signing up to industry-related newsletter subscriptions (Career of the Day) or social media posts (LinkedIn) and having a quick read up every morning on any major happenings that occurred overnight. When you walk into the office, your manager and colleagues might want to have a chat about this issue, as it interests them given their enthusiasm for their field. It would be best to contribute to these conversations every morning, otherwise it will show that you lack enthusiasm for your field outside of office hours, and those are not the people who progress with their career.

Networks:

In Australia, most jobs you enter would have come from who you know, not what you know. And unfortunately, it is up to yourself to create these opportunities. Always maintain your professionalism, including wearing your smile and updating your knowledge, because you never know who may be introduced into your life that day in the work lunch room or corridor. An enthusiastic young professional walking through the corridor may be stopped for a chat, and if you are always polite and professional, then you never know what doors you have opened for yourself in future years.

As mentioned earlier, small-talk is highly important and an essential part of International jobs cultures, and networking is the perfect example of its importance in Australian professionals.

As mentioned at the start, you will not get a full grasp of professionalism in an Australian context until you begin working. However let this post be your exposure so that none of the above points come as a total suprise for you.

Evan is a careers consultant at Career of the Day. Call him today to book in for a free career advice session.

at: admin@careeroftheday.com

Mob: 0432 254 296