ProGrad Brisbane

According to ‘The Telegraph’- Article by Jeremy Warner (DEC 2011)

ProGrad is trying to put out the warning for all graduates that there may be some tough economic times ahead.  (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news)

Now is the time to brace yourself and get clued up about the types of industries and roles available.  Our recommendation is to research the industries which will come out on top during the uncertain times ahead. Try looking at publications such BRW (Business Review Weekly), The Australian, SMH, Marketing Mag, CRN, ARN, Adnews and B&T to name a few.

To give you a helping hand, ProGrad have done some of the work for you. We have researched the top performing Industries that will help you make an educated decision on the best suited career path after University.  

We are feeling festive here at ProGrad! The office is nicely decorated and everyone is cheerful! We have had such a fantastic year and are very much looking forward to having a successful 2012!

With so many success stories from 2011, we can only keep striving to help and place more graduates year by year.  

If you would like to become a part of ProGrad’s network and want to hear about all the opportunities we can offer you, then please contact ProGrad on (02) 8235 8300 or email ProGrad at: info@prograd.com.au

LinkedIn has released the most overused Buzz words for 2011. The words that made the list are:

•       Creative’
•       Effective’
•       Communication skills’
•       Strategic planning’

These Buzzwords have come from professional profiles all over the world! The study mainly focused on Countries such as: France, Spain, Ireland, Singapore, USA and Australia.

At ProGrad we have come up with some alternative words you can use for your LinkedIn Profile. These include:

•       Tech Savvy!
•       Young and willing!
•       Open to anything!
•       Ready and rearing to go!

ProGrad would love to see these phrases make the next linked in Buzz Word list! For more suggestions and inspiration of buzz words please feel free to contact ProGrad directly on (02) 8235 8300. Or Email ProGrad at info@prograd.com.au

Have you ever felt defeated by the job hunting process?

Have you ever questioned if you will ever get the right job?

Do you spend an endless amount of time on seek?

ProGrad can help you! Let ProGrad be your librarian who guides you to the right book.

ProGrad can help take the stress out of trying to find the right job for you by:

• Showing you the full contents of what is expected by each role
• Can guide you to the right page number that has the most relevant information for your interview
• Can provide an index of understanding that explains all the questions you may have about a company or a role

If you would like to find out more on how ProGrad can assist you on providing employment opportunities, please give us a call on:

(02) 82358300

Alternatively, you can email Prograd on:

info@prograd.com.au

Prograd can help you write your next chapter in your career that is always guaranteed to have a happy ending!

ProGrad asked for the Young Achiever submissions to demonstrate certain examples of their successes in different business.  As ProGrad start to review some of these submissions, I thought it was worthwhile sharing some of the content with you. 

Over the last 4 years, we have placed over 2,000 graduates into their corporate career and we hope to acknowledge the enormous success of these graduates overforthcoming weeks and months.  At the ProGrad event, we will celebrate their success with an awards ceremony.  Watch this space!

One of our recent submissions, comes from a graduate placed in a large publishing company in Melbourne.  Without revealing too many sensitive pieces of information about the candidate and the organisation, I wanted to share some of the submission which I found particularly impressive:

“In having three quite different publications to sell, time management has been a key to pursuing the most appropriate and profitable prospects. I have had to continually analyse which publications are providing the most profitable results for the time I am able to put into them.

Within each publication I have also had to establish which clients require more of my time relative to their profitability. Often, the smaller clients take up the most time so exploring ways to reduce the time spent on these clients and funneling that time into more profitable areas is important.

Having a limited knowledge of sales and advertising at the start of my role I have now developed an extensive array of skills and knowledge in the industry. Much of this has come through personal experience, in dealing with clients both over the phone and in meetings. Colleagues have also assisted my development in mentoring me on industry “best practice.”

Maintaining integrity is extremely important to me personally and is proving to be extremely advantageous in my professional life. Without holding the trust and respect of your clients, dealing with them would be very difficult. People are far more likely to want to deal with someone they know they can trust than someone they can’t.”

We look forward to receiving many more nominations from our graduates over the next couple of weeks.  We are holding the deadline open until the end of Feb 2010.  If you would like to enter please click here

Experience Prior to Applying to ProGrad:

“I went to Brisbane Girls Grammar School and represented Australia in Rhythmic Gymnastics. After school I went to Queensland University of Technology up in Brisbane and worked in a café as a Public Relations Assistant.”

Assessment Day:

“It was a lot of fun and an enjoyable way to be assessed in a group situation.”

Interview Process:

“I was interviewed by my manager Matt and another manager in the company. I was then called back for round 2 with my manager and the CEO. The role was exciting and offered me a lot of ownership, responsibilities and a variety of tasks.”

Role & Responsibilities:

“My role is to manage the relationships between out company and our retailers. To create new retail channels and sales among retailers.”

Advice for Other Graduates:

“It’s a good way to get your foot in the door within sales and marketing. The training is practical and you would be amazed at how much you actually need to use the theory in your own role. ProGrad offers you a great opportunity to learn and excel in your role, company and industry.”

Like all Prograd candidates I did my time (it sounds like prison doesn’t it?) at New Zealand’s Auckland University of Technology where I majored in accounting. Due to the practical nature of our degree I was required to obtain a job related to my field and I commenced working as a Tax Investigator for the New Zealand Tax Department. After 2 years the travel bug bit and I began working as a Youth Counselor aboard cruise liners around the world. What was planned as a six week contract, turned into a five year stint allowing me to visit 59 spectacular countries. After calling in every possible port and realizing it was time to enter the ‘grown up’ world, my friends and I decided to move to Australia.

I started to job hunt online through seek.com.au and applied for several positions, one of which was through ProGrad. The ProGrad staff were quick to contact me and arrange my attendance at the upcoming assessment afternoon. I was fairly skeptical about what to expect after hearing horror stories from friends who had done similar things. I was very close to canceling last minute and am so grateful I didn’t.

The assessment day was full of similar people, nervous about not knowing anyone, being judged, and about the three minute presentation looming. After several group exercises the ice melted and we found our place in the groups allocated. The sigh of relief could be heard through the door as all those who ‘passed’ were told they were accepted onto ProGrads candidate list. The following morning I was contacted by ProGrad and put forward for an interview with Kimberly Clark. My consultant ensured that I was organised by suggesting I research the company online and prepare examples to be used.

Within a week I had completed two interviews, personality testing and had received an employment offer. The same day I received two equally great employment offers which left me with a large decision to make. I discussed all the options with my consultant who added any impartial insight she felt could help me make the most informed decision to benefit me.

After preparing the list of pros and cons, I decided to follow my instincts and accepted the role as a Territory Manager for Kimberly Clark. Kimberly Clark produces Australian made FMCG paper products found in the everyday home. Its common consumer brands include Kleenex, Viva, Kotex and Huggies. My role as a Territory Manager is to ensure compliance of promotions, check that pricing and ticketing is correct and look for opportunities to upsell and create displays of our products. The atmosphere and the people at Kimberly Clark are incredible. I have found such an inspiring role model and see a fabulous long term career with the company.

Six weeks after commencing employment, I spent five days completing Module One of the ProGrad course. I can not speak more highly of this course and the facilitator who ran the program. It covered a vast array of topics in an open forum which allowed all of us to feel comfortable to express our opinions and questions. I found it beneficial having started work and being able to relate the information to experiences I had encountered in the workplace thus far. In a recent sales meeting, our National Manager touched on some of the topics ProGrad had covered and I was able to relate the theory learnt to workplace practices. My experience with both ProGrad and Kimberly Clark has been nothing but rewarding and I am looking forward to attending Module Two and increasing my skill set. 

My recommendations for future candidates would be: *attend the assessment day and get involved as much as possible. *Be honest to your consultant about what you are looking for in a role and a company. *Take all the opportunities presented and use them as experience to improve your interview skills. *Take quality time to prepare for each interview.

Good Luck!

I studied Bachelor of Arts at Sydney Uni, majoring in Philosophy and Sociology. Naturally when my study was coming to the end I was asking myself  “What am I going to do with that?!” The work experience I had didn’t make things any clearer, I had worked as a cleaner, a bartender and a pool man; so I was struggling to see where my first foothold would be for my career.

I then stumbled on ProGrad’s website and was hooked by the focus they placed on personality traits rather than just the title of the degree.  There was a quick phone interview and all of a sudden I was in my dressed up in my suit at the ProGrad office. The assessment day was quite daunting at first, not knowing what we were being judged on, staring around the room looking at our competition and truly, I wasn’t sure what it was that got me selected, I was just my normal self; seemed like a breeze in the end! On the Monday following I had five calls and three interviews all organised before lunch time, as good as it was I kept  thinking to myself, how am I going to have time to write three proposals, finish my Uni assessments and prepare for three interviews! It all happened so fast.

The interview process lasted approx two weeks; I started my first ‘real’ job immediately on the third Monday after the assessment day and handed in my last assessment simultaneously. I took up a role at Hasbro, a leading global toy company; I mean who could say no to a fun environment with exposure to national and global business experience, not to mention a desk covered in Transformers, Nerf Guns and other toys which definitely have the potential for distraction. Since starting in November 2007 I’ve been promoted twice to be the account executive for one of our major accounts. The knowledge I gained from the four Modules of ProGrad training gave me the head start and confidence to challenge my peers into taking on these new opportunities for promotion.  However, not only the content of the courses is beneficial, it was a great opportunity to learn from the experiences of other people within their different roles and companies developing strong professional and social relationships. The drinks after each course weren’t too bad either…

To anyone in the same position as me approaching the end of my degree, my advice is don’t hesitate, ProGrad helped me to gain my first foot hold so quickly and developed my skills to assist in quick promotions. I am sad that I don’t have any more training modules to attend.

If you would like to apply for a ProGrad opportunity, please call our Graduate Management Team on 02 8235 8300, or apply online using the ProGrad application form.  To open the ProGrad Application Form please click on this link.

Michael worked at various creative media agencies and freelanced as a 3D animator and film-maker prior to graduating from Bachelor Digital Media at UNSW, minoring in Personal Financial Planning.

My first run-in with ProGrad was on one of the larger online job sites. I saw an ad, shrugged, and said to myself “yeah why not, might as well give this a go”.

After submitting a CV and taking part in a phone interview (while walking to a face-to-face interview, coincidentally enough), I was invited to attend one of ProGrad’s regular Assessment Days.

Being one of a handful of non-Business/Economics/Commerce graduates present, in a room of about thirty candidates, it’s a severe understatement to say I was “nervous”.  The assessment Day was an interesting experience, made more so by being told we passed.  There are a few pointers that are worth sharing to those at the early stages of the ProGrad process:

• Plenty of sleep the night prior to Assessment Day definitely helps keep you on the ball.
• Being able to think about the situation from someone else’s perspective (eg, a client) is helpful too.
• Be professional, amiable, and friendly. Migrating from a uni lifestyle to a business environment can be a large transition, we just have to try and persevere.
• For those whose degrees are don’t quite fall under the business umbrella, you’ll be happy to know a degree is also about being able to finish something you started 3 or more years ago. Learning the ropes of a new industry is easier than learning perseverance.

The second company I attended an interview for, was Rainmaker Group. After securing employment, ProGrad provided training sessions every few months, which is always helpful in developing one’s repertoire, from solution selling to negotiation skills. I am definitely looking forward to the next training session with ProGrad.

If you’re looking for career that recognises your professional abilities, getting involved with ProGrad is a very easy first step. Chances are they’ll slide a springboard after that step and you’ll start taking leaps onwards, with ProGrad pointing you in the direction you want to go. 

If you would like to apply for a ProGrad opportunity, please call our Graduate Management Team on 02 8235 8300, or apply online using the ProGrad application form.  To open the ProGrad Application Form please click on this link.

I studied a Bachelor of Design Computing at the University from 2004 to 2006, the degree focused on mainly on design and its implementation in today’s society and designing for technology. My course was quite broad and included subjects on 3D animation, Web design, Mobile application development all in addition to the core graphic design fundamentals. I had no direct work experience from the industry apart from a couple of minor freelancing jobs in addition to working for a furniture rental company during university and working in retail while living in London.

My experience of the assessment day was quite nerve-racking, as there were a lot of graduates applying for positions and we were told the recruitment process was quite selective. Overall, it was a great experience as the day provided a lot of helpful hints and general training that prepares you for the interview process in between the assessment tasks.

ProGrad proposed me for an interview with Eyeblaster and I saw a great role in a company with a lot of potential. It utilizes a lot of my experiences from university and allows me to work with a broad range of clients.

Eyeblaster is marketing solutions provider operating in the online advertising market. We provide solutions for media agencies, creative agencies and publishers to be able to track, monitor and analyze their campaigns from the Eyeblaster Ad Campaign Manager Platform.

Day to day I work with creative agency contacts throughout Australia and New Zealand and help them integrate their Ideas with our Rich Media Platform. I work across a lot of different creative concepts with a wide range of small and big agencies.

I have attended Module 1, and I found it a great introduction to the business environment. Although the course was mainly sales based, I took a lot of useful information from it in regards to how to deal with certain types of people to presentation techniques and business etiquette.

ProGrad is a great experience and service and good way of getting your foot in the door of the industry you desire.

If you would like to apply for a ProGrad opportunity, please call our Graduate Management Team on 02 8235 8300, or apply online using the ProGrad application form.  To open the ProGrad Application Form please click on this link.