While celebrations are in the air for graduating students across the country right now, the end of university life also brings with it the imminent challenge of finding professional employment.
Fresh graduates will be hoping to meet the varying criteria for employers with positions to fill and secure the job that could launch their careers
‘Have I got what this employer wants?’ is a question likely to crop up from time to time. A Griffith Business School researcher may have the answer.
Jan Ferguson has examined graduate employees’ perception of their careers and graduate transition to employment as part of her PhD research project at Griffith’s Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing.
Ms Ferguson carried out in-depth interviews with 25 employed graduates across the professional spectrum and surveyed more than 120 employed graduates around Australia.
“In addition to their degrees, prior experience emerged as the key factor when graduates talked about transitioning into the workplace,” she said. “Graduates with prior experience valued it because they were able to compare their new experience in a new workplace with prior experiences.
“It provided a useful context and a benchmark for using their graduate attributes, specifically knowledge, skills and other qualities. Those graduates without prior experience could see how more confident graduates with prior experience were in the workplace.”
Ms Ferguson said she would advise new graduates looking for work to reflect on the graduate attributes they have gained and developed through prior experiences in part-time jobs, internships and work experience in addition to degree assessments which incorporated these attributes.
The graduates interviewed for the research were also asked what advice they would offer.
“Graduates encouraged students to maximise their university experience and take advantage of every opportunity to apply their attributes in volunteering internships, any work-integrated learning and also working overseas. It is these experiences that distinguish you from a graduate with the same degree as you, one graduate said.”
Interviewees also highlighted the value of personal planning and seeking out employers with graduate programs and training opportunities.
Advice emerging for new graduates included planning your career from your first day at university, being self-aware, being prepared to be different and to be proactive, giving things a go, being adaptable and motivated and showing the right attitude
Ms Ferguson explained that her research shows that “today’s working environment is one of greater fluidity and flexibility than ever before where job security is no longer guaranteed. There is an onus on graduates, therefore, to take control of their careers.”
The research also revealed a disparity between what employers want in terms of skills and qualities and what universities and new graduates thought they wanted.
Employers ranked communication, teamwork and collecting and applying information as the top three skills they looked for in graduates. Graduates ranked communication, critical thinking and self-management as the top three.
Graduates rated enthusiasm as the top ‘other quality’ they should offer, while employers had ethical behaviour at the top of their list of ‘other qualities’.
Natalie, who graduated from Griffith Business School with a Bachelor of Commerce (Professional) last December, was presented with the prestigious award at the FPA Professionals Congress in Brisbane.
She describes how her professional destiny in the financial planning industry followed a change of plan at university.
“I initially completed a diploma in fashion design before I decided to go to university.
“I had started a degree in accounting but after taking an elective in financial planning, I was inspired to change direction,” Natalie, from Brisbane, said.
“Now I want to make a difference in a completely different way to how I thought I would.”
Natalie, originally from Macgregor on Brisbane’s south side, completed a double major in financial planning and accounting at Griffith before taking up a role with independent financial planning practice Tupicoffs.
She is now a client service manager in a working environment where new experiences and new avenues are constant and welcomed.
“Financial Planning is so important because it can make a real difference to people’s lives and can make people’s dreams come true.”
The FPA University Student of the Year Award is a new category in the FPA Awards program and recognises financial planning students who demonstrate strong potential in the areas of accounting, banking and finance.
“I think my passion for the industry and my willingness to take opportunities also came through in my submission,” she said.
During a university internship, Natalie gained insights into the positive impact that high quality financial advice can have on clients.
By achieving the highest result in the ‘Financial Planning, Construction and Review’ course delivered by Julie Knutsen at Griffith Business School, Natalie received theFPA Top Emerging Financial Planner Award. This opened the door for her to enter a submission for FPA University Student of the Year.
“This accolade has made me more excited and motivated about my journey to becoming a financial planner. I am very focused on being a financial planner of the future.”
Internationally recognised arts leaderJohn Kotzas wasthis weekawarded withan Honorary Doctorate from Griffith University.
The Chief Executive of Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) was honoured for his contribution to the cultural and artistic life of the State at the University’s graduation ceremony in South Bank.
As is often the case with leaders, John’s career path has been marked by a willingness to take chances, to try different things, and to embrace hard work.
He says that after more than a quarter of a century in creative services he recognises the importance of staying true to your inner voice and approaching life as an explorer.
“In this age of anxiety where beliefs and trust are increasingly challenged the arts can play a critical role in offering hope. Hope, for me, is not simply the desire for things to be better rather it’s the passion that allows things to happen,” said Mr Kotzas.
Raised in Innisfail in North Queensland, John describes his first taste of the arts as early trips to the local picture theatre with his father.
From his teens, John worked as a labourer at a cheese factory and then took a position at a bank in Brisbane before temporarily relocating to Darwin to help with relief efforts following Cyclone Tracy.
He completed his high school studies as a mature-age student before heading to Griffith University and the University of Queensland to become a secondary teacher.
In 1989, John joined QPAC as an education officer, effectively combining two of his passions. In 2009, he was appointed as Chief Executive of QPAC, now an iconic fixture in Brisbane’s South Bank precinct, attracting more than 1.4 million people annually.
Over the last quarter of a century, John has undertaken various roles for QPAC and a number of significant national celebrations. In 1995 he played a key part in the Australia Remembers celebrations on behalf of the Australian Government, and he was also Managing Director of the inaugural Brisbane Festival in 1996.
John is credited with strengthening QPAC’s international profile having secured the annual, exclusive presentation of some of the world’s greatest performing arts companies.
He led the team that developed the internationally recognised Out of the Box Festival and was instrumental in QPAC’s successes as an investor in large-scale musicals includingThe Phantom of the OperaandChicago.
John also remains committed to creative processes, learning and inclusion. A proud second generation Greek-Australian, he is a passionate advocate of cultural diversity and social justice.
He was awarded the Doctorate at theGriffith University graduation ceremony onMonday 14 December at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, South Bank.
Supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage grant, researchers from Griffith University School of Applied Psychology and the Menzies Health Institute of Queensland are part of a team who are evaluating a school-based protective behaviours program for young children.
The research team includes principal investigators:
Professor Melanie Zimmer-Gembeck, Griffith University
Dr. Dianne Shanley, Griffith University
Professor Russell Hawkins, James Cook University
Associate Professor Kerryann Walsh,Queensland University of Technology
Dr. Kaye Pickering,Act for Kids
Dr Katrina Lines,Act for Kids.
The Learn to BE SAFE with Emmy and friends (TM) program is designed to educate children about unsafe situations and teaches safe behaviours. The program is provided to schools by the not-for-profit organisation Act for Kids, who work to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect.
As part of work through the Cochrane Collaboration, project collaborator Dr. Kerryann Walsh recently led a team to conduct a review of similar programs and found that they were generally effective in increasing children’s knowledge and self-protective skills (Walsh, Zwi, Woolfenden, & Shlonsky, 2015). However, the current study of the Emmy program is one of the first internationally to conduct a randomised control trial using a large sample of children from multiple geographic regions. Results of the study will be used to inform future school-based programs for young children.
Schools on the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Townsville are currently participating in this ongoing study which aims to increase children’s interpersonal safety.
If you would like to know more about the study please contact the Protective Behaviours Program:
(07) 5678 0931 [email protected].
Five hundred and five (505) medical students and 349 junior doctors are the subject of an Australian study conducted by Griffith University researchers to identify the coping mechanisms used to deal with training stress, and whether a link exists between these strategies and their thoughts about dropping out of medicine.
“Even though there is some recognition of the lack of work-life balance in the field of medicine, little is known about how workload stressors and coping strategies are associated with contemplating dropping out of medicine,” says co-investigator and Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing researcher, Dr Mary Rogers.
Categorised as having either ‘serious’ or ‘not serious’ thoughts about doing so, factors which informed the likelihood of dropping out included professional fit (most important for student respondents), workload (most important for junior doctor respondents), work-life balance (female trainees commented more), and the field’s training and education systems.
Differences between medical students and junior doctors
Mary and the research team tested differences between the two groups’ stress and the coping mechanisms they employed to manage it. Such mechanisms included problem solving, risky behaviour, avoidance and support-seeking coping strategies. Analysis of the data revealed 635 participants to be ‘not serious’ about dropping out, with the remaining 219 having ‘serious’ thoughts about doing so. Significant links existed between the level of trainee and the seriousness of their intentions to drop out, as did the seriousness-gender interaction. Seriousness was associated with higher training stress (with students recording higher levels than their junior doctor counterparts), and avoidance and risky behaviour coping strategies. Junior doctors were found to have a higher tendency to seek support from others, as were females in both groups. Males in both however, reported higher levels of risky behaviour coping, while problem-solving efforts and support-seeking strategies helped change respondents’ minds (regardless of gender) about dropping out.
Career satisfaction
Previous research has shown the complexities of a satisfying occupational life and personal lifestyle for those working in medicine. Control of one’s schedule and hours of work, their marital status, gender, and caring responsibilities mediate this relationship, while the multifaceted nature of workload demands including the volume of material to be learned, exams, and clinical training add to this mix.
In concluding, Dr Rogershighlights the benefits of this study and a way forward:
“Identification of at-risk groups can inform efforts to design and deliver wellness interventions for medical trainees, assisting with the prevention of burnout and risk-taking behaviours, empowering individuals, reducing adverse reactions to training demands, and improving mental wellbeing. The career satisfaction of medical students and junior doctors has flow on benefits to their patients and the community as a whole.”
The findings of this study are published in an article authored by Mary, Peter Creed, Judy Searle and Serena Nicholls entitled, ‘Coping with medical training demands: thinking of dropping out, or in it for the long haul’ (2015, Studies in Higher Education, doi: 10.1080/03075079.2014.999318). The study was funded by the Australian Research Council (grant number DP1094066).
Aiming to continue in the family tradition of social work is Peter Dorsett, who graduated from Griffith this week with First Class Honours.
The Bachelor of Social Work student from Fairfield, says the influence of his grandmother Alyce and mother Pat, who have both had diverse careers within the social work sector, have had a powerful effect on his own sense of justice and poverty alleviation within society.
“My family has always cared for others and I guess some of that has rubbed off on me,” says Peter, who has just completed an 18 week practicum with an Elder Abuse Prevention program with Uniting Care.
“Elder abuse appears to be a growing problem in our society as we go towards an increasingly aging population and unfortunately there is not a great deal of funding being put into this worthy area.
“My work with Uniting Care involved drawing together and coordinating stakeholders in developing a strategy to plan for this issue. We have found that the accessibility of information and support is in many cases, often quite poor with knowledge of issues such as how to make a will, powers of attorney and healthcare directives rather low.
“Much of the demand for this type of social work is within migrant or refugee groups where people may arrive here from countries that have minimal understanding of social work. Their cultural and language perspective may be totally different and so the level of complexity of family situation may be quite challenging.”
Whilst studying for his degree Peter also completed a 17 week practicum with the Lotus Place, a dedicated support service and resource centre for Forgotten Australians and former child migrants.
“This was a really interesting placement as it provided the opportunity to help these people provide submissions to the recent Royal Commission for Sexual Abuse, assisting with case management and supporting them with any rehabilitation or administration needs that they had.”
Making a difference
“Social work certainly is a profession that aims to make a real difference to society,” says Peter’s mother Pat, who is a program director and senior lecturer for the School of Human Services and Social Work at Griffith. “It can make a difference in the lives of people individually but also in our communities and with society at large.”
As a social worker herself, Pat has worked in a variety of fields including disability, child protection and health and rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, Peter’s grandmother Alyce completed her social work studies at Judson College in Madison, Alabama in the 1950’s before the family migrated to Australia.
“She has always been a role model for us and instilled a strong sense of social justice and respect for all people regardless of their situation,” says Peter. “She worked in the child protection field here in Queensland for more than 20 years, receiving commendations for her contributions to services to families and children in the state when she retired.”
The Griffith Racing Team (GRT) made an outstanding competition debut at the Formula SAE-Australasia student engineering challenge at Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway at the weekend.
The Griffith team finished 14th out of a field of 30 entries that included several international teams. Monash University was the overall winner.
The Gold Coast-based GRT — comprising engineering graduate Jack Anderson (principal) and students Sean Lowndes (technical assistant), Reece Schmith (safety systems), Ben Jackson (technical director), Jake Werninghaus (engine driveline) and Daniel Schulte-Loh (head of design) — took on universities from Australia, New Zealand and even one from the US.
Specifically tailored for engineering students, Formula SAE is centred on the design, construction and racing of an internal combustion or electric race car up to 600cc/80kW and which is then tested in challenges involving acceleration, skidpan, autocross and endurance.
The GRT car, nicknamed Nara, which stands for “Not Another Risk Assessment”
The GRT vehicle is powered by a 600cc/60HP Honda motorcycle engine and has a six-speed sequential gearbox, a track-limited top speed of 125kmh and is capable of going from 0-100kmh in 3.6 seconds.
“For the FSAE-A competition, we finished 14th overall in our very first year, and that included finishing sixth overall in the endurance classification,” said Jack Anderson.
“To say that we are happy with this result is an understatement. This is what the team has been working towards all along and with the past six weeks consisting of very little sleep and maximum levels of stress, it was a great way for it all to end.
“The whole team would like to thank all of our sponsors, the other teams and all the people that make FSAE-A the great concept it is.”
GRT Director and Head of Griffith’s School of Engineering, Professor Geoff Tansley, congratulated the team.
“The boys deserve so much credit for what they have been able to achieve in a relatively short time. To finish 14th is a truly outstanding result and is a credit to their dedication and abilities,” he said.
Jack said working on the GRT project was not only fun, but also complemented and enhanced his university studies.Griffith staff support the project by providing lab spaces, technical support and advice.
The results in Melbourne add to positive news around Griffith’s School of Engineering, which was acknowledged in last week’s 2015 Excellence in Research for Australia results as being above world standard in the fields of Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Materials Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.
If you would like to know more about the Griffith Racing Team, go to Facebook.
The Griffith Criminology Institute and the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice are celebrating the Excellence in Research (ERA) 2015 results which rated Griffith’s Criminology research a “5”, well above world standard.
​Evaluated by the Australian Research Council, ERA rates research areas 1-5 based on their level of excellence, with 5 the highest.
“This result is clearly outstanding” said Professor Ross Coomber, Director of the Griffith Criminology Institute.
“It is meaningful recognition for those working in crime and justice research at Griffith as well as a just reward for the university’s long-term investment strategy to the area.”
He said it was also recognition of the strength and depth of the many world-class criminology scholars at the university.
Criminology research at Griffith covers many areas of importance including: pathways to prevention, intimate partner violence, homicide and suicide, prisoners’ healthcare, social cohesion, social justice, drug and alcohol issues, policing and security and many more.
Consistent with this outcome, one of the leading scholars in the Griffith Criminology Institute, Professor Kathleen Daly was​also recently honoured​​by the Australia and New Zealand Society of Criminology​with two awards.
Professor Kathleen Daly.
Professor Daly was awarded the 2015 Distinguished Criminologist Award for a ‘lifetime of outstanding, significant and sustained contributions to Australian and New Zealand criminology’.
She was also awarded the 2015 Christine M Alder Book Prize ‘for an outstanding contribution to criminology’ for her bookRedressing Institutional Abuse of Children.
Griffith’s research excellence has broadened dramatically with 98 per cent of outputs assessed in fields rated at world standard or better, according to the results released on December 4.
David Hudson’s design for Queensland’s proposed state memorial for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander military personnel.
Dr Dale Kerwin introducing the four artists/groups and their inspiring concept designs for the memorial.
Wayne McGinnes’s design for Queensland’s proposed state memorial for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander military personnel.
Smith-Hardy Group’s – John Smith Gumbula and Liam Hardy’s design for Queensland’s proposed state memorial for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander military personnel.
On this occasion, the Museum of Brisbane located in the Brisbane City Hall, played host to the unveiling of four designs which have been shortlisted for a new memorial for Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander military personnel, due to be installed at Anzac Square in Brisbane.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dedicated Memorial Committee Queensland shortlisted the four designs, models of which will be displayed at the Museum of Brisbane at City Hall for eight weeks.
The winning design would be selected following consultation with several stakeholders, including community elders, Brisbane City Council and the Historical Society.
The Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce,ATSIDMCQ Co-Patron speaking at the opening of the exhibition launching the four shortlisted memorial concept designs. Professor Paul Mazerolle representing Griffith University as the principal partner, stressed that the university will continue to work closely with the ATSIDMCQ committee to see this meaningful monument come to completion.
The four designs will be on display at the Museum of Brisbane from now until the end of January 2016 should you wish to view these.
Soon after this date a final decision on the winning design will be announced.
For more than 7000 Griffith University students, today (Monday) marks the start of a week they dreamed about when they first enrolled, logged on or sat in a lecture theatre.
A series of graduation ceremonies in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, from today until Saturday, signals the end of one journey and the start of so many more.
Danielle Redford, who graduates with a Bachelor of Film and Screen Media, will be among the cohort taking to the stage of the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre this afternoon.
In her delivery as student speaker, Danielle will talk about how purpose and certainty have replaced fear as a result of an inspiring university journey.
“The voices we carry have the potential to ring louder and cut through the clamour,” she will tell classmates, senior university academics and invited guests.
The ceremony will also be marked by the award of an Honorary Doctorate from Griffith University to internationally recognised arts leaderJohn Kotzas. The Chief Executive of Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) will be honoured for his contribution to the cultural and artistic life of the State at the ceremony in South Bank.
He is first of three nominees to be awarded the prestigious university honour this week. Physicist, chemical engineer and ecologist, Sir Robert May, Lord May of Oxford, and CSIRO scientist,
Professor San Thang, will also awarded the degree of Doctor of the University on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Brisbane-based ceremonies will conclude with graduands of Griffith Business School receiving their degrees.
Among these will be Steven Seiler, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce, whose student speech will be delivered from a summit. “Let’s take some time to look around and enjoy the view,” he will invite classmates. “It’s fantastic.”
This cohort will also be addressed by John Wylie AM, Chair of Australian Sports Commission.
The attention turns to the Gold Coast at the end of the week with ceremonies at the Gold Coast Exhibition and Convention Centre on Friday and Saturday, which will produce about 3000 graduates.
Among the group graduating on the final day will be Michael Baker who has regularly run health clinics as part of a group of dental students at Cherbourg during his time as a student at Griffith. He graduates with a Bachelor of Oral Health in Dental Science.
“I won’t go out there as a student in the future but I will definitely go out as a supervisor so I will still have an active role in this program as time goes on,” he said. “It’s not something I want to give up.”
