Graduate experiences
If you wanted to know what last year’s graduates worried about, what they experienced or any tips they may have, then here’s your chance. What our graduates had to say:
Stephen Fendi—Finance graduate
My interest is, and always has been, in finance, and I chose to apply to Centrelink because I was looking for a challenge. I knew that Centrelink was a huge and diverse organisation, and that it has the financial and accounting unit needed to support this. Also, the regime Centrelink has created to ensure compliance with the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (the FMA) is one of the best in the public sector. I believed that Centrelink would give me the challenges, the experience and the skills that I would need to succeed in the world of finance.
When I arrived in Canberra I found that these beliefs were correct. As soon as our two-week orientation was over I began working on Centrelink’s financial statement. I had to prepare the documents and make sure they were ready to be audited by the external auditors. This involved getting in touch with other divisions in Centrelink and requesting the necessary paperwork for the external auditors. If the auditors were not happy with the documents, then I had to liaise with them and respond to their concerns. This was a lot of responsibility for a new graduate, and it was often very challenging, but both my team and the Graduate Program provided me with a lot of support. As a result of our hard work as a team, the financial statement was signed off by the CFO on schedule. This gave me a real sense of achievement, both as an individual and as part of a team.
But there is so much more to the graduate program than simply work. From day one we are given a lot of training, both on the job and in learning and development sessions. These help with improving skills, and with better understanding the public service. Even more than this, one of the best things to come from the Graduate Program is the social network. Moving to a new city you are always worried that you won’t know anyone, but Centrelink house all the new graduates together for the first three weeks. This makes for an instant circle of friends, and we’ve stayed together since.
It is clear to me that I made the right decision in coming to Centrelink, and it has been a challenging but deeply satisfying experience. I am about to begin my Chartered Personal Accountant course, and once I have I will return to Centrelink and pursue my interest in financial accounting.
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Byron Low—E-Business graduate
Toward the end of my time at university I looked at a lot of the graduate programs available for IT graduates. Out of the many to choose from I only applied for the Centrelink National Graduate Program. It was the only program that excited me, and as I looked into it further I began to feel that it would be the best option for me.
Doing the program only confirmed those feelings. From the day we arrived in Canberra Centrelink has provided us with a great experience. The Graduate Team has been really welcoming, and having the first three weeks of accommodation provided allowed me to settle in, make some friends and find a place to live. It made the move to a new city so much easier.
We started with an orientation period, where the combination of intensive training and the opportunity to talk with high-level members of Centrelink, including the CEO, made me feel that we really were a valued part of the organisation. This feel of value continued once I began working, and through the extensive learning and development program we go through.
The work itself is great. As soon as I began I was given real responsibility, having to write daily IT reports on Information Systems and Infrastructure. Through these reports I have been able to get a solid understanding of how Centrelink works. While these daily reports are a significant part of my day, I also get to work on a broad range of other projects. These can be from writing an IT Service Catalogue to or updating Service Agreements.
It’s a really relaxed place to work as well. Your time is yours to organise, and as long as you get your work done the time you arrive and leave is pretty flexible. I usually arrive at around 8:00am to 8:30am and leave around 4:00pm to 4:30pm, but if you’d rather sleep in and work a little later in the afternoon, that’s fine too. I prefer to leave earlier, as it gives me time to do other things.
The social network that you get from the Graduate Program is amazing. With so many people moving to a new city at the same time, living together for the first week, you very quickly make a lot of friends, and there is so much that this group does together. Whether you’re into dancing, netball, bowling, or just having a few drinks at the bar, there are always plenty of activities around.
In the future I hope to stay with Centrelink, but whatever I choose to do, my graduate year has given me the experience and skills to succeed and move forward with my career.
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Lisa Kearney—Law graduate
Moving to Canberra from Queensland in the middle of winter was a bit of a shock to the system, but wasn’t as bad as I’d been dreading—I haven’t lost any limbs to frostbite yet. I’ve found that Canberra is small enough to avoid getting that “lost in an unfamiliar big city” feeling, and it’s a really nice place once you get to know your way around the roundabouts.
The Graduate Program certainly made the interstate move a lot easier, having a group of people in the same situation as myself, having left friends and family behind around the country. It means you’ll always have people to go out with on the weekends, not to mention having a ready supply of team-mates for netball, dodgeball, and trivia, and lots of people to support that one enthusiastic karaoke singer in the group.
The ongoing learning and development aspect of the Graduate Program, aside from providing good catch-up sessions for all the grads, gives us an insight into more general facets of the Australian Public Service, which is particularly helpful for those of us who would like to get experience across a range of Government departments.
Legal Services is definitely an interesting place to work. We were given our own files to work on within the first hour of arriving in the office, and the work hasn’t stopped coming since. There’s a huge array of possibilities for graduates coming into the Branch, whether you want to specialise in something like commercial law and contracts, or advocacy, or you want to deal with a broad range of legal areas every day. The range of experiences you get you simply couldn’t get at a private firm.
The managers in the Legal Services Branch really support the graduates. They involve us in important matters that come through the branch so that we’re given a good range of work experience, and help us seek out opportunities to develop expertise in our chosen areas. We’re given close supervision, balanced by a reasonable level of responsibility for our work. We’re also encouraged to actively develop our legal skills and knowledge by attending seminars, government law sessions and conferences relevant to our areas of work.
The skills and experiences I have received through the Graduate Program have really set me up for a great career, whether in Centrelink, elsewhere in the APS, or even the private sector.
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