Employability Blog

It can be rather daunting to be told you have to complete a psychometric assessment when you apply for a job, particularly if you’ve never done one before. Student Employability and Careers Specialist Emma Spires demystifies the process.

“I truly believe it makes a huge difference being able to wake up, go to work and really enjoy what you do. I love being out in the community and helping people - for me money isn’t a motivator but leaving a positive impression in people’s lives," says Shayal Mala PGF Services health promoter and AUT health promotion and public health graduate.

“The career expo was a really easy way to make contact with a lot of employers,” says AUT Master in Supply Chain Management student Dewi Muliyati. She was one of over 600 students that took advantage of the large gathering of 50plus employers at the business and law career expo. Employers hardly had time to draw a breath throughout the two hours of the expo as they encouraged students to register expressions of interest for 2024 internships or graduate programmes or discussed career opportunities within their sector. Read more about how students approached the event.

“When I went to my Air NZ interview I found I could confidently answer every question they asked me because of the interview practice I did at the Employability Lab,” says Bachelor of International Tourism Management graduate Justin Singh. Now working as an Air NZ contact centre consultant, he encourages all students to make the most of AUT Employability and Career services.

What does design and psychology have in common – quite a lot as Rajvi Rangrej realised when she discovered UX Design after pursuing a psychology and criminology degree.  An interest in how people act and think led Rajvi into studying psychology and criminology. Then her creative interests kicked in. She did an internship in design while finishing her degree and has found a new career goal in UX Design.

We have heaps of great employability and career help for you at AUT. Here’s lowdown on what we have and how you can access help with career decision making, employability support such as CVs, job search etc, employer events and graduate and internship job boards.

We all saw or experienced the devastation and destruction of the storm and flooding recently. AUT Edge Award student Varoon Shenoy was one of many individuals who decided to help out.  "That’s what we do, help other humans and hope, if the time comes, that other humans will help us,” says Varoon.

Imagine a job in an environment you love and fiercely want to protect, where you know you’re making a difference every single day? This is the daily reality for AUT environmental science graduate Sydney Curtis-Wilson – who got her foot in the door through volunteering.

Volunteering can’t get much better than this. Last week 4 AUT Employability Award students volunteered to travel on The SeaCleaners boat around Waiheke Island helping clean rubbish off secluded beaches and bays. If the bay was too shallow the students had to kayak to shore to collect rubbish - a perfect combination of fun and adventure with a purpose.

“When we find a result for terminally ill patients that links to a drug to improve their quality of life, the feeling is priceless,” says Lon Hua with a big smile.

No, Lon is not a front-line medical health specialist, but a medical laboratory scientist providing key test results - behind the scene - for people suffering with a terminal illness.

“As a medical laboratory scientist – you can make a big impact in the medical and healthcare sector,” says Lon.