Great jobs found with AUT talenthub

Caption: AUT talenthub candidate manager Jade Bradley (left) and relationship manager Azure Manunui (right)

Securing a job that directly aligned with his values meant a lot to AUT graduate Ben Henshall, who landed a coveted software engineering role with Gentrack Ltd late last year.

“I really enjoy the work because it fits my values of cleantech and sustainability, and has real purpose and a positive impact," he says.

He explains the shift to renewable energy - electric cars, free off-peak power perks from providers etc – are examples of cleantech; of initiatives built on sustainable principles in the hope of preserving our environment for the future.

“Furthering that goal in some way is truly exciting," says Ben (photo right).

Ben’s placement definitely also ticked the boxes for his Gentrack engineering manager SunKee Hong who describes Ben as driven and organised.

“He knows how to communicate tactfully with both customers and the team. He is also proactive in searching for answers to his questions and is always willing to learn.”

talenthub graduate focus

Ben found his role at Gentrack through utilising the services of AUT talenthub, a specialised graduate and internship recruitment service for AUT students and graduates.

AUT talenthub relationship manager Azure Manunui, and her colleague candidate manager Jade Bradley, work closely with employers during the job brief stage to gain an indepth understanding of the requirements of the role, including the preferred skills and experience desired of candidates.

“This helps us to put forward suitable candidates whose skills, experience and motivations align with what the employers are looking for," explains Azure.

Ben says the AUT talenthub team helped him through the job application process in two significant ways.

“Firstly, talenthub has a smaller candidate pool with a lot of the listings that are only for AUT students. This means you are not competing against the whole job market.

Secondly, it meant I avoided the paradox so common in many entry-level listings of needing a job to get experience - yet needing experience to get a job.”

Azure says employers that partner with AUT talenthub know AUT is a tertiary provider which means the employers are not looking for candidates with experience.

“They come to a tertiary provider to find candidates that have knowledge in the particular field they studied, are driven, hardworking, and are often able to bring fresh new ideas to the organisation,” she explains.

Students encouraged

Another happy graduate is Bachelor of Design graduate Lola Key who loves the graphic designer role she found at Datacom through AUT talenthub. She is working alongside other designers within a marketing and communications team on a range of internal brand projects - as well as external digital campaigns for clients.

“I love the amount of creative freedom I have, the people I work with – who are very talented - and the resources I have access to.”

Lola (below) says the commitment of the AUT talenthub team was amazing at every stage of the recruitment process.

“Jade was particularly wonderful. She interviewed me before setting up interviews with the Datacom team, then consistently checked in on me to see how I had progressed through each stage of the recruitment process.”

As AUT talenthub candidate manager, Jade believes it is important to provide graduates with ongoing support throughout.

“The job interview process is a new experience for most new graduates and one that is often intimidating. Sometimes all a graduate needs is some extra encouragement  to boost their confidence levels before an interview so they stand out in the interview process"

Jade adds that others may need guidance and resources to help them prepare for the various questions they could be asked by an employer.

"The key is making sure we stay in touch with our graduates and are walking through the entire process alongside them.”

Lola is now settled into her role and hopes to stay at Datacom for a while.
“I have the opportunity to travel with the team which is something I am really looking forward to and would love to progress my career here by continuing to learn from the people I work with.”

She says the biggest challenge with starting a new job is simply settling into a routine and general work life.

“I am still familiarising myself with key terminology used around the office and understanding the many different tasks undertaken by the marketing/comms team.”

Ben and Lola are two of dozens of AUT graduates who have found roles through AUT talenthub over the past year.

Want to know more?

Visit the AUT talenthub webpage