Role in social justice organisation fits perfectly

Helping people through working in recruitment for a social justice organisation ticks all the boxes for HR co-ordinator Tominika Moa.

The AUT Human Resources and Employment Relations graduate works for Lifewise Trust, a community social development organisation, dealing with family, housing, homecare, early childhood, disability, mental health and addictions. She has been in the role since April, working full time while juggling a final paper for her degree.

As HR coordinator she supports the HR managers across all the teams, which provides lots of variety for her.
“I offer HR support looking after different sets of people doing different things. I love being able to help people through the stages of recruitment and performance.”

Getting the job

Before applying for co-op and jobs, she attended CV and interview practice workshops run by AUT Employability and Careers.
“I was so glad I did because when I first applied for my co-op placement, I realised my CV was no good and needed a lot of work. It took many drafts to become presentable and showcase what I wanted with my career.”

By the time she’d applied to Lifewise she was confident she was producing a good CV and cover letter and knew how to prepare well for an interview.

Values fit

The role at Lifewise particularly appealed to Tominika because of Lifewise’s philosophy and values. However she wasn’t hopeful about landing the role because she hadn’t completed her degree and didn’t feel she had enough professional experience. But Lifewise thought otherwise and offered her the job. Tominika was very excited - but then got hit with an unexpected piece of news. 

“Two weeks later - oh the universe - I got a call from my doctor to tell me I was pregnant. That was totally unexpected. I approached my manager expecting the worst, but she was very supportive and happy for me. They were then also helpful with giving me time to attend lectures and tests during the semester,” says Tominika.

Journey to degree

Tominika never completed high school and for many years juggled family, study, and jobs such as packing cereals, factory cleaning and customer service. “I always regretted I didn’t finish high school because I believed I had the ability to do more.”

Eventually she started studying business administration at Best Pacific Institute. After gaining a level four qualification, she was encouraged by her lecturer and her husband to enrol in a business degree at AUT.
“So I did but I had no idea what to focus on initially. Then near the end of the first year I started to think about Human Resources. I wanted a role that could help people into jobs. People often get judged by their nationality and don’t get the same opportunities as others. I decided I wanted to help change that.”

Tominika also realised she wanted to work for a community organisation that aligned with her values - so she is delighted to be with Lifewise.

Finding a co-op placement

Looking for a co-op placement in Human Resources for her final paper during Covid was another challenge in the second half of 2021 for Tominika. Luckily, she got the opportunity to take up a virtual internship online for a company in the UK.
“This worked out so well because I was able to do it between November 2021 and January 2022 which really helped me. It also helped a lot with my interview with Lifewise because it gave me a referee that could talk about me in an HR role.”

Perseverance

Studying full time with three kids was not easy, says Tominika, but she was helped tremendously by her husband.  
“There were many times I just wanted to give up. But I was strongly motivated to finish, get a good job and show my kids you can do it if you put your mind to it.”

She found AUT very supportive of mature students with children.
“AUT offers a lot of support, whether someone to talk to about assignments or with financial help such as petrol and shopping vouchers. I also had great teachers that were understanding of my situation and didn’t judge.”

Advice

She advises students to not worry about lack of experience. She applied for all the HR roles she could see even though she had little experience.
“Don’t be scared to put yourself out there.”

Want help with your CV too?

AUT Employability and Careers offers workshops in CVs, cover letters, job search and other skills that will help your job search. Find out more about workshops through Elab Online. Not used Elab Online before? It's easy - just sign in using your AUT username and password, click on Events and look for Workshops. You'll not regret it.

Written by AUT careers writer Angela McCarthy