Phoebe advances her business career opportunities
While most university students are unwinding after recent exams, Phoebe Brown of the University of the Sunshine Coast is eagerly laying the groundwork for an exciting employment opportunity in a year’s time.
Phoebe, 20, last week began a summer vacation work placement program at the Brisbane office of the world’s largest professional services company, Deloitte.
She is one of 25 Queensland business students – selected from 500 applicants – who will work with Deloitte staff in their day-to-day business consulting and advisory service work for the next few months.
With one year to go in her double degree in Business Marketing and Public Relations, Phoebe said this was a terrific opportunity for her to impress Deloitte and possibly secure employment with the company.
“This is a chance for Deloitte to see if I’m the right person for their organisation and for me to determine whether I want to work for them when I finish my degree next year,” she said.
“If I prove myself, hopefully I’ll get into Deloitte’s graduate program when I finish my studies.”
And it sounds like the employer already is impressed, with Deloitte’s Chief Executive Officer Giam Swiegers writing to Phoebe last month congratulating her on being one of the best applicants.
“By choosing Deloitte for a summer vacation program, you will have access to a wide range of training and development opportunities to take back to your final year at university,” Mr Swiegers said in his letter.
Phoebe said she was thrilled to have gained selection ahead of hundreds of other students from larger universities in Brisbane and she praised USC’s Employability Program for the part it played in her success.
“I can’t emphasise enough how much the Employability Program helped me in gaining this position,” she said.
“If I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have even known that these opportunities were available. Because of the Employability Program, I went into the interview prepared and confident.”
Phoebe also boosted her chances of success by being involved in USC’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team, attending business networking events and taking part in fundraising activities for charities.
“In second year, I realised that if I wanted to get a good career in business, I would have to do some things to differentiate myself from others,” she said.
“And there are all these opportunities here at USC. It’s just a matter of students taking advantage of them.”
— Terry Walsh