Meet Justin

When Justin Trinh joined Allianz's bespoke Graduate Program, he found he was given the flexibility and support to develop his career in the direction he wanted. The program itself, as well as the guidance of both a graduate ‘buddy’ and a General Manager-level sponsor, equipped him, as he says, “with the key to crafting my career”.

Allianz graduates are carefully recruited and given that only a select number are accepted into the program each year, graduate hires are highly valued and sought after within the company. Graduates are invited to innovate and challenge the status quo, bringing fresh perspectives and exciting new ideas.

“The rotational nature of the Allianz Grad program encourages you to take ownership of different projects and relationships across the business, which helps build a well-rounded understanding of the company and your colleagues, while you’re building-up your professional skills” Justin shares. “The program accelerates your development by encouraging you to innovate and challenge the status quo and bring fresh perspectives to every new rotation, every six months.”

“You’re offered lots of different opportunities as a grad at Allianz, and they trust you with a great deal of responsibility” Justin says. I would often take ownership of a project, being accountable and trusted to see it through to its completion. That’s one of the great things about the program – the ability to take ownership and personalise your experience.”

Tailored individual development

Justin especially loved that the Allianz Grad program is focused on individual career development, allowing each person to tailor their experience to suit their personal endeavours.

“You’re encouraged to pursue your interests, and you’re given the opportunity to experience several areas of the business, exploring different professional careers rather than being pigeonholed into one area,” Justin explains.

“You’re also encourage to take initiative when it comes to your own learning and development, a theme that has continued throughout my time at Allianz. It started in the interview, where the focus was on me and what I wanted to get out of the program, and then during my rotations, my managers were receptive to understanding what my own development goals were. I would work with leaders to personalise the grad program rotation to address my areas of development and focus on projects within my interests.”

Step out of your comfort zone and grow

As a grad, you may find yourself with more questions than answers, and feel hesitant about reaching out to ask for the help you need. However, you’ll quickly learn that at Allianz, there’s support at every turn.

“I realised very quickly that everyone at Allianz is welcoming, friendly, and more than willing to go out of their way to assist you.”

“I would always be encouraged to ask questions and was initially surprised by the warm reception I would receive with their reply. People genuinely care and love to help at Allianz, so don’t be afraid!”

When you’re a graduate, you’re sure to be faced with the unfamiliar and the new. While it’s easy to stay within the safety of what you know, Justin discovered that in order to get the most out of the Graduate Program, he had to step outside of his comfort zone.

“One of my biggest tips for Grads starting out would be to step out of your comfort zone and take up new challenges that arise,” he says. “It is very easy to stay complacent and comfortable within your own little bubble, but your greatest learning occurs when you are challenged with the unfamiliar.

Justin says these tools and support underpin Allianz’s culture, where everyone has a voice and the opportunity to contribute.

“With the Allianz grad program, you are gifted with a wonderful support network that can assist in guiding you in the right direction and nudge you to strive for more.”

Meet Annalise

“One of the things that drew me in was the opportunity to curate my own development plan. I’ve rotated through Financial Institutions, Technical Commercial Products, and Strategy and Customer Insights, with the opportunity to work on a variety of projects"

The personalised approach of Allianz’s Graduate Program is what really appealed to Annalise Lisboa when she first joined in 2021.

“One of the things that drew me in was the opportunity to curate my own development plan,” Annalise says. “I’ve rotated through Financial Institutions, Technical Commercial Products, and Strategy and Customer Insights, with the opportunity to work on a variety of projects. Each team has allowed me to work on specific goals while being supported to develop holistically as a young professional, new to the industry.”

So far, Annalise has worked on everything from developing new product features to conducting customer research, as well as having the chance to present to senior leaders in the business. “It’s all been a really great learning experience.” she says.

Translating passion into a career

Annalise built up a deep passion for problem-solving in business while studying International Business and Economics – a passion she’s been able to pursue as an Allianz Grad.

“Seeing the impact of adapting to changing market trends and optimising operations to strategy encouraged me to develop my interest,” Annalise explains. “I’ve loved that the Grad Program has offered many opportunities to explore all sorts of problem-solving with things like participating in hackathons and attending conferences that delve into trends in the insurance industry, such as technology and sustainability.”

Now, Annalise is driven to use her learnings to help drive long-term value for Allianz Australia.

“Technology is a huge part of my passion as it continues to play such a pivotal role in our industry,” she says. “The way that technology is progressing, it’s important for me to keep up to date with the latest innovations in order to help Allianz better understand how we can apply them to our business.”

“My aim is to gain a deep understanding of how technology can be used to improve the experience for our customers while optimising processes.”

Broad learning and varied perspectives

Annalise says she’s had exposure to a wide range of teams and skill sets, through which she’s cultivated both a strong understanding of the insurance industry, and of Allianz as a business. She’s also benefited from numerous mentors, each with a different area of specialty.

“I’ve developed so much, because of the networking and mentorship from the leaders across our company. It’s provided me with diverse perspectives and helped me to tackle challenges.”

“For example, my time in Technical was focused on how best to create a product that adheres to the company values. We looked at the impact of new technology and risks and used that knowledge to inform future planning with a meaningful outcome. The Commercial team gave me a different perspective; focusing on how we could optimise the experience of the product.”

The rotations through different divisions have opened Annalise’s eyes to the many different areas she could specialise in and has connected her to people who share similar career aspirations. As for her future? She says she’s very excited to see what comes next.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to develop and hopefully keep making a difference with Allianz!”

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