Kelvin

Your Job Title: Graduate - Operations

University Attended: University of New South Wales

Degree qualification: Bachelor of Data Science and Decisions

Year of graduation: 2021

What's your job about?

nbn’s purpose is to lift the digital capability of Australia. In my current rotation in Customer Experience and Product Strategy, our team aims to understand and improve the experience of customers and provide strategic analysis for current and future products. I support my team across several initiatives and projects, such as a deep dive into the fixed-line network upgrade program, where customers upgrade their nbn services to fibre to the premises. My work in this project involved looking at customer feedback and pulling out themes, trends and subjects that were shared sentiments. I looked to understand customer pain points, experience with the technicians and speeds to identify opportunities for improvement or change to drive up customer satisfaction and uptake of fibre to the premises.

What's your background?

I was born in South Africa and moved to Australia when I was about seven years old. From there, I completed my primary and high school years. Something unique about my high school is that in Year 9, we all spent six months in Kangaroo Valley – five days a week would be normal school, and the weekends would be full of hiking, camping, canoeing, carrying 10kg backpacks on your back for a 15km hike, you name it. One of my biggest highlights from university was being part of a volunteering program called Yellow Shirts, where we organised and ran the biggest orientation week in the southern hemisphere. We ran social events, campus tours, help desks, and night events for five days straight. I also got to sing and perform with a band, something completely outside of my comfort zone but so much fun. Some of my jobs included tutoring, Web Application Development at UNSW, where I built dashboards to visualise student course feedback and Marketing Analyst at WooliesX, where I had ownership of creating and executing promotional offers on the Everyday Rewards program and analysed its performance. After graduating and having some work experience under my belt, I applied and got into the graduate program at nbn, and I’ve been working here for the past 1.5 years.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes, someone with a different background could do my job. The thing about the graduate program at nbn is that they are open to looking for a variety of different backgrounds, education and experience. Being able to bring a different, unbiased perspective is something my current team values a lot, as well as curiosity, questioning why things are done the way they are and what could be alternative approaches. My current role values critical thinking, problem-solving and stakeholder management as well as understanding and articulating a problem skilfully.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

The thing I love the most about my job is seeing the impact my work can have, whether big or small. For example, my most recent work on understanding customer experience was awesome because I’m also a customer of nbn’s technology, so identifying those pain points and delivering support towards initiatives to improve customer experience is super rewarding.

What are the limitations of your job?

The graduate program does have its limits in terms of the choices you have for rotations. In my case, I did not get a choice for my first rotation, and my second rotation’s choices were also limited due to the needs of the business for resources. This could pose a challenge for those looking for a specific area, team or expertise to gain the experience that they desire.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

Be open to trying new things – pushing myself outside my comfort zone was the best decision I ever made. It helped me gain confidence, discover new skills and meet people I would have never had the opportunity to meet.
Balance is key – find the right balance between studying, socialising, exercising, job hunting and getting enough sleep! You’ll thank yourself later on!
It’s okay to ask for help – you have so many resources at uni and the internet! Use them to your advantage because uni feels much easier when you have people to rely on and vice versa.

Deb

Your Job Title: Graduate – Systems Engineering and Operations

University Attended: Monash University

Degree qualification: Bachelor of Information Technology, with a double major in Business Information Systems & Software Development

Year of graduation: 2021

What's your job about?

nbn is Australia’s National Broadband Network that allows the transfer of data through fibre optic cables. We are a Government Business Enterprise with the purpose of lifting the digital capability of Australia.

I am currently in the nbn graduate program, which is a rotation-based program that allows graduates to work in three different rotations across the business, where they gain a variety of skills by working in different teams and learning their strengths and weaknesses.

I am currently in my third rotation, working in the Data Science team. My team's role is to conduct data analytics and deliver insights to the business to assist in their decision-making process. For my current work, I’m working on an analytics project that investigates the pain points along the customer’s journey when they connect to the nbn. The insights I’ve gained from my analytics are then shared with the stakeholder within nbn, who will implement changes within the connection process to provide the customer with a better experience. This project has required me to code and draw some of my insights. I also regularly meet with my stakeholders to update them on my work and make any required changes. I also ensure that I constantly document aspects of my project and ensure that it's always up to date; this includes keeping note of things like the project scope, changes made to the scope, potential risks, and mitigation processes.

What's your background?

I grew up in Victoria in the south-eastern suburbs with my family, and my days as a child usually involved getting up to some mischief with my sister. I studied Information Technology at Monash University whilst working part-time at various jobs throughout my degree, from Woolies to Origin Energy and a few other ones in between. About a third of my degree was completed during the COVID lockdowns, which was challenging but also a good learning experience.

I applied for the graduate role at nbn while I was in my final year. And to be honest, I didn’t really think I would get the role because I wasn’t sure if I’d be good enough to work at such a big company. However, I’m so glad that I applied, and trusted in myself, because I now work here and absolutely love my job. This was definitely a great experience that allowed me to learn about the importance of trusting my abilities and always giving things a shot, regardless of what the outcome may be.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Generally, I’d say yes because you don’t need the same degree as me to work as an IT graduate at nbn. There are many grads with degrees in Physics and Mathematics who have worked in the same roles I have, and they have loved it.

The key here is to have a degree that somewhat relates to the role and not to be afraid of challenges. There will be many learning opportunities at nbn and opportunities to push yourself out of your comfort zone. I believe the important thing isn’t necessarily your degree but making sure you have a growth mindset and are willing to learn.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

The coolest thing about my job is knowing that the work I am doing is having an impact on everyday Australians. Regardless of my specific role, I know that the work I’m doing, along with the effort of my other colleagues, has an impact on someone somewhere, whether that means they now have an amazing connection experience connecting to the nbn or whether that means they can easily facetime their relatives overseas.

Another thing I love about nbn is the work culture. I’ve found that everyone is extremely friendly and always willing to reach out and lend a hand. I never feel judged for asking for help.

What are the limitations of your job?

If you have a definite idea about what you want to do in your career and know exactly what kind of role you would like to work in, then I don’t recommend the graduate program. The purpose of the program is to try a variety of different roles, which means that even if you absolutely love a certain role and know that you’d like to potentially work in that role permanently, you will still need to work in two different roles for your other rotations.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

Understand that all experiences are good experiences. It’s either an amazing time that you’re going to remember for years to come, or it’s the chance to learn something.
Say yes to as many opportunities that come your way, especially the ones that require you to step out of your comfort zone. This is where you grow as a person.
Make sure you separate work from your home life. Enjoy and dedicate time to your family, friends, and hobbies.

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