Aboriginal Art Mentoring (AAM) Program

Aboriginal Art Mentoring (AAM) program

This mentoring program provides currently enrolled Aboriginal students with the opportunity to showcase their talents in a simulated work environment and to gather essential information and experience for that vital transition from education to the competitive world of employment. AAM is designed to assist and match selected students with mentors in career areas relevant to each person’s aspirations.

 As a mentee, you will be expected to attend several meetings with your mentor  Your mentor will provide advice, insight, and a range of opportunities to enhance your knowledge of your chosen field of Art/work.  Mentoring sessions are held in the mentor’s workplace  An induction session will be held prior to the program commencing and a debriefing and certificate presentation event at the conclusion of the program.  All applicants are expected to fully commit to the expectations of the program

What is AAM?

The AAM Program mentors Aboriginal job seekers or tertiary students to learn the skills required to be work ready when exiting study institutes.

The program is focused on:

 Gathering information about the career environment they are heading towards  Refining interview skills  Experiencing the workplace culture (eg. staff meetings)  Developing better skills in presenting a professional profile  Disclosure and demystifying disability and related workplace issues (eg. workplace modifications)

The program assists Aboriginal students with the skills that they require that are unique to them. Some Aboriginal students despite being as talented as their peers are often overlooked in the fierce competition for career opportunities due to negative self- concepts, community stereotypes and general negative beliefs or assumptions about their ability to perform.

AAM has the potential to reduce those negative beliefs, and enhance personal/professional strategies (eg. networking skills) to assist Aboriginal students to become more competitive in that challenging transition from study to career.

Other benefits, which may flow from the AAM concept, include more general positive cultural compliance and development in the workplace and clarification of essential requirements of job roles in the workplace. The AAM program has been developed using the Career planning model

Career planning is an important process that can help you choose a satisfying and rewarding career path. It is not a process that stops once you leave a study institute. On the contrary, you will find that the skills you use now to plan and develop your career will be useful for a lifetime!

A cyclical model reflects the need to adapt to change and continually reassess where you’re at, taking into consideration:

 Changing personal circumstances and development  Changing work force and labour market conditions  Changing goals and direction

Who can attend?

Open to all Aboriginal Art students, the program helps you explore career development and pathways, engage with industry and gain practical skills for employment.

Semester 1, 2009 timetable

WHEN SESSION TITLE VENUE DESCRIPTION

Student Wodonga TAFE Learn about the Employment processes for Program: employment for Overview students who'll TBA graduate by the end of 2009. TBA What are Wodonga TAFE Employers are employers looking seeking graduates for? with particular skills, attributes and experiences. This session will tell you what graduate employers tend to look for and how to best demonstrate your strengths. TBA Resumés & Cover Wodonga TAFE This session Letters provides tips on how to stand out from the crowd when presenting a written account of your experiences and skills. TBA Interviews Wodonga TAFE This session Overview presents on the various types of interview and assessment processes you may encounter once you have been short- listed on the basis of your written application TBA Assessment /job Wodonga TAFE Assessment/Job Centres Centres are a pivotal part of the graduate recruitment process. This session presents on the selection components that make up an Assessment/job Centre including group activities and behavioral interviews. TBA Online Wodonga TAFE The Victorian Applications Government Forms presents on how to tackle difficult application form questions. TBA The latest on part- Wodonga TAFE The value of work time and casual experience cannot employment be underestimated. In addition to supplying an income, it provides you with skills and experiences highly valued by graduate employers. Learn where and how to find part-time work and find out about employee rights and employment conditions. TBA Behavioral Wodonga TAFE Up to 90% of Interviews graduate employers utilise behavioural interviewing in their recruitment process. This session will explain what this technique involves and how to improve your performance. TBA How employers Wodonga TAFE A key focus in assess 'cultural fit' interviews is in interviews 'cultural fit'. This session looks at how employers approach this in interviews and the sorts of questions they ask. TBA Portfolios Wodonga TAFE This section will assist you to develop professional portfolios that show cases your works. TBA Internet/eBay Wodonga TAFE This section will assist you to set up your own online business. TBA Other options Wodonga TAFE This section will show you how to develop your own business. Eg workshop with National Institute of Early Childhood Education. TBA Overview Wodonga TAFE This section will look at what we have done and what you would like to know or do that we have not already completed. TBA Debrief Wodonga TAFE How you are feeling assess how far we have come.

Self Assessment

When it comes to selling art, job hunting it is critically important that you have identified your skills and can clearly and persuasively articulate these skills to prospective employers. Surprisingly large numbers of students and graduates do not have a clear understanding of what they have to offer and are negatively impacting on their job- hunting efforts as a result.

A ‘self-assessment’ is an important preparatory step for any graduate job seeker. It is a process of actively reflecting on yourself and your experiences to identify core skills, goals, knowledge, attributes and motivations. It may seem like ‘navel-gazing’ but it is a healthy and worthwhile activity that will greatly improve your prospects of getting a job (more importantly, the right one) and making sound career decisions.

Even if you already have a good idea of your skills, it is worth taking the time to do a focused self-assessment. The benefits of such an exercise include:

 Drawing your attention to previously unrecognised skills  Improving your job applications and interview performance  Increasing your confidence and self-awareness The evidence

Telling a potential employer you have skill ‘X’ is not enough. Remember that you have to back up your claims by giving evidence to demonstrate your skills. This evidence can be in the form of concrete examples of achievements or experiences, for artist this can be a time to show your portfolio. Part of your self-assessment should involve collecting this ‘material evidence’ which supports your claims.

Keep it up

Self-assessment is not a one-off exercise. You should undertake it regularly, as your skills and experiences will grow and evolve as you do. The process can serve as a great reminder of where you’ve come from and how much you can learn through experience.

How to self-assess

1. Break your life into its various components, such as work, secondary school study, TAFE and university study, sport and personal life. 2. Look at each area and consider what it involves, taking note of significant experiences. Aspects to consider include: responsibility; time management; communication skills; and team work. Consider the capacities utilised or developed in the different areas. 3. Think about how these experiences and capacities could be applied to the industry and positions you are interested in. It is important not to discredit relevant skills due to modesty or uncertainty. 4. Write down each skill you can identify, and alongside it note how the skill is transferable to a workplace. Become familiar with this list so that you are well- versed in the applicability of your skills when applying for jobs and attending job interviews.

Remember…

Self-assessment can be a difficult process, so don’t be surprised if you find it unsettling. It can feel confronting and daunting, especially if it highlights skills you are yet to acquire. Remember that a self-assessment is all about empowering you and is for your benefit.

The Career Planning Model

Given the complexity of career development and the fluidity of the world of work, we need to be able to navigate our career paths with purpose and clarity. Self-awareness – the individual having knowledge about, and understanding of, their own personal development. Self-awareness in a careers context involves an understanding of the kind of personal resources (both actual and potential) they bring to the world.

Opportunity awareness – an understanding of the general structures of the world of work, including career possibilities and alternative pathways.

Decision making and planning – an understanding of how to make career decisions, and being aware of pressures, influences, styles, consequences and goal setting.

Implementing plans – having the appropriate skill levels (in a range of areas) to be able to translate job and career planning into reality.

Marketing Yourself – marketing is a huge part of selling a product successfully and the same goes for selling yourself. Landing a job is about convincing an employer of the value of your skills and qualities. To do this you need a strategic and personalised marketing plan that throws the spotlight on your employability. In effect, you have to develop a walking, talking advertisement of yourself.

Good habits – whatever stage you are at in your study, you can generate opportunities through actively and positively affecting others in your day-to-day life. Making a good first impression with everyone you meet is a good habit to get into, so start today.

First impressions – how long does it take for you to form an opinion of someone you meet? First impressions can have an instant and lasting impact and others, with others quickly forming judgments about you based on first impressions.

Whether the form of contact is by phone, email, letter, face-to-face or teleconference, you have to be sure you are sending out the right signals with people you meet.

Phone friendly – it is important to make sure the greeting on your mobile phone and landline sounds friendly and professional. When you give out your phone number on a letter, résumé or application you are inviting calls from potential employers, so be prepared! If your phone rings and the caller is not identified, it is wise not to answer the phone informally. Many interview processes will start at this first point of contact, so make it work for you.

Web-based communication – whether through email, discussion boards, chat rooms, blogs, you name it – has become a major medium in personal and business interaction. There is no doubt the internet has changed the way we communicate. While mostly positive, the changes have confused and sometimes blurred the distinctions between public and private, personal and professional and formal and informal. The immediacy of email communication encourages a more speech-oriented mentality – one where we can fire off an email like it is a throw-away comment. The problem is that an email isn’t the spoken word – it is recorded and leaves a trace, so like a letter it can be referred to at a later date, but without the context which may have influenced its meaning and significance.

For these reasons it is a good idea to follow these tips when it comes to e-mail communication:

 Remember that your email address sends a message to employers, so keep it professional (ie. ditch the [email protected]).  When communicating with potential employers, contacts or mentors, maintain some formality and professionalism – even if they don’t. Your email writing style should be just as professional as other written correspondence – even though a potential employer may respond informally, you cannot assume anything so it is best to keep to a formal style.

Writing style: get it right – your first point of contact with an employer will usually be via a job application. Your résumé, cover letter and statements addressing selection criteria will be your primary self marketing documents, so make sure they market your skills appropriately.

Job applications reflect your communication skills, how you regard the employer and your level of care and attention to detail. Applications, particularly cover letters, are examples of your writing skills and illustrate your ability to summarise and present information clearly and concisely. For all these reasons, it is worthwhile spending the time polishing your application so that it is error-free and thoroughly professional. Composing, updating and proofreading cover letters and applications can be tedious, but the time you put in is well worth it. If possible, get someone else to read your application, as another pair of eyes can often pick up mistakes you have not noticed and provide constructive feedback.

Getting Started

Networking...

Whether you are looking for a graduate job, work experience or simply trying to meet people in your field of interest, networking is central part of the process. So what is networking?

Put most simply, networking is actively building connections and appreciating how these connections can enhance your own skills. Networking is both the means toward – and the experience of – connecting with a range of people whose perspectives, experience and knowledge you can draw on. Most of us network without even realising we are doing it!

Why networking is necessary

Imagine this? You arrive at a party on your own. Walking into the room, you notice 20- 30 people, most of whom you don’t know. You spot the faces of a couple of people you remember meeting once in a local café. Who are you likely to approach first at the party? You bet – it is the people you already have a connection with. Networking is about making connections that will serve you in a similar way because they will encourage a potential employer or colleague to think of you ahead of others.

While many jobs are advertised in newspapers or websites or via recruitment agencies, many are not. This may seem like a bad thing when you are the one looking for a job. But the good news is it means that there is a hidden job market that you can tap into if you know that it’s there – and the best way of tapping in to it is by making the most of your connections and creating and building others as much as you can.

Identifying & creating networks

Your very own natural network is formed through your group of friends, relatives, neighbours, current and past co-workers, church and community groups, volunteer buddies and acquaintances that you meet in your day-to-day life. This natural network is always intersected with other similar networks, because each member of your network has their own network, and so on. These intersecting circles mean you already have a very large network which is constantly expanding and forever changing.

Networking in practice

Let’s consider an example. Ashton lives in the city but dreams of working in an environmental job in a regional community. What should his first step be? Before searching for an advertised job Ashton needs to check whether his perceptions about his dream job, match the job types available. His first step, then, should be to identify people with first-hand experience and knowledge, who can give him advice on:

 Environmental roles in regional areas  Qualifications required  Career structure and progression  Where regional jobs are advertised  What employers are looking seeking. Successful networking

The following qualities are core factors in successful networking:

 Being proactive  Demonstrating an interest in others and a willingness to learn  Communicating effectively.

Of these three key factors, good communication is probably the most important. Each and every time you express yourself on paper and verbally, you are communicating something about yourself. Your communication skills will influence how and to what degree a contact will be prepared to assist you. Successful networkers show an interest in everyone they talk to, ask relevant questions, and, above all, listen and follow up on advice they have received.

Basic Guidelines on making the most of your networks:

 Use all available resources – including the web, telephone directory, industry guides – to find out about potential employers and leaders in the field.  Find out about professional and industry associations in your field.  Tell everyone you meet about your goals and interests.  By all means SMS, email or write to those within your extended network – but be sure to check for grammar and spelling errors. Little mistakes may seem insignificant, but they create a bad impression.  When using the telephone to make contact with your unknown networks, be sure to research the contact first, prepare what you are going to say, and speak clearly and confidently.  If a person you call is unable to help you in your query, ask for another referral to extend your network.  Always follow up contacts.  Get involved and develop positive relationships. Don’t overlook the power of short-term, casual and volunteer activities in the community.  Stay alert to what is happening in your field by catching up with peers regularly.  Include employment agencies in your networking activities.  Thank everyone who has helped you with an email or a letter that includes your contact details.  Keep a networking log that will record who, when and where you made contact with someone.

Write a winning application...

Applications are a crucial element in the selection process of almost all organisations. The quality of your application is critical, if it is of a high standard, you will maximise your chance of being selected for interview or testing. If your application is poor, you are selling yourself short and are unlikely to have much success.

The best applications make an impact. Remember that there will be other candidates with similar skill sets and qualifications so it is important your application clearly highlights and demonstrates all your strengths, accomplishments and experience.

A job application generally consists of a cover letter, résumé and statement against the selection criteria. Some organisations also requiring you to complete an application form.

How To Address Selection Criteria

More and more employers in both the private and public sectors are using your ability to address their selection criteria to assist them to short-list applicants for interviews. Each applicant is rated on how closely he or she meets each of the criteria and then ranked accordingly.

Regardless of the specific position you may be targeting, you will discover that there are a handful of criteria that tend to apply across nearly all graduate vacancies. Examples of these include:

 well-developed communication skills  teamwork skills  commitment to the delivery of quality customer service  flexibility and a willingness to adapt to change  enthusiasm and a positive attitude.

The employer will not necessarily be able to match information in your résumé (see below) to the criteria. You should address each of them specifically and on an individual basis. All essential criteria must be included and it is recommended that you also address those described as 'desirable' criteria. You can present the information in a separate document that you attach to your résumé. While there are many titles for such a document, the most common ones are 'Evidence in Support of the Selection Criteria' and 'Background Relevant to Selection Criteria'. As an alternative you might choose to use a functional résumé; format using each of the criteria as a heading. Your task is to provide specific examples for each of the criteria to demonstrate that you meet them. Below is an example of how one person addressed a selection criterion specified by an art gallery (The successful applicant will have) Sound knowledge of Aboriginal art.

The development of my knowledge and understanding of both traditional and contempory Aboriginal art has been refined over the past three years by study and community liaison with artists. These skills have been demonstrated by the successful completion of a range of portfolios and reports.

 [example]  [example]  [example]

One example of where I have applied these skills is a project that I completed in first semester of this year; its title was 'The open folio’. I analysed a series of paintings and drawings which were obtained from a Local Lands council, that were found in an archive folder with no named artist. The artists used both Traditional and nontraditional methods in their drawings. I compiled the drawings and placed them in a gallery for exhibition only.

Use examples from your work experience, TAFE, university and extracurricular activities and other life experiences. Brainstorm as many examples as you can, identifying situations where you might have demonstrated the specific criterion – the more you can think of, the better!

Your résumé can help you to focus on your experiences. You'll have a greater selection to choose from when you put together your final document. As you will note from the above example of a selection criterion, any examples you use should be preceded by a short overview statement which clearly indicates that you meet the criterion, and which reflects your understanding of the relevance/importance of that specific criterion.

The information can be presented in paragraph form, in point form or in a combination of both – that's a personal decision. Here's how you could go about it:

 Read all the information you have about the position: the selection criteria, the job description, information about the employer (eg. from Graduate Opportunities, the job advertisement, the internet).  List the selection criteria and, referring to the examples you have brainstormed, note in point form all the activities that demonstrate your competence in each area.  Include all the skills and abilities connected with all your work and non-work activities.  When you are satisfied you have addressed each of the criteria, write a final draft in your preferred format (sentences, paragraphs or points).  Proofread it, and then have someone else read it and give you feedback.

Don't be too concerned about any overlap of examples you use for the criteria, but try to provide a different slant in each case. When you come across a selection criterion that you cannot satisfy, don't just ignore it - your failure to address it will 'stand out like a sore thumb'! Be prepared to write something about your understanding of the relevance of the criterion – convince the employer that you possess the potential to satisfy it.

Please note that when you first start to write your applications by addressing the selection criteria it will be incredibly time-consuming. So allow yourself plenty of time to get your application together. As is the case with most things, 'practice makes perfect', and you can begin practicing right now by writing something about how your background matches the criteria which are presented at the beginning of this section!

Interviews and Beyond

Once you’ve been called in for an interview, you should be well prepared in advance. The job market is often competitive, and you need to be able to stand out from your peers in order to be successful in your job search. This section covers the most important aspects of interviews, including advice to maximise your performance in interviews, some information about making yourself 'work ready' and the various types of testing which employers use, including psychometric tests and assessment centres.

Types of Application Forms

There are two main types of application form which you may encounter while looking for work, these are the hard copy variety and the online application form.

Hard Copy Application Forms Some organisations require you to fill in an application form as part of their recruitment process. It helps them to make a direct comparison between candidates on the same issues, to set their own agenda on the key areas of importance and to assess your ability to express yourself in a concise and straight forward manner.

An application form will have most or all of the following sections:

 personal or biographical details  a summary of key experiences, such as academic program, employment history and extracurricular interests  commentary on specific issues  questions requiring you to provide practical, specific examples of experiences that demonstrate particular skills or qualities.

The first step you should always take is to make some copies of the original form - these become your ‘working documents’. In many respects, you should use the same approach as you would in an exam. Read through the whole application form before you write anything so that you are clear as to exactly what information you are being asked to provide. Make a draft of what you will write, ensuring that you always ask yourself, ‘Am I answering the question?’ Never leave any sections of the form blank. If it doesn’t apply to you, then notate that part of the form ‘n/a’.

Given that you either have limited space in which to write or have been given a specific word limit, ensure that you use very descriptive and action-oriented language to reinforce the message you are trying to convey. The final hard copy of any application form should be completed in black or blue ink and be clearly legible, printing is often preferable to cursive writing.

Once you’ve completed your research, reviewed what you have to offer, how you address the selection criteria and drafted your application form, you should make your final check for mistakes or omissions. Then print off the application, copy it for your own records and then staple securely in the top left-hand corner. Binding the application or inserting it into an expensive plastic folder will not make it any more informative. Vitally important, of course, is to take note of the closing date and ensure that your application is submitted ahead of time rather than at the last minute.

Online Application Forms Many large companies are using online application forms as part of their recruitment process, and in general the same principles apply when completing these as for hard copy applications. There is a range of options in the use of online application forms, in some cases they can be downloaded, completed and returned either by fax or mail, while others may be submitted electronically – there are two types of electronic submission.

The first involves the applicant registering on the company's site and completing the form over a number of sessions. In the second the application must be completed in one sitting, that is once you start compiling an online application form you may not be able to save it and then come back to continue work on it. After you hit ‘submit’ at the end of the process, your information will be stored in a database, therefore if possible you should download a hard copy of the form, gather all your facts and then write a number of drafts before arriving at your ‘final copy’. This is all the more important when you understand that some applications may take more than an hour to complete online, and that’s without any ‘thinking’ time!

One of the concerns with electronic applications is the inability to transmit particular attachments such as academic records. As companies require original copies of academic records displaying the institution’s seal, and it is not yet possible to transmit these electronically, many are now requesting these documents at a later stage of the selection process. Companies generally use application forms to make initial selections on some basic criteria, eg. work experience and qualifications. It is anticipated that with this development in the use of online application forms there will be increased use of online psychometric tests at this early stage of the application process.