Thursday, July 16, 2015

Life Skills Session 2

Life Skills Session 15th July

Life Skills Session 2 ran on Wednesday 15th July after school at 2pm. Nine Palladian
gave up their time to offer us their knowledge, wisdom and insight into topics ranging from employment, finance and wellbeing. The panelists ranged from class of 1962 Palladians to class of 2014 Palladians. The information session was extremely useful and helpful as we will be graduating soon and these skills are needed for life beyond high school.

The 9 panelists were:

Carolyn Tucek-Szebo: (PhD, GD IP Law), Head Regulatory Affairs, Australasia for GlaxoSmithKline
Leonie Bird: Barrister. Specialises in commercial litigation and succession law. Special interest in domestic violence and migration law

Ravali Gaddam: First year medical student at Monash University

Shanika Galaudage: Completing a Bachelor of Science Degree and has current employment at CSIRO

Dr Anne Bridges: Technical Director AACC International ( www.aaccnet.org/

Sharann Johnson: PhD, COH, FAIOH, Director, Callander & Johnson OHS Consultancy Services P/L

Judy Louie: Lecturer in Accounting, LaTrobe University

Nanette Gherardin: Small business owner


Here are some key information for those of you who could not attend the life skills session: 

How to get a job (including resumes, referees and interviews for getting a part time job or finding a career):
-  Your CV is a very important document when applying for jobs.
-  Make sure that when applying, that company's values suit yours.
-  Have a LinkedIn page.
-  Employers do check your Facebook page.
-  Research the company you wish to work for. (Who are the board of directors? Seek out annual reports published by the company on the internet.)
-  Personal appearance and presentation in very important. First impressions do matter.
-  In the interview, maintain eye contact.
-  Find out common interview questions and think of possible answers to them before doing the interview.
-  Have interests outside academics. Employers will look at this.
-  Sometimes employers will ask you random questions to throw you off (e.g. Are you a dog person or cat person?).
-  Manners in the workplace is important. Be polite and respectful to your coworkers.
-  Be patient. You won’t be the CEO after 6 months of working. Be patient, experience, observe and learn if you want to get into higher ranks.

Money management (including taxes, HECS, and investments):
- Finance:
-  Develop a consistent savings habit.
-  Don’t have too many credit cards (if their is too many, the more like you are to fall in debt).
-  Control your expenses.
-  Superannuation is the money set away for retirement. Companies MUST pay you super.

HECS:
-  Either pay full amount upfront and government pays 10%.
-  Or defer full amount. When you get a job and earn a certain amount you will start paying it off.
-  HECS debt can mount up so don’t delay paying it.
-  Universities give a fee called Amenity fee which you cannot put on HECS.
-  You can nominate how much HECS debt you pay each year but there is a minimal amount you must pay each year once you start earning an income of a certain amount.
-  Put money aside each month for HECS debt.
-  Currently, there is no interest on HECS but the government wants to implement interest on HECS so watch out for any news regarding this as it will affect you.

Health and wellbeing (how to get through VCE, University and the life beyond):
-  Build up confidence
-  Apply for roles in high school and uni.
-  As hard as it sounds, don’t get too hung up on your ATAR.
-  Eat healthy, have balanced diet and exercise (even 10 minutes is enough).
-  Have a positive outlook.
-  Sleep
-  Stay organised.
-  Don’t overwork yourself.
-  Don’t skip breakfast and other meals such as lunch or dinner.
-  Get support when you need it. You don’t have to handle everything by yourself.


A message that one of the Palladians would like to say to her 17 year old self:
“Keep your eyes open.”

Another message from one Palladian to current Mac.Robbians:

“Your career is very important but make sure you are happy.”

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