The Changing Game

It's no secret that achieving career success in the midst of current global economic uncertainty poses some significant yet interesting challenges.

The nature of these challenges, as well as strategies for taking advantage of the new opportunities they present, will provide the cornerstone of this Wednesday night’s Business School PG Info Session at the Establishment. The key draw card will be a conversation between new Business School Dean Professor Geoffrey Garrett and the CEO and Chief Country Officer for Citi Australia, Stephen Roberts, who will share their views regarding business expectations of Masters level graduates and the way in which current business circumstances are shaping graduate employment prospects.

From my own perspective, the best career advice in the current climate centres around a willingness to be flexible, both in terms of industries targeted and occupations sought. With this in mind, graduates need to be prepared to up-skill and re-skill through further education including Masters level study. They need to be prepared to combine what we term “depth” and “breadth” knowledge in the studies they undertake with a view to creating a balanced skill portfolio that can be deployed across a range of different industries and occupations. This applies as much to those who want to build a career in general management as to those who plan to forge a career as a specialised business professional.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the terms, “depth” skills relate to the hands-on technical knowledge required to be a proficient business professional in any chosen field, whether it be accounting, finance, marketing, or change management. “Breadth” skills, by contrast, refer to important cognitive, behavioural and social skills. These range from things like critical thinking, problem-solving and communications abilities through to the increasingly important ethical and social competencies. Interestingly, while the depth skills are important to getting that great job, it’s these breadth skills that employers are now looking for to identify those candidates with the greatest high performance capability.

For candidates that boast strong technical proficiencies but lack these required breadth capacities, redressing this particular imbalance could be the most important step they ever undertake. The best postgraduate programs aim to confer both.

Author: Professor John Shields

 
Ignite Your Career
Join the University of Sydney Business School for our Postgraduate Information Session to talk with our leading academics and learning support staff for detailed advice on postgraduate study options.
Date: Wednesday 9th May 2012
Time: 6-8pm
Venue: Establishment Hotel, 252 George Street, Sydney
Register now: http://bit.ly/IpiKgg