Webinars

Traineeship: Finding Fulfillment in HR

Gabrielle Johnston: Welcome to the Careers that Council talent attraction What do you do at Council? webinar series.
My name is Gabrielle Johnston, and I’m the human resources advisor at Local Government NSW and I’ll be your host today.
And we’re excited to have you all join us for an exciting and engaging session.
Please note we have all the cameras and microphones turned off just to avoid any disruptions and background noise. Before we begin our webinar today, I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and all the traditional custodians of this land on which we meet today and pay my respects to Elders past, present and future.
Our webinar today is focusing on promoting a career journey from a traineeship to a role in HR, and I’m pleased to welcome today our guest speaker Evelyn Bower, People and Culture Assistant Talent at Tamworth Regional Council.
Welcome, Evelyn.
Thank you for joining us today.

Evelyn Bower: Thank you very much for having me.

Gabrielle Johnston: So, Evelyn’s experience and insight will undoubtedly provide us with a deep understanding of her traineeship career journey within local government.
Before we dive into the Q&A with Evelyn, I will share a PowerPoint and just share a little bit more information on Careers at Council.
Bear with me and I’ll just bring up the PowerPoint now.
Wonderful.
So hopefully everyone can now see the PowerPoint and just to provide a bit of overview of Careers at Council.

Careers at Council is where we explore the diverse opportunities and rewarding pathways available for those who are passionate about making a positive impact in local communities.
And it’s an initiative of the State and Territory Local Government Association.
So it’s created by councils, for councils and it was established to inform and attract local government’s future workforce.
But it is much more than a jobs board.
So you can access Careers at Council through our website, whether that’s on a laptop, desktop or smartphone, and Careers at Council also does have a dedicated LinkedIn and Facebook page, as well as an active YouTube channel for sharing various jobs in local government.
Looking, just to provide you with a brief overview of the Careers at Council website.
There is an entry level tab that provides a range of information on graduate positions, cadetships, apprenticeships and traineeships, as well as providing a link to  current apprenticeships and traineeships job opportunities that are available, and then putting this in the context of local government, apprenticeships are a great way to get a trade qualification and work at the same time and they usually take three to four years to complete and are available for school leavers or adults re-entering the workforce, or perhaps changing careers. And then traineeships offer pay, work and training that leading to a national qualification upon completion, and these can take usually one to two years depending on the level of qualification. And for traineeships there are over 300 qualifications available for council staff, which is great.
Now looking at Careers at Council and a bit of the job board, the performance data confirms that there’s been more than 10,000 jobs posted to date, and this spans  across the 14 unique career areas and currently there is 619 active jobs.
If you are looking for a traineeship, you can do a custom search in the keyword and you’ll see opportunities available in local government.
And to explore the 14 career areas at local council, they are available on the platform and you’ll discover the wide range of roles and opportunities that are tailored to skill levels and interests, and they all contribute to the betterment of our community.
And then to hear from people working in council, you can check out the employee stories which are insights and experiences shared by council employees, giving you more of a glimpse into what it’s like to work in local government as well as their employee testimonies that highlight personal experiences, career growth, skill development and community engagement.
And these testimonies do provide job seekers with a better understanding of the diverse and rewarding career opportunities available in local government and how they can make a meaningful difference in their communities by working for a council.
To join the Careers at Council community, it’s a great way to explore jobs and connect with local government roles all across Australia.
You can sign up for job alerts attended our webinar series such as this.
View the vodcast, read employee stories and also apply for jobs.
So we do encourage you to connect with us on social media to become a part of the Careers that Council community.
You can register to receive job alerts from the sign in page, or the register page.
As you can see, a screenshot on the slide, you can also provide feedback via the feedback section and at the bottom of the page is where you can access all the different sections on the website.
Now this will be all for me. Thank you.
And we’ll now look and hear what Evelyn has to share about her career journey.
I will stop my sharing now. OK.
And just focus on us. Wonderful
And I do note before we jump into the Q&A with Evelyn, there is a Q&A feature so we encourage you to put any questions in there and then we’ll answer those at the end of the webinar.
So Evelyn, again, thank you for joining us.
Just to start, if you could tell us a little bit about your journey into People and Culture, what drew you to this field initially?

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, absolutely.
And thank you for the presentation too, that was really good.
So it actually all started with my dad, Geoff.
So my dad actually played a key role in the development and implementation of the People and Culture team at his workplace.
And growing up, I would often go to dad’s office and that is where my initial interest started. So I got to see and appreciate the dealings with people and the importance of building those relationships.
So I’ve always sort of thought of myself as a very people orientated person and seeing my dad’s work really increased my passion for wanting to work in people and culture.
So when the opportunity of a traineeship in People and Culture came up at Tamworth Regional Council, to be honest, I thought I’d be silly not to go for it and it turns out that taking that risk was the best thing that I’ve done for my career.
And so, the duration of my traineeship, sorry, was two years, in which time I completed a Certificate IV in human resource management and in the first 12 months of my traineeship I was in the recruitment space and I got to sit on interview panels, shortlist advertised roles, liaise with candidates and stakeholders and much more – recruitment’s a very large space.
And in the second year, yeah, the second year our transitioned into the learning and development space where I assisted with coordinating training for the organisation and through my experience, I realised that recruitment was my passion and I absolutely fell in love with it at the end of last year, so 2024, I was accepted for a permanent role as the People in Culture Assistant in recruitment.
So that was a very big achievement for me.

Gabrielle Johnston: Nice, yeah.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, worked very hard to get that, so I was very happy. And now I assist with all things admin, I organise and attend any careers events, I manage our work experience program and our candidate care program, and also assist with our recruitment team with whatever they need so they can sometimes be sitting on interview panels, opening roles, things like that.
So yeah, very fast paced and environment, but I absolutely love it.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yes, yes.
And I guess being able to test two different parts of people and culture would have been helpful because, I mean, yeah, when you’re first entering the workforce, it can, yeah, hard to know what.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah. Absolutely.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah. What it’s like. and yeah, definitely.

Evelyn Bower: I think you need that exposure, yeah.

 

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah, definitely.
And then what would be some of the most valuable lessons you learned during your two year traineeship at Tamworth Regional Council?

Evelyn Bower: So I think the biggest thing I learned through my traineeship was to take opportunities as they come and step outside your comfort zone.
I’ve done a lot of things during my traineeship, like public speaking, presenting, networking, even being on the radio at one stage, just to name a few.
And these are all things that were very much outside of my comfort zone.
But they have led to amazing other opportunities, such as being on this webinar today. And I’ve learned that you just never know where things might take you.
And while I still get nervous for these things, I definitely feel a lot more confident enough in my abilities as well, and I know that all I can do is my best and also have to thank, you know, my team at Tamworth Regional Council. They trusted me to do a lot of different things and gave me exposure to the different areas of People and Culture. So without them I wouldn’t have this confidence I suppose, to be able to take that step and try different things.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah. Yeah. No. Getting exposure’s great, especially early on in our careers.

Evelyn Bower: Yes.

Gabrielle Johnston: And you mentioned earlier that you’ve developed a strong passion for recruitment.
What aspects of the recruitment process do you find most rewarding?

Evelyn Bower: Yes, so look, I genuinely enjoy the end to end recruitment process.
I mean, obviously it has its challenges at times, but the overall process is, yeah, I love it. But you know from liaising with stakeholders to ensure recruitment, meets the highest standards, there we go, to advertising roles and contacting candidates to invite them to interviews.
Look, each step is both engaging and rewarding, I find.

One of the most fulfilling moments is for me, making the call to inform a preferred candidate that they’ve progressed to the next stage and then later welcoming them during the onboarding phase.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yes.

Evelyn Bower: Now recruitment involves a great deal of hard work, but the positives far outweigh the challenges and hearing the excitement in the candidate’s voice when they move forward in the process is incredibly rewarding.
And I’m also very fortunate to have a fantastic team that helps navigate those more difficult situations with ease.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah.
And as you mentioned it is an end to end process.
How do you ensure that candidates have a positive and memorable experience throughout their journey?

Evelyn Bower: I know it might be quite a generic response, but communication is absolutely key.
You know, for example, if for some reason a recruitment is delayed, it is really important that it is communicated with candidates so they don’t feel left in the dark, making sure that the process is also timely is important as well. Just to keep things moving and also be considerate of candidates time. And I also always try and answer the phone with a smile which I know sounds a little bit funny.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah.

Evelyn Bower: You know you’re on the phone, they can’t see you, but I find that it makes a real difference in, you know, it uplifts the tone of your voice and you know sort of helps make the process a positive one.
But I also think that understanding that every candidate is invested in the outcome of the process, and that makes the effort put into enhancing their experience even more worthwhile.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah. And then now just jumping in to the traineeship.
I know you are passionate about promoting traineeships at councils. I guess why do you believe these pathways are so important and especially in local government?

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, absolutely.
So you’re very much right there, I’m very passionate about traineeships and apprenticeships.
My experience at high school, I noticed that traineeships and apprenticeships weren’t really talked about at all. Um, you know, I wasn’t aware of the incredible opportunities outside of university.
Like I knew, that is, that’s what the schools push for, it’s for university.

So in my current role I go to the schools around the region to promote traineeships and apprenticeships at council, and you know, even now I’ve discovered that majority of the students I talked to still don’t know about traineeships and apprenticeships.
So even me being out of school for a few years, it hasn’t really changed much by the sounds of it.
But that only fuels my passion for this topic.
I believe that university certainly isn’t for everyone, but there are so many other amazing opportunities available and traineeships and apprenticeships allow for people to work towards, like you mentioned before, gaining a nationally recognised qualification while also getting hands-on experience and also getting paid.
So it’s win-win situation if you ask me and it’s a fantastic initiative.
And in regards to why it is so important in local government, one reason I can think of is because local government is so diverse in what industries are offered, and there are often skill shortages and you know by offering traineeships and apprenticeships in these areas we are able to ‘grow our own’ meaning we are developing the required skills and experiences to create a stronger industry and create succession planning opportunities within the organisation.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yes and yeah I know, I saw that over 300 traineeships are available.
I guess it does demonstrate the broad range of skills.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, it is.
Absolutely.

Gabrielle Johnston: And look, you did touch on some of the ways you do promote traineeships in your community, but were there any others you want to mention of ways that you do promote the traineeships at Tamworth Council?

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, look there’s quite a few, so at TRC we have our traineeship and apprenticeship campaign open annually, usually around July. We do often have a few pop up throughout the year, however, this is where most of our traineeships and apprenticeships are advertised. During this time, like I mentioned, I go out to schools and talk to hundreds of students about what traineeships and apprenticeships are, what they offer, and also the also the opportunities at TRC.
I also do this during any careers events I go to, for example, recently I attended the North West Regional Careers Expo.
And so again, spoke to the students about the different opportunities. We also promote the campaign through our career development pillar of our Employee Value Proposition campaign, which highlights why it is so great to work at TRC with career development through traineeships and apprenticeships being a big drawcard for this. Apart from that, we also post on all our social media and our staff advertise on the radio and we also typically, typically, I can’t talk, sorry, get previous or existing trainees or apprentices to talk about their experiences at council to showcase real life stories. I find that especially students, but people in general will be a lot more receptive to real life stories.
But yeah, basically we try promote traineeships and partnerships as much as we can in many different ways.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah, definitely sounds like there’s a lot of touch points continually.

Evelyn Bower: Absolutely, yeah.

Gabrielle Johnston: And then once, yeah, a traineeship, a person just start a traineeship at council, how does Tamworth Regional Council support and develop its trainees to build a long term career pathway within local government?

Evelyn Bower: Yes. So, I think the biggest thing that Tamworth Regional Council does really well is offering support for our trainees and apprentices. Our trainees and apprentices are given time during work hours to study and our supervisors have been fantastic in ensuring that trainees and apprentices get exposure to different aspects of the industry to ensure that they are fully equipped by the end of their training.
For example, how I spoke about my traineeship earlier, you know, being in different spaces within People and Culture, it’s yeah definitely a necessity I think for trainees and apprentices, but also feel like this helps build that long term career pathway by showing and guiding trainees and apprentices through different tasks.
We have a team member in People and Culture here, actually, he looks after all of our trainees and apprentices training and keeps track of where they are up to with their learning, which is fantastic and it also keeps our trainees and apprentices accountable for what they’re up to as well.

Gabrielle Johnston: I feel like you’re having that support as well.
And yeah, it you would definitely help.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, absolutely.
Very much needed, especially being so new into the workforce.
You know, you gotta have that mentorship and that support because, you know, it’s the beginning of your career.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah.

Evelyn Bower: And so you don’t know exactly what to do with you know things like that.
So it it’s fantastic stepping stone.

Gabrielle Johnston: Hmm. And now I guess looking more at your traineeship.

How has your traineeship experience influenced your approach to recruitment?

Evelyn Bower: Yes, my traineeship provided me a deeper understanding of the end to end recruitment process.
From identifying talent needs to onboarding. I also learned the importance of recruitment strategies and keeping track of analytics.
So we can adapt to the ever changing market to ensure that we get the right person in the right role at the right time because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.
And also working closely with experienced professionals, has also allowed me to see the value in collaboration and proactive communication as I think I mentioned before like there’s so many different moving parts and People and Culture and we can sometimes open 8 roles in one week.

So there’s a lot happening, so sometimes it’s yeah, or not sometimes, but it’s really, really important that we all communicate and let each other know where we’re up to.
And there’s so many different people that are involved in the recruitment process.
So yeah, a lot of moving parts. But I also know that, you know, recruitment is not just a transactional process but a strategic function that contributes to the long term success of the organisation and it plays a very crucial role in keeping the organisation running. Without staff, kind of creates a bit of a problem.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yes, yes.
And then what do you think the role of ongoing learning and development plays in retaining the talent within local government?

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, so in local government there is constant change happening, you know whether through policy shifts, community needs or you know technology advancements.
Providing our employees with continuous development opportunities just ensures that they feel equipped, valued and engaged. We also offer educational assistance at TRC, so that means that employees can request financial assistance or leave assistance, even to study a course that’s related to their role. And this is just another great initiative to again ‘grow our on’ and it contributes to creating a positive workplace and improving performance overall.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yes, yes, wonderful.
It sounds like it definitely aligns well, especially with the value proposition at Tamworth.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, absolutely.

Gabrielle Johnston: And then what advice would you give someone just starting out in a People and Culture role and considering a traineeship?

Evelyn Bower: Yes. So that’s a good question.
Look, my advice would be to approach every experience as a learning opportunity.
You never know where the experiences might take you, and you know if you are considering a position in People and Culture, just know that it is a very broad field covering things from, you know, recruitment, learning, development or place and employee relations, organisational culture and much more.
So don’t be afraid to ask questions and step outside of your comfort zone.
And I think another thing is to be patient with yourself.
You know, like all things, growth takes time and it’s OK not to have all the answers right away.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah, yes, definitely.
And I guess yeah, coming into a new role and being new and early person in the workforce, it is all new I guess even the routine, the hours…

Evelyn Bower: Absolutely yes.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah.

Evelyn Bower: You really gotta give yourself a bit of a break and just know that as long as you do your best, that’s all you can ask for.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah. And then, looking ahead for yourself, what are your goals and aspirations in the People and Culture space?

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, absolutely. So currently I am a finalist in the New England Training Awards, so a goal of mine is to hopefully make it to the next phase of this, which is the state awards, so fingers crossed! But apart from that, thank you, apart from that, as I mentioned earlier, you know there are so many moving parts and People in Culture and you know I still learn something new every day.
So with that being said, my goal is to continue developing my skills to become a well-rounded HR professional and contribute to our strategic planning to help with the success of our organisation.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah, sounds great.
I mean, yeah, definitely very impressive that you are up for nomination.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah. Thank you.
It’s been, yeah, that was the goal of mine, once I started my traineeship and you know, it’s a yeah, pretty big achievement and we’ll just see where it takes me.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah. That’s very exciting.
And then I guess we’re coming towards the end of the Q&A here, but if you could change one common misconception about working in local government, what would it be?

Evelyn Bower: Oh that’s also a very good question.
Look, I think that one major misconception is that staff in local government are perhaps slow moving or lacking motivation.
You know, I really hope to show the community that behind the scenes there are passionate and skilled professionals really trying to make meaningful change every day and I think that sometimes the community at times and forget that we live here too, and, that there really is a focus on people both internally and externally.
You know whether it’s supporting staff through People and Culture initiatives or delivering services that improve community wellbeing. The work is always meaningful and purpose-driven.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah, yeah, I guess it can be hard to sometimes, it could be a disconnection.

Evelyn Bower: Absolutely, yeah, yeah.

Gabrielle Johnston: To sharing both sides.

Looking more or less at the recruitment, what’s one thing you wish every candidate knew before applying for a trainee role at council?

Evelyn Bower: Yes, so this is something I typically tell students quite often, but one thing I wish every candidate knew before applying for a traineeship role at council is that you don’t need to have all of the answers or previous experience to be successful.
You know what we look for is, you know, someone trying willingness to learn, a positive attitude and having a genuine interest in making a difference.
So yeah, whenever we’re hiring trainees and apprentices, that’s what we look for.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah, and I  guess I just have one question of my own, as we’ve gone through the Q&A. So if there was a school leaver looking to further their education and if they were looking at a university, is that something they could do in Tamworth or would it require them to relocate?

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, so we currently don’t have. I mean, you’ve got online learning and yeah, we don’t have a university in Tamworth as of yet.

But you know, yeah, we we’ve had opportunities previously for university students, are able to come and do some work experience with council as well.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah.

Evelyn Bower: So yeah, it’s definitely another avenue that we can look at.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah, I guess these traineeships and apprenticeships just provide to school leavers or people looking to change their career, just another avenue or another program without having to relocate.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, and there’s so many different opportunities out there and you know, I really, you know, not even just students, but for people who are just wanting to change, like you mentioned, I hope people know that, the world you’re oyster basically.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah. Wonderful.
Look they’re all the questions I had for you, but I will jump onto the chat and the Q&A and I think a few people might have sent a few through.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, let’s do it.

Gabrielle Johnston: OK so we have Charles, Hi Gabrielle does Careers at Council also cover school-based traineeships and apprenticeships? Devika’s jumped in and answered that one for us, saying yes they do support this.

Evelyn Bower: Fabulous. Thanks Devika.

Gabrielle Johnston: And Charles, I think Tamworth Regional Council has a team member who has won the regional apprentice of the Yyar award for the last two years. Evelyn, you may know.

Evelyn Bower: No, not at the top of my head, sorry.

Gabrielle Johnston: No, but yeah, we might have to take Charles’ word for it.
Very impressive.

Evelyn Bower: Yes.

Gabrielle Johnston: Another question, do you use AI to read a large number of resumes to sort out the suitable candidate?

Evelyn Bower: No, we have a team There’s three of us in the recruitment space.
We have two talent acquisition ladies, and myself as the assistant.

Gabrielle Johnston: Oh OK.

Evelyn Bower: And yeah, we divvy the recruitments out and we go through every single candidate ourselves. As well as the panel members, of course.

Gabrielle Johnston: Hmm. Oh yeah, I can imagine it’s quite busy with the three of you.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, absolutely.

Gabrielle Johnston: And council have a lot of roles, yeah.

Evelyn Bower: Yes, we’re definitely kept on our feet most of the time, but wouldn’t have it any other way.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yes, I’ll just jump into the Q&A and see if there’s any questions here. We do have one.
Did you have the literacy and numeracy test to join the trainee program?

Evelyn Bower: No.

 

Gabrielle Johnston: So did you have. No.

 

Evelyn Bower: Sorry, I cut you off.

Gabrielle Johnston: That’s okay.

Evelyn Bower: So I mean, we have requirements that we pop on the advertisement and the position description as well.
And you know, obviously it’s gonna be different, for whatever recruitment for whatever industry it might be, however, there’s no necessary literacy and numeracy test. We do ask that you know if you’re a school leaver to have Year 10, I think, Year 10 RoSA, Year 10 certificate, to apply for internship and apprenticeship.
But yeah, not really. We understand that as a trainee and apprentice, you probably not gonna have all of the experience, the qualifications as I mentioned before, we just asked that you show a willingness to learn, have a positive attitude and yeah.
Yeah, just interested in what you’ve applied for.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah, and oh you had one more question come through.
Hi what is both your opinions on AI being used to finesse applications?

Evelyn Bower: You wanna take that one first, Gabbi?

Gabrielle Johnston: Well, I’ve recently did a course on the recruitment or talent attraction, and I’ve read both sides which were presented to us in an argument for and against for both the employee and the employer using AI and I do see, I guess the benefits and the cons of each, and I think my takeaway, was I mean, it is hard to know if employees are or candidates, sorry, are using AI and if they are, I guess it’s out of our control to stop them, which then brings the interview and the in-personal skills, whether this be face to face or online just so much more important.
I guess using AI to finish applications, yeah, I think I’m neutral on it.
It is out of the control at the end of the day, something just focusing on that interview and whether you do skills test to verify those skills for that particular role.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, it’s very good point.
Few points you’ve got there actually.
Oh look, it’s not really something that I personally looked at in depth like I know that it’s definitely a topic that’s becoming a lot more relevant I suppose.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yes.

Evelyn Bower: You know, when I talk to students about, you know, when they create resumes and things like that, you know, I usually ask them to steer away from AI because, you know, we want to get to know the real them, things like that.
But using AI to look through and do shortlisting, sorry I should say, I don’t know.
I haven’t really thought too much, and I definitely think there are some, some pros and definitely some cons in there as well.
Oh but for now like I cause we sit on the interview panels and things like that.
I think it’s good to actually understand, you know, the person that we’re interviewing and you know, knowing what they’ve already written down.
And yeah, I don’t know.
I’d have to have a bit more of a think than that, but yeah, it’s definitely something that we should probably look into more now.
It’s becoming, yeah, more relevant in the world now.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah, definitely and I guess just the transparency with the, I feel like, yeah, it’s something yet to be explored. But I think it will come.

Evelyn Bower: Hmm, absolutely.

Gabrielle Johnston: Charles has commented. Thank you Gabbi and Evelyn for today. Evelyn, you have been very impressive this afternoon and have waved the TRC flag very high. Well done. Thank you, Evelyn.

Evelyn Bower: Thank you, Charles.

Gabrielle Johnston: And then we’ve had another question.
What are common mistakes candidates made during the interview that cause them to fail in front of the panel?

Evelyn Bower: Yes. So that’s a very good question too.
Look, I think that if candidates don’t go through and read the advertisement or the position description. I always push for people to read that position description because the advertisement will only give you so much.
But if people don’t do their research, you can typically find out pretty quickly.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah.

Evelyn Bower: But yeah, I think it’s very important that, you know, you go do the research first, so you’re able to communicate and answer those questions with ease.
So that’s definitely one. Yeah, but there’s a few different things, but that’s probably the one that comes to mind first.

Gabrielle Johnston: Hmm. Yes.
And I guess that will show relates with the AI mean if someone hasn’t done their research or hasn’t looked in and explored the Council or the organisation, there can be a disconnect or it can show in that interview processed.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah.

Gabrielle Johnston: So I think it is important as you mentioned, to really do your research and become familiar.

Evelyn Bower: Yeah, absolutely.
And another thing, sorry is giving examples. A lot of people will just respond to the question, you know, yes and no answers, but we want you to elaborate on those things and provide examples of when you may have demonstrated different things.
You know, if it customer service wise or if you had to handle a disgruntled customer or client, things like that you know we want examples.
So I think it’s very important to elaborate on different things as well.

Gabrielle Johnston: That’s yeah, definitely. And for your recruitment, is it on, do they have a selection criteria that they address for the role?

Evelyn Bower: Yes.
Yeah. So there is definitely a there’s a selection criteria for all recruitments that we have on advertised. We do, yeah.

Another tip I like to give students when I talk to them is to provide as much detail as possible and again elaborate on those questions as well and provide those examples, because that’s the first thing that we read when we go into shortlist, so very important that you do that.
Um, but yeah, sorry, yes, for your question.

Gabrielle Johnston: Yeah.
And I guess yeah, putting the detail in their responses is crucial.

 

Evelyn Bower: Yes, absolutely.

 

Gabrielle Johnston: I’ll have a final check if there were any further questions from the chat features.

Evelyn Bower: No worries.
It’s been some really good questions so far.

Gabrielle Johnston: We have one more question come through. Does Careers at Council itself offer traineeships and/or apprenticeships.
So, Careers at Council does not itself. I know that they have the jobs board feature where you can search for traineeships or apprenticeships that would be at a council across Australia, so it wouldn’t be directly with Careers at Council.
It would be with a local government.
And well, I think that’s all the questions we had today.
But Evelyn, thank you for volunteering your time and sharing your journey and your insights with us today, we really appreciate it.

Evelyn Bower: Thank you. I thank you very much. It’s been great.

Gabrielle Johnston: Wonderful.

And thank you to all the viewers and the audience for joining today, giving up your time to listen.
Please check out the Careers at Council social media pages and join up as well as a recording of this webinar will be posted as well as promotion for any upcoming webinars as well.
Well, yes, thank you everyone, and thank you Evelyn. It’s been a pleasure.

Evelyn Bower: Thank you very much.
Absolutely. Thank you. Have a good afternoon.

Gabrielle Johnston: You too, bye.

Evelyn Bower: Bye.