Upskilling for Success
What do recruiters really want from candidates? What are soft skills and why are they critical for success?
In this session, you’ll get practical advice on how to get ahead in your career during these uncertain times.
Featuring a recruitment expert and alumni panellists with experience at KPMG, PwC, Airbnb and Amazon, this event explores:
- How to upskill strategically now and future-proof your skillset
- Top skills recruiters will be looking for in a post-COVID-19 employment market
This event was originally live-streamed in August 2020 as part of Ask Alumni Live – a series of monthly career events developed specifically for recent graduates.
While young alumni may find this discussion particularly useful, we invite everyone in our community to tune in and watch. Whether you’re job seeking, taking your first career steps, or looking for a change, we hope this session will bring you insightful advice and resources.
PANELLISTS
Jane Wayland | Host (BSc 1994)
Jane is a Director in KPMG Australia’s Innovation, Solutions & Ventures practice and has been with the firm for more than fifteen years. As a management consultant, Jane has worked with public sector and corporate organisations in a range of industries, collaborating with senior leaders, engaging with workforce and customers to plan and deliver effective transformation programs.
Jane is also a member of the University of Melbourne Alumni Council.
Prof Simon Bell
(BCom 1992, BCom Hons 1993, PhD 2000)
Professor Simon Bell is the head of MSPACE, the University of Melbourne’s School of Professional and Continuing Education. MSPACE aims to become a global leader in industry-focused educational offerings tailored to meet the needs of individuals and organisations and accessible through different modes of delivery, including face-to-face, online and intensive programs.
Simon researches how firms can become a more effective organisations by engaging with customers more meaningfully. In recent work, for example, he has studied how, by improving the skills of their customers—educating them in how to consume their product—firms can improve service quality and customer loyalty.
With his focus on academically rigorous research to solve real-world problems, Professor Bell has worked extensively with industry, government, and third sector organisations in a research, consulting, and executive education capacity. He has worked with organisations locally and abroad including PWC, Honda, Royal Mail, Rolls Royce, Agricultural Bank of China, and IBM.
Jonathan Hunt
(BA 2009, EMA 2012)
Jonathan graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts in 2010 where he majored in Psychology and German. He went on to complete an Executive Master of Arts in 2011.
Since graduating, he has focused his career on all aspects of human resources, including outplacement, training and development, talent acquisition, talent management, diversity and inclusion, and employee engagement and he is passionate about assisting people in every stage of their career.
Jonathan moved to Hong Kong in 2015 with Allegis Global Solutions, a leading global provider in talent solutions, where he is currently the Asia Pacific Head of HR.
Craig Fuller
(BCom 1983)
Craig is an entrepreneurial business leader with extensive experience in innovation, marketing, and operations, supply chain, financial and general management, both in Australia and overseas in Switzerland and Japan.
His career has been with blue chip corporations like Nestle, where his tenure included a period as President of Nestle Purina Petfood in Japan. He has also been CEO of KADAC, Australia’s largest wholesaler and manufacture of health and organic food and beverages. Craig joined Amazon in Japan five years ago, and then returned to Melbourne in 2018 to join the Amazon Australia team and last year he became Director of Operations.
Bonnie Law
(BCom 2012)
Bonnie is currently a Talent Generalist at Airbnb for the Asia Pacific region, based in Singapore.
She has eight years of experience in HR, having worked in both Australia and Singapore, with extensive expertise in talent management, performance management and people analytics.