About Careers and Employability

What is career development?

When you start university you may already know which career path you’d like to pursue. Or, you might be exploring your unique interests, passions, and opportunities.

No matter which category you’re in, career development starts from your first day at university. Career development doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to develop a greater awareness of who you are and what you want to achieve.

At the University of Melbourne, career development is a journey that involves:

  • Understanding and reflecting on your motivations and preferences, current skills and knowledge gaps
  • Researching potential opportunities that help you develop meaningful, industry-relevant experiences
  • Goal setting and deciding on what career success means to you
  • Seeking and applying for roles that align with this vision.

During this process, your ability to understand and apply your knowledge will be critical in making successful career decisions. We have dedicated career advisers who can guide you through this career development journey.

What are employability skills?

Employability skills are more than just your ability to land a job. They cover your attitude, personal qualities, and transferable skills (e.g. teamwork and communication).

These skills are valued regardless of the role or industry you’re interested in—and understanding their importance can help you succeed in your career and beyond.

Our aim is to help you develop these skills so you can progress professionally in the workforce and community.

How we can help you

We provide online and in-person services: from one-on-one guidance, to learning modules, on campus workshops, and more.

We support you to:

  • Understand the possibilities open to you during and after your time at university
  • Design your career by understanding where your degree can take you, and guide you on what experiences will help you gain future employment
  • Identify your skills and how they apply to actual jobs in the industry you’re interested in
  • Find opportunities via our online jobs board and our employability programs
  • Connect with employers and professionals through our mentoring programs and industry networks
  • Navigate the job application process so your cover letter, resume, and interview style sets you up for success.

Our services are available to all current undergraduate and graduate University of Melbourne students.

Careers services for international students

The Careers and Employability team can help you with all your career and job queries. Hear from other University of Melbourne international students about the range of careers services they’ve accessed at the University.

As an international student you have access to a wide range of tools, events and personal advice offered by a dedicated team of University careers advisers. Read more about the range of careers & employability services accessible at the University of Melbourne.

Download the international students employability package (PDF 10.5 MB)

Not sure where to start? Book in for a one-on-one consultation with an adviser to find out more.

Additionally, the Study Melbourne Hub is a Victorian Government initiative that provides further free employability resources, support and information to all international students.

Chat to our team

Access support from our dedicated team of career advisers and get help with achieving your unique career goals.

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