What's your job about?
Johnstaff is a versatile management and delivery firm that offers advisory, project management, and construction practitioner services to clients within the public and private sectors.
I am currently a Graduate within the Liverpool Health and Academic Precinct project. Being a graduate means dipping into a diverse range of tasks on a daily basis. This includes liaising with the client and the builder to ensure that the project is successfully meeting the client’s needs. There is a lot of on-the-job learning that I get mostly from being on a construction site and being surrounded by my seniors who are always happy to offer a few words of wisdom. Being a project manager largely involves building strong professional relationships with both your own Johnstaff team as well as the larger project team and all stakeholders involved within the project.
Project management is a very broad profession that involves project administration, programming, project procurement, and cost management. This means you are never getting bored doing one thing and are always moving from task to task in a fast-paced environment.
What's your background?
I grew up on the Central Coast, which was full of scenic lookouts and beaches.
I went to school locally on the coast and didn’t really know what I wanted to do after school until Year 11. Since I loved all things art, I thought Architecture was the right pathway for me. This is why I first studied a Bachelor of Architecture. However, I quickly realised I wanted to go broader, leading to my decision to study Master of Urban Design. I really enjoyed this course and the impression of designing things that the public would enjoy and improve their quality of life. Studying at uni was one of the best stages of my life, although it was super stressful at times, it was also very rewarding. And I realised that is what I wanted from a job, something that called for hard work, but was equally as rewarding.
I got my current job when I started the job hunt a few months before graduating from my Master. Like any student, this was a stressful and intense time with both final exams coming up and the need for a job coming ever closer. I applied to a few consultancies, but this Graduate position at Johnstaff stood out as I’d completed one unit of Project Management during my undergraduate studies and was interested in how broad it was. One thing led to another and I ended up getting this job and have been doing it for over a year now.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes. Someone who has studied anything related to construction, architecture, or mechanical engineering can do this job.
Although it’s not in the job description, people skills are very important when it comes to project management. A large part of the job involves building and maintaining connections that you can rely on to get the project done. Patience and problem-solving is also a virtue, as a lot of the time things go a completely different way than you expect, and you have to think on the spot and act accordingly.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
One of my favourite aspects of this job is being able to go on the project site and see it progress from the foundation to the final state of it being something people can use and benefit from. The great things about being a project manager is how you can see a project from the concept design to the final design, and how much it changes based on client feedback. Another aspect I enjoy is how you are given the chance to build autonomy by stepping up in meetings and running them, allowing you to be more confident in yourself.
What are the limitations of your job?
The biggest limitation of the job, in my opinion, is a double-edged sword. As I mentioned, project management is a very broad profession which gives you the chance to touch on a lot of areas of the project, but this also means you won’t be fully immersed in just one area if that is what you are after. Since I came from a design background, I thought I would have the chance to be involved within the actual design of the project I’m on. But design in project management is very different to design within, for example, architecture. This is just something that you will get used to and appreciate over time as it means you will continuously be learning about the different aspects of project management and diversity your skills.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...
My first piece of advice I would give to anyone who is currently a student is not put too much pressure on yourself. Make sure you enjoy the stage of life you are at, and if a job is right for you, it will work out for the best and you’ll feel it.
Secondly, if I could go back in time, I would tell myself to try new things. This can be through a foreign language course, or even an extracurricular activity your university holds. Try and learn or experience something new often to make sure your life is fulfilling outside of your studies.
Lastly, I would tell anyone who is studying and has the mindset of ‘I wish I could keep learning after I finish my studies’, to think about your options after graduating. Maybe make a list of potential jobs you can look into that will support that continual learning environment (I would say project management is perfect for that), and also look into postgraduate learning options that seem right for you at your stage in life.