What did you study?
I graduated from QUT in late 2018, with a Bachelor of Business Management and a Bachelor of Information Systems.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Brisbane and went to school at Mount Cotton State School and Moreton Bay Girls College, where my favourite subjects were IT and Drama. To support myself through university, I held a casual position as an Optical Dispenser with the Optical Superstore. Whilst this position was not directly related to my current role, it was a great way for me to ease myself into the workforce and develop the fundamental skills required for professional work. I also volunteered at the Animal Welfare League. This was incredibly rewarding as I had the opportunity to care for dogs and see them find their forever homes.
How did you get to your current job position?
I first heard about TechnologyOne from their listings on GradAustralia and GradConnection. As the company sparked my interest, I did some research and spoke to a friend to find out more about them; I decided that it would be a fantastic place to work. I applied for the Graduate Business Analyst position in the 2019 July Graduate intake and was excited to be accepted into the Graduate program. After the Graduate program concluded, I officially joined the Research and Development Solutions team as a Graduate Solutions Architect and have been with TechnologyOne for around eight months now.
How did you choose your specialisation?
After university I wasn’t certain what I was going to pursue; I eventually decided on Business Analysis as the field interests me and would allow me to keep my options open since the field is not restrictive and can lead down many paths. When I was offered the Solutions Architect role, I had no idea what to expect as it’s not a traditional business analyst style role - I decided that it definitely sounded worth a try. I’ve since discovered that I really enjoy the work, and the skills required of a Solutions Architect are very similar to the ones required in Business Analysis.
What was your interview process like?
The interview process started with a standard job application submitted through the TechnologyOne Careers portal. The second stage of the process was a video interview, where you recorded answers to questions designed to help the company get to know you better. I enjoyed this as I was able to record the video interview from the comfort of my own home. The next stage was a practical exercise, tailored to test my skills for the role that I was applying for; I found the exercise to be similar to ones I had done in Uni and felt pretty comfortable completing it.
Following the exercise was an in-person interview however, before the interviews were scheduled, TechnologyOne hosted an informative networking evening. This evening allowed potential graduates and interns the opportunity to learn more about the company, as well as visit the office and speak to the interviewers in a more casual setting. I was very nervous about my interview and found that this evening helped make the upcoming interview less daunting. The interview itself was friendly, yet professional. I was asked questions about my work experience and university projects, as well as what I was passionate about and why working at TechnologyOne appealed to me.
The final stage of the application process for me was a phone interview with two of the leaders from the team I would potentially join. The phone interview had similar questions to the in-person interview but was also more tailored to see whether I would be a good fit for the team and would enjoy the work of a Solutions Architect.
Overall, I found the application process to be thorough and clearly explained. Communication from TechnologyOne was regular, with emails sent to update me as I progressed through each of the application stages. I was also given plenty of time to complete the tasks assigned to me and felt that it was a well-thought-out process.
What does your employer do?
TechnologyOne is Australia’s largest Enterprise Software as a Service (SaaS) Company. With offices across six countries, TechnologyOne caters to over 1,200 leading corporations in the industry markets we serve. These industries include Local Government, Government, Education, Health and Community Services, Asset Intensive industries and Financial Services. The enterprise SaaS solutions we provide transform business and make life simple for our customers by providing powerful, deeply integrated enterprise software that is incredibly easy to use.
What are your areas of responsibility?
The responsibilities of the Solutions team in Research and Development (R&D) include acting as a conduit between the consulting and R&D product teams, as well as working with R&D product teams to enhance product functionality. The goal of Solutions is to create shipped configuration templates for our CiAnywhere platform, based on industry needs, that can be provided to our customers to help streamline implementation.
Can you describe a typical workday?
I am currently helping to configure the first CiA solution for our South Australian Local Government customers. This has involved industry research, resource gathering and customer meetings to scope requirements. Other tasks in a typical workday include catch-up meetings with my mentor and team, official training and attending showcase sessions from our product teams.
What are the career prospects with your job?
One of the best things about TechnologyOne is the opportunity for both horizontal and vertical growth. If there is a role in the organisation that interests you, TechnologyOne is happy to help you get the skills you need to get to the place you want to be. In terms of horizontal growth, the Solutions team works with many parts of the organisation, so for me, this has been a great way to see what the roles of business analysts, project managers and consultants are like in the organisation.
Within Solutions there are also many prospects for vertical growth; once my time as a graduate completely finishes, my role will change to “Solution Architect” and my responsibilities will increase. Further opportunities after this include becoming a “Solution Architect Lead”; these Leaders take care of a specific product, with a sub-team of Solution Architects reporting to them.
What would your career be if you weren’t doing what you’re doing now?
I really enjoyed my time volunteering at the Animal Welfare League so I think If I was anywhere else it would most likely be looking into how I could make a career supporting animal welfare and the environment.
What do you love the most about your job?
I find TechnologyOne to be an enjoyable and creative place to work. I love the collaborative culture and the willingness of people around you to lend a hand. As an employee, I feel valued and enjoy the opportunities we have to participate in the many fun events held by the company. In my work, I’ve found creating templates and configuring software to be fulfilling, as I know the work I’m contributing to will be a great help for our customers and consultants.
What’s the biggest limitation of your job?
The biggest limitation of my work has been the steep learning curve. There has been a lot to learn about the software we provide, along with how local governments operate; understanding such a large and vastly differing industry, as well as the massive and complex product, takes time and patience. I’ve been grateful to have a strong support network, with the members in my team acting as mentors sharing their extensive knowledge and guiding my work.
Which three pieces of advice would you give to a current university student?