Enriched experience with Employability & Careers

When Giri Gonsai found out about Employability and Careers after picking up a flyer at Orientation, the Postgraduate Computer and Information Science student realised he’d stumbled onto a way to charge up his year and become fully prepared for employment. And he was not wrong.

“My papers and projects were helping me become industry ready, but I could see Employability would connect me more to the community and networks and the world of work that I realised I needed as well,” says Giri, who came to AUT as an international student from India.

A year later, Giri is happily employed as a software test engineer for Planit Software Testing and believes the extra curricular activities he did through the Employability Lab, such as volunteering and seminars, not only made uni life more interesting but taught him how to connect to industry and land his job.

First semester

Initially Giri attended Employability Lab workshops on employability skills, such as CV and interview practice and the importance of building a network.

“These helped me gain knowledge about how to show employers I am more than a student when I step into the real world.”

He quickly became aware of the AUT Edge Award, run by Employability and Careers. He decided the award was something that would not only give him an even better edge and push him along further – but would also be fun because it combined employability workshops with volunteering and leadership and networking activities.

“As I started attending the seminars and doing the voluntary work I realised the importance of the skills I was developing through the people I met, challenges I faced, advice I got and the experiences I had.”

The opportunity to hear industry leaders and employers talk at seminars and leadership presentations was another plus. “They shared real knowledge on what companies are looking for in graduates, the skill sets trending in the market and how much industry and university differs in real life.”

Juggling Act

Giri’s university life became hugely busy when he took on the AUT Edge Award. He was juggling his classes around his part time shift work in hospitality that took him all over Auckland as well as volunteering for Conservation Volunteer New Zealand, AuSM, Migrant Action Trust and a Taekwon Do research project. He was also playing soccer and touch.

While initially it was a huge challenge to keep juggling all these different c commitments, Giri found that his time management skills improved and his productivity grew as the year continued.

“That’s when I understood how post uni/real life would partake and how I can become a better person. Because work is only a part of the activity in a day, there’s thousands of other things that happen and you have to deal with but eventually you start to get more efficient in managing those tasks.”

Great Outcome

Now working as a software test engineer for Planit Software Testing Pvt Ltd, Giri feels he made the most of his time at AUT, in huge part because of Employability and Careers services and the Beyond AUT Award.

"Completing the Award helped me be ready for applying for this job. I realised the importance of communication because that's a major skill for anyone stepping into employment."

Want to know more about Employability and Careers?

Pop into the Employability Lab in WA202 on City Campus or go looking for us at Student Hub on North and South Campuses.

To register for our workshops, simply go to Elab Online and sign in using your AUT student username and password. We look forward to seeing you there.