AUT Employability and Careers Info and Advice Blog

Internships and graduate programmes for 2026 are now open. Despite the economy, dozens of employers are coming onto campus over March and April to talk about opportunities with students at career expos and employer presentations. Don’t miss out.

Where can AUT students go for help to update CVs, get job interview or job search advice? Where do they go if they are struggling to find their career path or are worried, they’ve made the wrong career decision? Find out here.

The company, the team and the activities you do in your first job are far more important than the job title. By focusing on workplace skills you can gain, rather than the job title, will make you more agile and attractive to employers, especially if you’re curious and keep learning. Don’t be one of those graduates that ignores great entry level roles because you don’t think the job title is quite right.

Volunteering opens up many opportunities. Not only does it provide ways to help others, but it also helps you develop new skills, including communication and networking skills. It’s a win, win. Read about three students who approached volunteering with some trepidation but have ended up huge advocates for it.

I would be a wealthy person if I got $10 every time a student told me they didn’t have employability skills to offer employers.No employability skills? Really? Anyone who has lived on this planet for the past 18 years or more will have skills they can offer.

Elab Online? NZ Unitalent? Employability Lab? Who does what and how do they link up? Here’s my attempt to explain what they are and what they offer – and while I may be biased, I want to say they are brilliant services that offer plenty of career and employability help.

You have a great passion, but not the talent to make it big. Well, not everyone can be the star of the show, but there are plenty of opportunities to make the most of the skills you do have and follow your passion into that world another way. It’s simple!

Why do an employability award when you are already busy with study, sport, family, socialising etc?  Rosemary Heather wondered that too. But when she did check it out, she quickly saw the benefits. Now happily employed as a food science analyst, Rosemary encourages other students to make the most of the award opportunities.

What has detective work got to do with getting a job? Well, just like a detective builds up a case by collecting clues and leads, so should you build up information and collect leads when trying to figure out where you’d love to work. By researching, talking to people, and checking out events and organisations, you start to zone in on great job opportunities.

Employers love to see you have developed good life skills and professional skills as well as academic knowledge. They also want to hear you talk positively about those skills. Sound tricky? It need not be. There are plenty of ways you can identify and/or develop the right soft skills.  Part time work, volunteering and academic projects all build a picture of someone with a great range of transferable life skills.