Why I do what I do
The other day on the way to school drop-off after discussing the Magpies' 2020 prospects, my son casually asked a simple but complex question: “Dad, why do you do what you do?” I’m not tongue-tied often, but it wasn’t something I could answer well without coffee and time to reflect. Of course, there’s the basic premise of providing labour for a wage to sustain our existence, but what is it that has drawn me to the work that I do?
To best answer this, I’ve collected my thoughts and posted them here for my LinkedIn network.
How best to describe my work? In a nutshell, I initiate and develop strategic relationships with industry, government and the community sectors to source placement opportunities and develop new placement models for our students across the disciplines. Employability is in Swinburne’s DNA and the Professional Placements program is integral to this commitment to our students. There are some good reasons why I enjoy this:
Our work in sourcing placement opportunities for students is pivotal to their successful transition to valuable employees, employers and contributors to society. It’s professionally and personally rewarding to have helped facilitate this transition. Working with such a purpose is important to me as it reflects my values and allows me to contribute meaningfully, knowing that in a small way, I have made a difference.
While our students are at the centre of what we do and get a massive advantage by participating in our program, I can’t lose sight of the mutual benefit of our work. Our industry partners develop strong talent pipelines into their businesses and the University benefits as Professional Placements are a key driver for students choosing Swinburne as their tertiary destination. Win-win-win.
I meet and speak with interesting people every day; students we’ve placed, industry partners we’ve placed them with or even - and this one is great - alumni we’ve placed who now host current students. I’ve learnt that sitting at a desk all day does not make me a happy camper, so working with people to figure out how we can help educate a student and contribute to the success of their business is productive and enjoyable.
While on the topic of interesting people, our team is highly competent, professional, dedicated and works with humour and a sense of fun. They even occasionally laugh at some of my crappy Dad jokes. At least I think they do.
As our working lives evolve from a linear progression to a more modular set of jobs and careers, we are being challenged to adapt and co-develop with our industry partners new modes of Work Integrated Learning to best reflect current and anticipate future trends. If we do it right, we will set up our students to be adaptable and confident in their capabilities to best navigate the more difficult professional transitions in their careers.
What’s not to like?
I’ll pass this on to my son as well but suspect that he will have moved on and would rather obliterate me at Mario Kart. Again.
Why do you do what you do?
To add to Johana Palatnek's point, you are very skilled at what you do, I got my IBL placement Bakers Delight due to the encouragement, support and guidance I got from you when I was doing my degree at Swinburne University of Technology, and it was an amazing experience and a great start to my career. Glad to see the passion for linking Academia and Industry still there and I am sure there are many like me that are where they are today due to your support in their first IBL placement. Keep up the great work John :)
Dear John, your son, would make such a great Careers Consultant! :-) It is straightforward to answer that question - you do what you do because you love people; you can see the potential in people and nurture them (like you did with me!). Do you remember my first day in the IBL Office? I was timid, but you never gave up on me. You lead me by example and thought me about professionalism and Australian working culture. Your work is a high standard which has become my working style too. Thank you so much for having a significant impact on my life.
As a BIT student 1998-2000, I am also very grateful for the experience and the insight I got as part of my IBL!