Stepping Beyond Your Degree
Adapting to shifting work dynamics from new tasks to new environments starts with a willingness to leave your comfort zone and embrace learning as part of the daily routine.
A common element found in the job application process is communicating your attitude towards trying new things. Employers generally favour people who have a broad range of skills and can adapt quickly to the work reality. In fact, employers value adaptability as one of the top 5 in-demand skills right next to analytical thinking.
Real Skills recognises the value of adaptability and seeks to provide opportunities to improve this skill within the Real Skills Team. One of our partnerships coordinator has shared her professional growth so far with Real Skills and what she learnt from her role as a UNSW Co-op Project Engineering Intern at Colgate-Palmolive.
Self-Introduction
“Hi! My name is Trista Tao and I am currently studying Chemical Engineering (Honours) and Science majoring in Chemistry. I have recently finished my 7-month internship with Colgate-Palmolive through the UNSW Co-op Program. In the future, I hope to delve into project-based work that is aligned with a sustainable outlook.”
How did Trista become a partnerships coordinator?
“When I first participated in the Real Skills STEM Leaders Program, I simply thought it would just be an avenue to develop some professional skills and get a leg up in the competitive employment market. However, I gained so much more, whether it be actually interacting with industrial professionals, guidance on developing key soft skills in one’s career and being able to work on a project that reflects work done in industry.”
“I loved it so much I wanted to help other students access this opportunity as well. So I joined the organisation as part of the partnerships team to reach out to industry representatives and get them onboard with our programs. Whether it be organising coffee chats, revamping documentation or participating in networking gatherings, every experience has been refreshingly new and eye-opening. Real Skills has been a place where I have made life-long friends and gained access to numerous exciting opportunities.”
“When I first started out in the partnerships team, I had very little interactions with people in the workforce. As a result, while I was confident relaying my ideas to my peers, interacting with a complete stranger with a lot more experience navigating these social norms was daunting for me. Being part of the partnerships team allowed me to build up and improve upon how to professionally communicate with industry professionals, whether it be face-to face, via email or phone calls. As I interacted more and through trial and error, I could see that I had nothing to be anxious about. Being able to practice these scenarios was a vital development to my professional career. This really helped in my most recent role as a project engineering intern as it allowed me to easily communicate effectively with all types of people in industry.”
Learning on the job at Colgate-Palmolive
“It really is true that there is a huge difference between theory studied at university and the workplace. As a project engineering intern at Colgate-Palmolive, I was tasked with reducing the batch times for products. This was quite a hands-on project, where I planned out a procedure and implemented it into the manufacturing schedule to collect data. A major part of my time was spent upskilling in Google Sheets to be able to analyse the data and come up with recommendations on how to proceed with the project. The biggest takeaway from the project was being able to delve into the minds of others and getting to understand why they propose certain solutions. This really helped me expand my mindset and allowed me to be more creative within the bounds of practicality and reason.”
“While I was primarily based on site, I did have a few opportunities to work from home (WFH). It was quite a shift in my working style, where I would have to set aside computer based work such as research, procurement and data analysis to be completed for these selected WFH days. Some challenges that I encountered were being unable to immediately ask coworkers for their advice, being unable to check things on site, getting tired eyes from staring at the screen for long periods of time and missing my double desktop screen set-up. Over time, I found myself adapting to these changes, where I would prioritise taking regular breaks, compiling lists of questions to be asked for when I went on-site and sending direct messages if an urgent response was required. Through this experience, I learnt how to better plan my days, became more efficient at completing tasks and saved an hour in commute time.”
Integrating with work culture
“Colgate-Palmolive was the one of the friendliest places I have ever worked at. Without any exaggeration, everyone was always willing to help out, which made for such a fun and collaborative environment. Throughout my time, I was in contact with a wide range of people across the company including the laboratory, quality assurance, manufacturing, marketing and engineering departments. With such varied backgrounds, it was a joy being able to talk about their area of expertise and share experiences.”
“A key learning curve for me was to identify how to condense a wide range of different inputs into a single recommendation.This took quite a bit of trial and error before I was able to slowly develop my own understanding and begin to do some further research to reach what I believed to be the right solution to present. I am sure this skill will be extremely important moving forward in my career.”
What you can take away from Trista’s journey
Trista has come a long way in her professional skills and ability to adapt to new situations. While she found it daunting at first, she can now effectively communicate and deliver recommendations to professionals from her role as a partnerships coordinator to her time as a Colgate-Palmolive intern. During her internship, she has improved her skill base in data analysis and workflow management even while facing the challenges of working from home. In order to foster adaptability as a skill, we at Real Skills provide opportunities for this growth in our programs and within our team. We look forward to seeing where Trista’s career goes next!
If you’d like to contact us or learn more, check out our socials!
