Networking dinner serves entrée to jobs
Three UniSA students have shown why the University’s Network Now dinner is one of the highlights of the year for jobseekers after they snared positions through the event with leading developer Devine Limited.
Bachelor of Management students Tracey Cummings, Emily Dawson, and Maria Gaitatzis started with Devine late last year after meeting SA General Manager Steve Weightman at the dinner in August.
Now the three students have a foot on the ladder at a fast-growing company with a $3.5 billion pipeline of projects across three states including housing, community development, high-rise residential and commercial development.
Weightman, who himself has an MBA from UniSA, said he went to the event to seek suitable recruits for Devine after the company’s positive experience with UniSA graduates in the past.
"We’ve got a number of staff from UniSA programs and they have all been good performers," Weightman said.
"On this occasion, we were looking at different prospects to employ and three of them stood out."
As a result of the dinner, Weightman contacted the three students for an interview and Cummings, who has a Bachelor of Management (Marketing), subsequently accepted a position as an Advertising Assistant upon graduation.
Dawson and Gaitatzis, who are still studying for their Bachelor of Management (Human Resources) degrees, are job-sharing a Client Service Representative position.
Devine has a strong association with UniSA, having previously sponsored both the Bachelor of Construction and Built Environment and the MBA programs.
Cummings said that as a result of her experience she would strongly recommend that other students attend this year’s Network Now Dinner.
"I would definitely advise people to go and I will be going again this year because it’s good fun. It was a really good night," Cummings said.
"There were a lot of my friends who didn’t go, even though I tried to
encourage them and some of them
now think – ‘maybe I should have gone. You got a job out of it so maybe
I should have gone too!’"
The 2009 Network Now dinner will take place on Thursday 8 October. For more information see the Network Now website.