One of the great things that I’ve been able to do as part of the program is to work across different business units. Because my research role is across all of the business, I have the opportunity to work with a wide variety of people, from shopping centre managers, to leasing executives to national marketing managers. I was able to work alongside the national marketing team to help build the national food campaign for our shopping centres. It was really rewarding to see the research pieces and results were fed back through the business and see all the hard work come to life. It was incredibly rewarding to see I had made some sort of contribution to help bring the big picture together.
Stockland’s always represented community to me. I still remember going to my local Stockland shopping centre and just going shopping with the girls and having movie dates at the cinema. From the start, I already had a sense that the company was all about bringing people together. I came through the Stepping Into program for young people with disabilities, and so finding a place that could see me for more than my physical capabilities was crucial to me. Stockland’s amazing work culture and their values of creating places and futures for all people from different walks of life are one of the many reasons as to why I chose Stockland.
I specifically work in the Commercial Property area of Stockland so I mainly help provide research resources for our shopping centres. I tend to get requests in from centre, leasing or marketing managers about different things they want to do in the centre and I so I help them connect to our customers. Collaboration is a very crucial part of my job. It’s not just about putting together a questionnaire, or providing them with numbers to answer their immediate question. It’s about working collaboratively with other stakeholders to help understand our customers to then together build Stockland.
As part of the graduate program, we have set graduate training days that help us improve a variety of skills from networking to presentations. They’re extremely useful and rewarding because most of the time I’m learning new skills that are related to my role (like report or survey writing) but it’s still important for us graduates to brush up on other skills. The workshops allowed me to further build up my confidence and in turn, boost my profile in the business.
The graduate program not only provides me with the opportunity to work alongside a wide variety of established people in the business, but it also allows me to meet other graduates like myself. It’s like a little supportive community amongst the graduates and it’s really great to be sharing this experience with them.
My number one tip would be don’t discount yourself before you even start. I know how terrifying and daunting applying for graduate jobs can be – I wasn’t just thinking about the role, my skills, my experience, but I was also thinking “No way, I’m sure there’s someone better. I have no chance, why even try?” You just have to set that aside and think about what you can bring to the table. There will always be someone better at a particular skill or have a higher GPA, etc., but never underestimate your potential. What you forget is that businesses are looking for people with potential, and companies like Stockland are here to help you grow. Never underestimate yourself.