Business student stories

Business success programmes
“The University is strongly committed to student business success programmes. For example, Velocity inspired me to explore new career avenues for my skillset. And I experienced the ways in which your imagination can shift your thinking, excite you, and show you how to turn ideas into reality.

Gaining confidence
“My studies have enabled me to move into new situations and environments with confidence because I understand the underlying systems and data functionality. After completing my studies I gained a Business Analyst position at ASB – and vivid insight into the working culture of a major corporate. There were challenging projects, some with regulatory hurdles. By applying my theoretical knowledge I delivered tangible results, allowing for smoother business.

Activating my skills
“Through the Velocity programme, I first encountered Vend limited, a locally founded and now multinational point of sale software company. I was inspired by their vision. Later a position in the data field became available and I put significant hours into their practical testing. The skills I’d learned over the years really came into play.

Working with solid data
“Currently at Vend I sit across the strategy and finance teams, completing work for our offices globally. Major projects involve mapping out the key components that make a retailer successful and tracking those metrics over time. I work closely with the sales and product teams to tackle the issues in their business units that only solid data can unearth.”
 

First year core courses
“I think the first-year core is really helpful because it gives you a bit of a taste of everything. That’s actually how I figured out what I wanted to major in – I chose the courses I enjoyed and found applicable to real life and made them into my majors.
Applying what I’ve learnt
“I am able to apply a lot of what I’ve learned in my degree in both my personal and professional life. For example, knowing your employee rights. When I was self-employed I was able to use what I had learnt at university about employment law to set myself up as self-employed.
“And from studying Marketing, I was able to learn how to manage relationships, communicate with customers and understand consumer psychology. In the working world, you’re dealing with people all the time, whatever your role may be, so it was really useful.
Transferrable skills
“I also learned so many transferrable skills through my degree which I have been able to use in my work. Communication skills, relationship building, time management, prioritisation, team work and so much more. I found a degree in Commerce was great at giving you that overall skill set that you needed when you enter the workforce. Everything I’ve learned at university has had some impact at one of my roles.”
 

“I’ve always been fascinated by the economy and the operations of large companies. However, I wanted something different to complement this. Property had been on my mind, but I didn’t know much about careers apart from real estate. Coming to the University Open Day cemented my interest. The lecturer put up $50 for anyone who could name a business that didn’t require property. Then it clicked.”

Conjoint degrees and diverse courses

“With the Commerce degree I’ve been able to get a broad view of many topics, including economics and finance. The conjoint allows us to explore many Commerce concepts in greater detail.

“I’ve enjoyed many courses, but Property Valuation was a stand-out. It was very practical. For instance, we had to create a valuation report for a property, which was marked externally by a valuer. That was a great way to get industry feedback.”
Scholarships

“The faculty offers many scholarships and awards. They also encourage and organise industry support and networking. There are lots of company scholarships, some with work experience.
“Having received company scholarships, it’s extremely reassuring to know that there are people in industry who believe in me. The interview process for scholarships has sometimes involved meeting CEOs of listed companies. That’s a rare opportunity for a university student, but one that the Property department makes possible!”

Clubs

“I really like the range of extra-curricular activities available. For example, the Property Case Competition held by the Management Consulting Club.”

“This industry involvement was so useful to me as a student. I was able to see what the day-to-day of a future career in property would look like. That helped me to figure out what I wanted to do within the industry. The connections also meant that we had more opportunities for part-time roles, internships and other experience in the industry before we left university.

“At the end of my fourth year, I was awarded the Goodman Scholarship at the Business School. This led to an internship while I was studying, and then to a full-time role when I graduated. I currently work in the Investment team at Goodman, one of my short-term career goals.”