Launch your career

LAUNCH YOUR CAREER

If you're considering international study, it's important to choose a university that gives you everything you need to land your dream job.    

Read on to discover how Western Sydney University supports international students to launch successful careers in Australia and around the world.

JobIQ

Western is a future-focused university on the cutting edge of career technologies.   

One incredible recent innovation of ours is JobIQ. This was developed to help ensure our degree programs align with the most in-demand skills needed in today’s workplace.   

“For this purpose, we created JobIQ,” explains Tomas Trescak, PhD, Associate Professor in Intelligent Systems at the School of Computer, Data and Mathematical Sciences.  

The system uses AI technology to extract data from millions of live job ads from Australia and New Zealand. This allows it to create comprehensive, up-to-the-minute skill profiles for any professional role, from accountant to zookeeper.  

Tomas adds that JobIQ’s dynamic AI means you can search profiles based on industry and area, too.  

“If you’re searching for a programming job for a construction company in Western Sydney, we can tell you what are the most probable skills that those companies will be requiring,” he explains.   

The platform is valuable to international students in three major ways, says Tomas.   

Firstly, because JobIQ is mapped onto live job markets, prospective students can use the tool to explore Western degree pathways and see which roles and salaries they could lead to.  

Secondly, current students can use JobIQ to identify the skills required to land their dream job. This makes it easier to choose electives and subject sequences that align with your target career.  

Finally, JobIQ also provides a live resume or CV assessment, which you can use to analyse potential opportunities and identify gaps in your abilities.   

"You can actually upload your own CV," explains Tomas. "We show you the jobs that you can do with your current CV, and then, if you think it’s insufficient, then we allow you to upskill yourself using Western degrees and then get to your target destination." 

Career services

“The careers service is one of the various offerings that students have access to, so they are able to actively take charge of their career trajectory,” says Iman Abou-Mahmoud, Careers Education Consultant at Western Sydney University.   

Here are just some of the ways that Western supports you to achieve career success during international study: 

1 - Work Integrated Learning

“To get that real degree-related experience is really important,” explains Iman. “You want to be able to have that concrete, first-hand opportunity to job shadow, to network with professionals and to acquire new skill sets.”  

That’s why Western makes it easy to gain real-world experience while completing your education. For example, many courses have Work Integrated Learning components built into their curriculum. 

 If your program doesn’t offer work integrated learning, there are lots of other ways to access opportunities for hands-on learning. In particular, Iman points out the skills enhancement program, where you can organise up to 100 hours of work experience at a company of your choice.   

2 - CareerHub

“The CareerHub is a really, really useful platform for our students,” says Iman.   

She explains that CareerHub is a handy, centralised location where students can access a huge range of information, documents, resources and videos.  

Here, you’ll find the jobs board, where you can explore part-time, full-time and work experience opportunities both on- and off-campus.  

“We also are able to book in different things, like consults and our workshops, so we can offer that one-on-one customised tailored support,” adds Iman.   

Additionally, CareerHub offers learning opportunities, such as activities and workflows, and allows you to register for any of Western’s many career programs and events.   

“We also have an ‘Ask a Question’ portal through CareerHub, where students, whether they’re international or domestic, can actually ask us anything career-related or share any of their career concerns,” shares Iman. 

3 - Tailored support for international students

“International students have access, obviously, to everything that our domestic students have access to,” says Iman, “but then we also realise that they have unique needs.”

This is why Western offers additional support and guidance for international students. This is designed to help you get a strong start to you future career, whether you want to work in Australia or globally.   

This includes workshops, programs and even career expos and events held throughout the year. There are also industry experience programs like Global Scope and SAIEP. Participants in these programs get the chance to develop employability skills, build business acumen and grow their professional networks. 

4 - Resume guidance

Iman says having a good resume is key to landing great jobs in Sydney.   

“What we try to do here at Western is to really support students to meet local expectations,” she says, “because the expectations around resumes vary from country to country, region to region.”    

“We want them to be mindful of what it is that Australian recruiters and employers are looking for, what works, what doesn’t work, what should be included, what shouldn’t be included.”  

Through CareerHub, you’ll be able to access advice, guidance and tools to shape and perfect your resume, increasing your chances of landing your dream job. This includes things like resume builders, AI resume reviewers and even programs and events, like the Resume Ready workshop.   

Support after graduation

Western isn’t just here for you throughout your degree but offers lots of assistance as you transition from university life to working in Australia.

In particular, Iman recommends those nearing the end of their degree sign up to the Graduate Recruitment Accelerator. This online and in-person program prepares students to make competitive graduate program applications, increasing their chances of success in landing a great role.  

What’s more, adds Iman, students can keep accessing the careers support at Western long after they’ve finished their education.  

“They can still log in to CareerHub, they can still request consults, join our careers Q&A sessions, come to our workshops and events and continue to receive that career counselling,” she says.   

Visit the careers page today to explore even more ways Western can help you reach your goals.