After two weeks into my internship, my manager asked me if I wanted to work full time for a couple of weeks to cover an employee who was going on annual leave. I agreed. 

The next day I started my training, which I was paid for. Once the employee came back, I returned to my unpaid position. However, my manager informed me that they had a few openings in the company based in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Auckland. Instantly, I started to apply for these positions, the company’s HR team helped me with my applications, and within a week, I had three interviews and I got offered all three positions.

The senior finance manager called me personally and told me: Fazila, you have the opportunity of working in payroll, accounting and finance, and then she asked me: where does your heart wants to go? I picked the position in Adelaide as an accounts payable officer, as it would help me with my Visa towards permanent residency. So in two months my internship changed into a full time job.

This has been an incredible experience. Thank you to the PE team for helping me as all this would have not happened without your support in finding me this internship.

I have never been so much satisfied and happy with the trainers, course content and the entire PE team. The trainers are very passionate about the subject and they make sure all of us participate in the activities which are carried out in class. Currently, I am doing the Professional Meetings & Presentations unit with Gary Clarke and he has made the subject extremely interesting for us. Even though we are not sitting in the class room, I feel that I am getting the same experience on Zoom and I’m pretty sure other students feel the same. Gary is a great person who always helps us with our doubts and assessments. Also he is very supportive and he actually shares his own experiences which makes the topic very insightful. I would also like to highlight the great help I received from Finance team as well as Student services team. Few weeks ago, I lost my job and I had some issues managing to pay my instalments, Suny and his finance team helped me a lot during that time and I personally felt very supportive.  Thank you Performance Education for all the help and I shall continue recommending this institution to my other colleagues who would be looking for a Professional Year Program provider.

I decided to undertake a Professional Year program for my professional development, internship and networking opportunities. I also wanted to develop my soft skills. The curriculum was good. The teachers were very supportive. There was a lot of learning. Also critical evaluation of my resume and cover letter. The internship exposure was really great. I gained a few skills that will stay with me throughout my professional career like networking and building relationships. I also have a practical understanding of accounting concepts. It widened the area of my job search. It improved my understanding of Australian work culture. It also helped me to analyse my skills and compare it on a different level with my fellow interns.

I have enjoyed professional year, learning skills like preparing a good resume, how to interact friendly with strangers, presentation preparation and being confident. I would like to recommend to my friends because PY is a good platform for every student to learn something and achieve their goals. From the Professional Year we can learn excellent skills, the classes provide a very good knowledge in every aspect. The internship is a good work environment to learn and to achieve your goals. I learned a lot of skills that are very important in the job market.

PE has a very well structured and organised curriculum. One of the best classes was resume writing, which helped me build a formal yet distinctive resume. Once you have a strong resume, you build a certain confidence when applying for a job as you know that you have a chance of standing out from the crowd. Also, formal presentation classes were very helpful as well. My trainer taught me that presentation is not only about verbal connection, but also body language. The professional style of teaching combined with the easy approachability of trainers for any doubts and difficulties makes PE a better place to learn about the Australian workplace. Also, the internship affiliations of PE with the companies are great. The understanding of the work culture and presentation styles in Australia are different from the home countries of international students. We need to adapt ourselves with the new culture and PE certainly helps to do that by indulging us in various practical sessions and of course the internship experience.

I learned how to practice accounting knowledge in a real workplace, including tax, accounts receivable, accounts payable and data recording. The training provided is really helpful for your future career. The 12 week internship really gives you an unforgettable experience when you first start you career. I also made many friends in my host company with staff and other interns. I learned to step out of my comfort zone and help my self-improvement.

I found that the professional communication skill is as essential as other skills require to excel the work and for career development. First and most important is the experience that I can write in my resume. It is of vital importance to have a qualification with relevant experience. One of these missing will be like a bicycle with only one wheel.  The placement has allowed me to gain experience, which has undoubtedly enhanced future job opportunities.

The most enjoyable moment was networking and learning cultural diversity by which I made many friends. The subjects gave us a better understanding of Australian businesses and good personal development. I learned professionalism and developed my communication skills, personal development, leadership skills, networking skills teamwork and problem solving skills. I would like to recommend Professional Year to other because it provides you with a step in your career pathway and improves your skills.

I would like to thank my trainer Sally for her help and contribution in my PE study. I found the tests in the job interviews happened to be what had been covered in PE. I received two job offers after rounds of interviews, and I accepted one as the starting of my career in Melbourne. Thanks to the PWW class, I was able to pass the business email writing test in the job interview. Meanwhile, some of the questions required me to write a paragraph to describe some solutions/cases, and I applied the structures taught in the business report-writing course. I am working as a technical solutions consultant. my role includes business analysis requirements and implementing final products.

I now know the difference between Chinese and Australia business culture and I learnt how to communicate with my colleagues confidently and in a professional manner.