How to give yourself an employment edge

A university degree might not light up your resume like it once did. Photo / 123RF

Workers who want to stand out in competitive fields may have to do more than just be qualified and turn up for work.

They now must think outside the box to stand out.

Find a sponsor

Sponsors are typically mentors who hold sway within a company. They can advocate for a worker when they need to ensure their work is recognised, and suggest the worker for suitable career opportunities.

The key to gaining sponsors is for workers to go above and beyond in their work, have clear career goals, and put their hand up for special projects.

Continually learn

For blue collar workers, it may mean upskilling from labour work into a trade, or from a single trade into a dual trade.

Panelbeating and spray-painting, for example, go hand-in-hand and training for the second skill will typically take less time, as tradespeople can leverage Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

For white collar workers, continual learning may mean online courses. For example, a marketing professional might study data science to gain insights others cannot.

Enter competitions

Awards and competitions acknowledge excellence and that a person takes pride in their work.

Steve Buhagiar and Gus Bellekens' scuba-diving invention The Canary was national runner-up in the 2017 James Dyson Awards, which allows engineering and design students to showcase their work on a global stage.

Buhagiar says the experience opened doors for them in the dive industry.

"People had seen or heard about our device and it allowed us to have conversations with people that we may have never had the chance to have otherwise," he says.

Bellekens says the experience of creating the product while finishing a Bachelor of Industrial Design made life very busy, but it was worth it.

"Our fourth and final year at uni (QUT) was huge, between driving Canary forward, writing a thesis, completing course work and undertaking an internship," he says.

"(Since graduating) it's pretty much been 8am to 5pm at the office and 24/7 thinking about the Canary.

"As chief technology officer, I deal with the technical aspects of the design process from initial drawings to arranging prototypes and testing and certification. I'm also working 30 hours a week as a duty manager of a local pub just to keep out of trouble and finance this venture."