Personal mastery is key to ensure that you hold true to what your ideals are, as you will be challenged in the beginning.

In what way does your qualification relate to your work, whether directly or indirectly?

I'm responsible for the execution of all the projects across the Online business so it is extremely useful to have studied my Postgrad. The complexity across all the internal businesses within the Woolworths group, means that I need to be able to make sense of disparate sources of information and ensure that dependencies within this information system are always catered for.

What are the key skills that have contributed to your success thus far?

Understanding complexity for sure. The understanding of how any information system works is key as everything has to have a few determinant characteristics i.e. inputs, outputs, feedback loops etc.

What are your day-to-day activities?

As the project/programme manager, I need to be engage with our internal online team, which includes trade managers, UX design leads and app developers. Further to that I need to engage with the three areas responsible for delivery into our Online road map. So that means I deal with Woolworths Financial Services, our operational fulfillment team as well as our app programme roadmap owner. This is also in conjunction with our cross functional projects which incorporate our internal ITS capability, our Customer Service Centre and our training and development team.

Do you have any advice for a new graduate entering the world of work (e.g. how to develop skills while at university?)

Immediately look for relevant opportunities and case studies that reflect your environment. While at university, I wish I had read more not less. Listen as much as you possibly can and really, really develop your critical thinking capabilities. They're vital to interpret what the world of work holds for you. Enjoy the journey, ensure that you start to engage with the soft skills like developing your emotional intelligence and develop a very clear understanding of yourself. Personal mastery is key to ensure that you hold true to what your ideals are, as you will be challenged in the beginning. If you can, develop the ability to present clear, precise arguments that have evidence to support them. Most of all, keep an open mind and an engaging attitude.