What did you study & where?
Bachelor of Commerce at The University of Melbourne, majoring in Economics and Finance.
What drew you to the NAB Graduate program?
I was working at NAB while studying, assisting clients with their Home Lending needs in NAB’s Personal Bank. In my final year of study, I started exploring options post-degree. For me it was a choice between taking the next step within NAB (likely to a Business Banking role of some sort) or doing the Graduate Program. Ultimately, I was drawn to the breadth of experience that the grad program offered, especially so early in my career. I realized that I couldn’t clearly picture where I wanted to be in my career in 3-5 years and for that reason saw a lot of benefit in a program that lets you rotate across teams and see far more than you would in any other role.
How did you decide which stream to apply for?
I spoke with mentors, predominantly my Personal Bank people leader at the time, about what the program looked like and what each stream offered. They told me about what each frontline division offered (PB, BPB, CIB) along with the roles in enabling functions (Finance, Strategy, Tech etc.). Given my educational background and experience with and passion for clients, I was recommended for the CIB stream.
What was the highlight of your graduate experience?
The freedom to decide what you do and who you meet was my highlight. The program allowed me to undertake a secondment as well as engage in the graduate-led committee and other opportunities. I found that people I worked with, even those much senior than me, often made themselves very available to catch up and share their advice and career reflections. Learnings from these catch-ups still guide my career decision making today. Overall, the program was what I chose to make of it.
Was there anything about that graduate program that exceeded your expectations?
The social side of the program exceeded my expectations. I still keep in touch with many grads from my cohort, regularly seeing them outside of work hours, and we’ve continued the netball team we established during the program into our 7th or 8th season now.
Can you tell us about the teams that you completed your rotations in?
I rotated in Corporate Finance (Corporate Property CME) and Markets (Structured Products & Advisory). I also took secondments in Energy & Utilities CME and Group Development.
What role are you in now?
Climate Strategy
How do you feel the graduate program has set you up for your current role / career at NAB?
The grad program highlighted which skills came naturally to me and which ones didn’t. Equally, it showed me which areas I wanted to develop further. Unlike a lot of my peers, I didn’t end up in a team that I rotated in, but I feel that my secondments shaped the decision. I found a passion for climate and sustainability work while seconding in the Energy & Utilities CME team and also enjoyed the strategy and consulting skillset offered in Group Development. I feel that the role I ended up in combines these passions, both of which I didn’t completely know I had prior to the program.
What advice do you have for the next graduates on how to make the most of their graduate program?
Speak to a lot of people. Look at the org chart and find teams that sound interesting, find names of people in the teams; and send an email. Some people won’t get back to you but the ones that do will be worth it. Also, treat all roles and experiences, good and bad, as a positive or learning opportunity. Finding out what you don’t enjoy or don’t want to pursue is equally valuable as finding out what you do. It’s the best time in your career to try something and find out it’s not for you.
You were the Treasurer on the 2022 Grad Committee. Could you tell us about why you applied for this position and how this complemented your graduate program?
I applied for this position as I saw it as an opportunity to build on my leadership abilities while also being very involved in each of the initiatives run by the grad committee. The Treasurer is responsible for managing the graduate bank accounts (collecting money from grads and making payments), preparing meeting materials, and working with the Chairs of the committee to run meetings and assist sub-committees with their initiatives. This role improved my organization, leadership, and presentation skills, but the biggest way it complemented my graduate program was by establishing a strong network of peers with whom I was able to work.
You were also successful in being appointed The Banking & Financial Services Oath ambassador. Can you please tell us about your role as ambassador and what you learnt from this experience.
The Banking and Financial Services Oath (BFSO) is an initiative that seeks to strengthen the ethical standards of financial services through the empowerment of individuals who make a personal commitment of integrity.
As an ambassador, I worked with my fellow ambassadors, who were also young people early in their banking and finance careers from a range of institutions, on a project designed to increase the ethical standards of our industry. For us, that was to create a series of videos showcasing the lived experiences of indigenous people, migrant Australians, and young women in navigating the Australian financial sector. These videos were rolled out into training programs across industry.
On a personal level, it was fantastic to build a network of likeminded individuals from other parts of the industry, enabling me to broaden my view of how banks and other financial services work together and separately. Additionally, being able to choose a project we were personally passionate about and see it through end-to-end, including the impact of it, was extremely rewarding.
Is there anything that you would like to add?
I think it helped to have a mindset during the program of ‘everyone here knows something I don’t’. You may meet people on the program who have very different interests or career goals but ultimately, every connection could be valuable in the long-run.