UWA alumni panel for Not just a job: The evolving world of work

From left to right: Lou Forster, Andrew Walker, Charlotte Smail, Tshung-Hui Chang and Anna Burchfield

Multiple perspectives on career journeys

Careers and the evolving world of work

Late last year, our consultant Charlotte Smail was invited to speak on a panel as part of the UWA’s CareerConnect Conference. The yearly career-support mentoring event is delivered by alumni, for alumni, to give recent graduates a solid foundation and resources to move forward in their working lives.

Charlotte sat as a panellist for Not just a job: The evolving world of work, commentating on the increasing complexity of careers and the elusive ‘work-life balance’. The topic posed the question of whether a separation of work and life is realistic; suggesting that to have it all, you’ll likely have to do it all at once. Joined by fellow panellists Tshung-Hui Chang, Lou Forster, Andrew Walker and moderator Anna Burchfield, conversations emerged around curiosity, passion and being open to opportunities.

Starting off her career in a very different direction, Charlotte is personally aware of the difficulties of navigating today’s world of work and finding a sense of balance. Having completed a Bachelor in Architecture in 2013, it wasn’t until she began her Master of Architecture that she realised her career interests and passions lay more in her relationships with people.

After completing her Masters she transitioned to full-time consulting at Tower. Fast forward to 2020, she is working part-time as a consultant for Tower, studying a Master of Counselling at Notre Dame, and volunteering weekly at the Samaritans. It’s all an ongoing journey, and one she never thought she’d be on. But not knowing is okay – the important thing is being open to opportunities when they present themselves and being curious about where they can take you.

The journeys of her fellow panellists have been equally varied, with their own twists and turns. As they discussed, knowing what you don’t want to do can be just as valuable as knowing what you do want. As put by Lou Foster – “everything is a learning opportunity.” Every step will take you closer to finding your “ideal career” – balancing what you enjoy, with what you’re good at, and what’s important to you.

We’ve highlighted below some of the key advice from the panellists. To listen to the full recording of the event, click here.

Not knowing is okay – the important thing is being open to opportunities when they present themselves and being curious about where they can take you.

“I think the term ‘career’ sometimes can imply a very, very straight line when it’s a real up and down and around the place kind of a journey … The truth is, these days careers are a tap dance; they’re a fruit salad; they’re a buffet. Not necessarily will you always work in the industry you study in, but you will go sideways, and all the ways.” – Anna Burchfield

Doing something you’re passionate about

“You’ve got to love what you’re doing and know that you’re working towards something else … Definitely with a lot of creative pursuits, it’s the passion that gets you through … For me, seeing that I didn’t have that passion [with architecture], I thought: ‘I need to find my passion in something else.’” – Charlotte Smail

“It’s important for whatever you are doing to be able to be passionate about doing it … The things that you go after, as long as you can go after it with passion, I think are going to take you somewhere. So if you don’t know what to do, do something.” – Andrew Walker

“What you should be doing is following your dreams.” – Tshung-Hui Chang

The journey and being open to opportunities

“Say yes to those opportunities, whatever they may be, and you can quickly turn around and say ‘no, not for me.’” – Charlotte Smail

“With careers there’s the journey and the destination. And you’ve got to be passionate about one of them … So either you love what you’re doing and you don’t care where it’s going … or you know exactly what you want to be and you’re prepared to go through a bit of pain to get there. I think both of those will keep you highly motivated.” – Andrew Walker

“It’s always going to be okay no matter what, because everything is a learning opportunity.” – Lou Forster

“The skills that I got from my degree, not looking at it so literally, were the things that have pushed me forward.” – Anna Burchfield

Being curious

“Be curious; ultimately about what your opportunities are, what’s out there, and about yourself … get to know yourself, because although the jobs might change … ultimately who you are won’t.” – Charlotte Smail

“Have an enquiring mind.” – Tshung-Hui Chang

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