Career Guidance From The Aussie Oracle — The Betoota Advocate
The journalists at the esteemed Betoota Advocate are a reticent bunch. They’re unlikely to stick their necks out or be too overt about their opinions. So sometimes you need to read between the lines to understand what they really think. Here at Ikigai Network we are interested in knowing their thoughts on what young Australians should be aspiring to when it comes to their careers. So (i) we have picked apart some relevant articles they have published over the years and (ii) we would like to challenge them to post a Betoota career guide.
Female leaders are important for effective leadership
The young folks at Betoota highlight finance as being a bit of a boys’ club. So what do you do if you don’t like politics or are a female interviewing at a “traditional” firm?
- Betoota’s Advice: When interviewing, look for firms with diverse leadership. If you are pretty sure it might be a boys’ club, try telling an off-colour joke. If it is, as you suspect, a bastion of yesteryear then you just landed the job and if not then at least you know.
There are plenty of employment options in Australia for young people from England and Ireland
Betoota outlines what people from the UK and Ireland typically do in Australia including:
- English People: Recruiting, Marketing, Picking Fruit
- Irish People: Holding stop signs on construction sites (i.e. Lollipop Professionals)
Young Australians might feel pressure to go down a certain career path
A harrowing recount of an artistic soul, Bartholomew, with overbearing parents who wanted him to go into finance
- Betoota’s Advice: If your parents don’t like what you do, tell them what they want to hear
LinkedIn is a great marketing tool
An outlandish tale of how Belle Highlander, a yoga instructor from Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, got confused on her way to Instagram and started posting on LinkedIn
- Betoota’s Advice: Always post the first thing that comes into your head on LinkedIn, it is the only path to a true and authentic professional brand
Passions and hobbies outside of your job keep you woke
A heartwarming tale of how Wil Wilson’s unique interests, including cufflink collecting, lycra based fashion and the Tour de France kept him from becoming a drone like his coworkers
- Betoota’s Advice: A hobby is not worthwhile unless it is highly visible and you can bring it into any conversation. Try knitting at Greenwood on Thursday night or urban cattle farming
Entry level job requirements are RIDICULOUS
This is one that we here at Ikigai feel passionately about. How is it that entry level jobs these days either a) are unpaid internships or b) require 2–5 years of experience… This Betoota article covers Matt Tyson’s attempt at getting an entry level job without embellishing his experience
- Betoota’s Advice: Clearly, the first job anyone really has is creative writing. Embellish that resume like Joey Tribbiani. You CAN speak french, tap dance and build financial models. Now send that thing out.
We also have a job posting that keeps getting taken down from Indeed, Seek, Gumtree (seriously… Gumtree?!). If anyone from Betoota is able to help us out, we would love to open this opportunity to a broader audience.
If you are looking for different answers to some of these questions, check out Ikigai Network for advice from young Australians who have been in your shoes.
