Graduating in the time of COVID

2020-07-23
Image of Connie with her team
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In this blog series, we meet some of our 2020 graduates who are embarking on the first chapter of their working life in a time where remote working is the norm and networking is mostly virtual.

Connie Pizzi, a Psychological Sciences/Business graduate, is starting her career in our recruitment team. She shares her insights with us.

Tell us a bit about yourself and the journey that brought you to Transdev?

Towards the end of my HR degree I found myself somehow landing an internship with Transdev. I couldn’t believe I got it! I was so excited just to gain some practical experience that I needed if I was going to land a job after my degree. I didn’t have any experience in the corporate world and the opportunity to gain it firsthand was something I would not take for granted. And I didn’t!

I worked with the Transdev Australasia recruitment team from July – December and looked forward to every Monday & Tuesday because it was an opportunity to learn more.

I think that I felt this way because of the extremely supportive and friendly team that I am fortunate enough to still be working with today. They welcomed me with open arms and with the patience to answer all my questions! It also helped me decide on what career path I wanted to take. When you are about to finish Uni, you have a freak out moment where you think ‘What’s next?’ You’ve just spent all these years studying different elements of a business and think, ‘which one do I want to pursue for my career?’ I was fortunate enough that my experience with the recruitment team steered me towards recruitment.

I never thought of recruitment as a possible career path, but now I won’t look back.

Tell us what you thought your first couple of months would be like in the graduate program?

I thought there would be a lot of opportunity to get more involved in the full recruitment process. I anticipated that there would be opportunities to learn more about each business unit and I’ve experienced this through my placement at Transdev Melbourne.

One of the reasons I love working for the Transdev recruitment team is because there are endless opportunities to be apart of different projects. Working on the recruitment process and interacting with a diverse pool of talent is just one of the tasks that keeps every day exciting.

How has your working day changed since COVID 19?

I have found working from home to be both a challenging and insightful experience. How am I supposed to work at home when I’m only just getting used to the 9-5 life? That extremely supportive and patient team I mentioned before, they are the key!

Working from home was a completely foreign concept to me, I had just gotten used to my 7:44 train ride into the city but was happy to give that early train ride up 🙂 

Having an extremely supportive manager helps!

What have you learnt during this period?

Here would be my five tips for working from home:
1. Staying connected keeps you sane.
2. It’s important for me to plan my days. So even if I am feeling extremely unmotivated and a bit down about everything that is happening outside the safety net of my home, my calendar doesn’t let me down my reminding me (and making me feel bad) about upcoming tasks that need to be done.
3. Working on your personal development is just as important as getting your daily tasks completed.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you feel like you need support
5. Make an effort to take breaks, go for walks, grab a coffee etc.

Are there any new habits or routine changes that you will continue even after COVID?

– Pausing and going for a walk.
– Adding tasks into my calendar and pre planning my day and week.

What advice would you give other graduates to continue to make the most of their program?

Communicate!! Especially if working from home. Your manager/ mentor is there to help.  I am beyond privileged to be apart of the Transdev Team and I look forward to my future within this fantastic public transport organisation.

Image of Connie Pizzi
Connie Pizzi, Transdev Graduate Program 2020
How can we help you to move forward?