More than one way to impress employers: inspiring stories of leadership

Have you ever struggled to write a job application or address the selection criteria for an opportunity? Evidencing your skills and experience is tough yet vital to gaining opportunities like jobs, internships, scholarships or awards.

Part of the difficulty lies in there being no set formula for evidencing what you have done or are capable of doing in the future.

Thankfully, there are lots of opportunities to personalise your narrative, leverage your experiences and show employers or other gatekeepers what is unique about you.

The latest recipients of the Deakin Hallmark for Leadership Excellence demonstrate this beautifully through the rich personal stories and examples they submitted to gain their awards. You should take a look at their submissions; there is much that we can learn from these compelling examples. It is also inspiring to see the different ways that Deakin students are contributing to communities and impacting others.

Eric Lui, Nisha Mathew and Elizabeth Tintaru hail from vastly different academic and personal backgrounds, so they drew on very different experiences to evidence the impact of their leadership skills: from student life to legal advocacy and healthcare. So what was the common thread? They all show how they, as individuals, have led initiatives that impacted themselves and others.

Eric is a long-time registered pharmacist, studying a Master of Financial Planning through the Cloud campus. He gained the Deakin Hallmark for Leadership Excellence award by showcasing how concepts and theories learned during his degree, such as sustainability, and ethical care and stakeholder theory, motivated him to lead initiatives that improved public health. In his portfolio, Eric demonstrates how he was able to influence other healthcare professionals and implement strategies that provided affordable healthcare and improved patient communication to vulnerable members of the community. As described by the assessment panel, Eric is “clearly a leader and a committed and innovative professional.”

Nisha is an international student, studying a Master of Business Analytics through the Burwood campus. Nisha gained her Hallmark by showcasing how she became a leader through immersing herself in the Deakin community. In her portfolio, Nisha shares her journey from mentee to mentor, and describes how her leadership skills developed through her contribution to numerous students-helping-students programs and other projects that improved the student experience. Testimonials from Deakin staff and students leave no doubt as to the qualities that make Nisha “a proactive student leader with a genuine care for her fellow students.”

Last but not least, Elizabeth is a first-in-family student pursuing a Bachelor of Laws and Commerce on the Burwood campus. Elizabeth gained her Hallmark by reflecting deeply on a wide range of experiences that demonstrate her influential leadership style. In her portfolio, Elizabeth reflects on several turning points that taught her to lead through building trusted relationships founded on open-mindedness and shared vulnerability: a success coach role where she inspired Cloud students to persevere in their studies, advocating for others during an internship in a law clinic, and exposure to servant leadership concepts while representing Deakin at a National Student Leadership Forum. Importantly, these reflections are supported by testimonies from mentees and colleagues who witnessed her influential leadership.

Besides demonstrating that there are many ways to evidence a skill like leadership, these Hallmark recipients also show that skills improve with exposure and practice. Leadership needs to be developed, or as Nisha observes in her application “leaders are not built in a day.” Even if you do not identify as a leader now, that does not mean you can’t become one. The same goes for other skills you might be hoping to showcase, be it your creativity, entrepreneurial thinking or something else.

Remember, rather than taking the development of skills for granted, act now to capitalise on opportunities to evidence and grow your skills, so that you can be a graduate with an edge.