As one of two dedicated International Career Development Consultants within Griffith’s Careers and Employment Service, Moonie Ha successfully moved from Seoul, South Korea to pursue her own studies, and then navigated a career change to better suit her passions. She now helps international students build their own careers and gain valuable experience while they study.
We recently chatted to Moonie to find out her advice for current students wanting to make the most of their time at Griffith and prepare for their future.
Hi Moonie! Is there a common piece of advice you give to students who work with you?
- Firstly, never underestimate your potential. It’s common to be scared when trying to do a new thing.
- Learn how how to promote your skills and strengths. Finding a job that fits your strengths is key.
- Make the most out of your time inside of classroom and outside the classroom. Put yourself out there and connect with people who can give you work experience.
- You will find a great support network here at Griffith University. You just need to show your proactiveness and willingness to learn more.
- Find opportunities and people who can motivate you, give you a direction and guide you through your study journey.
- Don’t sit and wait in the hope that one day somebody is going to come to you and help you to achieve what you want. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. I experienced it and I am sure many of you already experienced that too.
- It is also important to recognise yourself and identify the areas that need development and use every single support service available here at Griffith University to up-skill and continue your professional development.
How do you now help international students achieve their career goals?
I joined the Griffith Careers and Employment Service team as a Career Development Consultant in 2022. My role has a primary focus on helping international students by providing individualised career advice and guidance for their unique career development needs. Students can make a one-on-one careers appointment with me either in-person or online through careerhub appointments.
I also run an International Student Career Series for new and continuing international students.
One of my primary goals is to support international students to build their confidence and career skills, to enter and succeed in the Australian job market and their home country’s job market once they return home.
To achieve this, I also work very closely with key Griffith alumni, industry people, government agency and professional bodies that support international students to understand Australian workplace rights and develop their career readiness while studying in Australia.
Last year, I travelled to China to attend the Global University Careers Development Conference, where I connected with more than 70 different global universities and hundreds of global employers. I was able to return with knowledge of best practice and lots of ideas about of how to best provide our international graduates returning home with successful employment outcomes in their home country’s local market.
I have made it my life’s mission to not only help them gain employment, but also make this a positive and rewarding experience. The role of a career development consultant is very close to me and perfectly aligned with my values, professional interests and career ambitions.
What do you enjoy most about your job? Which part of your career are you most proud of?
The best part of my job is to be able to empower students through individual career counselling and help them to make confident career decisions. Every student has different career interest, needs, and challenges.
Griffith has a rich cultural diversity of students from over 120 different countries, and as an international student specialised career development consultant, I truly enjoy offering culturally-appropriate and tailored career practice for our students from diverse cultural backgrounds.
I am really motivated to do well in my role, especially since I have worked on many successful cases where students have achieved great career outcomes. One of my favourite comments from a student who successfully landed an Australian graduate position was:
“Moonie, I got a call from the organisation yesterday and got a job offer from them. I was really happy that I could share this news with my family they are really proud of me. My mum was crying, also my interviewer mentioned that I have a really impressive resume. Again, thank you very much Moonie. I wouldn’t have made it without your support.”
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
In my first professional job in Australia, my boss pulled me aside to say “Moonie, I don’t want you to work over [your scheduled] hours, please finish work within the normal business hours and go home”. It was a moment of culture shock because in Korea working late is a normal way to show your hard work and loyalty to a company. I quickly learnt it is more important to learn the skills around how to complete my tasks with the resources and timeframe given to me and be able to ask for help when it is necessary.
In my current role, students are my inspiration! Meeting with many great students and learning their life journey really motivates me to become a better career practitioner.
Where can we find you on social media? And how can people get in touch with you?
Griffith students can reach out and make one-on-one careers appointment with me via careerhub. I am very keen to learn about your careers aspiration and how I can best assist you!
Visit Griffith Careers and Employment Service for more help with your career, or attend a Careers Fairs throughout the year.
