A graduate of Delhi University, Divya Thaper's career has taken her from India, to France and finally to Australia, building skills for managing people, ideas and events by facilitating events for prestigious Cultural Institutions, International Organisations and Film Festivals. With insight into the internal practises of global companies and experience working with multiple vendors, franchises and suppliers, Divya has gained considerable experience for stakeholder management, juggling budgets, logistics and organisational effectiveness all whilst maintaining high standards of work.
A New Start in Australia
Moving to Melbourne in 2013, Divya struggled to find full time work without any local experience, until she came across a Film Distribution company with an Australian-Indian manager. After completing a 2 month internship, she was hired as Office Manager and was responsible for the production of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, first as Coordinator in 2014, and in 2015 as Senior Coordinator and then Festival Manager.
After five years in Events Management however, Divya felt ready for a career change and wanted to explore the wider world of work in Australia. With polished organisational skills and workplace facilities management, she began applying for Office Management roles.
“I applied for over 70 jobs in about five months. In that time, I was invited for maybe two interviews. It was very discouraging”
She was either completely ignored, or received refusals from cover letters she had put considerable time and effort into. She was given stock standard responses from interviews that she’d felt had gone well. Assuming that having local market experience would help her in her search in Australia this time around, it was frustrating to be faced with rejection upon rejection.
The Weploy Solution
In March 2019, a friend recommended she try Weploy, and by this point, Divya’s expectations were at an all time low. After completing the online application, she was surprised to receive a callback within two days. The application process was super quick, unlike anything she had experienced before.
“Going through the online vetting process was really thorough… and I realised that this was a serious undertaking despite it being for temporary roles only. When the time came for the interview, Steph from the talent team made me feel listened to and understood. I began to feel like there was some hope again”
A Boost in Confidence
Perhaps Weploy understood Divya’s potential before she herself did, or perhaps being accepted onto the platform was just the confidence kick she needed. Either way, the team encouraged her to accept her first role as a Weployee - at online food delivery company, Deliveroo. As Facilities and Office Admin, Divya worked closely with the Head of People, and was responsible for the day to day welfare of a diverse community of over 130 employees, of all ages and diverse backgrounds. Being solutions-orientated Divya threw herself at the opportunity, her passion for people and organisational efficiency driving her to do what she could to help the team to do their jobs better. After four months, she was invited to apply for a full-time role at Deliveroo, but a new opportunity came knocking that was too good to pass up.
When her partner was offered an exciting role in Sydney, the couple made plans for a relocation. Despite having to pass on the role at Deliveroo, Divya embarked on the move with a newly acquired confidence, knowing that as part of the Weploy community, she would be able to access roles in both Melbourne and Sydney. Changing her location in the app, a two and a half month Office Manager role came up, this time with Asana. Again, Divya relished the responsibilities finding solutions to facilitate the team at Asana to do their jobs better. Her confidence, both in herself and in this new career direction, grew and grew.
Life Beyond Weploy
With the experiences at Deliveroo and Asana behind her, Divya felt empowered and energised to tackle the job market again. Finding her career comfort zone in Office Management and Facilities, it was time for her to leave the Weploy platform, and move into a full-time role. Today, as a Senior Executive Admin and Facilities, Divya admits that without the job opportunities accessed via Weploy, she might never have been considered for her role at Cognizant, a multinational IT services corporation.
“Traditional hiring methods are tedious, and faceless. If you don’t have a name that’s easily pronounced, you come up against barriers. It is assumed that you don’t have a valid work visa, or won’t be suitable in a customer facing role. I’ve met people from similar backgrounds to me who have been advised to change their names to increase their chances of getting a role”
Even though she is no longer available for roles on Weploy, Divya keeps the App on her phone “just in case”. She is now working on building her network in Sydney and finding like-minded friends who will share in her passions for food, travel, crochet, and making Kombucha! Being career oriented, being able to find work is about more than just a paycheck. It’s about well-being and self-worth too, and Divya still credits the Weploy service for being a key factor for her success in Australia.
“The experience of finding work with Weploy has been a breath of fresh air. Although it’s an online service, the people behind the scenes have been open and transparent, and made me feel so supported every step of the way."
