Hi! My name is Anna Debortoli, your Weployee of the week. I am looking to explore my career options and gather learning experiences while still maintaining my lifestyle and personal freedom - and this is how Weploy helped me in my journey.
My first job: Production Line Officer at Age 14!
My first job was actually on a production line when I was on school holidays at age 14! I would essentially watch bottles go down the line and pick out any with label defects, do the parts of the assembly that the machines couldn’t, and stop the line if there were issues. It sounds easy but it was so hard to focus and not let my mind wander.
Ever since then, my career has definitely changed a lot - I never wanted to go back to the production line LOL. That said, I still haven’t nailed down what I want to do with the rest of my life yet and like to try different things. I have worked in Supply chain, Marketing, and B2B Sales. I try to look at everything as a learning opportunity and to give myself a chance to reflect on what I want after each experience.
Working is more than just about the money for me.
Work just feels good. It’s nice to be productive and spend time with colleagues. The more collaborative and social aspects of work are definitely something I have missed with COVID-19. I used to work in the city and it was amazing to go into work every day, window shop and try new lunch spots on breaks, and then sometimes I would stay late at work subtly earning brownie points only to sneakily change and head straight to a gig after everyone else was gone. I cannot wait to get back to that.
My ideal job is the perfect balance between my personal life and professional life
I’m really not sure about my ideal job yet, but it's definitely something I feel like I learn more about the older I get. I would say it's more about looking for the lifestyle I want as well as a job that is personally and professionally fulfilling.
The biggest highlight about my last job assignment with Weploy is the people
For my last assignment, I was working with the Weploy Talent Team as a Community Admin and the highlight was definitely the people I worked with and those in the community I got to interact with. Everyone was so lovely and energetic. It was a great vibe and super flexible which was important as I was also completing a thesis at the same time.
The biggest challenge: Communication during lockdown
However, I think when this years’ lockdowns hit it was definitely a challenge given a lot of my work was project-based and I needed a good amount of feedback and insight from the team still being new. Lots of video calls helped maintain the vibe though and keep me on track.
The Weploy experience
Weploy helped me relieve the pressure of the traditional way of job search
I think the biggest challenge of the traditional recruitment process is the drain it puts on you. As someone who went through more than one grad program process, it was insane how detail and labour-intensive each stage was. Now though I find just looking for roles and sending out resumes can be so much more draining. It can feel like you're sending dot point summaries of yourself into the void and you are not even guaranteed an automated response at the end of it. I really liked that Weploy at least took the time to call you and get a feel for who you are.
I was having difficulties finding work that suits my lifestyle while challenges me professionally - but Weploy changed that around for me.
Honestly, I was pretty stressed before starting my assignment with Weploy. I was studying and working another part-time job but didn’t feel like I had enough going on to keep me engaged. I have a good amount of credentials and experience but was really limited in the scope of the role I could take on. Weploy really worked with me to help find something which would help add value for them while keeping me challenged - which was great.
How my perspective on recruitment and job search has changed after working with Weploy
I have had experiences with recruiters before and they were positive but I think Weploy is the first one I have encountered who are focused on the candidate side as much as the client side. It has definitely made me think about how I look for roles and the type of roles I take on.
My experience with the onboarding process
Very straightforward! I was travelling around regional VIC when I got the offer and I was able to get everything set up in under an hour. Before starting, I had a couple of calls with the team and then I went into the office and was given everything I would need (laptop, charger, mouse, keyboard etc). It only took about half a day to go through induction and learn the systems. Then when we shifted to the remote, it was as easy as packing up the kit I was lent and taking it home.
But the biggest surprise about Weploy is the relationships between the Talent team and the candidates
I think personal relationships the Talent team have with candidates. It was amazing working in the backend of Weploy how many candidates were known on a personal level by members of the talent team. The team knew candidates by name, they knew why candidates had joined Weploy and what certain candidates were up to off the top of their head!
In terms of work-life balance ...
Weploy has been incredibly flexible and a lot of the meetings with my direct manager felt more like conversations where we would work together to decide the next steps and not like I was being specifically dictated to. Ultimately, I don’t think I would have been able to achieve what I have this year working somewhere else.
