Suzie Young, Project Manager, Regional Tourism – Destination Development, Tourism Tasmania, BCom, University of Tasmania, 2003

“No.1 skill is the ability to communicate with people.”

Suzie has had over four years experience working within Tasmania's tourism industry since completing her degree in 2003. She is responsible for developing and chairing community tourism projects, an area she is extremely passionate about.

Graduating with Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Marketing and Tourism, Suzie initially began studying a Bachelor of Tourism and was in the first round of Tourism students which came through the University of Tasmania. After a year or so studying Tourism, Suzie changed her degree to a Bachelor of Commerce.

Where it all began...

"Growing up my dream job was to be an exotic animal vet, travelling the globe treating wild animals. My parents are heavily involved in the circus world, and we'd always have elephants, tigers, lions etc at our farm for extended periods of time. We also travelled regularly. By the time I got to Year 12 I was over studying. I worked part time with our local vet through gaining a job after Year 10 work experience, and then after leaving high school with an university entry score that was far off the mile of veterinary science, I left home at 17 to join the circus full time. I was then the animal handler for the show. I dropped off the circus loop in Queensland and a short time later and I picked up some more vet nursing work, worked for a road works company laying asphalt, as a canner for golden circle, in a fish shop and numerous other jobs. I headed for Victoria after about 12 months, working again in vet nursing, as a sales rep in real-estate and then with disability services which lasted about 4 years. “I decided Tasmania looked appealing and within 3 months I was here."

Once in Tasmania friends encouraged Suzie to study Tourism at University, but she also felt that her travelling experiences influenced this choice. "Tourism matched with me personally as I had travelled so much already and loved new places". Tourism was something Suzie was always interested in and felt she already knew a lot about.

Making the change from Tourism to Commerce...

"I wanted to specialise in one area and tourism was a relatively new industry in Tasmania". Suzie felt her skills in management would be a valuable complement to the knowledge she had already gained from undertaking tourism units. "I wanted to strengthen my degree and skills, which were in the management area, and I felt more comfortable studying management alongside tourism, however I have since found out I am more of a generalist!"

Suzie's interest in psychology influenced her choice to study marketing. "I was doubtful at first as to the ethics of marketing, but a conversation with a lecturer opened my mind to non-profit organisations’ marketing, for example the Wilderness Society and conservation organizations; they have to market themselves too". "I guess I was idealistic about what marketing should be and in my assignments I began turning around the perception of marketing being an unethical business practice to focusing on the good that it can achieve". Suzie’s choice to study marketing and management was also influenced by her "natural flair with management".

Suzie now uses the basic management skills she gained from university every day. For example, she uses the "underlying principles of how best to manage, develop a marketing plan, or use organisational culture to deal with situations you find yourself in".

Work experience with Tourism Tasmania while at university...

Suzie arranged to do some practical work with Tourism Tasmania in 2001, initially as part of the Tourism course, volunteering time a couple days a week to assist with building an Experience Strategy. The document turned out to be a key driver for the development of tourism in the state. Suzie is now working on and revising this strategy five years later as a Project Manager. As the Chair of the Experience Strategy Future Trends and Opportunities Working Group, Suzie and her colleagues have just completed an extensive examination of future trends and opportunities for Tasmania.

Suzie's volunteer work with Tourism Tasmania led to her being offered paid work as a part time Market Research Consultant while still at university and included completing small projects for wineries. Suzie really values the research skills she learnt from this role. Her experience introduced to her to the creative and innovative side to marketing and this directed her in her future career path.

Suzie advises new students to "start early, know about where you want to go and where your interests are, where your skills are". She suggests "start talking to people in your chosen field and explore the different roles so you know what areas you want to work in after graduation, you can really build opportunities for yourself and the relationships and networks you develop are really useful when you are starting out".

Managing work life and study...

Balancing work as a Market Research Consultant while still at uni, Suzie found that she fell into the trap of prioritising her market research work instead of the course work, and started to see her results slide. Eventually, Suzie made the choice to ensure that her university degree was priority and therefore had to start turning market research work away. The whole experience taught her good time management skills and the ability to say ‘no’.

Influences at university...

"I had a few influences at uni. Originally it was friends, encouraging me to go for it, and I would bug them constantly about reading over my assignments and how to find the best references. As time went on Anne Hardy impacted me, she took on teaching the degree single handed. She was young and vibrant, and had travelled a lot. She made me really think about the impact of tourism on society and the environment. I felt that this was an area I wanted to go further into. I then met lecturers Stuart and Dallas in the School of Management, with whom I talked with endlessly about these topics, and I would tease their mind on the philosophy of the whole tourism thing including the pros and cons. I was very idealistic about the way things should be and they taught me that nothing is ideal!! They both always had time to discuss my ideas and aspirations. They were really motivating and we could always laugh together while looking at the serious stuff. I still see them to this day occasionally, I drop into the university to harass them about something, still picking their brains, or we have a coffee at Salamanca, this is what is great about studying in Tasmania, it's a real community feeling. You actually know your lecturers!"

Expectations following graduation...

"I had started out not even planning to go to university, and had actually got through with pretty good grades. I felt very relieved. But what was next? I had met some great industry people while trying to find out as much as I could about tourism. Initially I volunteered some time to work with Tourism Tasmania to assist with strategies, which led to me gaining market research work while at university".

What I learnt from my first employment experiences…

"Growing up in a rural community taught me to be very resourceful". Suzie believes resourcefulness is particularly valuable in a small and relatively regional state like Tasmania.
"Working in a rural veterinary clinic, dealing with many different people and working a lot on my own has made me a good problem solver". During her time as a vet nurse Suzie learnt "how to manage stress and let things go... hanging on to stuff can just drag you down and prevent you from moving on, and most of all, focus on the now and be in the now. You can be in a strategic mindset but dealing with today is really important".

After leaving university, Suzie gained her first full time job as a Project Officer in the Tourism & Community Services unit with Forestry Tasmania, "it shocked me how you were treated as a graduate; I forgot you go straight to the bottom on the hierarchy in the workforce". This experience challenged her ethics. "I was with them while all the Greenpeace and global action was being carried out in the Styx forests, we would go to work and be spat on some days, or sent home because of bomb threats. Because I am ‘green’ myself, I found this really tough. However it opened my eyes to the timber industry, the wonderful people there, the hard work the people do. I made some fantastic friends". Suzie stayed with Forestry Tasmania for 7 months and decided to leave, 4 weeks later she was approached by the then Director of Destination Development at Tourism Tasmania, Jane Foley, about another Project Assistant role. "I was very lucky. I was only out of work for about 3 or 4 weeks. That was 3 or 4 years ago now. I have done so many things here; I have learnt a tremendous amount."

Suzie's current position...

Suzie is currently a Project Manager with the Regional Tourism unit of Tourism Tasmania. Her role involves managing various projects in community development and working very closely with community members. Examples of projects she has worked on include the Tasmanian Visitor Information Network, where she has been involved in assisting Information Centres to become more business orientated, and the Local and Federal Grants Programs. These programs include working with large scale businesses in small communities, to small businesses and councils wanting to do something to contribute to the tourism experience in their area. All her work is about "enhancing the experience for visitors to Tasmania ".

"I really enjoy working with communities, which is funny because I thought I'd end up working more with the environment side of things".

Attributes important in current position...

• Communication skills. "No.1 skill is the ability to communicate with people. I try to talk, listen and work with people as actively as I can. People are so important to successful operations without good people skills your project can end up down the drain pipe". "Be professional at all times but have fun while you are doing it".

• Have fun. "I like to enjoy what I am doing. Laughing can be the best remedy for all sorts of mad situations you find yourself in".

• Talk to people, don't just use email. "Those people that you need to have strong relationships with, or need to build strong relationships with communicate face to face, building that instant rapport is really important, once the rapport is built use the phone, email is last the resort.”

• Lead like you'd want to be led. "I try to talk openly about the situations I'm dealing with, and allow others to express their views and their issues about their situations and my own. I think two minds are better than one, so I like all minds to create the path forward". Suzie advises "talking openly about situations and giving people the opportunity to challenge themselves and to challenge you. Upward manage and downward manage" to get the best results. "Trusting your staff and colleagues is also really important, you can't do everything yourself, and micro managing everything just isn't the way to go."

• Don't try to hide or be overly difficult. "Be open, honest and flexible to all sorts of situations".

• If you don't know what you’re doing - ask. "I use those I trust to run my ideas by about how best to manage a situation. There is so much experience out there someone must have run into a similar situation or have other idea about how to manage whatever is happening!"

• Life - work balance. "Life – work balance goes without saying, but don't get sucked into working 7 days a week or all sorts of ridiculous hours, sometimes you do have to, but learn how to be effective in the time you have, and leave work at work and enjoy your time with family and friends". Time management and prioritisation of tasks are important. Suzie has developed skills in these areas from previous work experiences and learning the hard way.

• Be clear. "It is really important to provide clarity on where you are going and what you are trying to achieve when managing projects and teams. Internal communication and clearly informing your colleagues of what is happening so they are clear of the projects objectives and their involvement will help bring your group together and know their contribution is valuable".

• Encouragement. "Encourage others to follow their dreams and pathways with work and personal life. Give people opportunities to grow and learn and be who they want to be, and remember those that gave you your start."

Career plan...

"I love my current job, but my eye is always out for my next challenge. I never have a huge career plan, and money is not everything. I have always worked somewhere for as long as I love it. I always follow my nose too. If something interests me I make sure I can get my foot into that project and follow that path. I stay as long as I am feeling like I am contributing to the cause and am motivated, if not, I just leave, but that's not for everyone. I'd rather clean bathrooms than do something that I felt was unethical or not something I personally saw as valuable. My worst nightmare would be leaving somewhere and people thought I didn't care or didn't give it my all. I always want to move on before I ever get to that stage".

Tips on the interview process…

For her current role, Suzie went through a fierce interviewing process. There were two positions available and these were advertised 6 months apart. Suzie missed out on the first position, and was successful in gaining the second position.

Application and Interview Tips

• Do you fit with the culture? "It is really important to try and assess if you are going to fit with the organisation's culture. Try to talk to people and find out what culture is and who you will be dealing with, see if it is really is right for you."

• Research the organisation. "Be prepared. Do your research before you write the application and figure out what the job actually is and what the organisation does. Get as much info as you can, you will feel more confident when writing your application and if you get an interview your knowledge should shine through."

• Prepare an excellent application. "Review the selection criteria carefully and take your time writing the application. You're putting yourself out there and selling yourself and you have to put the best application forward, you can tell if someone hasn't put much time into the application". Presentation is important and valuable to your reputation as a recent graduate. Tasmania is a small place and Suzie suggests that "people soon get to know your name and a bit about you, so show them what you've got, and do it well!"

• Believe in yourself. "Be confident and calm. Practice the interview process with your friends, run through example questions etc. It’s great if you can get somebody that works in a similar organisation to help you with this, as they may have a few examples of what are likely to be asked."

• Demonstrate your ability to the interview panel. Suzie firmly believes that graduates need to be able to demonstrate their ability to a selection panel, and a portfolio is a tangible example of this, not just verbal promises. "Make sure you bring your portfolio of work along to the interview, even if they are just assignments". "I definitely value portfolios and when I am on interview panels I look for it". Suzie suggests some examples of what to include in a portfolio, "writing ability, presentations, assignments, business plans you have done, surveys etc. Some interviewers like to look at the portfolio with you or take it away to refer back to, so make sure you are prepared that they may take your portfolio with them. It demonstrates that you have thought about what may be useful for them to see, you are organised, you can write and analyse well, and that you already have skills to bring to the job".

• Learn how to brag without being egotistic. "To be able to talk yourself up can be a really tough thing to learn, but your application has got you to the door and once you start talking to the panel that is where you make it or break it. That is what your judged on, what you say, not what your application said. That's now in the past. If you have to, take a note pad and pen and write key aspects of the question down, then refer to them when answering. Don't be afraid to ask the panel to repeat the question. If you haven't been through many interviews, you may want to take in your application or a small list of key things you wanted to make sure you mentioned. It may help to jog your own memory and allow you to discuss all the areas you want to discuss. I think most panels would be very open to that."

Staying motivated...

"My first year at uni was very challenging and daunting but I eventually found where my strengths were after trial and error". Suzie feels life-work balance is very important, and at first she allocated 9am-5pm weekdays for her studies and used her other time to socialise and enjoy life. "This makes you more productive as you have had a good break [from study]".
In her current position Suzie has to be strict on this work-life balance, as she feels it is easy to fall into a trap of working long hours. It is important to "prioritise your work and your personal life".
Suzie relies on her interests and other people to stay motivated. "I just go with my interests and what I care about". "I just work somewhere for as long as I love it and feel I am contributing to the cause". "I also love sharing my energy with other positive and motivated people, negativity can drag you down".

Skills and professional development...

Suzie uses her down time to review her goals, personal achievements, her strengths and weaknesses. She stresses you must learn to "manage your weaknesses and develop your strengths". "I always look out for training opportunities or conferences on topics that I might be interested in, my interests evolve from my experiences."
Suzie also tutors on a casual basis at the University of Tasmania in a range of management subjects. "My tutoring at the university is really valuable as it allows me to stay in touch with the academic world, hear student views and refresh my memory, I really enjoy that".

Advice for Tourism students or students considering a Tourism degree...

If you want to work in tourism, get some contacts. "If you are not already in contact with or on email lists with Regional Tourism Authorities, of which there are three throughout the state, get on them! These authorities hold industry networking functions, where you can go and meet people in the industry, talk to them about their experiences, find out about job opportunities, and you might even get asked about to talk to them about what you are learning as a university student and the new knowledge you have".

Employers want students to share their story about why you want to get into their field. Suzie suggests that "industry functions are a really good start to gain a good understanding of the tourism industry". Otherwise, Suzie advises students just to "ring people up and see if you can borrow half an hour of their time to chat and learn from their professional experience if it’s a field your interested in".
"If you are thinking about studying, be sure you are interested in the field the first; don't just follow something because you feel you have to". Do the research and find out as much as you can about the industry and the career opportunities before you enrol in the course.

Making the transition from university to work…

"I found the transition harder than you may think, but my advice is just to keep with it and find some mentors". Talking with mentors "allows you to understand that other people have gone through the same kind of process. Talking to other people and listening to their stories can give you solutions to some of the challenges of being a first year graduate in the office. Motivation is key, you can't be afraid to ask questions, if people aren't willing to answer your questions find people who are responsive."

"Following your own direction and path is important, as you are only ever going to be satisfied with yourself and in your own heart". Suzie's life experiences prior to coming to Tasmania meant she was a little behind her friends in terms of career progress and owning her own home. But she says she has "I have had so many life experiences that I wouldn't give up just to be advanced in one's career or to have paid off a mortgage!"

Travel and life experience is really valuable and Suzie encourages us all to get out there and experience life before getting too heavily involved in the corporate world and to make sure "you still enjoy it once you're in it!"

Gemma Roach
Corporate Intern, Faculty of Business
University of Tasmania
2006