Q&A
Agile Careers: Isabel Slater’s Story
Helping our people own their career journeys
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As part of our Boldly Moving Forward Strategy, we’re focused on intentionally building deep, trusting relationships for our people and nurturing our inclusive culture, including in how we approach wellbeing.
Wellbeing is foundational to everything we’re able to do and accomplish. We continually evaluate our wellbeing programs and benefits to best support our people – and we’re sharing stories of how these programs and tools are helping each of us individually be at our best, so we’re able to do more – together.
In this feature, we connected with Jacobs Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) Graduate Development Program and Mentoring Program Lead Isabel Slater to discuss her career journey and how Jacobs’ Agile Careers program took her career to a new level.
Featured benefit:
Jacobs’ Agile Careers program, an initiative that allows employees to explore career growth in other areas of the business.
What prompted you to take advantage of this benefit?
I was keen to grow my skillset and try something new. When I saw an opportunity that aligned with my interests and career goals, I jumped at the chance to apply!
How did it help?
Having an agile career at Jacobs has helped me develop new skills and accelerate my learning in different areas of the business. It’s been fantastic to expand my network and pursue my professional interests.
What did you like most?
I love that you can have several different careers at Jacobs! My new team and my previous team were very supportive throughout my transition to the new role. I am grateful for their flexibility and encouragement as I navigated this career change.
Talk us through your main career highlights at Jacobs – what was your first job here and how have you progressed into your current role?
I joined Jacobs’ Talent Acquisition team in 2018 as a graduate Talent Acquisition Resourcer straight out of university! I then progressed into a Talent Acquisition Partner role for our Global Future Talent (GFT) team, recruiting Jacobs’ early career talent (graduates and interns) across Australia and New Zealand. In 2021, I assumed the GFT Lead role for Asia-Pacific. Fast forward to one year later I’m now part of Jacobs’ Learning and Talent Development team, as the ANZ Graduate Development Program and Mentoring Program Lead!
What skillsets have you really been able to develop at Jacobs over your time, that you didn’t think possible?
Public speaking! I didn’t think that this would be a skill that I’d use regularly when I first entered the workforce, but I’m glad to have had several opportunities to continue developing this skill over my time at Jacobs.
What do you want others to know?
Speak to your manager or mentor about what opportunities or activities you could pursue to help you progress in your career (e.g., opportunities for a secondment, or shadowing someone to learn a new skill). Look on e3 learning to see if there are any courses that you could take to develop your skillset. Speak to people in your network about what their team are up to and if there may be any opportunities coming up in the future that you could get involved in.
“Formulate a plan with actionable steps to help you get where you want to go. Those steps could be seeking out a mentor in your preferred area, speaking to your manager about development opportunities like Agile Careers, or even pursuing further study.”
Isabel Slater
Wellbeing at Jacobs
At Jacobs, the wellbeing of our people is fundamental to our success. When we’re each able to be well, our collective power is limitless.
A world where you can is only achievable when we’re each functioning at our highest abilities. We can’t be our true selves, get our work done, and develop and grow unless our ideal states of being are sustained. We embed wellbeing into all, so we’re able to deliver on our purpose – today and into the future.
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