Let’s be real, figuring out what you want to do after high school can feel like trying to choose what to watch on Netflix with your mates (A.K.A. totally overwhelming). With so many options out there, how do you even start narrowing things down?
If this is feeling a little too relatable, we’ve got you covered. Over the course of this article, we’re about to cover the secret weapon you didn’t know you needed: work experience! Essentially, work experience is like a sneak peek into the world of adulting, minus the bills and full-time commitment. It gives you a chance to try out different jobs, learn new skills, meet awesome people, and discover what you love (or maybe what you don’t love, which is still a win!).
And if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t mind getting their hands a little dirty, loves being outdoors, or dreams of a job that’s far from your typical 9-to-5, then a career in agriculture could be right up your alley. That’s why we’ve teamed up with the legends over at Elders to show you just how awesome agriculture careers can be, and how Elders’ Work Experience program can help you land your dream job!
The Role of Work Experience in Career Development
At this point, you might be finding yourself asking what work experience actually is, and don’t worry, it’s a super common question. In short, work experience involves spending a few days or weeks in a real job setting, usually while you’re still at school, to get a feel for what it’s like to work in a certain industry. Think of it as a test drive for your future career. You’re not expected to be an expert; it’s all about learning, observing, and giving things a go.
Work experience is also a great way to fast track your career development, which is just a fancy way of saying “working towards your dream job.” Here’s why gaining real-work experience plays a huge role in making that happen.
- You gain real-world skills like teamwork, time management and communication).
- You build confidence in navigating the professional world.
- You grow your network by meeting mentors and professionals who can guide you.
- You learn what excites you and just as importantly, what doesn’t.
For anyone looking into agriculture careers, work experience is especially valuable. This is a hands-on industry where you’ll often be outdoors, working with people, animals, or nature. It’s not something you can fully understand just by reading about it; you’ve got to live it!
Benefits of Work Experience
It can be hard sometimes to know exactly what career pathway you might be interested in, especially if you haven’t yet had a lot of experience. By completing work experience you will get the chance to try out different areas that you think you might be interested in and hopefully narrow down the pathway you might choose to follow for your career.
Work experience is also a fantastic way to introduce yourself into the professional world, this can be daunting for some but having that little bit of exposure to the types of behaviours and skills that are relevant to the workforce before you start your career could help you land your first role!
Work Experience for Aspiring Agriculture Professionals
Whether you are thinking about a career in agriculture or already know you want to apply for the Elders Early Careers Program (great choice, by the way), work experience is a great way to get a taste of the industry and start to gain some relevant skills. In fact, many aspiring agriculture pros started their Elders journey through work experience, including many of their graduate agronomists and livestock trainees, too!
Why Choose a Career in Agriculture?
The agricultural industry offers a diverse and very rewarding range of career options that come with so much more than just a job! It is likely that any job you can think of exists within agriculture, from lawyers to farmers to engineers and so many more! Elders, being an agricultural services business, offers clients a range of services including, but not limited to, insurance, rural products (retail), livestock buying and selling, real estate, farm advisory services, ag tech, water brokering and so much more.
What’s more, Elders have over 300 locations Australia-wide, which presents the opportunity for employees to live the rural lifestyle that these unique job opportunities allow for. Living in Rural Australia has a lot to offer between the communities, career opportunities and unique experiences to be had, it is truly a distinctive and rewarding lifestyle. In the words of one of their livestock trainees, “you don’t live it for the job you live it for the lifestyle, the bush spirit and the mateship”.
Working with Elders
If you have read about the Elders Early Careers Programs (Graduate Agronomy Program and Livestock Career Development Program) you might be wondering how you might gain some experience to help your application for these programs. Work experience at Elders is the perfect way to do this. You will get to learn more about the Elders business and meet some their great network of people. It is also a chance for them to get to know you a little bit before the application process!
A Day in the Life at Elders: What to Expect During Your Placement
So, you’re sold on the idea of work experience and the idea of working at Elders; what now? To answer all your questions, we’ve brought in experts from Elders to demystify the whole process and trust us, you won’t want to miss their insights!
“Depending on if you have any special interests, it is likely your work experience will involve some work in our rural products business, which is the retail part of Elders. This may involve managing inventory or helping with customers. You may also have the opportunity to shadow some of our other staff to see what they do, including an agronomist, livestock sales person or real estate sales person. All of these activities will give you an insight into different career pathways and what the day-to-day roles of these jobs look like.”
How to Apply for Work Experience at Elders
If you are looking for work experience opportunities, the best way you can go about it is to approach your local Elders branch to see if they are open to have you. Having a good resume and a potential area of interest you wish to pursue can be helpful in these conversations and will help to show that you are keen to learn more.
For those interested in hearing more about the Early Careers Programs or wish to apply, please complete the expressions of interest form here to be notified when applications open!
And in the meantime, you can check out some the unique career pathways at Elders and what those jobs look like by clicking on the articles below:
