Featured Member Interview- August 2009

This month, we meet the recently appointed SYPG Council Chair, Casey Hamilton.

CASEY HAMILTON

Everyone says that your uni days are the best days of your life and I would have to agree! I have such a passion for knowledge and I really thrived at university. If I could get paid to learn, I would! I completed my BSc in Psychology and my BA in Linguistics last year and have only recently moved into the workforce. I was accepted into the Attorney General’s Department’s Summer Clerkship program and it was a great experience. It was like an accelerated grad program, so I learnt how to work in an office environment very quickly.

I now work for the Australian Medical Council secretariat where I am involved in the accreditation of specialist medical colleges. In my downtime I like to watch movies, play netball with my work netball team (go A-MC Hammers!) and relax with my friends.

There is a whole industry now that advises organisations and managers on how to engage Gen-Y constructively, are you all really that different from the rest of us?
I think we have different expectations. Gen Y have been bought up to believe that anything is possible and that the career you start in doesn’t have to be the career you retire from! So I guess we are different in that we don’t feel we have the limitations that previous generations may have had.

So what inspires you, and your peers?
I am inspired by hearing people’s stories. Listening to how someone has become successful gives you the motivation to get out there and try and do it yourself!

Would you have any free advice to a boss or manager on how best to relate to your peers?
It would be that Gen Y live their lives fast. We are always on the lookout for the next opportunity. That’s not to say we are disloyal, but if you keep us interested you are more likely to keep us!

We like to have some ownership over our work so some of the glory from a successful project can rub off on us. Managers should harness Gen Y’s motivation to push along projects that need that bit of extra oomph to finish them off.

What was it about Schmooze or the SYPG that made you want to get involved?
After years of training to become a good scientist, I realised that sitting in a lab crunching numbers wasn’t really what I wanted to do. I heard about SYPG through a friend and I saw it as a good opportunity to talk to other people about what they do and hopefully get some inspiration about where to go after uni. I discovered people working in jobs that I didn’t even know existed! I joined the SYPG council and it was a light bulb moment, this is what I wanted to do! I wanted to meet new people and hear about their life and work, I wanted to organise events and I wanted to help develop SYPG to be the best that it can be.

So what would you say you’ve gained from the experience so far?
I have gained so much by being a part of the Schmooze network and on the SYPG Council. I’ve met a great mentor who gives me invaluable advice and feedback. I have discovered a passion for event management and I work with a bunch of fun loving, hard working councillors who make every event something to look forward to.

I’ve met people I would never have met otherwise met, I’ve learnt about local Canberra businesses, I even got to be part of a short film! I have learnt a lot and had a lot of fun while I was learning!

As you see it – are their particular challenges Gen-Y faces that’s unique to them?
I think one of the hardest things for a Gen Y is facing reality. Whereas previous generations have been brought up with a more solid grounding, the sky is the limit for Gen Y which can lead to a loss of confidence when you realised that you haven’t yet learnt to fly!

How do groups like the SYPG fit into the career plan for a young professional’s?
Arnold Glascow is quoted as saying ‘Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.’ If that’s the case then SYPG is the metaphorical accelerant. In today’s world you can email or teleconference with anybody, but people still thrive on human contact.

SYPG (and Schmooze) give you the opportunity to get ‘one up’ on competitors and become a PERSON not just an email! It shows you are proactive and personable and that you want to be noticed. It gives you the opportunity to meet your competitors, mentors, potential business partners and friends. SYPG really is about the people and those people can give you the edge.

Finally, congratulations on your appointment as Chair of the SYPG Council Casey! Now you’re in the drivers seat, what’s your vision for the group?
I want more people to be aware of SYPG and I think the best way to do that is to keep being creative with the events. I want to develop more relationships with local Canberra businesses and showcase what the region has to offer. I want people to come to an SYPG event and be so interested in what is happening on the night that they don’t even realise they are making connections that could prove invaluable in the future.

Basically, I want SYPG to be enlightening, enticing and exciting!