Excerpt taken from Caitlyn’s story delivered to the Telstra Business Award judges in June 2008.
I was asked to speak to you about mentoring and our graduate program here at Rudds Consulting Engineers. But I thought the best way to do that would be to tell you the story of my career at Rudds thus far.
In December 2005, I was out with friends when I met a few of the gentlemen who worked here at the time and they told me that since I was an engineering student (and a female) I should, and I quote, “Totally come and work with us because we don’t have any of those”. I was handed a business card, told it was the most fantastic place in the world to work and told to email them as soon as was humanly possible.
I have to admit, I was baffled. I had no idea what “Building Services” was…Didn’t buildings just run themselves? But I sent an email off the following morning and that afternoon, I was in the office meeting with the directors. It was one of the nicer interviews that I’ve been to because I wasn’t asked things like “So, where do you plan to be in 5 years” and “What do you plan to do for the company”. Instead, I was invited in, sat down and just engaged in a chat about how I liked engineering at uni and how did I like Canberra and just general small talk. I wasn’t expected to have an in depth working knowledge of the company or a five year plan on how many of my talents were going to turn the firm into a multi million dollar a year company (and trust me, I’ve been to those job interviews). Instead, all that was expected of me was that I had a thirst for knowledge and a willingness to learn as much as I could possibly cram into my brain.
I had a fantastic time during my 3 month work experience here. I was shown numerous new technologies, taken to many new building sites and shown exactly what building services was and was given the opportunity to help out on some fantastic projects. Every single person in the office ensured that they were always available to answer any question I had, no matter how big or small it was. So, when the directors offered me the opportunity to continue working here part time when uni was on and full time on holidays, I jumped at the chance. They sat me down and we worked out a schedule whereby I could do a certain hours of work a week around my lectures and labs and still be useful to the company. However, as always happens at uni, exams and assignments always creep up on you at the last minute. But the directors were so accommodating and I was told that if I needed to, I could work less hours in some weeks and just catch them up in others. When talking to all of my university friends about this situation, I knew of no other person who was given the kind of opportunity that I had just been given. I didn’t have to worry about doing casual work and not getting paid when things got hectic at uni. I could continue to give my all to university and not sacrifice this career opportunity to do so.
And so, this process continued for a couple of years. As my experience and knowledge base grew, so did my mentors and so, I was allocated to our Principal Lou, and Laxman, our senior executive engineer. I was rewarded for my hard work with the chance to become a job captain and run my own projects. Even though I was in charge of my own jobs, my mentors were still there to answer all my random and sometimes blonde questions and I was given the chance to really spread my wings. I was told that if I wanted to try out any new technologies in my building, then I could because even if they went horribly wrong, I was told the company could absorb my errors and start again. Now I have never heard of a company that gives you that opportunity.
That’s the thing about Rudds. When you work here, you’re not just offered a job, you’re offered an experience. You’re offered the opportunity to build close working relationships and great friendships with the people around you but, most importantly, you’re offered the opportunity for a career. You’re given the chance to taken on as much work as you can handle so that you can learn as quickly as you want. You’re given the chance to slow down if you need to and still have a personal life outside of work. You’re given the chance to take the company wherever you want it to go because the Principals know that the younger people in this firm are going to eventually run the place (which is what I told them I was going to do after 3 months of working here…oh and to open a Brisbane office which should be happening within the next financial year). But most of all, you are given the chance and the opportunity to succeed.
But the cycle in the office continues. I have just finished my final exams and will be graduating next month from a bachelor of engineering with honours. We have just recently hired two undergraduate students who I am currently mentoring. In a few years time when they have graduated, the same process will happen again.
Although our process in quite informal, it is extremely effective. Myself, and the other students working at Rudds, are living proof.