Firstly I learnt something when applying for jobs; if you don't succeed try again. The job I wanted for next year was at Olympic Dam; which is a Copper/Uranium/Gold/Silver mine north of Adelaide, which essentially houses everything a metallurgist could ever dream of. I applied through the normal channels, but didn't hear back for several months. I began to worry about job prospects, as I was due to travel overseas in June for a Europe trip, which was essentially the peak time for job interviews. I ended up emailing Olympic Dam my resume & a letter of application personally, and the next day, I had a phone interview! After that I had my full interview, which is usually face to face, on the phone whilst relaxing in the Spanish countryside.
Within a couple of days after returning to Brisbane, I flew to Olympic Dam for a site visit, and I was offered a contract! The moral of the story here is; do not hesitate to take things to a personal level. Just because companies have their normal procedures for hiring, it may not hurt to send things personally to a contact.
In other news, there is about 5 weeks left of uni, and we are tidying up our final design projects for the year. By the end of this semester, we would have essentially designed an entire Alumina refinery....without getting paid!
