Alumni Story - Jessica Taylor

In the summer of 2021, we met with Jessica Taylor, who landed a UX Design internship at ANZ. She shares with us the challenges of remote working, how she is supported by the team and her internship advice for students and graduates. 

What do/did you study? And where?

I studied at Victoria University and completed a Bachelor of Design Innovation in Interaction Design. 

Why did you choose ANZ for your internship?

I really resonated with their values. As a designer, it’s a really interesting environment. 

What has been the highlight of the internship so far?

As much as the work, the people. Meeting the ANZ team as well as the other interns. Altogether a really nice crew of people. 

Have you had any challenges or anything unexpected?

Working from home has been quite challenging; especially when you are new to the organisation. It can feel a little disconnected when you’re working from home and you’ve only had online interactions. But my buddy and I have morning standups, though, which gives me time to ask any questions I’ve come up with the previous day and set timeframes together. And the rest of the crew are constantly checking up on me, they have been amazingly supportive.

One way to adjust to remote working is to ensure you are constantly talking to your workmates, whether over Slack or otherwise.

What is a valuable skill you’ve learned from your mentor?

My mentors are always there for me - and a key value of his is to be kind to yourself. From my team, communication is a really big thing that I value, especially at this distance. 

What kind of support have you been getting from your team?

I’ve been receiving a lot of support and advice from my manager. I am learning about networking, and my manager even networks on my behalf sometimes. It gets me out of my comfort zone and is really helpful. 

There’s also been lots of support from fellow team members, and there are tons of people to go to if I need help. 

What’s one piece of advice you’d give a student starting the Summer of Tech programme in 2022? 

Take any opportunity you can - putting yourself out there makes the world of difference, even if it’s just a message on LinkedIn. 

In interviews, you’ve just got to be yourself. Show them who you are, because once you start that job that’s who you’ll be!