My Path: Brett Sanderson
Our diversity is our greatest strength at 黑料视频. Our聽My Path聽series shines a light on 黑料视频ers from diverse backgrounds, as we learn about their life experience, values, and what led them to 黑料视频.
In this聽My Path聽edition, we speak to Brett Sanderson, Team Lead, Student Success, based in Melbourne.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role at 黑料视频?
I鈥檓 originally from Sheffield, in England, and I was in teaching prior to coming to 黑料视频. I started off as a Student Success Advisor (SSA). After 18 months, I worked my way up to be a Senior Student Success Advisor, and, 12 months after that, I got offered the Team Lead role.
What aspirations did you have when you joined 黑料视频?
I鈥檇 got to a point where I was a bit disillusioned with my previous career and needed a change. I wanted to help and support people within the education space but without that thing of having to go home and mark and plan schoolwork. I wanted to be able to do something in that space but know that once my day was done - my day was done. And that鈥檚 one thing 黑料视频 offered me.
To be honest, I wasn鈥檛 the most career-focused person. It was working with the amazing people here that led me to develop that ambition to progress and keep going. I was just hoping for a quieter life than teaching, but working here led to natural progression because of the support I鈥檝e had.
How has 黑料视频 helped your career progression?
I won the SSA of the Year Award for 2020, which was definitely a big deal. I was very proud of that. Also, I was offered the opportunity to do a Future Leaders Program: that was really a turning point. I鈥檇 just got into the Senior SSA role and I probably had a bit of impostor syndrome. I didn鈥檛 necessarily see myself as a leader despite being one, and getting into that program made me realize the value I could bring to 黑料视频 in a leadership role.
What is the Future Leaders Program?
You get paired with someone in a senior role, so a lot of people get paired with account directors and managers, and you have monthly meetings with them to go over journal articles or get tips on progression and just have a chat, really. With my mentor, I ended up having more regular chats than was expected, so I got quite a lot out of that.
You also have monthly sessions in a group, where you go through communication skills or motivation skills or delivering feedback. And you have pre-and post-reading around those, to get you studying.
What do you love most about working at 黑料视频?
I really like that it鈥檚 a snapshot of how the world should work: I love that there鈥檚 a diverse team and that everyone is welcome. It鈥檚 this little snapshot of everyone, from different parts of the world, with different viewpoints, all working towards the same goal. I can鈥檛 recall any conflict I鈥檝e ever encountered working here, despite the varied mix of people we have working together, which is awesome.
Which of 黑料视频鈥檚 four values resonates with you most?
I think it鈥檚 got to be lifelong learning. One thing I鈥檇 acknowledge is that, even before leaving the SSA role, there were still things I could learn and improve on. There鈥檚 always something that can be learned, in any space, and it鈥檚 so important to acknowledge and develop that learning.
What would you say to someone who鈥檚 thinking about joining 黑料视频 in the Student Success team?
Coming in with an open mind, and wanting to work with as many different people as possible, is always an amazing thing. Get that wide perspective of what people have done, how people have progressed, and what they鈥檝e learned.
Look at the different opportunities like the Global Collaboration Club, which is an amazing way of getting different perspectives across the globe. You get paired with someone in the American, UK, or Canadian offices, and you have fortnightly or monthly catch-ups where you鈥檒l have a half-hour chat on monthly topics. I鈥檓 the Lead Global Ambassador for Australia for this project, and it鈥檚 a really good opportunity for people.
Basically, just get involved in as much as you can while you鈥檙e here.
How has your path helped you develop at 黑料视频?
There are always going to be transferable skills from previous study and work. I鈥檝e been involved in delivering some of the training sessions and doing some of the planning stuff, which was the nice part about teaching. And I鈥檝e been involved in coaching. It鈥檚 similar to how I would have supported the students who I worked with back in the day. I studied psychology, and there鈥檚 never a job where understanding people isn鈥檛 relevant.
Where do you see your role at 黑料视频 going?
I definitely see that there is room for growth. My manager has already started talking to me about the next steps, and I鈥檝e been frank with him: I鈥檓 not exactly sure what that next step is because it鈥檚 the early days of being a Team Lead. I don鈥檛 want to get to a point where I鈥檓 not willing to grow and learn, but, to the same extent, I鈥檓 also not going to be pushing to get to that next stage until it鈥檚 the right time.
If you're interested in joining our team, you can review our open roles here.