Designing a meaningful career: advice from careers consultant Tyson Day

Arriving back at VU Footscray Park Campus, alumnus Tyson Day parked where he did as a student 12 years ago.

Now back to deliver a career design workshop for current students, the full-circle journey brings back fond memories.

“VU is close to my heart; it is where I did my undergraduate degree.

“And it's where I met Daniel Lunardi. Dan passed away at the start of this year. Dan was always beating the drum for VU, this type of institution that's incredibly inclusive.

“It's where Dan and I were able to connect issues that a) he was passionate about and b) I was passionate about,” he remembered.

Several years after finishing their degrees, Tyson and his friend, fellow VU alumnus Daniel Lunardi, co-founded careers education and social enterprise company Arrive & Thrive.

Continuing Daniel's legacy, Arrive & Thrive is dedicated to empowering young people to develop a mindset to design a meaningful career. The team run workshops in schools and universities, with 10% of facilitation fees going to local charities and not-for-profits.

Principles to help navigate career decisions

Arrive & Thrive recently undertook a session with VU students through a Career Design and Values session. Tyson introduced principles that can help with the “ongoing process of navigating and discovering,” that is finding meaningful work.

What's meaningful for one person might not be for another, it's highly individual, based on alignment between a person's values, skills and circumstances; and, what's possible and financially viable at a point in time.

Values as a compass

Encouraging students to “use your values as a compass for your decision making,” he noted that our values change over time; and we can sometimes find ourselves at a “values crossroads” when two values conflict. The key is to pay attention in these moments and make informed decisions.

Recognise your skills

Tyson encouraged students to think about all of the skills they have, including those developed through life experience.

“As individuals, we sometimes sell ourselves short because we're not aware of the skills we already have.”

Some of these skills, like resilience and problem-solving, are needed across all industries.

Know it's a process

For students who are weighing up when they complete their study, he said:

“Be curious, try stuff, know it's a process and ask for help.”

He also encourages students to reach out to the team at VU Employ for careers advice, and make the most of the careers support that's available at VU:

“Start with your immediate community first.”

Vicky Schilling, Talent Connect Project Officer at VU Employ, said:

“This was a fantastic student event where students had the opportunity to explore their career design principles, and how this links to the career decisions they make in line with their own value structures. It was also terrific to see students get involved in the gratitude activity and thank someone who had played a significant part in their career journey.”