Randstad: Shaping Young Futures Finalists Revealed

Randstad: Shaping Young Futures Finalists Revealed

Ever thought you have an amazing hidden talent that just doesn't seem to translate when put into a résumé? HR and recruitment specialists Randstad believe the traditional résumé is holding young jobseekers back and is looking to change the system.

Today, Randstad has kick-started the careers of five finalists in the Shaping Young Futures competition, awarding mentoring and one-month paid internships at some of Australia's most attractive employers, including Virgin Australia, L'Oréal Australia, National Australia Bank, Seek and Marketo.

The five finalists include:

1.    Thara Vidyaratne, a writer and videographer from Melbourne, Victoria

2.    Kendelle Watts, a self-taught SFX make-up artist from Parkes, NSW

3.    Shivee Jam a watercolour painter from Melbourne Victoria

4.    Jeremy Kiraly a graphic designer from Bundaberg, Queensland

5.    Natalie Stoart, a professional cosplayer (costumer designer) from Pymble, NSW

Each finalist effectively demonstrated their hidden talents using Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Four of the finalists were chosen by a panel of judges from L'Oréal Australia, Virgin Australia, Marketo, SEEK and NAB. Each judge scored the entries on persuasiveness, originality, creativity and demonstrating transferability of talent into a business or corporate environment. The fifth finalist was selected through public voting as the People's Choice.

The Shaping Young Futures overall winner will be announced on 10 June at the Randstad Youth@Work Expo at RMIT in Melbourne, with the young Australian receiving a one-month round-the-world trip being mentored by the best in the business including: a meeting with young business start-up entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley; a day at the F1 Williams Martini Racing Team head office and factory in Oxfordshire, England; coaching and mentoring sessions with Randstad's Youth Ambassadors and Senior Business Leaders in Singapore and at Randstad Headquarters in The Netherlands and AUD$3500 spending money.

To view the finalists and their talents, please click on their Shaping Young Futures submissions:

·         Thara Vidyaratne

·         Jeremy Kiraly

·         Kendelle Watts (People's Choice)

·         Natalie Stoart

·         Shivee Jam

All entrants in the Shaping Young Futures competition have been offered exclusive access to Randstad's online portal of job seeking resources and career advice to develop their jobseeking skills and get that first foot in the door, young people so often need when starting out.

'It's no secret, Australia has a youth unemployment problem, hence the government's focus on youth jobs in the latest federal budget, which aims to open up opportunities for young jobseekers to find the experience they need to get a job. But it's not only job experience opportunities we need to provide to young job seekers. We need to change outdated job application methods, which don't necessarily allow the skill sets young Aussies possess to shine," said Frank Ribuot, Randstad Chief Executive Officer.

'We designed the Randstad Shaping Young Futures program to see how young jobseekers could portray their skills in new ways and get noticed. The entries we received were very impressive and show just how creative and innovative young Aussies are when you release them from the confines of a traditional way of thinking.

'Demonstrating your skills and experience, and finding a way to illustrate how these can be beneficial to an organisation, even if it's not part of the job description, is a skill our young people need to possess, and employers will undoubtedly take notice.

'Congratulations to the five finalists who stood out for their unique talents and have now landed a dream job. I look forward to announcing the winner on 10 June," he said.