GRADS@WORK - Careerssa.net

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GRADUATE INTERVIEWS
@WORK
GRADS
I am an HR Graduate Trainee in Old Mutual’s Africa Operations team. We are
referred to as GAPee’s (Graduate Accelerated Programme trainees) and I am part
of the HR central team that supports the eight business operations in the African
emerging markets. As a trainee my main responsibility has been supporting the HR
Executive with recruitment and managing of risk by ensuring that the recruitment
policy is updated and adhered to at all times.
I first heard about the job when the UCT career office posted the details of the
graduate programme in their career guide book. I then applied on the Old Mutual
website. I went through the whole recruitment process and after four interviews I got
placed.
Although my contract states working hours are from 08h30 to 16h45, I usually
work longer hours. This is because our strategy is focused on building and growing
our operations in the rest of Africa. It is necessary to put in over eight hours and
sometimes even extra hours over the weekend.
A typical day starts with me writing a to-do list to ensure nothing important
slips through the cracks. Thereafter, I open and go through my e-mails and spend
approximately half an hour adding items to my list and prioritising my tasks. There
is always a vacancy that I need to attend to whether it is creating a job description,
advertising, shortlisting, interviews or closing it off and organising the candidates’
onboarding. A big piece of my role is reporting. I need to write a report on our current
recruitment status for each of the eight business operations. As a trainee I also deal
with a lot of ad hoc tasks.
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The best part of my job is when I get the opportunity to phone a candidate and
inform them they have been progressed to the next stage of the recruitment
process or to tell them they are successful and we want to make them an offer.
The excitement in the candidates’ voices always gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. It is a
great feeling indeed.
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When I’m not working, I am a movie junkie. I watch movies from all genres, with a
preference for romantic comedies. I enjoy reading too and three books you will find
on my bookshelf are Oceans Apart by Karen Kingsbury, The Pact by Jodi Picoult and
Lean In: Women, Work & The Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg & Nell Scovell.
Bonolo Kasienyane
Age: 22
Place of Study: University of Cape Town
Qualification: Bachelor of Social Science in Organisational Psychology and Sociology;
Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) Organisational Psychology specialising in Change Management
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