"Since returning to Australia, I have been applying excessively to large corporates but to no avail. I have applied extensively to graduate programs with places like Macquarie Bank, CBA, ACCC, AusTrade, ASIC, Westpac, ANZ etc. I have not gotten any responses of value and not got to the interview stage. I would like to get into risk management, investment management, treasury and potentially trade. I have a glut of interchangeable skills currently but due to the generic nature of my past positions I am finding that a difficult task to sell, especially on my resume.

I am now applying for a masters in public policy and management as I feel I can develop my soft skills and my analytical skills. What elements on my CV do I need to express further and highlight as more relevant? How can I show employers I have transferable skills to do the job, and can pick things up on the job very quickly?"

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EDUCATION

Major Australian University (2001-2005)
Bachelor of Economics (2002-2005)
Bachelor of Finance (2002-2005)

EMPLOYMENT

Pub, Spain (May 2008 – Oct 2008)
Bar Duty Manager
• Served tourists in a high pressure resort environment
• Cocktails, coffee making, drink recommendations, cash handling, service
• Stock management, including ordering, rotating, restocking and stock-take
• Key Achievement: adapted to speak basic conversational Spanish serving a variety of international clientele

Top-tier UK Bank, London (Sep 2007 – May 2008)
Data Analyst
• Worked on the integration of external bank with my firm’s internal systems
• Required a high level of attention to detail, analytical skills and problem solving
• Data searching, analysis, verification of company information through several online systems
• Strong use of Microsoft Access involving queries, forms, updates, etc
• High level of communication with senior staff and outside consultants ensuring timely updates and smooth transaction of data throughout the system
• Key Achievement: Completed first-stage of data integration for the trading systems

Marketing services company, Australia (Jan 2007 – Jul 2007)
Associate Business Analyst
• Assisted and designed client specific best-business practice strategies and their implementation
• Involved in Business Intelligence projects for several major companies
• Worked on the design, research and development, P&L validation, statistical analysis,data integrity, reporting and project management for sector specific Executive Dashboards for clients
• Assisted in developing the marketing strategies and information to convey our Development Dashboards to market the firms capability in Dashboard Management Systems
• Key Achievement: Completed the Asian Executive Dashboard Project for a major company, providing Dashboard Software, a cleansed and verified Data set and a written report/ guide for the executives on how to use the dashboard and its measuring and reporting capabilities for several Asian business units.

Major Australian fund management firm (Aug 2006 – Dec 2006)
WRAP Relations Adviser Consultant
• Initial creation of SuperWRAP fund account for clients
• Required strong product knowledge of managed funds, equities, pensions & trusts
• Settled rollovers of pension accounts & equity deposits to WRAP accounts
• Contacted financial advisers for further analysis, incomplete information and other queries
• Key Achievement: Exceeded the daily settlement target of settling account deposits by an average of 20%

Architect firm, London (Apr 2006 – Aug 2006)
Marketing Administrator
• Updated and organised the companies internal database, required a good eye for detail
• Event management, including helping set up functions and arrange meetings for executives
• Contacted worldwide press in regards to marketing links for the firm
• Obtained and updated relevant contacts for the firm within the Architecture field
• Responsible for the filing of relevant documents online and in hard copy, including emails, media clippings, web articles, written reports, architectural journals, etc.
• Key Achievement: Provided a background report consisting of information from journal articles, past press releases, web and print reviews, on the a major UK engineering project for one of the directors to assist his interview regarding project issues from a major newspaper.

Finance-sector outsourcing company, Australia (Jun 2005 – Apr 2006)
Settlements Officer
• Processed mortgage and home finance applications for customers on behalf of a Big Four bank
• Major role was in verifying appropriate documentation. This required strong analytical skills
• Ensured Westpac’s position was secure when entering into a loan
• Responsible for providing information and documentation to settle land purchases, marital splits, transfer of ownerships and external bank refinancing on property
• Dispersed the bank’s funds to the customer
• Key Achievement: Assisted a customer of a Big Four Australian bank in Germany on a holiday in getting processed a particularly difficult application for finance in time for them to use the remaining funds to continue their holiday.