Natasha

Job Role: Associate Commercial Specialist
Bachelor of Business, Double Major Economics/International Business

What's your job about?

I work at nbn, which builds and operates Australia’s broadband network, and my role focuses on supporting the commercial decisions behind Field Services - making sure the money we invest delivers real value and supports long‑term sustainability. In my day‑to‑day work, I analyse costs, benefits, and risks across Field Services initiatives. This includes supporting business cases, building and updating financial models, tracking spend and benefits through scorecards, and helping with workforce and budget planning. A key part of my role is supporting the Integrated Operating Plan, which is our long‑term budget out to FY40 for everything related to Field. This includes understanding how much ongoing programs like OH&S and equipment are expected to cost over time, and where we can reduce spend while still keeping critical and impactful programs running. A typical day might involve working in Excel, reviewing assumptions, preparing insights for leadership, or meeting with stakeholders to understand how projects are tracking financially. I also support monthly reporting and reforecasting, where we check whether we’re spending what we said we would. In simple terms, if Field Services wants to invest in something new, my job is to help answer: how much will it cost, what do we get in return, and does it make sense long term?

What's your background?

I grew up in Brisbane, Queensland - truly the best place in the world. Throughout high school, I worked at McDonald’s for almost six years, a role that shaped me more than I realised at the time. It taught me discipline, resilience, and the value of teamwork, and to this day it remains one of the best jobs I’ve had. I graduated high school in 2019 alongside an incredible group of people. I’m deeply grateful for the friendships formed in those early years - relationships that have grown with me as we continue navigating life together. In 2020, I began university at the Queensland University of Technology. I was lucky enough to experience campus life briefly before the pandemic shifted my degree fully online. I was accepted to study abroad at the University of Toronto, but Covid-19 had other plans. Despite the challenges, the experience taught me adaptability and independence. After graduating university in 2022, I spent a year working and travelling. Following a summer internship at Volvo Group, I was ready to move on from hospitality and step into the corporate world. I worked in two administrative roles - one in Accounts Receivable and another in Telecommunications - which helped clarify the direction I wanted my career to take. I’m especially grateful to my mentor, Hon. Kate Jones, who at the time encouraged me to pursue a career as a woman in tech and approach the industry with strength and confidence. That path ultimately led me to Melbourne and into the nbn graduate program within the Field Services Commercial Delivery team, where I am today.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes, someone with a different background could certainly do my job. While a finance, economics, or business background is helpful, what matters most is how you think and work. The role suits someone who is curious, comfortable with numbers, and enjoys problem‑solving. Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to explain complex information in a simple way are key. You also need to be organised, adaptable, and confident working with different stakeholders. Being open to learning, asking questions, and understanding how decisions impact people on the ground are just as important as technical skills.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

In my role, I help turn complex Field programs into clear commercial decisions that shape what we invest in as a business. I work closely with Field Services to support business cases, manage commercial risk, and track whether initiatives are really delivering value for customers and the business. I enjoy digging into the numbers, spotting trends, and building insights that help improve how we operate. Even when it gets challenging, the best moments are seeing even a simple commercial analysis influence real operational changes, whilst knowing my work supports teams on the ground every single day. With an economics background, I naturally think about opportunity cost in my everyday life, and I get to apply that thinking on a greater scale in this role. Epic!

What are the limitations of your job?

This role involves working with complex data and long‑term assumptions, which can be challenging and uncertain. During Integrated Operating Plan (IOP) season, there are peak periods where 24‑hour turnarounds are sometimes required and deadlines can be intense. While the job isn’t physically demanding, it does require sustained focus and attention to detail. Someone considering this role should be comfortable with pressure, ambiguity, and natural peaks and troughs in workload throughout the year.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

1. Say yes to every opportunity. Even when something feels unfamiliar, each experience helps you build confidence, skills and perspective, often opening doors you didn’t expect.

2. Ask for what you want. People respect those who speak up, regardless of the outcome, because it demonstrates ambition, curiosity, commitment and a proactive, go‑getter mindset.

3. Value every job you’ve had. Part-time roles at university, from hospitality to admin, develop transferable skills like teamwork, time management and resilience that employers genuinely value.

Peter

Job Role: Associate Account Manager
Bachelor of Science

What‘s your job about?

I’m an Associate Account Manager at nbn (National Broadband Network), an organisation focused on bridging Australia’s digital divide by connecting communities and powering progress through reliable, high-speed, resilient and secure broadband that’s delivered via our network and our beloved retail service providers (think Telstra and Optus!).

As an Account Manager my role sits at the intersection of partner management, commercial, operations and enablement activity with a strong focus on driving tangible outcomes and supporting the overall strategy nbn and our RSPs have.

Across a week, my work is a mix of analysis, coordination and delivery:

Analysing data and market insights to spot opportunities for RSPs to tackle
Supporting stakeholders with escalations, reporting and strategy
Highlighting risks, gaps and growth opportunities
Ensuring campaigns, enablement activities and operational changes are landing smoothly with our partners

To make it simple, my job is all about keeping things moving between nbn and our partners. I help solve problems that can come up from customers and find ways to improve the overall sales numbers for them as well!

What's your background?

I grew up in Parramatta in Western Sydney, where I’ve spent most of my life. I attended Girraween Highschool before studying at the University of Sydney majoring in biology.

While studying, I worked in hospitality as a bar attendant and in a physiotherapy clinic admin and if I’m being honest, these jobs shaped a lot of what I wanted to eventually do for a career.

You’re probably wondering why someone with a science degree that majored in biology would be working in the telco industry. For me, this shift happened through working in hospitality and healthcare, where I realized that I thoroughly enjoyed the people-facing part side of the job. Being able to talk to clients and customers, hear their story, share in their experience and seeing firsthand how critical CX (customer experience) was to businesses and my own values. Add in the fact that the internet has been a gigantic part of my life from social media and online gaming, I think it was a pretty obvious outcome.

Following my graduation, I worked in positions involving User Experience and Product Management due to personal interest in design and the idea of developing something tangible. Following a consulting role, I knew something along the lines of account management was the right fit for me – combining strategy, problem-solving and relationship building.

I’ve been at nbn for just over 2 years now and have been in my current position for 3 months. I was initially part of nbn’s 2024 Graduate Program cohort and that enabled me to complete 4 rotations, experiencing different parts of the business before committing to my current role as an Associate Account Manager.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Definitely, I think someone with a different background can do my job. While it’s necessary to understand the technical elements of my job to support my stakeholders, the know-how and skills can be developed with mentorship and on the job learning.

A key skill that wasn’t developed in university would be organization and pipeline management – learning to prioritise work based on value and urgency, understanding risks and being across reporting and CRM (customer relationship management).

Having a problem-solving mindset is also crucial when it comes to delivering solutions and insights that can solve deep-rooted issues. This kind of mindset can be found across all kinds of backgrounds whether technical or non-technical.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

The coolest thing about my job is honestly the opportunity to travel interstate. There’s something refreshing about hopping on a plane and within the next few hours you’re in another office giving a presentation or having a coffee talking about the next big project.

But on the job, there’s nothing better than getting familiar with a tool or project and eventually becoming the go-to person that people reach out to for help and assistance. Being an SME (subject matter expert) shows I’m doing things the right way, being proactive in learning and improving my own capabilities day-to-day and just an tangible way to track my contributions within my team.

What are the limitations of your job?

Understand that when it comes to corporate jobs, your lifestyle revolves around a very structured schedule. Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm and sometimes later depending on your workload, along with client expectations and what I need to deliver depending on timelines. While weekend work isn’t expected, I personally enjoy reading up on telco and related news updates that impact on my work as well as prepping material and content to keep me ready for a strong Monday start.

But corporate definitely has its benefits and it does differ from job to job. For myself, my team is considerate of things life can throw your way, whether its doctor visits, important errands – there are flexible ways to accommodate it and to work around it.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

If I could go back in time and give my 18-year-old self some advice, these would be the top three that I’d share:

Build your network and be proactive in reaching out for opportunities that interest you – be genuine and upfront
Have an action plan when it comes to your studies and career – do the research, ask your family, peers and leaders for guidance and mentorship and figure out what you want to do
Pick up hobbies (basketball for me) that can get you active and relax your mind – you’ll need an outlet when studying gets intense or life just throws things your way and that’s going to apply just as much when you’re in the workforce – you’ll also meet some lifelong friends this way as well!

Holly

Job Role: Threat Research and Intelligence Analyst
Bachelor of Criminology/Bachelor of Cyber Security

What's your job about?

I work for nbn, Australia’s national broadband network, and my job is to help protect the organisation from cyber threats that could affect our networks, systems, and people. This involves making sure nbn understands what’s happening in the global cyber threat landscape so risks can be reduced before they turn into real problems.

In my role as a Threat Research and Intelligence Analyst, I focus on understanding external threats, including who the attackers are, how they operate, and what vulnerabilities they might try to exploit. On a typical day, I analyse threat information from a range of sources, research cybercriminal groups and their techniques, and track new trends in cyber security and global events that could impact nbn. I use frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK to map attacker behaviour and turn this information into intelligence reports that support security teams.

Some days are focused on longer‑term projects, such as improving nbn’s threat knowledge base or strengthening our intelligence capabilities. Other days are more fast‑paced, where I provide specialist support during active cyber incidents, helping incident response teams understand what they’re dealing with and what to look for next. I also create reports and brief both technical teams and senior leaders, translating complex cyber threats into clear, actionable insights.

In simple terms, my job is to study cyber threats so nbn can stay one step ahead of attackers and keep Australians connected and secure.

What's your background?

I grew up in rural Victoria on a farm with my parents and two sisters. As the youngest, I often looked up to my sisters for guidance and support, which helped shape my independence and determination from an early age.

After finishing school, I made a big decision to move seven hours away to Melbourne to study Criminology and Cyber Security at Deakin University, while working part-time as a pool lifeguard. Moving away from home on my own was a huge step for me. Like many students, my university experience was impacted by COVID- 19, with lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 forcing much of my study online and between home and Melbourne.

I officially moved to Melbourne in 2022 and completed my degree at the end of 2023. During my studies, I completed an internship in Data and Privacy within Cyber & Strategic Risk, which was my first experience working in a corporate 9‑to‑5 environment and confirmed my interest in cyber security.

In my final year, I applied for a graduate role in the Security Group at nbn. Knowing how competitive the program was, I applied to challenge myself. I was proud to be successful and went on to complete four diverse six month rotations. During my final rotation, I discovered my passion for threat intelligence and was thrilled to be offered a role in the Threat Intelligence team, where I now continue to grow and learn.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes, someone with a different background could do my job. While having some technical or cyber security knowledge can be helpful, many skills are developed through hands on experience and learning on the job.

Important characteristics for this role include curiosity, critical thinking, and strong research skills. Being proactive, asking questions, and being comfortable admitting when you don’t know something are essential for learning and improvement. Clear communication is also important, as threat intelligence often involves explaining complex ideas to different audiences. Having a growth mindset, determination, and a genuine interest in cyber security helps you adapt, take on challenges, and continue developing in the role.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

The coolest thing about my job is getting to dig into real threats and attacker behaviour, then seeing that work help security teams make decisions. I enjoy the moments where my research answers a real question or helps during an incident. Because threats constantly change, I’m always learning, which keeps the work interesting and pushes me to keep improving.

What are the limitations of your job?

One limitation of my job is that it can be time-pressured, especially during cyber incidents where information needs to be analysed quickly. Prioritising tasks is important, as you often have to decide what needs attention first. I’m also on call for one week each month, which means being available if something urgent comes up. While it’s not physically demanding, the role does require focus, flexibility, and the ability to manage pressure, but having a supportive team makes a big difference.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

1. Take opportunities and step outside your comfort zone. Say yes to things that feel unfamiliar or challenging, as those experiences help you grow, build confidence, and discover what you’re capable of.
2. Be yourself and trust your journey. You don’t need to have everything figured out at university, and growth often comes from mistakes rather than getting things perfect.
3. Be curious and keen to learn. Ask questions, seek feedback, and stay open minded, a genuine desire to learn will take you far, no matter where you start.

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