Culture is key to a dream KINNECT graduate program job for Cailin

Joining a graduate program in a clinical setting is a common first step for newly accredited exercise physiologists. However, Cailin Severn-Ellis set her sights on a graduate role that offered her a slightly different career path and a fantastic workplace culture. Fortunately, KINNECT offered both.

Cailin’s journey with KINNECT started during university when she opted to work with the Perth team for a two-and-a-half-month practical placement. “I had some experience working at a gym, but I hadn’t had any experience in workplace rehabilitation. At university I didn’t have much exposure to consulting either so I particularly wanted to do a placement where I could get experience in this field [workplace rehabilitation] because it seemed like something that catered to my skills and interests,” she recalled.

After a successful and enjoyable practical placement, Cailin joined KINNECT’s Graduate Program as a Consultant in February 2023. A combination of factors, including having prior exposure to our systems like Carelever (“It’s definitely a helpful tool!”), already knowing her supervisor Tamsin and the Perth team, and the support given to graduates made it an easy decision. “As a graduate, it was mainly the support that was offered that convinced me to choose KINNECT over other companies. I really appreciate the mentoring, the resources and the Learning Management System,” Cailin explained.

It was also KINNECT’s culture – which encourages people to strive to be their best and have fun while doing purposeful work – that stood out to Cailin in sea of graduate programs.

“During my placement, the culture stood out as everyone knew what work needed to be done and what the standard was. I could definitely tell that a higher quality of work was expected, but at the same time there was still fun to be had. There’s was a good team relationship and there were a lot of activities happening as well,” she said.

Cailin has been blown away by the level of team engagement, the monthly culture surveys that take the pulse of the company, and regular ‘Positives’ where people are acknowledged by their peers for being highly skilled, happy employees. “I get sent positives all the time. It just makes you feel so welcome and that you’re appreciated,” she said.

In her graduate role, Cailin has fitted in easily with her team saying: “Even though I’m still learning every day, I feel like I’m part of the team and valued like every other team member. We’re all so different in the office, but we all enjoy each other’s company, and everyone is very respectful of each other’s perspectives.”

As for the role itself, Cailin said:

“I view KINNECT as my dream grad job. It has all the resources I could ask for to learn from and start my career, but also the ability to progress.”

She feels well supported with weekly meetings and mentoring with her manager, plus monthly graduate meetings where they cover different topics. She has also had meetings with different state managers for specific help that she’s needed, who’ve all been very approachable.

Her favourite element of the role (and something that is echoed by many KINNECTers) is being able to work with many different people: “I interact with different people every day from employers to workers. I’ve really liked establishing a rapport with my workers – we get on really well and they trust me, and I like them too,” she enthused.

To undergraduates in exercise physiology thinking about following a similar career path, Cailin emphatically encourages them to “give it a go, wholeheartedly.” She believes that while it’s a role that uses clinical skills, graduates can also learn and use management and leadership skills. “If you’re organised and eventually want to be in leadership position, it’s a great career path and it has a lot of career progression compared to a clinical role,” she suggested. Starting in a graduate program with KINNECT is also an ideal way to access resources and skills by working with experienced staff members.

For now, Cailin’s goal is to get as much experience as she can to grow her career at KINNECT to a senior consultant level and beyond – something she’ll be given every opportunity to do.

If you’re interested in a graduate program in a fun and supportive organisation with genuine career opportunities, why not join us? For information about current vacancies, visit our Careers Centre.