“Every day, we are hearing really great stories about businesses that are embracing diversity and also inspiring stories about lives being changed through employment. For me, day-to-day, I cannot help but feel proud about what we do and how together, we can help transform lives.”
Debbie Brooks is General Manager of Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement at atWork Australia. She has been working in employment services and recruitment for over 21 years and has forged a successful career through her determination and passion to help others.
My career journey with MedHealth
Debbie began as a receptionist for a very small provider but quickly discovered her talents and purpose to make a difference in the lives of others. She completed her Diploma of Management and soon became Branch Manager in the ACT region, delivering the Job Services Australia contract.
Debbie put her skills and natural talents to the test over the coming years, working in various management and consultant roles and gaining valuable personal experience in a range of working environments. Above all, Debbie had a deep desire to continue to do more.
In 2016 she accepted a management position with a recruitment agency focused on helping businesses to increase diversity in their workforce, managing a team of consultants across Australia who recruit for various cohorts, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, youth, mature age, people living with a disability, mothers returning to the workforce and culturally & linguistically diverse people.
Developing strong relationships with key stakeholders both internally (branch and functional managers) and externally (clients, suppliers and alliance partners), was important to Debbie and this often helped influence decision-making and change.
“I have always embraced new roles and responsibilities. If there was ever more opportunity on offer, I wanted to take that too, to help build my career and improve outcomes for our clients and customers”, says Debbie.
Debbie joined atWork Australia in 2019 and in her current role, she heads up the Employer Engagement, Client Solutions (Call Centre) and Marketing teams who are working together to connect people and businesses, so both can thrive.
My challenges
My career journey hasn’t been smooth, but I have enjoyed every minute of it. I have moved around in various roles, sometimes stepping back, but always knowing there would be opportunities down the track. These roles also offered new experiences and personal growth for me.
Having a family and continuing to do what I love has always been challenging. When you are on a career trajectory, a new family can put that on hold for a while. Returning from a maternity leave means you sometimes need to reset your goals and build new working relationships. If you have the opportunity with an employer to successfully balance your work and personal life, that is a big drawcard.
My motivation
Every day, we are hearing really great stories about businesses that are embracing diversity and also inspiring stories about lives being changed through employment. For me, day-to-day, I cannot help but feel proud about what we do and how together, we can help transform lives.
My career highlight
I am living my career highlight right now. I feel like I have purpose and can make a big impact on the organisation and those around me. That is a good feeling. The team I work with are just amazing. There is a lot of belief in ourselves and in the work we are doing.
