Saket Kanani, a native of the Indian State of Gujarat, says that a ‘warm smile' and greeting from the host culture is all that it takes to reassure international students they have made the right choice...

He believes that ‘first impressions' made by students coming to a foreign country really count.

- Story by Dr CHRIS KEANE

Since his arrival in Australia in 2004, this hard working student-immigrant has successfully climbed the corporate job ladder. He kindly agreed to chat to CQUniNews from his private office, located in a modern business park in western Sydney.

Saket Kanani at this workplace

Saket is proud to be carrying on the family work tradition. His father is a chartered accountant and it is no surprise that his son enrolled in the same field when he arrived at CQUniversity.

With a Bachelor of Commerce already under his belt, Saket is completing a Master of Accounting and working as a financial accountant for the multi-national based telecommunications company, ICT Australia.

Saket commenced working for ICT back in 2005. He began his training on the ‘floor' as he puts it, where newcomers are introduced to the tough world of telemarketing sales. Saket, however, was not alone and a number of his student friends also gained useful part time work experience with the company.

ICT's call centre operations provided him with a solid foundation to move further into the company, whose major clients are made up of members of the banking, financial and insurance services industry. Saket was soon working as a Quality Assurance officer and in August 2007 he became an Assistant Accountant.

Recently promoted to the position of Accountant, Saket now has responsibility for preparing and reporting financial statements to ICT's headquarters on a monthly basis.

Saket believes that ‘whether you are doing a job, studying or preparing assignments, the key to success is hard work and complete dedication. It is very important to stay mentally focussed and avoid all distractions in order to achieve your goals in life'.

While his job can be very demanding Saket finds it ‘relatively relaxed' compared to the constant pressure of studying and meeting ‘assignment deadlines'.

He agrees that his accounting studies at CQUniversity equipped him well for his position and it is obvious that ICT's senior management team have placed their confidence in him. Saket intends to do his CPA exams in order to gain further professional standing in the industry.

When asked what he particularly likes about CQUniversity, Saket speaks about the opportunity to ‘combine part-time work and study', as well as to enjoy a well deserved rest during the summer Christmas holiday break.

He says that studying at CQUniversity has given him a ‘platform for going ahead with his career in accounting'.

Sydney has an increasingly multicultural workforce in the western suburbs, he notes, and this cultural diversity has helped him to feel more at ‘home'.

Like most young people settling into Sydney from overseas, Saket has gradually adjusted to the relaxed way of life. He enjoys the separation of weekends from normal work time and likes the pub scene, going to movies and watching rugby league.