SETN Success Story – Meet Julia & Erin

When Julia relocated to the Huon Valley, she was looking for a different way of working, one that gave her flexibility, work-life balance, and the chance to feel connected to her new local community.

Julia has extensive experience, including a Certificate III in Business Administration, a Certificate III in Education Support, and 15 years of experience in administration and executive support.

Having worked in both large corporate environments and smaller businesses, Julia had developed a strong and adaptable skill set. She knew how to support busy teams, manage competing priorities, communicate well, and get things done.

But after moving to the Huon Valley, Julia’s circumstances and priorities had changed. She didn’t want to return to a large corporate environment or spend long hours commuting. What she wanted was flexible, online work that would allow her to work from home, maintain balance, and still feel part of her local community.

Finding that kind of opportunity isn’t easy.

Flexible and remote roles are highly sought after, and Julia found herself competing with large numbers of applicants through online employment platforms. Even with her strong experience and valuable transferable skills, finding the right fit was proving difficult.

Julia first heard about Southern Employment & Training Network (SETN) after posting in a local community Facebook group. Someone responding to her post recommended she contact SETN for employment support.

“I’m someone who relies on recommendations from others, so I found this really helpful,” Julia said.

After connecting with SETN, Julia received personalised support to help her prepare for employment opportunities, including interview preparation, practice questions and support to build her confidence before speaking with prospective employers.

Just as importantly, SETN was able to introduce Julia to opportunities that were not sitting on the usual online job boards. These were roles connected directly with local business owners, exactly the kind of opportunity Julia had been hoping to find.

Through one of these local connections, Julia secured a flexible virtual administration role that allows her to work remotely while continuing to live and work in the Huon Valley.

The Benefit of Outsourcing

Local Huon Valley business owner Erin, founder of Amplitude Virtual Assistance, has been running her own business for many years. With over 25 years of administrative and business development experience across government, private enterprise and not-for-profit organisations, Erin is an organisational superstar. With three young children and another product-based business, Goddess Natural Perfume, Erin knows firsthand the balancing act of running a business.

Businesses are becoming more aware of the value of outsourcing administrative tasks. Virtual assistant companies like Amplitude Virtual Assistance help ease the administrative workload allowing small business owners reclaim time and alleviate mental load. By handing over tasks that take them away from what they do best, business owners can focus more of their time and energy on the work they enjoy and the activities that generate income and grow their business. When the demand for Amplitude Virtual Assistance’s services grew, Erin applied the same principle to her own business, choosing to outsource the recruitment process to SETN rather than manage it herself.

The SETN team assisted Erin with tailored assistance; the creation of a position description, advertising the vacancy, pre-screening and interviewing candidates and presenting only those people who were the right fit for Erin’s business.

“SETN took the time to understand what I needed. It saved me a significant amount of time and energy”, Erin stated. “The results exceeded my expectations. I was initially looking for one role but ended up employing two excellent candidates. SETN’s pre-screening meant I only met with high quality candidates, who are a perfect fit for my business.”

“It is important to me that Amplitude provides flexible working opportunities for local people looking for balance with work and family. Flexibility has made such a positive difference to my own life, and I love being able to create opportunities for others to enjoy that same kind of balance.

I’m also proud that our team is based here in Southern Tasmania. There are so many skilled and experienced people in our region, and being able to offer meaningful, flexible work means they can continue using those skills, stay connected to our local community and not have to travel outside the region for work,” Erin said.

A Perfect Fit

Julia’s role draws on her existing administration and executive support experience, while also giving her the chance to branch out into new areas of work.

“The role is going really well,” Julia said.

“I’m being exposed to different kinds of work I haven’t done before, while also utilising my current skills and expertise. It’s been a great opportunity to branch out into areas I don’t often get to explore.”

For Julia, the flexibility of the role and the relationship with her employer have made it a really positive fit.

“My employer is great, the work is really flexible, and I love that it’s local.”

Julia and Erin’s story is a lovely reminder that employment support is not always about starting from scratch. Sometimes it is about taking the skills and experience a person already has and helping connect them with the right opportunity at the right time.

It also shows the value of looking beyond the major employment websites and reaching into the networks that already exist within our local community.

“Reaching out to your local community organisations is always a great pathway,” Julia said.

“Networking and having connections in the community can help you find exactly what you’re looking for, rather than trying to figure it out on your own.”

Julia now has the flexible and rewarding work she was searching for: a role that values her experience, introduces her to new opportunities and gives her the balance she was hoping for after moving to the Huon Valley. Erin has the benefit of a highly experienced team member who can stay connected to the local community.

Congratulations, Julia and Erin, and thank you both for being part of this SETN Success Story.