FAAA preps young jobseekers for working life

Patrick Buncsi

18 March 2025

The Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) has released a new guide to help prepare young Australians for their entry into the workforce, offering a rundown on the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in one’s early professional career.

The Guide, launched under the FAAA’s financial wellbeing brand Money & Life, offers preparatory steps and recommendations to assist prospective employees with seeking out and successfully performing in their first job.

Young jobseekers are offered practical advice on finding and securing a job, including the preparation of job-relevant resumes, work references, and tips for navigating the interview process.

“[It] highlights the importance of creating a strong resume, even when a young person does not have formal work experience, by including personal qualities, volunteer work, responsibilities, interests, skills, and other achievements,” said FAAA’s general manager education, Anne Palmer.

On-the-job advice is also provided, including tips to better manage one’s time in the workplace, as well as walkthroughs on payments processes, income tax, reading payslips and setting up a tax file number (TFN).

The guide also addresses common questions related to employment statuses, including the distinction between casual and part-time work, defining a “short-term” job, as well as tips on how to resign from a job.

It clarifies whether workers still get paid if they are sick or on holiday and what to do if they witness poor workplace behaviour.

“Getting your first job can be both exciting and a little nerve-wracking,” Palmer said, adding that the guide is “designed to help young Australians start off on the right foot, by providing useful information to help them navigate the world of work and effectively manage their finances.”

Practical, work-related financial advice is also provided to young employees, including tips on setting up a superannuation fund and recommendations for allocating salaries.

“Importantly, it gives young people advice on how to maximise their earnings, set up a savings account and how to save effectively to allow them to build up their wealth over time,” Palmer said.

“We recommend young people entering the workforce open up a savings account that they don’t take money out of and put 20 per cent of whatever money they make straight into that account on pay day – it will build up over time and they won’t even realise it.”

The guide also provides a 10-part checklist to prepare employees for their first day on the job, and concludes with a short brief promoting opportunities for a career in the financial advice space.

The guide was launched in conjunction with Global Money Week 2025, an annual global awareness-raising campaign to support young people in making sound financial decisions and achieving long-term financial wellbeing and resilience.