‘Absolute star’ lands role after Job Shop event

Monica Munakata got a job at Education Perfect after taking an interest in the company at the...
Monica Munakata got a job at Education Perfect after taking an interest in the company at the Ministry of Social Development's Pop-Up Job Shop in November. PHOTO: JESSICA WILSON
Attending a pop-up job shop helped a jobseeker land an exciting new role.

Monica Munakata attended the Ministry of Social Development’s Pop-Up Job Shop in November, about a month after moving to Dunedin.

She saw the Education Perfect stall and talked to the staff.

Impressed by their presentations, she followed all of the company’s social media sites to keep up to date with it and any jobs that might become available.

About a month later, she applied for, and got, the office assistant job.

"Since day one it’s been pretty intense but I wake up every day wanting to come [to work]," Mrs Munakata said.

She is involved in a range of areas of the business, such as workplace culture, communicating with local and remote staff about weekly and monthly events, and seeking and making improvements around the office.

"It’s very different from my previous roles so it’s really exciting."

Previously, she worked in human resources in Brazil before moving to New Zealand in January last year and working as a swimming coach and in retail.

"The people here are amazing so it’s a nice place to work," she said.

Business operations manager Nikita Palmer said the November job shop was the first one the company had been part of.

Education Perfect wanted to advertise some of the jobs that were available and showcase what it did as a company.

"We’re a bit of a hidden gem," Miss Palmer said.

"People don’t realise that we’ve got 110 staff in this office here."

The office assistant job was relatively new when Mrs Munakata started and although there were some initial teething issues, she "smashed it".

Over time, she has taken more responsibility than what was originally set out for the job because she was able to get things done efficiently.

Office management in itself was a huge workload, but Mrs Munakata was also constantly looking for improvements that could be made or events that could be hosted, Miss Palmer said.

"She’s an absolute star."

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