Kyah Burke

What's your job about?

As an e-Commerce Specialist within Telstra’s Digital team, I help create amazing online experiences for our customers. I create tailored digital campaigns on the My Telstra App and corporate website. I use data from different sources to learn about what our customers are looking for and make it easier for them to find the right Telstra product.

At the start of each week, I send an update to my key stakeholders, which contains information about the performance of each of my campaigns. I then use these key learnings to optimise the campaigns. For example, if we find that a particular banner isn’t getting much traction with our audience, I would recommend changing the copy or design. I spend the remainder of my week working with our copywriter and designer, building new campaigns. I also meet frequently with other stakeholders to discuss their upcoming campaigns.

In the Telstra Digital team, we work in an agile environment, so we have 2-week sprints beginning on a Monday and then finishing the following Friday (10 working days). Each sprint starts with a planning session where our work is allocated. We then deliver this work before the sprint ends with what is called a retro session, where our team reflects on what we did well and what we could improve.

What's your background?

I grew up in Toowoomba, Queensland and moved to the Gold Coast in 2013, where I completed high school and university. My first job was working in a fast food store, which I believe gave me a great foundation for my career and an understanding of the real world. I realised in high school that I loved the business world and decided to enrol in a Bachelor of Business, majoring in marketing and management.

However, I quickly realised that marketing wasn’t for me because I felt like I lacked creativity. So, I decided to change to a Bachelor of Commerce, so I could study accounting and finance. Towards the end of my third semester of this degree, I successfully applied for my second job in an accounting firm, where I worked as a Financial Planning Assistant for a year. I liked the concept of working in an office, however, I was hoping there would be a better social culture. So, I decided to look for new opportunities. That is when I applied for, and successfully got a place in the Telstra Graduate Program as a Media and Marketing graduate. I haven’t looked back.

As a graduate, I have been able to gain experience by working in a range of different teams and on different projects. I joined the Digital team in my third rotation, and it was here that I discovered I wanted to work in the digital environment. I then started in my full-time position in June 2019.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes! When I finished university, I had no idea that I would end up working at Telstra – and that is what is great about it. Like any role, I believe it takes time and patience to understand the relevant processes, meet with your stakeholders and understand your products.

From my experience, the most challenging aspect is understanding the numbers and knowing how to problem solve when something doesn’t go the way you expect. My advice would be that you need to be adaptable as processes can change quickly.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

I find it very satisfying and uplifting when a campaign, which I have created, performs well and our customers have reacted positively to it. I have also been given the opportunity to expand my technical knowledge, which I am very grateful for and I know will help my career.

What are the limitations of your job?

Depending on the time of year and what the priorities of the business are, workloads can be quite demanding.

So, to help with this, during our sprint planning sessions we go through what is called capacity planning, where we estimate how much work can be allocated to each person. We also prioritise the more urgent work, which makes sure nobody feels overwhelmed.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

• Always ask questions! It’s always better to ask if you’re not sure about something.
• Don’t underestimate the power of your professional network.
• Try not to stress yourself out. As I have discovered everything works out in the end.