In this episode of the VMJPod Graduate Recruitment Series, David Macciocca and Steven Nield sit down with Natalie Gibbons, Graduate Programs Manager at Westpac.

Natalie shares how she’s built influence and earned trust within one of Australia’s biggest banks, ultimately securing a seat at the table where real change happens. From transforming graduate experiences to shaping strategic workforce decisions, she walks us through what it takes to go beyond “just running the grad program.”

Whether you’re new to early careers or stepping into leadership, this episode is packed with insights on career growth, advocacy, and impact.

Key Topics:
02:15 – Natalie’s role and scope of Westpac’s national grad program
06:00 – Building trust and earning a seat at the table
10:10 – Why it’s important for grad leaders to own the full lifecycle
13:50 – Tailoring programs to meet both business and candidate needs
17:05 – Collaborating across departments to lift early careers visibility
21:40 – Advice for building internal credibility and buy-in
26:30 – Westpac’s shift toward future-skills-based hiring
30:00 – Supporting grads beyond onboarding: growth and retention
34:45 – Natalie’s take on the evolving role of grad leaders
37:10 – Final thoughts and advice for early talent professionals

If you want to learn more about activating your employer brand strategy and EVP then you can check out podcast.videomyjob.com for a library of industry perspectives and how-tos.

Now, if you’re ready to level up your activation strategy then you need an employee story video platform and that’s what we do! Go to videomyjob.com/demo to book a walkthrough with one of our video specialists or click on the pricing page to learn about our new 60-day pilot program.

Lastly, we’d love for you to help us spread the word about the VMJPod to attract new experts and practitioners to share their activation strategies, so please take a screenshot and post it on LinkedIn, don’t forget to tag us at VideoMyJob, we are so grateful when you do that!