Dr Jane Turnbull.

Founder of OwnWords.com.au

Jane developed an innovative recruitment tool from her thesis entitled “Reconceptualising a job interview through the use of a Digital Story Résumé.

Collaborating with leading Australian software developers, she has developed an innovative recruitment tool called a Digital Story Résumé or DSR for short. The DSR is a 2-3min résumé consisting of images and sounds.

Although being dyslexic, it did not hold Jane back to obtain the degree of Doctor of Education at the University of Wollongong in 2021. She left high school in Year 9 to study hairdressing which eventuated in her working overseas. Jane decided to return to educating herself through university as a mature age undergraduate and then a postgraduate in the field of Education and Human Resources. Having lived experiences, she realised that there was a fundamental need for a new way to recruit. She found that the need for written words alone in a résumé marginalised a large portion of society. Job seekers need to be allowed to use a mode suited to them in order for them to tell their work story.

In 2021, post doctorate, she was accepted into the iAccelerate program at the University of Wollongong Innovation Campus. The program allowed her to learn how to build a business; this was achieved by having access to one-on-one mentoring as well as structured courses. However, it’s not just the training it is also the networking opportunities that are developed within the building. The iAccelerate program has afforded Jane the confidence and the opportunity to present at conferences overseas, recently returning from Vancouver where she spoke at the international supported employment conference. She now has customers in Australia and overseas. She says, “without the program, none of this would have been possible. The support, resources, and network provided by iAccelerate have been instrumental in my success."