When people decide to work at Specsavers, they’re joining a company with a purpose to change lives through better sight and hearing – hence why more Australians and New Zealanders choose the optometry provider over any other.
As one of the largest employers in the ANZ optometry sector, Insight sits down with an employee each month to hear about their growth trajectory within the company.
Specsavers stats
Name: Hamdi Saadi
Current position: Optometry development consultant
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Years within the business: 5
Why did you pursue an optometry career, and how did you enter the profession?
My interest in eyes first began when I went back to Ethiopia during my early undergraduate years. A group of optometrists and ophthalmologists organised an outreach mission where they offered cataract surgery and glasses to people in the town that I was from. I remember one of the people they helped was my grandfather’s friend, who got a pair of glasses allowing him to see his best friend’s home clearly once again. His best friend was my grandfather, who passed away some 40 or so years ago.
How did you come to work at Specsavers, and what attracted you to the business?
There was a job ad on our optometry Facebook page for a dispensing role in a local Specsavers store. I thought it would be great to get experience in the optometry field. I applied and got it!
What was your first role within the business, and what did it entail?
I was an optical dispenser: doing pre-tests, helping patients with frame selections, dispensing glasses and managing the appointment diary.
Since then, what growth opportunities have presented themselves?
I re-joined the business as an optometrist a few years later, then became a senior optometrist in-store. After a few years in that role, I was looking to expand my experience, and I’m very interested in supporting and mentoring younger optometrists, so I applied for my current role as an Optometry Development Consultant, where I am focused on delivering our Early Optometry Program and supporting early-career optometrists to continue to develop their skills.
Can you outline your top career highlights since joining Specsavers?
A top moment for me was seeing a graduate optometrist that I mentored being complimented by the store director and the Clinical Performance Consultant – and knowing that I’ve been able to play a small role their development – that was a great feeling.
What is your most interesting clinical case?
As a sporting fan, my most interesting would be a 14-year-old girl who was playing tennis at a state level. She was playing with a -2.00D prescription without glasses, which meant everything beyond 50cm was blurry to her. I prescribed her a pair of glasses to fix the refraction and her father thanked me when she got the glasses, as it really helped improve her performance, especially those night games.
What excites you most about turning up for work each day?
I am working in a role that I have always been passionate about: career development in optometry. At every dinner or gathering with my optometry friends, I am always talking about the fact that we need to do more in the development of that space. I love that I have a frontline role.
Are you considering a career at Specsavers ANZ? Click here to find out about current career opportunities within the business.
