It has been almost one year since I started working. Now it is August and next month is September..and next month will be the last month I am working in TalentCorp Malaysia. Just got back from GLC Open Day in KL Convec, so what I have in my mind is 'fresh off the boat'. Don't want to wait hence, this entry!
What I have in mind is to share some things I have picked up in this one year since my work revolves around graduate employability, fresh grads, hiring trends, so on and so forth. Going to career fair as an exhibitor for me seems like second nature...haha!
Been working 7-day week this past week (tak kisah because I love my job! Hihi) bcos I spent my weekend at GLC Open Day which was supposed to be an avenue for GLCs to showcase their achievements over the past 10 years, but in the end bertukar jadi macam career fair pulak as young hopefuls came and visited the event with bags full of resume and CVs..which is not a problem, no worries! :)
I wanted to share some insights/tips/stories in this post, which I hope will be useful to anyone who reads it.
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| Gigih bagi penerangan pasal TC products. This is going to my LinkedIn profile |
1. Fresh grads allege that the economy is bad, therefore the is/are shortage of jobs available. In reality, there is or never was, a shortage of jobs! Only that the hiring companies are finding it difficult to find the right candidate for positions in their company. Here's the top 3 qualities companies are looking for in a fresh grad according to a JobStreet 2014 survey; Teamwork, Communication skills and English.
2. Recruiters would appreciate it if you can come out with a more 'intelligent' question in career fairs. Questions like "company ini sebenarnya apa ye?", "xxxx ni buat apa ye?" shows that you don't have any effort at all to get to know about the company thus leaving a bad impression on you. Show some effort la wehhh.. Google kan hado. Read up about the company, then ask some questions e.g. you saw the company in the news, and then buat-buat la curious tanya walaupun korang dah tau...e.g. "I heard that your company has opened up offices in xxx country...korang nak expand long term ke kat sana?" CONTOH ye. Cook up your own version of intelligent questions naa...
3. Everyone knows about the vicious cycle of 'no experience, no work. No work bcos no experience. But how to find work if they wanted experienced candidates?'. Here's a solution: Apply as an intern gaisssss. This is a win-win situation i.e. you get exposure+experience, they get cheap labour. Haha!
* seriously, it is easier to get in as an intern, and you can include it in your resume. Recruiter pun nanti tgk ko ada effort walaupun ko xdpt keje full time
4. Some job hunters will be like:
- Pointer teruk, so memang susah nak cari kerja. Aku ni jenis takde harapan kot.
- Company ni hebat, requirement je nak 3.5 and above. Aku 2.9 je...tak nak la try.
- Ok aku pi career fair ni nak drop resume kat semua booth companies yang ada. Harap-haraplah sangkut!
I will elaborate more on these scenarios and how you can turn the table to be on your favor later.
5. Having/Doing a Master's degree is good, if you're passionate about your field of study/wanted to become a lecturer one day. However, if your intention is to achieve a higher salary, then I am sorry that I've to break this news for you..It ain't gonna work that way. In fact, it might work against you i.e. fresh grad w/o experience will have a more competitive advantage over you.
Because employers takut yang ada master's degree ni akan demand gaji lebih. Case in point: semalam ada sorang budak master ni datang booth then tanya pasal our GE program la i.e. GEMS & Upskilling...so aku terangkan je la mcm biasa. Then dia tanyalah "Kalau saya masuk mende ni nanti dpt gaji degree je la?" Of course la kan. Mencebik brader tu. Dah tu ko nak expect camne? Takde experience, kalau ko ada PhD pun tak laku bro dlm industri. I did not say this in his face la sebab kejam sgt.
But it is for a fact, true that your master's degree or even a doctorate is not worth anything if you don't have working experience, unless korang nak jadi lecturer la. Don't get me wrong, I am not condemning anything/anyone bcos byk je member aku sambung master terus. It is their life choice so I respect that. I am just stating an unbiased fact je na.
6. Actually it is easier to job hop when you have experience vs when you are a fresh grad di mana selection stage memang gile bapak sampai 3,4 stages. When you have experience, selection stages biasanya 1 or 2 and the interview is done in a more casual setting e.g. Starbucks
7. Dalam keja ni, especially in an office setting..ada office politics and there are many fake people. So, watch out!
8. Kalau submit resume, nak kena attach copies of sijil segala bagai..sampai jadi peserta tarik tali pun nak letak...sebenarnya tak payah ye adik-adik...bagi resume je dah cukup. Kebenaran biasanya akan terserlah masa interview. Kalaupun terlepas, itu nasib korang baik dan korang akan makan duit gaji tak berkat sbb dpt keje dgn cara menipu masa interview. Woha!
So far, I could think of only these 8 things. Kalau ada penambahan, I will add on later. Now as promised, I will elaborate on point number 4...how to turn the table and make the rubber band go to the other claw (futurama reference)
Yang ni pun aku dpt tau bila aku sembang dgn HR satu audit company ni...ni sharing cite diorang la kan.. (you can skip this part kalau dah tak larat baca)
Ada sorang budak ni...dia datang career fair dgn pointer 2.9 sajork...kalau sekali pandang, memang tak dapatlah sebab HR ppl memang kena sift through hundreds of resume sekali career fair. Chances are, they are going to glance at your resume for a mere 2-3 seconds tops. Since they have to filter, the easiest way to do so is by setting up circumstances macam "pointer 3.00 ke atas lepas 1st stage of review".
So, budak ni memang ikutkan Darwin's Survival theory memang tak lepas la kan...but he was determined to fight the system in his own way...by making conversations with the HR crew yang jaga booth masa career fair dan
Pengajarannya? Pointer ko berapa pun, if you put extra effort (in this case, extraordinary effort sbb muka dia tebal) then inshaa Allah akan dapatlah ye.
Make it a point to have a conversation with the recruiter/anyone who is manning the booth masa career fair. Chances are, korang dh blah lepas sembang tu, they will leave a remark on your resume tulis good things la e.g. 'recommended (for an iv)' ke gitu. Lagi baik daripada segan-segan dtg booth then drop resume tu dlm kotak and diorang didn't notice pun benda tu..it will most probably end up dlm shredder office. Haha.
Satu lagi, please learn on how to write good resume..some pointers for you:
i. Keep it short...1-2 pages ok. More than that, ikut nasib...yang rajin akan baca, xrajin buang saja
ii. Tak perlu lampiran. Resume je cukup
iii. Takyah letak photo unless stated. Sbb manusia cenderung utk bias. Kajian menunjukkan org yg lagi helok lagi senang dpt keje
Setakat itu aku nak tulislah. Dah lewat ni...ada kerja tak setel lagi. Japgi nak ikat resume yg dh bertimbun dlm kete tu nak angkut ke office esok. Dapat 3 luggage full of resume...haaa..mampu?
Thanks for making it this far. Cheers!
DISCLAIMER: Bukan nak poyo ke apa. Just wanted to share what I feel is/are important. Tau aku ni baru setahun jagung bekerja...and I am young, I am more than happy to absorb things and then share it with my friends. :D
More tips:
1. JobStreet is a great website for you to look for work...and it ends there. Make the effort to go to the company's website and then apply directly through email hantar kat HR diorang sbb biasanya application through JobStreet ni diorang x eager sgt sbb ada org ni jenis main apply je tak kira qualification..e.g. belajar wood science tapi apply keje audit.
2. HR fraternity is small...kiranya org yg sama je rotate company lain2. So kalau dpt keje nanti jgn kurang ajar dgn org2 HR ye. In fact, jangan kurang ajar dgn sesape pun.
3. Update your Linked In profile (ini nasihat drpd my high flying English lecturer from PASUM, Sir Peter). Headhunters suka stalk LinkedIn utk org yg sempoi. So, profile kena sempoi la ye. Letak gambar aktiviti korang .e.g. masa pitch sales ke pape ke
Lagi dan lagi (copy paste je dari rough draft)
1. mantapkan resume, guna action words dlm resume e.g. lead, took charge, managed <insert number> strong-team, increased <insert percentage>
2. mmg ssh nk dpt keje kalau xde experience, jadi guna cara mudah nk dptkan pengalaman:
i. wpun dh hbs exam nak konvo, kalau xdpt keje jgn gundah gulana, apply jadi intern..mgkin elaun kecik sbb bkn gaji, tp at least companies are more willing to hire & interns dpt belajar byk skit. mmg ssh, tp itu pengorbanan peringkat awal je
ii. option kedua. kalau xnak intern, boleh buat kerja part time e.g. SK, PH. blh add dlm resume i.e increased sales by 20% promo item
iii. buat meniaga kecil-kecilan sementara mengisi masa. boleh ltk dlm resume, nak tnjuk wpun peluang xde, tp tetap berusaha utk jana pendapatan
iv. belajar kemahiran, sijil kemahiran spt computer skills, team management skills, new language. benda2 mcm ni ada byk kat kolej komuniti & yuran bermula serendah RM5
