Source: http://www.malaysiandigest.com/top-news/46...-graduated.html

This is a report done by Malaysiandigest on this matter


UNIVERSITY graduates are forever going to get the short end of the stick.


If they thought years of tertiary education was tough on their brain and financial resources, when they graduate - things are about to get worse.

Because they are not going to get employed. Well, at least most of them aren’t.

Every year, some 180,000 fresh graduates enter the labour market, and for most of these graduates, they will be left standing with their scrolls firmly in their hand and mouths agape, because employers everywhere aren’t interested in hiring.

A recent revelation by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) revealed that the number of job vacancies registered by employers in June 2013 dropped by 35.7% to 107,796 compared with 167,968 vacancies at the same time last year.

According MEF there are fewer openings now because about 915,000 private sector employees had been retained in the workforce for the next five years.

With the slowing down of the world economy that triggered a significant drop in exports, manufacturing companies for example, are taking austerity measures in managing costs, so they either respond by letting go of their existing staff or have entirely stopped hiring new ones.

Fresh out-of-the university graduates are sidelined because companies are no longer interested in training them and instead favour experienced manpower.

Last week, we reported that the number of unemployed persons, as of July 2013 is at 3 per cent, according to Department of Statistics Malaysia.

Although economically it places our country at zero unemployment, we only need to take a look beyond the official numbers to see that there are actually 421,200 people out there who are not working – out of which, a small chunk is new graduates.

Why shouldn’t our new graduates be competitive in the labour market? What’s missing?

Malaysian Digest looks deeper into some of the root cause for the lack of competitiveness and desirability of fresh graduates in Malaysia.

Though different companies look for different criterias in their candidates, these companies do share one common criterion – all of them start their evaluation by going through the candidate’s resume.

So how do our graduates fare?

"It all depends on the (respective) professions but coming from the legal profession, I first look at the results (of various achievements) from their resume, and then I look into how they speak. The business that we’re in, the language commonly used is English.

“So (fluency of the English) language is very important," the managing partner of Naqiz and Partners, Syed Naqis Shahabuddin, explains.

According to Syed, his company over the years had developed a unique methodology on how they evaluate their candidates by going through their resumes.

"Our firm has grown (through the years), (today) consisting of 30 lawyers in Kuala Lumpur and 10 lawyers based in Jakarta.

“We are also listed in directories of top-tier firms. So now we can afford to be choosier.

“(We went) from accepting graduates (who scores an) under a 3-point CGPA (result) to only recruiting those who are 3-point scorers and above,” added Syed.

Syed also said that besides judging candidates on their examination results, he also judges them on their personality traits and saw that self-confidence in new graduates does not score very high.

"Our graduates seem to be lacking in confidence.”

Errors and mistakes in resumes are also apparent with new graduates.

“And in our field, first impressions are important. There are no shortcuts to success but these graduates need to relook at their resumes before submitting it.

“Grammatical errors are (not tolerated). Prepare a decent photo of yourself and dress to impress during the interview," is Syed’s blunt advice to job-hunters out there.

Sharing his personal experience, Syed told us of a particular bad interview session where he had to abruptly leave the room.

"I once had a candidate who was a graduate. He came to the interview like he was in a great hurry. He also brought his bike with him, was improperly dressed and sweating profusely. He was so smelly that I couldn't stand it any further and left,” said Syed, with hints of a quiet laughter.

Syed then goes back into serious mode.

"Fresh graduates are a waste of money. You train them (only to see them) leaving (the job) anyway. The women, meanwhile, they (may either) end up as housewives, migrate, or even leave to open up a business.

“However, there is always room for (new grads). They would have to start from the bottom such as formatting and researching," said Syed.


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The report so long ma....


Read more: http://www.malaysiandigest.com/top-news/46...-graduated.html

so basically, based on report, resume is very important.
first impression ma...need to invest more on resume...

But based on the report, its not the fres grad yg picky, it is the employer..
But I strongly believe that the most important skill all employee should have right now is fast learner.
It is normal to have job out of what we learn from uni.
That is why we have to learn fast on the work scope,culture, operation and so on.
Me myself as a fresh grad back 6 years ago...don't have experience...still ting tong..but if we adapt quickly, bos baru pandang maa....

wokies,
If you happen to have jobstreet account, why not you try to subscribe to Priority Application. Cost some money (around rm100 and valid up to 6months), but it do working in getting interviews. My last 2 job is via Priority Application. Recommended!

welcome. good luck to you. job banyak sebenarnya...but as Malaysiandigest report, improvise resume made a good first impression, nailed it with confidence..should landed you a job...