Land your dream job
Graduates are facing a lot more competition these days in the job market. However, a lot has already been done to give them that much needed shove in the right direction.
FRESH graduates Latifah, Rozi, Mariam, Fairuz and Maimun (not their real names) were nudging each other to be the “brave one” to go forward and speak to a potential employer about the possibility of getting a job.
This was not at some random function where they happened to run into a company boss and were hesitant to approach him or her because it might be inappropriate.
The group of friends were among thousands of job seekers at the Barisan Nasional Youth Job Fair (BNYJF) held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) last weekend.
A total of 109,876 visitors thronged the three-day Job Fair where 273 employers had set up “shop” offering a total of 57,401 jobs for graduates and non-graduates, ranging from engineers, managers, accountants, architects to deejays, fast-food restaurant staff, technicians, mechanics and even tow truck drivers.
“Many of our graduates lack self-confidence, feel inferior and are scared to go up to the employers to talk. They lack courage,” BNYJF chairman Nazir Hussin Akhtar Husin pointed out bluntly, having watched the students and graduates turn up in groups and prod each other to be the first to step forward.
He believed life has become a bit too cushy for the youths of today – parents buy their children cars while they are still at university and pay the monthly car instalments. The youths tend to get whatever they want, so much so that they have become complacent and lack survival skills.
“In the past, life was tough. People were poor, went through hardship, lived in rubber estates, had no electricity in their homes. This kind of pressure built character and made people fight for their success and their future,” he added.
Among the large number who visited the fair to explore their prospects, there were, of course, some who were self-assured.
Marine Science fresh graduate Nur Saadah Johari, 22, had not made up her mind whether to pursue a masters degree or get a job.
She was on the lookout for an opening in an oil and gas company. “Even if I were to continue my studies, it would be good to have at least a year’s work experience first,” she said.
Electrical engineer Mohd Firdaus Jusoh, 25, brought 50 copies of his resume.
“All the big names (employers) are here. I am looking for opportunities in a GLC or one of the big companies. If I get a salary of RM2,500 a month, I may consider,” he said, as he dropped off his resume at one of the GLC booths, before moving on to talk to the human resources personnel at another big company.
A graduate in mechanical engineering, Chia, 25, said he has been working in sales for the last two years and earning RM5,000 monthly. He now wants to switch to a more stable job.
“Although there are many GLCs here, there are also many engineering graduates so there is a lot of competition. I am prepared to take up a job in a GLC even if it pays less because the prospects for promotion are better. I am keeping my options open,” said Chia, who also does some multi-level marketing (MLM) to make more money because earning a “high income” is important to him.
Among the employers at the fair were a number of big names – Petronas, KLIA, MAS, Westport, UEM, Gamuda, Tenaga, CIMB, just to name a few.
Nazir said in the duration of three days, employers received a total of 161,304 resumes. Even though this is three times the number applying for the 57,000 jobs available, he thinks it is still very much an employees’ market.
“Job seekers get to submit their resumes to a number of companies and attend as many interviews as they can, then pick the best offer.”
He cited an example of an earlier job fair where an employer interviewed and offered jobs to eight applicants but none turned up for work.
“We called up the eight and were told they had other job offers and had accepted the highest paying jobs. We are happy for them. But for the company, it is sometimes a bit frustrating because they have to go back to their database, shortlist and call up the next best candidates for more interviews,” he said.
Last month, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin was quoted as saying that 75% of the 200,000 graduates were able to get jobs within six months of their graduation. Of the 40,000 unemployed graduates last year, he said, 21% were from public universities, 27% from private universities, 28% from polytechnics and 35% from community colleges.
The ministry will be launching a Graduates Employability Blueprint in early December that will serve as a guide to the manpower needs of the country.
Many of our graduates lack self-confidence, feel inferior and are scared to go up to the employers to talk. They lack courage. — NAZIR HUSSIN AKHTAR HUSIN, BNYJF CHAIRMAN
Md Hatta Md Jauhar, senior assistant director of the Labour Department and head of the career guidance unit JobsMalaysia, said the number of unemployed graduates is not necessarily that high and is a seasonal phenomenon as these graduates do not inform the department once they find work.
“The ones who are still unemployed after six months are usually the low achievers, or those who are weak in English, lack communication skills and do not want to move some place else to work.”
He pointed out that the country’s unemployment rate is in fact very low at 3%, with states like Malacca having a minimal 0.7% unemployment rate, so graduates should not have a problem finding jobs.
Md Hatta advised university students to start building up their employability while still in university.
“With so many universities and graduates these days, there is competition. Employers are looking to employ the best, so undergraduates should learn to do more than one thing at a time. They need to enhance their communication and problem-solving skills. It is also important for them to increase their job search skills.”
Md Hatta noted a marked difference in quality between overseas and local graduates.
“Foreign graduates have been exposed to a different environment and culture, are more independent, resilient, competitive, confident, quick to think on their feet and act, have a better command of English and presentation skills.
“There are fewer of them around too, so they are much sought after by employers.”
But local university students, especially those from humanities, social sciences and economics faculties, get less attention and interaction with their lecturers because of their large numbers and as such, are not so proactive and quick, compared with those doing the more specialised courses like law or engineering.
He said statistics show that about 57% of local university graduates do not have job search skills.
“They register with us at JobsMalaysia or other job portals and just wait. What they should be doing instead is to log into these websites every day to look out for jobs they are interested in, apply for them, then contact the companies offering them,” he said.
Job fairs like the BNYJF, dubbed the biggest job fair in the country, make things easier by bringing prospective employers and employees together.
Rafizah Yahya, a Human Resource consultant for KLIA Premier Holdings, said they never missed out on job fairs in KL.
“We give priority to those at the job fair because we would have met the applicants ourselves, so we have an idea whom we want to call in for an interview. And we keep all the resumes in our database so that when there is a vacancy, we can call up the applicants to see if they are interested. Thus, those who apply at the job fair definitely enjoy an advantage,” she said.
Nazir said some CEOs and general managers would drop by during the job fair and it would be advantageous for job seekers to personally meet the companies’ top brass and make a good impression.
A 2010 survey done by the BN Youth Lab, he said, found that 67% of youths aged 40 and below listed jobs and the economy as their main priority. To address this, Barisan tried out different types of job fairs to gauge their effectiveness. He said if they set up a canopy with tables and chairs in a parliamentary constituency, graduates will not show up because they think the fair has “no standard”. A more attractive location, he said, would be a big hall or a popular upmarket shopping centre.
In March, they held the fair at PWTC and it turned out to be a hit. Some 650 employers offered 50,000 jobs during the fair, which attracted half a million people. More job fairs have been held since.
In 2011, Nazir said, they had 1,500 employers offering a total of 126,000 jobs. About 30,000 vacancies were filled, 80% of them by graduates.
“This is based on the information we got. There could be more because employers and job seekers are not obliged to tell us when they fill the posts.”
Building on the success of the job fairs, Nazir said, they have now taken it a step further by also bringing in government agencies to help those who want to start their own businesses.
“These agencies can guide them on the schemes and preparatory courses available. They will also help monitor the business that is set up.”
Those lacking in self-confidence need not despair. There are motivational and career guidance talks on the techniques to succeed such as what makes a good resume, how to dress and present yourself at an interview and how to improve communication skills.
Nazir said those who have submitted their resumes to prospective employers should not just wait to be called for an interview.
“Call up the company or e-mail them because then the company will know if you are really interested, committed and determined to get the job. And they are more likely to give you a shot,” he said.
Md Hatta said the Labour Department has forecast that by 2020, there will be 600,000 jobs in the retail and wholesale sector for IT, marketing, finance, administration and human resources.
“My question to graduates is, are they willing to work in hypermarkets or retail stores? Some are not willing to do so.”
Other growth areas for jobs in the future, he said, are the tourism and education sectors.
He believed there would be demand for trainers, consultants, managers, content providers and lecturers in these sectors.
For Nazir, a lot has been already been done to help and guide job seekers including graduates. “We have already provided the food, the curry and even the fork and spoon but we cannot be the one feeding you.”