IF YA SMELL WHAT THE HOCK IS COOKING??!!

Memories...

Monday, November 10, 2008

RANDOM THOUGHTS AFTER 5 MONTHS OF WORK

5 months in the workforce sound so short, as it is almost equivalent to 1 semester in University.

But the contrast couldn't be starker, at least thats what I feel. Working does make one age so so much faster. Good or bad, I guess it depends.

Past few days, I read that DBS just retrenched 900 workers. Obviously times are bad, & a lot of companies, not just banks, are tightening costs. Unemployment rate set to rise.

So seriously, if I were graduating this Dec 08 or in May 09, I would be really worried about whether I can find a job. I wonder whether our current students are worried. If u re reading this right now & u re not worried, then I m worried for u.

Becoz when u graduate, u ll be competing with hoards of other people among these pool of laid off workers. And they have something u dun have: working experience. Sometimes years of working experience. Real working experience, mind you, not any average internship experience. So it ll be very much tougher for u to compete with them for jobs.

So much for projects, assignments, readings, tutorials, essays (be it 5,000 word or 10,000) & exams. One fine day u ll realize that all these things doesnt matter at all when u start working. And nobody gives a damn about yr cap score.

Obviously your degree is yr passport. But thats about it.

So start getting worried if u still are not. Prepare yr resume, referrals, cover letters early, & start thinking seriously about which industry, job, & company u want to go into. Apply asap.

If u still have time, beef up on any internship experience, tho admittedly its harder to find in Dec period. If not, try & do some part time relevant work.

This sounds a bit mean. But if u realistically feel that there 's no chance of (A) 1st Class Hons (B) 2nd Upper Hons (C) Even doing Hons in the 1st place... then dun waste too much time on your studies. Save it on something that can help u more when u graduate & apply for jobs.

For eg, if u re thinking of entering the shipping industry, start reading up on it. Find out the trends, the developments, the challenges, the major players, the complexities etc. Find out which companies are hiring. Go & talk to people, friends, seniors, relatives etc. Network some more. You never noe when u need the help of anyone to secure a job.

Dun get too upset if u feel that u submitted a crap essay, if u cant finish revising for exam, if u havent started, if u have been sleeping a lot during this hectic studying period etc. A few months down the road all these things wont matter anymore. And u ll realize that there are much more important, necessary, & worldly lessons to be learnt in life & in yr career, rather than in your readings. (you ll throw them away anyway =) )

Be warned ya. =) Mugging isnt everything. It doesnt secure u jobs, esp in these times of economic crisis. Unless u want to go into academia or teaching.

Go & do things that ll help u secure the job u want. Like building up yr CCA records, achievements, working experience, internships, networking, industry/company/job research, interview skills, confidence.

Good luck.

The Incredible Hock