FOR those of you who recently received your Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results, the next step is probably choosing a college or university to go to. For those of you who just graduated from university, you’re probably looking at career choices right now.
For the past couple of weeks, education and career fairs have been going on, especially in major urban centres, and this week, SarawakYES! was lucky enough to be part of SCaT Fair 2016 organised by Tegas and the Workforce Development Unit of the Chief Minister’s Department.
During this fair, we managed to get pointers from a few of the guest speakers and below are some of the key ideas on how graduates can enhance their employability and be successful in their chosen careers.
1. Passion
Passion is a key ingredient in getting a job, and it’s also important to be passionate about your work in order to thrive in your career. Jobseekers who can demonstrate this are more likely to land a job, as employers understand that graduates who are passionate about their work are driven by a desire to succeed and to be the best.
2. Dedication
Stemming from passion, graduates should have dedication and be willing to work hard and smart. This dedication would in turn spark your willingness to improve yourself. Guest speaker, Ganang Tagal, senior manager west logistics of Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd stressed that with hard work and dedication, graduates would definitely push themselves to the best of their capabilities and the reward, especially in self-improvement, would lead to success in their careers.
3. Willingness to learn
No doubt, upon graduating many of you would think you’re done with learning. On the contrary, to succeed and stand out, you must have the willingness to learn and acquire new skills. This continuous learning will definitely be beneficial, as it would increase your worth to employers. Attending short courses, especially in soft skills and technical skills, was one of the things shared by Feroz Hayat Khan, a part-time motivational speaker, and a senior engineer with a local utility company. Soft skills such as effective communication would definitely make a graduate stand out during interviews.
4. Accepting responsibilities
The speakers we met were unanimous about the importance of taking up responsibilities and of being accountable. Azrul Izwan Amir Nasrullah from Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera, believes that you are accountable for your own success. Feroz and Ganang believe that taking up responsibilities in the workplace, especially outside of a person’s job scope, is one of the key factors of success and in making a person stand out. This extends to your personal development as well. Taking responsibilities outside of work or school can simply involve being responsible in your self-development (taking up short courses for self-improvement) or being active in co-curricular activities such as volunteering. Being actively involved in volunteering shows employers that you are responsible not only for your own self-improvement but also demonstrates your sense of responsibility in giving back to society.
This is a weekly column by SarawakYES! – an initiative driven by Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd and supported by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (Azam) Sarawak – to provide advice and stories on the topics of education and careers to support Sarawakians seeking to achieve their dreams. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.