For employers, grades are just a starting point

AS AN employer and a career mentor, I empathise with both Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and its students after reading the report "Why give top students priority in networking event?" (The New Paper, 16 Nov).

When NTU tried to open the event to a broader segment of students, it drew some flak for its initiative, despite its good intentions.

Some students felt they were treated differently and unfairly.

But according to the report, this event was for participating employers to meet and recruit the "top academic achievers" in NTU.

So these companies would naturally want to meet NTU's brightest and best in terms of grades. Whether students like it or not, academic grades are the most immediately visible and measurable yardstick for shortlisting top candidates.

Other factors

Other criteria such as adaptability, reliability, attitude, aptitude, perseverance, and communication, collaboration and leadership skills, are arguably more important in the workplace, but they can be gauged only at more in-depth interviews conducted at later stages of the recruitment process, often supplemented by personality profiling tests.

At the start, employers usually just want to gauge the "achievement potential" of candidates, that is how likely they will achieve extraordinary results for the organisation.

I have had the opportunity to interview and recruit graduates from different tertiary institutions, and some of the best employees I have hired were NOT the best scholars.

So missing one networking event or not being regarded as a top student should in no way stop you from achieving your best potential or getting that job you want.

There are many paths to attracting the employer of your choice, but determination, perseverance, adaptability, a hunger and drive to succeed, and a positive attitude to overcome hurdles are the vehicles for the journey.

Students must also realise that in the corporate workplace, it is never a level playing field. So get used to it, adapt to it, and overcome it by making your unique individual strengths work to your advantage.

Robert Chua

Plenty of chances, even for those who aren't top students

I READthe article on NTU's networking event with interest, and write to express my views as an employer, as one who is familiar with the employment scene in Singapore,and finally as someone who was certainly nowhere near being a top student.

There must be some reward for hard work- and if that means first bite of the employment cherry, then kudos to those who have worked for it.

Employers, particularly the big firms, do indeed look beyond academic results. But academic results are a necessary component.

What local school-leavers need to understand is that if a big firm won't have them, they can go to a smaller one.

My advice to young school-leavers seeking employment would be:

• Go to a firm that will have you, even if it is "not suited" to your academic qualifications, or even your field of study. Start out there, and move on later.
• You learn as much from bad bosses as you do from good ones.When sending out resumes,do not look for brand-name firms. Instead, look for mentors who can guide you.
• Find good mentors by doing your homework. Learn about the industry you want to join. Don't be shy to talk to people familiar with it. Seek out boutique firms set up by experienced industry players and ask for a job, even if it is at a lower pay-scale.
• Do everything, even if it's "not your job" or "beneath" you.Once out of school, experience and exposure are everything.
• Remember, the best mangers earn respect,and you can do that only by being willing and able to do any job that you ask your subordinates to do,and better.
• Know your own value, and strive to be slightly under-paid. That way, you will be valued and appreciated that much more highly by the company. (The test of a top employee is that when he tries to resign, his pay doubles. Just don't try this too often.)
• Watch your spending in your early years. If you can be debt-free at the peak of your career, you can be adventurous, with confidence and some savings to back you up.
• There is increasingly little room in the market for an "average pay for average work" attitude.You need an attitude of excellence in your career.
• Finally, there is no such thing as a lost opportunity. Opportunities are found, they are made, they sometimes find you. Opportunity is attracted to excellence.

The irony, and tragedy, is that Singapore, even in the present market, is suffering from an acute talent shortage. The biggest impediment to growth for most companies is labour shortage.

Singapore remains a land of opportunity for the young, even those who are not "top students".

Lim Ker Sheon

This article was first published in The New Paper.