SSUET graduates prep for battlefield of a workforce

Graduates discuss biased behavior of prospective employers.

KARACHI: The main cause of concern for the graduates of the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET) is not a dearth of jobs but what they perceive as biased behavior of prospective employers. This was discussed at a career counselling session, titled “The 10-Minute Window”, at the SSUET campus on Thursday.

“Recruiters have separate grading policies for students of NED and SSUET as they think that there is a significant difference between the EQ and IQ levels [of students who graduate] from the two institutes,” said Mohammad Wasi, a SSUET student.

Sajid Khan, a final-year student of the electronics department, was of the belief that although there are jobs, one needs contacts to be able to secure a good one. “It is said that a parchi (source) is a must if you want a job at a multinational,” said Khan, adding that as he is interested in entering the field of automations, he has already started applying for jobs despite the fact that he still has three months to graduate.

Asma and Samreen, both of who are first-year students in the SSUET computer engineering department, were also of the view that they need to gear up well ahead of time to secure good jobs. However, people in the field were not of a similar viewpoint.

Although prejudice does exist in the job market, “discriminations can be done away with at the time of the interview” said Ayad Aftab Ahmed, an alumnus who is working as a transmission operations manager at Multinet Pakistan.

During a presentation on “the do’s and don’ts for a job application process”, Ahmed said that there are two factors that should be given key importance - the CV and the interview. Both should be “effective”, he said, adding that the CV should be tailored and short, in which the central statement should reflect the interests of a company instead of an individual, who should submit details of all previous job experiences, including internships, along with timelines and a list of major achievements.

At an interview, a candidate should be aware of the contents of his CV as well as the details regarding the company and the job he has applied for, said Ahmed. “A successful candidate is not someone who has achieved the most but who is able to convince the employer that he will make the best employee,” said Ahmed. After years of education, it all comes down to a 10-minute interview, in which an employer takes less than 30 seconds to look over a CV and decide whether a candidate is worthy or not, he added.

Students can ask teachers and the alumni to help them in the job-finding process, said SSUET registrar Shah Mehmood Syed, who added that most graduates from the institution find jobs. However, it may take some time, said Syed, who added that students sometimes have to wait for more than six months to find a job. Meanwhile, many girls do not even look for jobs as they are usually less inclined to work once they complete their education, he said.

Around 1,200 students graduate from the SSUET every year in the fields of electronics, civil, computers, bio medical and telecommunications.

Apart from professional education, SSUET chancellor ZA Nizami said that communication skills are also very important in a graduate’s quest for a job.

“I am an Urdu-speaking person, but I strongly feel that unless you know English, you cannot succeed in today’s world,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2010.