By Hana Mazhar
GOMBAK, 23 February 2019: Live Facebook career counselling by Senior Counsellor, Mr. Saiful Redza Mohamed is now available on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/ccsciium from 12:00 pm until 1:00 pm to incite fresh graduates and students who are looking for internship attachments and job opportunities.
Online career counselling is initiated by the faculty for all university students to provide them with ample opportunities to have their doubts answered online with utmost immediacy.
In his session on Thursday (21 February), Saiful Redza explained why it is vital for students to talk to their elders in order for them to be directed to different career options.
œEngage with your lecturers, your parents and your seniors! If you ask your friends for career advice, they wont be able to direct you to different paths, and you will be on the same paths together.
This is because your mindset is the same and they have the same knowledge as you. You need advice from people with different perspectives and people with more advanced knowledge than you.
œIf you want to become a lecturer, go ask your lecturers questions, how do they feel being a lecturer? Do they enjoy their career? How do they manage to keep their posts?
Redza advised the students to make sure that they keep a close eye on the job market. œKeep looking for trending jobs and for jobs that are in demand, he said.
œCareer opportunities have increased a lot. Careers that were not considered prominent before have now become very important, with huge demand. For example, being a social influencer was not even considered a career before, but now companies look for these influencers to brand their products. Everything changes so fast!
He reminds the students that they must not be afraid to cross field. They must be able to keep up with the trends and the changing career environments.
œWhat do we do when companies ask for 2 to 3 years’ experience in their advertisements while we are fresh graduates without any experience? This makes it even harder for us to get a job.” Shahliza Zafar, a Biomedical Science student posed this to Redza.
œMost of the companies try their best to get the most ideal candidates, so in terms of requirements, they put a lot of conditions, but this does not mean that you cannot apply to such companies. Do you really think all companies are able to obtain candidates with such expertise?
Of course not! You need to prove to the management that you will be able to work even without experience. You need to fill this gap of inexperience with something else, something that you know.”
“You need to also make sure that your resume or your CV is very attractive, in the sense that you are able to catch their attention. Because believe it or not, the maximum time most companies take to look at your CV is 8 seconds!”
At the end of the session, Redza invited all IIUM students to visit the Counselling and Career Centre whenever they feel uneasy or unclear about their future. He reminded the students to not be so hard on themselves and to always seek advice from lecturers.
For more information on career guidance and counselling, please visit the Counseling & Career Services Centre, IIUM. For further updates and enquiries make sure to Like their page on facebook https://www.facebook.com/ccsciium.***