For Those Fresh Graduates Looking for Jobs (2)

I graduated from UK with an Electronic Engineering Honours degree. It was in 1998; in the midst of the Asian Financial Crisis. The economy was in the doldrums. There were retrenchments everywhere. The Recruit section in the papers got thinner by the day. I took it easy for the first 2 months after I came back to adjust myself back to the climate and lifestlye. When I got serious in hunting for a job, I began to realize the dire state of the economy. I went to job agencies, cutting out recruitment ads and sending countless CVs, and even perfecting my resumes. My pride of being a new university graduate faded by the day when no employer seemed to be interested in me. Either there were long queues at walk-in interviews or my sent-in CVs never seemed to bring any response. I started to adopt a new strategy after much thought. The mainstream job-seekers would go for the Recruit section in the Straits Times. Instead of following the crowds who aim to join MNCs and government agencies, I decided to look into the Classified section instead. I started to look for the smallest possible ad that I think hardly anyone noticed. True enough, after sending my CV to 2 companies, I was called for interviews. I was estatic. Both were local SME companies. One was in the M&E industry for a site Electrical Engineer and the other was for a System Development Engineer. After both interviews, thanks to my good presentations, I was called up again for 2nd interview by both companies. Eventually, I was offered a job by each company. I suddenly felt spoilt for choice. Nonetheless, after much consideration, I took up the 2nd offer. It was a humble setup with about 30 staff. From there on, I never looked back and started my career there. Although I didn't stay for long in the company, it was a great springboard in my career and I joined a big MNC after gaining some working experience.

Growing up from bad times have trained me not to take things for granted. It is always good to start from ground zero so that your fundamentals are well founded. When the times turn for the better, you will be the first to benefit. To the fresh graduates who are seeking jobs today; don't be discouraged. When there's a will, there's a way. Be humble and work your way hard to land a job. It's not a time to be fussy anymore.