UTAR Alumni

JUNE 2011

What to expect in the working world

Demonstrating that UTAR goes beyond academic excellence, Department Of Alumni Relations And Placement organized a Career Talk on "What to Expect In the Working World" on 12 April 2011 at its Perak Campus for the final year students pending for August 2011 graduation.

"What is your next step? Don't wait until graduation to start your job search. You got to look for it right after you've finished your exam," highlighted Sharmeel Kaur, the speaker of the Career Talk in her opening speech.

"You get job satisfaction when you work smartly according to the job objectives. Never beyond," she reminded the audience, as she wittily integrated the importance of problem solving skills in the working world. "The moment you don't understand one another, you got a problem."

Problem solving skills, as she affirmed, is undoubtedly one significant criterion that every employer is seeking in their employees. This skill encompasses solution competency, willingness to try new concepts, innovation, ability to contemplate for alternatives, and many more.

Much emphasis was placed on recognizing the common factors influencing management perception on a new recruit. These include the ten expectations on employees; expectations on work quality, dependability and communication skills.

"Besides written and oral communication, one has to know how to conduct presentation effectively. Confidentiality is equally important too."

The talk ended with a mock interview with the speaker played an aggressive interviewer role while the students were the interviewees. The mock session triggered glowing responses from the audience as the speaker scrutinized each candidate's responses during the role-play which prompted an informative question and answer session afterwards.

"We give you training and we give you a job. Above all, you are guaranteed a job placement," declared Sharmeel Kaur, who is also the Program Manager of Manpower Staffing Service. Established in 1997, Manpower Staffing Service has an enormous inventory of clients which includes IBM, Hewlett Packard, CSC, Maxis, Coca Cola, NCR, Motorola, Maybank, Texas Instrument, the list goes on. As an organization that is recognized internationally, Sharmeel claimed that Manpower Staffing Service plays an important role to create professional who are industry ready. It is such service that attracts her clients as they get their desired recruits and save the time spent for training new staff.