I recently placed an advertisement for a Sale Assistant vacancy in my shop, #tigerlilybags in Shah Alam.
It goes like this...
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Pembantu Jualan di Butik Bag (Full Time)
Syarat-syarat:-
Perempuan, warganegara Malaysia
18-26 tahun
SPM level ke atas
Mempunyai kenderaan sendiri
Sila berikan Nama, Umur & Asal dari mana ke:-
013-xxxxxxx sms/whatsapp sahaja
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Since this is one of those fruitful months when you can easily get staff, the minute the advert was up my phone started buzzing and beeping. Some called me up, totally ignoring my strict instruction of "SMS or Whatsapp only!". I don't know why but people now days jump to conclusion in a jiffy without ACTUALLY READING the instructions correctly. This irked me like nobody's business. For me, if simple instruction such as this you failed to take note and follow, what would happen if you DO work for me, it would be a disaster I tell you!
Very, very NOT cool. -__-
Besides that, some candidates even ignored the fact that I specifically highlighted the age, gender requirements and that they should have their own mode of transportation.
I know, I know, this is not good recruitment practice but in my defense, this is for their own good & I am not the only employer guilty of doing so ;) Before you pester the small fish, why don't you straighten up the big guys first, no?
I started calling them up for interview session and surprise, surprise...out of let say 5 candidates who confirmed their interview appointment, only half showed up. Yes, 50% only. Sad eh? This is how un-professional our candidates are but hey, who am I to complain. Somehow, these silly candidates find it morally okay to waste people's time like that. Don't even get me started on 'Amanah'.
To know if you're going to be hired by me is easy; if the interview session is lengthy & 'extensive' means I am interested in hiring you. And if it was quick & brief means that I'm not interested. A little tip for future interviewees, please DO 'sell' yourself during the session. It is your only ticket to get a call for the second session. Keep it interesting but not obnoxious.
So, while conducting the interviews I noticed the overwhelming number of degree graduates AND MASTER graduates applying for the post. YES, a measly Shop Assistant post! And they are fighting for it! Good gracious, how bad
is the recession & inflation in Malaysia?!
When asked why the decided to pursue their MBAs, MBEs, or Master in some courses, the common answer I received was; 'We couldn't get a decent job so we continued studying'. Whoa, this is sad. When I asked them why don't they grab any job first than slowly apply for a more suitable job later, their simple answer to that is that the pay was NOT good enough for them. And I am baffled. I was itching to say that Beggers can't be choosy but refrained myself from doing so cause;- a) they might NOT get me T__T b) it is kind of mean.
After probing further into their personal life, I finally concluded the common causes why these graduates are unemployed:-
1) They simply picked/was forced to choose a course that I would call it 'Course Lelong' or the neither-here-nor-there courses. Often time its a combination of 2 courses that doesn't make sense. E.g.: Science Management. So, are you studying science or management??? And what do you intend to be once you graduated managing scientist? No offense but you have to admit that it is pretty vague.
2) They took a course they didn't like and got stuck with it. They have no intention to work within the field/industry they studied in and it doesn't help that the course was not a 'flexible' course that allows them to go to different paths. However, there are cases of people who did have a career in a totally different industry yet succeeded. Take Chef Wan for example, an accountant turned Chef.
3) Demotivated, Lack of Guidance from family. Most of the candidates I have interviewed not only that they do NOT have a goal in life but to make it worst, they do NOT even have the support and guidance. And let's face it, Malaysian students are so used to being spoon-fed that eventually they became too-relying and could not stand & think independently. Yes, we were colonised once, boo-hoo but get over it and start standing on your own two feet for heaven's sake!
4) Carefree,
Delusional Idealistic Choosy. Unfortunately, most of our gradutates were painted a pretty picture of how working life should look and feel like. Thus, they seek such fantasy career path and to worsen it the local Malay dramas doesn't help with this either. They assume that the perfect job means sitting behind a great oak desk, doing some paper work, happily punching their keyboards and punch out at 5pm! So when they saw what is in it for them in real life, not so sugary and fun; they chickened out.
5) Wants to straight away jump into starting their own business/ wants to be their own boss. Honey, experience and networking doesn't come from the books. You need to pay your dues first, earn it the hard way. Yes, there are people who succeeded in doing so but I tell you frankly it will take true grit to rise above the others.
There, I said it. I might hurt some people's feeling for this but for me this needs to be addressed. Enough is enough. Stop cultivating delusional robots. Stop spoon-feeding them with picture perfect working life that they get a shocked when faced with the reality of life. Life is no pie.
On a lighter note, I did take in a few Master graduates as my Shop Assistant partially because I pitied them but also because they are willing to learn and demonstrated how much they want the job.
Kasihan, working so hard for a Master and can't even use it to apply for work.
However, I did warned them, and I warned them hard...that they are not going to ROT here forever. I am a big believer in having a purpose in life, so I promised to guide them and share my experience with them as much as I can but they need get back on track soonest possible and get a proper job pronto! One the reflects their effort & qualification.
It saddens me how tragic our graduates have become today. I hope my task, albeit small will trigger something in them. In sha Allah...
So do you belong in any of the above category?
