As many of the UAE's universities are preparing to graduate their next batch of students, I thought of sharing with you some of the most common false mis-perceptions graduating seniors have of their university degrees:
1. Landing a job is a given right
The cost these days of studying at a top University in the Emirates is quite substantial. As a result, those students believe it is their birth right to land a job opportunity as soon as they graduate.
Employers seek the most qualified talent that stands out among the pool of applicants that submit their resumes, given the limited number of employment opportunities. The name of the university you went to supports proving that you posses quality academic knowledge, and might shortlist you for further consideration, but it doesn't say much about who you are. Employers seek professionals who show ambition, who are willing to perform and work in a team, and most importantly, who are willing to grow in the organization, among many other parameters. Therefore, if you cannot demonstrate those attributes, chances are you won't land the job opportunity no matter from which university you graduated from.
2. Higher GPA means you are more qualified
Many times, I meet graduates who inform me how surprised they are that they are unemployed even though they graduated with a really high GPA. Employers look at many attributes when making a decision to whether employ a prospective candidate, or not. For fresh graduates, GPA is among those criteria but you should think of it as an initial filter; meaning, some employers decide that they wish to recruit graduates that have a specific GPA, or higher. If your GPA meets this criteria (irrespective of what it actually is), then your application will move on to the next stage of evaluation that involves other criteria; if it doesn't meet the minimum GPA requirement, then you will get disqualified from further consideration. Period.
3. Your degree determines your field of work
Prevailing market conditions sometimes makes it extremely challenging for graduates with certain academic degrees to find opportunities in their chosen field of work. For example, civil engineering graduates (among others) reported extreme difficulty in finding employment opportunities in the UAE's construction market during the economic downturn period.
Though Forbes.com did report in 2012 that 60% of US college graduates do not find opportunities in their chosen field of work, I have somewhat a different take on this. The very essence of the choice of our university degree, in many instances, isn't ours in the first place! Family, society, and perceptions play a very big role in determining what field you choose to study. Among many Arab families, it is considered prestigious for one to study either medicine, engineering, or law. Families that own their own businesses, depending on the nature of that business, might consider allowing their sons/daughters to pursue degrees in business. As a result, and based on this very decision (that wasn't ours in the first place), we find ourselves always patching up every outcome it produces.
Now comes graduation time, and the family has never been more proud of you because you had just obtained a degree that they have chosen for you, and its time for you to search for a job, and you had discovered that the market conditions in 2010 (for example) in the UAE restricts the number of employment opportunities; now a new decision (that is not yours again) has been made once again. This decision is that your family does not want you to move out of the country, and search for employment opportunities in your supposed field of choice in other countries.
Back in 2010, I recall having many conversations with such fresh graduates of civil engineering whom had difficulty finding a job in the Emirates. As soon as I hint the idea that I can possibly help them in finding relevant job opportunities in neighboring countries, they would immediately throw at me the card of "I cannot travel outside the country due to family". In such instances, and they are many, the civil engineers from our example would then settle to consider opportunities not in their field of work because at that point their primary concern isn't finding a job in construction, it is in fact, finding a job in the UAE, and more specifically, near where their family reside.
In other instances, and given that we have established that the choice of your degree might not be yours to start with, you discover during your course of study attributes in yourself that make you more qualified in fields of work not related to your degree. For example, given your involvement with the University's extra-curricular activities, you might find yourself having a passion for public speaking, writing, public relations, event management, etc. Attributes that actually might conflict with a field you are choosing to pursue. In such cases, those graduates would actually talk to me how they are completely uninterested to pursue a field of work related to their degree choice, and would prefer to venture out and try other opportunities matches more their personality.
Have you been in the above situations and have a different take, or supporting take, on what I said? Please do share them, as I would love to hear your feedback.
Click here to be directed to Part 2 of the common myths about your University degree.
In the meantime, feel free to reach me at the following social media outlets:
1. Landing a job is a given right
The cost these days of studying at a top University in the Emirates is quite substantial. As a result, those students believe it is their birth right to land a job opportunity as soon as they graduate.
Employers seek the most qualified talent that stands out among the pool of applicants that submit their resumes, given the limited number of employment opportunities. The name of the university you went to supports proving that you posses quality academic knowledge, and might shortlist you for further consideration, but it doesn't say much about who you are. Employers seek professionals who show ambition, who are willing to perform and work in a team, and most importantly, who are willing to grow in the organization, among many other parameters. Therefore, if you cannot demonstrate those attributes, chances are you won't land the job opportunity no matter from which university you graduated from.
2. Higher GPA means you are more qualified
Many times, I meet graduates who inform me how surprised they are that they are unemployed even though they graduated with a really high GPA. Employers look at many attributes when making a decision to whether employ a prospective candidate, or not. For fresh graduates, GPA is among those criteria but you should think of it as an initial filter; meaning, some employers decide that they wish to recruit graduates that have a specific GPA, or higher. If your GPA meets this criteria (irrespective of what it actually is), then your application will move on to the next stage of evaluation that involves other criteria; if it doesn't meet the minimum GPA requirement, then you will get disqualified from further consideration. Period.
3. Your degree determines your field of work
Prevailing market conditions sometimes makes it extremely challenging for graduates with certain academic degrees to find opportunities in their chosen field of work. For example, civil engineering graduates (among others) reported extreme difficulty in finding employment opportunities in the UAE's construction market during the economic downturn period.
Though Forbes.com did report in 2012 that 60% of US college graduates do not find opportunities in their chosen field of work, I have somewhat a different take on this. The very essence of the choice of our university degree, in many instances, isn't ours in the first place! Family, society, and perceptions play a very big role in determining what field you choose to study. Among many Arab families, it is considered prestigious for one to study either medicine, engineering, or law. Families that own their own businesses, depending on the nature of that business, might consider allowing their sons/daughters to pursue degrees in business. As a result, and based on this very decision (that wasn't ours in the first place), we find ourselves always patching up every outcome it produces.
Now comes graduation time, and the family has never been more proud of you because you had just obtained a degree that they have chosen for you, and its time for you to search for a job, and you had discovered that the market conditions in 2010 (for example) in the UAE restricts the number of employment opportunities; now a new decision (that is not yours again) has been made once again. This decision is that your family does not want you to move out of the country, and search for employment opportunities in your supposed field of choice in other countries.
Back in 2010, I recall having many conversations with such fresh graduates of civil engineering whom had difficulty finding a job in the Emirates. As soon as I hint the idea that I can possibly help them in finding relevant job opportunities in neighboring countries, they would immediately throw at me the card of "I cannot travel outside the country due to family". In such instances, and they are many, the civil engineers from our example would then settle to consider opportunities not in their field of work because at that point their primary concern isn't finding a job in construction, it is in fact, finding a job in the UAE, and more specifically, near where their family reside.
In other instances, and given that we have established that the choice of your degree might not be yours to start with, you discover during your course of study attributes in yourself that make you more qualified in fields of work not related to your degree. For example, given your involvement with the University's extra-curricular activities, you might find yourself having a passion for public speaking, writing, public relations, event management, etc. Attributes that actually might conflict with a field you are choosing to pursue. In such cases, those graduates would actually talk to me how they are completely uninterested to pursue a field of work related to their degree choice, and would prefer to venture out and try other opportunities matches more their personality.
Have you been in the above situations and have a different take, or supporting take, on what I said? Please do share them, as I would love to hear your feedback.
Click here to be directed to Part 2 of the common myths about your University degree.
In the meantime, feel free to reach me at the following social media outlets:
Also, I would be very grateful if you check out my other blog: Career Coaching Tips
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