Young
graduates are jobless because they are being choosy. Discuss.
When asked to discuss the issue, most of my
students prefer to agree, meaning they rationalise the idea that graduates
being choosy is the reason for them being jobless. In training them to think
out of the box, I have come up here in this article with arguments that do not
agree with them. Some do not sound strong enough, but it’s a good practice anyway
for the brain.
Despite the
undeniable fact that young graduates are being rather choosy in applying for
jobs, it is however inappropriate to cite this as the reason for them being
jobless. The present economic uncertainty, the intense competition, and the
inability to fulfil what employers expect from employees are among the few
factors that I see contribute towards this much worrying social issue.
First and
foremost, it is their right to be choosy in deciding for their
careers. After years of mugging in the pursue for the degrees of their chosen
fields, you just cannot expect them to simply pick any jobs available in the
street, unless, perhaps, for a temporary basis, while waiting for the right job
to come. The locality of the working place, the salary, the colleagues, the
prospect that they foresee in the organisation, the need to be near families
and loved ones, are just to name a few more factors to justify this issue.
The
uncertainty in the country’s economy has contributed to companies unable to
provide jobs for new graduates. Even established organisations are resorting to
retrenching workforces due to bad business, as can be seen in the latest move
by Media Premia Berhad, the mother company of the prominent TV3, the first
non-government TV station in the country. Exxon Mobile, an international
corporation dealing with petroleum is reducing its scope of operation in the
country, leaving professional personnels jobless. With this becoming the trend
for other organisations lately, there is just no place for new graduates. Hence
being choosy is definitely not the reason for them being jobless.
With the much
improved education system, with private tertiary education centres making their
impact besides the public universities, we see more graduates in the various
field produced by the years. More and more professionals are rushing for the
few jobs available. This results in intense competition, with insufficient
place for everybody. Once again it is not about being choosy.
The high
expectation of quality in future
employees by employers is another reason young graduates are unable to secure
jobs. Most job-seekers fail to realise that with the intense competition as
mentioned earlier, employers are expecting extra qualities from them. Besides
the degrees, soft skills in the form of inter-personal, public speaking,
decision making, and IT, just to name a few, would outstand them from other
candidates during job interviews. They
are just not qualified enough, going by the employer’s standard, leaving them
without jobs.
To conclude,
it is not being choosy that young graduates are jobless, but the situation they
are caught in, as well as the failure to show the extra qualities expected by
employers. Perhaps if things do not turn out as expected, then they should
start not being choosy, and start doing any jobs, to make ends meet.
