Feature

The Line Must Be Drawn Now

Intekhab Ahmed

The quest between recruiters and job seekers is eternal. There are never enough jobs for all and on the other hand employers seldom find exactly who they are looking for. Why? There is a mismatch between the supply and demand. We do indeed have millions of graduates but most of them are missing something very important within their quality list, which is so valuable that a good number of them become valueless because of not having those skills. What? Communication skills!

There are indeed few other qualities besides academic, recruiters are obligated to look into such as extra curricular abilities and as such, but in this rapid evolving world, the most important skill required is undoubtedly the communication skills. Recruiters seem to put the highest credence on communication skills; needless to say that if the candidates cannot effectively communicate then, presumably they may not be able to talk to their clients or even with fellow employees. Their knowledge is worthless if they fail to express it properly.

Generally a university student dreams of finding a good job after graduation. Just to be an owner of respectable GPA but without attaining proper skills, one should not dream of availing a competitive job, if one does, chances are that it will ever remain as just a dream. Living in a world of Utopia will not help flourish the future. If you are a university student, you must ask yourself how good you are in your communications. Start evaluating yourself and dedicate yourself to develop your weaknesses before you walk out of your university after four years. This is the right time to start working on it.

Out there, in the real world, the job market is like a war zone. And entering into a job market without proper communication skill is like bringing a knife into a gunfight! You will lose the battle before you know it. If you do a little research, read relevant news, job search or talk to HR managers if possible, this will be crystal clear to you. Knowledge is important, a good GPA carries a lot of weight but it is demonstrated that recruiters emphasis more on communication skills than anything else. For example, for a given job, two candidates may apply; a. Candidate carries excellent GPA and average communication skills and b. candidate carries average GPA and excellent communication skills. Guess what? Candidate b gets the priority (of course, it may vary based on the nature of job). It is that simple.

Communication is a broad aspect, but we can simplify it for our students. I can say if they concentrate on the following key departments then that would really help them to meet the challenge.

a. Accuracy in English writing skills

b. Fluency in speaking English

c. Professional presentation expertise

d. Standard computing ability

e. Smooth in operating modern communication tools.


a. Accuracy in English writing skills: A student must be able to draft in English without spelling or grammar mistakes. This is one of the very basics. I understand that many of our students are coming from Bengali medium background and are not comfortable in English. Well, this is a countrywide weakness that we are dealing with! But certainly this is something we can win through practice and little bit of extra care. One must have the initiative and figure out ways to improve their English. Outside the classroom, apart from the regular educational load, students should read books, attend special tutorials, seek support from teachers during off periods, join workshops and so forth.

Improving your writing skill is an ongoing task which you should break down into small stages. To get the ball rolling you can open your own personal diary and get into the habit of writing down a few pages every day and show them to your teacher for corrections. It might sound strange, but reading newspaper and magazine articles is often better practice for your writing than reading fashion magazines.

Although novels help to instill creativity, the opinion columns of good newspapers expose you to a varied range of styles. Newspaper columnists and journalists are often constrained for space, and their articles must always be very concise and effective - a highly desirable skill. Never stop writing; this is the key!

b. Fluency in speaking English: If a student can speak English reasonably well that can be considered a jump starter. Once again, this is a socio-environmental problem for which our students are not accustomed with speaking in English. We have to remember that it is an international language and it is deemed necessary to have strong speaking ability in English to sustain in this globalised era. Just like developing the writing skill, students have to practice talking among themselves to remove the shyness and develop fluency. This is something you can't do alone. You may listen to the radio alone; you may read a book alone, you may write a letter alone but certainly you can't really speak alone! Speaking to yourself can be "dangerous" and people might think you need medical attention!

That is why you should make every effort possible to find somebody to speak with. Where can you find people who can speak English with you? And how can you practice speaking when you are alone? When you are in the university, you should use the opportunity to speak to your teachers and other students. When you go home, you can still practice with your family members and friends. Always have the urge to speak as much as possible. Don't worry about your mistakes or whoever is laughing at you. Just speak! Don't take it as a pressure, take it as a fun. Listening to English music and trying to understand the words can be fun. Bottom line, speak as much as possible! Make as many mistakes as possible! When you know that you have made a mistake, you know that you have made progress!

c. Professional presentation expertise: This is a bit more complex than developing writing and speaking abilities. But if you have control over a and b, certainly it gets easier to work on presentations. Let's assume that you know your subject well. Are you still sometimes left with the nagging doubt that your presentation skill will let you down on the day? Is the thought of standing up in front of a board and seeing yourself getting humiliated because you were nervous gives you creep? Well, this may happen and in fact, many candidates wash out through this process even having a great deal of potential within.

Presentation skill is not something that people are born with, they have to be nurtured. In your university, get yourself involved in extra curricular and club activities. That will give you an edge and exposure. Start speaking and performing on stage in your club programmes; that is a start to win the fear of speaking in public!

And indeed your presentation must meet the professional standard. You may go through books and Internet for guidelines. And also may ask for support from your teachers or PR departments to hold seminars and workshops for you. If you show interest, obviously the authorities will gladly arrange opportunities for you.

Presentation not only means the ability to show a power point slides or report on an excel sheet. It carries an overall impression on you and your personality to the viewers/audience. For example, how you talk, how you walk, how you dress up, how you conduct yourself and so forth are being monitored by thousands of eyes. Prior to a presentation, you must perform rehearsals several times until you are confidant to go for it.

d. Standard computing ability: Before you graduate out of university, students are expected to know the basic operations that are required in any job positions. Recruiters usually do not expect a computer genius (unless you're majoring in computing); if a student is comfortable in the operations of Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, internet exploration will do the trick for a start. Students must practice at home and in the campus labs to develop the necessary skills. Having a fare amount of speed and accuracy in typing is mandatory. There are many typing software available to help develop such skills plus students can organize typing competition in the campus as well.

e. Smooth in operating modern communication tools: This is not as difficult as the other because our new generation is more familiarised with modern communication tools than ever. Cell phone, internet, laptop, projector, digital camera, video etc have become so accessible that most students have seen them or used them on a regular basis. You need to be prompt in e-mail correspondence, for example, if you are busy or not ready to give reply, at least send an acknowledgment saying, “I will get back to you shortly”. Never hesitate to use sms for quick exchange of messages, be expert in projector setup and using of other tools. These will give you extra thrust to set yourself in a position.

What ever is taught in the university, in the classroom, in respective departments must be granted with grave importance. You have to pass your exams scoring as high as possible, acquire knowledge in your field but at the same time develop the skills that were mentioned here achieving your dream job. You have four years in your hand to develop these skills. This is the thin line between achieving your dream job and living in a world of Utopia. Better have the vision installed from this very moment but the line must be drawn now; the line must be drawn here.

(University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)