Graduates should be judged by their own capability, instead of their university during employment.

I can agree with that. Why should the employer discriminate based on university while you have proof you are just as good if not better than the graduates of the 1st tier university? I see it as an act of exploitation, taking advantage of the fact that you graduated from a “lesser” university.

However if you have nothing else to prove your ability other than your degree then it is fair game. So take spot’s advice, eat the low salary for a while so you can get the necessary experience then things will get better.

I am a strong believer that attitude is important. I had interview a young chap the other day. He was 24 and was working for less than 2 years. He was asking for 4.5k while he was currently earning 2.5k.

Throughout the interview, he kept asking about benefits, salary range and other remuneration related matters. I had told him several times that we will need to find the right candidate first.

With limited work experience, his asking pay was too much to justify.

I was also not comfortable with him always being more concerned about the money than the job.

In the end, I did not hire him…

my 2 cents? Yes, your qualifications will get you the interview but it’s your attitude and perceived commitment to excellence and work ethics that will get you the job. So, if you have already been called for the interview, your qualifications are already acceptable to your prospective employer. It all boils down to how you bring yourself across in the interview.

Now…sorry ah, this is going to be cheong hey.

The graduate fella has a valid point, but as is the problem with most ppl, the delivery was way off (muddled the ppint AND dripping with I’m-SO-clever).

He didn’t get a good offer because (he says, and I agree howdaheck did he know?) the employer took university pedigree into account.

Unfortunately for fresh graduates, the ony thing that prospective employers can go by is the academic record (which is a different issue from university pedigree). Because of the multitude of uni/colleges that have come up like offspring of overly-excited rabbits, we all know that As are not created equal. So university/college pedigrees MUST be taken into consideration.

I think university pedigree does matter- after all, straight As from a ciplak uni is justifiably questionable. Let’s not just talk abt local unis, I know of one uni in Queensland, Aus that is perhaps unfairly sneered at because of rumours that a tycoon set it up because his children were too dumb to qualify elsewhere.

Too badlah, perception of university pedigree, unless we’re talking Harvard, Oxford, LSE, etc, is subjective.

I fully agree that it’s not ALL about the grades. But that’s only true AFTER the first job. How to prove your good attitude/work ethic in a two hour interview? Very difficult. Play your humble card and you might just be written off because you appear timid and lacking in confidence. Play your strength card too fiercely and you get labled arrogant. Interviews really can go either way, human factor-wise.

Smart prospective employers (what other kind would you want to work for?) know that attitude counts in how a person will perform. But the first-job interview can only give them a first impression. Common knowledge that interviewees learn all sorts of interview-acing tips… a lot of what you see during the interview could very well be a human hot air balloon. First impressions can be dangerous.

So, we’re left with grades. And its twin sister, the university pedigree.

I never had a good academic record. The first job paid a measly RM1400 as a first year lawyer. Thereafter, I got most of my next 4 jobs based on my performance record. Whenever I moved into a new area of law, my answer to the inevitable question of “you don’t have any experience in this field, why should I hire you/pay you this high salary you dare to ask for” is “Because I’ve never had any problems adapting to new areas and that’s proven by my bonus record. In short, I’m worth it”.

Attitude = Performance = Quantum of Bonus.

So my only advice to fresh graduate is… your first job is merely a stepping stone. Get it, do it right and prove your belief in yourself by working towards either a fast-track promotion or building up a solid performance record for the next job. If your performance is not rewarded with a good bonus/salary increase, that’s called exploitation, time to move on.

But you can’t get anywhere if you don’t take that first job/stepping stone.

Got plenty of time later for pride in your wonderful self lah.

I also somewhat agree with megashot’s observation about minishort’s comments. Granted that the writer of the letter is a little clueless, it doesn’t hurt to give other people the benefit of the doubt. We’re not in the dude’s shoes and we dont really know the whole story. You know, there are plenty of fcuked up employers around.

I dont agree. Education is a success by itself. Just doesnt mean, the journey ends there.

Whoever wrote the letter obviously lost it; s/he has completely no idea what he’s writing and much less what message s/he’s trying to convey.

Just for the record, good grades don’t mean much and I know that all too well. It takes a whole lot more than that!