Career Planning

NUS Career Centre

ADMIN INSTRUCTIONS
Students are required to
attend ALL 5 tutorials mark attendance for every class submit their resume for critique via IVLE after the 2nd tutorial

complete a feedback form after every tutorial.

This is a non-credit bearing module.

1) WHAT are your expectations of this

workshop?

2) WHAT jobs/internship are you applying

for?

3) Challenges you FACED as a job seeker.

Photo By Smaku - Bubble trubble

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the session, you will be able to

EXPLORE your career interest APPLY the career planning steps to

achieving your career goals UNDERSTAND Professionalism & Ethics in the working world

5 STEPS CAREER PLANNING

KNOW YOURSELF SCAN THE MARKET DEVELOP YOUR PLAN IMPLEMENT YOUR PLAN REVIEW YOUR PLAN

1. KNOW YOURSELF
The greatest explorer on this earth never takes voyages as long as those of the man who descends to the depth of his heart. - Julien Green

Interests Passion Values Personality Talents/Skills

WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON?

Dont Follow the Crowd

I can get a high pay with this degree I got no other choice!!

REALISTIC INVESTIGATIVE ARTISTIC SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CONVENTIONAL

What is your RIASEC?

http://www.onetonline.org/explore/interests/

exploring future ambitions and aspirations, identifying career

expectations, and preparing a plan to achieve your career goals.

Discover your strengths, your styles for communications, learning and leadership. See what career is best for you. Sign up @ NUS Career Centre

2. SCAN THE MARKET

It gives you much more situational awareness. All of the information is right there in front of you (on the screen). Before you had to search around for it. - Bill Elliot

57,000 graduates in Singapore every year

Singapore targets to have 30% of undergraduates intake in each cohort by 2015. 5 government-funded universities in Singapore

3,100,000 graduates in India every year 7,000,000 graduates in China every year

Source: Shanghai Daily "China sees stable job market and http://www.singstat.gov.sg

21

.Europe and the US which now face a shortage of people with technical skills and applied skills. He noted that there are now too many people with undifferentiated general degrees who are unemployed or in jobs that do not need a degree. .. that Asian countries needed to emphasise more on technical and applied skills, which are more likely to secure jobs and opportunities for the future. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Source: Asia Competitiveness Institute of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

Attributes that Leading Employers Looked for in Todays Graduates from NUS Presidents Breakfast Talk
1) Strong communications skills (both oral, written). Particularly the ability to engage and present. 2) Ability to 'Think out-of-the box 3) Ability to crystallize their thoughts, synthesize and articulate 4) Creative problem-solving, especially dealing with cultures that does not have clear rules/systems of operations and chaotic (e.g. India and China) 5) International literacy that comes with the global exposure and being culturally sensitive 6) EQ - Ability to manage diversity in the workplace and how to be collaborative and be a team-player 7) Passion 8) Appetite for risk or risk-taking 9) Adaptability - being able to adapt to rapid changes and thrive on it 10)Having basic business foundation knowledge

Employers wish to see NUS students improve in their Career Planning

Number of employers

36 responses

Career Planning and Preparation Global perspective and Overseas exposure Work experience (internship, attachement) Creativity Adaptability and Flexibility 0 3 5 6 5

25

Personality is key factor for success. One often hires purely on ability yet fires on personality. Usually a misfit between position and personality. Hence, important to analyse personality in school to assess career and job fit. (Mercuri Urval) More awareness about what they really want in a career. Not in the final year, but as early as the 1st and 2nd years. So that they can steer their curriculum and interests and projects towards these areas, and build up a credible portfolio and experience.

10 15 20 25 30

Source: NCC 2011 Employer Survey

WHAT DO ALL THESE MEAN? ARE YOU CONCERNED?

Know Your Market Value

Median Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences $2,966 Faculty of Engineering $3,120 NUS Business School $2,993 School of Computing $3,100 School of Design & Environment $3,023 Faculty of Science $2,840

Visit MOMs Career Compass http://www.careercompass.gov.sg

USEFUL INFORMATION
For International Students Employment Pass - At least $3,000 S Pass - A minimum fix Salary of $2,000

Source: MOE Graduate Employment Survey 2011 & http://www.mom.gov.sg

3. DEVELOP YOUR PLAN

Vision without a task is only a dream. A task without a vision is but drudgery. But vision with a task is a dream fulfilled. - Unknown

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO FIND OUT?

Industries companies job descriptions job requirements salary work culture career progression RIASEC

Accessible via NUS Career Centre website

NUS ejobcentre

YOUR

MAXIMISE
the 5W1H
WHERE can I build my competencies? WHAT can I do? WHY should I do? WHEN do I start? WHO can help me? HOW can I achieve my career goals?
Start!

NUS EDUCATION

Banking & Consulting Recruitment Period (Aug to Nov)

Commencement!

Engineering, IT, Science, SDE Recruitment Period

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Preparing you for your future..

Workshop Training & Personalized Advisory(Academic & Career)
Chart Your Student Life towards Self-Discovery Attend HeadStart Module (previously known as CFS) to discover and learn how to market yourself Take 7 Habits to learn effective skills to manage your student life Do personality assessment to uncover strengths & interests, chart out your plan and discuss with CA Know the Industries and gain exposure Attend Industry Talk Series to gain knowledge of different industries and job options Talk to CA to develop plans to gain industry exposure through internships and overseas exposure through SEP, NOC etc. Successful Transition to WorkLife
Attend Global Talent Series to acquire soft skills and foundation biz knowledge valued in todays globalized workplace.
Get updated on the latest outlook and opportunities in the Industry Talk Series Acquire skills to handle Assessment Centre and Case Studies via the Career Plus + Meet CA to devise your job search strategy and action plan, update your resume and do mock interview exercise.

Expertise

Year One/Two
ON-THE-JOB NETWORKING :

Year Two/Three

Year Three /Four

CCAs, Internships, Temporary Jobs, Community Projects

: Junior-Senior Mentoring, Alumni-Student Networking, Career Events, Recruitment Talks

Designed to give you an edge over the competition by equipping you with career, professional, business, global and leadership competencies.

CAREERS ADVISORS
Engineering Science Arts

KNOW YOUR

Allan

Leo

Christopher Wanqiu

Doreen

Jiaying

Computing

SDE

Law

Postgrad

USP

Desmond

Alphonsus

Angeline

Priya

Josephine

4. IMPLEMENT YOUR PLAN

You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas. - Shirley Hufsteddler

Career Strategies in Volatile/Downturn Market

Focus on What You can Do!

BE ADAPTIVE AND FLEXIBLE / Open to options even

outside specialisation, & lower salary expectation

ACT DIFFERENT / Unsolicited applications,

volunteer service, entrepreneurship, go abroad.

KEEP LEARNING / Take on courses and skills

training and never be afraid to try.

GET INVOLVED!
CCAs CAREER EVENTS
(recruitment talk, career fair, networking sessions, workshops)

NUS Overseas College Student Exchange Programme Internship Industrial Attachment Social/Community Work Network to build professional contacts

NUS Career Centre Events

Suit Up!, NUS Career Fair, Gradhunt, Recruitment Talks, Networking sessions, Alumni Mentorship, Senior-Junior Mentorship, BCA Fair, JobsConnect

Suit Up! 201X Jan NUS Career Fair 201X Feb NUS Gradhunt Mar JobsConnect End May And many more.

the single most important key to getting my dream job was being proactive proactive to read, to research, to ask questions, to meet people and to pursue opportunities relentlessly.
Amelia Chia

As my interest in international development is rather novel and unheard of, I was very proactive in sourcing for and organising workshops, programmes and meetings to share ideas about development, social innovation and entrepreneurship.

Class of 12 Arts & Social Sciences, Politic Science World Vision Singapore Corporate Partnership Executive

Its important to remember that employers dont necessarily only look for top-notch work experience or technical knowledge. Very often, they are looking for the demonstration you can thrive at the workplace and are not afraid to offer your unique perspective to the organisation.

Sujin Samuel Saj

Class of 10 Faculty of Engineering Bank of America Merrill Lynch Technology Analyst

CHECK OUT OUR WEEKLY eNEWSLETTER

get the latest info on jobs, internship, career events, workshops, networking sessions and many more

IN THE MIDST OF INTENSE COMPETITION?

HOW CAN YOU SHINE

5. REVIEW YOUR PLAN

It is a most mortifying reflection for a man to consider what he has done, compared to what he might have done. Samuel Johnson

WHAT are the gaps to plug? WHAT have I learnt? WHAT changes do I need to make? REVIEW my career options Update my resume
Photo By Kyle Saric Cracked iPhone 3G [Day 003/365 - 09/08/09]

The Fact is Planning your Career is just like Planning your Life. It cannot be rushed. Its a life-long process.

Even to the EXTEND of Making DETOURS to REACH YOUR GOALS

PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS

CASE STUDY#1
Rick is a third year student in NUS. He was offered a summer
internship with a foreign bank as a Summer Analyst. His monthly stipend is S$1,200. At the same time, Rick was going for other interviews. He received another offer that paid him $1,500/month after accepting the first offer. He felt that the additional allowance will help him pay off his living expenses.

Discussion: What would you do if you are in Ricks situation? What are your considerations before accepting an internship/job offer?

CASE STUDY#2
Amelia is graduating in summer. She was offered a Marketing
position with a US MNC. Amelia was unsure if she would like the job and requested for 2 weeks to consider. Amelia was also concern that she may not secure another job offer. She ended up taking a month before verbally agreed. She delayed another 2 weeks before signing the confirmation letter. She eventually turned down the offer a day before commencement of work.
Discussion: Would you have handled the situation differently? How and Why? What are the possible repercussions Amelia may face in future?

Handling Job Offers PROFESSIONALLY

which job to accept? how to ask for more time to consider? what to consider before acceptance? what constitutes an acceptance? how to turn down an offer professionally?

Know your Motivators! For a more informed decision.

Job scope, Remuneration, Risk, Career Progression, Work Culture

What to look out for in an employment contract

Working hours Annual leave Medical coverage Insurance Work location Probation Period Notice Period ..
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Need more time to consider?

Give a TIME PERIOD and get back to them ON TIME! Be GENUINE! Be humble, state interest Check the STATUS of your preferred company

54

Professionalism & Ethics JOB ACCEPTANCE

Email, signing acceptance letter, even VERBAL!

Photo By dubh - bubble, and me

Be Professional
Even when you are turning down the job offer

56

from SCHOOL to WORK

TRANSITION
First day at work

be early! Find out the reporting time and venue be humble! Learn from everyone! Bring a notebook be observant! Get a sense of the dynamics of the departments Leverage on being NEW Clarify expectations with your boss. It doesnt pay to be SHY! Build your knowledge (through your colleagues, sign up for FREE industry enewsletter)

E-Manners
hihi Rick! U can call mi str8 at the no. 2day. ttyl SMS and email are different It may be easier to walk over or simply through a phone call. DO NOT WRITE THE ENTIRE E-MAIL IN CAPITAL LETTERS! Who do you CC in your e-emails?

from SCHOOL to WORK

TRANSITION
Relationship

You will need good friends to help you along. Network, build relationship and make positive impression You become whom you spend your time with Be part of companys CCA to raise your profile Dont be SHY! Managing Diversity (Cultures, Nationalities Generations etc) Work-Life Balance depends on the nature of the job!

When you stop growing, you start dying!William S. Burroughs

3 BOOKS THAT YOU CANT MISS

IF THE SKY IS THE LIMIT, THEN WHY ARE THERE FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON

By Jared.Schmidt - Moon

Photo By AcidForce - If you were waiting for a sign, this is it.

DEVELOP YOUR PLAN

SCAN THE MARKET

IMPLEMENT YOUR PLAN

REVIEW YOUR PLAN

KNOW YOURSELF

ITS IN YOUR HAND

Photo By peterdanilov Palm

Next Lesson: TRANSFORM YOUR RESUME

WHAT DO EMPLOYERS WANT TO SEE IN A RESUME? ARE HAVING CCA and GOOD ACADEMIC GRADES SUFFICIENT? LEARN THE TECHNIQUE OF CRAFTING A GOOD RESUME WITH C.A.R.

FROM THIS

TO THIS

MARK YOUR ATTENDANCE BEFORE YOU LEAVE!

NUS Career Centre (Office of Student Affairs)

: Yusof Ishak House Level 1, 31 Lower Kent Ridge Road. Singapore 119078 Mon-Thur: 8.30am - 6.00pm Fri: 8.30am - 5.30pm : (65) 6516 1385 : http://www.nus.edu.sg/osa/career/index.html : careers@nus.edu.sg : facebook.com/NUSCareerCentre : https://twitter.com/nuscc : http://blog.nus.edu.sg/careercentre/