Preparations for Graduating Students!!!

Sometimes, whenever I share any job on some job portal then it has been experienced that some people send their resumes to the sender of the job by mistake rather to apply directly. & mostly it has been observed in case of job for fresh graduates. Sometimes, I am astonished to see their resumes, their applications that those can’t be said to be the application of a graduate person. No doubt that I may have done the same when I was applying from the university but I think if I can guide someone now then maybe it can be better for them in their future.

I will note down some basic necessary skills which are required for university students to have equipped with. The agenda here will be starting from skills required, effective resume, & a little bit about interviews & interviewers. However, each of the above points needs a different post but I will summarize them here & afterwards I will try to write individually on all these insha ALLAH.

Entering in telecom industry is not so much easy as it was almost a decade ago. Universities are graduating a number of students & jobs market is little bit saturated that jobs for fresh graduates are not equally likely for the outcome from students. So, students must know & must have some edges from which they can earn points when they compete others. These edges can be a good GPA, your management skills, your internships, your technical knowledge, your presentation skills & your personality (way of talking).

Only GPA can’t make you better & can’t take you to the desired position. GPA does matter but not only GPA as there are many other things which a candidate must have to do the assigned job in effective manner.

Management skills are one of the most important part as these include how effective do you start your work and how effectively you make it complete till end. Which resources you were assigned? How have you utilized those?

Presentation skills are also very important as whatever you have done but if you present that in an effective manner then it values otherwise it is just a waste of time for others. You can consider it in your final year project or semester projects as if you present it effectively then you get success easily.

Personality talks itself. It doesn’t mean that how you looks but these are qualities that you must show to prove you a strong candidate for the job. It can be the way you talk to show you a responsible or a careless person. How you handle responsibility?

Always apply for the concerned job only. Applying for the wrong job just for the sake to know that what happens is not a good way. When some job is shared somewhere, apply for the job only if you fulfill 80% - 90% of the requirements of that job. Just to apply for fun & to see someone applying for that job that doesn’t mean that we must also apply for that.

Infact, sometime we think that we can deceive interviewer with showing those skills in resume which we exactly not have but we must keep this thing in mind that interviewer has also passed from this stage so he can judge us better. Once, I was talking to some of my colleagues that I must just prepare dumps for CCNA & I will clear CCNA certification. He gave me a very good advice that if I will have such certification with no practical knowledge about that, if interviewer asked me anything about CCNA & I will not be able to answer that then this will lead to waste my four year degree in front of him as he will think that if I have not enough knowledge related to this certification then similar will be my degree. So, it will be wisdom to add only relevant & true information in resume.

These were some points which I was thinking to share with you people as these seem little in number but very important. I had planned to add little about resume writing as well but this has already too long to share so I will share another post related to Resume Writing with you soon insha ALLAH.

May be this can be helpful for us. Whenever, I write something, I pray to Almighty ALLAH that maybe this can be useful for only a single one. Just pray to ALLAH for all & trust in HIM as HE listens each & everyone & delay in anything can be beneficial in long term. Keep sharing & your comments are awaited.

Job Hunting

I think most of us in telecom know that nowadays, jobs in telecom industry are lesser than ever before. A very few jobs are created & those are mostly filled internally. People internally change departments, they refer their close people for those etc. & so job is filled. Only few out of hundreds jobs need to be posted somewhere. Only public sector companies announce their jobs via newspapers. In Private sector, jobs are published on some job portals only in case the individual responsible for that job wants to. So, in this situation, to search for a job is not very easy task. Just want to share that jobs cannot be found on somewhere but can be hunted. There are few things required for job hunting:

v Just to be in contact with your class fellows.

v To be in contact with alumni.

v To be in contact with your faculty members.

v To be more and more social. Participate in technical gatherings, sessions, attend conferences, do more & more networking.

Now, coming to these points one by one. To be in contact with your class fellows is always helpful. Also, individuals working in different organizations can make a better social network. They can have better communication for information exchange, job information, helping each other in a better & right way.

Be in contact with alumni is helpful in long term. Normally, we do not prefer such linkages, I also thought the same, but this is totally a wrong perception. People regard each other. They become happy to help & guide each other. I can share a real life example that once I had chance to meet one of my seniors who just came back from UK after his Masters & joined a cellular company. Before going, I had never a chance of introduction. But, after he came back, once I sent an e-mail just mentioning that I am from his university; I was not expecting very warm response from his side as we didn’t know each other before but I was amazed to see his response. He was happy to know this that someone from his university asked him for guidance. He guided me about what I asked & even asked to send my CV to him so that he will try for my internship after my degree. I am sharing this example with you people that we do not consider these things seriously, also we think that what someone can do? Really, sometimes someone cannot do but not every time. People in such cases, regard others.

Faculty members are always helpful for their students mainly in their student life as student can get guidance from them, can discuss his / her interests with them & can get advice for his short term & long term plans.

Become a social player is much necessary this is the main purpose of networking. Networking must be one of the main options to get in & remain in the telecom industry. If we have strong network then we can get more & more chances to enter in industry, switching to better options. If anyone of you has got a chance of internship then do more & more networking. Always, try to be a good team player, help, regard & respect each other so that people discuss you with respect in your absence. These things work in long terms. Always remember that someone is always watching you during that time span & these minor things help much to get job.

The purpose to write this blog is only that job is not a very easy task but if we know to hunt a job then it is not a big deal.

May be this can be helpful for us. Whenever, I write something, I pray to Almighty ALLAH that maybe this can be useful for only a single one. Just pray to ALLAH for all & trust in HIM as HE listens each & everyone & delay in anything can be beneficial in long term. Keep sharing & your comments are awaited.

Creating References!

I have been writing on the current trends of Telecom industry due to the reason that I have seen that there are lesser writers addressing these issues & these issues really need to be addressed as these are based on today’s real life. We people see different things around us but do not want to talk about these. But, I think that we must discuss these issues.

Most important & most addressed issue on different debates & everywhere is the “Need of Reference”. It is very common perception that without reference we cannot enter into telecom industry & whatever anyone says but we know that it is not very much wrong for our Telecom Industry. Few days before, I was just reading somewhere about perception. It was worth sharing & I want to share it with you:

“Perception is the most important aspect of human behavior. Depending on how we perceive things, we see the glass either as half empty or half full. The more positively we perceive our situation and circumstances the more efficiently we are able to avoid a crisis. People who tend to see the world in an optimistic manner generally make better decisions.” Analyzing this quote, better decisions can be made while thinking in positive manner.

In every aspect of life, we always have many options in front of us but our perception decides whether to go for these or not? Sometimes, we decide it ourselves. Sometimes, we consult our elders, colleagues & seniors; then decision is made either right or left? Things are seen from different views but we see them with our own views. Once, we make some perception, we have that firm belief on that.

Reference issue is also the same issue. Once we think that we do not have any reference then it means that I cannot have it; this is totally wrong. References are not from heaven but these are created, can be created & creating a reference is not a big deal. It is too easy to have a meal but just with a trick. We can create these with Networking. I have seen some people so lucky that have so much contacts in industry that this is not a big issue for them but most of us lack of this quality. Just to be in-contact with others (our peers as well as seniors) can resolve this issue. But we think that it is useless but this is also a wrong perception. Networking can give us benefits not only in short term plans but also for long term plans.

I want to share a real time example with you people that last week, I met a professional with just 3-years experience, came back from international contract last month, had four interviews within short span of 15-20 days here in Pakistan. You can well imagine that to have four interviews in current situation of Pakistan Telecom Industry is really a big deal which cannot be ignored.

To share all this information, the only purpose is that to have in contact with others is only way to create your references as anyone can be useful for us at any time in our life. But to ignore someone is not wisdom. The main purpose of Networking is also creating more and more references. But it has been often observed & same is my case that we do not want to be in contact with others & just want to make our own castles. I think thing perception needs improvements. This can solve many issues. We must be in contact with others as this can be helpful for us not only for a job search but references are made for life time as these can help us anywhere where we cannot even imagine. So, leaving your contacts is not wisdom, keep in contact with everyone even you find someone on internet. Ask people for their introduction but do not bother them to leave you.

May be this can be helpful for all of us. Whenever, I write something, I pray to Almighty ALLAH that maybe this can be useful for only a single one then my purpose for this will be fulfilled. Just pray to ALLAH for all the things & trust on HIM as HE listens each & everyone & delay in anything can be beneficial in long term. Keep sharing & your comments are awaited.

Choosing the Right Job!!!

As we have discussed the current situation of telecom industry in my previous blog with the topic of “Need of Career Counseling”, here we will discuss some options for the choice of right career for us. As it has been our normal trend, that students try to get internships in their student life. From this opportunity, we can have better exposure of telecom industry & can have better prospect on our future.

In last few years, it has been observed that telecom is adopted as a profession by the people even with different educational background just due to the boom in telecom industry. Just one interesting example to share with you that before two years ago, once I had chance to visit the office of a telecom operator (for an interview J), my class fellow introduced me a guy who was working in operations but was just MBA with no telecom background is working in telecom operations. What do you analyzed from it? A guy having MBA degree with simple BA or B. Sc working in telecom field, is it not just due to the boom of telecom industry?

Situation of Pakistan telecom job market which is generally considered as private cellular companies is worst than ever before. This is just due to more outcome of students than the number of jobs in market. People adopt telecom just due to its name but they do not think that if a good programmer is entering in telecom field, he / she is doing two crimes, first one ruining a good programmer, second one is that snatching the vacancy of a good telecom engineer.

There are many fields in which a telecom engineer can go which are Networks, Programming, Software Development & Evaluation, R & D, Technical Writing, Control Systems, Automation. Teaching nowadays is also a good profession. Students pursuing for further education can go to teaching field as well. Even, public sector organizations are offering a number of opportunities nowadays.

No doubt that these all fields are inter-related but there is still a difference. On some places there is need of programmers in telecom as well but may be while going to a software house, a programmer may get different advantages like more incentives, polish his technical as well as management skills, can have better future in long term plans. But now when entering in telecom industry, it has not very good chances to reach your desired target which causes frustration as whenever you see your peer in a better position than you then it can cause negativity which can affect overall performance. However, this is not right in every case. Exceptions are always there.

Just imagine that if any of us has entered in telecom operations, but after two years of such a difficult job, he has come to know that he had interest in software development then where he /she will consider his last two years spent in telecom as this experience will be useless for him.

So there is really a need to know our own interest & try to go to that field. The above mentioned fields are also relevant to telecom so we can be the part of telecom industry while adopting these fields (mainly programming & networks). So to join these fields can have bright chance for our future. The same is the case while considering the situation in vice versa, as for example, I am in now telecom industry. Now, I think that if I adopted to work in some software house as a programmer then I can never be successful as I have lesser interest in programming than telecom. So with all other options, it is not less important to have known you interests while choosing some profession. For this purpose, we can get guidance from our seniors as well.

May be some of us can think that I have some conflicts about my views as in another blog “How to Enter in Telecom” that just go for first available opportunity. Discussing this as today market is also saturated so whenever having some opportunity can be availed but to move to your desired job as soon as possible. Next time, I am thinking to write on a very hot topic “Creating References” which will cover hot issues of our telecom industry. Just work hard & trust in ALLAH Almighty as hard work can never be useless. Hope to see you soon insha ALLAH. May ALLAH bless all of us.

How to Enter in Telecom???

Coming up with another issue faced by many of us in telecom industry, “Entering in industry”; it is really a big problem. We all have observed that least of us have even found any jobs of private telecom industry in newspapers or any public portals. I have mentioned only private telecom industry as in public sector organizations; there are restrictions to publicize any sort of vacancies in newspapers. Coming back to the topic that it is important to know that how we can come to know that there are some vacancies available. There are different modes for different organizations, some companies announce their vacancies internally to its employees only & receive CVs through them, some have open options in major universities by conducting open tests & collect CVs from there etc.

Our university can also have a major role in finding suitable job opportunity for us but it is sad to see that universities nowadays do not try to think about these issues & have no proper career development centers. There is a lot of space needs to be filled in academia – industry liaison. Major universities invite different companies & give chance to their upcoming graduates to appear for tests & interviews so that it make really easy to search for a job.

I want to share this with you that entering first time in industry is more important these days then after that we can have come to know that whether this position is suitable for us or not? We can then move to our desired position whenever possible.

In my personal views, to wait to just enter in some big organization (either vendor or operator) is not wisdom but just to waste our time. As I have seen some guys started their careers from some sub-contractors & now at best positions in national & international companies. So, having an internship in any subcon during or just after our studies is better than to waste 1 year or more for a vacancy in bigger companies. Then after that, as discussed before, we can move to our own choice as soon as we have an opportunity as while having the part of industry can also have more advantages like more exposure about telecom industry & creation of references.

Along with telecom, different career options which an individual can adopt according to his / her aptitude are Networks, Software development & Evaluation, Electronics, Electrical etc. Even Technical Writing is nowadays adopted as fun, interest as well as profession. People are earning from it.Many job opportunities are advertised in public sector organizations in Pakistan, these are lot more than private industry as public sector organizations are also working great for the prosperity of Pakistan. There is very bright future in these organizations.

Government of Pakistan has started another program for fresh 16-years degree holders which is “National Internship Program” also offering opportunities to start career & to get some experience. These are opened once in a year.

Just one more thing that today market is also saturated so whenever having some opportunity can be availed but to move to your desired job as soon as possible. Also, if you find sometime after your studies and before getting any job, rather than wasting that time, I think it is better to have some courses according to your aptitude (Cisco / Juniper related courses for Networking, Oracle / SQL DB etc. courses for programmers). It is not better to run for each & every course offered in some academy but choose one in which you find some interest.

Next time, I am thinking to write on a very hot topic “Creating References” which will cover hot issues of our telecom industry. Just work hard & trust in ALLAH Almighty as hard work can never be useless. Hope to see you soon insha ALLAH. May ALLAH bless all of us.

Need of Career Counseling

Most of the times, I have thought that our beloved country Pakistan is considered to be a second or third world country so can we afford career counseling like things? In my views, the answer is simply ‘No’. However, career counseling is adopted world wide as a profession & most of the people tend to contact them while selecting career path for them. But it is the normal trend here in Pakistan that we people always see our elders & seniors and just try to follow them without knowing the fact that what we want & what talent we have in ourselves? We just see that one of our senior joined mechanical engineering department & now just after one year getting 40K as his pay then we always think & try to go to that field. But we never think that maybe we can do something better if we can go in Electrical Engineering department or Civil Engineering Department. We do not do any calculation that which field is better for us.

Similar is the case was with Computer Sciences when it was started in end nineteen’s & start twenties. There was just a boom & people just ran towards this field, just looking to everyone else, people forced their children to join this field. As a result, in 2004-2006 there was a condition that CS graduates were many more in numbers than jobs in market so at that time there was the same condition observed which is presently about Telecom Engineering field. Now, coming to the point, the same boom like CS is observed now a days related to Telecom Engineering as at the time of admission, without keeping the current scenario of industry in view we are just running towards Telecom engineering. This boom was also started in 2003-2004 when some universities started the same degree & after which following them, today almost all the engineering colleges & engineering universities have started this degree with different names (B.E Electrical Engg., B. E Telecom, BS Telecom Engg, BS in Telecom & Networking etc.). Now, there are similar conditions of the market which were observed in 2004-2005 about Computer Sciences field.

It cannot be stated that there are no jobs in telecom market but there is a little congestion that can be seen clearly as number of students graduating are much more than the jobs produced in the market. Telecom Operator company’s profit due to competition is decreasing so they are not very likely to hire new people even if one or two vacancies are created. Only those positions are filled which are critically required. Business of vendor companies depends upon their projects from operators so they do not hire until or unless they have project.

There is an unclear view of future market but insha ALLAH, we hope to resolve this issue of jobs approximately in 2011-2012. Just there is need to have trust in ALLAH Almighty & always pray for best.

The purpose of this blog is just not to disappoint someone but it contains facts of today telecom market which are not very common. After reading this if someone thinks that if he had done Telecom Engineering then he cannot get any job in Telecom Market. This is totally wrong perception. But it only means that what is a suitable career path for a Telecom Engineer. We must consider this as an important factor while choosing our career & also guide others if we have such chance. I have plans to continue this to the second part having topic as “Choosing the Right Career” in which we will continue this to its other part & will discuss that being a Telecom Engineer, how can we secure our future & get a better job of our own nature in which we can have progressive future.

Your comments are always awaited as it helps lot to improve. Please comment on this & share it with others so that anyone else can get benefit from it.