Making career decisions is never easy. To partner you in this decision making process, the Centre for Future-ready Graduates, together with the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences organized the “FASS Conversations: Design your Career” talk where questions were collated from you and your peers, categorized into 3 topics and addressed by the young Alumni:

Topic 1: Value of a FASS degree- Translating NUS experience for corporate success
Topic 2: Job Search Strategy
Topic 3: School to Workplace Transition

Young Alumni with experiences across the industries of Non Profit, Industry development, Marketing, Consulting, Public Relations and Tourism were present:
– Rachel, Assistant Manager, Resource Development and Communications at World Vision
– Shawn, Co-founder and Business Lead at Monocoque Service Design
– Soo Yee, Manager, Industry and Enterprise Development Group in F&B Services in SPRING Singapore
– Amanda, Senior Executive, Resort Marketing at Resorts World Sentosa

Those who were present valued the candid sharing from the young Alumni who spoke of the importance of acquiring experiences throughout their undergraduate years, being proactive to meet and speak with people from different backgrounds. Going on Student Exchange Programmes, securing local or overseas internships, participating in hall activities, CCAs and gaining volunteering experiences are just some examples of avenues where you can gain exposure to your fields of interest and acquire soft skills. One of the unique selling points of a FASS graduates are people and communication skills and ability to offer a different perspective on the issue at hand. This puts you in a better advantage in organizations where employees are required to work in teams or brainstorm ideas to creatively solve real world problems.

Some Alumni shared that it was a natural transition for them moving into their first job as things just fell in place nicely when they were searching for their first job. Having exposure to the industry and knowing people in the field greatly helped them in their decision making process and the transition. The Alumni present also candidly shared about the toughest interviews that they went through and emphasized on the importance of not only being prepared for the interview but also having the right attitude when presenting yourself to potential employers. Sharings on work culture, the make-up of colleagues in their work places and challenges faced in their roles gave the audience fresh insights on what to expect in the real working world. The Alumni were open and generous in their personal sharing and offered valuable tips. We look forward to organizing a subsequent installment of this well-received FASS Conversations talk!

To hear from HR Managers perspective on the topics covered, we invite you to the 3rd Instalment of the HR Perspectives – Recruitment Deciphered! Talk on 6 Apr, Wed, 4-6pm.

Take a glimpse into the “behind-the-scenes” process of job applications and understand from HR’s perspectives on what makes or breaks an application.

<Click here> to sign up for the event!