One of the first queries that crosses a students’ (and their parents’) minds when choosing a university is, what will the career prospects look like? Understandably, students make decisions about their future careers based on the kind of undergraduate degree they choose, and issues pertaining to the ever-changing job market are bound to pop up when they finally decide. This is why Habib University chose to address these questions through an event that took place on August 9th, 2016, within campus. Prospective students, who have already given their admissions tests and interviews, were invited to a presentation about the achievements of Habib University students thus far, in the last two years of their HU experience.
The “Yield” event was designed to address the opportunities students would get, once they start their term at HU. Not only this, it spoke of the different academic and career experiences students have been a part of, and what they have gained from them. A panel discussion was also held for the visitors present, comprised of Atiqa Lateef, Group Chief of Staff at Byco Industries Inc., Sophia Hasnain, Market Engagement Manager for Asia, for the Mobile Money program, and Eram Hasan, the Chief Supply Chain Manager at K-Electric. Dr. Anzar Khaliq, a member of the faculty at Habib University, moderated the panel, leading the discussion towards what discerning qualities would make students stand out in the job market, when they are finally ready to take that step.
“The job market is ever-changing, but you have to make sure to not lose sight of the big picture”, said Ms. Hasnain. “What is it that you’re really passionate about? You should only pursue that which makes you happy to wake up and go to work in the morning, everything else is secondary”. The panel also stressed upon the importance on entrepreneurship upon the prospective students and the visitors present, calling upon students to pay more mind to executing their own ideas, rather than following paths followed by their peers.
The discussion also spanned over the topic of job interviews, and techniques to turn them into learning opportunities. “What we see most during interviews nowadays is that, there is no originality of thought. People think we want to hear generic answers to questions that actually hold the potential to get them hired”, said Ms. Lateef. “Another thing is that we mix ethics and morals too often, leading to situations in which we are forced to compromise. Let’s have no more of that!”, said Mr. Hasan.
The event, meant to motivate prospective students to come one step closer to joining HU, was well attended, with a vast number of faculty also present to address parents’ and students questions.
