“Although I felt I was a success in poly, I was totally unprepared to be an employee. The rules of the ‘game’ in the working world are very different and are unrelated to the education i had!” A graduate lamented.

So real is the problem that it requires several paradigms or mindsets to be changed. This article attempts to highlight five issues that new entrants to the adult workforce will face and yet are within their control. What we are talking about is good grace – grooming, relations, attitude, communication and expectation.

By Woo Chin-Hoon

“I graduated with a mechanical engineering diploma, but I am not a DIY person. What should I do?”
“I went into the Business School with my friends after ‘O’ Levels because we were afraid of taking General Paper in Junior College. Now, I’ve graduated with good grades but I don’t see myself as an entrepreneur.”

“My parents wanted me to be a doctor, lawyer or accountant, and this biotechnology diploma was the closest I managed to achieve. My vacation job in a laboratory confirmed my dislike for such a career.”

Whether by parental, peer or societal pressure, many youths may end up asking the above questions in desperation upon graduating. After spending three years in a polytechnic for a diploma, many may even have good grades despite their dislike for the courses they took. Are you one of them? If you are, what can you do? What are your options available?

By Woo Chin-Hoon