Your dream job can be within reach if you start planning early in university. Class of 2024 grads reveal how they landed hot jobs, even in this tough job market

by Tan Zi Jie

1. SHARPEN YOUR SKILLS WITH INTERNSHIPS

“I was so keen to find my perfect fit in the corporate world that I took a leave of absence to try out consulting with a six-month internship at McKinsey & Company in my second year. It was a leap of faith. The learning curve was steep, but I honed my analytical and problem-solving skills. I also learnt how to convince C-suite executives by being clear and succinct in my analysis and recommendations.

This experience helped me secure three more consulting internships while at NTU. And each opportunity enhanced my thought process, further sharpening my critical thinking and articulation skills. I also advised non-profit organisations as a director of the NTU arm of an international student consultancy. My stints made me realise that I enjoy the varied and challenging nature of consultancy and want to pursue it as my career.

In two of my internships, I expressed interest in full-time positions and got offers from both consulting firms. Besides performing well during your internship, building relationships at work, and learning more about the company you’re working for, I think it’s important to advocate for yourself as an employee. How else will others know what you want?”

2. GET HELP FOR YOUR RESUME AND JOB SEARCH

“In my second year, I had no idea what to include in my resume when applying for a professional internship. After joining my school’s career workshops and consulting a career coach, I learnt how to tailor my resume for different roles by including the right keywords when applying for internships or jobs.

For example, I didn’t think it was important to mention my mini lab projects, such as a real-time facial recognition system that I researched and coded with my team for an intelligent systems design module. But phrases such as ‘researched face detection and face recognition models’ and ‘implemented the code using python’ demonstrate skills and achievements recruiters look for. I’d reference sample resumes from my career coach and check online resources to ensure I used effective keywords relevant to the field I’m applying for.

In my final semester, my friends and I attended NTU’s physical and virtual career fairs, where we asked recruiters about the skill sets they wanted. In total, I sent out around 10 job applications, was shortlisted for four, and received two offers.

To refresh my interview skills, I went for NTU’s career workshops and crafted talking points for common interview questions. As a result, I was well prepared, gave confident, thoughtful answers, and wasn’t nervous during my interviews.”

3. BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO AND NETWORK

“Work on side hustles and join competitions to boost your portfolio while in university. It’ll showcase your skills and how you can add value to companies. I have been freelancing as a content creator and illustrator for clients like McDonald’s and New Balance for some years now.

Guided by our mentors from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, my coursemates and I joined competitions and won several awards for our creative advertising campaign ideas. These occasions provided great networking opportunities.

LinkedIn is a great tool to connect with professionals in the industry, especially when they see my posts explaining my ideas. When I talk about the work I’m proud of, my passion shines through. I believe that enthusiasm can be just as convincing as any accolade.

It all came together when I landed my first job with McCann, an international advertising agency. I had met the executive creative director when my team’s project won Best of Show at the Crowbar Awards 2023, and also kept in touch with the chief creative officer since she guest lectured two years ago. Additionally, a referral from my advertising lecturer, Ms Wong Pei Wen, helped in the interview process.

In fact, to increase the visibility of my fellow students’ works, I led the organisation of a three-day exhibition and networking session at Gillman Barracks last August as an extension of the school’s annual student awards. We invited alumni to view outstanding broadcast, journalism, advertising and research projects. Sharing our work with industry experts can open doors for the future.”

4. KEEP UP WITH THE INDUSTRY

“While at NTU, I took on six internships in technology, consulting, finance and more to try out different industries. Each sector is different, and you’ll need to decide which culture you can thrive in. Tech working culture may be relaxed but you’ll need to be agile as it’s fast-paced. In finance, work processes are more structured as the industry is heavily regulated.

After you’ve explored different fields or job scopes, you can confidently share what you like about the sector and challenges you want to address in job interviews. Also, you can ask seniors or LinkedIn connections what an industry is like.  

In interviews, explain why you’re interested in the role by sharing insider insights or direct experience. This shows hiring managers you’re serious and informed, not just someone who’s applying to any job you can get.”

5. SHOW YOUR PERSONAL SIDE

“I find that when it comes to fresh graduates, employers are more interested in hiring individuals who are a good fit with their culture, as they are prepared to teach newcomers the necessary technical skills.

Running group interviews and asking situational questions are ways to see how you communicate, collaborate, adapt and handle conflicts.

So be open and talk about your interests outside of work and school. In my case, many interviewers were intrigued by my involvement in NTU’s Welfare Services Club Growth & Opportunities! (WSC GO!). They were looking for demonstrations of my soft skills and asked for examples of how I worked with my team to organise events under time pressure.

I also mentioned my love for classic movies and sitcoms, and when some interviewers asked about my favourite show, it helped me build rapport with them.

In my freshman year, I had difficulties securing an internship. Nevertheless, I continued applying for lots of different roles to explore various opportunities. Eventually, I did five internships across sectors such as capital markets, asset management, financial regulation and auditing. My third-year internship with HSBC led to the offer of a full-time role, so I was fortunate to not have to hunt for my first job.”

She got 5 job offers. How did she pick the right one?

Computer science graduate and Renaissance Engineering Programme valedictorian Perlyn Chew nabbed five job offers from companies in consulting, technology, oil and gas, and finance. In her final two years of studies at NTU, she began job hunting, applying for over 100 positions and receiving interview invitations for around half of them.

“Nearing the end of 2023, I was lucky to receive three offers, including from companies I interned with. At the same time, my Strategic Decision Making lecturer, Dr Chen Songlin, had us assess our offers using the decision-making models we learnt in class.

Dr Chen advised me to think long term when choosing my first job. Instead of focusing on whether I liked the hiring manager, company reputation or salary, it was more important to choose a role with career growth that aligns with my interests.

With these principles in mind, I accepted an engineering position early this year, and have just started the job in Hong Kong. I’m positive it will lead to exciting career opportunities, and I look forward to stepping out of my comfort zone while I live and work overseas.”

This story was published in the Jul-Aug 2024 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.