Graduates urged to prepare for job market

04-15-08
Page 31

THE Chief Operating Officer of Ghana Home Loans, Mr Kojo Addo-Kufuor, has charged graduates of tertiary institutions to prepare themselves adequately to enable them to meet the demands and requirements of employers.
He was because employers needed employees who could add value to their businesses.
Speaking at a career seminar organised by AIESEC, a student-run association, Mr Addo-Kufuor said, there were lot of opportunities for graduates to take advantage of, but for lack of adequate preparations they could not get them.
Mr Addo-Kufuor charged the participants to do some research about organisations or companies they intend to work with, so as to give them a fair idea as to where they were going, adding that that would help them during interview for employment.
“One of the best ways to impress your recruiter is to let them know that you know something about their business,” he explained.
In preparing for interview on the job market, he said, they should prepare for some obvious like “tell me about yourself” to enable them to score full marks.
With regard to the preparation of Curriculum Vitae (CV), he said, they should check their spellings, grammar, use basic fonts like Times New Roman and arranged in chronological order.
Mr Addo-Kufuor asked graduates to give a good impression of themselves by getting to the venue for the interview before the stipulated time, saying that they should be presentable and smart in their appearance.
The Managing Partner of Oxford and Beaumont, Mr Elikem Nutifafa Kuhenhia, said graduates should have interpersonal skills and have a hunger to develop.
He said they identify their strengths in the markets and make adequate use of them, and urged the students to make the most of their time at the university.
Mr Ralph Fiifi Amissah, the acting Head of Human Capital at the United Bank for Africa (UBA), said career planning must be effectively done to enable graduates to achieve the desired results on the job market.
He said career planning did not only happen before work but in the course of work, and stressed the need for graduates to be able to deliver on their responsibilities.
In a related development, AIESEC held a Career Fair for students of the University of Ghana.
It sought to educate them how to prepared for the job market.
Representatives from seven organisations namely- Ghana Home Loans, United Bank for Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, SAS Financial Group, Oxford and Beaumont Solicitors, Nestle Ghana Limited and Corporate Assessment Company mounted stands where students interacted with them.
Some of the organisations took the applications and CVs of students while some of them (students) were interviewed.