P's get Degrees, but Degrees might not get Careers

You may have heard your parents (or your friends) say “P’s get degrees”, alongside a consolation that this sole degree will lead on to the career of your dreams. The phrase suggests that earning Pass grades (P’s) are enough to complete your degree, but more importantly, it connotes that any career can be obtained through this simple degree earned through Pass grades. Perhaps this was the case a few decades ago, but today, such an assumption would be absurd.

There are two glaringly obvious flaws to such a statement:

1. P’s technically do earn degrees, but they certainly do not guarantee a pathway to your dream career. It is widely accepted that generally, higher grades accompanying your degree will work in your favour in graduate job applications –it’s only natural.

2. More importantly, on a higher level, a degree by itself is no longer enough for graduate employers. They crave for more and more in their graduate candidates. So what are they looking for?

Graduate employers namely look at three key factors in your resume:

1. Academic Results: This is stating the obvious, however it is worthy to mention that this factor (to some particular standard) is nearly a default requirement and as such, it is a box to be ticked and not a meter to be filled. In other words, the extent of your academic excellency must meet the expected standard but to further exceed would add value at a diminishing rate. Of course, that’s not to say that academic results don’t matter (you should definitely still try your hardest to do the best you can!), it just simply is no longer the largest slice of the graduate job pie.     

                              

2. Soft Skills: these are the skills embedded in your character and experience, such as verbal communication, problem-solving ability and team leadership, which are becoming increasingly relevant to graduate jobs. Also termed “employability skills”, the general case is that the more you have, the more employable you are. At first, it seems baffling that graduate employers can quantify these skills at all since they revolve around the mental ability to operate in a specific graduate job. However, a common way that employers have recognized such interpersonal skills is through a student’s experience in extra-curricular university activities. For example, whether they have held any leadership positions or participated in any competitions have a high bearing on recognizing interpersonal skills.

3. Work Experience: Graduate employers prefer candidates with relevant work experience because it means that they are not completely unfamiliar with the applied job and (should) know and understand what they are doing. Unfortunately, work experience is the most difficult to gain of all the factors since it is restricted to whether you are presented with the opportunity. Currently, work experience internships are in high demand yet opportunities are limited. It really tests your pro-activeness, determination and connections when it comes to being offered an internship opportunity.

To really distinguish yourself in front of the graduate employer, the last two factors play a significant role. Landing yourself your dream career is more than just getting good grades, it’s also about exceling at interpersonal skills and work experience, no matter which industry you’re interested in.

So, the next time someone tries to justify themselves by phrasing “P’s get degrees”, then it’s about time to give the wake-up call that yes, they do get degrees but that’s it –there might not be a career to that.

At Connections, our aim is to assist you to achieve your dream career by guiding you to achieve the best at each factor. We are proudly brought to you by 1ntern.com, the only network of internship opportunities in Australia. Come back for our next post to continue the job hunting saga – how to find an internship!