In the golden month of October, which is also a peak season for recruitment and job hunting, Amway recently held a campus presentation at Sun Yat-sen University. At the event, graduates who had just left school and been selected from among tens of thousands of graduates nationwide to work for large foreign companies shared their valuable advice on job hunting and analyzed several common misconceptions among graduates seeking employment.
Misconception 1: Pursuing formulaic answers, losing more than gaining
It was found that the internet is full of interview techniques and example questions for major companies, and many college students have become savvy enough to prepare answers to questions HR might ask, some even compiling these into a database.
To this, Chen Huaqiong, a graduate in aerospace engineering from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, advised: "Do not deliberately prepare rigid template answers; they have a very low hit rate. Large companies often use innovative selection methods, and your formulaic answers can easily expose flaws. Moreover, too many people have seen the online templates, so your individuality cannot be shown, making it hard to leave a deep impression on the interviewer, which is even more counterproductive."
Experts from BoLe Zhike website stated: "Graduates using templates to mask their true selves may pass by chance, but if their abilities and qualities do not match the company culture or position, they will still struggle to survive in the company." He emphasized that each company has its own yardstick when selecting talent, but it generally isn't disclosed publicly. "Some graduates, due to lack of understanding of the position, may choose the wrong role during the application process, but showing their real selves in front of the examiner can still lead to recommendations for other suitable positions."
Misconception 2: Overstating strengths as weaknesses
Experts from BoLe Zhike stressed: "What recruiters value most is the integrity of the applicant. For instance, during interviews, candidates are often asked about their weaknesses. Some students say they are too strict with themselves or overly pursue details, presenting these as their flaws, which examiners find hard to accept."
Misconception 3: Seeking quick success at the start of job hunting
Since September, many well-known companies have started recruiting on campuses. Entering October, the atmosphere of job hunting on campus has become increasingly intense. It was found that many college students have prematurely developed 'job anxiety' and fallen into the trap of seeking quick success. Xiao Chen, a senior at Sun Yat-sen University's History Department, told reporters that she and her roommates have been collectively sleepless since last week. After the Golden Week holiday, she began sending out resumes frantically without clear direction. Some jobs were not within her expertise, such as medical sales representatives requiring medical knowledge and extensive networking skills, or positions explicitly asking for experienced individuals, yet she adopted a strategy of 'better to kill the wrong one than let the right one go,' sending out as many as thirty resumes in a week without any response. She admitted to reporters that she actually does not have a clear goal or positioning regarding what kind of job she wants, leading to repeated setbacks at the beginning of her job search.
To this, Chen Qionghua suggested that college students should choose jobs suitable for themselves and not rush for quick success, grabbing any opportunity that comes their way. Such aimless job hunting could lead to a loss of confidence.
Misconception 4: Zero success rate at job fairs
Following the presentations, job fairs will soon follow. Many college students believe that "the chances of success at job fairs are almost zero." They think the companies attending these fairs are usually small-scale, while the number of participating students is high, creating a situation where there are more monks than porridge.
Zhang Lei, a master’s degree holder in biology from Sun Yat-sen University and a management trainee at a renowned company, recommended: "Job hunting should primarily focus on professional platforms like Zhike, but job fairs should not be easily overlooked." Zhang Lei believed that professional platforms like Zhike can help job seekers reduce job-hunting time and costs, enabling them to find suitable positions quickly.
On the other hand, Chen Qionghua introduced that job fairs place more emphasis on the mastery of professional skills, which remains a good channel for job hunting for graduates with lower academic qualifications.