Your Reliable Talent 2016

PolyU SPEED has launched a “Your Reliable Talent” programme which included a series of customised career workshops designed to address the common career-related concerns and interests of its final year students, and to help them formulate their job search strategies.

A total of 165 PolyU SPEED final-year top students who have outstanding performance in both academic and extracurricular activities were selected to join this programme. The School’s academic staff as well as Human Resources (HR) professionals and career consultants from different firms were invited to share advice on job hunting and career development, and their personal career stories with the participants.

The programme also consisted of a seminar that provided an overview of the job market, talks about the attributes of employees that employers are looking for, as well as sharing about the importance of graduates’ first job for their career. An aptitude test was also provided for the students.

Training sessions for resume writing and mock interview exercises were also organised, during which each student received individual advice from the HR professionals. The programme wrapped up with a group discussion on the do’s and don’ts at job interviews - the key takeaway from the programme.

The programme was an inspiring experience for the students, matching their interests, skills and values with their potential careers. Upon completion of the programme, a professionallydesigned booklet containing the profiles of the 165 PolyU SPEED students will be sent to the targeted recruiters and also available on the PolyU SPEED website

Dr Jack Lo, Director of PolyU SPEED, said the aim of this programme is to provide students with a better understanding of the job market and the prospects of their future career. “We have been working closely with employers, recruitment firms and professional bodies to meet the needs of the industries, with a view to empowering our students as they work towards their career goals,” said Dr Lo. “Interestingly, the employers all told us that they would prefer candidates who are reasonably competent, reliable and with good teamwork to just the straight-A students.”

Mr Anders Yung, Assistant Programme Director of PolyU SPEED, said, “That is how we came up with the ‘Your Reliable Talent’ programme. We ask our students to be ‘humbly aggressive’ – seeking to understand the real needs of their employers so that they can work towards their career goals.”

“Upon completion of the top-up honours degree programmes offered by PolyU SPEED, graduates compete favourably with their counterparts of full-blown degree programmes in the job market,” said Mr Yung. “At PolyU SPEED, top-up honours degree programmes are offered to sub-degree graduates as an alternative articulation pathway to pursue university education.”

“Our students are equipped with all-round skills and they are able to think independently and communicate effectively,” he added. Dr Lo said he is glad that the employers welcome PolyU SPEED students from different academic disciplines and value them as potential candidates to meet the needs of various industries.

“I sincerely wish all our students the very best in their career. I hope that the employers will discover their reliable talent here!”