There was an interview of a 26 year-old Mr. Leung on a local newspaper two days ago that has created a heated sensation in the city. Mr. Leung has a graduate degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, though his qualifications haven’t brought him any luck in the job front for the past two years. On the news video, you can see Mr. Leung describing himself as a victim who is oppressed by society and discriminated by employers because of his lack of work experience and overqualified CV.
The news story failed to draw sympathies from anyone, except today’s paper posted a follow-up story about a local restaurant offering Mr. Leung a position waiting tables. Leung’s response was: “I am having three or four offers now and I would like to think about it for a few days before responding.”
Well, nothing wrong with that, but not after painting a sob story in front of millions of onlookers in the city.
My verdict? It will be a few more years before Mr. Leung finds a stable job, I’m sad to say.
- Attitude. With tens of thousands of fresh graduates coming out every year with similar background, why Mr. Leung thinks jobs would be handed to him on a silver platter is beyond me. He thinks his qualifications are being looked down upon by the employers. I will be too, and it’s not about the certificate he is holding. I am just questioning how he got to graduate in the first place with such poor critical thinking skills.
- Presence. Unmanaged hair, poor posture, stunted speech, lack of eye contact… are just a few physical traits anyone can witness from the news video. Again, this has nothing to do with him being a grad school graduate. Mr. Leung claimed that McDonald’s rejected him because he was overqualified, though I bet no fast food chain would have hired someone with an obvious challenge in human interaction.
- Rationale. Without reflecting on himself, Leung believes his pain and ordeal is inflicted by the Hong Kong government. He claims that Hong Kong’s spoon-fed education system creates graduates with less than adequate socializing skills. That is just a slap on the face to all the other teenagers. If Mr. Leung has so successfully completed his studies with flying colors, what will he say to the hard-working kids who cannot even afford the tuition to complete their studies in the first place?
- Tactic. I cannot imagine a grad school graduate attacking the job market with a total loss of focus. Interviewing for 200 jobs? It’s not how eager or how many posts one would go for that proves dertermination. It’s about building a compelling case in front of the employers how our distinctive qualifications, personality and mindset can bring to the posts. There should be at least a drawn path of application. Leung might have done it, but from the short abrupt answers he provided for the employment agency representative, I am hardly convinced.
This, is scarier than the horror movie I watched last night.
The Cantonese video coverage of the story can be found here. Part 1 Part 2
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