THE NINTH UST Job Fair last Feb. 4 to 6 was a hit. Organized by the Public and Alumni Affairs Office, this year’s fair culled 50 companies in search of competent graduating Thomasians to add to their pool of workers.
The job fair could well have been the UST seniors’ first crack at applying for a job. It was like a small peep into the world of job-hood or a tiny bite of the corporate pie. Many either experienced an adrenaline rush as they crammed to get their resumes done, or grew petulant because of the tiangge and ukay-ukay atmosphere.
Aside from rushing to computer shops to create the most concise resume, seniors found themselves digging for pictures, showing them in their nicest grins or their best angles. Pictures have become a staple in resume-making, and job-hunting.
It wasn’t easy. Summarizing oneself on a two-page document is a tough task. Scrimping basic information and personal data on two sheets of paper is a headache. It’s like writing your biography in a single piece of Post-it.
I personally found it difficult choosing which data to include, what assets to highlight, and what achievements to emphasize. If I had not carefully chosen the information, I could have ended up with a rough 10 pages.
But more than the intensity and hype of the job fair, I witnessed the excited faces, eagerly waiting to submit their resumes and get next in line to fill up job application forms. I saw their anxiety over hearing the words, “thank you, we will call you,” from the companies’ human resource representative after handing out their summarized biographies.
Barely two months going into graduation, the seniors can’t help but be uncertain of what lies ahead. What’s in store for me after graduation? What lies beneath the horizon? Where will I get employed? Will I get the job that I want?
These questions have yet to be answered. But for now, the experiences and lessons from the University job fair is enough to keep the seniors eager and waiting and longing.
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I just can’t help but notice the growing number of local organizations within the University which already went out of its way to conduct activities related to educating the Thomasian voters. If it’s not a seminar or symposium, it’s a voter’s forum or assembly, in preparation for the up and coming May 2004 national election.
It looks like Thomasian organizations are moving heaven and earth to help student-voters decide on whose name to forget come election time. I just hope they convey the message loud and clear.
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Incidentally, the start of the campaign for the University’s central and local student council elections coincides with that of the national polls.
This means that elections for both the central and local student councils will be done simultaneously on Feb. 18. This gives the aspiring student roughly eight days to campaign and prepare for the campus elections.
This is probably my fourth time to experience casting my ballot, but my first time to experience a simultaneous local and central election.
A usual sight during central student council campaigns is the central student council aspirants going up against this one mighty and more popular contender—Mr. Abstain.
It would be a welcome sight if the change in the University’s council election system would change this persistent trend toward abstention.
