Students 'race' to work part-time to gain experience in applying for jobs

Students of FPT Polytechnic College participate in a job fair organized by the school – Photo: KO

Many businesses say they appreciate candidates who have practical experience and a proactive spirit like the above.

Students need to establish a specific study plan that suits them. It should be noted that during the study period, students can work part-time, but studying must be the top priority, mastering knowledge in the classroom is always the core.

MSc. Tran Nam

Proactive competition

Spending most of his free time attending film and editing classes, Mai Duc Binh – a fourth-year journalism student at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University) – surpassed many candidates and got the right job right after his internship.

Binh said that the lessons in class were quite practical but still did not meet the requirements of employers. Therefore, he actively participated in related projects such as filming, editing, etc. to hone his skills and increase his competitiveness when applying for jobs.

“By proactively participating in the corporate environment early on, I had the opportunity to experience different jobs. This helped me improve my specific professional skills, and my resume will also be given priority by employers,” Binh shared.

Similarly, Nong Thi Phuong - a former marketing student at the University of Economics and Law (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - said that thanks to participating in the school's UEL Marketing Club, she was able to learn how to work professionally and had early exposure to a lot of knowledge related to her major.

In addition, thanks to her experience as a human resources specialist at several companies since her second year of university, Phuong clearly understands the needs of the labor market in the field of marketing, thereby building appropriate skills and accumulating appropriate experience. Phuong is currently working at a company in Ho Chi Minh City.

“I always try to arrange my time appropriately to balance between studying at school and gaining experience. In addition to helping me improve my resume, it also helped me receive many years of scholarships to encourage learning and graduate with honors,” Phuong shared.

Unlike the two students above, NTTT said that although he graduated nearly a year ago with a good degree, T. still does not have a stable job after applying to many places.

According to T., most employers require experience. But during his studies, T. hardly participated in any activities related to his major. Currently, T. is doing an internship at a company to gain more experience for himself.

Experience is an advantage

“Many students in the process of participating in practical work will certainly have conflicts with colleagues, customers, partners... and with support and guidance from the company, they will mature in both thinking and skills. Their initiative helps reduce training costs.

"Students without experience will find it difficult to compete, no matter how good their academic performance or foreign language skills are," said Mr. Tran Vu Thanh - strategy director at Better You.

Mr. Thanh added that many businesses do not require experience when recruiting new students, but still prioritize candidates who have previous part-time work experience, because their initiative helps reduce training costs.

“The company always balances all factors, so students who want to have a suitable job need to know how to spend time studying – working part-time – participating in extracurricular activities,” said Mr. Thanh.

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Huu Chien – HR specialist at Icon and Denim Joint Stock Company – said he highly appreciates students who have work experience. These candidates can approach the job faster, leading to better productivity.

“Candidates who have experience and are constantly developing themselves give us the impression of a clear career orientation. This helps them to be more likely to stick with the job for a longer period of time, avoiding the state of being uncertain about their experience to see if they are suitable for the job,” Mr. Chien affirmed.

According to MSc. Tran Nam - Head of Student Affairs Department, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University), the current working environment emphasizes candidates who have practical knowledge and practice. Therefore, in addition to studying well in the university environment, candidates are required to have good knowledge, social skills, and working skills.

Therefore, it is very necessary to actively experience and accumulate experience. Students should practice practical skills from basic to advanced, and at the same time seek opportunities to practice in professional working environments.

Many students work part-time

In Vietnam, there are currently no statistics on the rate of students working part-time on a national scale. However, some small studies have shown that this rate is quite high.

Specifically, according to the study "The impact of choosing part-time jobs on students' learning at Hanoi University of Industry", 689 out of 732 surveyed students have been and are working part-time, accounting for 94.13%.

Similarly, a study on the part-time work situation of students at Hai Duong Medical Technical University in 2019 showed that out of a total of 1,433 students surveyed, 41.4% participated in part-time work. However, only 18.9% of them worked in a job that was relevant to their major.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sinh-vien-dua-lam-them-lay-kinh-nghiem-xin-viec-2024111108440227.htm