Top 4 Favored Universities During Employment

Try to visualize yourself as an owner of a company who is looking for employees that prefers fresh graduates. And applying to you are graduates from well known universities. What are the things that you would consider most? Wouldn’t you consider their skills, attitude and background?

Fresh graduates from the top universities have a higher percentage of landing a job, the survey conducted by Jobstreet.com for Fresh graduate Employability showed that most companies in the Philippines are looking on which university the graduates come from.

Among 400 companies surveyed, 77 percent of the respondents said they favour those graduates from University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), University of Santo Tomas, and De La Salle University (DLSU).

Graduates from the top universities have higher employment rates and less waiting time compared to graduates from other colleges and universities. This is according to an ABS-CBN news article entitled “UP, Ateneo, La Salle grads hired faster, paid more” reported on January 2013. Graduates from the said universities, took an average of two to six months to find employment; most graduates, however, usually find employment within three months. Several companies set a certain standard and choose to invest on graduates who received more quality education from the Philippines’ most esteemed universities.

According to a recent study conducted by De La Salle University, most Human Resources (HR) representatives observed that compared to graduates from other colleges, graduates from the top universities are more prepared in the business and fails less compared to other graduates. Dr. Bonnet from De La Salle University said that graduates from those universities are marketable and employable because they are perceived to be target-driven self-initiators. The study also showed that those graduates are well placed in industries. She summarizes, “If you look at their profiles, most of them are chief executive officers, assistant vice presidents, senior directors, heads of units, managers, trainees, etc.”

The most prominent qualities and skills that graduates from top universities exude in the workforce are proficiency in communication skills and technical competencies especially in scientific and business industries. She explains that graduates from the top universities are more reliable when assigned to accomplish tasks and communicate duties to their team members. Other notable traits needed in the job industry include leadership, creativity, sharpness, proper business attitude, competitiveness, as well as skills in problem-solving and decision-making.

There is an existing notion that graduates from the top universities perform better and have better opportunities, but they are not discounting graduates from other colleges and universities. Graduates from other universities and colleges also have a chance to be successful.

Companies would still hire applicants even if they did not come from the top universities mention earlier. Graduates from state universities such as Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), Philippine Normal University (PNU), and Polytechnic University of the Philippines are also top choices by the employers.

The employers advised fresh graduates to highlight your internship experiences, academic grades, and extra-curricular activities in your resume and during job interviews for a higher chance of being hired by the company you are applying to.

Regardless of what university that you graduated from, they would still look at your academic and extra-curricular activities. Whether you graduated Cum Laude or President of the student organization, participated in a regional and national competition, recipient of awards from civic organization. If you have some of these credentials, even you are not a graduate of the top universities; the company will still consider your resume.

Otherwise, bite the reality. It is really a practice that an employer really discriminates- a discretion that is constitutionally sound. It’s a fact that employers prioritize graduates from prestigious universities since they have good track records when it comes to work. As pride of your own university, I guess you should prove them wrong.