Benilde Career Fair 2017

It was a fun and fruitful experience attending Benilde Career Fair 2017. Different
companies were in one place for 2 days. This event exposed me to the real world since
I got the chance to send my resume and be interviewed on-the-spot by HR
professionals. I was afraid my grammar would be flawed that is why I spoke in our
native language. I will never forget the criticism I received by doing so. I was asked if
whether I were instructed to speak in English when applying for an internship or not. I
felt discriminated. At that moment, I asked myself: am I stupid just because I didn’t
speak in English? Despite that experience, at the end of the day, I was still happy and
thankful for all the things I have learned before, during, and after the event.

Before the event, I learned how to prepare my resume. I made my resume very
simple but detailed because I realized that employers don’t spend much time reading a
resume. A resume needs to be short and precise so that it can capture the attention of
the reader. I also learned to put the most important information on the upper part of
the resume because it is the first thing employers would look at.

During the event, I realized that most of the time, employers will not look for
you. You will look for them instead. Because labor supply is high, the competition for
employment is stiff. The challenge is how one will market his skills and competencies so
that he can be chosen by top companies among other applicants.

After the event, I began to ask myself: am I ready for employment? Are my
current skills enough to be employed? How can I further enrich my competencies?
These questions still linger on my mind until now. I hope I can answer these questions
during my internship.