Guest post by AQ Inqilabi
…………….With all due respect………………
Before writing this topic, I thought for a long time and then decided to pen down, regardless if anyone will like or dislike it. Many will agree that this write-up has factual grounds, as many of the new fresh telecom engineers like me must have experienced all this.
The fact is that today in our beloved “Telecom Industry” you cannot even have an interview call until or unless you have “reference” – which was previously called sifarish, a cheap word, so people thought of replacing it with some well mannered word “Reference”.
Let me clarify one thing that I am writing about fresh graduates and their jobs’ only, not for senior level hiring because I really don’t have any idea about what they call “reference” at higher level.
Numbers of examples around me have actually encouraged me to write about all this. I have seen lots of people getting jobs or at least interview calls just because of “Reference”. First of all let me start with my own example! I worked in “XYZ” company as network trainee engineer for four months. I applied there though proper channel but I was told that there is no vacancy and I should not expect anything good in near future. Very next day, one of my cousins called me in and asked if I am interested in a job for network trainee engineer in XYZ Company. I told him that I was there just yesterday, but found no vacancy and he replied “Yaar you just go there”. And eventually I was hired.
I have number of other examples, even you guys (who are reading this) must have more astonishing examples with you. Not only hiring, but firing also comes under the same formula. A friend of mine, who is also a struggler said a line that is so true and it was “job cut due to recession is only for those who don’t have reference”.
We, the fresh graduates, demand telecom industry to please, please clarify us; if you want good graduates or “Strong Reference”, so that we may do our homework accordingly. And instead of working hard with studies, we do our best to prepare a strong “reference” for us. I am sure we can arrange a good reference in 2-3 years, if spent not on studies.
I hope our seniors will respond to my query!
Thanks
Reference always dominates merit it is sad
A ‘reference’ is what every organization asks for, before getting hired! wait a moment, even your university asks for reference in terms of recommendation letters, before letting you join the university. So my friend, even in west, reference is asked before you are given a job.
As far as ‘reference’ as a ‘sifarish’ is concerned, believe me, it may help you get a good job, but you will definitely not be able to retain it if you dont have the required skills. Remember! Maintaining a position at a good job is more difficult then getting it. And with a lot of competition among the companies, you get FIRED if you fail to produce the required performance! even if you have a so called ‘strong reference’.
So you keep on your hard work and Good Luck for the success of your career! :)
1- I laughed when I came to know that a guy having only Electrical Engg. background was hired by TELENOR in HR. He had never studied HR or had no background in it, just a fresh Engineering graduate he was, but his “qualification” that his “Taya” was in good post in PTA got him hired in Telenor.
2- My friend has 3.52 GPA and is having very good knowledge of his subjects, but when he went to Wateen and Warid for interview it was excellent. But at the end of the interview he was twice asked one question “DO U HAVE ANY GOOD REFERENCE” ?
Guys who are his friends n batch fellows and came to him for help in studies and scored 2.6, 2.7 CGPA are working now in Wateen….they are thankful to their dads.
So true,inquilabi!! But i do second Farhan Janjua. Look my friend, You keep yourself at the place of CEO of any of XYZ companies. If you be needing any employee for your concerned department, you will ask your sub-ordinates or colleagues for any right person for your firm. But see , that only lasts till the hiring.
Once, the person is hired, its now on company policies that whether that person remains in company or not after bad performance.
Believe in GOD… God has placed your RIZQ somewhere .. you just have to find it.
Same is with me , being a Chemical Engineer , i have searching for job for 6 months , but due to lack of any REFERENCE i am not able to find any job .
But i am still not hopless , as HIDDEN EYE said , God has placed our rizaq , and there will be a right time , we will get a call from the company.
Wish you best of luck for every fresh graduate !!!!
zong mein sab parchi system hai lol
Hello everybody,
I agree with most of you about the reference system we have in our country but you can not bound it to Pakistan. You will find a lot of examples like this in every part of the world but since we are Pakistanis, lets talk about Pakistan.
I am MBA in Marketing & HR from a reputable university in Islamabad. I was looking for a good job for many months but couldn’t find one. I gave a lot of interviews (excellent) but no one called me. They imposed some stupid objection but no problem.
I tried again and again and after 3 days of completion of my MBA, I was hired by an Insurance Company as Personal Financial Consultant. I am not very happy with the job but “something is better then nothing” and there is no way of getting to the peak of mountain if you dont start hiking (until or unless you have a good ‘reference’).
Allah bless Pakistan! (Aameen)
i m really thankful to Mr.Aamir Atta who post my article after asking me on this website…………i read comments on my article and ppl said u need competency but to all my dear friends what is the basis of calling for an interview? the answer is “reference” so where come the competancy in it…………thnx for giving me feedback………….well the real name of my article is:
“REFERENCE” THE BEAUTIFUL ATTRACTIVE NEW NAME OF OLD FASHIONED “SIFARISH” OR “JUGAAR” and THE SATE OF OURS
i hope u guyz will carry on with feedbacks which may help us all.
Welcome : – )
There’s a very clear distinction between Reference and Sifarish. Reference is a recomendation from a person you’d trust for opinion. It counts alot. Remember last time you asked your buddy to name a good movie. Why? You can go to IMDB.com and do you research yourself. But the recommendation of your friend ensures you a timely and good decision. The key point remains the trustworthiness of the Reference who is recommending.
While Recommendation is for a candidate who is on merit, the same Reference becomes a Sifarish if: a) the candidate is below merit, and b) if the person referring is enforces influence in any way.
Recommendation is a healthy process, its actually part of our lives, and you’ll notice references going on from the issue of hiring a maid for the house by your mom, to you finding a good mechanic for your broken-down car, to a student getting admission in any university.
Well I would like to say that I agree with you “Guest” but what you have written is not entirely correct. I have worked in several countries and this happens everywhere. And our beloved Pakistan is no different.
Many jobs in the private sector which don’t have a “strict defined” job requirement are mostly given to people with strong references. Such jobs include internee’s/trainee’s, entry level jobs in Sales/Marketing/HR etc.
However, as you progress in your career, you will see the benefit of “references” and “word of mouth” in the positive sense. My last three jobs were all through references from my previous employers (strictly professional references :)
Having said all this, there are times when “influential” people use their power to get their relatives hired. The example of PTA quoted above is one such case. However, in general, in the private sector, jobs are mostly given to people who deserve them, especially mid-level to senior positions.
There is a quote that I really like. It goes “Bullshit may get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there for long”.
Don’t lose hope. Hard work is always rewarded. And smart people always find a way to reach the top.
Regards,
– Harris
This is one the example what our people are looking for jobs but could not get, because they do not have PERCHI or so called REFERENCE.
THIS ARTICLE IS 1000000% CORRECT BECAUSE I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS TODAY, I HAD THREE INTERVIEWS IN MOBILINK INFINITY OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT KARACHI……………BUT WHEN I CONTACTED THEM AFTER 1 WEEK OF FINAL 3RD INTERVIEW THEY SAID U R OVER QUALIFIED FOR THIS AND THE MY OTHER UNIVERSITY MATE WHO DID ENGR SAME WITH ME IN SAME BATCH THEY TOLD HIM U R TOTALLY FRESH WE NEED SOME EXPERIENCE…………….WOW THEN THROUGH MY OTHER SOURCES I COME TO KNOW MR.MANAGER HAS JUST OVER PASS ALL 3 INTERVIEWS AND HAVE HIRED HIS OWN LOVED ONES AND 1 PERSON HAS BEEN HIRED DUE TO THE PRESSURE OF DIRECTOR……………………..SO END RESULT IS THIS ARTICLE IS 10000000000000000000% CORRECT……………………. WE DESERVE BRUTUAL RULE OF TALIBAN.
Reference” well! I think that our leaders and elders are corrupt and nonsense and during the last sixty years of pakistan history nothing they have done else than telling lies, gossiping and exploiting new young telent.
they are all —- no appropriate word is there in dictionary that can make us understand how mean they are.
The Article is 100/100 True, I myself appeared in Warid, Gerry’s Net, Ufone and Wateen and My CGPA is 3.25/4.0 I have written 3 International Research Papers and not even fail to answer 1 single answer to Fuckin HR Idots but after the Interview I was ask for the Fucken Reference, I Said My Reference is ALLAH the Almighty, after that Reply HR manager of Gerry’s Net told me to get a job in Mosque, and I tell that I have a reference of Justice Choudary Iftakhar to WARIDTel Southern Region they told me how Pathetic is your Reference that might Fired by another Pervaiz Mussharf. The Contempt of Court…..FUCK HR of all Telecom Jobs.
Actual pakistan is ” SIFARISH REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN ”
haq daar haq koo tursay
angharoon kaa mein barsay
They may pretend to be Muslim…..
They may pretend to be the Victim….
but our Rulling Class Draculas pray to one and only one God …
That is Sifarish…
it is so ingrained in Pakistan… that you wont get any thing done .. without calling out 2 prayers of Sifarish…
even if you need a sweeper to clean the footpath infront of your house…
you need Sifarish….
and every thing else ….
you need sifarish…..
the REal god of Pakistanis…
sorry folks but the cgpa of ur university doesnt matter as much….. i got 2.8 cgpa, i learned the skills while recruited as a trainee its completely different things here…..n m earning good
thnx god
All the rich Pakistanis are running on Credit Card, it took USA credit Card consumers 10 yrs to go bankrupt….
for pakistani consumers who are not as wealthy and doesnt have a large no. of middle class consumers… like USA….
pakistanis have around 4 – 5 months to go bankrupt…
than the real ‘Reference’ would show how the top Rich class of pakistan will go ‘ bitch ‘ on each other……
pakistani government was always poor, corrupt, anti pakistanis…. but the rich people of pakistan had money…… so the pakistani economy crawled a little bit and survived…
now the real problem is those rich people have been bankrupted for the last 2 yrs…..
and are almost bankrupted in credit card debt….
wait and see…. how these Sifarishi…. rich assholes …… go down the gutor…..
to all those “shit nuts” here …. who are trying to convince people that ‘Reference’ and ‘Sifarish’ is the same thing….
must answer how a son or relative of minister or big businessman is more suitable for a top management job … without proper experience or education…. and gets high paying jobs….
while the people with the right experience are destroyed and demoralized by these Sifarish culture of Sifarish Republic of Pakistan…
I agree with ‘Media Vampire Class’ 100000% that “They may pretend to be Muslim…..
They may pretend to be the Victim….
but our Rulling Class Draculas pray to one and only one God …”
Sifarish has destroyed the whole concept and Ideal of Pakistan….
wait a little and you will see for your self….how these super rich ppl of pakistan will become beggars soon…..
age of oil is over…. Meglev Trains and transport is here….
electric cars are here….
Arabian Royal Families are soon to become beggars… cuz they wasted all the Oil wealth on fukin … strippers and pathetic camel race … assholes……
when the muslim children were dying due to lack of food and water….in their neighborhood….
now a days, circumtances are become like that, tthat you cannot get grave in graveyard without reference (safarish)
Dear writer, please try to understand the movement of era you are living in otherwise it will kill you like i feel it from your article. you go to university not only to be a graduate but also to learn management and believe there is no management if you cannot manage your stuff specially yourself. try to communicate with people, try to find resources, your family is the best resource start with them soon you gonna end up with a job. rest is on Allah
Greetings from Sheikh
Trust. Dear friend need you attention, please. Intercession (Safarish) culture
is emerging more and devastating our society like cancer and its also
confronting with fundamental rights and is main cause of injustice and chaos in
our society. We launched petition to combat with this Safarish culture. You may
check in detail and please help us through suggestions, comments and if you
agree you may sign and invite more friends to meet our target best. Thank you http://www.causes.com/actions/1721409?fb_comment_id=fbc_511381668884238_6006958_511534445535627#f30e5b9584