Lately there have been a lot of criticisms about the state of English proficiency amongst our graduates.

To be frank, I have always had a bit of a contrarian view on the matter. Based on my broad engagements with many students over the years, I have always felt that the general level of English proficiency amongst our university students is actually quite good. But for some reason, they have always been put under this idea that their English is not good enough.

To me, the minimum amount of English that you need is simply, just enough for you to be able to communicate your key ideas effectively, and for you to complete your job tasks properly. In summary, you don’t really have to be perfect at it.

I mean of course it goes back to the job scope. Some jobs require one to have a perfect command of English (ie English teachers). But many jobs don’t.

So what do you do during the interviews if YOU THINK your English is not great. Simple. Just focus on your key strengths. Bring these narratives out during the interview, in the best way that you can.

Talk about that moment when you brought everyone together as a student team leader. Explain your analytical prowess, when you had to comb through a huge amount of data in order to provide a recommendation to your student committee. Explain that moment when you contributed to a local charity project, and raised a sum for the community. Just get the ideas out, and highlight your key strengths, as simply as you can.  

Sometimes the interview process is not just about your achievements, but it’s also about your self-confidence. So focus on yourself, forget the doubters, and go ace that interview. And I wish you all the best.

By Nik Shahrizal