Success or Failure is Up to You

by Zuraidah Omar

Zuraidah Omar talks to Nestle's HR Director who advises fresh graduates about what it takes to succeed in the real world today.

Having interviewed hundreds of fresh graduates over the years, Nestle (M) Berhad Human Resource Director for Malaysia/Singapore, Abdul Wahab Abu Bakar says one factor above all, determines a person’s career success.

Whilst there are a litany of drawbacks that seem to plague our graduates like timidity, the inability to reason or think independently, and the habit of regurgitating words they have heard or read, these are but symptoms of an underlying reason.

“It would be convenient to blame these shortcomings on our education system,” says Wahab, “but how can you explain the fact that there are graduates who do excel and succeed? The answer lies within the individual.

“Ultimately, a lot depends on one’s self.”

In a year, Wahab and his colleagues interview about 100 fresh graduates. He has also discovered that contrary to what many people think, a graduate from a foreign university may not necessarily have the advantage, especially if the person tended to isolate himself.

Ability to interact

“If while overseas, you didn’t mix with the locals and students from other countries, you may as well have studied at home,” he says.

The ability to interact with all kinds of people, and under various circumstances, says Wahab is a definite plus point when being interviewed for a job, and in fact, could give you the edge.

“Academically, you could be on par with all the other candidates, so interviewers would be looking at your inter-relationship skills,” he points out. “In other words, they would take your IQ as a given and would see if you have any EQ, or Emotional Quotient. An interviewer would assess this not only from the way you conduct yourself during the interview, but also from your extra-curricular activities at school and university.”

The 5Cs

If you excelled in your studies and still found time to be actively involved in campus and community life, you will have a clear advantage over other candidates in a job interview. You would have had the opportunity to develop what Wahab calls the 5Cs. These are:

• Confidence
• Courage
• Composure
• Competence, and
• Conscience.

With confidence, you feel sure about your abilities, qualities and ideas. Courage enables you to do what you believe is right, even though others may not agree. When you have composure, you appear calm and are able to control your feelings. Competence is the ability to do something well or effectively. But these qualities need to be tempered with a conscience, which is your sense of what is right or wrong, not only in terms of your own values but also in terms of the common good.

“The 5Cs,” Wahab asserts, “will help you stand out from amongst the rest during a job interview. If you are able to display these qualities, you will pass the first hurdle in your career, that of getting a job. But it isn’t enough just to get a job. You need to know what can help you to not only stay in your job, but to progress in your career in the present as well as future organisations.”

In fact, your recipe for success in any organisation can be developed from the principles that employees of Nestle are encouraged to adopt and apply in their day-to-day working environment. These are principles aimed at creating a culture of excellence in the working environment.

The 3Ps and 3P-Plus

The 3Ps are:

• Performance – The basic fundamental requirement that will ensure continuity of employment. Employees must be able to consistently achieve their deliverables to be seen as performing.
• Potential – Employees need to demonstrate their capability to go beyond their current scope of function and show high performance deliverables.
• Positive Values – The qualities and characteristics of a Nestle manager, which include having the courage and ability to handle stress, being open-minded and able to create a climate of innovation, amongst other things.

To further add value to the 3Ps, employees at Nestle are encouraged to go the extra mile by adopting the 3P-Plus:

• Passion – Having the inner motivation and interest to create passion in the work they do.
• Perseverance – The ability to weather the storm and recover from any setback or failure. Employees must have the resilience and determination to achieve what they set out to do.
• Pro-activeness – Being a self-starter and taking the initiative to make things happen. One way for employees to do this is through self-development rather than just depending on the company.

Walking the Talk

The 3Ps and 3P-Plus also form the basis for taking on new employees. In a recent newspaper advertisement for the Nestle New Talent Development Programme, aimed at graduates with 2-3 years’ working experience, these principles featured very strongly in the requirements for candidates.

Wahab is himself an excellent example of someone who has incorporated these principles into his own working life. Although he graduated from the University Malaya with an honours degree in economics, he built a career in human resource management instead.

“Your initial degree,” notes Wahab, “is just a discipline of the mind. You should not let it fix you to a particular field, you need to open your mind to other career possibilities.”

This, he certainly embodies, having gained a wealth of experience in the field of human resource management during his tenure with top companies that include Malaysia Airlines, ESSO Malaysia, Malaysia Mining Corporation and Citibank. In his current position, he is responsible for directing and managing the human resource functions for Nestle’s operations in Malaysia and Singapore. He served as an expatriate in Nestle Australia consulted on Human Resource Management in the region.

His involvement in human resource management extends beyond the company. He sits on the Council of the Malaysian Employers’ Federation and the Human Resource and Home Affairs Committee of the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industries. He is a Human Resource Consultative Panel Member of the National Productivity Corporation and a panel member of the Industrial Court. He is also involved with the German Malaysian Institute and the Malaysian French Institute, both of which are training institutes.

“To succeed in your job,” Wahab advises graduates, “what you make of it is important. These days, having a degree is no big thing. You must work at having that something extra in yourself as well as in your work. You need to continually ask yourself ‘What can I do better today?’ and this question also applies to your life outside work.

“Be passionate about the things that you do and always aim for excellence.”