Normally I use this space for more light-hearted affairs. This time though I have a more serious message that I want to articulate. The gravity of the matter at hand has got me thinking about the validity of some of the things I've learnt in this module, as well as the nature of professional life and professional communication.
As I approach my graduation date I find myself going to several job interviews, as do many of my peers. I am one of the lucky ones; I got a job offer on my first attempt. Some of my friends aren't that fortunate though, and I want to highlight the plight of one of them. Lets just call him Karl for now.
Karl is a brilliant student; in fact when I saw him waiting outside the same interview room as me I was seriously hoping they was more than just one job vacancy, else he would surely be picked over me. As it turns out though, they were looking to hire several engineers, and I received an offer shortly after. Karl however, did not.
The problem with Karl is that he has a speech disorder. He stutters when he speaks so it takes longer for him to finish a sentence. This problem had apparently cost him a position with this company, something I found out as he was relating to me the phone conversation he had with the company's HR department shortly after the interview. He would also go on to tell me that he expected it and that it was not the first time.
I find the whole situation grossly unfair. Stuttering does not affect ones ability to be an engineer. Especially for that particular job we were applying for. Naturally he would have to talk to other people but it was not as if he was incoherent. Why should he be penalized for something that he could do nothing about? Is it a question of ignorance on the employer's part, or am I simply being naive? In any case it does not make sense to me.
This was what made me re-examine everything I had learnt in this module thus far. Karl could have composed the perfect cover letter, typed out an exemplary resume, and read every single article about EQ and IQ every written, which would have opened many doors for him, but he would still be promptly shown out of many of those doors as well.
I arrived at the conclusion that many of the so called "rules and guidelines" of professional communication are not universal in nature, and as any engineer or scientist would tell you, non-universal laws = not cool. I am not saying they are not meaningful though; I have found that many of the things I have learnt thus far to be very useful, and can only be made more meaningful to me if someone gave me an 'A' for it (well it would be nice at least...).
I suppose what I am trying to say is that while we may religiously adhere to these "rules", it is no guarantee that the person on the receiving end would extend us a similar courtesy. Perhaps that is the one true universal rule of professional communication.
