On the Dean’s List

Being on the Dean’s list does look good on paper, but …

Employers look more than just academic results.

You may be the creme de la creme of your cohort but academic results is just that.

I was conducting interviews in my company the whole of yesterday afternoon, looking for an Engineering Assistant to replace one of my staff, who has tendered his resignation.

There is this polytechnic fresh graduate. He came with impressive engineering results and on the Dean’s list. Being a China national, he could hardly express himself even though he had studied in Singapore for 3 years. But the candidate before him was also another China National and could speak fluent English.

What a contrast!!

To test his engineering knowledge, I asked him to tell me what he has studied for Electronic Communication, a subject he got distinction. It is my favorite subject, which I also got distinction in polytechnic and university.

Me: Tell me anything about Electronic Communication.

Fresh Grad: (look blur)

Me: You got distinction for this subject. Can you remember any topics or anything about electronic communication?

Fresh Grad: (still silence)

Me: Do you know AM and FM?

Fresh Grad: Don’t know

Me: FM is about radio. 93.3MHz FM?

To my surprise, he couldn’t name me a single topic. His excuse was that the subject was taught in 2007/2008 semester and he has not made use of anything from this subject since then.

(Not sure he deserves to get DISTINCTION, man!!)

So I tried with a more recent subject which he got an A – Radio Frequency Engineering. Again, he couldn’t tell me anything or any topic that he had learned from RF Engineering. Not even the simplest equation: frequency is inversely proportional to wavelength. The constant is the speed of light.

I tried the same Radio Frequency question on another candidate, who got a lot of F in her grades. Surprise, surprise, she could even tell me that the speed of light is 3 X 10(exponential 8) m/s. Yes, all who have studied RF Engineering will know the speed of light and frequency versus wavelength equation. You don't need to be on the dean’s list to get that equation right.


So, what's so special to be on the Dean’s list?