In February this year, a group of young professionals of Australia’s Young Sikh Professionals Network (YSPN), experimented with a “CV check” camp in a Sydney gurdwara. The aim was to help the sangat (pilgrims) become more employable.
“We are still in the trial phase of this initiative and it has been largely successful. We organise a CV check camp in the Glenwood gurdwara on the last Saturday of every month. Job seekers from the sangat consult us there. We help them improve their CV and the results have been heartening,” Jasdeep Singh Chhabra, YSPN’s Global Event team member told SBS Punjabi.
This initiative was a result of the ‘Economic Potential and Impact of Sikhs’ report by YSPN earlier this year, in which it was stated that Sikhs contribute $8.1 billion to the Australian economy.
“Based on this contribution in GDP terms to the economy of Australia, we saw a lot of potential in young Sikhs in taking this figure higher. Hence, we thought of helping them get the job they are aiming for,” explained Mr Chhabra.
In last month’s camp alone, the camp helped improve 45 CVs.
“Punjabis often have good educational qualifications but their CVs lack proper presentation. They don’t always look employable. That’s where we help people who come to our camp in the gurdwara. Often, simple things like paraphrasing skills or adding keywords from the job description for which the application is being made, is all that is needed. But that makes a huge difference,” Mr Chhabra added.
The educational qualifications and professional experience of the advisors in this camp are impressive, says Mr Chhabra, with many working in big Australian and global corporate companies since at least five years.
YSPN's CV Check camp in action. Source: Gursimrat Bawa/YSPN
This camp is held every last Saturday of the month between 5 pm and 7 pm at Glenwood Gurdwara.
Click on the player at the top of the page to Listen to this interview in Punjabi.
