Master, excellent valedictorian shares about failing civil service exam

The valedictorians all shared that they gained experience after the recent examination and test in Hanoi. However, there are also opposing opinions that the recruitment method... caused talented people to fail?

The valedictorian of 2012 enrolled at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, Hanoi (Photo: P. Dang)

Talking to VietNamNet, an excellent valedictorian shared that she was very disappointed with the results of the recent exam. Explaining the reason for her low score, she said: “I have been very busy lately, both studying for a master’s degree and working part-time to make ends meet, so I had very little time to review before the exam.”

Meanwhile, another excellent valedictorian said he had time to prepare for the test. “I am quite satisfied with my test. According to the average score, if I get over 50 points, I can be recruited as a city civil servant.

However, because there was only one job position, there was also another excellent valedictorian applying for this position. The "opponent" was someone who had more than 5 years of teaching experience in this major. It was understandable that I scored lower and was eliminated."

When asked if he had any concerns after the exam, an excellent valedictorian said: “Regarding exam discipline, I can confirm that it was quite strict. However, because I did not set a goal of passing, I almost did not prepare anything before entering the exam room and interview.”

Because it is a specialized field and difficult to find a job, VH (an excellent valedictorian) set a goal of becoming a civil servant in Hanoi. She did quite well in the general knowledge section but failed the interview, which brought her score down to below 50. Quite disappointed, this person said that she will soon go to graduate school to look for other opportunities.

In contrast to VH, most of the excellent valedictorians when asked said that they only applied for the city civil service as a secondary goal. All of them are now working outside or some of them have been recruited directly by the locality where they live.

Testing takes away the meaning of "rolling out the red carpet"

The head of the Hanoi Valedictorian Club, Mr. Nguyen Hung Cuong (Valedictorian of Hanoi Law University in 2007) said that the elimination of valedictorians after the test and assessment could cause a negative effect on society.

“If it is called direct recruitment through testing and assessment, it is no different from an exam. Moreover, organizing testing and assessment takes away the meaning of rolling out the red carpet to attract Hanoi’s talents.”

Mr. Cuong suggested: “Since Hanoi has organized an honoring ceremony for valedictorians, they should be recruited directly into public offices. After a certain period of time for them to demonstrate their abilities, the organization should evaluate their working capacity and make a decision whether to accept them or not. Or the city should let the valedictorians take the civil service exam with others and give them a certain number of priority points.”

Returning to the cases of domestic valedictorians still failing the civil service exam, Mr. Cuong said that the scoring, especially through interviews, only reflects a part of the candidate's qualifications, so those with low scores are not necessarily poor and vice versa. And even though they are valedictorians, they may not be equal in qualifications because it also depends on the training environment and the efforts of each individual.

According to Mr. Cuong, the evaluation of a good or excellent foreign degree also depends on which school, which country, and which top universities in the world it is in. "Not all valedictorians are good and not all good or excellent foreign degrees are high level," said Mr. Cuong.

In 2014, the fact that a master's degree holder returned from abroad to teach high school, led a team at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted to participate in international science competitions, achieved some achievements... but failed the official recruitment exam was also an "event" that many people were interested in.

'Genuine' diploma fails civil service exam due to wrong recruitment method?

Mr. Dam Quang Minh, principal of FPT University, was the one who later invited this master to the position of vice principal of FPT High School.

According to Mr. Minh, when recruiting people, it is essentially about the expertise that can be supplemented. “We only do not accept candidates who lack the spirit of learning and the ability to coordinate work. And only when we need to recruit senior or intermediate staff do we need work experience. For other normal positions, the school recruits new graduates, and there are even positions that accept final year students who study and work at the same time.”

Commenting on the phenomenon of highly qualified people with “genuine” degrees failing the civil service exam, Mr. Minh said that it was due to the wrong recruitment method. The problem even came from the people participating in the exam, when there might be people who participated with an uninterested attitude, saying that if they failed, they would just go find another job. “There is nothing much to say about this. A good person who cannot find a job by himself is not considered good. I think that you should never wait for someone to give you anything.”

According to an expert in research and forecasting human resource needs, the success or failure depends on the job requirements. “People are trained in only one field of study, but when they work, it may not be the same. The knowledge acquired during the study period is only a provision for future work, but not enough for work.”

According to this person, “Our current training is different from other countries in the world. The world discusses the ability to move jobs in training, for example, studying for a second or third degree - trying to find a path with basic knowledge, then studying more credits and courses to be able to do several different jobs, convenient for the job search process later”.

Regarding the opinion that one must have money or connections to be accepted, this expert said, "That does happen, but not always."

“In the case of Hanoi, the exam may not have met the requirements. Regarding whether there is any negative aspect or not, logically speaking, I think that they have made public the criteria, identities, and results of the candidates, which means they have thought about prestige and honor.”

“In fact, we still crave people who can do the job. Testing skills cannot be limited to specialized knowledge. Maybe because of job requirements, they need human resources with knowledge, skills, and a responsible attitude... I understand that employers want candidates to have those abilities without training. Candidates' reactions to the tests are also a measure.”

Nguyen Quang Tuan, Head of the Organization and Personnel Department of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, also said that it is normal for foreign master's degree holders to fail the civil service exam, although "In terms of qualifications, this is regrettable."

According to Vietnamnet