Does the fun and excitement really stop as soon as we leave behind our young and carefree life as a student to venture into the world as an adult? Is working life really that tough? If it really is, will everything that we learned in the university help us to survive being in the workforce? Ahmad Rizal Ahmad Azhar, a graduate with a Degree in Computer Science - Communication from Management and Science University (MSU) and now a human resource practitioner answers ‘yes’ to these questions. He recalled all the lessons and tips he acquired in all of the semesters he spent at MSU. It was not just silly jokes and late nights for Ahmad Rizal because he was really paying attention and preparing himself for a transformation into a working professional.
“At MSU, I was exposed to technology. Not simply because it was what I had to study for my course, but because technology was really front and centre throughout the learning process there. When I started working for a few different companies at the beginning of my career, all the knowledge that I gained as a student at MSU was helpful in my personal development as an employee. People will say that as soon as you join the workforce, you will start gaining experience. I do agree because when I started my career in HR I was so green. I took it upon myself to learn about human resources by asking my seniors a lot of questions and reading a lot of books. All the lessons in computer science and everything that I learned at MSU really helped me in my career even to this day,” Ahmad stated.
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SRW Holding provides local manpower and offers payroll outsourcing services for micro-businesses and SMEs. This includes keeping track of employees’ daily activities, attendance as well as EPF and SOCSO deductions. As the company’s Chief Business Officer, Ahmad has come a long way since his days as a student at MSU.
“We were the first batch of students at MSU in 2004, back when the campus was still at the old PTPL College building. This is also way before smartphones. There were no apps for e-hailing or food delivery. So the biggest challenge for all of us at that time was to find a place to eat or buy food. Shah Alam back then was not what it is today with restaurants and cafes available within reach. We used to take the taxi just to get our lunch and dinner,” he reminisced.
Ahmad was the first president of the MSU Student Representative Council (SRC). Representing the voice of all MSUrians at that time, he found himself carrying the weight of responsibility. He was responsible for all members of the council, other students, lecturers and even himself. It was a valuable lesson in leadership that is not easy to obtain anywhere else. Today, as a leader at SRW Holdings, Ahmad Rizal applies the lesson in managing his own staff.
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“For me, being in human resources is all about appreciating the value of a person. For instance, having just one person with a bad attitude can affect the entire team. That is a very dangerous thing to have. I always emphasise to my staff the importance of good communication among themselves and respect towards each other. There will be times when the boss is angry at you. That is normal. Learn from it because people make mistakes. The only people who do not make mistakes are those who are not doing their jobs,” he said with a smile.
When it comes to the topic of transformation, it is not all about Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) anymore. Ahmad Rizal wants everyone to look into the technology of artificial intelligence (AI). He sees AI as a gateway towards transformation. It is an inevitable change that everyone has to keep up with.
“We have to remember that AI is coming. A few years back, people were so afraid that they would lose their jobs to AI. Actually, this is one of the things that we have to do to upskill ourselves. If we do not learn and prepare for it, of course we will be left behind. As humans, we have to keep learning new things. Even with our mobile phones now. I just bought one earlier today and in less than a month, there will be a new model out in the market. So, if you do not want to be left behind, learn. Just keep on learning,” he advised.
Watch more of Ahmad Rizal's journey throughout his studies and career on MSUPop:
Does the fun and excitement really stop as soon as we leave behind our young and carefree life as a student to venture into the world as an adult? Is working life really that tough? If it really is, will everything that we learned in the university help us to survive being in the workforce? Ahmad Rizal Ahmad Azhar, a graduate with a Degree in Computer Science - Communication from Management and Science University (MSU) and now a human resource practitioner answers ‘yes’ to these questions. He recalled all the lessons and tips he acquired in all of the semesters he spent at MSU. It was not just silly jokes and late nights for Ahmad Rizal because he was really paying attention and preparing himself for a transformation into a working professional.
“At MSU, I was exposed to technology. Not simply because it was what I had to study for my course, but because technology was really front and centre throughout the learning process there. When I started working for a few different companies at the beginning of my career, all the knowledge that I gained as a student at MSU was helpful in my personal development as an employee. People will say that as soon as you join the workforce, you will start gaining experience. I do agree because when I started my career in HR I was so green. I took it upon myself to learn about human resources by asking my seniors a lot of questions and reading a lot of books. All the lessons in computer science and everything that I learned at MSU really helped me in my career even to this day,” Ahmad stated.
SRW Holding provides local manpower and offers payroll outsourcing services for micro-businesses and SMEs. This includes keeping track of employees’ daily activities, attendance as well as EPF and SOCSO deductions. As the company’s Chief Business Officer, Ahmad has come a long way since his days as a student at MSU.
“We were the first batch of students at MSU in 2004, back when the campus was still at the old PTPL College building. This is also way before smartphones. There were no apps for e-hailing or food delivery. So the biggest challenge for all of us at that time was to find a place to eat or buy food. Shah Alam back then was not what it is today with restaurants and cafes available within reach. We used to take the taxi just to get our lunch and dinner,” he reminisced.
Ahmad was the first president of the MSU Student Representative Council (SRC). Representing the voice of all MSUrians at that time, he found himself carrying the weight of responsibility. He was responsible for all members of the council, other students, lecturers and even himself. It was a valuable lesson in leadership that is not easy to obtain anywhere else. Today, as a leader at SRW Holdings, Ahmad Rizal applies the lesson in managing his own staff.
“For me, being in human resources is all about appreciating the value of a person. For instance, having just one person with a bad attitude can affect the entire team. That is a very dangerous thing to have. I always emphasise to my staff the importance of good communication among themselves and respect towards each other. There will be times when the boss is angry at you. That is normal. Learn from it because people make mistakes. The only people who do not make mistakes are those who are not doing their jobs,” he said with a smile.
When it comes to the topic of transformation, it is not all about Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) anymore. Ahmad Rizal wants everyone to look into the technology of artificial intelligence (AI). He sees AI as a gateway towards transformation. It is an inevitable change that everyone has to keep up with.
“We have to remember that AI is coming. A few years back, people were so afraid that they would lose their jobs to AI. Actually, this is one of the things that we have to do to upskill ourselves. If we do not learn and prepare for it, of course we will be left behind. As humans, we have to keep learning new things. Even with our mobile phones now. I just bought one earlier today and in less than a month, there will be a new model out in the market. So, if you do not want to be left behind, learn. Just keep on learning,” he advised.
Watch more of Ahmad Rizal's journey throughout his studies and career on MSUPop: