International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

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Psycho-Education Group Counseling in Exploring Communication Skills of Final Year Students Career Preparation

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Communication skills are among the basic things that are important for the marketability of students to get a place in the world of work. The students need to be aware of the current situation which is now dire with the dumping of university graduates who have not yet found a job. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to identify the perception of final year students regarding the importance of communication skills in career preparation, identify communication obstacles and challenges in career preparation and explore student strategies to overcome communication problems in career preparation. Therefore, this study uses a case study design with the qualitative method of semi- structured interviews. The researcher conducted a group session with seven male and female students of Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) for three sessions to obtain the results of the study. The study was analyzed through a thematic method. The results of the study, the perception of the importance of communication skills explain two main themes, namely its importance in terms of life and career. Meanwhile, there are three main themes that become obstacles and communication challenges in career preparation, namely self-confidence, knowledge and social. Next, some themes are highlighted in an effort to overcome communication problems. Among them, joining an active community, searching for information on websites, identifying suitable figures or icons and many others. In conclusion, preparations need to be made to be among the quality employees from time to time. This must be done from now on before graduating. It is important for all students to be aware of the importance of communication skills because academic achievement alone does not guarantee employment opportunities if communication skills are not the foundation.
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