Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay based on the picture below. You should start your essay with a brief description of the picture and then discuss what qualities an employer should look for in job applicants . You should give sound arguments to support your views and write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.
As is depicted in the cartoon, a Master is applying for a job, but he is rejected only for the reason that he doesn’t have a degree as high as other applicants who are all Ph.D.s. Simple as the cartoon is, it is thought-provoking.
Apparently, the cartoon tries to criticize the phenomenon that employers have been attaching too much importance to academic degrees. As a matter of fact, educational background, though cannot be ignored, should not be the primary criterion in selecting employees and what really matter are one’s abilities and potential. First of all, academic degrees only represent the applicants’ proficiency in their study, but cannot demonstrate their practical abilities to fulfill tasks. Moreover, putting too much emphasis on degrees might hinder the development of companies and may make companies miss real talents. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are the cases in point, who turned out to be extraordinary talents though they were college dropouts. Besides, in the long run, one’s personality and moral qualities, such as enthusiasm, honesty and faithfulness, are also of great significance, which are by no means shown in the diploma.
From what has been discussed above, we could conclude that employers and society nowadays should pay more attention to one’s comprehensive quality rather than just his or her academic degree.