in #skolafunded, Articles, Education

skolafunded logo

Last year, Ms Maryam Abdul Mohsen crowdfunded the expenses for her final year in university.

At first, Maryam was under the sponsorship of the Public Services Commission (JPA). But after she married her soulmate Mr Ahmad Fadzel, the young couple found out that, as a wife, she was no longer eligible to receive the financial assistance.

(LINK: Read Maryam’s inspiring story in full here.)

Thanks to her “angels,” Maryam managed to raise enough money and graduated in January 2017, with her savings intact. In her #skolafunded interview, Maryam shared 3 IMPORTANT lessons she wants all fresh graduates to know – check them out.

Maryam thinking deeply.

1. Plan In Your Final Semester.

Maryam shares that the biggest surprise she had after graduation was how difficult it was to get a job that you like. While she had a few offers (teacher, marketing executive), Maryam tells me that she had set high expectations for herself and was, at first, disappointed.

If I could do things differently, I would have started planning my career much earlier, in my final semester.  There are so many Psychology graduates, but so few Psychology-related positions available – planning will give you a valuable headstart.

2. Resume. Resume. Resume.

From Maryam’s job hunting experience, she feels that the most important thing – and the thing you should be putting much more effort into – is your resume. She suggests that fresh graduates go the extra mile to describe any club involvement, voluntary work or other co-curricular activities that you took part in!

As a fresh graduate without work experience, these show your future boss that you have important working skills like leadership, project management and more. If you’re just creating your resume now, check out these free resume templates for download!

Bonus Tip: Don’t just list the positions you held – that’s not useful for your employers! Describe your achievements and how they make you an ideal candidate for the position.

Extra Bonus Tip: Please, please check every line in your resume for spelling and grammar mistakes. We at Skolafund recommend downloading an awesome tool called Grammarly, but at least get a friend to look through and vet your resume.

3. Always Be Professional, Whatever You’re Doing.

Since the 1st of March, Maryam has been working at The Stretch Clinic as an Operations Coordinator. She schedules client appointments, handles front desk duties and, sometimes, gets a free massage. (Perks of working at a performance and rehab centre!)

Despite the free massages and positive environment, Maryam admits to me that she found the job “boring” at first. In any case, the greatest lesson she has learnt so far has been to “make the most of every situation, and just do your job well!”

While Maryam still has goals of pursuing further education as a Forensic Psychologist, or doing counselling with Women’s Aid Organisation, she believes that God will always provide a way.

The most important thing is to put everything you have in whatever you do.


We believe that crowdfunding changes lives. #skolafunded is a feature on the Skolafund Blog that aims to cover stories of those whose lives have been changed after crowdfunding on Skolafund.com.

Sharing Maryam’s story helps more people know about the power of crowdfunding, which means more people like Maryam can benefit or sponsor other campaigns. You can share this post on social media using the icons on the bar! It’s on your right (; 

Maryam's Advice For Fresh Grads

You can follow Maryam on Facebook or read her reflections on her blog! Read more about Maryam’s #skolafunded story here:

Featured Image Credit: medmesen.wordpress.com

Have Your Say!