Several hundred thousand graduates leave university each year whilst some take the opportunity to travel before entering the world of work the priority, for the vast majority, is to enter their chosen field as quickly as possible.

Bearing in mind the current economic state-high unemployment combined an increasing amount of graduates competition for jobs, places on graduated schemes and the like, has never been so fierce. As such, to tip the scales of success in their favor, it is imperative that steps are taken to secure a head start over the competition.

Let’s look at the three areas that, with the correct approach can give a serious advantage over your rivals.

• Get the best possible classification of degree that you are able.
• Gain experience and develop transferable skills that employers are looking for.
• Prepare properly for the application and assessment process and make sure that you have the ability to deliver what a perspective employer is looking for.

Getting the best possible classification of degree

This is self-explanatory; a candidate with a higher classification will automatically stand out from those with a lesser grade. That said the right interpersonal skills and qualities are also vital to an employer and so selling yourself and your individual qualities during the assessment process can give you the edge over a better qualified candidate.

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Rumors of corrupt practices during Matriculation exams have always been rampant in Pakistan. And as is the case with rumors regarding corruption in Pakistan, most prove to be factual. Frequent cheating diminished the credibility of local exams and the Pakistani elite soon turned to British O and A level exams instead. The common conception was that since internationally renowned western institutes administered these exams, foul play would be mitigated. At the turn of the century, when applying to foreign universities became the norm, SAT and ACT exams also became part of the private school experience.

As these standardized test became local practice, countless tuition centers promising to aid students to get better scores mushroomed. With an increased number of Pakistanis applying to study abroad, the pressure to be admitted into the best universities in the United States became so intense that many students resorted to cheating. And what better venue to offer stressed out students for succeeding than the myriad tuition centers across the country. While I was a student in Pakistan, it was well knows that the Islamabad SAT examination centre was the most cheating-prone. In fact, many students based in Lahore and Karachi opted to travel to the capital to take advantage of the lax invigilation. For a while, I thought that was the extent of the cheating’ that occurred at the centre – an invigilator turning a blind eye while a test-taker peeked over her friend’ shoulder.

How wrong I was. My first look into the world of educations human trafficking occurred when an acquaintance asked me to take his SAT exams for him. I was outraged, but curious to know how this could even be possible.

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The astonishing array of ‘strong’ prescription drugs found in Brittany Murphy’s bedroom was revealed yesterday as her husband faces questions over her death.

An officer from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s department investigating the 32-year-old star’s death found the medication on her bedside table.

The drugs were made out to Miss Murphy with other bottles, some empty, also made out to her mother Sharon Murphy, husband Simon Monjack and some unidentified individuals.

According to the investigator’s notes, the medications included: Topamax (anti-seizure medication also to prevent migraines), Methylprednisolone (anti inflammatory), Fluosetine (depression), Klonopin (anxiety), Carbamazepine (treats diabetic symptoms and is also a bipolar medications), Ativan (anxiety), Vicoprofen (pain reliever), Propranolol (hypertension, used to prevent heart attacks), Biaxin (antibiotic), Hydronodone (pain) and various vitamins.

Celebrity news website TMZ claims the investigator, called Blacklock, said: ‘No alcohol container, paraphernalia or illegal drugs were discovered.’ Blacklock added: ‘The night prior to her death, the decedent had consumed some noodles, leftover Thai food, Gatorade, water and tea with lemon.’ The notes also say Brittany had a history of hypoglycemia and was hospitalized in April 2009 for low blood sugar while on location in Oregon. Investigator Blacklock said Mr. Monjack, 39, and her mother made a frantic attempt to revive the star, who had collapsed in the bathroom, before paramedics arrived.

Story: Circa 2154. The US army lands up in Pandora, an earth-sized moon in outer space. Their objective: to extract the much-needed minerals from Pandora’s soil. But before they can do that, they must fight the peace-loving indigenous inhabitants of the alien world, relocate or destroy them with their spies and bombs.

Movie Review: And we thought sinking the Titanic was a titan task! Well, this time round, James Cameron chooses to play god and creates a whole new world with such exquisite finesse, aesthete and eye for detail, he almost takes your breath away. In terms of sheer technology, Avatar marks the coming of age of both CGI and 3-D cinema with its art house special effects and its shock and awe treatment.

On the one hand, it’s the sheer iridescence of the canvas and the never-before contours of the creatures, the flora, the fauna flying across the screen that makes you marvel at how computers can augment creativity; on the other, it is the umpteen times you jump back to avoid the arrows, the guns or slide away from the floating dandelions and fierce raptors that leaves you completely mesmerized with this brand new cinematic experience. Truly, Cameron’s vision of Pandora is pure art, with its tall, wide-eyed, slender, blue Na’vi people, its post-modern creatures and its verdant greens. But more than all this, it is Cameron’s cry against war and violence that makes Avatar an eloquent testimonial to the present. Mercifully, the film isn’t visual extravaganza alone; it has a meaningful story too that could end up making this magnum opus a modern-day parable for pacifists, climatologists, humanists, globalist… For the film-maker openly indicts American for its 9/11 expansionist policies and clearly states: when people are sitting on shit that you want, you make them your enemies. That is the only way you justify taking the stuff away from them!” Stuff? Minerals, here. Oil, in the real world.

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Us actress Brittany Murphy, who costarred in such films as “Clueless” and “Girl, Interrupted” but saw her career wane in recent years, dies in Los Angeles on Sunday after suffering cardiac arrest in her bathroom, officials said. She was 32.

Murphy was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre about 10 a.m. PST (6:00 p.m. British Time), two hours after her mother reportedly found her unconscious in the shower of the actress’ Hollywood Hills home. A spokesman for the Los Angeles Country Coroner said there were no suspicious circumstances, but that an autopsy would take place in the next few days. Celebrity gossip Web site TMZ, which first broke the news, reported late on Sunday that there was “a significant amount of vomit” in the bathroom area. It said Murphy had been taking medications for ‘flu-like symptoms for several days, and that there were a lot of prescriptions in the house. There was no immediate word from Murphy’s publicist beyond a statement that was issued on behalf of her family: “The sudden loss of our beloved Brittany is a terrible tragedy. She was our daughter, our wife, our love and a shining star. We ask you to respect our privacy at this time.”

Murphy starred in films opposite Michael Douglas, Ashton Kutcher, Eminem and Angelina Jolie, but failed to attain their level of success. In recent years, she worked mostly in low-budget movies, while her emaciated appearance sparked concerns about her health. ” (Today) the world lost a little piece of sunshine,” Kutcher, a former boyfriend, wrote on his Twitter page. “(S)ee you on the other side kid.”

Murphy was born in Atlanta on November 10, 1977, and raised in New Jersey. Accompanied by her mother, she moved to Los Angeles made her breakthrough in the 1995 feature comedy “Clueless,” playing a frumpy schoolgirl who gets a makeover from Alicia Silverstone’s character.