Rohan, a young graduate of 23 years, completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology in 2016. About 6 months later, he landed his first job with an IT company. It was a reason for celebration because, after a long wait, he had cleared the interviews of a company, and had finally got an offer letter in hand. He joined the office and was enjoying the work, and was just beginning to gain a few new skills, but within six months, he switched to another job. The reason? The new job offered a slight hike in his salary.
3 years later, coming back to 2019, Rohan has already switched 5 jobs with a marginal increase in his pay each time. But, he is not getting any more offers because companies don’t trust him to continue with commitment and dedication for long enough to deliver. Rohan wants to apply for better jobs or switch careers completely, and is even considering the idea of starting something on his own. But, with no real skills added to his profile and no capabilities that he can successfully apply, he feels unsure and lost. Where did Rohan go wrong? What should he do now?
Thousands of young job-aspirants like Rohan are waiting for the dream job – the perfect combination of a great salary, easy-going office culture, and a quick climb to the top. A recent study by YouGov Mint Millennial Survey, 2018 shows that freshers out of colleges and universities expect a salary of Rs. 30, 000 per month[1].
Desiring a great salary to get a jumpstart in life is not wrong. But, how many freshers evaluate their skills objectively and justify the number they are asking for? How many of them realize their strengths and weaknesses, including their real value to a job or a company? Many youths are falling victim to this false expectation-setting. As a result, young people like Rohan get easily demotivated and switch jobs in rapid succession, until they reach a dead-end in their careers.
Virat Tandon, the CEO of Mullen Lintas, a leading Indian company in advertising & marketing communications, says, “From my experience, you don’t gain anything by changing jobs so frequently. You get some money, but there is no scope of learning. You don’t get a chance to prove anything and eventually, it hurts your career as stability and learning to work in culture is important for better teamwork, and these things do not happen overnight.”
We entrepreneurs are constantly at the receiving end when it comes to bad investments made on candidates who were simply not serious, expected too much from day one, and refused to stay the course long enough to demonstrate any contribution or pick up any valuable skills. However, I also empathize with our youth – perhaps they are misguided, perhaps they bow down to family and peer pressure, or maybe, they just need to see the big picture to make the right choices early in their career.
Here are 5 tips that I would like to share with young aspirants that I hope will help them make wise choices early in their career and lay the foundation for sustainable professional success.
1. Develop & demonstrate a professional attitude – Nothing is more disappointing than a new, inexperienced recruit who refuses to pick-up skills on-the-go and doesn’t commit to walking the extra mile when needed. My first advice is this – don’t give your employer a reason to pin these red-flags on yourself – lack of focus on work, lack of understanding of work culture and protocols, rigidity and stubbornness, lack of punctuality, poor communication skills, and lack of commitment.
Understand the culture of the workplace and understand what is expected of you in terms of both conduct and performance. Meet these expectations, if not exceed them. Talk to your colleagues and seniors if you have any doubts, or simply ask for their views on the industry, the company, the trending skills, and the opportunities around. You will be surprised how much you will learn and educate yourself within a few months.
2. Up-skill yourself by building capabilities that are on-demand – Sadly, our education system is based on rote-learning and is not focused on developing industry-ready skills. This means that our youngsters are not equipped to meet the requirements of even entry-level jobs while aiming for the moon all along. There are two things you can do to address this challenge. Firstly, learn and upgrade yourself as much as you can. You can do this even while you are studying. Interact with seniors who are working in reputed and well-off firms in your domain. Learn about what skills they need to bring to the table at their jobs and get yourself ahead of the curve by mastering those skills as much as you can.
Secondly, accept that no matter how much you up-skill yourself, you will still need to learn a great deal on-the-job. Walk the extra mile while you are employed and don’t give up until you have added a new portfolio of skills to your profile which can be your bargaining chip in the next job. The minimum time that you will need to stay in an organization to achieve this is 2-3 years, based on how quickly you can learn and apply. Remember, beyond specific job skills, you should also step up your soft skills like leadership, communication and personality development.
3. Start your career instead of waiting for your dream job – Unfortunately, fresh graduates often prefer to sit it out at home instead of taking up the best opportunity that comes to them. Some prepare for competitive exams to take a shot at government jobs while others stay idle, disappointed and frustrated. Instead of spending precious time waiting for your ideal job, start your career in a decent workplace. Prepare for government jobs on the side if you are interested in it – but don’t sit back at home feeling demotivated just because you are offered a salary that’s lower than what you wanted. To tip the job market’s supply-demand dynamics in your favour, you will have to start somewhere and get things rolling.
4. Get over social pressure – Family and peer pressure often sabotage the dreams of the young people who find it difficult to overcome it, especially when they see their friends or family members well-settled in a high paying job. Sometimes, parents might unknowingly set the wrong expectations about what to expect in one’s first job and advise youngsters to sit at home until they get a high paying job.
Avoid a career gap – it’s a trap that will quickly demoralize and demotivate you while stealing precious years from your career.
5. Stick to a job for a few years and demonstrate a track record – Amanda Augustine, a career expert at Top Resume says, “…you should try to stay at each job for a minimum of two years.[3]” A recruiter will doubt your commitment if you have short stints with nothing substantial to demonstrate your performance continuum. Being in a continuous mode of job-hunting reflects poorly on your professionalism and career path. It shows that you are not dependable. While you need not become stagnant at one place, add something tangible to your employer and your resume before you move.
Here’s what I would like to leave you with – as a fresher, you will be at a clear advantage if you study the current trends in the job market and plan your steps accordingly. In 2019, for example, technology has seen a massive boost. With artificial intelligence and machine learning making inroads into our daily lives, the hiring trends will change. Focus on intellectual workers will increase. Be a patient learner and stay the course for a while to prove yourself before you take the next plunge – your persistence will not go unrewarded. And remember, it’s never too late to begin!