Three commandments for the job-seeking millennial

Prof. SAK's top line:

"Modern day jobs hire on skill and execution rather than mere degree and education"

Whether you like it or not; the millennial is here to stay: And arguably, this millennial is the smartest resource that a startup or an established organization possesses. The key issue is engaging this pool of talent into a constructive force. And likewise, for the job-seeking millennial, the issue is to fit into an existing professional space.

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Below are my 'three commandments' for the job-seeking millennial to try and overcome the industry-institute gap and to cross the line of expectations at workplace:

Engage in Skill enhancement

Your degree can get you a job; but your skills will sail you through it. And moreover, hiring today across verticals is based on a combination of (skills + experience). Nobody cares whether your MBA institute is good or bad, but you need to be an MBA with the appropriate experience and desired skill-set. If I am a recruiter and I need a Digital Marketing manager, I am not going to hunt for fresh candidates from MBA institutes that offer specialization in Digital Marketing. I would rather place my bet on a candidate that has 'hands-on' experience or exposure working in the desired profile.

Plus, that experience would help me as a recruiter judge the candidate on their ability to perform 'Key result areas' (KRAs).

Dive into the unknown space: Take that risk when you're young

The millennial population is obsessed with the word "jacks". You don't need a 'jack' or setting everywhere, dude ! Try to explore the market in the first three years of your career. There is no harm testing the waters by taking up some challenging roles across various verticals. That is the only way to identify your skills, ability and career direction.

Being too risk averse and playing it safe in the initial years puts you in an avoidable comfort zone. You never know how far you could have gone elsewhere !

Try reverse psychology: Figure out what is absolutely 'non - negotiable'

This is an excellent way to beat a dilemma or FOMO (fear of missing out). Many students I come across are not sure about their career path and what specialization to go ahead with. The way to do it is by figuring out what are the things that you don't want to engage in, or what is the sure-shot path which you DO NOT want to take at any cost, i.e. that becomes a non - negotiable instrument for you.

Once you know the path/things where you don't want to go, the direction is clear and your targets are visible.

Example: Rahul is an MBA specializing in Marketing. He is not sure whether to go for FMCG, Digital Marketing or Market Research. But he has a core competency which he figured out while pursuing his MBA. He is obsessed with movies and the analysis of movie distribution business, reviews, trade reports, box office collections, etc. and so on.

Rahul is aware that this is his 'core competency' among all the other competencies he might have. However, he never tried reverse psychology to figure out what are his 'non - negotiable instruments'.

He is also unaware that today professional companies are hiring MBAs for movie promotions, distribution and analysis, i.e. for precisely the role that he wants to do.

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Prof. SAK's bottom line:

"If you're skilled at something, and you do it for free, atleast make sure your charity is visible to a larger section of audience"