Why are 21st-century job seekers lucky?
In the 21st century, we are in a tech-oriented world. Hence job seekers need not struggle much whether they have to upskill or apply for a job. Let's compare and contrast how times have changed.
Have you ever wondered how the job market was back in the 80s or 90s? Well, you might have heard how your grandfather, as an immigrant, shifted with his family to big cities for job opportunities or how he moved to another city with the family behind in the city and settled there for 10+ years.
I still remember my father applying for a position through the post office and waiting for the interview call letter for 2-3 weeks.
Job sightseeing started with newspaper ads. Let's time travel and land in the lives of the 21st generation job seekers. They are not used to make a note of each job offers and walk into office. They are also not used to sending resumes through the post office and waiting for a couple of weeks.
There has been a rapid increase in the opportunities from the 20th to 21st century, from the post letter to single click, easy apply on LinkedIn. From walk-in to appointment and traveling from different cities to attending interviews through video conference. The generation has witnessed all the possible changes for job opportunities in the market.
Then vs Now of education and job market
Education - Education is a key source to the brighter future of any job seeker. Gone are those days when only practical education was in practice. The education took a different turn in the technology era. Online learning has moved ahead in the race of education.
Barathkumaar Ravikumaar, a 14-year-old tech entrepreneur and business consultant, has ventured out on his entrepreneurial journey. He has completed 200+ courses online ranging from digital marketing to stock trading. He is able to earn a decent amount every month working for overseas clients. His hardwork and dedication has inspired many young students to follow his footpath. He has been featured on publications like Thrive Global, Vikatan and Shortfundly.
More learning opportunities: The later generation can avail different learning methods through online class or a virtual class. Students can opt for a different variety of subjects which would help them to deep learn about the desired subject.
Job Posting - It all started with the pamphlets. Even now, you can find a few companies following this method. Printing pamphlets and distributing door to door was the first stage of job posting back then. Slowly, it moved on to newspaper advertising when there were separate pages for the job vacancies. People used to walk-in directly or send a resume through the post and wait for 2-3 weeks.
On the other hand, this generation of job seekers can apply for millions of jobs within a single click. With the speed of this process within a single day, he/she can apply, get interviewed, and receive a job offer letter.
Multiple Opportunities - Being a graduate was one of the biggest achievements back then. This led to a limited and handful of jobs in every city. Candidates got opportunities to work in minimal domains.
Now, if we look at the changes in the job industry, every domain has broader growth and career. There are millions of people who found their career paths in different domains and succeeded. If one door kicks you out, there is always another door open for you. In the past, there were 1000 jobs in a city. Now, the count is in millions.
Improved Pay structure - Underpaid employees were in majority back then. People used to work from 10-12 hours and still, they get paid very less. Most of the employees didn't even enjoy the benefit of a hike per year. They worked for the same salary for more than 5-6 years without a decent hike.
Rapid growth in the companies and technologies has led to the birth of many software tech companies across cities. This has led to competition between companies that resulted in high pay to each employee, with the improvement of Government policies which mandated minimum wage and 1-30% average hike for individual employees across every organization.
Interview modes - Job seekers used to travel many kilometers to cities and countries for an interview with the hope of job offer. But now, there is major competition for jobs with 1:100 ratio (1 job offer gets 100 applicants).
With the use of the latest technologies, candidates can attend all the interviews by sitting in any part of the world. This is one of the major advantages in the recruitment process. The modes of interviews can be telephonic interview, online test, written test and video conferencing interviews. Anyone, from different parts of the world, can attend online interview and get a job offer letter.
Conclusion
The world has witnessed and adopted growth in the technologies which led every other job seekers to overcome challenges and find the desired career path. We are excited to welcome the future with more beneficial ways of finding dream jobs.
