From Fresher to Professional: The First Job Problems
The entry-level job search is becoming increasingly challenging, and the frustration among young job seekers is real due to numerous first-job problems. Every day, millions of students and career changers hit the same brick wall: they review an entry-level job listing, look at the requirements, and see 2-3 years of experience as a must. You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to gain experience: a frustrating cycle. It turns an exciting step of one’s life into a difficult, frustrating one.
Today, it is harder to get that first job than ever before. Organizations provide less training, automated systems screen out applicants, and even the simplest tasks are automated. Understanding this overwhelming procedure can help you build a way forward in finding a solution to this never-ending cycle.
Screening Out Real People via Automations
Application processes once involved handshakes, printed CVs, followed by a personal interaction. Now, the first job searchers deal with automated application trackers and computer-based selection algorithms. All you have to do is press ‘Apply’, and your application will be sent to the company’s email address in just a few seconds. To deal with a bulk of CVs, companies install digital filters that automatically screen out hundreds of applications.
These filters look for certain keywords, previous job positions, and experience in certain years. Recently graduated first job searchers, who may be hardworking, curious, and intelligent, usually lack something substantial on paper. The system does not recognize new potential, but finds a few unchecked boxes. Therefore, many talented people are instantly filtered out without anyone even looking at their CVs.
The Disappearance of On-the-Job Training
Back in time, firms used to recruit young people because of their untapped capabilities. Organizations used to recruit beginners, train, and mentor them until they turned into competent professionals. But seems like the above practice is no longer the case, adding to the first-job problems.
In organizations today, management wants to achieve challenging goals using fewer resources and even expects every new joiner to deliver results immediately. With workers changing organizations after a couple of years, most firms feel that training beginners is a risky venture since training serves the interests of the rival organization in the long run.
Such an attitude lands first-job searchers in a difficult situation where firms want people who would need no training and are already skilled. Managers no longer train, but leave an open slot until the firm gets an experienced person willing to join for a lower pay scale.
Moving the Goalposts for Removing the First Job Problems
The more college degrees exist, the less value they hold. The solution to this problem is not considering practical skills, but increasing the logical selection criteria for employees.
Positions that previously required only a graduation degree now demand master's degrees, special certifications, and multiple internship experiences. Such a trend leads to an unbalanced, costly vicious circle, where first-job searchers are forced to incur debts and engage in unpaid work, just to gain an advantage over other candidates. And when everybody holds advanced qualifications, the criteria of the employers are raised again, leaving talented candidates without any chances.
Where Did the Starter Tasks Go?
Previously, the process of understanding the nature of an industry was through performing daily duties like writing routine notes, processing basic data, conducting research summaries, or handling basic support tickets. Such duties were not high-level, but essential stepping-stones that allowed newcomers to learn the corporate culture, make minor errors, learn, and boost their confidence.
Today, software and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace perform many basic duties within a few seconds. While such practice is effective in saving time, it gradually strips away the lower steps of the corporate ladder, as there are no more basic jobs for first-job searchers to perform. Therefore, they are expected to have good skills in problem-solving, project management, and judgment at an expert level.
Building a Way Forward
A fix for this dysfunctional relationship needs action from both the hiring side and those seeking employment.
It’s time for first-job searchers to find ways to prove their abilities instead of focusing on what they studied. Creating real-life sample projects, presenting practical work to the public domain, and contacting industry professionals to get a job can help bypass automatic filtering. Real-life conversations are still the best way to reach beyond the online wall.
But the greater responsibility to resolve first-job problems lies with employers. Stealing skilled people from other companies is a band-aid approach that eventually depletes the reservoir of talent. It is necessary for businesses to re-establish trainee programs, craft accurate job descriptions that don’t require years of experience for fresher jobs, and assess candidates as per their interest, work ethic, and capacity to learn.
Your first job should be an open path to a successful future, rather than a brick wall. Breaking the lowest step of the ladder hurts job seekers without proper reasoning. Creating fair start-up jobs for candidates is the only way forward.
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