The Hindu Business Line : Campus jobs – so near, yet so far away

It is a time of uncertainty for new entrants, with the job market not quite as rosy as it was till recently. It is a time to take stock and our writer points the way forward

Ganesh Chella

Dear Young IT engineer of the batch of 2008

I understand that you are deeply disappointed about the sudden turn of events on campus.

I understand that the offer you received (albeit provisional) way back in 2007 will not materialise for a while now and that your wait to join your dream organisation will be long.

As a young enthusiastic and eager professional-to-be I can fully empathise with you current mental state. I am sure that the delay and ensuing uncertainty is likely to be hard to deal with.

Chances are your very choice of engineering and IT as a profession was driven by the promise of landing a job well before completing the course. Chances are that you and your family were so eagerly looking forward to your starting work with a bang.

The psychological impact of these developments concern me immensely and hence this letter.

The purpose of this letter is not to reinforce in your mind the erroneous impression that you are a poor victim of circumstances or that your prospective employer is ruthless.

I want to encourage you to prepare yourself to face the emerging realities of the world of work and business and sensitise you to the skills that will help you succeed in the future. I hope you find this useful.

When I started my career way back in 1984, getting a job on campus was not a certainty. Today, keeping the job you get on campus is not a certainty. The big change is that the risk of doing business is now shared by you as much as the rewards are.

Given the strong drive of meritocracy and the shortage of skills, if you have what is needed, you will be valued and rewarded handsomely by the market place. The same market place will however take these rewards away should the environment demand it. Living in a flat world is only adding to this degree of unpredictability.

So, what does it take to survive and succeed in the world of market-oriented practices?

The most important requirement for success is resilience. While popular perception is that you have it very easy, I believe it is quite the opposite. Look at the long road to success ahead of you — you join your chosen organisation, you sign a bond, write and clear tests, sit on the bench, do work that you may not like, learn a new skill, meet the expectations of all your managers, figure out the rewards system, cope with the uncertainties of business and technology, wait patiently for that on-site job and the next job change and so on.

Your success will also depend on your ability to take responsibility for your decisions and actions.

Taking responsibility means that you do not blame fate and circumstances and feel a victim. Taking responsibility means that you own the decision and its consequences and learn from it.

You will need to take responsibility for your learning and development, your performance, your career choices and your job changes. Your organisation can only give you the right environment to succeed.

It is ironical that even as you can look forward to an India of great opportunity and its place of pride in the world, the route to getting there will be rough.

I am however confident that you will cope with this temporary setback and bounce back with confidence. I am also confident that you learn all the skills that are needed to survive and succeed in the world of tomorrow!

Warm regards and best wishes!

HR, have a heart

Dear HR Leader

I can see that you have had to take some more tough market-oriented decisions this year. I compliment you on the courage and the strong business sense you have displayed.

In fact, I have just written a letter to the young engineers to remind them about the realities of the world of work and business and the skills needed to succeed in the future.

My task will, however, not be complete if I did not share with you my views and perceptions around the issue with you in an air of openness.

While I appreciate the challenges of doing business in a dynamic and global economy, I believe that through all our actions we are contributing to a growing sense of alienation among these young professionals.

While it is hard to insulate our employees from the harsh market forces, I do get a sense that they are getting too harsh a dose of reality and uncertainty too early in their life. With each such action that is unaccompanied by a supporting employee relations climate, I fear greater alienation and poorer employee attitudes and beliefs about organisations.

How much of the risk of business should these young employees bear I wonder? How much of business uncertainties should they be exposed to I wonder? Should we only use our employees to achieve our means or also demonstrate our concern for their emotional well-being?

I have a few larger questions. In the world where the market place determines everything, what really is the rightful place for things like engagement? Is it not more important to focus on making sensible promises and fulfilling them rather than talk of engagement, I wonder?

I believe it is our responsibility to find the right balance between business partnership and employee championship. If we do not find this fine balance, I fear that we may contribute to creating a generation of employees who will just not commit themselves to any cause.

I believe it is important for us to be aware of the future employee behaviours that we are contributing to and that is indeed the purpose of this soul searching letter.

Warm regards

(The writer is the founder and CEO of totus consulting, a strategic HR consulting firm. He is also the co-founder of the Executive & Business Coaching Foundation India Ltd. He can be reached at ganesh@totusconsulting.com)

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