Millennials in India are enthused by and crave for career progression butt 66 per cent found themselves under-prepared in their first job and about 60 per cent left their first job for professional growth and work opportunities, said a survey. According to Monster survey, candidates are likely to stay at a job only if it offered better career prospects with 29% exiting their first job in less than one year.
The survey said that in this era of instant gratification, the role of managers/ management and constant feedback and support came across as strong indicators to retain fresh talent. Challenges with bosses and lack of mentorship have emerged as top reasons for the millennials quitting their first job.
About 37% of the respondents felt opportunities for skilling and overall preparedness were missing and 29% cited domain expertise as a key challenge they faced in their first job. The survey further found that 16% of the young graduates felt they could have been compensated better with salaries of 76% under Rs. 25,000 per month and only 17% earned Rs. 25,000- Rs. 45,000 monthly.
Another interesting finding of this survey is the mistakes that the respondents felt they made during their first job interview. The top three mistakes were – not asking enough questions (33%), not knowing much about the potential employer (28%) and focussing too much on salary (19%).
Monster said that when it spoke to business leaders, they echoed the findings of the survey and shared their insights and suggestions for job seekers. “One should always do a thorough research on the job, the company and the industry and even find details about the interviewer before an interview. This not only will help in increasing the chances of the interview turning positive, but also tell you if that is the right job one is looking for. It is important to measure one's strengths and weaknesses, doing the homework rather than focusing on mapping your on-paper qualification to the job description. At the end of the day, a degree functions no better than a passport for the interview but does not impact the outcome of the interview,” said CP Gurnani, Managing Director & CEO at Tech Mahindra.
The definition of success remains traditional even for millennials. About 32% of the millennials believe developing new skills and capabilities to further their career is their number one parameter of what they define as success. Followed by meeting goals set by bosses (23%) and feeling happy and content going to work (16%).
“As well as career progression, the culture of a company is just as important to professional success and happiness. At CPA Global, people are at the core of our business and it's important that we can identify candidates who will share our values and are more likely to thrive as a part of our team.” Mandeep added, “Job seekers should spend time looking at a company's website to learn about their culture and use the interview to find out more about training opportunities such as mentoring. Don't dwell on things like benefits and perks,” said Mandeep Baweja, Managing Director – India, CPA Global.
