Reasons for First-time job hunt struggle

You might have already heard about UN's estimates about India's population reaching 1,425,775,850, surpassing the population of China, last week

As of 2023, more than 40% of India’s residents are younger than 25 with an estimated median age of 28?as per the data from the World Population Prospects.

The above numbers firmly justify the fact that there is a huge employable population in India and with the increasing population, need for products and services also increases. This further results in addition in industries fulfilling these needs. Increasing Industries increase the number of job opportunities.

But as always there is tough competition too. Over 15 lakh techies receive their engineering certification every year from hundreds of engineering colleges across India. But, just over 2 lakh finds relevant jobs. As per AICTE,?8918 registered engineering colleges were active during 2022-23. And we are talking just about engineering colleges, non – Engineering students’ numbers surpass by a huge margin and have to face a higher level of competition.

As reported by Aspiring Minds, 80% of Jobless fresher graduates are considered as not fit for the job. So what are the hurdles faced by fresher graduates to peruse their dream job? What does the employer expect from them or do they even need freshers in their organisation?

Being in the HR domain of manufacturing industry for last 10 years, I have personally come across many successful as well as struggling fresher candidates. I will try to point out some of the reasons why grabbing the first job becomes difficult for them.

As reported by Aspiring Minds, 80% of Jobless fresher graduates are considered as not fit for the job.         

Self Confidence

Although every recruiter is aware of the initial mental state of a new college pass-out and their level of self-confidence, during the interviews, candidates with higher levels of self-confidence will gain additional points in the selection process. Many candidates with adequate academic knowledge are not able to express themselves and so fall behind in the competition. Interviewers generally emphasis more on behavioral competencies like communication skills and learning agility of fresher candidates along with academic knowledge.

Academic and Technical Knowledge

Primarily our academic schools even today are training students from a young age in skills that have no use in the market in the future. At present, students need future-ready skills. As noted by “A Piece”, they are preparing for jobs that will not exist when they will complete their?education. Rapidly changing technology-driven job market requirements are updated very frequently. That is why students should not only concentrate on just academic syllabus?but also keep an eye on latest technology and advancement in the job market. there are easy modes like youtube and other educational websites that provide easy and free access to such information.?

Quality of Education

With increasing numbers of educational institutions focusing only on the improvement of brand name, education has become more like a number game, and higher results. Focus on the quality of education seems to have deteriorated. There are cases where a graduate with a very good score is not able to answer a basic interview question from his final year syllabus. Such candidates have to further work harder to add at least basic theoretical knowledge to prove their academic certification.??

Proper Resume

There are times when HR receives tons of resumes for a particular opening. Candidates should be aware that there is a set procedure for hiring in every industry. The very first step is normally scrutiny of Resumes. I have come across many CV’s of fresher where even the updated contact details are missing or the specialization of their qualification is missing. This makes them filtered out at screening stage itself.

In some cases, profile is shortlisted and qualifies for interview, during interviewer discussions. I have noticed in many cases, a catchy objective line is mentioned as the heading of the resume but when asked about the objective, they are not even aware about what is there in their CV.??This marks a negative impression on his/her assessment

Much High Expectations.

Most of the youth hold on for "the right job" as white collar jobs are the status symbols and are not interested to start up small ventures.?Higher ambition is never a negative approach but considering the cutthroat competition, ignoring any opportunity will not be a wise discussion. Today’s youth who are tech-savvy and spend a lot of time on social media, feels uncomfortable working in companies with traditional ideology. 8 hours work day seems to be laborious to many. This makes them quit and find a more suitable position. Although this is a personal choice but acts as a hurdle to getting entry into the core industry.

Home Sickness

Youth who have graduated from nearby institutions are found not much interested to shift to greater distances even if given the opportunity. Specifically candidates from rural regions of India. They would prefer to stay unemployed and find alternate options of livelihood instead of formal employment opportunities.

?Of Course!! Competition

Last but not least, when a potential candidate who is academically qualified and also has all the required traits for a particular job, has to face almost hundreds of candidates competing for a single opportunity. Factors such as additional certifications, references, Institution where studied also play a certain role as a convincing factor for the interviewer. Sometimes a capable candidate approaches many companies and still may not be considered for the job opening, this type of situation loosens the confidence of the candidate.

How to cope with the challenge?

Getting a job for a fresher is next to impossible!! if you are thinking the same, then you are wrong. Industries definitely need experienced candidates to save cost and time for training a completely inexperienced candidate. Aimed with the right skill and attitude, freshers can also easily find a job.?