A dilemma that we face in the current Pakistani society and the world in general is the failure of the youth to easily land a job they desire, in a professional setting they aspire to be in. There is much talk about the issue and less discussion on how we can actually tackle this problem. Shall we blame the economy? Shall we blame the Government in power? Shall we blame the so-called ‘education system’ which is more often perceived to be unfair than fair? Shall we blame the system that promotes flair of selection based upon reasons other than merit? But that’s the usual thing – That is what we do. For once, how about we self-reflect and truly question where we stand?
Time is perhaps the most precious reward that nature gives to the young. We can either spend time talking about the so-called challenges we are faced with, which we generally have no direct control over, or we can start considering things we can do something about and take action.
Here’s a reality check: We all need to ‘up our game’. You are not entitled to a job anywhere just because you have a piece of paper in your hand that is supposed to be a testament to how great you are. A formal academic degree might also be extremely important and definitely has value of its own, but is it enough? Not really. Unemployment would not be that high if a degree guaranteed a job or a career growth trajectory of any sort.
What’s the solution? Improve yourself. Companies and organizations want to hire the best of the best and rightfully so. They are making a long term investment and since more than half of our country is young, with so many alternatives, it’s not a surprise they shouldn’t settle for anything less than the best.
In such evolving and exciting times, the youth must learn additional skills and pursue activities that add value to their personal and professional identity.
Following a set scheme of going to university and coming back and repeating this for four years will not magically land you a job.
You need to think out of the box. Do some internship. Talk to professional people. Learn from them. Seek Advice. Learn some additional skills through YouTube or any other learning platform. Engage in extracurricular activities that enhance your personality. You should strive to the best version of yourself if you want to progress professionally in such competitive times. You should always be willing to go the extra mile that others might not be willing to go.
Watch international discussions that are relevant to your field on YouTube or whichever platform you wish to access. Understand the future technologies that will affect your life and field in general. If you are a young professional, you should aim to be not just one of the best in the country but in the world. In such times of integration and globalization, you should be as informed as some of the best students in other universities around the world.
The theme of the discussion here is to work on improving yourself. Instead of blaming the system, which we honestly cannot always do something about, let’s try to change and improve ourselves. That’s something that is always in our control, so why not start from there? If you truly change yourself, only then will you have the power to evoke large scale change. Let’s start with ourselves today.
