JOBS, JOBS, EVERY WHERE- No one is there to take

 

When you connect with someone after say several months, you need to ask ‘are you still in the same company?’ many times the response is that the person has changed his job and mostly for better prospects. On the other-hand lot of people complain ‘jobs nahi hain’ (there are no jobs).

 

The third part is most interesting that when you have a job opening several candidates apply but you interview thirty guys and it is difficult to find even one suitable candidate to fit the bill. I often used to interact with HR heads and CEOs and they reflected exactly the same situation. I used to ask ‘How do you run your business boss?’ with these kind of employees if you are running a company in profit you need to get if not a Bharat Ratan, at least a Padma Vibhushan for the CEO and your HR head a Padma Shri at least! With no disrespect towards these coveted awards the sole idea was to say hats off.

 

 

 

People do not have any commitment, no seriousness to work. Many are so well off, pampered by parents that they come for time pass or ‘pocket money’. Are you serious? And they answer in the affirmative. The boss says ‘sir we run business under so much competition and pressure to deliver, we cannot do charity, we need people who can work hard- and we want to become a super power’. Sir on top of it the profit margins are razor thin, and these kids do not understand. ‘Kids my foot’, these are twenty-year old hulks not kids. Pumping iron and counting five or six pack abs or money- you can’t be serious.

 

 

 

 

I am oft reminded of a Murphy’s law ‘any problem can be made complicated, if you have enough number of discussions on it’. By Jove it is so true for anything and everything.

 

As if life was not difficult enough, you classify people in fifteen-year chunks. We heard of Gen X who are in the age bracket of 44 to 59 (most want to retire at 40).

 

Then Generation of Millennials – 28 to 43- why not call it Gen Y? I wonder.

 

You have Gen Z (12 to 27) your power of the nation the future of humanity with hormones running crazy all over, mostly in wrong directions.

 

The recent addition to this bracketing is Gen alpha- those who are digitally born digital kids! This generation is 2010 to 2025- Work in progress! Also, some out of the lot are Covid Kids whos parents suffered the two-year lock down.

 

As standard of living is improving and technology is making us crazy and lazy, the ‘cool’ generations are cooling further and now chilling! That is your gen alpha and Beta- oops Zeeta. Apparently their thermostats have become faulty! Pun intended.

 

‘A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today's military rejects include tomorrow's hard-core unemployed’ -John F. Kennedy

 

 

Remember, the earlier American generations on horseback worked very hard- graduated slowly to rickety cars and trains and then planes. Zee and alpha were born with a silver platter full of goodies- good luck to them. Earlier generations gave their yesterday for their today.

 

 

Future of any nation-developing one- especially the Asian nations now hinges on the rural youth. They are hungry- to eat, to earn and learn. They see affluence on their mobile smart phones, on TV and on banners on the roads. They are the bulk of have nots who want to have. Sometimes aspirations without perspiration.

 

Only thing they lack is a structured guidance- a sane guidance. While the urban youth wants to become a millionaire in a jiffy, these guys are there to slog it out. ‘Lambi race ka ghoda’, Urban guy wants to sprint forgetting that career is a marathon not a hundred metre sprint.

 

How to run a marathon also is a technique which is not hard to get if you have a right mentor- who is a hidden treasure in books.

 

Let us get one thing clear- no government can generate jobs- which is a universal truth. It can provide opportunities only, provide some funding, hand holding but the work has to be done by you alone. Government jobs will burden the economy and you cannot recruit en masse.

‘Being unemployed is the true test of who you really are.’ -ERNIE J. ZELINSKI

 

 

For the urban elite or not so elite the magic mantra is to work hard and deliver. No one will any longer pay for your cool look and great yanky angrezi- that is now behind us. The lack of seriousness in the bulk of the cool generation can be and must be seen as an opportunity. All things equal, the guy who puts in a little more effort can become a shining star in the galaxy with so many black holes around!

 

You were fortunate to get good schooling, good higher education- now go for it. Others did not get that on the uneven playing turf they are running on.

 

 

If every one becomes a leader, then who will follow the leader? There, wont be any followers left. If everyone is white collared manager, blue collars will vanish!

 

We need good workers and that is how great nations like Japan and US got the place they are in.

 

Skill development is the right approach. Do not beg for a job- there are many waiting for you- become job worthy. Get rid of the notion ‘sadda haq aithey rakh’.

 

As we over consume, we are depleting our resources- you may have a 7 feet wide TV but there will be data flowing in the fibre but may be no water in our taps to drink. You will have air conditioners but no clean air to breath. Yes, your mobile will constantly keep telling you the AQI level but cannot make clean oxygen for you. It is like an air raid siren telling you to take shelter- there will be none. Only trees can, which we are cutting down, bring down jungles after jungles in a mad rush for comfort.

 

A piece of wisdom- tougher days are coming- brace for them in whichever way you can- unfortunately we have messed up big way with the nature and basics like water, air and food may become the bone of contention. Let the next generation take heart and not only become productive but go back to making life more comfortable with ‘least’ amount of resources.

 

The author Virender Kapoor is the author of two most relevant books on the subject

 

‘Hand book of Soft skills’ and ‘this much is enough for me’.