Graduation is one of the most awaited moments in a student's life. While dreams come true, it often takes a bumpy ride to make those dreams come alive. Once students graduate, the first pressure that enters their lives is to get their dream jobs that have kept them going all these years. But how difficult is it to land in the desired job? To say that it is very difficult seems to be an understatement. While process of landing in one's dream job is a great pressure, an even greater pressure is to deal with the stress of joblessness or job-hunting for months just after graduation.
Why is this phase stressful?
As the country's youth unemployment rate is high, it is very natural that the current job market is fiercely competitive. Jobs are becoming rare valuable objects with every passing day, causing the job hunting process stressful. More than a thousand candidates fighting for a single seat is not an uncommon scene. Although a university degree is supposed to prepare a student for the job market, current university education programmes often fail to equip students with skills necessary to thrive in workplace. As a result, the market suffers from lack of skilled supply of workforce, although in general the supply is way higher than demand.
Common stress factors
The very first stress is preparation for tests or interviews for a job. Often recruiters or employers call one or two day ahead of the interview date to let a candidate know about it. While this may appear a long notice for interviews, it is a very short notice for written tests, particularly for the ones who are not accustomed with the pattern of exam questions. Secondly, students are often working as interns or part-timers. Coordinating their current responsibilities at their workplace while appearing at an interview is not as easy as it sounds. There will be a lot of things going around your mind and you cannot do much about it. Thirdly, this might be an overwhelming phase of a graduate's life. There can be missed deadlines, technical difficulties, heartbreaking screening processes and this can stress a fresh graduate out. On graduates' part, they must be continuously on the watch for opportunities that match their skills and expectations and at times, missing out an opportunity just because someone started out late or was not careful enough is hard to fathom. Finally, the most important step and stress during this period is finding the right job or right fit for the candidate. Unless one enjoys the job, one may soon have to start the job-hunting process all over again.
External factors which cause stress
Peer pressure for getting a job is common. No matter how superficial it may sound, this can result in a stress that is even greater than the stress of hunting a job. Pressure comes from the expectations of close relatives. Undoubtedly patents are the most beloved ones on this planet, and they are the most ecstatic at someone's successes and the most heartbroken at woes. One's parents are never going to rest until one is settled. Parents are going to call before and after every test, every interview and ponder over the rejections even more than a graduate. All these are stressful and even though parents are always doing so in one's best interests, they often end up stressing the graduates out. Thus, it is important to understand their feelings and be as gentle and understanding towards them as possible.
How to deal with this stress
Dealing with stress is a lot easier if one is aware of it beforehand. It can even get easier to battle stress if one is enough prepared. The key here is to make the best use of time rather than stressing out. Using the time in a useful way can also keep one's mind busy and divert unwanted thoughts and stress. Firstly, almost every company uses some kind of aptitude tests for their initial screening and while many do not feel the need to prepare for it, prepping can improve one's time management skills considerably. Secondly, be sure to prepare adequately for interviews. It is indispensable to know about the company and about the role. Generally, it is suggested that graduates also prepare for common interview questions and elevator pitch about themselves which in this case is the answer to the question "Tell us something about yourself". Thirdly, graduates should develop skills that will render them valuable to any organisation by investing time and mastering skills that defines a person in the job market. The job market is currently at its most competitive stage and unless someone has unique qualities that sets him/her apart, the chance of a job is likely to be missed. Fourthly, graduates should know about their options and expectations with seniors from workplace or university. They can share experiences, advise you and help to find the right fit for you.
It is very natural to think that not finding the right job quickly is a personal failure, but acknowledging the very fact that this is going to be a stressful and difficult part of anyone's life will not only help one to calm down but also help to prepare oneself for the challenges ahead.
The writer is currently doing her internship at IDLC Finance Limited. She can be reached at [email protected]
