I recently saw a news post on Facebook that had a photo of
youth from an East African country in a public demonstration. The young people
were on the street in a protest to highlight growing unemployment among
university graduates. One placard read: ‘For every ten applicants only one gets
a job. Where should we go?’
Young people find themselves in difficult times with growing
unemployment in all continents. And instead of joining everyone around you
moaning, what else can you do?
Think for yourself. All along you have had a teacher or
parent come to your rescue when there seemed to be darkness all around. It is
your turn to establish why you are here, what you are living for and what you
will do with your time and gifts (yes, you have some). You are likely to end up
on a path to slavery if you let other people do that for you.
Finding a job after graduation lets you have a place where you
are serve clients in a business that other individuals have struggled to set up
over many years. You probably do not know their story. But they may have taken
loans, begged help from family and perhaps failed many times before managing to
stay afloat. No one is entitled to entering that safe place straight from
college. Would you like to try square
one?
There are opportunities in the various circumstances we find
ourselves in if we bother to stop and ask: how did I get here? Why did I enroll for a course that makes one
feel useless unless they are looking at the job advert supplement of a
newspaper? If you chose the easy way through college, you may want to consider
finding a course that gives you hard skills and empowers you to provide
services and produce goods that society needs.
The days of secure, paid employment in government offices or
the private sector are over for the majority of the population. There will be
more workers offering their services for pay in short or long-term contracts. Prospective
customers are no longer those within country boundaries. New opportunities can
be accessed in new ways with technological advancement.
Stop moaning about jobs and go after the markets.
***
Quote of the day:
It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things. (Leonardo da Vinci)
There are quite a number of
writers on unemployment, but they mostly write
from a narrow perspective. They assume they are writing for an audience
of people seeking employment and not those who wish to start a business on
their own or in partnership with others. They tell you that you are jobless
because you do not know how to demonstrate what you know and can do, that your
resume is disorganized and strewn with errors and you do not take networking
seriously.
The result of drumming the wrong
message without end is obscuring the option of using whatever skill young
people have to enter the goods and services market. There's another view.
Increasing competitiveness and
technological advances have brought greater uncertainty in the way we work and
the kind of work we do. That is something you can benefit from if you decide to
change to an entrepreneurial mindset. It is a new way of thinking that one can
benefit from the uncertainty.
The internet as a new medium of
business has unbelievable potential to transform
all aspects of life including prospects for those joining the workforce. So how
will you get started? Here are a few things to take note of.
Begin with a dream. We all have
dreams and can have new dreams. The trouble is, when we encounter the slightest
difficulty, there is a chance of a dream getting shelved and never revisited.
Seek out opportunities daily. Be
alert and observant for changes in what is advertised in the papers, what
people are talking about, trouble you may be having with appliances at home, etc. Read
biographies of outstanding entrepreneurs, they are treasure houses.
Keep a record of your business
ideas. Write a short description of the business idea (concept), find data that
can help you establish whether the idea is feasible. This may include things
like estimates of likely customers.
You need to examine who is
already in the market with a similar service or product and how you can
differentiate your offering from theirs.
Look out for particular skills or
resources that you will need to thrive in the market. Establish ways of
acquiring them. There are plenty of Teach Yourself resources online.
The business opportunity
should be something you love to do. That way you will go to
work that is tough, but something you are committed to and find enjoyable.
There will be difficulties and
rejection as you start out. Remember the way of beginning on your own is one of
restlessness, persistence and perseverance. In the 1950s Ray Kroc, founder of
McDonald’s approached relatives and friends for backing to start a new kind of
hamburger restaurant. They discouraged him and told him to stick to selling
milkshake blenders.
The 3M Corporation did not see
potential in post-its (sticky notes) when Art Fry first brought the idea to
management. He did not give up. Sticky notes are now a several hundred million business
for 3M.
They did not give up. You too can
succeed as an entrepreneur, initiator and developer and not just an employee.
*Listen to Thomas Friedman speak about changes in times of rapid technological advance
