Malhar comes from a small town. He has been excellent in academics and studied from a premium engineering college. He soon cracked his campus interview and was hired by one of the recognized IT brands in the country. Malhar is thrilled. He always wanted to give his family a better standard of living and now all this seems to be a possibility. The story does not end here but this is where it all starts.
This article is about many such aspiring young professionals like Malhar. As hiring have started picking up and virtual on-boarding & induction is making its way through; it has become imperative for brands to ensure that talent is not just hired but nurtured and retained.
But between these complicated lingos of the corporate world lies young, aspiring, anxious minds that need careful consideration and the right direction so that they can be a part of a successful workforce.
In a series of interaction with fresh recruits across different industries, more than 90% of them felt that they were prepared to take on the change but in reality, the change got the better of them.
What do they fear the most? Of all their fears, there were 3 things in common.
- Fear of failing one’s own expectations: It is encouraging to see the young minds not just confident but demanding too. They have high expectation from themselves and they are ready to push themselves to explore, learn and grow.
So far, the assessments for them have been in black and white. They were easily quantifiable but that would probably not be the case going forward. Both performance and behaviour will be assessed and behaviour impacted by impression and perceptions can sometimes be grey.
- What if I am not able to get it first time right?
- What if I am not able to project my true self?
- What if I am not accepted for who I am?
- How will all this impact my career growth? – are some of the questions that strain their mind
Therefore, a standard on-boarding and induction may not serve the purpose. We may need to create more opportunities in our day to day schedule to strengthen team affiliation, build assurance and instill accountability in them so that they build realistic expectations and work towards them.
- Fear of not being able to find a mentor: We all remember that time of our life when we were driven or inspired by a sport star or a singer or an author or even a business tycoon.
Throughout our academic life, we have been guided by someone from family, friends or teachers. We always had our ‘go-to’ person but stepping into the corporate world is like walking through an unknown territory.
Having a mentor by the side does not make it less challenging but a challenge worth chasing.
Although, most organizations are very careful about rolling out a robust mentorship program, ensuring that the buddy system is effective but a mentor- mentee relation is beyond an on-boarding program.
The true essence comes out when a mentee chooses someone as his/ her mentor based on trust and respect.
- How willing are we to be their mentor?
- Should we be willing, how should we project ourselves – is a question every senior team member or the managers should be thinking about
- Fear of not being able to maintain work-life balance: Work is an important part of Gen Z’s lives but they value other things too.
They have always been in the habit of keeping themselves engaged with a lot of things. Sports, music, arts, games, travel and many more activities like these are a part of their schedule. These activities act as stress busters, they are food for motivation and sometimes just a way to get together with loved ones but, with the onset of corporate life a lot of them dread that things which added pace to their life will be gone.
They fear of being drained out and at the same time being drawn away from things that maintains balance in their life.
This is where an in depth understanding of the industry, their approach to work, the challenges related to working conditions become important to share. The concept of work-life balance is very subjective and dynamic too. An early understanding with a little bit of guidance helps them settle pretty comfortably.
The transition from campus to corporate is a very special journey for every individual who is starting their career. The way we prepare them will determine the quality of workforce and work culture.
What are your thoughts? What do you think they fear the most? How do you encourage them to overcome their fear?
