After I graduated from engineering in March 2020, I had no idea what I was going to do in terms of a career.
Like any other middle-class individual, I had taken engineering after high school. But after engineering, the only visible options were either to do an MBA from a top-tier college or to do a master’s abroad. And I chose the easiest one, to go with an MBA.
I was totally unaware of why I wanted to take an MBA. I was convincing myself that I would be taking it to learn about business. And after the MBA, I would start my own business. Or, in the worst case, I would become a manager at some company. Because at that time, the mindset was that to become a manager, you needed an MBA degree.
My major drawback was not realizing that skills should be my primary focus, rather than degrees. However, being a typical unaware middle-class person, I continued pursuing my degree. After graduating, I found myself at home due to the ongoing pandemic. Instead of trying to attend job interviews like my friends, I pretended to be studying for MBA entrance exams in front of my parents.
I had a very rough plan that I would get into a top-tier college like IIM. Then, I would earn a great salary and use that money to build my business. Little did I know that I was not putting in the right effort, and the probability of getting in was much lower compared to the number of people competing for the limited seats.
Being alone at home with unlimited access to information through the internet, I developed the habit of listening to podcasts and reading books and articles. The more information I gathered, the more my mind opened. As a result, I became more aware of my typical mindset. Through the internet, I learned that I am not the only one going down this path; there are millions who believe they will be successful by following it.
Then I started to gain a much different perspective on the economy and business. I got to know that you don’t need to learn an MBA for business knowledge. The only way you can learn business is by doing business. And as far as theoretical concepts, you can self-learn from top newsletters, books, and articles.
Okay, then the myth broke, and now I had to convince my parents about the way I started to look at the world and my upcoming career. Later, I got interested in becoming a marketer. That will be a story for another time that how I got into the marketing domain.
But after that, I started learning more about it on the internet. No matter how much I learned, I was still not confident that I would be able to handle the responsibility of a certain job.
Most people, when they try to apply for jobs, don’t question whether they have the skills that are required for the role. Most people in India, at least, just want to have a job for the cash flow, and they don’t treat it with the vision for long career growth.
As a fresher, it can be difficult to land a job since employers may be hesitant to take a chance on you. I was interested in becoming a performance marketer, which involves running ads for businesses and dealing with the scary world of finance. This can add an additional layer of friction, making it even harder for a fresher to break into the field without making any mistakes.
The only way I could have this job is by gaining the trust of an employer. But you can’t gain the trust of an employer without any past track record. Why will a person hire you and pay you money when he has no guarantee that he will get anything good in return from you?
So, as a newbie, I didn’t bother searching for a job. Instead, I snagged an internship, and my employer said that if I did well enough, they’d hire me for the job. See, it’s a win-win for them because they just have to show me the ropes and get the most out of me. After all, I’m working for free!
With the guidance of experts through the internet, particularly using resources like Google and YouTube, I was able to surpass the required performance and do my job better than an average employee in the same role. However, if I had interviewed for a job, I likely would have been rejected. Despite not receiving any immediate rewards like payroll, making the effort for a small period of time gave me a boost in confidence and experience. With this newfound confidence, I was able to kickstart my career in my desired field.
To kickstart your career in any role, I recommend getting your hands dirty and working for free initially. This approach will allow you to gain confidence in handling responsibilities. Additionally, it’s an effective method to gain the trust of the employer. Instead of going through the hurdles of the hiring process, they will most likely keep you for the job role.