First Job Dilemma: Money or Profile
We suggest due care and even expert professional advice as far as choosing the first job is concerned and would like to appraise the students of basic factors that they should bear in mind while taking a decision.Here are some guidelines that might just help you make the right choice. Demand and Supply: Don’t worry we have no intensions to bring up economics here but the general principle of demand and supply must find a mention. If you to belong a category that has a lot of candidates fitted next to you than you should look at the profile far more. For your career growth in the long run it is important that your first job is highly respectable as far as value addition is concerned. For e.g. if you are an Economics Hons’ graduate from the University of Delhi, you should opt for a consulting role with one of the Big 4’s rather than a research analyst profile at one of the KPO’s even if it comes at double the package. You have to acknowledge that belonging to a pool of students which is fairly large; you must look forward to a brand that can help you propel your career towards advanced education and career growth.
Skill Commands: It is not difficult to understand that profiles that require a special skill set or an area of expertise on part of the incumbent are bound to be highly rewarding. For e.g. a nuclear medicine graduate is bound to have a package more than a mechanical engineer. This is in no way an underestimation of the potential of the mechanical engineers but a representative of how, remuneration establishment may happen in practical terms. So if you are from a niche category, you can afford to bargain on the package and choose it over the company as your future growth would be largely dependent on your personal expression of the specialized skill that you command rather than company’s brand value.
Sector Statistics: Every sector has some leaders on account of superior performance or brand name. It is often seen that these companies enjoy a premium of 10%-20% as far as remuneration band is concerned. It is a global trend and actually makes a lot of sense in the long run. Google is one example where remuneration of employees at the same level is lower in comparison to other companies but the overall value that it provides to its employees is what lets it attract the best of talent globally. Hence it is important for you to study the sectors carefully and base your decision on thorough research of industry leaders and the sector as a whole.
College reputation: Every one of us cannot pass out from a St Stephens, Loyola, IIT, NID, IIM, NIFT or other such institutions of excellence. In this case the choice of first job becomes even more critical. We acknowledge that coming from a not so reputed college might leave lesser options in front of you but we recommend a strong push as far as finding a right brand is concerned. For students who have mediocre scores and colleges, working for a renowned company can be really crucial as it helps pushing them further both professionally and academically. Professionally when you decide to make a move from your first job, you are bound to get better options across the board in comparison to a graduate working for a less reputed organization. Even entry into Management programmes across the world is largely dependent on the quality of work experience and hence a good first job with a reputed company will augment your chances considerably.
We must confess that there are a lot of other factors that can influence your decision as far as choosing a job is concerned. These factors are primarily personal in nature and hence we would not like to make a general comment on them. We would however, welcome your specific queries and will be happy to work with you as far as taking the right decision is concerned. We will also try and publish some stories from our students who have beneiftted out of our advice and made the right choice. We hope that their experience will be of great use to you.
Career Mates is a group of professionals from diverse fields who help students make rational career choices. They have worked with prestigious colleges of the University of Delhi and continue to guide their students for robust careers.
Last Updated on Thursday, 18 February 2010 09:55.
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