Peg Lower

(A useful advice for fresh candidates during interviews)

The most difficult challenge before any fresh candidate is to get the first job. Getting

second or third job or subsequent changes are much easier. However, many fresh

candidates even when they are offered a job reject it because they feel that salary being

offered is lower as then what they expect.

This article is an advice to such candidates.

A fresh candidate must peg lower and accept a job even in a not so well known

company and must start working as soon as possible after completing studies. This will

improve his/her employ ability greatly and make it easier for him/her to change job for

following reasons:

First thing fresh candidates must realize is the power of this single sentence on

their resume: ‘Working in …………………. Company ’.

Between two equally qualified candidates who have completed their

studies simultaneously, all employers prefer the candidate who is working as compared

to one who is still unemployed. The reasoning being that someone has found the

employed candidate job worthy while the candidate who is unemployed must have been

either rejected by previous interviewers or is not serious about finding employment.

A single sentence ‘Working in …………………. Company ’ increases acceptability of

the candidate many fold.

Second reason is that the longer a fresh candidate remains unemployed for whatever

reason, it keeps becoming more and more difficult for such a candidate

to satisfactory explain his/her unemployment. Also, if by chance a candidate is not able

to get suitable employment for one year, then his/her difficulties increase many fold.

Now he/she has to compete against those candidates also who have passed after

him/her. All employers prefer candidates who have qualified most recently.

Third reason is that we work not just for money. On work we earn two things:

1. Salary,

2. Experience of working in a corporate or industrial environment.

A fresh candidate does not have to worry much about money or sustenance as he/she

is looked still after by parents. However, experience of working in a corporate or

industrial environment can be acquired only on job. It is this experience of working in a

corporate or industrial environment which improves the acceptability of a person in

subsequent interviews. There is just no substitute for on the job experience.

Finally normally any working professional works for 40 to 45 years. Any compromise on

salary during initial working can certainly be made up subsequently by judicious change

of jobs.

Hence, a unemployed fresh candidate suffers from following disadvantages:

1. His/her employability keeps reducing continuously,

2. He/she is not able to get much desired work experience of working in a corporate or

industrial environment. This reduces the employability even more.

Hence the first thing a fresh candidate must do is to accept any reasonably good

job even if it is pro bono. Because no employer will let any body work for free if

the candidate is not fit for the job.

Sarwan Singh