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The Collection Wed, 16 Apr 25 |
Multiple stories, multiple perspectives, one theme worth your time—every week. |
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In the coming days and weeks, in some cases right this moment, hordes of young, bright-eyed graduates will step out of their familiar, comfortable classrooms to confront the unforgiving realities of a professional world they’ve ostensibly been trained for.
This has never been easy by any measure. But right at this moment, you could argue that it’s the toughest it’s been in many, many years.
AI. Trump. A seemingly endless stream of innovations that each promise a radical redefining of the way we live and work.
In fact, the very meaning of “career” appears to be undergoing a fundamental shift. Not just for young people, but professionals at all levels of seniority and experience.
It’s the reason why The Ken’s live event in Bengaluru on Monday, 21 April, is about this very transformation. With the traditional 40-year career waving us goodbye and even 10-year career arcs becoming hard to predict, how should we think about our professional futures now? If the career ladder is broken, what’s a good way for us to think about how we progress in our careers?
The event promises to be an exciting, insightful discussion. I, for one, am certainly looking forward to hearing what the panelists have to share and hope to pick up some useful models for how to approach my own career.
You can read all about the event and purchase your tickets here: https://the-ken.com/event/building-unique-career-lattices/
So yes. Everything is in flux and no one is immune.
But I have no doubt it’s especially fraught for people who are starting their professional lives.
Over the recent past, though, writers at The Ken have extensively covered the many ways in which individuals can successfully tread this unfamiliar, high-stakes path. And this week’s edition of The Collection features articles and podcasts that answer important questions—everything from how to land a first job in a troubled economy, to why recruiters look for what they do and how to impress them.
To “freeze” is a common response in times of chaos, says Mohit Satyanand, an investor and entrepreneur we had on a recent episode of the Two by Two podcast.
And so the first order of business is to unfreeze yourself.
A while ago, we asked a group of accomplished professionals—all of whom graduated during times of great economic crises—how they managed to navigate such chaos. And one perspective that stands out (and runs counter to a lot of conventional wisdom) is not fixating over your first job. Instead, the key is to prioritise “careers over jobs”.
To quote one of the interviewees: “Knowing what I know now, I would have joined an early-stage startup even if the pay package was a tenth of what any consulting firm would have offered.”
The others, of course, have other nuggets to share.
Lessons from past students who graduated during economic downturns
Former students offer advice on turning placement challenges — 2008 financial crisis to Covid — into job wins. Dive into the wisdom of four alumni who used these slumps to shape their careers
It’s important to recognise, though, that the bar for an entry-level role is higher than ever before.
The Ken analysed nearly 200 entry-level job postings across sectors on Linkedin and found that entry-level jobs aren’t for people just entering the workforce at all. About four out of five job descriptions required candidates to have at least a year’s experience. In fact, over three in five of the listings for the software and IT-services sector required applicants to have worked for a minimum of three years.
The “experience” required to get an entry-level job has gone from 0–3 years to 1–3 years.
Why do employers now want more from young employees than ever before? What led to this rise in expectations? The story below explores the transformation.
Looking for your first job? The recruiter would like to see your work experience
Caught between dwindling jobs and companies wanting more experience even in entry-level jobs, fresh graduates entering the workforce find that they need to level up
We’ve also tried to answer a few million-dollar questions, like: just what are recruiters looking for when they hire?
How do recruiters shortlist? We asked them
Unravelling the frustrating question on every student’s mind—just what do recruiters want?
“Never say you want to do strategy”, and other ways to land that dream startup job as a fresh MBA
Off-campus job hunts for startup roles have become Plan A for graduating MBAs. So we asked B-school alumni, now startup leaders, how to do it right
And how long should you reasonably wait?
After all, recruiters told us in 2023 that the time it takes to hire in India is far longer than the global average: “Six of the 10 hiring experts The Ken spoke with said the figure is higher and at its peak for India, especially in IT services and startups. It is as long as 60 days for mid-managerial roles and 90–120 days for leadership positions, said recruiters.”
The job hunt was once a skill test. Now, it’s a patience test too
Employers think they didn’t have it this good. But candidates are not the only ones losing out with six rounds of screening
And even if you do make the shortlist, should you take the job?
How do you evaluate if a company is a good fit for you? Is there an objective, generalised framework, or is it all subjective?
How to spot a stable employer in a turbulent economy
Reverse reference checks. Combative questions during interviews. And employees on why it isn’t the employer’s market yet
Hopefully, if you are a young professional or recent graduate, the answers in these pieces will help make at least some decisions easier for you. Or, perhaps you happen to know someone who could benefit from these articles, in which case do forward this edition to them.
You can find this week’s entire collection below.
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Rahul leads the promotion and distribution efforts for the journalism produced by The Ken. He works at the intersection of the publication's editorial and business operations.
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