An advice for all those Jumping Jacks

Never mind their lack of experience or practical exposure. Better pay packages and glamourous job profiles have all the youngsters running. Metrolife speaks to professionals, who have been serving their organisations loyally for years and finds out what do the young professionals need to learn from their older counterparts.
 
Pooja Salam has been an office manager in an advertising firm called Adwit for over 15 years. “I am not the quitting types,” she smiles. “I worked for eight years in my previous company also,” she says. The most important part of being in an organisation, according to Pooja, is the comfort. “Your office should be like a second home to you.”

As someone who has been working since 1984, Pooja feels that a lot of opportunities are available for the youngsters these days. But she feels that at times, sacrifices have to be made in terms of money. “Never jump jobs for the sake of money or else you will be a Jumping Jack all your lives! Plus, the more you jump, the more junior you will become in an organisation as you will have to start all over again and it will take time for people to start recognising your work.”

Dr Renuka Paul has been a professor of Psychology in Bishop Cotton College for 14 years. “I enjoy teaching plus I get to teach a new batch every year,” she notes. “The novelty that one experiences as a teacher is probably not present in other jobs. Plus, we have three hour practicals with smaller batches, where we get to interact on a one-on-one basis with students. It’s really interesting,” she says.

Renuka feels that unlike young professionals, salary was not the main focus for the earlier generations when they first started out. “We wanted to be comfortable with our work but now, the focus seems to have shifted. The focus of these youngsters will also shift as they grow older.”

She also feels that life is full of changes. “Right now, I am content but had I been 25 years younger, things may have been different.”

Francis Fernandez, who has been an accounts manager for 12 years with X-tra Reinforced, a fibre glass products’ manufacturing company, feels that the younger generation has a bad habit of job-hopping. “They come, they mess everything up and leave,” he laughs. “In a year or two’s time, one cannot understand how things function in an organisation,” he advices. “So it’s best to stay in one company for at least three or four years to see how things function.” He adds, “It’s good for the employee, the organisation and the superiors.”

Many a time, people feel being self-employed is easy but that’s surely not true. Ask Prakash Madhwani, who has been manufacturing embroidery threads for 30 years about the challenges one faces while running a family business, and he says, “When the markets are down, the tension is really high.”

Prakash’s family has been into the business for around 50 years now. What’s his advice to the youngsters who hop from one job to another? “Stick to your job because ultimately, loyalty pays. Only if you stick in one company for long, you can make good name for yourself,” he sums up.