Youth Employment: What Is Expected Of Them?
Youth Employment, Most of us, at the beginning of our lives, go to kindergarten, then to school, in the end, we go through high school and then… then what? Some young people choose to enter the world of work directly. In contrast, others become university graduates, and, increasingly, a group decides on alternatives such as vocational training, commonly known as VET. According to the Ministry of Education, in the last decade, the percentage of students who have opted for this branch has grown by 77%. Whichever option they choose, with luck, they will all end up facing, sooner or later, a job, their first job.
Being young is synonymous with strength, desire, innocence, and naivety. At the beginning of our professional career, we have neither the capacity nor the security to negotiate conditions nor propose changes. We are there to learn and adapt. And it is precisely for this reason that young people can easily adjust to any circumstance, position and even professional field because of the luck of being in that age range. But being flexible or malleable does not mean not having initiative. Today’s young people are often asked to be proactive. And now that we have introduced the term star of the 21st century, it is time to unravel, little by little, the word proactivity.
What does it mean to be proactive?
- Be open to performing any job offered to us with a good attitude, learning from colleagues with experiences and aspiring to improve every day.
- Do not excuse yourself for the bad economic situation that the country may be going through. We cannot deny that youth unemployment in Spain is a chronic problem, but to be fair, finding a job for a young person is much easier than for someone 30 or 40 years older.
- Demonstrate our worth, professionally but also personally. Companies need people who fit their philosophy and values. For this reason, one aspect that is highly valued when formalizing a contract is whether it will contribute to a good working environment that continues to prevail.
- Continue training, despite being comfortable performing our job at that time. The knowledge and skills taught in educational centres are often inadequate for working life, or at least what many companies need. For this reason, opting for more specialized complementary training in the field of work always helps earn points for the company in which we are and in future jobs.
- Be attentive to all job offers published, both officially and unofficially, even if we are already in a company. It is not true that “without a sponsor” it is impossible to find a job. The key is to visualize ourselves working wherever we want and doing everything in our power to achieve it.
But what if we are in a previous step, that is, looking for work? Well, in that case, there are also some things we must consider before starting that search. The first thing will be to decide where we want to go and which companies we would like to make our way to. A good practice is to make a list of jobs in which we could fit with our training and identify the most relevant companies in our sector on the Internet. Watch out! It is not about getting frustrated if we do not get a position on our list or enter any of the companies we had dreamed of. Things are rarely achieved the first time. Or to the second. Or the third.
Something that we can also do
Although we are somewhat hesitant, it is to inform everyone around us that we are looking for a job. We never know through whom opportunities may arise. Also, having an impressive and impeccable resume (CV) will add points. Human Resources (HR) people receive hundreds and hundreds of resumes daily, so carefully writing our CV will not be easily discarded. And, last but not least, we have to prepare for job interviews, either with a mirror, in front of our pet, our parents or ourselves. Being trained will give us greater security when the day comes to do it in front of a professional.
