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2014-05-26 13:21:27
Elizabeth Garone
With today s roller coaster economy, many new graduates are eschewing the
corporate ladder in favour of temporary positions or the chance to be their own
boss.
The world of big business would have been the first port of call for ambitious
new graduates, wrote Maite Baron, chief executive officer at The Corporate
Escape, a London-based career-transition consultancy that helps disillusioned
employees become business owners.
Now, however, not only has the corporate sector far fewer jobs to offer, but
they also look increasingly unattractive tarnished as they are by bad
practice, and with salaries, pensions and perks that seem inadequate
compensation for the high stress and long hours required, Baron said.
In Europe, the numbers for self-employment are quite high: In the UK, roughly
15%of workers are self-employed while in Greece, that number jumps to 30%,
according to the European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO). In the US, the
number is 6.6%, according to a recent report from CareerBuilder.
Striking out on your own
There are very few times in one s life or career when unconventional moves are
actually feasible. Right after college or grad school is one, wrote Bernd
Schoner, author of The Tech Entrepreneur s Survival Guide: How to Bootstrap
Your Startup, Lead Through Tough Times, and Cash In for Success.
There are a number of reasons why new graduates make great entrepreneurs,
according to Schoner. One of the big ones is the blessing of poverty, he
wrote. Students and graduates are used to a student lifestyle. [They]
typically don t have a large family to feed, they don t fly business class, and
they don t pay interest on mortgages.
Therefore, they can live on little or no salary and have financial flexibility
as a new business ramps up.
Another reason is what Schoner calls the innocent enthusiasm of new
graduates. Many a young graduate entrepreneur founds a company without too
much concern about how much work it will be, how long it will take to make it
successful or how risky it may be, he wrote. Sometimes it helps to just
stumble into a big undertaking like founding a tech company before you can
grasp the full implications of it.
Building a dream team
Just because you don t have all of the skills necessary for the new business
doesn t mean you shouldn t go for it, wrote The Corporate Escape s Baron. You
can make up for any shortfall in your skills and experience by around you
building a dream team of supporters, experts, mentors, and advisers who do
have the knowledge that s needed. Attract them to you through your enthusiasm,
passion and vision.
Baron suggested using freelance experts as one way to add to the skills base of
your business without breaking your budget.
Why stop with one?
Increasingly common are portfolio working graduates who gain their income
from several different sources, according to Bruce Woodcock, a careers adviser
at University of Kent in Canterbury, England.
If one job disappears, you still have another source of income, he wrote.
Graduates often embrace the freedom offered to them by short-term contracts,
changing employers and abandoning the linear career in favour of portfolio
working or combining employment with setting up their own business.
A test run
Ross Johnson, branch manager of staffing firm Addison Group s Healthcare
Practice in Dallas, Texas, wrote that he has seen an increase in millennials
leveraging temporary positions as opportunities to explore different fields,
companies and roles.
A majority don t know exactly what they want to do for a career, wrote
Johnson. Taking a temporary position is a great way to gain experience and get
a feel for the industry or specific company before making a firm commitment.
Just don t job hop too quickly, advised Johnson. Try to give the position at
least a year.
A year provides a candidate a good sense of what they liked and didn t like
about a position or company, and helps them better understand what to look for
in their next role, he wrote. It can also help recent graduates get in the
mindset of a real-world routine and corporate environment.