Yesterday a faculty member of a leading university department was lamenting to me about the difficulty in sustaining interest in the students and the difficulty in getting their interest to involve in projects and activities which enable employability. The faculty member was literally feeling helpless when he said that the students (PG students) are not taking initiative to take up projects or even consider it as a learning opportunity. whenever such projects are presented, the students feel that they are being utilised as free labour for getting the jobs done by the college / faculty member / opportunity provider.
Well, to all students, let me share my own experience in this regard.
1. When I was a student of MBA, I used to work on field surveys, telephone surveys and similar "menial jobs" including standing in front of malls and getting customer review or sample distribution. Most of these jobs were unpaid. Some took care of expenses. Some gave me certificate. Some didn't give any. But still I worked on all these( the one incentive was that I could bunk uninterested classes). These surveys, customer interactions etc helped me to learn about research methods and now I am a research scholar and conduct social / educational experiments. Also, these early experiences helped me in my entrepreneurship.
2. During my early career as a trainer, I assisted various leading trainers of the time as an assistant. For one such mentor, my only job was to carry his bag and distribute the handouts during training. I used to listen keenly and learn the training methods. With another mentor, I spent the time discussing the session while in car. It was like getting free Train the Trainer. For almost one year I voluntarily assisted my mentor trainers without getting any payment. After around ten such programs, one mentor gave me Rs.500/- which was my first remuneration . Today, trainees and organizations are awaiting my date availability for coaching and training.( not to mention, my fees has also increased exponentially)
3. When I started as a Radio jockey, At All India Radio, for the first many months ( almost six months), my shows were unpaid. In ten years, I am one of the RJs with a signature show and with listeners who are so attached to my show. This also help me to start youtube show recently. (Smilecafe , Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR5j1mkm0xh-uQev12DQ-mQ)
4. Four years back, my first remuneration for a dubbing work was Rs 500. Two years back my first film dubbing for a full character was Rs. 5000/-. Today I am one of the key dubbing artists in the industry and also taking membership in Fefka dubbing union.( remuneration is secret for now 😉)
5. I used to write articles in blogs for the last ten years without any remuneration. This year I am getting invited as "special author" by leading newspaper / management magazines.
6. I volunteered for various organizations in various leadership capacities, anchored programs for three years without any remuneration. Today, those leadership lessons enable me to run various events simultaneously, meet and interact with high officials / leaders and share diaz with them!
Well, the reason why I mentioned the above is that, students these days shy away from these kinds of voluntary or unpaid work stating that "there is no benefit for me". I think, the benefit is derived from what you do with the opportunity. If u look at only the immediate benefit, your long term career is sure to get affected. In all the above cases, I have been successful only because I did things without looking for "What is in it for me? ", " "They are exploiting me " etc.
So, now you can think for yourself. Remember, all successful people are not just dreamers but doers. And doing is messy, hard and need not be appreciated. Building a portfolio for your career should be the priority especially during early stages of career when you do not have much financial burden rather than working for jobs that have high payment offer - so that you can buy that latest version of apple phone or crazy motorbike.
Also, managing multiple careers with a high degree of professionalism in each is not easy and this is something I derived out of sheer persistence and "doing". How many of you are willing to do the same? :)
P.S: I am attaching the most memorable picture of mine in 2018
