Millennials: A Gen Recessed by Recession

By the time the early 1980s born millennials completed graduation, it was sometime between 2002 to 2005 depending the course/program one had opted for. If a post graduate, then sometime between 2004 to 2008, probably the university life concluded.

2008, a time when post graduates were to apply for jobs and the graduates were to switch their first job or get appraised in their existing jobs.

2008, a very unfortunate era began post 2008 from an economic point of view. A major recession started and it seems not to end. With various pockets of recesses, it is like a recession forever in a VUCA world (VUCA: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity).

I completed my Medical Graduation and Internship in 2005 and decided to go ahead with Masters in Clinical Research which got completed in 2008. However, campus placement began in the year 2007. I never got lucky during the campus placement session despite being one of the toppers of the batch. Reason: I wanted something and what was offered was something else. Hence, it was me and job application through various channels; from classified section in the newspaper to various job portals. Thanks to the Internet—it did help us Millennials in more than one way –> from finding jobs, to houses, to friends, to classmates, and in some cases, even soulmates. 

I started working in the year 2007. One year before the recession debacle. However, one thing I did right, which if I look back on, has helped me in my professional life, is continuous learning. It helped me adapt and evolve with agility. Besides many other things in life, I am grateful for this aspect in life. However, the process of continuous learning comes at a cost. It is investing in yourself. Sometime after 2015 when there was a little economic stability experienced and there was some hope for better fulfilling job prospects with better packages, but once again the economy was affected, rather infected, this time by a virus. COVID-19 that took another two years of life, and there still are repercussions to be dealt with—some known, some unknown.

Have I earned as much as I invested? Yes, because I am still single with limited responsibilities.

Have I made profits as expected after any investment? Not so much.
Reputation-wise, Yes. Monetary, No. Post recession, it does not matter whether the economy is in a good state or not, the jobs now just do not offer as much as was the case earlier plus the rising inflation does not help much.

From my observation on the millennial lives, the impact of recession…

Pros:

• Adapt to the constant changes from telecommunications to consumer behaviour.
• Evolve to survive.
• Learn to be a success story.
• Grow to be a better version of yourself.
• Expand to have parallel career options. You did not like a job or the way things went at a job or some other reason and you left the job; ok. But there are still bills to be paid. And debt, mortgage and credit card are not permanent solutions. Hence expanding your presence in more than one profession helps in constant flow of income – it cushions the not-so-good-phase in a person’s career graph.

Cons:

• Instability; some days rich, some days not-so-rich. Some days affordable, some days credit cards dependency. Some days fighting, some days depressed. Some days with a job, some days struggling to find one. 
• Insecurity or dealing with insecure people. It is obvious and expected in a constantly changing environment where everyone is struggling to survive.
• Failure; dealing with disappointments with a smile. Every job lost or opportunity vanished or client lost is a setback. Overcoming any of these is no joke.
• Competition; healthy competition helps you grow. However, unhealthy, which usually is the case, is absolutely depressing especially if you are a person who is not meant for politicking but stuck in a toxic environment.
• Aging; you grow old not young with every passing day. Retirement seems too far ahead, but is very close considering the time lost to the ongoing sessions of recessions.

Way Ahead…to each his/her own.

Because the way ahead depends on the choices you have made in every decade of your life. Did you take care of your health – Physical and Financial, or did you ignore health? Did you choose to grow or did you choose to stay static? Did you learn from your mistakes or do you still continue to do so? Many did you and do you questions to be asked and answered.

Professionally, I think I got the chance to grow because I did not rest in the recesses and not let the recession takeover my journey in life.

Sixteen years of experience and counting has resulted in acing various roles, that of a Brand Head, a Corporate Communication Professional, Creative Content Lead, a Journalist and an IT-Project Team Lead.

Presently a Consultant in Marketing Communication, projects majorly revolve around conducting Market Research, understanding Business Intelligence acquired from Data Analytics, setting Business Strategies, drafting Business Models, managing Brand Image, constructing Creative Strategies, crafting Promotional and PR Campaigns—to sum up, Design Thinking with a holistic approach towards Integrated Marketing for Brand Management.

• A Medical Graduate from Mumbai and A Qualified Expert in Clinical Research…
• A Trained Management Professional from IIM Indore…
• An English Literature Postgrad and A Mass Communication Faculty…

…All together adds immense value to the organizations associated with. And with a belief that knowledge, the source of wealth, when shared grows exponentially–the journey in my life to gain and share knowledge continues…

That’s my journey so far. It was not easy at all as I chose horizontal instead of vertical career ascension. I got to learn a lot, but earn, not so much as I was considered a beginner at every job I took, irrespective of the series of qualifications that occupy a significant space on my resume.

Where there is a will, there is a way.  Am I successful? Am I rich? Am I doing it right? Am I…???
I am working on the answers to these questions and more.
Maybe in the future, I may have answers to a few.

And I don’t have a credit card. Nor do I plan to get one. Nothing against credit cards, but a lot against debts and dependency.

Until next, Just A Thought: Recess is still your time. Life is time and the vice versa. Make the most of it.

…Ashu Bolar
ashubolar@gmail.com

The Rocket Science Syndrome

“Of course you can do this. There is no rocket science in it!”

“She can handle that. After all there is no rocket science in it!!”

“It’s simple, not rocket science!!!”

When was the last time you heard your boss say this? I am sure it must have been pretty recent because almost every boss suffers from the Rocket Science Syndrome.

I have heard this phrase on numerous occasions and every time I hear ‘rocket science’ I fight back my tendency to break into laughter. Being a science student, rocket science to me is nothing but just a branch of science. So what’s the big deal? Why make rocket science appear like an impossible science? There are numerous engineers and scientist who have made immense contributions to the rocket science world—this means may be rocket science is difficult but for sure not impossible. Right?

But while you sail through your professional journey, the repeated use of this phrase makes you believe that rocket science is something very difficult, next to impossible. Slowly you start comparing every possible thing with rocket science. And then, eventually, one fine day you find yourself saying it aloud—that’s how this syndrome develops.

Up the hierarchy everyone chooses to be ‘a rocket science’. Well, I am planning to be a little different and initiate the development of a new syndrome.

If you ask me which job is the most difficult one, then my answer would be weather forecast. I don’t remember the last time when someone had forecasted it right. When they say cloudy, means it will pour. When they say rain, it could actually mean a storm. And storm means tsunami. Now, either the person forecasting is brainless, which is probably unlikely as the person is qualified enough to do the job. So that means the job is seriously difficult.

And may be someday when I reach the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, my junior would hear me say, “Get it done! It’s easy!! I’m not asking you to forecast weather!!!!!” 🙂

…Ashu Bolar