I am currently doing a series on the first job aspirants and will talk about attitude, aptitude, and current state of affairs, finally rounding up the segment with an article on insights on what the recruiters look for in these aspirants and how they can prepare themselves for it…
But first things first, let’s understand who these Gen alphas are and what is this new culture of overzealous mollycoddlers…..
Gen alphas or generation alphas are people born in year 2010 and beyond. For this article I am however considering this range to be from Year 2000 and beyond. As a mentor, I work with a lot of students providing pro bono help for them to prepare for their first corporate/ industry/professional degree interaction.
In my experience, whether the aspirant is from a good academic background with decent command over the English language or he/she is from a weaker economic section with existing behavioral complexes, passive-aggressive behaviour, or zero or sketchy command over the English language. What is common between them is either over or under confidence…. defiantness…the feeling of …” Who are you to tell me, I am wrong”, “I know what to do”, or the extreme end of the totem pole…” Oh my God, what do I do”, ” how will I manage”…
Though these are two extremes they are widely visible irrespective of the socioeconomic status of the aspirant.
Self-doubt and confidence are personality traits that may or may not be dependent on the socioeconomic or academic prowess of the aspirant though I agree the better the academic background and the socio-economic status, the better is the probability of confidence, articulation, and positivity of thought process.
Unfortunately, in the last 6-7 years, I have also seen arrogance, lack of clarity, overzealousness, low tolerance, minuscule patience, and devil may care attitude plaguing the youngsters from upper middle to affluent socio-economic classes.
There were certain instances whereby I was contacted by the parents/ guardians of such Prima Donna’s and Primo Uomo’s and demanded an explanation for being critical in feedback or for not giving them preferential treatment or in extreme cases even getting a complaint about how they aren’t comfortable as they were humiliated on being pointed out for their mistakes in front of their peers…uhhh …ok….if there were body language blunders which were highlighted as part of group feedback..how was the humiliation directed at them???..also if they came out arrogant in a group discussion setting, it is my duty to tell them ….but these parents/guardians cannot comprehend this as, as per them, it’s unlikely that their precious babies can do anything wrong since in their eyes they are God’s gift to mankind….ouch!
Funny right or frustrating???…. Trust me it’s the latter. If a body language is negative… as a mentor it’s my duty to highlight it…if it ruffles feathers so be it. I am here to guide and support not mollycoddle…but guardians and parents intervening in this is unacceptable. A 23-year-old is a young adult and not a child, let him/her fight their battles…let them grow…don’t be overbearing…be a support system but refrain from being a fallback cushion as that is where the fire and attitude to succeed diminishes. The aspirant feels that he/she has a fallback and mum/ dad will get everything sorted…..no…let the aspirant be self-reliant… they have to live their life and go through the hardships that get thrown at them so they grow up to be resilient and responsible individuals.
Parents and guardians please take a step back and inculcate the spirit of resilience and positivity in your wards….they aren’t as fragile as you think and even if they are. .are you sure you will be around them forever?????
Let your child grow and mature. Teach him/ her the difference between ego and self-respect. Inculcate in them a spirit of adaptability and resilience. Hear them out, dole of advice but let them handle their problems.
Their attitude would determine the trajectory of their life so be the guiding light and put them in the driving seat so they can be responsible for their actions and learn to navigate the twists and turns of life..
Pic courtesy: freepik.com
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