Questions Only Women Are Asked & 9 More Things Freshers Applying For Jobs Must Know!

New graduates getting into the job market, campus placements, and the need to make a choice – here are tips for freshers getting into the workforce.

These days I have been reading a lot of articles about blue-chip companies planning to hire new talent, freshers to be specific.

They have huge plans for expansion and learning, and hence they are all out in the market to acquire fresh talent. One of the reasons cited for the same is that they anticipate a huge attrition rate due to the current market situation, and hence are keeping no stones unturned.

But beware! A fresher might think of themselves as an “I know it all” person, thus turning overconfident and naive in judging their prospective employer.

Companies often build a ‘human resource’

Most of these companies, (I have been through this pain personally) go for such mass recruitment when they’re expecting a big project to come their way. Kindly pay attention to the word expecting/ anticipating, here.

Basically, the company equips itself to be ‘human resource’ ready to help them with the execution part.

Freshers are lured by these organisations on the pretext of the company’s goodwill in the market, offering of an okayish compensation, and a dream to work with the best set of talents in the industry. Most of the time the job role is not well-defined or kept ambiguous. They are also assured a good training period before being inducted into the company payroll.

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For any aspiring young talent, it’s an irresistible bait which they would accept. The entire family and clan of the employee often get excited with them getting placed with the best.

‘Training’ could become a vicious cycle

The problem starts when the training becomes a vicious cycle and the fresher is made to work with different departments/ multiple bosses till the anticipated project comes through ( for which they were recruited.) A lot of the time the anticipated projects do not materialize or fail to see the light of the day. This results in the youngsters/trainees losing out on a lot of their initial/crucial days of getting that on the job experience. This later affects their confidence level.

Though to the world, they are placed with the best, but when asked about their exact profile they would fail to give a convincing reply. It is not their fault.

How do you expect a totally fresh out of campus student with no previous work experience to understand the difference between real work and pseudo work which they are made to perform?

5 things you must know as a fresher

So, listen dear fresher:

Make sure about the role you’re being hired for

While accepting an offer, be sure about the job role. Apart from facing the interview, try and find out what you are getting into. ( Be very polite in asking that.)

If the answer given is unclear and confusing about the job profile, don’t be in a rush to accept it. Remember, you are hired for a specific role.

If you have to accept the offer

Sometimes you may be forced to accept a position due to some personal reasons. In that case, accept it and linger on without complaining much till you get another break. It’s always better to hunt for a new job by keeping the current job intact. This helps in better salary negotiation.

Focus on your work, not the organisation

Never remain attached to an organisation. Be sincere in your work but always be on the lookout for better opportunities. And please never feel bad to quit a company in a short time. If the organisation is in no way helping you grow, better to bid adieu to it.

Job hopping is not bad at all if done with focus. Personally, I regret staying too long with my first organization even after facing unfair treatment. How I wish I had someone to guide me during my initial days.

Questions only women are asked about marriage and other such plans

Here, I would like to take the concession to digress a bit from the topic to share a personal experience as a fresher.

One of the common interview questions that we, as in freshers, faced during the final rounds of interview (in one of the subsidiaries of India’s biggest conglomerates) were our thoughts about marriage, whether we were planning to get married soon and whether we would continue to love our jobs post marriage.

All of these questions were placed arbitrarily and put forth randomly, and hence were also answered back casually. It was only during our general interaction with our male (all freshers) counterparts that we discerned those were gender-specific queries and were asked only to female candidates. This happened way back in 2007. I hope things have changed for the better now.

How your first boss deals with things is important

Believe it or not your first boss matters. They have the power to make/ break your career. Remember how much ever new/ young you are to the company you can’t be mistreated by your superior. If you feel you are being harassed, share it with your colleagues whom you trust or some elders in your life. They’ll help you make a better decision.

Do not underestimate the value of upskilling

Keep learning and fine-tuning your knowledge. That helps you move up the corporate ladder faster.

Do not sign any bond

As a fresher, you have the advantage of quitting if you don’t like your job. Be sure you are not made to sign any bond that would stop you from moving out as per your wish apart from the regular notice period.

If/ when you quit the org, keep in touch

Finally, always quit the organisation, if you were to; on a sweet note. Never burn the bridges. The industry (in general, every industry) is small and people change with time; also you keep bumping into them.

That’s what is meant when someone says, “Be professional.”

Hope this write up helps every fresher.

Image source: a still from short film An Office Woman/ YouTube

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