Why you should seriously consider getting “gigs” before seeking a job after graduating university or college.
New graduates, and their parents, typically consider the end of university and college the ideal time to seek a job as the launch point of a successful career. Reading and hearing that many graduates end up doing “gigs” – short to medium-term projects that they get paid for as contractors – causes many grads and their parents distress. Why? Because a “job” is secure and “gigs” are not, despite what the pay might be. Gigs come with no employee benefit plans, and unlike a job, have a defined end date.
Let’s decode this:
A full-time job = “safety”. Why do you want safety? So you can invest in a house, buy a car, and start a family. This is the life path your parents wanted and expected.
And for the tens of millions of immigrants to the U.S. and Canada over the last century, life here was also the escape from war and persecution. What did they want? Safety. So again, having a full-time and preferably unchanging job was an intense relief, or at least very, very desirable.
Gigs = “opportunity”. Why might you want opportunity? Because you are probably not trying to emulate your parents desires and life expectations – at least not immediately after you graduate university or college. And you most likely are not a refugee from a war or serious persecution. And if you have significant student loan debt which is causing you a sense of urgency to earn money, you hopefully know that there are many ways to make ends meet right now – not just through a traditional “job”.
And most importantly, you need opportunities because the world of “jobs” has changed so dramatically that even if you did try to jump directly into a stable, full-time job after graduation, you would likely find it a long and challenging journey getting there. Worse, you might find that after the euphoria of getting the job, your heart sinks when you realize what you have actually gotten yourself into. Change, stress, little structure, and scarce guidance and support are the norms of today’s busy corporate, government, and even small business workplaces.
Gigs are an “Opportunity”… to do what?
If you choose to do gigs after university or college – at least for a while – you gain some tremendous advantages over those who choose to seek jobs first:
- Gigs = experience that you can put on your resume. Even short-term gigs add significant value to your experience by showing potential employers what you can do.
- Gigs = the opportunity to define your preferences. You have been in school almost all your life. How do you know what kind of work you like to do? And what kind of a setting would suit you best? And what kind of people you would enjoy working with? Try a variety of short and medium-length gigs and you will quickly define your preferences. Really quickly. Remember: Your parents’ preferences when they were your age were usually quite different than yours will be today. Why? Because they grew up in a completely different world than you have.
- Gigs = building confidence. You get to succeed at real world work, which makes you feel good. And you can make mistakes, too, without long-term implications: You gain resilience.
- Gigs = an opportunity to learn. Yes, learn. Not the kind of learning you did in university and college, but for gaining the mindset, confidence, and professional skills you will need to be successful in the dynamic, fast-paced, technology-enabled, team-oriented, and intense world of work today.
What your parents don’t realize and media and governments are not telling you:
Those easy-to-find entry-level jobs of the past where you could learn the “professionalism skills” you needed in order to step into a high-skill role don’t exist anymore.
Where did the entry-level jobs go? Well, every time you use your phone or laptop to do online banking, visit a government web site, book a concert ticket or flight, check the weather, or send a message, you are using the replacement to entry-level jobs. Automation, in the name of cost savings, efficiency, and improved customer service has removed most of the traditional opportunities you had to gain the mind frame, confidence, and skills you need. Entry-level jobs that still exist today are being eliminated as quickly as organizations can automate them.
Now, you must leap a big gap between university and what employers need from you. There are few stepping-stone entry-level professional jobs where you can learn how to meet employers needs.
And no, a job in a fast food restaurant is not an entry-level job that will give you the professional skills you will need.
Choosing to do professional gigs after you graduate university or college, a real example of which is the image for this article, can be a smart part of the rapid development of a successful career.
For many new graduates, “gigs” may not be an option: They may be necessary. A good necessary!
The author: Paul Kurucz is a former university faculty who now coaches graduates to more quickly and confidently leap the gap between their studies and successful careers.
