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The current educational system is saluting young people into a theory based educational trail with the expectation in finding a preferabele matching well-paid job. Of course education is a young professionals’ most valuable investment, but how to respond to being ‘over qualified’ after spending so much time studying?

After a few internships, people decide to cut their losses and look for work outside of their sector. There they’re meeting with the typical ‘overqualified-too ambitious-no work experience’ response, so it seems that whichever way they turn, they simply cannot move forward and remain left, stuck right back where they started, which might feel stiffed, as they always worked hard and deemed themselves competent,  with good and high grades, participating in tons of extracurricular activities- but now feel useless, incompetent and lost. This crisis has not only robbed them from suitable work opportunities, but also from a sense of purpose.

How to reclaim objectives?

One possible solution is to encourage young people to be more entrepreneurial and to think about getting together with friends and fellow students to found a start-up. Although I feel that Europe is slugging well behind the US when it comes to entrepreneurial spirit, there are many ways to change the perspective on success and failure. Failure itself is typical linked with disappointment, frustration and setback, rather than a stage in which lessons are learned for the long term, sufficient to change directions for the better.

A possible second, or contributing solution to this, is to directly link school systems in a strong, mutually beneficial partnership with business to open an entrepreneurial-zone promoting and support young people in the occasion to learn and deal with mature choices and consequences. A necessity is a change in obligation or accountability: results of their loss of purpose is their lack of future interest, - motivation and - emotion. Students are obliged to experience and understand the real deal, to comprehend the life-like business simulation: consequently being entrepreneurial is acting dependable, trustworthy and answerable.  

At last: I believe it is a matter of attitude.

First:  stop waiting for the government and society to come and offer jobs as soon as a study finished. What you need to get rid of, is the expectation that being educated leads to being employed. This is an obsolete habit and is based on a welfare state/social democrat premise that perhaps worked until the ’90s, but not anymore. Also, do not prepare yourself as if you will only have one job for the rest of your life. For your generation, this is a chance close to 0, so you have to prepare for at least two other possible fields of interest.

Secondly: it is a matter of the extracurricular work done besides studies: Make sure that this work is relevant to what you want to do further in your career, and not just something that is popular among classmates or social habitat. In my opinion it is of paramount importance to develop competences such as communication, public speaking, teamwork, management, leadership, negotiation, sales and change. These are skills pretty much needed on a daily basis, whether you have a project that must be done as a team, you have to give a presentation or in the case you are negotiating a work contract etc: they all come in use very often, and if (unfortunately) you won’t get them during classes, it is your responsibility to develop them elsewhere.

NO MOTION WITHOUT EMOTION

STUCK IN A WORMHOLE

Canada is a country rich in outstanding entrepreneurs, large and small: the economic value created for the country is simply phenomenal: economists agree that the Canadian economy relies heavily on a spirit of entrepreneurship, with a predominance of small- and medium-sized companies making up for the rest of the economic society.

But what does it take to be or even become a ‘good entrepreneur’? Do you have to ‘be’ an entrepreneur or do you need to endeavor entrepreneurial behaviour.

Some say it is a talent that can be nurtured, while others claim you can’t educate it and it’s just a matter of luck being born with. Reality may well be somewhere in the middle however the desire and current need to become independent, requieres some sort of combination between character, talent, vision, energy and of course, a bit of luck. Present day aptitudes that may award you a pre-eminence on both business and employment battleground.

We can estimate the distinctive of a succesful entrepreneur, however I feel it is of more importance to recognize why it is of critical value that young people are attracted to entrepreneurship and the significance of cooperation with educational institutions tributing to entrepreneurial conduct.

With the number of valuables young people latch on to, it seems almost impossible to make any reasonable choice without having a guess of doubt or regret by making that one specific choice and deal with the apparent consequences. The risk of selecting the inaccurate product or career direction, might scare or ice-up anyone in their headway and future purpose.

What if the consequences are for life and there won’t be any likelihood to make it all up again if it all goes pearshaped; will I remain stuck in a wormhole for the rest of my life? There’s always the misfortune that ‘the alternative decision’ may have resulted in possible better payoff. This immobilizes many young professionals in their current career choices.

The contradiction with entrepreneurial behavioured people is that they have a high level in tolerance for risk. Tenacity, perseverance and courage are other characteristics that entrepreneurs have, believing in themselves, often against great odds. They are prepared to pick up the pieces and start all over, if that is what it needs. In contrast to young people feeling stuck, they have a tendecy to scrutinize for results other than avoiding them. To them it is a sign they’re doing the factual thing, and there’s room for improvement.

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