desperately want, you’ve to embrace rejections. One rejection may not harm your morale but when disappointment becomes a routine, it can get really frustrating.
Perhaps most of us have been there, and some of us are lucky enough not to have experienced that.[break]
Arjun Thapa Magar, 27; Sandhya Thapa, 24; Saurav Bastola, 21; and Suvanga Parajuli, 20, share their triumphs and disappointments in getting a job in Kathmandu. Arjun is currently employed as School Coordinator at Sewa Sadan School, Baneshwor; Sandhya is a Physiotherapist working at Bhaktapur Hospital; Suvanga works as a Nayab Subba at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Saurav isn’t employed at the moment.
When looking for jobs, what portals do you rely on?
Suvanga: I get information about jobs through the words of mouth. I don’t really go looking for jobs elsewhere.
Arjun and Sandhya: When in need of jobs, we look for vacancies in the websites of particular organizations and also browse through newspapers.
Saurav: I do the same. But I don’t trust the classified newspaper advertisements. I’ve been scammed once when applying for a job through a newspaper advert. I think most of them are just a way to make money. They ask you to pay unnecessarily for registrations and training and in the end they make some excuses and reject you.
Have you had any unpleasant experiences while searching for jobs and applying for them?
Arjun: In most places, organizations don’t look for qualifications or abilities. I have personally experienced this. They say that it’s a competitive process but in the end only links and your personal contacts seem to matter. A lot of favoritism goes on. There have been times when I applied for a job, completed all the formalities and in the end I found out that someone else, who I thought was less competent based on his/her qualifications and the brief conversations we had but who had links in the organization, got the job.
Saurav: Like what Arjun said. Most of the times, organizations will already have selected their own people for the job. But they give out news of vacancies, nevertheless, perhaps to fake the organization’s bias and to publicize the organization.
Sandhya: Job hunting is one of the most difficult things that I have ever done. After studying for so many years, I expected that getting a job would be easy. But I was disappointed and at some point even depressed. From hospitals to NGOs, I’ve found that they give preference to their relatives or personal connections rather than the deserving ones.
Suvanga: I haven’t had such experiences. In my case, I wasn’t actually looking for work. Someone told me that there was an opening for my current job and that I should give it a try. Without much preparation, I sent in my application, got short-listed and sat for an interview and later I found out that I was chosen. I would say that the job searched me, in a way.
From L to R: Suvanga Parajuli, Saurav Bastola, Sandhya Thapa and Arjun Thapa Magar.
What are your thoughts on such incidences of getting a job through personal links?
Saurav: I have in fact once used my personal connections to get an internship in a place where they strictly didn’t entertain interns. When it comes to getting jobs that way, it’s not right although it’s human nature to favor and give preferences to your own people. But if the organization has already decided to hire their personal contacts, then why publish vacancies?
Suvanga: True, it’s just wasting the time of other deserving people and doing them wrong.
Sandhya: If a person is skilled and deserving, then it’s okay to hire that person even though he/she is linked to the people of the organizations. Else, it’s not ethical.
Arjun: True. And when that happens, it’s wrong on that candidate who was actually the most deserving.
Which job would be ideal for you?
Arjun: I want to get a government job and I believe this is the aspiration of most youths like me. Otherwise, working in colleges as a lecturer is my second priority.
Saurav: A teaching job. I really enjoy teaching. I want to open a school in remote places like Lukla. If not teaching, then I want to start my own thing and be the boss.
Sandhya: I’m kind of self-employed right now. The ideal job for me would be a place where I can put my clinical knowledge to full use. I’m quite happy with my job at the moment.
Would you apply for a job for which you are overqualified?
Saurav: If I really need the money or if I really want to be involved, then yes.
Arjun: Yes, I would go for it if I don’t have any other options.
Suvanga: I don’t think you can rate any job in an absolute manner. If I have other choices, then I won’t. But if I don’t, then, of course. Also, I think that one can never be overqualified. You can always use your ‘over’-qualifications to contribute innovatively to the position.
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