Recently I’ve witnessed a dialogue between a seller and his young friend in a small grocery store. They say, it’s wrong to listen other people's conversations. But if we are talking about "Narxoz", where I also graduated from, it is difficult not to listen. In short, these young people graduated from "Narxoz" complained to each other that they can not find work. I would like to dedicate this entry to the students who do not want to be in the same situation. Moreover, to not only the students of “Narxoz”. Given that the principle of "What you sow, so you will specify in CV» can not be avoided, I’d like to present my notes on some of the principles that ought to guide any student from the first year of study:

1. Mistakes made during the student years
On average, three out of ten people who have reached the age of 17-18, study in a university. Our parents, who believe in the power and image of higher education much more than we do, have high expectations of us throughout the educational period. And we justifying these expectations and having studied at the University for four years, are waiting for a miracle to happen after the graduation. However, the miracle doesn’t hurry to happen. Because we allow many errors during the student years. I consider that one of such mistakes is that today's students do not use all the features of online education and not getting existing opportunities throughout such resources as Youtube, Google and Wikipedia. Those who managed to take advantage of all online and offline capabilities of today, are always two steps ahead of the rest.

2. Begin, no matter when or how
In my opinion, students who don’t want to work while studying, using such excuses as "I do not have time with the classes, how could I have time for work?" Or "There’s no work", "It’s impossible to find a part time job," strongly lose. One of the best experiences for a student may be a volunteer work in some company. For example, for students studying business or management at the university the work of a seller would be a good opportunity to study people’s psychology and behavior. 10 years ago a student spent less money than today. There was neither KFC, nor such a large number of cinemas in Baku, there were Nokia phones with a maximum price range of 200-250 AZN and computers with large screens. A metro ticket cost only 5 qapiks. It's clear that a student has a lot of expenses. Therefore, when a student is offered a job for 4 hours a day with a salary of 150 AZN, he automatically calculates the costs and refuses to work because of the small salary. But giving up the job, he not only loses the possibility of the work itself, but also other rare opportunities.

3. The time will come
The main idea of the foregoing is that if you start with something somewhere, then your time will come. Some people do not pay attention to anything, and just study, study, and start to work in a familiar company immediately after graduation. This is not a bad choice, I would say that this is an extremely good choice for some people. But the main problem of this principle is that the social life of such people is very boring. In addition to studying it is very important to pay due attention to social relationships because these relationships will be useful to you, regardless of where and in which position you will be working. But this does not mean that you have to sit and wait for the right moment. As it was mentioned earlier, it is important to start, and your time will come, even after 2, 5, or a maximum 15 years. It’s enough to identify your values and goals properly.

4. Be ready for changes all your life
Goals don’t need to exist for your whole life. It’s not surprising that students who planned to work in the bank, will occupy a position in HR-department in any oil company after three years. It’s good to work in the specialty. However, the opportunities in the labor market are very dynamic. Who knows, maybe, after working for 2 years in the desired field, you will be working abroad in an entirely different direction. It doesn’t mean you have to change jobs every year in the pursuit of change. Just regardless of who you want to be - a doctor or a judge - always be ready for changes. And don’t forget to stay a good person.

5. Maybe you have “business acumen”?
Working for about two years at the Azerbaijan University of Tourism, I decided to talk with the students about the importance of education. Some of the students led me to an example of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who don’t have a higher education. My response was that if you are confident enough, do not waste time in the classroom. Go and start doing something right now. It’s enough to believe in your idea and your strength. Because of our parents who dislike the word "trade" and “business”, many of the "traders" have to spend 4 years in the walls of the university. It may be not only business, but many other different professions and directions. It’s enough to try to get to know yourself and direct your thoughts to this. Do not be convinced that life begins after the graduation of the university - the life that you have to live, begins, as a last resort, after the graduation of the school.

There are many other aspects to discuss about this topic. I tried to touch the top five, so that students can reflect on them and be more purposeful. Do not forget that if you want to have a coveted job in the future, it is important to allocate sufficient time to "unwanted" job for you during university. In the near future we talk about different success stories of successful young people in our blog. I am sure that in our lives where we will always be students, we may need much of their experience.

Author: Ilham Ali Yusif