IIT graduate with PhD and over 20 years of experience cannot find a job

Ankur Variku's career started not easily. His first salary was only 15,000 rupees. Despite this, he already had a degree in physics, although he interrupted his postgraduate studies while working in an environment where most colleagues held an MBA. His first position involved preparing educational materials for sales specialists. However, he noted that this first job played a significant role in changing the direction of his future career.

Variku shared his journey on the social platform X. In a post, he wrote that he felt out of place in that job. At the time, he took the position without any prior plans because he simply needed money.

He recounted that the turning point in his career was his boss. His boss informed him that his husband worked at the Indian School of Business (ISB). Since ISB had only existed for five years, Variku decided to apply to the business school, and he was accepted. To pay for the education, he took the largest loan of his life. Variku noted in the post that that year changed his life, even though he couldn't foresee at the time how much this decision would affect his professional future.

Based on his experience, Variku advised people not to tie every job to their entire future. He emphasized that what was done previously is not necessarily useful later on. Often, people expect the next job to define their entire life and career path, viewing it as a calling, a career breakthrough, or an achievement they will always be proud of.

However, according to Variku, not every job needs to hold such immense significance. Sometimes, it is enough for a job to provide financial support, offer the opportunity to learn something new, or give a chance to work with people from whom one can learn. For those looking for a job, he highlighted several important aspects: money, experience, opportunities for growth, work-life balance, and building good connections.

When you go to work every morning, performing your daily duties, you expect the day to pass as usual. However, suddenly in the evening, you find out that your job is over, and this single moment changes many things drastically. Besides salary, numerous questions about the future arise. In the modern labor market, reports of layoffs often appear.

Companies are constantly changing their working methods and increasing investments in artificial intelligence and automation, which affects the jobs of many employees. However, the story of a user from Reddit in Kolkata attracts special attention because he had to resign despite 16 years of experience.

After losing his job, this user shared his experience and told what this period taught him. In his post, the user described that while working continuously for 16 years, he never imagined becoming a victim of layoffs. Although the period after being fired was even harder, it taught him many lessons. He struggled through six months of unemployment, applying to many places and facing rejections, but then received an offer from one company. He was very happy about the opportunity to work at this firm, but unemployment taught him six important things that he shared in his post.

Firstly, you must tell a family member about this. Although admitting to being laid off may seem awkward for the family, it is important to share this information with at least one person. This is not because they can find you a job, but because they know what you are going through.

Secondly, networking is more important than job search portals. The user noted that he applied directly to many vacancies, but some disappeared into the 'black holes' of career portals. Others sent automatic rejection letters, and some did not reply at all. Networking turned out to be the most effective method. You need to talk about work with people you know first. While sharing his experience, he emphasized that this was an important lesson not so much about finding a job as it was about building relationships with people.

Thirdly, you need to acquire new skills. During unemployment, the user started engaging in online projects and freelancing. Sometimes he got paid, sometimes not, but this activity cannot be ignored. It is important to keep working, even if no funds come in.

Furthermore, he used AI. According to the user, ChatGPT helped him significantly over the last six months—from preparing resumes to preparing for interviews. Especially useful was understanding the requirements listed in the job description (JD). He shared the JD with ChatGPT and tried to understand what skills and experience the company was looking for in a candidate. Then he improved his resume based on these needs.

Nevertheless, he warns that directly copying information obtained from AI into a resume is the wrong approach. Help from ChatGPT should be used to understand keywords in the JD, determine what information should be highlighted in the resume, identify gaps, and improve the presentation of one's experience.

Fourthly, you need to make considered decisions if offered a low-paying job. After several months without work, there is a natural desire to accept any offer, especially if there are financial obligations to the family and a long absence of regular income. In such a case, a low-paying job might seem like a better option than remaining unemployed. However, in the user's opinion, it is always wrong to agree to a job with significantly less pay than before just because of unemployment. If you start working for much less money compared to your previous job, this can affect future job offers.

Finally, job searching is also a job. What seems easy on the outside can actually be very difficult. Sometimes applications are sent to many places in one day, and sometimes, despite all efforts throughout the day, no application gets through. Some interviews go well, but then there is no response from the company. There are also vacancies that slip away despite high hopes. In such moments, it is extremely important not to link every rejection to your competence. A lack of response from the company or the inability to get a job does not define your entire ability. Those who are looking for a job are advised first to thoroughly study the companies and positions they plan to apply for. Then, they should prepare a resume that matches the requirements of that specific job. Additionally, it is important to pay attention to networking when applying, preparing for interviews, and following up after the interview.