careerMy discussions with graduates who have been working for a year or so supports the thrust of today’s article by Andrew Klos. It is not easy for a graduate who has successfully traversed the graduate recruitment maze to admit that they are the wrong graduate, in the wrong place, at the wrong time in their life. Let’s face it, many of us seasoned workers have drifted in the early stages of our now established career. With hindsight, drifting for a few years has not harmed me, but there again I did start this sentence with the phrase ‘with hindsight’.

I must also admit having had the benefit of two individuals, outside my then employers, who did for me what executive mentors do for senior managers. Perhaps my experiences in this regard explain why I am a strong advocate of graduating students and working graduates being independently mentored. After all, months into that dream graduate role with the ideal employer, how should inexperienced graduates explain that their talents are not being used – in their view! Or even what to do when the boss says there is no need to work later than 5 pm but, no one in the office leaves before 9 pm? These are interesting dilemmas that could potentially impact the career of a fresh-faced graduate.

Whether graduating, seeking that dream job, or delivering in a graduate role, the demands on our young captains of industry can, without hands-on support, feel endless; Sisyphean tasks.