St Petersburg University Career Day: to find a job and become more self-confident in what you can achieve
St Petersburg University has held the Autumn Career Day 2021. It was in a blended format. Among its participants were 33 large Russian and international companies, including Deloitte, EPAM, Lanit-Tercom, Microsoft, Red Cedar, Selectel, Schlumberger, ALRUD, Gazprom Neft, Geropharm, Sberbank, and PhosAgro to name but a few.
Representatives of a range of companies and public sector delivered lectures and workshops for the University students. They primarily focused on: how to write a CV in a proper way; how to start a career in the IT field; what an early-career journalist needs to know; and what professions are most in demand in the Arctic region. Additionally, they outlined opportunities for internships and practices.
When it comes to finding a job, university students and graduates feel anxious and frustrated. They are mainly concerned about having made a wrong decision in terms of where to study after leaving school. If this is the case, changing the field of study would be time- and effort-consuming. Additionally, they feel anxious about whether they can unleash their potential and develop all their skills while being able to preserve mental energy and avoid burnout at work. Olga Chernaus, Head of the Department of Professional Self-Determination and Career Development at the Employment Centre in St Petersburg, spoke about how to cope with fears and doubts and find your own career path.
Today, we more often than not have to change the trajectory of our development and spend our lives in a constant situation of decision-making. Even half a century ago, having only a few entries in the employment record book throughout your life was normal. Yet today you can change jobs several times a year being involved in project activities and be in demand and quite successful. Choosing a career is of interest not only to young people. Even people with a long career history of 45 years tend to need advice on what to change in their career. Changing a job or field of work may be due to the circumstances outside of your control, Olga Chernaus explained. Yet sometimes the reasons behind changing a career lie in the fact that what you are interested in may change as you age. Olga Chernaus shared her experience and said that she had a degree in medicine and psychology and changed many jobs. Yet all the skills she acquired have benefited her in a way.
I use all my experience in this way or another. It is a kind of luggage that I always carry with me and when time comes I can get a necessary tool out of it.
Olga Chernaus, a graduate of St Petersburg University and Head of the Department of Professional Self-Determination and Career Development at the Employment Centre in St Petersburg
When it comes to building a career in the volatile and rapidly changing VUCA world, you should focus on your development in a range of spheres. Among employers, there is a demand for multi-competent specialists. Student should acquire knowledge and skills in other areas along with the area of study they have chosen.
Among other skills and qualities that are most in demand are an ability to work in a team and effectively solve problems. What you are expected to do is not only to complete a task step by step but be able to break down a complex issue into a series of small, more manageable problems. Additionally, each company will look at how loyal you are and whether you will fit well into organisational culture. If you share other values, becoming a member of the team would be a hard nut to crack for you. Companies do not have time and resources for conflict resolution in the workplace. Good communication at workplace is essential. This is what HR departments primarily focus on. Olga Chernaus advised students to communicate with companies in a calm, confident and friendly demeanour, during the Career Day, too.
In the nearest future, St Petersburg University will start a course of career seminars #ЖиваяКарьера (#LiveCareer) where Olga Chernaus will discuss some issues of professional self-determination.
We have unlimited access to information on the Internet to: get information about interesting internships and practices in Russian and international companies; take part in international research competitions; and study or gain research experience abroad within the framework of academic mobility programmes. We regularly learn from social networks about what successes and achievements our friends have made. It may create an impression that some people are using all the opportunities provided, while others only miss them. This, slowly but surely, leads to the fear of missing out (FOMO) and impostor syndrome. Alina Romanova, a specialist in organising training at Selectel and a graduate of St Petersburg University, explained how dangerous this phenomenon could be for your career and how to deal with it.
'FOMO is an obsessive fear of missing an interesting event, good opportunity or important news,' she explained. ‘If you get the fear of missing out, you feel anxious that everyone, except you, is talented and successful. It will definitely lead to stress. While browsing through social networks, we see only the positive side of the life of others. People always try to put their best foot forward. Hardly anyone wants to tell a wide audience about their failures. This is completely normal.'
Feeling an urge to use the best of all opportunities and to benefit may seem natural and the fear of lost profits should motivate us to become better and better. Yet FOMO has many negative consequences. If you are constantly acquiring new skills, you are no longer satisfied with what you are doing because you tend to think that you could have learnt more useful things that you have actually done and what you are doing now is not as important as it may seem. Your self-esteem decreases, anxiety increases and you consequently become addicted to social networks where you are continuously monitoring information about activities and events. Additionally, the fear of lost profit may lead to search for an ideal job and changing careers. This will eventually have a negative impact on your career.
The fear of lost profit is usually associated with the impostor syndrome, i.e. a psychological pattern of thought where a person doubts themselves and often feels like they have only succeeded because of luck, circumstance or some other factors outside of their controls. ‘This phenomenon is characterised by three key points: the feeling that you have nothing to be proud of; you have succeeded because of luck; and the fear that at any moment people might guess about it. In the long term, the impostor syndrome is increasingly harmful and slows down your career development,' said Alina Romanova. 'The person is afraid of job enlargement because they believe that they will be unable to cope with new tasks and eventually refuse the opportunities. They tend to avoid taking initiatives and believe that this will lead to their “disclosure”, do not set ambitious goals because they will never be achieved. This leads to a deterioration in the quality of life. They tend to communicate less with colleagues, are afraid to consult them and think that they deserve a lower salary.'
About 70 % people worldwide have suffered from the imposter syndrome.
How to overcome the fear of lost profit and impostor syndrome? First of all, you need to cope with stress, which reduces productivity and the ability to concentrate. To this end, you need to focus on your physical health: get more rest and limit the time you spend on social networks. Career planning will help reduce FOMO: having a goal and a clear plan of how to achieve it will enable you to choose those activities that you will definitely benefit from. To overcome the impostor syndrome, it is good to keep a record of what you have achieved and a list of factors that have led to success. It is also important to receive feedback from others about your work and ask for advice from people who inspire you, while asking them to share not only successful experiences, but also failures that they may not have overcome right away.
Additionally, as part of the Autumn Career Day, the University offered online training, workshops and meetings with company representatives to enable those who stayed at home to take part in the Career Day remotely.