WHILE the new generation of workers have routinely come under criticism for being coddled, idealistic and lacking in resolve, travel industry leaders in Asia-Pacific are suggesting a different perspective.
A foremost concern, declining job longevity, they say, may be a result of the dilemma of choice in today’s dynamic labour market rather than the fault of young job seekers themselves.
Louise Daley, executive vice president & CFO, AccorHotels Asia Pacific, who entered the workforce at a time when “there were no jobs and you basically got a job that was offered”, opined that the plethora of choices available to today’s workforce “is not always a good thing”.
“(Back then), working (came with) a certain doggedness of getting things done, solving problems and achieving things. Part of this was born out of having to battle it out to get a job,” she said last Saturday at Tern, a travel industry career event held in Singapore.
While this form of motivation has become less typical today, many in the younger generation can still identify with roughing it out but at the same time aligning it to their self-interests.
Lionel Yeo, manager hotel partnerships, APAC at TripAdvisor, for example, shared his personal mantra of “doing hard things that sound interesting”.
Having ran an e-commerce business selling t-shirts, started a successful blog on personal finance (after experimenting with various topics) and worked for five years at Singapore Airlines in different roles, he stressed that having an innate passion cannot be taken as a given.
For those who do not know their desired career path, “testing different areas” of their interest and strengths is a good way of figuring where they should head towards.
Some of those present at Tern expressed it is not only unpragmatic, but also potentially costly to take a “tunnel vision” approach to careers.
“(For) young professionals, when they have passion, they have only one goal. Young people come in and say, ‘this is where I want to go’, ‘this I where I need to be at in X number of years’. When it doesn’t happen, they’re shattered and lose direction,” opined Bina Tulsidas, area manager partner services at Booking.com.
One piece of advice I give to my team is to have not one but several (goals) and test them out. If it’s not happening now try something different. With career progression it doesn’t have to be vertical. It can be lateral too.”
Concurring that it was “important to not get stuck on choosing”, Daley added that being agile can be valuable at a time like this.
“It is a wonderful thing to chase your passion, but it is also wonderful to bring your passion to the job,” she said.
Still, reminds Loh Lik Peng, founder of the Unlisted Collection, job hopping unnecessarily can be a detriment to job seekers. He said: “Maybe you want advancement and for your skills to be valued, but I want to see three or four years (in the same company) on your CV.”
Zsanett Maizl, team lead recruitment at Booking.com, added: “Changing jobs every year may come across as negative because when we hire, we’re looking for people who would like to stay at the company and who are committed.
“However, you can have your reasons such as relocating. We also try to look beyond the CV and get to know the person.”
