- Alexander Valerievich, how long has the Kiev Youth Labor Exchange been helping young people find work?
- The Kiev Youth Labor Exchange has been in existence for five years. We are a branch of the Kiev Youth Labor Center, which recently marked the tenth anniversary of its work. Over 11 months of 2002, the Kiev Youth Labor Exchange found jobs for 1,326 people, of whom 834 were placed in temporary jobs.
- Who usually comes to you?
- Our main clientele are young people aged 20-25. As a rule, these are senior students. They are, so to speak, taking a closer look at future work in their specialty. In second place are those aged 18-20. They are more interested in just earning a bit of extra money. The situation on Kiev's labor market has improved now. If a few years ago there were very few vacancies, now almost everyone can find something for themselves. The difficulty is that students cannot work a full day, so it is mainly about temporary or seasonal work. In the summer, about 90-100 people come to us per month.
- It is no secret that today neither school nor university prepares young people for a serious job search. In your opinion, what difficulties does a young person face when looking for their first job in life?
- I would single out several such problematic points. Let's start with the fact that some of those who come to us do not want to... work at all. Yes, yes, they came to us simply under pressure from their parents, registered, and calmly refuse the vacancies that we periodically offer them. Fortunately, there are few such people. But here is a more serious problem that our staff face: young people want everything at once, with, let's say, rather modest starting data. For example, a first-year female student comes to us. In the questionnaire she honestly indicates that she wants to work in an office, is not familiar with a foreign language or a computer, and has no work experience. And at the same time, she expects a salary of $100 or more. Well, how, in your opinion, can that be reconciled?
- What kind of job can one count on with such qualifications?
- As a rule, this is unskilled labor. For example, improvement of city territory: cleaning reservoirs, painting and whitewashing, minor repairs of kindergartens. Now young people are needed to work on city beaches: young men as lifeguards, young women for cleaning the territory. By the way, some are frightened by the very name of the position: like, how can I work as a cleaner? But just recently, our young men and women from the Kiev Aviation University spent two weeks painting fences. They were satisfied, extended the work for another month. So there is no need to be afraid of the "non-prestige" of the work.
- What other types of work are there for young people?
- Probably, now it is more appropriate to talk about temporary and seasonal work. At this time, a very large number of various advertising campaigns are being held in Kiev. Demand for young people is constant. For example, a full-cycle advertising agency may order surveys, distribution of flyers, various demonstration campaigns. Waitresses are needed for summer cafes, ice cream sellers. There are constantly vacancies for couriers, subscription agents. We also have requests for general laborers on construction sites and loaders. There are one-time jobs, such as washing windows or digging up a garden. Just recently, a Kiev store sent a request for pretty girls - they were to model straw hats in front of the store entrance.
- So, let's say we want to work. But we don't know where and how to start looking for a job...
- You know, today this is already a rather rare case. Now young people are actively looking for work. First, there is self-search - they look through advertisements, ask relatives and friends. Second, many turn to various services that help with employment. The bad thing is that sometimes young people cannot even talk about themselves coherently, they get confused in filling out the questionnaire. We always advise: be sure to indicate your work experience. It is not scary if it is small and not too "solid", for example, work on improving a kindergarten or distributing flyers. What is important is that you already know how to work in a team, that you are familiar with the concept of "responsibility". Often young people are simply afraid of their first job, and therefore write in the questionnaire that, for example, they want to work as an ordinary loader. And then it turns out that the guy has excellent organizational skills! As a rule, young people earn extra money all year round, but it is in the summer that you can work longer, try a variety of work, and choose what suits you best. By conducting surveys, you will learn not to be afraid of communicating with people. A subscription agent has a chance to perfectly develop persuasion skills. A salesperson at a retail outlet will get their first experience of working with financial responsibility.
- And what would you advise those who are looking for something close to their future specialty?
- They have a different problem: most companies are looking for a full-time employee. And it is very difficult for senior students to combine work with study. Although they try! On average, we receive 100-200 vacancies per day for permanent work. We need sales managers, advertising agents, secretaries. Of course, there is a "competition of resumes". For many, difficulty arises at the stage of presenting oneself as a future specialist. In this case, it is very important to fill out application forms carefully and thoroughly, and to prepare your resume properly. If in addition to your main place of study you have taken some trainings or courses, do not hesitate to mention it. Many are put off by unfamiliar job titles. For example, we had a vacancy for a "merchandiser". Not everyone knows what exactly the duties of such a specialist are! In fact, everything is quite clear: this is a person who checks the product assortment of a retail outlet. Someone does not know how to behave at an interview, another is afraid of being simply "cheated". Therefore, we try to advise young people on these issues and publish brochures. Once a month we hold a special employment training. In addition, everyone can seek advice from our lawyer or psychologist. It is also important that all our services are free.
- And how is the work paid?
- As a rule, a lot depends on working conditions. For example, for handing out promotional materials and conducting surveys, workers are needed for a day or two - for the period of a promotional campaign. They work several hours a day by agreement with the company representative. Payment -
3-5 hryvnias per hour. For work on landscaping, they prefer to hire for a period of one week to a month. Such work is paid approximately
10-15 hryvnias per day. Construction laborers receive no less than 20 hryvnias per day or based on the documented volume of work. And the pay for a courier, for example, depends on the number of addresses - 10-15 kopecks per address. For a month of work, it comes out to about
150-200 hryvnias. A more serious job is working as a waitress in a cafe. As a rule, an employer hires for the whole season - three months. The work has a flexible schedule; payment is a fixed rate (about 300 hryvnias per month) or a percentage of revenue. As a rule, all employers provide bonus incentives for workers: free lunches, phone cards, uniforms, travel passes for all types of transport, and obtaining a sanitary booklet at the company's expense, etc. In large foreign companies, young people get a unique opportunity to undergo specialized training, receive literature, and just communicate with highly qualified specialists. Do not hesitate to find out from your future employer everything related to your work: your duties, working hours, who you report to, how and when you will be paid your salary, whether you can get a reference, etc. Currently, the average daily earnings are about 10 hryvnias, and those who already have work experience, as a rule, earn no less than 15 hryvnias per day. So there is an opportunity to gain experience and earn money.
- And, in conclusion of our conversation, what would you advise the young people?
- The most important thing is not to be afraid to look for a job you like. I, for example, belong to the generation when a person, after graduating from an institute, went to work at an enterprise and honestly worked there for many years, sometimes until retirement. Now is a time of dynamic development of society. It is no coincidence that in the West it is considered quite natural for a person to change not only their place of work but also their field of activity every five to seven years. This gives a new impetus to their development as a specialist. The experience you gain at the very beginning of your working life will help you in the future.