Career planning – A startup way

Career planning and management skills are vital for the millennial generation of the 21st century.

The millennial generation must adopt startup like thinking to lead a successful career in the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) environment.

Here the question arises why a startup way? As we know the startup ecosystems emerging in our country with all sorts of innovations across industries.

This startup ecosystem works on ideation, collation, and collaboration which can help millennial to learn and gain complete experience across management functions such as Finance, Marketing, Operations, Human Resources, and Technology.

The Startprenuers are the original thinkers with creative skill sets and gain unique, diversified experience in managing all the functions to make their startup journey successful. As the country evidenced and experienced the success stories of top five startup unicorns such as Oyo, Ola, Paytm, Swiggy and Byju's. The most important reason behind the success because they are unique with new industry presence and innovative business operating models. One of the prominent reason for the success of these unicorn startups is Young Leadership.

From the success of such unicorn startups, young millennials must adapt to learn startup thinking while making career choices during the college days. Remember life is also a kind of a startup.

Especially youngsters in India must think and plan their career as a startup. Also, the startups contain different phases of cycles; and it begins with the initial Phase, growth phase, maturity and decline phase.

Individual's career also resembles precisely in a similar manner. Startprenuers brainstorm with ideas to incubate. Individuals also must decide the career path such as Job, Business or Profession. The startup ecosystem provides innovative solutions to current and upcoming problems.

Individuals also must visualise the current job trends, business opportunities even must think ahead of future growth prospects. It will lead individuals to move from the initial phase to the growth phase in one's career graph and result in to create value for him. This process will help individuals to manage their career success and grow professionally.

Also, Startpreneurs know and plan their exit strategy. Similarly individual also should be aware of their exit strategy. To cite an example experienced working executives try to switch functions over a period from the Information Technology to Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Block Chain Technologyetc..

Since Startprenuers have rich experience across functions and individuals must acquire and adopt similar expertise to develop a personal brand, manage finances efficiently, optimising time management, people management skills along with updating the latest technologies.

Such skills are essential to move forward in the career graph. By acquiring such rare skill sets the individual can also enter into freelance jobs just like a startup pitch. We know startups need the support of mentors, Co-founders, Investors etc..the millennials require gurus, mentors, friends to help and guide them to build their careers.

We knew many startups fail due to different reasons. Some at the beginning stage, some at growth stage due to lack of funding, leadership, and rise in the competition and due to the regulation.

On the other hand, we have seen successful Unicorn startups. Like the same few individuals become unicorns by managing their careers successfully and become rock star CEOs. In contrast, some of them experience a failure due to lack of career management skills.

The nations across the world believe India is the land of opportunities with high growth prospects. Youngsters in India must use plenty of opportunities by taking challenges. It isa place to explore, experiment, research and do innovations.

Startpreneurs are accepting and utilising such opportunities and bringing the changes in the fields of health, education, technology, energy,and agriculture etc..As Professor Vijay Govindarajan of Tuck School of Business believes India can become the hub of reverse innovation and export the successful innovations to the developed countries.

He also stated innovations are possible at a cheap cost in a country like India especially in the healthcare sector. Hence young millennials must follow the footsteps of startups to explore, experiment and innovate in the country to achieve a successful career. Millennials must dream of becoming employment generators rather employment seekers. Finally, we are in the world of opportunities; it is upto the individuals to exercise and utilise such opportunities to make one's careersuccess.