In search of right career

FINDING and landing the right career for oneself is often easier said than done.

There are many factors one needs to consider, such as salary, job scope, location, company culture and work-life balance.

According to a study which polled 1,004 Malaysian employees, 81% of Generation Z aged 18 to 24 in the country were planning to change jobs within a year while 68% of millennial workers aged 25 to 34 also expressed similar interest.

This, said Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) Sdn Bhd Recruitment and Productivity agency head Scott Wong Charng Yeon, reflects an increasing trend among jobseekers to seek the right career pathways for themselves.

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“The younger generation, especially, are thinking outside the box. They want to break out of routine nine-to-five work,” he said.

Pointing to recent findings that at least 40% of Malaysians found their jobs stressful, and 26% reported that they had often felt burnt out at work, he said having to work long hours is also a common reason for one to call it quits.

“Generally, people are spending 8% more time at work compared to 20 years ago, and about 13% of people work a second job to supplement their income,” he explained.

Besides long hours, he cited tight deadlines, job insecurity as a result of income loss during the Covid-19 pandemic, boring work and heavy workload as among the factors of work-related stress.

“You need to choose the right career because if you endure these for the long term, you risk losing your mental and physical health,” he cautioned.

“The right career will lift you up, provide you with great satisfaction, and develop you internally,” he added.

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He shared that among the criteria sought in a job by the candidates he had interviewed were good remuneration; purpose-driven culture and aligned values; room for growth and development; flexibility and work-life balance; and career progression.

Wong was one of the speakers at the myStarJob Fair 2022 and the Star Education Fair 2022 which were held at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre from Aug 27 to 28.