Memories associated with the first job is special as it determines our career trajectory. First job takes on the path of professionalism, it makes us stronger, it also teaches us new things and new ways of doing them. It is best to have some guidance before we start our career journey from a great leader.

Here is the first job experience of Dawinder Pal, Head of Marketing, Bikano.

What is the biggest lesson that you learned in your first job?

My first taught me a lot of things, it changed my thinking sphere at professional as well as personal level. Professionally, I got a lot of industry exposure starting from Sales, then got exposure in Brand Management, BTL, ATL Activations & PR. FMCG is very dynamic in nature, so developments happen at a brisk space, initially, it was challenging but over the period got attuned to it and started matching up. The most important thing I learned was to be hands-on with everything, doing things by your own hands is really important; if you don't do it in your initial years you won’t be able to get to the depth. Apart from this, the first job is also made to learn how to communicate effectively; one needs to have clarity of thoughts which helps in communicating effectively and get the task accomplished effectively.

What would have happened had the pandemic struck while you were starting your career?

The marketplace is the best tutor, it teaches you lot of things and off-course the most practical ones; If I had started my career in the middle of the pandemic, it would definitely pose a lot of challenges; my learnings would have got limited to an extent. Our brains are wired to respond more effectively to real-time situations, in lockdown situations with limitations to travel and move around; exposure & real-time challenges would have been reduced; this would have definitely affected the learning for sure. Also, In an office environment, your colleagues talk about a lot of things; you see a lot of discussions happening around you. You gradually learn from these discussions happening around you; In a virtual environment, all such things take up a lot of time. It would have taken me longer to join the dots amid these turbulent times.

How would you have tackled things in your stride?

Meeting people, participating in online engagements and online events somehow would keep the ball rolling. Online engagements with the team on specific days, intra-team as well as inter-team would definitely be tackling this.

One interview tip that you find extremely useful and relevant over the years.

In-depth understanding of your top 3 achievements, knowing each and every aspect of planning and execution. Knowing the reason/ objective of initiating these projects and also don’t project yourself as an executor only, portray yourself as an initiator; apart from this you have to show ownership of success or failure whatever it is.

Apart from this, you should have some set of questions you should be asking the interviewer; asking about the company, seeking more clarity on Job roles & Responsibilities, their expectations from this position and also understanding how important is this role in achieving the company objective

What are the 3 main soft skills that a fresher must possess to ace jobs?

Three main skills a fresher must possess to ace jobs are:

Communication always comes first as it’s a way to express your ideas. Not just for freshers, it’s for all.

Being Proactive comes second, should develop an ability to foresee what others can’t see coming. This shall always keep you ahead of others.

Third comes Patience & flexibility/Adaptability as things may not turn out the way they are expected at all times. All your ideas may not get clearance, so don’t get carried away with it or keep sticking to it. Having some flexibility in adapting to the situation and finding alternate solutions is crucial. as it allows you to perform work with maximum results.
Reference link - https://content.timesjobs.com/my-first-job-dawinder-pal-head-of-marketing-bikano/articleshow/86678110.cms