#RecruitmentFocus: Looking for success? Hustle until something happens

16 Jan 2019

When it comes to breaking into the job market, there's sometimes a tendency among school and college leavers to delay or procrastinate. Few people are lucky enough to walk directly into their chosen industry and even fewer land their dream job straight away. But with patience, perseverance and some spirited hustle, the opportunities are ultimately out there for the taking, even in South Africa's overcrowded job market.

#RecruitmentFocus: Looking for success? Hustle until something happens

Cedrick Pila, business development manager at 10X Investments, has some lessons to share from his own student years when he was obliged to earn an income to help his family make ends meet. The investment professional who was raised in Katlehong township in Johannesburg has some sage advice for recent matriculants, university graduates and young job-seekers with little or no qualifications or experience.

Attitude and application

Says Pila, “Attitude and application are crucial as those who want to succeed, albeit with the odds against them, will very often do so.”

Pila’s determination to succeed helped him overcome many difficult odds, although he downplays it, saying, “Essentially, it’s all about hustling until something happens.”

Pila said both he and his best friend had no choice but to find work while they were studying. He printed copies of his CV (such as it was with no qualifications or experience) and went from shop to shop in a shopping mall close to where he was living and handed them out.

“Eventually a music store offered me a temp job on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, as well as additional days close to month-end or when people took leave.”

His friend asked an uncle who was working at Woolworths for information about vacancies at the chain, and applied for everything he could, finally securing a position as a shelf-packer.

The pair worked weekends and public holidays as well as any other shifts that became available. The wages they earned provided much-needed income to help their families, while getting them through their studies and affording them independence.

Valuable lessons

Apart from the income, Pila says, the job at Musica ‒ where he did everything from packing CDs to mopping floors and working the till ‒ taught him a number of very valuable lessons.

Among the things he got out of the experience is his love of music “and an understanding about the importance of buying instead of pirating”, as well as being introduced to many artists he hadn’t heard of.

Crucially, Pila says, he also learnt about customer service “because I dealt with different people with different temperaments on a daily basis”.

A very important lesson he recalls came from his early days as a wage earner, which gave him access to credit for the first time, was about debt. “What a life lesson that was!” he exclaims.

“I opened accounts at clothing and sports stores and ended up with so much debt. But I am now proudly debt-free. I will never ever open a store account again. I don’t buy anything on credit because I learnt such a valuable lesson during those days of how it can quickly become a downward spiral that’s almost impossible to get out of.”

Instead of complaining that working while he was studying negatively impacted his marks, Pila says he found a balance. He adds: “Knowing what it was like to earn an income motivated me to work harder so that one day I could get a job that paid a better salary.”