Indian-origin CMO Kinjil Mathur advises Gen Z to start hustling and focus on gaining experience
Gen Z is the buzzword at the moment with everyone eager to decode their habits, attitudes, and preferences.?
Recently, Kinjil Mathur, the Chief Marketing Officer of Squarespace, suggested in an interview with Fortune magazine that Gen Z should be open to internships as a way to get their foot in the door and gain valuable experience.
"You really have to just be willing to do anything, any hours, any pay, any type of job¡ªjust really remain open," 40-something?Kinjil?says.
Kinjil, of Indian descent, shared her early career struggles, reflecting on how she faced a similar sense of uncertainty about the future as many recent graduates do today.?
She recounted how, back in her freshman year¡ªwhen telephone books were still a thing¡ªshe diligently combed through business listings, calling companies to offer her services for free in exchange for internships.?
This determination landed her a position at Travelocity, where she handled administrative tasks and research, all without pay.
Her experience underscores a key piece of advice she now offers to the current generation: "You've got to be willing to do whatever it takes" early in your career.
"The next summer, that experience helped me get the next experience and so on [and] so forth," she adds.?
Mathur believes that her willingness to work without a paycheck, take on any hours, and forego personal travel opportunities, helped her build a foundation that led to successive opportunities.
Her stance is clear: Today's Gen Z job seekers need to reconsider their expectations, which often include remote work, flexible hours, and high salaries. Instead, she advises them to focus on gaining experience and says, "I would be forever indebted to anyone who can offer me any kind of experience."
However, her suggestion has sparked significant backlash from both Gen Z and other generations on social media, reflecting a deep divide in how we view the value of work and experience.
One writes, "I think @squarespace might need to host my website for free then. Or rather, I should stop paying them."
Alan MacLeod, Podcast Producer at Mint Press News?questions, "What stage of capitalism is this?" to which another user responds, "The Feudalist stage, which is where neoliberalism always intended to put us," with some suggesting it resembles a form of slavery.
Another comment summarises Kinjil Mathur's interview with a scathing critique: "My labor was exploited and now that I'm in a position to make a change, I want to force that same barrier of entry to the workforce because I'm a complete ghoul."
An entrepreneur chimes in, "No one should ever work for free. I've always insisted, for example, that interns should be paid at least the living wage where many companies not only pay them nothing but charge them for the "privilege" of being an intern at their company¡GenZ (or any other Gen) is advised to avoid these exploitative bastards like the plague."
A user adds, "The only people who can work for free are already rich. So only people who are already rich can have jobs? Great economic model."
Another commenter observes, "This is how it is in India. They'd do just ANYTHING .. there's open exploitation of the poor and those in need of a job. I suppose this is the new culture in US too now, congratulations."
What are your thoughts on this?
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