Pakistan, July 1 -- Every year the statistics get grimmer worldwide, as graduates send out hundreds of applications to employers and hear nothing back. Entry-level postings keep asking for experience, and job seekers keep emphasising in interviews that only a job can impart the requisite experience; the chicken-or-egg analogy at work. Companies discontinue or replace roles citing rightsizing or technology-related redundancies. Young people fret these increasing numbers and feel they arrived at exactly the wrong moment in history.

They are not wrong about the numbers, but the numbers are not the whole story. The problem foremost is that most young people are taught to look for a job; a misleading criterion for decision-making. A job is a ...