Alibaba’s Jack Ma tells millennials to stick to their first jobs for at least three years

• Alibaba Group Founder, Jack Ma, stressed the importance of finding the right first job at Davos.
  
• He thinks that quitting at an early stage doesn’t allow people to fit in.
  
• Though your first job may not be your ‘dream job,’ he told, it should be the one that stretches you with the learning process.

While the world economic forum tabled various political agendas and economic woes of countries, it also featured a career advice platform for its audience.

During his session in Davos, Jack Ma, Founder of Chinese e-commerce chain Alibaba, said how ‘the first job is the most important’ one and urged young people to 'promise’ themselves to stick to it for at least three years, which will let them sink into the work and figure out challenges and the strengths to overcome them.

Though your first job may not be your ‘dream job’, he said, it should be the one that stretches you with the learning process. And it’s not necessary that it should be a good brand name, but it should have a good boss who nourishes you with the right way of doing things, he added.

Fresh entrants frequently hop jobs that can have disastrous consequences, according to him.


The advice, however, reflects his own experience as a teacher and leader at the two-decades old e-commerce giant. He pointed out that through his journey, he has seen young people quitting their jobs at a very early stage, which doesn’t allow them to fit in and work efficiently.

Separately, he added that he prefers to hire people ‘smarter’ than him — who have the potential to lead the way, years down the line.

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