When I entered the most coveted
programme called MBA, like everyone else, one of the things on my ‘to-do’ list
apart from strengthening my technical skills was to get a good placement at the
end of two years. Now that these two years are over, I believe that this
placement preparation was similar to the preparations of Board Exams, only with
an exception that the ultimate reward of a job hunt is getting a good work
profile with lucrative pay. When I recollect the days when I had taken efforts
to score well in the board exams, I find those days strikingly similar to my
second year in MBA. During the crucial SSC, HSC and graduation years,
constantly the same line is reiterated by parents, relatives, coaching classes
and schools - Score well so that you get a good job in future.
In a country like India, where
there is rat race everywhere, marks play an important role. Marks are
therefore a ‘filter’ used by companies to choose only those candidates with a
sound academic background. Hence having decent scores on one’s mark sheets
becomes necessary. It is a harsh but true fact. All of us have been through
that stage where even the difference of one or two marks have led or hampered
us from pursuing what we had desired. Whenever I used to apply for any company,
one of the requirements would be ‘the candidate should have a good academic
record scoring 60% throughout SSC, HSC and Graduation’. This statement is like
the gate pass to apply for a company. Anything below 60% and your dreams of
applying to that company end! The experience is similar when we wanted to apply
for a college of our choice. Satisfied that I fulfilled that criterion, I
thanked my family every time they nudged me to do better in my exams. At the
same time, I felt bad for some of my colleagues who never used to get
shortlisted because of the marks criterion, though they had the caliber for the
job. Indeed, the high importance of numbers in one’s life, only Indians can
understand well!
The process of filtering goes
even more complex. After your past life of good scores has helped you in
crossing one mountain, there stands the second mountain called aptitude tests
which further eliminates a few people. In my second year of MBA, our Institute
had organized practice sessions to do better in ‘Apti’. Again, while brushing
up my aptitude test skills, I was taken back to the days when I prepared as an
MBA aspirant for various competitive exams. Relieved two years back, that
quantitative ability would never haunt me again, that haunting was back in the
form of aptitude test! Back then, getting admission to a good institute was the
goal and now getting entry into a renowned company is the goal. Only the face
of the situation changes, but the actual situation does not change. Humans
excel in life after crossing one milestone to another.
I had appeared for a company’s
recruitment process for the first time and obviously I had an adrenaline
rush. When I looked around at the other aspirants, all impeccably dressed in
blazers, I sensed that everyone had the same feeling of anxiety to get placed
in that company. Their eyes seemed full of dreams. The nervousness felt similar
to the nervousness in an exam hall. Larger the number of candidates applying
for a company, equally high is the anxiety and maybe less probability of
getting selected. To be the best one is the only alternative that remains! Another
interesting filtration process is called group discussion. In this round, I
often find people speaking monotonous, rehearsed lines, just like the lines we
rehearse to write as answers in an exam. In one of my friends’ case, the entire
group was disqualified because the candidates were aggressive. In extreme
cases, there are groups where people look at each other to start the
discussion. In every group, there is always one passive person who does not
speak at all or has to be compelled by the moderator to add something to the
inputs or to summarize the discussion at the end. Sometimes it is not a
surprise when these passive persons get qualified for the next round!
The ultimate battle which
decides your fate to enter a company is called a personal interview. Technical
questions could be a drop from the well of knowledge that you have gained so
far. Questions like ‘Tell me about yourself’ seem like a recap of the life what
one has lived so far. However it is important to state only those events of
your life which will ensure that the interviewer considers you for the job.
‘Where do you see yourself in 5 years?’ is another head-scratching question.
When the capacity to think of an answer to that question reaches its limit, one
has to turn to Google to find the answer- it is always easy to adapt to other
people’s dreams where they see themselves in 5 years! The pompous manner in
which MBA students describe their summer internship simply shows the amazing presentation
skills which they acquire in two years.
After the interview is over,
one can always hope for the best. Wait for the verdict begins, keeping fingers
crossed. And once you get that most awaited email saying that you have been
selected for the job, the joy is boundless. Congratulatory wishes start pouring
in. WhatsApp group name of your class is
changed to congratulate you. Perseverance finally pays off. In my Institute I
remember how people had started dressing informally after getting placed. That
became a way of distinguishing unplaced students from the placed ones. Later it
was delighting to see more and more students dressed informally.
Hunting for a job and finally
getting one is truly a life changing process, an important phase of life. You
start understanding what the industry demands, where you should work upon.
Learning and unlearning becomes part and parcel of your life. Failures teach
you. And when you finally get that job that you have always dreamed about,
being a forward looking human being, you start planning where you to invest
your earnings, when to buy a home of your own and what all you can buy you have
ever dreamt of. Life changes and so does lifestyle. When you climb up from
basic needs to self actualization stage as said by Maslow, you realize the
lessons that you learn from the previous four stages of life. Somewhere those
efforts to score good marks, aptitude tests, group discussions, successful and
non-successful interviews teach you to be competitive, hard working and
confident to fight against all odds. It is rightly said that nothing in life
comes for free. Efforts are inevitable in any phase of life. Seeking a job and
excelling in it to enhance lifestyle is one of these significant experiences in
the journey called life. Even an economy would not function if there is 100%
complacency among people!
