Arbeitssuche: Job Hunt to Alter Life and Lifestyle

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!