Roughly a year back I received a
call from one of my juniors who was studying at one of the recently established
IIMs. When I had first met him around six years back, he was one of the smartest
engineers in the organization bubbling with energy and displaying entrepreneurial
skills. After spending around four years
in corporate working with few top organizations he decided to pursue his MBA. And here he was devastated, full of self doubt.
All this, because he couldn’t convert his summer internship into a Pre
Placement offer. Bit taken aback at his reaction,
I consoled him, telling him it doesn’t matter as long as he has got some additional
learning and has put in enough effort. Besides, summer internship acts as a
platform that prepares one for the real battleground. But my friend was inconsolable.
He was worried that he won’t be able to crack the final placement with an
organization which will pay him his expected remuneration. As someone who knew
his abilities, i was always confident his capabilities. But here he was, a
young twenty something lad , with a solid educational background and proven
track record , worried that he won’t be able to earn as much money with his
first campus offer as some of his batch
mates may end up earning .
Yesterday I spoke to someone
studying in one of the so called, glossed over top MBA colleges for HR in the country
(Our obsession with ranking for finishing schools is a debate for another day).
Before her MBA she had completed her engineering and worked for a year with a
multinational giant. She had reached out to me to discuss her internship
project and sounded a bit worried. On prodding, she disclosed that her midterm
assignment review has been good and chances of her getting a Pre placement
offer is high. However the dilemma was
she thought the culture of the organization and the value system didn’t match
with hers. When she asked me about my opinion,
i had a simple, straightforward answer. I said, be smart , ensure they don’t give
you a PPO ! She sounded worried, almost
broke down. Taken aback, i asked her what happened. She said she was worried
about how she will be treated once she is back in campus; she was worried how
she will get a job. I asked what the batch size is and how many companies visit
her campus for final placements. Her answer was roughly 65 companies visit for the
placement of a batch of 120. I was aghast at the lack of confidence from someone
with solid educational background, with a B school brand to back up with, with
the competition ration of 1:2. She was appalled, that with a fifteen odd lakh of
educational loan how she will manage if she doesn’t get a CTC much higher than that.
Couple of weeks back i was
meeting few interns from some really good B- schools who just had their midyear
reviews. One of them was the campus topper. And he was worried, his campus
wants him to come back with a PPO , else the organization may not visit
them next year.
And in all these conversations,
so much was at stake except probably the learning and the education. I have
always believed education helps in skill and outlook enhancement, provides
knowledge and builds character and these in turn helps in improving a person’s confidence.
And here I was meeting youngsters, full of self doubt, because of education.
Youngsters from branded B schools, worried about placements and compensations.
Youngsters on the verge of breaking down under the weight of unrealistic aspiration.
Youngsters who have never probably
failed in life and hence panicking even at the thought of a minor hiccup. And
eventually these are the people who will be expected to lead organizations , who will
be expected to drive value . Sometimes in weaker moments , I wonder have we
gone terribly wrong in the way our education system works . Have we stopped
building character at campuses? In our own selfish pursuit of growth and cartelization
do we give too much importance to finishing schools vis-a-vis holistic development?
Are we getting obsessed with success, forgetting the importance and certainty
of failure in life? Are we they reason of some of the campus suicides?
And to those hundreds of students,
placement is just an outcome, enjoy the process. Compete with your own self and
not with the world. Strive for a purpose. Money is extremely important but unfortunately
that chase for money will never cease and a beautiful life may end up getting
buried under the unrealistic materialistic expectation! Live the moment & have Fun !
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