Imagine you are born at 6 in the morning and will live till 6 pm in the evening. Each
hour is equal to 7 years of your life. Going by this analogy you have 84 years to
live. At 7 am you became 7 years old, at 8 you were 14 years, at 9 you were 21
years old and so on…. So what is the time right now? For some of you looking
for jobs, after having finished with your graduation and post graduation, it would be anything between 9 am to 930 am. Till now, your parents supported you, taught you
and fed you. It’s time to spread your wings and start your flight of life called
career.
Suppose a
friend just called you and told you about an open for all interview
advertisement in today’s newspaper, which is being conducted by Citibank at Church
gate branch in Mumbai, salary starts from INR 30000 per month, freshers are welcome. What do you do, obviously go for the interview…So all you guys
get in your best dress, put on a nice deodorant, take the blessings of your
parents and rush for the interview….. Now the big question is “How will you
reach Church gate?” the obvious answer from those who know Mumbai, will be the
local train. So you reach for the nearest local station around 930 am. You are
now on the platform and see the Church gate train coming from a distance.
OK hold
this moment in your thoughts, the train approaching you. Now tell me which seat
you want to take in the train. Which is the dream seat in any local for a common
Mumbaikar? The WINDOW seat…… And now let’s narrow down the search further.
Which window seat..? The one facing Churchgate because you want the breeze
straight in your face not blowing behind you. Is it all that we aspire for in
our dream seat…. No hold on there is one more; its morning and you don’t want
the sun to spoil your skin or your make up so you want to sit towards the west
window seat. Wow, some choices are homogeneous, I can bet 10 million Mumbaikar
who take the locals every day, rich or poor, learned or illiterate, be it the
first class or the second, every morning dream to get that seat.
And now the infamous Mumbai local train
having the ability to make people shudder merely by looking at it arrives. There
seems to be no method to madness as people start pushing their way in even
before it halts. You see it is extremely overcrowded, the doors that have not
closed for years, passengers of all shapes and sizes hanging out of them, some
people even travel sitting on the roof and all your dreams of getting that
window seat are shattered. What are you going to do now? Some of you may board
some of you may wait for the next train.
Like you, there are two friends also
on the same platform wanting to take this interview, both are fresh MBA’s out
of college searching for jobs.
The first friend Chirag is a
bureaucrats’ son, is quite well off, the family have their own house in Mumbai
and also a decent land bank in their hometown. Chirag gets a handsome pocket
money, life is quite cool, and he has practically everything any guy his age
may want. Chirag is a chilled out guy. He is “Chilled out Chirag.” The other
friend Deepak came to Mumbai from Nashik to do his MBA, he had lost his father five
years back, whatever little savings the family had got exhausted in paying for
Deepak’s MBA education, and his mother who does not keep well wants to join
Deepak once he gets a job. Everyday Deepak calls up her mother to tell her that
he is desperately trying to get a job and the moment he gets one, he will call
her. It’s been six months since Deepak finished his degree and he has been
trying to get a job, now it has become so frustrating that he often
cries to sleep. And he knows if he does not get one soon he might not be able
to sustain living in Mumbai for more than a month. When in the morning he saw
the newspaper ad, it was a god sent opportunity and a silver lining in these
dark days for him. He is desperate to make the most of this opportunity. He is
“Desperate Deepak.”
So what happens now when the train
arrives? Deepak calls out for Chirag and tells him to board, Chirag declines,
he has not paid 5 Lacs for an MBA degree to travel like this. He will only
travel if he gets that window seat that he has always dreamt of. Deepak tries
to reason but to no avail. Finally Deepak boards the train and the best that he
could do was hang on the door and starts the journey. About three more trains
come and go. Chirag still waits for his dream window seat. After about 15 mins.
Chirag gets a call from Deepak whether he started. Chirag replies in negative
so Deepak tells him to hurry or he might miss the interview. On the arrival of
the 4th train Chirag by now having understood that the situation is
not going to improve and he should start off now if he wants to give the
interview starts walking in a chilled out manner to board the local. Anyone who
ever has boarded a local in Mumbai will know what will happen to you in case
you try board it in a chilled out manner.
Suddenly out of nowhere a huge crowd
of people rush towards the train and pushes an extremely surprised Chirag back and he misses this one
as well. Any guesses for who these people were? These were Chirag’s immediate
juniors born at 615 am. 40 Lac students graduate every year. I have seen some
people still standing even at 11 am of their life for that window seat
wishfully thinking “Ek din mere Karan Arjun aayenge ………………. aur mujhe woh seat dilaayenge”
This story is repeated every year in
most of the B-Schools, by the time the Chirag’s get over with their
Redbull hangover and understands the ground realty they become obsolete.
Whenever I get a chance to meet some of these B - School graduates who even
after 6 months of completion are still searching for jobs, I ask them “If the
first job offer which was made to you in the campus is once again offered to
you. Would you now accept it?” I get a lot of Yes’s.
Having an
experience of placing over 3000 candidates I can vouch for one thing common
among all who were blessed with success, each one was desperate. Please
remember these words desperate guys get success, I know being chilled out is in
vogue but it definitely does not get jobs. You cannot pursue great career and comfort simultaneously. All the successful people you know or see distinguish themselves from
everyone else by what they do with their comfort zone. There are those who are
perfectly happy staying warm and cozy in this safe box they've built; and then
are those who constantly push and test the limits.
On meeting
some candidates who are yet to get a job after 6 months of finishing their
degrees I invariably ask them “Tell me in the 3rd semester of your
degree what was the amount of “Josh factor” in you?” I am told anything between
90 to 100 percent. “And what is it now?” When you sit at home for four months
jobless, your josh plummets to 40, now confidence is replaced by questions on
one’s ability. You suddenly are not very sure on your capabilities and there is
a big question mark on your career? And now a simple question, if you are the
recruiter who is hiring. “Who would you hire?” A fresher of 2014 having josh at
100% bubbly, cheerful waiting to have a go at the career willing to give it all
or a 2013 pass out with a josh level of 40% who has lost his self belief and confidence
sitting at home? Remember 2014 pass outs are the new entrants, 2013 is history
and 2012 belongs to the forgotten. The longer you keep waiting the lesser
chance you get. That’s what I meant when I used the terminology “Obsolete”.
So what do
you do now? How do you get that “Josh factor” back to 100? Can any amount of
motivational talks by anybody get it back for you? I don’t think so. So the big
question “How do you get your self esteem and that confidence in you back? Answer
is very simple “Get four offer letters” Even if you don’t want to join that job
what stops you taking the offer letter. What is that feeling that you have on
knowing that 4 companies want you in their team and they require you? Precious,
you are back at your best…. that’s 100% josh…. boy. Even if you do not join it
you can still flaunt the offer letter to your girlfriend/ boyfriend and tell
them “Look how wanted I am?” Or preserve it and show it to your kids later as to how
capable you were at their age.
This is
what should be done ideally whereas on the contrary candidates reject the job
offers on the interview table and I humbly urge all of you that you cannot
afford to do this as the numbers today stack up against you. Remember 70 Crore
Indians are looking for jobs. When you are taking the interview if you do not
show desperation to grab the offer chances are quite high that it will not be
offered to you. “Yes I really look forward to working here and I am sure I will
be an asset here.” “I am absolutely ready for the profile offered and I think
my skill sets match the job description” “Absolutely Sir” “Yes Sir” are some of
the smart answers candidates who get selected say. I always maintain that when you
have spent your time, effort and money going for a particular interview why
waste the chance of collecting the offer letter? And when you have 4 offer
letters, in the evening just lie down on your bed and spread all 4 on your
pillow. Do that and comment here…. Let me know how you felt doing that?
Can you
ever imagine getting that window seat without having boarded the train? I
reiterate to all the candidates who are looking for that window seat/ dream job
to kick start their career. It won’t be a bad idea to get inside the train even
if that means standing. If you want an operations job in a bank and not getting
one, maybe get into sales, there is always a chance of lateral hiring within
the organization which eventually might get you your dream job, give yourself
three to six months, if still you are unable to adjust move out. What’s the big
deal? If you feel, so do not show that experience in your resume. Start moving,
get in a job first.
Before
signing off let me tell you a natural process of “The first six months.” When a
child is born, the first six months are critical for the baby and the mother,
they have to be given due care. When a child joins his school the first few
months are very painful for him as he does not want to leave his comfortable
and protective environment. When he leaves school and goes to college again
there is a level of discomfort but hardly felt as he has his friends who
undergo the same transition. On leaving college the first few months are again
challenging. When one gets in a job, again the first six months are the most
challenging when youth gets exposed to an absolutely new environment, office
politics, an abusive boss, work pressure without any support, impossible
targets, late working hours etc. So many times you will feel to call it quits
but my suggestion would be to hang on and brave the first six months. If you
bide that time, you will know how to survive.
By the way, everything you've read
here about the Mumbai local is probably true! However, if you're feeling
adventurous, don't miss taking an unforgettable trip on the Mumbai local. (If
you need reassurance, my 66 year old mother has done it and survived just
fine!). Hope you enjoyed the skill set series, will be back with more, thanks for reading. :)
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