A deep thought

Do visit the comments section to check out a reaction about DOing something. Deeptaman blogs at Marketing Environment. True... sometimes being SAFE is the best choice .

DO something

Placement season is amusing, excruciating. Makes people jittery and on their edge. I guess it is okay to be so. This is when people start calling up everyone they know to clear their confusions or at least get a word of solace. Most of the decisions taken at this level go on to shape your career, life and in a way change your trajectory. Not all decisions are permanent in their outcome but most of them do. Talking to a junior today, I realised I am a minority!

Let me elaborate.

Sure, I belong to a specific kind, a very rare breed of B-School grads who just shelled out 7 figure amount to get an MBA and yet ready to take up a different/non-conventional career decision. The junior I was talking to told me that all her friends and some seniors have suggested her to choose a safe job, in an established firm, with a systematic way of functioning, HR practices in place... translated as a guaranteed paycheck at the end of the month, bonuses at the end of the year and so on. Who said small firms don't pay well? [ Ever heard of stock options? ] Not that I mock these safe ideas or dreams. Not all can try their luck and risk their career. A lot of things should fall in place, like commitments, family, etc. But seeking challenges and venturing in to paths that have been neglected is stimulating.

If you think you are exceptional and want to do something in life, here is an option, a short cut to fulfill your dreams. Go find a firm that has a good and sustainable business model. Work for the CEO or top management, at some place you actually get to learn and do stuff. The key word here is DO. You might have to stretch longer than most your friends, postpone your dreams but trust me the kick you get out of doing something is worth the effort. And guess what, there is a time to shine, for your efforts to be rewarded. The experience you get out of it will be more than your peers for sure. Wait for another five years and then compare. What are alumni meets for?

Another option which some of my batch mates chose is to start out on their own. They have their own firms and are working towards realizing their dreams. They face many hurdles, need to slog more, do all the dirty work themselves but the satisfaction of having your dream come true is awesome. You could actually help your employees take care of their family.

So you can choose a 9 to 5 job in a big building that teaches you nothing or go out and actually do something. Safe is boring. Safe is dumb. Safe is risky. What say?

Dis - placement?

THE WEEK-TMI First survey on MBA placements 2009:

The deep sense of caution and apprehension among students. Their priorities have changed, so, too, their expectations. As money is no longer the decider, some see it as an opportunity to listen to their heart.

If 'show me the money' was the motto until last year, B-school freshers are looking beyond the pay package this time. In fact, they are not in a position to bargain. Gone are the days of endless job offers, sky-scraping packages and 100 per cent placements on day zero. With the deepening recession, the whole economic environment has undergone a radical shift and B-schools are feeling the heat. Said Prof. Saral Mukherjee, chairperson, placement committee, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad: "B-schools are closely connected with the economy. Any change in the economy will have a direct bearing on them. The economic downturn has affected us but its magnitude is not known till now."

Confronted with a crisis that is expected to only get worse, employers are tightening their belts and treading cautiously. They are engaged in a comprehensive restructuring mode and are pulling out all the stops to survive in the current market conditions. Many companies are following a wait-and-watch policy and have not made any clear manpower assessment this year. This has left many B-schools in a tough situation. "Our students are in a very desperate position this year. They are uncertain about the companies that will come down to recruit," said Subir Verma, chairperson, placement committee, Management Development Institute, Gurgaon.

Not that nobody is recruiting. Many B-schools claim that their traditional recruiters have either come and recruited or promised to show up. With companies rationalising manpower, there is a drastic drop in the number of jobs on offer per company. As attrition levels have gone down considerably in the last few months, companies have limited openings. They are not hiring in bulk but picking the best.

Placements Pulse?

Elaborating on the changes in the type of employers, Patra said: “We have witnessed an increase in the number of consultancy, manufacturing and FMCG companies.” Similarly, IIT-Kanpur has seen an increase in profiles offered in marketing and consultancy, especially enterprise resource planning (ERP) and domain consultancy. “In fact, the profiles offered in these fields are better compared to last year,” said the placement committee member.

Further, Kanwar said that GIM students have even been offered jobs in investment banking as well. Kanwar added: “Looking at the current scenario for I-banking, this is very good news.” Placements at NMIMS, too, witnessed an increase in FMCG and marketing profiles. “The best thing about placements this year is probably the fact that some of these companies are offering much better profiles than those offered by I-banks.

Read more here.