Career advice in difficult B-school times

With the US economy stuttering as it is, and threatening to pull others down with it, its certainly a nervous time for fresh graduates (expecting to pass-out this year). Lehman & Merill were aspirational names for the fin dudes on campus. I remember people in my batch looking at these names with awe; the toppers knew they'd have a good shot at cracking into 'em; the bourgeois, on the other hand, mocked them for being so 'topper-friendly'.

For the two years I spent on campus, there was never really a fear of not getting the job you wanted. Of course you couldn't really get into a consult with a shitty academic record. But people were fairly chilled out about where they'd be going.

Now though, I imagine the situation is quite different. There's a good chance that the big names (and even the not-so-big ones), would be either entirely missing or recruiting in lesser numbers compared to previous years - more so for fin, but generally across sectors. I still expect 100% placements in the IIMs without too much trouble. But, people will, by and large, not get the companies and offers that they'd have thought of getting 6 months back.

While the situation might seem grim at the outset, there are still a lot of very good companies and jobs out there. This will force the students to look beyond those top few that they'd always been dreaming of, and they'd find that indeed there are still excellent jobs for the taking.

They do not offer the high pay-packets and aura of the large i-banks, but they can still offer roles which are deemed challenging. Its a hit the students should be expecting and willing to digest. They've put in a lot of effort to get here, no doubt. But a slowdown can be thought of as an opportunity to explore what you want to do - try out another industry or profile perhaps for a few years.

That's where in fact I think the problem lies. Folks want the first job to be in the exact field they always thought they'd fit in best. Instead, if you can change your line of thinking to - what could this job add to my profile, to my skills, which would help me in the long run - then it would make it more objective comparing profiles on offer (as opposed to pay packets & brand name).

Now, of course, the question would arise, what's 'long run'? Most people I knew on campus did not know what they wanted to do 5 years - 10 years, down the line. They either had a notion that they'd want to be in a certain field, and/or, have made tons of money by then, or, just generally doing well in life.

Lets consider these one by one.

If you're sure that you want to be in a certain field, its best that you look at all the jobs on offer that would give you skills and build your profile to do well in that field.

If you're looking to generally do well in life, look for skills that you feel you need to build. Then look for jobs that will help you build those skills to make you a more well-rounded individual. Instead, if you're extremely good at something, you can leverage that and become an expert in jobs that require that skill.

And, if all you want is to be a billionaire by 35, then there's prolly just a coupla ways to do it:

- Work your ass off. Lose your life. And with a coupla lucky breaks you'd get there by 35.
- Open your own firm with that big business idea, work your ass off, and you just might be the next Larry Page or Sabeer Bhatia.

[ Of course, there's 'marry-a-billionaire'... but I don't think I'd count that as a 'career option' :) ]

All in all, what I just want people to realize for themselves is this - there's still a lot of time left in life. You might as well live it up now, rather than lose sleep over where your next job is going to be. Do your research well, think 'long run', and that elusive happiness will come-a-courting.

xx

What to do when you have time for you

Imagine a time... when you have time to kill. No work worries. No study. No nothin. Just you, with the clock for a change, rather than against it.

What are your options?

1. Turn on that idiot box - movie, sport, news, soap, arbit music channel, cartoons, discovery/Nat geo... soo much to choose from :-)

2. Surf the net - chat up with friends, news, download that killer app, read up on your hobbies... the works

3. Blog - If you already have one, you know what a nice time pass it is :-P ; if you don't, no better time to start, eh!?

4. Read - Read that book that's been lying on the shelf, begging to be read for so long. Re-reading a good book is also a very attractive option, always something new to discover!

5. Call - Catch up with an old friend, relative or any of your best buddies

6. Listen - to some music. Some peppy numbers to up your spirits, dance along for added effect...! Or some calming classics to relax your mind, slow down time.

7. Write - a letter. It could be a nice long email to that friend you haven't been in touch with, or it could be an old fashioned pen & paper letter by snail mail to your granny...!

8. Walk - Take a walk 'round town. Notice the people around. Feel the rain, the sun, the breeze. Listen to every sound.

9. Cook - yourself a treat! Try something new... that dish in the cook-book that looked o-so-delicious... hurry up, stomach's waiting...

10. SLEEP. Need I say more? :)

--

Now, yesterday, Somesh & I planned to drive down to this hill station place called Horsley Hills. But as it happened, Somesh's bike broke down on his way from Chennai to Tirupati, so the trip was off.

And I had no Plan B.

So, I'd to think up of something to do. It didn't really help that the power went off (some once in a month thing for repairs in Tirupati!). So that meant TV, internet, blogging (my top three options, always :-) ) were not possible as I had no charge left on my lappy. That kinda got me thinking about this post.

Of course, there're several other things one can do in their free time. Meditate, draw, paint, exercise(!!), get a massage... But I guess I just wanted to keep the options down to 10, coz 10 seems like a nice number for a list of things that can be done :-)

What did I end up doing then? Well... The cell had enough charge for about 1 call.. so I spoke with a friend. Music & reading were ruled out, coz I aint got no songs or books, and I'm not much of a music person anyways. Taking a walk was out of the question, coz it was burning hot and I aint really first in line for people who need a tan at the expense of a headache. I wouldn't have minded cooking some stuff for myself, but the kitchen's just got a sink and a platform as of now.. so..

After all that thinking... I didn't really have any choice but to get some more sleep :-)

xx

New house setup for dummies

There will come a time in almost every young person's life, when they'd have to setup a house for themselves. I've had the good luck of doing this so young :P ... over the last month or so at Tirupati.

Here's a short guide, if I could call it that, on setting up your house.

Note: Its not easy, but it ain't tough either.

Every time you think "Now, I've bought everything", something that you're doing in the course of the day would remind you.. "Damn, I forgot to buy xyz..". For example, you wake up in the morning, brush your teeth, and pick up your razor for a shave. Then you realize, "Damn, there's no mirror over the wash basin". And then you go and scribble 'Mirror' in your list of things to buy.

If you're attentive enough, and diligent enough to write down stuff you need on a piece of paper, then with 3-4 trips to the supermarket, you should have your house up n running.

So... What's the stuff you need to buy??
Here's a list...
(The prices in this are for stuff for the average household, not too fancy, but not off of a garage sale either)

What - how much(rupees)

Big ticket items
1. Cot with mattress - 9-11k
2. TV + TV Table - 14-18k
3. Washing machine + stand - 12-15k
4. Refrigerator - 10-13k
5. A/C - 20-28k
6. Dining table & chairs - 11-15k
7. Couch (3 seater) :) - 15k
8. Cupboard + dressing table - 10-12k
9. Geyser - 3-5k (I guess)
10. Gas kit - 5-6k (I guess)

The rest
Doormat, bathroom mat, scissors, dustbins, buckets, mugs, mop, broom, dust-pan, toilet cleaning liquid, toilet brush, floor cleaning liquid, soaps, toilet paper, washing powder, bed cover, bedsheet, pillows, pillow cover, mirror, shirt hangers, clotheslines, table mat, few plates, glasses, spoons, other utensils....

All of this stuff shouldn't cost more than 6-7k.

As a rule, you'd HAVE to go to the market at least 3 times though as something would always be amiss!

And of course, once you buy all this stuff, you're left with the simple task of deciding how to arrange it in the house... :)

xx