“Life is a journey between two alphabets B(Birth) to D(Death) but there lies an alphabet C(Choices) between B to D which everyone is bound to make at different stages in life.” -A Proud Crow
Today I am here to talk about some of those choices which changed my life for the better.
WHY MBA – “The Career Progression Choice”
Working for a reputed multinational design and project management consultancy, “Atkins,” starting in the role of a graduate detailer and bolting up the ranks to becoming a Project Manager. The progression was a normal path for any employee in the company, but the novelty of my promotions was the time frame in which the successive promotions were received. Other people in my company were able to achieve such roles in over three years, whereas I achieved the same in just over 1.5 years.
Despite achieving the requisite promotions, I realized that the future in the company seems bleak due to a glass ceiling that I could not cross just with the B.Tech degree. I lacked the necessary holistic level of management expertise required to take up further roles. My project manager advised me to work for four more years doing redundant work for availing the next leadership opportunity. Being a smart individual, I chose the better path – “B-school,” which could get me similar leadership roles in just two years.
WHY IIM RANCHI - “The Invincible Choice”
Post CAT, I had to make the choice of choosing a B-school. Due to my previous academic performance, work profile, and cat percentile, I had various choices comprising of all new IIM’s and waitlisted in certain old IIM’s. My parents wanted me to join a different college, but I convinced them what I felt was the best choice and joined IIM Ranchi. Today after a year of being a proud crow, I am confident to say I did choose the right B-school. IIM Ranchi has a myriad of advantages over other b-schools at a similar level, but the one which stood out for me was Leadership Opportunities.
WHY A PROUD CROW - “The Leadership Choice”
IIM Ranchi, the home away from home or us denizen like to call it our nest, has given me constantly a myriad of leadership opportunities to show and refine my managerial skills.
1. Induction Sessions: As part of the Corporate to Campus transition, we had the opportunity to participate in induction sessions where we were given a brief introduction about the domain they cater to. That was my first introduction to the various facets of the business ranging from finance to human resources. It did seem a bit hostile then, but in hindsight, that was closest to performance appraisal in a corporate environment.
Induction was a boon in disguise because it helped individuals like me who had the requisite work ethic and negotiation skills to shine.
2. Induction Challenges: The second benchmark in our journey to becoming a true crow was Induction Challenges. This was one of the most innovative and diverse groups of tasks clubbed together to showcase the diverse skill set present in the batch. Induction challenges covered a multitude of facets with a group of individuals virtually on an online medium.
Induction challenges instilled a sense of comradery and work ethic due to the stringent yet fair deadlines.
3. Student Bodies: IIM Ranchi, in its truest sense, is a student-run college. It offers a diverse set of Nine Clubs and Seven committees to choose from. Clubs cater to the external domain-specific activities organized by the college, while committees help in the operational part of internal activities required for the smooth functioning of the college. Any individual could nominate themselves for any number of student bodies to take up the leadership role depending on their personal choice.
Personally, being a design consultant, I was enamored with the field of consultancy and chose to go for “Conundrum – The Consulting Club” of IIM Ranchi. The process of selections comprises a mutually exclusive yet completely exhaustive set of activities covering all day-to-day working activities of the requisite club/committee. I was selected to hold the post of Junior Coordinator at Conundrum, and after serving in that role for 6 months, I could not be happier of my choice. The club was handed to us as a blank canvas, and we were given complete autonomy over its future activities.
Being a junior coordinator in charge of future activities helped me get a sense of responsibility and allowed me to take advantage of leadership opportunities.
4. Senate/Student Council:
“Leadership is something you earn, something you’re chosen for. You cannot come in yelling, ‘I’m your leader!’ If it happens, it’s because the other guys respect you.” – Ben Roethlisberger
Senate and Student council are the umbrella bodies under which all clubs, committees, and student interest groups come under. Corona might have impacted the way we do things, but it could not even have a small dent in the grit of Crows. We had seniors in the senate and student council who inspired me every day with their work ethic to make our journey smoother despite challenges presented by the online medium.
Two months have gone by since I am serving in the role of a senator, and the learning curve could not have been steeper. Day-to-day decisions have enormous scope to impact the lives of my peers and the future batches to come.
Being a senator taught the fine line of balance between managing different stakeholders affected by a decision. Being the medium, which connects administration with the students and all student-run bodies symbiotically helped me finesse my negotiation and communication skills.
WHY THIS ARTICLE – “Your Invincible Choice”
Just over a year, I was at the crossroads where I had to choose some difficult yet important choices related to my future career progression. I was as skeptical as you might be of what the future holds for you. All your hard has earned you the opportunity to choose from a myriad of b-school options; this article is to make the later part of your journey easier.
Yes, placements will be and should be a major criterion affecting your choice, but I would urge you not to make it the only criteria for your choice. Being a manager also entails having a long-term perspective towards holistic development.
“Choose to Invest in Holistic Development. It might not affect your first salary but does decide your last salary.” -Your “might be” Future Senior