An Open Letter To Parents, Peers & Juniors About Placements At IIMs

- Do not ask your ward about the maximum package of the season when he/she tells you his/hers. Even though you ask unintentionally, it isn't conceived in the same way as you think. This is not the primary school, where you used to compare your child's marks with the highest one. So, don't get disheartened when you hear the maximum package of the campus. Your kid ward get there in just a few years of time.

- Placement is an extremely stressful time for some and your attitude can improve or worsen your ward's situation. Rise above societal pressure of packages and big brands of companies; rather be there with your ward; possibly with an incredible amount of belief, confidence and most of all satisfaction in them and in whichever company or profile they crack.

For Outsiders

- "Are tu to IIM me chala gaya, teko kya load hai" is not the thing we want to hear. The struggle is real and the competition is fierce. We might have an advantage over you in terms of the brand name, but then again, everyone is branded equally. It's a level playing field. It isn't always a cake walk; in fact, it never is. The struggle is the same, the preparation is the same and the feeling of rejection is the same.

If you can't respect the midnight oil we've had to burn to reach this place or to survive it, at least don't set unrealistic expectations from us. 

For Juniors

- People getting placed on day 2 or even later aren't any lesser than the ones placed on day 0 (or day -x, as they call it). It's just a matter of time and sometimes even of choice. Do not, I repeat, do not ever judge anyone based on his/her placement performance. It's such a petty thing to judge a person's talents.

- Different companies have different requirements for the role and altogether different criteria for selection. One never knows where and how he/she got rejected. So, your idea of a "gawd" company might be vague and that shouldn't be your yardstick to define an internship or placement.

- Always remember these words of an interviewer who politely replied to my question about my suitability for the role, saying, "We don't expect you to know everything. We just want to gauge what skills have you picked up in college life and how good are you at them". So, people, shed the shroud of complacency and make the most of your two-year MBA journey. Pick up different skills, learn and master them, after all, they will not only define your stature and credibility in your campus but is also going to be a lifelong asset and the biggest takeaway.

- Remember, on average, we are left with a career of 35 years. As said by a wise Professor earlier, five years down the lane, the company you are placed with or the nth day you cracked a placement on will hardly matter, but what will matter is your perseverance and confidence in yourself - now and always. I have seen people settling for companies far lower than their capabilities but I am pretty sure they won't let that define themselves.

In case, you need to listen to the stories of perseverance, look around, there are umpteen examples in your B-School. Examples not of people who cracked the likes of MBB but of those who change their fate by sheer hard work. In fact, everyone sitting in placement will have their own story. Talk to them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article was originally written by Nawazish Parwez:

Nawazish Parwez is a final-year undergraduate at IIT Kharagpur and he will be joining Citibank as an analyst after his graduation in May 2019. He's often found quoting his favourite line - "No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world" - from his favourite character John Keating of Dead Poets Society. A true bibliophile at heart, he dreams to set up his own library one day. A Potterhead since childhood, he believes that happiness can be found even in the darkest of times; with friends, bad jokes and a good tea. His friends describe him as "a writer trapped in an engineer's body", but he says he's figuring out the meaning of life one story at a time.