Two months ago, I was cozied up under a blanket with the AC and fan running full speed in a house in suburban Mumbai. As much as I can remember, these actions repeated every single day that I spent at home. I could have reduced the fan speed by a mark or pushed up the AC temperature by 2 degrees and experienced the same comfort without having to stuff myself under a blanket over myself. But I didn’t. I didn’t simply because I could afford to leave the AC at full blast and still feel cozy because there was the blanket. I didn’t do it simply because I had these facilities at my disposal and my stay was billed on the company. This was a case of the “YOLO” phenomenon coming to the fore. I knew that I may not get a chance to re-live this luxury and thus went all out to experience it. I was just reflecting on this when it occurred to me if it was precisely for this reason, YOLO, that cricketers indulged in fixing.
Putting YOLO aside, two months ago I was speaking to a friend about the internships which were had begun a week earlier. The projects had barely started but the discontent on his job was clear.
“They are making me perform menial jobs. I don’t see myself making slides for 2 years. Even if they offer a PPO, I am rejecting it!” he said frustrated just a week into the job.
Apparent here was a problem common in today’s job scene- pre-conceived notions about the job. In the elite b-schools in India (am limiting myself to India for lack of awareness about foreign schools), students resort to inputs from seniors to clear the haze of uncertainty. What is the job like? Will I get a client facing role? How much of it is excel modeling and slide making? – typical questions seniors are asked.
I asked my friend to give it some time. Two months could alter perceptions in a big way. “You could get an interesting module to work on.” I said trying to motivate my friend. He bought it and waited out the next two months.
Last week as we were wrapping up our internship, I rang him again to find out if he had fallen in love with the sliding process and excel shortcuts. He hadn’t, instead he hated both.
“I can’t do it man. This is shit job I am doing here. A layman could do this job, I dunno why they hire from IIMs!”
“Well, what did you expect at the entry level?”
“I dunno.. face the client and uh..”
“And what? Sell business?”
He took the PPO nonetheless. “Back-up option, boss. Dekha na, finals mein thuki padi hai?”
So, now we have two more problems – impatience and ego. Like Ranbir Kapoor in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, every student “udna chahta hai, daudna chahta hai, girna bhi chahta hai” but wants to do all of it in fast forward mode; if only he could skip direct to the flight from the slow walk from the starting point. Added to that is the “I am from IIT/IIM, why should I join a company that makes me draft beautiful slides for the first year or so?” Seniors don’t help either – client facing roles are worth the hype but they aren’t the be-all and end-all.
Let us clarify certain things. Every job at the lower levels is just routine, menial work. In case you were frustrated with these jobs and thought of starting-up, think again. Entrepreneurs do much more menial work than anyone. Thus, what matters is not if your job description today is making slides, but whether 2 years from today, you would still be making slides or getting someone else to do the routine work. In other words, the role development as your tenure progresses is more significant than entry level JD. Also, I am pretty sure that no job entails just making slides. If that was the case, then you are probably hired for the Graphics department or you haven’t turned to page 2 for the remainder of the text.
Why do they hire from IITs/IIMs? To get the client’s buy-in. Also, anybody could do the entry level job but whether you intend to stay with the firm or not, the firm thinks of you as a long term asset and believes that as you progress up the hierarchy, an IIM graduate will be adept for the job. Be happy that firms believe in such a stupid logic given that zilch IIM education comes handy, except sucking-up or globing skills. But these were self-taught, weren’t they?
A client facing role is cool. But think once – do you think you know a lot to get the client’s buy-in? Why would he trust you? If you are provided client facing roles at entry-level, then your firm is just ripping the client off and, you are fooling yourself too. Just by reading a couple of IP decks and materials, you can’t master the client’s business. There’s nothing wrong in doing back-end work in the early stages and learning the ropes.
Slide making/excel-modeling can be fun too, as I found out. Its not the attractiveness but the preciseness of the presentation, which requires clarity of thought and a knack for picking out the right thing. If it isn’t – hey you did not like the first week at IIM either. Cut the attitude and be patient.
The Lithograph 