Hi Guys
To introduce myself, I passed out of MBA program in May 2005 and joined my campus placed job along with two other classmates of mine. Last week I completed 3 years in the organization. Often in past 3 years I recalled the good work done in those days. More importantly I have realized what all I missed out on in those MBA …
Anyhows… there is no regret. Only wish to share these thoughts with you people; so that you might be able to make best use of this time.
Let me begin with something which we (myself and my classmates did really well)…
1. We were a very cohesive unit when it came to common issues of interest like curriculum, examinations and project and job placements. This gave result to an internal kind of organization with leadership skills truly coming out in open. While some were leaders from people management side, some were on knowledge side and some on the political side…:-)
2. We were extremely focused on skill diversification and each of us had exposures on subjects from Marketing, Finance, Business environment to information security.
3. We clearly stood distinct from ‘codes’ of technology and always pushed for understanding the business of technology and impact of technology on business.
4. Most of us never believed in Ratta (Mugging up) and instead focused on two key skills to pass the examination: a. Understanding the concepts & b. Ability to pass sheet or copy from the mate right under the nose of the invigilator.
5. Lastly on this list is our ability and eagerness to party even on the night before the exam. A true skill that each of my classmates is proud of till date.
Now let me state few things which I believe we did not do and you should. I may sound like a preacher but after little (three years) corporate experience I believe that these will make a difference:
* Save money and invest: Learn to save money. And then learn to invest it in stock market.
Warren Buffet’s one regret in life… he began investing in markets much later than he should have. He made first investments at the age of 14.
Stock market & Mutual Funds are a great place to be. It teaches you so much intuitively. You shall learn to do macro fundamental analysis, sectoral analysis, company analysis, financial analysis, stock market trading strategies and also learn to relate it to market growth, sales, hiring trends, etc.
My advice to you is to invest in small amounts. Make groups. Do thorough research. Discuss, make presentations. Start you small funds Management Company (group).
Rs. 1000 per month of investing for 24 months shall be Rs. 24000. Add a 25% CAGR in stock markets which is not difficult it soars to Rs. 34000.
* The most respected technical skill in industry is the ability to use MS-Office.
Ability to use excel innovatively and make excellent word documents and power point presentations give you the first visibility in any organization.
Recently some of your seniors joined us and it was indeed bad to know that they weren’t very strong on excel.
It is very-very important to master these basic tools. End one has a lot of catching up to do in the corporate.
And one can learn these skills only by doing, for in corporate there is no copy-pasting allowed. Do, practice and master the skills to use Excel, Power-point and word document.
* It’s a competitive world. Something can sell only if it’s seen. And glamour brings attention. Well guys… don’t start dreaming… Blog every damn technical site, management site and discussion forum with your name and institute ID. Share your thoughts online and make people realize that you exist and exist in big numbers. Start your blogs. Some can start articles blog, some a photo blog. Somebody can write about and review games. Somebody can write about pubs in Pune. Who knows your blog might become a source of earning. However make sure to respect the law and rules of the institute.
* Connect to your seniors… Well in the past three years; other that the odd mail I receive from the institute public relations cell, there has been no communication from the student community. Rise up and connect. We want to know about what happening in the institute, we wish to connect to the new talent and you carry much brighter ideas than we ever had. Build a network online. Circulate a newsletter in PDF fortnightly. Share about latest happenings and give us an opportunity to share our experiences and opportunities in our organizations with you people.
* Grow beyond business: Corporate around the world are becoming more aware of their social obligations. With rising environmental concerns and energy and commodity prices soaring all are looking to adapt better working methods and also starting to build goodwill directly with the masses. I suggest that you guys too start a union, small group to with social objectives. Get this registered as an NGO if you can. Take up a social issue and experiment with your ideas. It can be as simple as opening up a telephone helpline for people in distress to building a network of blood donors, or build an online database of stolen mobiles with IMEI number to check upon. Think how to use technology for betterment of society and DO everything you can with limited resources. Use the power of internet and get connected to other corporate social initiatives by offering volunteers. Lastly I assure you, this is the most effective way to get noticed by corporate big-wigs.
Susheem's Thoughts 