Already !!

This post was conceptualized just a minute ago..

I already hate being a consultant..

details later ...

Update :-

As much as I hate being a consultanat I also can vouch that some people will love being a consultant. The biggest plus is challenging job and no stagnancy.. biggest minus is no time for family and if you were me then no time to even see your family ... i am mostly out of city :-(

will explain these further ... hopefully sooner than later ...

Epilogue

Sometimes in life you just wonder how time flies and that exactly echoes my thoughts at the moment.

This might be the last post here on this blog ....

I cant believe my journey of MBA is over and I am ready to plunge into the next adventure which mother destiny has in store for me ..

When I wrote my first weekly post I was excited to pen down even the minutest details but as the time passed I got busier and the story got repetitive ( assignments, exams, workload, activities) and I believe my writing skills did not do justice to the wonderful year I spent here...

It was a fabulous journey and there were great moments to cherish all throughout... The friends I made here , The learnings I had , The fun and frolic and of course the academic takeaways ... Words can never do justice ....

I also thought I would write every week but could not for obvious reasons... I tried to keep it updated but I know I lagged a lot ... Nonetheless it was real fun penning the most happening year of my life and I actually gave myself a pat on my back after penning the last week post .... The last chapter was over and so it comes to an end ....

There were hits and misses... joys and sorrows ... Successes and failures ... a complete mixed bag ....

The dream career which I thought remained a dream but nevertheless I have something which I will enjoy and hopefully do good in it ... The doors or corporate world are wide open and I cant wait to see it from new eyes ...

This blog has been a chapter of my life and tomorrow a new chapter will begin ... I just need to turn the page ... I will definitely revisit this blog frequently to relive the moments I spent at ISB and am sure to smile ear to ear while reading each one of them ...

It has been great writing in here and I sincerely hope folks who read this will enjoy as much as I did in writing these ...

I will keep signing in here to check if any comments/queries are there .. Just leave a comment and I will try to be as prompt as I can ... I might not be the best person for any MBA related questions but having been thru the grind I can always give an honest opinion ... 

I will be back to post some arbit MBA stuff if I feel like but as of now :-

Its curtain time folks !!!

Godspeed and Good Luck !!!

Pranay Raicha

Week 46 - The last chapter !!

Exams are over.. de-orientation week is in full swing ... No more assignments ... no more lectures.. only few days from graduation ...

And the facebook is replete with nostalgia/last messages... some of my favs are

1) From Saiket

The last CPs.. the last cold calls, the rogues playing Nascar in the last row.. The TA in the corner watching silently as always.., the occasional jokes that will make the entire class laugh.. the 10min break in between... and so on.. will be history in few hours.. hmn..

2) From Sindhu

A momentous year, went as silently as it came... Sat in the curved classes for the last time, listened to the prof in the well of the class for the last time, enthusiasm and anticipation when I came in... memories and nostalgia as I move out... Cheers to a year well spent

3) From Vineet

Too many lasts to count ..last assignment, last class, last standing ovation to prof, last exam........But why count the lasts n not count on what lasts forever... numerous memories, actuation of dream MBA, and most importantly - Lifelong friends !!! Curtain's aren't down. They never are. Just that the game is all set to be more interesting than ever before !!

Khallaas ( My Facebook status)

And it is over.

Finished.

Done.

week 46 :- Nearing the end

It is raining events at ISB...

Portrait project by the photography club

SLC events.. many of them ...i love their tagline .. "Getting you a life .. One even at a time"

You are never alone at ISB.. if nothing then u have assignments .. specially when u r nearing end of term ...

so people are just doing minimal needed to wrap up assignments.. only ones studying are 

1) who love grades

2) who are whisker away from deans list

3) who have set targets like 3 , 3.5 or 2.5 ( min for graduation)

4) who are just in the deans list
5) and some idiots 

and not to mention .. everyone is nostalgic ....

Facebook is replete with nostalgia status messages....

Fun time over... 

Need to prepare for corporate life again ...

btw,

i got my offer letter ... so i have a job.. for sure ... no reneging by company ... i luv them for that ... 

Date and location are confirmed yet titles tentative for the lack of written communication ...

Rest is best...

End of most happening year of lives of 570 people is just round the corner ..

1 week of studies .. 1 weekend of exams .,... 1 de-orientation week .. 1 day of graduation...

and it is over ...

So soon !!!

weeks 43, 44, 45 - Monotony

Nothing new at all .... Absolutely nothing novel..

I honestly dont know what 2 write ...

same old classes.. same old environment .. nostalgia all around ..

folks with jobs having fun ... Folks with no jobs are full fledgedly hunting for one..

campus is replete with nostalgia..
yearbook is being made...
graduation is so near...
Midterm of term 8 is over .. no one read.. no one bothered...
I finished my mid term paper in 23 minutes.. my fastest till date ...

Rest is best ... My joining and other information will come by next week ...
that will take me to a whole new station ...

Am already looking fwd 2 it ..

Weeks 41 & 42 - Fun for some .. none for some ...

Have been really lazy ..... Sloppy and careless ... but have had lots of fun .... And know what .. I am typing this sitting in  a class... trust me blogging is best use of time in this class ...

41st week

It was exams of term 7 which announced that term 8 is round the corner and the end is about to begin ...
First time I had a course in which I was not having SRK as my group mate ... he has been tagging along ( rather i m tagging .... whatever !!)  Am not used to prepare for end terms.. he is the one who is attentive and intelligent and serious chap .. [Serious = Still after grades ;-)]
but then it makes sense for him he is all close to the coveted dean's list .. hope he makes it..

Just 2 papers later I was done with term 7 .. and managed to ensure that I will not flunk...also ensured that i wont get an A.. But thats ok ... I am nowhere near deans list ...

Anyway after exams the fun part started .. vacations ...

42nd week

This was a week of fun ... For me .. because I am relieved.....for folks who have not yet signed on the dotted line it was a tough period... It was week with completely contrasting memories ..... people with job were in frolic mode and rest were not .. they were still studying ... prepping hard and giving luck a best shot ...

week 43 is term 8 .. beginning of end ...

Setting right expectations !!

Lets face it :-

No MBA school is a hogwarts ( unless you are amongst the likes of wharton stanford etc)...
Have received calls/mails from some of new admits asking for information regarding placements etc... One thing which is common is that everyone has high expectations... I had them too.. Its natural.. But unfortunately they are not fulfilled in majority of cases ... Off course there are exceptions but i have said this earlier too "They are exceptions"....
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On a different note :- In past few days I feel like gaining popularity ( thanks to my weekly chronicle) ..
I am happy I could help ...

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Career switch story  .. Switches happen
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1)
Most of it happens in consulting .. Consulting involves everything so it is a career switch because you never work on similar stuff continuously ... ISB is one of the best consulting B-Schools in India ( or Asia?) .... But consulting is not everyone's cup of tea... It involves travelling , it needs grades , consistent academic performance, well rounded personality ... lot of stuff .. Thats why consulting is most sought after jobs at ISB.. I too prepared for them .. everyone does....

2)
After consulting it is mostly a career leap within the industry .. Our batch too is replete with such cases and this makes perfect logical sense too.. You know abt the industry u were working in.. u hv done MBA so u deserve a steeper career and accelerated  path ...

3)
Then comes the actual switch which most of the new admits look for .. From IT to marketing or vice versa.. From IT to operations and vice versa.. etc etc.. completely perpendicular career paths... Thats where exceptional people succeed... The examples are few and far... I can only tell why this happened in my batch and this is completely my hypothesis.
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 a) Economy was down so companies preferred prior work experience .... Makes sense.. They want few people...
b) Companies have lot of choices .. No of interested candidates outnumbers the number of posts ( atleast in initial days of placements when most of the dream companies where every "SWITCHER" wants to go ...
c) People want to switch roles but might not be willing to take fresher level salary in some field where they will  be completely new ...
d) Large batch size of ISB - This factor is positive throughout the year and adds to ISB experience but then plays a huge negative in placements season .. The bargaining power is with companies .. They have choices , they have jobs , they are authority...
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I ended up in 2) .. I got a better role in same industry .. I am Relieved  ... Will be happy soon.. hopefully :-)

So what should people in 3rd category do....
1) Be god like :-) .. Do everything possible to manifest passion for new role ....
2) Participate in the club activities to network and build a strong user base...
3) Take part (and win) some competitions which strengthen your resume for such companies...
4) Be well read about everything .. You should be able to answer questions which someone with a background in that industry is able to answer ( stuff which wont be taught)
5) Use clubs and preparation materials of past year generously
6) Pray to god that economy improves and company's  hire in large numbers ...
7) Try and get grades... it does not matter everywhere but showcases your intelligence ..

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It is a great place to be .. Just set your expectations right and understand a few things

- This is just a hault and not the destinations
- First job is not last ( though it usually sets the direction)
- getting a career switch of type 2 is good..
- dont compare your career with others.. everyone has unique past and that helps in shaping future ...
- Salary matters but roles and company matter more ( to me)
- There are very smart people around.. do not get bogged down.. u have something whic others dont have .. thats why you are selected
- if u need to value MBA then try to imagine your career with or without MBA and then take a call and not by imagining your post MBA job with someone else's post MBA job .. Thats not right ( though is most common, i still fall into that trap in my mood swings)
- best is yet to come .. always ...


God speed and Good Luck !!!

week 39 and 40 - relieved and unhappy

The relieved word in the subject is for the fact that I have signed off an offer in ISB campus ... Unhappy is the feeling because of following reasons

1) I am not happy with the location offered. Having worked for 6.5 years I wanted to go to a city where I can stay for next few years atleast but this city was a strict no no. Actually I turned down the offer initially because of this. But thanks to some sensible friends I grabbed it again.

2) The package offered though is good is not what I dreamt off before joining ISB. But then it was my dreams that were off the mark. There have been cases in ISB where people actually landed up dream offers but such folks and extremely brilliant, deserving, lucky and exceptional.

What makes me happy is that role is good. After the roller coaster ride of one year the switch I wanted from my new job is there ans is something in which i will leverage my past experiences. Just as I said in my interviews:- A job where I can deploy the blend of my education and experience ...

What relieved me the most was  that I now have something to fallback on and the worries of loan installments are no more there... The joining date ad location are not 100% final yet but tentative information is there ...

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Coming to weekly stories
past 2 weeks have been similar to 2 weeks prior to those.. same mixed bag .. just that there are more number of relieved faces... Folks who have not yet landed an offer are still hopeful because some great firms have signed up off late and many more are lined up for the upcoming placement season ( 12th to 21st Feb) ...

Not too sure what else to chronicle. Term 7 classes ended and the costliest subject which i bought this term was the one in which i slept most ... first 6 lectures because i was up till late prepping and last 4 out of habit ...

Term 8 bidding happened and people are now deciding on their graduation requirements ... I m majoring in Strategy and Marketing. In hindsight I should have heard to my freiends who warned me against marketing.. I too feel marketing subjects are a lot more repetitive and that finance or operations would have involved more learning .. Finance was something i could not relate to so no issues operations is my background and would have me if I had majored in operations ... but then i came here for a career switch so I did no do what i did prior to ISB...

This post is not really a chronicle but a reflection , i guess...

Term  exams coming up ...

time to read the syllabus and find out what the hell went on in term 7 lectures ..

btw, 3 subjects in term 7 was definitely a good decision ...

weel 37 & 38 - Mixed bag

These  2 weeks were probably the longest in ISB...for many it was 37th week, for some it was 37th ad 38thj and for many more longer weeks are in sight ..

placements are emanating realities so unexpected and so naked that everyone is shocked ...

it is tough .. very tough.

Many are done .. many are still fighting .. I am in majority ( still striving ) ..

hopefully should be over soon ..

Btw, Got rejects from HUL and ZS.. latter would probably linger a lot longer in thoughts than former ..
also took a bold decision of saying no to a company ....

course of life has changed .. atleast for next few years .. the ISB brand will always be there ... all are hoping to ripe in years to come ....

fingers crossed, hands folded, some smiling faces, some frustrated, some sad, some rejected, some dejected..
life in all flavours ....

week 36 & 37 - silence

It is getting close to end.

Glum faces, anxious walks, deep epiphanies , nervous smiles...
and very very few - confident, chilled out people...

it is war and people are gearing up ...

No one knows what subjects they are reading, people hv forgotten pre-reads .... It doesnt matter anymore ...

me ? - in between ... high mood swings .. surrounded by worries ... at times happy and chilled ...

dont really know what this phase is ..
The only word comes to mind is IMPORTANT .. really IMPORTANT

Hope for Godspeed !!