Amit’s e-world

They say failure teaches a lesson or two & I do have my learnings from the Deloitte debacle. While rejection always does bring some pain, the key is to come out of it in quick time. I certainly did not do too well on that front, as coming out of the rejection did take some time. I also realised that with one company gone, I was pretty much empty-handed with almost nothing in the job pipeline. Incidentally, a couple of days back, we had a careers resources presentation, where representatives of Global workplace, Quantum jobs, Workmaze and Vault had come to brief us about how to leverage the careers products they offered. The founder of Workmaze, gave a very good tip that we mustn’t focus too much on one job. I can now endorse that this is so relevant and correct. By having just one opportunity in the pocket, you put so much pressure on yourself, that getting that job becomes even more difficult as the best interviews are given when the mind is relaxed and not anxious. I spent the next few days trying to contact some of the alumni I had touchbased with in November, and was overwhelmed by the information & support I got from them. I can truly certify that networking is a great asset to have, and will be perhaps the most important tool in a job search. The statistics also support this fact, as more than 50% jobs are filled through networking, and the least number of applications go through this route.

Moving on to the MBA course, I have become a great fan of the Studio process. What might seem as an innocuous process of having yourself recorded in the camera & being questioned by your personal development team, is actually pretty powerful. I have attended two Studio sessions already & I had identified assertive skills as an area I wanted to improve on. I already see myself beginning to be more assertive & almost fearless in communicating with people after I vented that out in front of the camera.

Also, to add to the Deloitte pain, one of our modules - project and programme management required us to visit Deloitte and solve a case study through discussions within a team and an interview of a role-playing Deloitte consultant and present the findings to everyone. As one of the presenters, I managed that role quite well. And the team discussions were also fun.

And finally, the cricket season has started. The first match is to happen at Derbyshire on Sunday. Not sure whether I will make it to the finall 11, but there are many more matches to go anyways. For many of you who will probably be playing with the proper cricket ball for the first time, here is golden advice - the ball hurts only on the first day.

It’s a special feeling to be a 50% MBA. With term 2 out of the way (subject to exam results not being a deterrent) and a sparsely loaded Term 4, it feels that more than 50% of the MBA is done. This week started off with MBA interview day on 2nd. Its a big day for MBA-wannabes and quite a few of the current batch students volunteered to talk to the interviewees over lunch. I was quite impressed with the background of some of the people I met.

I had two of my electives scheduled this week. The entrepreneurship bootcamp went on for Tuesday and Wednesday, and I found it difficult to be attentive for the whole hog (especially considering that I just returned from vacation). I am not a big fan of full-day lectures. They are gruelling and mind-tiring. On Thursday, I had PPM (Programme and Project Management). I thought this one of the best sessions I attended in the MBA, cause I was completely awake at all times and looked forward to hear more. Moreover, the approach of this module is unique and interesting. As part of the elective, we will be undertaking a field trip to Deloitte to understand how program management is practised there. Further, the assessment for this module is refreshingly different. We will be split into teams of four and will be allocated one programme manager each to be interviewed. We then have to unearth various issues that programme managers encounter, and research one of them and make a presentation on that later on. Very interesting indeed!

Next week is shaping up to be a li’l hectic with the SOAR (Self - Other Appraisal Report) deadline looming around. Also, have 3 full days of lectures from Monday to Thursday with my Deloitte assessment centre on Friday. I also have my leadership assessment centre one-to-one feedback scheduled with a Cranfield alumni who is also an occupational psychologist on Thursday. I have to make the most out of my Easter weekend. Tomorrow, a few of us will be off to Milton Keynes Centre as part of our fundraising activities for Marathon. Hoping to strike it big !!!