I completed my Engg in year 2001, when the clouds of recession were looming all over us post 9/11. At that time, getting admission into a good B-school was the only ray of hope. When I got the admission letter of SIIB, I literally had tears of joy in my eyes. I felt that finally the struggle has come to an end. Ignorant me didn’t know that corporate rat race is yet to start
SIIB gave me that platform to launch my career. Be it the robust course curriculum to expand our knowledge horizon, numerous group exercises to inculcate habit of team work or skill to deliver a powerful presentation even at the middle of night. On top of all of this, sensitizing us with our society and building our Social Quotient. I would also like to thank, Prof Godbole (who taught us Market Research) for a significant contribution in shaping my career. I think it was the charisma of Prof Godbole and his grasp on the subject that I fell in love with this subject and decided to pursue my career in Research & Consulting.
I started my research career by getting a campus placement with Frost & Sullivan. In a research firm, biggest challenge for an analyst is to estimate the market size and share of various market players. It is very easy to get fooled by Sr Executives with 20-30 years of experience and one mistake can cost you dearly. Another challenge is to be on top of market, understanding various trends, building your point of view and knowing something that your client (who has been in this market for 20+ years) doesn’t know. That is the only way to command respect.
When, I was changing track to BearingPoint (KPMG Consulting) and was planning to move in a generic consulting role, I had a dilemma which most of the freshers at that age have. ” I am a subject matter expert in IT/Telecom. Should I not move into a related role instead of charting into a new territory?”. I’ll never forget the answer that my mature friend gave “Do you think working for 2 years in a field makes you subject matter expert? You know that you want to get into consulting. Instead of leveraging your past experience, aren’t you treating it as a barrier to your freedom and future growth?”
After Bearingpoint, I joined Zinnov Management Consulting. It was a boutique consulting start-up and had its own learning of working in a startup firm. How the decisions can be taken at a quick pace making the organization nimble? How there would always be budget crunch yet you can’t compromise on quality? How you have to be smart and innovative to compete with top consulting firms with limited resources? Once I suggested our CEO that we need to bolster our brand and we need some great people. Best way out is to go for campus placements. I was asked to submit my plan in 2 days and before I could realize, I was out for campus placement. That is how I came back to SIIB as a recruiter and it was a moment of immense pride.
Presently, I am working with Hewlett-Packard with their Strategy team. It was a big leap for me from working for a startup to work for a Fortune 10 firm. It was a completely different experience and learning for me. How is the organization designed and various processes laid out to smoothly run an IT behemoth like HP? How do we collaborate with various stakeholders and leverage upon collective knowledge? How one can effectively use analytics to drive the strategic decisions? How well you can understand the problems of senior management and be ready with an actionable solution.
It has been a very enriching experience so far working in various consulting & strategy roles. Life has been a roller coaster ride with excitement and abrupt changes. I have always believed in enjoying life to the fullest and making the maximum out of it. I would like to thank my almamater, friends, family and colleagues who have been with me in those ups and downs and making this journey worth travelling.