Lessons for Career Choice

It has been almost a year since I left HFCL/Reliance Jio and nine months since I started Vihaan Initiatives. I have met some very good people during this period, and a couple of these interactions have led to consulting assignments which I am really enjoying.

I have, in these months, been sending invites to connect on LinkedIn, and my thanks to those of you who have accepted my invite. Through expanding my ‘network of connections’, I aspire to learn from you, and collaborate or interact with some of you in the times to come, such that through this interaction we find some way to ‘give back’.

It has been over two years since my last post here (not counting the professional updates). Time sure flies. I remember at that time a close friend had asked me the reason for writing on this platform. My response was I wished to share, with as many possible, my experiences and learning.

Over the course of a 2-year period, there were just five posts but the response that I received was very humbling, encouraging me to delve further. Now that I have started my consulting work, I would once again like to get back to writing and sharing it here. I look forward to this.

Four years ago, I had shared my first post here – “My Take”, an extract of an article I wrote to address questions the students of my B-school had. When I meet students today, they too have similar questions and apprehensions.

I’d recently met some final-year students when I’d visited their university campus. They raised a similar lament I’ve heard from many students studying in different streams across the country: “the starting CTC (cost-to-company, or gross salary package) for our field is less than half of what students from other fields are offered during placements”. This is my perspective that I shared with them.

When you evaluate an opportunity, don’t just compare the CTCs.

All the following (dimensions) are important and must be considered:

Learning

Responsibility

Exposure

Opportunity for growth

Money

Sigma (summation) of all five will be a constant across domains (industries), across roles.

Say, if money is more in other roles or in other domains, one or more of the other four dimensions will be lesser. The converse is also true; if money is less, one or more of the other four dimensions will be higher. You need to evaluate which of the five dimensions is important for you at that stage in life, and then decide accordingly, choosing wisely.

Always keep in mind your career is not a 100 m race; it is like a marathon. A strong foundation at the start of your career will become a sound springboard to dive from as you progress.

Remember this – as you grow in your career.

(this was shared on LinkedIn in June 2024)