My Induction

It is more then 2 years in my present job, time for some retrospection.

I got placed after some dramatic events in my b-school(Will write on that soon). After graduation, I went for a 2 month long vacation and then landed in Bangalore with lots of expectations and uncertainties. It was my first proper job as the company for which I worked earlier did not qualify as a “normal” organization. I didn't had a proper recruitment or undergo any induction there. Or for that matter we had a pathetic lay off also. I used to go to office, worked and earned some money. Also, I learnt to write sql queries and manage databases. I realized there that one may dislike the HR ,but it’s actually them that makes a company. You can hate them but you need them and definitely can't ignore.

So when I checked-into 5 star guest house of this top IT MNC, I was impressed. More interesting was a well planned 3 day induction program. I felt like I had arrived in life. Induction started with a bang. We were about 70 MBAs from top b-schools and the sense of accomplishment was in the air. A bunch that will race to become MDs and VPs in IT industry!!! A dynamic HR kid told us about what to expect for next 3 days. Some future MDs raised their concerns about duration of coffee breaks and whether snacks will be provided. Some also checked if there are some good female faces around. We all cursed HR for not having a friendly recruitment strategy.

Then, one by one different BU heads came and discussed about their business. That was fun. Some guys started asking "strategic" questions. Some others jumped in and proved that they knew the BCG model. They suggested that we should keep our cows, sell dogs and invest in stars. Wow!! I felt proud of myself as I had recommended precisely same in almost all marketing case studies. I felt like a consultant. It wasn’t surprising to see all the presenters smiling. This saga continued for three days and I got to hear words like GE McKinsey matrix, product life cycle, process restructuring and trajectories of industry change by fellow mba recruits. Presenters kept smiling as I felt bad for those who were taking notes.

On last day, we got our id cards and a company shirt. We also got to meet our high profile CEO. That was an ego pampering event. After the meeting most guys took out their mobile and started chatting with hush hush tones. I regretted not having a girlfriend to impress. However, that's another thing that we never got to meet the CEO again!!!!

More later about my first days at work….. :)