6/14/2019 A Letter From An IIM Student To The Incoming First Year IIM Students

By Devendra Kumar
June 10, 2019

As you settle through the first fortnight, you already feel like part of flow
much mightier than you. There is plenty to do and very less time. Classes, Group
Meetings, Sports, Cultural events, run towards clubs, parties, Outbound plans,
Haneena, Night Canteen and what not. Pre-reads and Post-reads are also there but
with a lesser priority for most of the Junta, as leaving it doesn’t make you feel left
out.

While most of the guys are going with the flow, few are perplexed. For most, an
MBA was supposed to be the gateway to a newer better career. How this newer
and better thing looks, one hardly had any idea about. These perplexed guys are
the ones going through turmoil. It is not that the others are clear about what they
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6/14/2019 A Letter From An IIM Student To The Incoming First Year IIM Students

want to do with an MBA; it’s just that most of them don’t want to get into those
complexities. They believe in the existing design that things will fall in line as
time progresses.

Before most of the entrants realise, they have already traded a few things for a few
others. One has to choose between various offerings of these campuses which
range from quality education, clarity about one’s aspirations, clarity about career
directions & goals, networks, personality developments, professionalism,
individual values, learnings by doing, sports, parties, hobbies, instant
gratifications, highest salaries and a lot more. The trade-off is always there.

More rigour, more thrill and sweeter fruits! Is it always true? Mostly yes. But
something more important is the direction. Every piece of knowledge is kept in
the veil of darkness until the right time. Neither the time is plenty, nor can you
always be there on time. One, who get access to this knowledge before others,
wins the race here. But race for what? Race for something which you really want,
or race for something which you want because most of the others want it?

MBA has a pool of talents from different backgrounds, in term of industry,

functions, interests, experiences, gender, age, personality types and others. How
can each of those who enter the four walls of their respective B-schools in June
have the same wants and aspirations? And if the goal is different, shouldn’t the
path also be different? An MBA is going to offer different things for different
persons. The need is to identify what you want and customise your experience of
this beautiful world, for which you need what they call ‘prioritisation’.

The aspirants live here for 18 months, but for many of them, the MBA experience
and career direction is determined by the initial four months. The grades in the
first term will decide whether you can experience an exchange-term or not. And
what determines those grades? Not your performance in the end-terms alone, but
your overall experience with academics through midterms, quizzes, projects, class
participation, and end terms. The days of graduation are long-gone.

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6/14/2019 A Letter From An IIM Student To The Incoming First Year IIM Students

A little over four months at your B-school, and you will find yourself in an
experience called the summer internship placements process. You will be
preparing for this from the day when you enter this side of the world. Ironically,
you wouldn’t know what you want. A graver issue is that you would not know
what you absolutely don’t want. So what would determine your choice in terms of
companies and function is your surroundings? The general ranking of
companies and functions would become your own preference. At other times, the
temptation of getting the highest stipends will dominate your minds. At his point
in time, remember – don’t let just your past academics, temporary temptation and
gut feeling determine your choices. Even if you remember this, you may end up
making mistakes. Mistakes are temporary truths. What would matter in future is –
did you own that mistake for life?

This write-up may create more confusions than solutions. Yet it may stir your
mind. What should you do with your MBA? That is for you to figure out. No one
can answer that for you. Sometimes, getting into the flow can be the best thing but
not always, and not for everyone. The first year is the year to explore. Know
yourself, know your expectations. Know all the paths, choose the most suitable
one.

In short, put your thinking hats on as you cross those gates!

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