R. Shekar

“What kind of a career can I look forward to?" asked Sneha. She is one among the 60 odd students of MBA from one of the business management schools on the outskirts of Chennai. Quite like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, I was tempted to reply with, “That depends on where you want to get to.”

There is this lurking doubt in many of the aspiring MBA professional that a graduation from a tier 2 college means entry is barred to all tier 1 companies. This, however, is not true. Every year, there are a number of enterprising students like Sridip Ganguly who make it to global positions within five years of their working lives. I call them the Pioneer.

They are quick to pick up domain knowledge in a specialised area and seek jobs with organisations that throw them into the deep end by getting them to apply their know-how, adapting a methodology that may not have been tried out before. In them, they create new bundles of knowledge wave that carry them progressively into the upper levels of career opportunity.

The ideators are innovative thinkers no doubt but rarely put their ideas out for display; sometimes they may be so much in love with the idea that it rarely gets to see the light of the day.

The ‘expander’ is like a minesweeper forever on the look out to maximise the reach possible with what they already know. They may not be desk-bound or research oriented in a conceptual sense but keep testing the boundaries of application as to stretch the envelop. They may often succeed in cross pollinating ideas available elsewhere into a new situation.

The venerable ‘guardian’ preserves the status quo of the know-how and the do-how; at one level they are a solid asset to their organisation as they prevent it from breaking down. At another, however, they would have to remain content with a less than impressive career growth path, paying the price for their conservatism.

As you gear up for your campus placement or sit down for your performance appraisal with your seniors, decide what type of a career professional you wish to be.

Making the insightful choice at work can make all the difference. As they say, the rest could be history.

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