One Advice I Would Give To Newcomers in Corporate World

Like any other freshly graduated MBA from a premier b-school in India, I was super-excited at the time of recruitment season. Soon enough, I got recruited into a Big4 Consulting Firm for a Strategy Consulting Role.

I was so excited to advise S&P 500 client CXOs for their corporate strategy right from day one. But my first assignment was to format a Document and Prepare Appendix. It was an utter disappointment. I had lost faith in the whole system of corporate world. It took me 2 years to realize this one advice I would want to give to all newcomers -

Think of your job roles as stepping stones towards something bigger

Modern day corporate world has allured us into thinking that our jobs define our identity, our alter-ego. Naturally everyone wants to succeed and be a champion in their fields. In addition to this, graduates from premier universities are made to believe that they are now equipped to solve all of the world’s problems.

Whereas, anyone starting a job in a relatively large organization takes at least 18 months to fully understand how it works, what are the exact expectations in any given role, how money is made and how all these pieces of puzzles come together to create a big brand.

It is super-over-ambitious to start making “Impact” right from the day someone joins an organization. One needs to undergo those learn, un-learn, re-learn cycles and then applying it practically in assignments. This is when one should make an assessment about whether they like their job or not.

Once it is realized that every job is a stepping stone towards, it is easier to be mindful about learning and experimenting with different roles on the way — even if one wants to be a coder for one’s full life or be the CEO one day.

And this feeling can give a sense of accomplishment every single day — even if the work is crappy on some days and top-notch on a few others …

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