Campus placements is like nerve wracking IPL auction day. Who got picked by whom, for how much money and for what role! Are you an all-rounder who is in form today, great- there are 3 companies wanting you! Out of form & CV is not meaty, ah! sorry- better luck next time!
My mind is tossing today between those days of campus placements worry to now 9 years of corporate life. The similarities of lives of IPL players and us are so much that I can’t help but share.
Yuvraj Singh was one of the highest paid cricketers for this edition of IPL. 14 Matches, 248 Runs, Average of 19.07, that’s what Delhi Daredevils got for their Rs. 16 crore this year.
Highest paid student of the college gets picked up for a real glowing company. She realised after one year of working that she was actually a princess in her last birth and all this office working, timeline management and driving is not her cup of tea. So she leaves, gets married and is a happy house-wife with 2 kids now.
Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar etc. played IPL for a few years and then became coaches/mentors for teams.
Seniors from college gave us good advice on which companies to target and how to handle the interviews.Now having worked for a few years in the industry, they have moved on to start their own entrepreneurships. Some are in consultancy roles, advising & guiding people on things they have expertise in and some are bringing their brilliant ideas to reality.
Changing franchises and increasing price tags. Players keep moving from one franchise to the other almost every season. Their price tag gets determined by their current form and the skills they bring on board.
Students who were highest paid in campus had a good start to their financial independence. However, those who probably started low but kept shifting from one company to the other, taking one increment over the other, would today be sitting at a CTC much higher than someone who started on high salary 9 years back with minimal job shifts. Their current price tag gets determined by their latest skills and not basis how they once were.
Pollard-Gayle fights; Virat-Gambhir spat; Harbhajan-Sreesanth slap. We could belong to the same country, play for the same team, but can easily have arguments with each other.
Truly, the campus placement time brought out the most negative selves of ours. While as students we had the same purpose of getting 100% placements, we fought on numerous occassions with each other. My class candidate v/s your class candidate, the placement cell of any college is more of a fierce battle field than a sane strategic place.
Spot fixing, cheating, bribery is all part of the game. Players involved, owners betting, even umpires had a share. We all can just guess how messy that world is.
As students, progressing into corporate world, we go through the same. We can be easily lured to take short-cuts, bribe stakeholders, and manage expectations by any means. The ones, who get into this way of working, teach others how to do.
Post-match parties, celebrations, dancing, cheering. Bring the fun on! Watching just cricket is boring, we need glamour too.
Any successful placement called for a party. Even students, who had not got placed, joined the celebrations of their friends. Jumping in water pools, running for kms like a gladiator, unlimited drinks and just the soaking in of relief- those moments of joyous fun has no parallels.
We all have cried together, held each other’s hand together, fought with teachers to get more companies for the students not yet placed and really felt proud of what each of us got. Now after 8 years of IPL and 9 years of our corporate journey, we can enjoy the sense of achievement and wonder deeply- how long can and will this continue!
Be the first to comment