Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Day 4

This was primarily led by IT cos. (CA, Dassualt, HCL, IBM, NIIT, Oracle, Wipro, Virtuasa, Tech Mahindra, Zensar, Mindtree...), Real estate (CBRE, DLF, Hines, Lodha..) media and some finance cos as well.

People are negotiating hard for the specific roles and salary they are expecting. Most companies are opening up their jobs.. (allowing walk-ins). About 90% of the batch should have at least one offer by now (this is just my estimate..). However, quite a few are still shopping for better deals (you are out of placements, only when you have two offers).

Crisis of confidence has clearly set in amongst those who haven't made it still. Many of them are falling in the vicious circle... “no job still - poor confidence - bad performance during interview”.. Some of the married ones are the most affected. Their woes are multiplied by the anxiety shown by the spouses, especially when the spouses start comparing the salaries of their counterparts amongst themselves..

It is important that they take some time out for themselves, build up confidence and then attend the future interviews. Remember, all of us had jobs earlier and our career should have at least been above average, else we would have never found our places in ISB.

I am beginning to get the notorious title of the one who is rejecting the most number of offers. I have rejected 6 till now (1 Commercial bank, 3 I-Banks, 1 Real Estate and 1 consulting). The point is, its not just money . If the company is not even able to appreciate the work you have done in past and give you a commensurate grade/ role, then why join them with a negative frame of mind... and yes, money does play an important role. No one works for charity..

Here is a question i want to pose to the HR clan. There are 2 candidates competing for a role. One has quoted a price of Rs. 11 lakhs and the other Rs. 20 lakhs. Which one do you choose?

We all know the theoretical answer i.e choose the one who brings in the maximum value (NPV in other words)... but the actual action taken by most HR people does not reflect their understanding of this concept. Most HR people seem to think they save 9 lakhs for the company by choosing person 1. Little do they realize that they might have actually lost may be 9 crores in potential profits by choosing the wrong person.

This example is little simplistic. Purposely so. Dont lose the main point, by trying to find flaws in the argument. The crux is, invest time in finding the right person and the right fit. Not in haggling for a few couple of lakhs..

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Ranga
You seem to be operating in the wrong country..yeh india ka MBA hai!
Most HR guys in the country are not at the same intellectual level and thinking as yours..

hope you find the right fit..inside or outside ISB...

all the best!

Rangarajan said...

Thanks Anonmymous..

Garima Ganeriwala said...

I think we end up choosing a job based on pay package, which ofcourse is critical considering the loan amount has created a viscious circle. But, value comes out of the quality of work one gets to do to start with. Its not the fault of HR, thats the way they recruit people. They might not have the kind of work which needs exceptional people. Indians have risen above the typical operational mindset, thats why there is unrest. We should have more enterpreneurs, else we will remain followers for rest of our lives. :)

Anonymous said...

Hello Ranga

Firstly apologies for the Off-topic comment.

I read your blog with great interest as someone still mulling over whether to take up the ISB admit offer or not. I am an engineer(non-IT) in the US wanting to transition to finance through ISB. I know this is probably the most cliched career ambition in B-schools but I'd like to believe that I have my reasons. I would like to talk to you about the pospects and kinds of roles on offer at ISB in this sector and the expectations of such companies.

Would you be able to take some time off your busy schedule (needless to say that I would greatly appreciate this gesture) and talk to me? In case you are interested, please write to me (with your contact info and the best time to reach you) at the following e-mail: gallenmba [at the rate of] gmail [dot] com.

Thanks,
Krishna

Anonymous said...

Hi Ranga
From what i have seen the concept of lateral placement is still new in india..b-school grads are seen as greenhorns who need to be groomed..else why wud you have management trainee programs...ISB being one of a kind is struggling to change this mentality it seems..the so called "lateral" concept only seems to mean tht companies dont offer analyst or trainee positions...dont know even if that is true for ISB..

all the best!

@

Anonymous said...

I'm sure ISB has added value to your profile. Whats disturbing is the inability of companies to see it - especially the bank that you speak of. Looks like many companies are yet to mature.

Rangarajan said...

Hi Garima,
Thanks for stopping by... Agree with you that the quality of work you do is most important. This was my priority as well, while choosing the right job.

Nevertheless, i am not a fan of the idea of working for a great company and doing a great role, but where the salary is peanuts..

To me salary represents two important functions:

1. Of course it decides your life style..
2. It shows how much of value, the organization places in you. Its a type of recognition and the trust the management has in you.

That said... to me, a good salary represents not just what cash you get today but also what is its growth rate in the future (NPV to be precise..)

Rangarajan said...

Hi Krishna,
You can reach me at rangarajan.krishnan@gmail.com

Rangarajan said...

Hi Anonymous 3,
Our batch at ISB has 425 students. The experience level ranges between 2 and 20 years. We as a batch represent more than 28 sectors..

ISB is trying its best to promote lateral placements. Despite the efforts, the concept is only slowly catching up... It has definitely improved a lot, but still has a long way to go.

But you should give ISB some credit, given the diversity of the batch.. I am sure it would improve in the days to come

Garima Ganeriwala said...

I agree, i am not questioning the financial part. The point that i wanted to make was, that as a nation we have taken up back end and servicing jobs. As we are maturing, we are realizing that skilled labour is enough to fit in for such jobs, and that impacts the hiring process. There are companies like Tata, Birla and Reliance which are trying to set out by differentiating and growing, but to start with they might not have paying capacity or they might not want to risk. Just think that you were a businessman, you would want to hire good people, but at the same time the new person has not yet proven on ground with his new skills. You will do the balancing act. However, if the resource has found a right fit in field where he/she can make an impact, it will show on value of an organization and will definitely reflect on his/her salary slip. NPV with a discounted rate of interest which is a little higher to start with :), but which recovers as the proving period goes by. And in anycase, i believe no one can undermine's one's value. If one thinks that he is capable of generating "X" amount so he desrves "Y", he/she will find the way with or without an org.( My point on enterpreneurship.)

-Garima
ISB CO09( I stop by on almost all blogs on ISB :))

RR said...

Hi Rangarajan!

Very interesting days I see at ISB. I hope things work out the way you want them to.

I am an admit for 2009 and was wondering what kind of roles and salaries are being offered by the Real Estate majors (CBRE et al). Also, would you know if Tishman Speyer is recruiting on campus. If you don't think it is appropriate to post, please write to me at: e-mail: rajeev[dot]ramprakash [at the rate of] gmail [dot] com.

Thanks,
Rajeev