The positives of a job hunt

Like I promised here, http://smilethesmile.blogspot.com/2010/04/job-hunt-i-have-been-avoiding-writing.html there are some positives about hunting for a job.

I started my internship officially on the 20th of April, 2010. Long story on how I got it and I might blog about it later. However I came to London in the beginning of Jan and it was in the end of April that I first heard a ‘yes’. Even if it was for an internship that would not pay.

So that’s almost 4 months of rejections.

That might not seem too much to most but trust me it has been a very difficult time for me. The reason is simple. Never before have I faced so much rejection. I have always been the teachers pet, excelled in academics with little effort albeit a lot of hard work. Hell, even getting and finding the right guy was very easy for me. There was a multitude of family friends who wanted me as the bahu and yet again I had my pick.

Never before have I struggled so much for a ‘yes’. It still remains elusive.

But I have to confess that I have grown so much because of this experience. I have now learnt to just pick up the phone , look up the website for any contact number, call and speak to who ever picks up the phone. My elite b school mindset of feeling all superior to mankind ( expect those from better b schools) has rightly received a much needed shaking up.

I have learnt to push for setting up of meetings. I have learnt to call people so many times that they stop taking my calls. I have learnt to give a 30 second elevator pitch about myself.

This is new to someone like me who inherently has too much self respect and ego to go around akisng people for 10 minutes of their time!

Initially I would feel hesitant about speaking to the firangs. Honestly I think we have grown up on such a dose of American sitcoms and movies that the british accent seemed quite difficult to follow and I would end up sounding like an idiot asking people to repeat themselves. That, I am glad to say, has indeed changed now because of the numerous interview and calls that I have had.

Each of the interviews has been a huge learning experience. I remember this phase when I had started feeling very low about not having a job. To change my mind I would go out for a run/ jog and on the way I would only see people dressed up in formals. It just made me cringe so much.

It was then that I realized how important work is for me. Till then , I had always felt that I would be better suited to academics but LBS was an eye opener. I have to say getting through would have been great but it would have made my life hell. Because while I was interviewing I did not feel any rush of energy , no inner voice that told me ” yeah! This is what you were meant to do!” and when they informed me that the phd would take 6 years to complete I almost blacked out!

Had I gotten through I know it would have been very difficult to say no because of brand LBS and I was not sure I wanted to do it!

So I am glad they have chosen someone who probably wanted it more and in this process I have for the first time realized that I want to work. It is just that I need the right kind of job. A job that suits me as a person.

I always believed that I was an academic soul. Now I know myself better. However shallow it might sound, I simply want to work and earn some dough for the next couple of years. Simple as that.

S is marvelous at his work. I have learnt to learn from him. If I can be half as good, I will be great.

I have learnt to reply to emails in the most professional manner. I know it is a stupid thing to say but it is a very important skill I have acquired- the right british tone for a work email. INfact on any day I am job hunting I send across more mails than I did while I was working back in india.

I am more comfortable job hunting now. The reason for that is that my leave in my company back in india has been extended to 4th of july ,2010. And Sid has been the single most supportive husband I could have dreamt of. If I do not find a job that I like by that time I will go back to India to restart work and he will put things in motion for his relocation.

I think it is a big thing that he has agreed to do for my sake. Knowing fully well how well he is doing in his present profile and how much he wants to stay on in London for the next couple of years, I cannot but appreciate him.

So, I know now that Sid has thought of ‘us’ and I appreciate and love him so much more for it. We can be happily married when all is good but it is in times like this when one has to sacrifice something that you truly understand how blessed you are to have a husband who is ready to let his career take a hit so that you can have one for yourself.

I was recently asked in an interview why, if I am as career oriented as I claim to be, did I choose to leave the fantastic job I had to get married at 25 and relocate
to a country in deep recession.

My answer is an advice for all young girls. I said this:

“ I think the single most important decision regarding your career is to marry the right man who will support every single career move you make. I wanted to marry right, if for nothing then atleats for the sake of my career”.

Advice: how your career turns out to be depends quite a bit on the kind of man you marry. Marry well. Marry intelligently.

If nothing, for the sake of your career.

Love
RP