I can’t believe P4 is nearly over. I can’t even believe I’m in P4 - wasn’t I just in P2 a few months ago?! An MBA at INSEAD is indeed accelerated and I feel that part of my life just fast-forwarded itself, and I want to hit the rewind button to relive some parts of it again.
Right now I’m busy tying up my job interviews. I have 2 clear offers and think I’ve made it to the 2nd round of another interview with a well-known MNC/agency, and next week I have an interview with L’Oreal. It sounds glamorous but they have called up quite a few of us for interviews so I will not set my expectations too high.
This period I decided not to follow the usual OCR (on-campus recruitment) route where everyone turns up for company presentations, mingles with the speakers and applies for jobs via the careers website. I felt it would be so hard to distinguish myself when every other candidate is also an INSEAD MBA. Since I wanted to be based in Singapore (preferably as the regional headquarters of an MNC), I went to local job websites instead, or to local branches of MNCs I wanted to work for. Also, I decided not to apply to lots of companies I would only be remotely interested in, because that would be insincere and a waste of everyone’s time.
I am fortunate to be in a less desperate position than others, because I have always had a BATNA, just like those super smart McKinsey consultants who are sponsored and are sitting pretty on the Dean’s List ;-) Also, having sometimes been in the public limelight for the past few years, I had the honour of getting cold calls via my office line (ironically!) with job offers from bosses of companies. I turned down a few of them, even though a few years ago I’d probably have taken up a couple of them.
Now I face an even bigger crossroads in my life. Currently I have 2 or 3 possible directions to take, and the choice I make will affect the rest of my career. Should I stay on the same path that I’ve been treading on for the past 4 years, knowing that now maybe my road will be paved a little more nicely and it may connect to a much larger, international highway? Or should I veer in a very different direction, join a small, unbeaten track where I can help to steer a ship on the second phase of its journey? Or should I take another path in between, also nicely paved (maybe even glittering) and connected to other roads and highways, but with more uncertainty?
And by next week I shall learn if another path has been presented to me!
It is not a problem I should be complaining openly about, but it is also not in my nature to play groups against each other and leave things hanging for too long. I prefer having obvious choices to make things easier for everyone. However, no job or person is perfect, and I need to decide what would be the best fit for me, what I love doing most, and where I can add the most value (I am sorely tempted, after 4 periods at INSEAD, to design my own matrix for this purpose!).
What do I want in my new job? Definitely, a conducive working culture that allows sharing and innovation, high productivity, lots of fun and the power to make a positive impact on lots of people’s lives. Career progression and the opportunity to lead a team would also be great. Times are hard; I won’t complain if I don’t get it all, but it would be ideal. Salary has to be fair and my MBA from a top b-school should be valued, but I will look at other benefits as well. Work life balance will be necessary if I plan to settle down in the near future as well.
Anyway, that’s it from me for now… I have to start packing for my India study trip and the big move to Fonty!
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