Yesterday I had this interesting experience when I was on a B-School campus. I was scheduled to have a luncheon discussion with one of my past students - who just completed the course and about to leave the campus. I thought he wanted some advice for his career.
When I joined him over the lunch table, he was all to nervous as to how to start. Slowly, he opened up saying he was not successful yet in getting a job offer and he was very anxious. In fact, he left his earlier job to pursue the management degree and now he is finding it delicate to share this news back home. What can I tell them? How long can I wait? What should I do? who can help me? How long can I hang around the campus? Why did I fail to get a job when some of my classmates managed to get? He was all nervous and anxious.
I had to empathize with him, encourage him, advice him and reassure him. I felt sad to see him in that state (i could recall how he was one of those very informal and somewhat casual student in the class)...he was all in despair...
As we were discussing over lunch, there came a family on the next table. We could make out from their discussions that the boy came to join the course and his parents came along to make him feel comfortable on the campus. He was oozing confidence and looking all trendy in his new clothes specially bought for the B-School campus. His head was high and there was a jig in the step...a sense of achievement for getting admission into the new course in the prestigious B-School. He was all with pride, hope and confidence...
I exchanged a glance with the student on my table...he had a tired smile on his face...it explained to me the thin difference between hope and despair...
What started well may not end well; what is not going well may not remain like that forever.
