hi everyone,
i am an mba with a specialisation in HR. over the past two months i have been applying to companies as my aim is to get into corporate hr.
however the reply i have been getting so far is, "sorry we take only experienced people"
since this site has hr professionals right from trainees to presidents, my question to you all is "IF NO ONE IS WILLING TO GIVE ME, A FRESHER, ANY EXPERIENCE, WHERE DO I GET IT FROM??"
plz do reply as this statement, from almost all companies, where i have applied has put me in confusion.
and yes places from where i have got an opportunity are offering such humiliating packages (eg 60000 p.a.), that i now get second thoughts that does my degree have any worth or no?
i really want to know that does this happen with you guys too??
i just thought about sharing my dilemma with you all after almost reaching the point of frustration. no offence intended. im just a disappointed fresher.
ur contribution to this will be really appreciated.
Pearl.
From India, Mumbai
1i am an mba with a specialisation in HR. over the past two months i have been applying to companies as my aim is to get into corporate hr.
however the reply i have been getting so far is, "sorry we take only experienced people"
since this site has hr professionals right from trainees to presidents, my question to you all is "IF NO ONE IS WILLING TO GIVE ME, A FRESHER, ANY EXPERIENCE, WHERE DO I GET IT FROM??"
plz do reply as this statement, from almost all companies, where i have applied has put me in confusion.
and yes places from where i have got an opportunity are offering such humiliating packages (eg 60000 p.a.), that i now get second thoughts that does my degree have any worth or no?
i really want to know that does this happen with you guys too??
i just thought about sharing my dilemma with you all after almost reaching the point of frustration. no offence intended. im just a disappointed fresher.
ur contribution to this will be really appreciated.
Pearl.
From India, Mumbai
HI,
I am also facing similar problem.i can understand what u must be going through.please be confident & patient.good time will come.all the best.Be positive.
I also request the seniors to answer the question & guide us in the right direction.
regards
sp
From India
I am also facing similar problem.i can understand what u must be going through.please be confident & patient.good time will come.all the best.Be positive.
I also request the seniors to answer the question & guide us in the right direction.
regards
sp
From India
Hi Pearl,
Nice name. Your aim is Correct and Good, to become a corporate HR. But, you are a fresher, all these days you got theoritical knowledge. To become a corporate HR you have to acquire practical knowledge of the same.
You said that you got some opportunities, eventhough, you are not interested to join. One thing is those companies are ready to pay Rs.5000 pm to you just for your theoritical knwoledge.
Try to join some where, instead of waiting for a good amount, earn knowledge (it takes at least 1 year), and I am sure later you will become a Good Corporate HR.
I wish you all the best for all your future efforts,
Manjunath
From India, Hyderabad
Nice name. Your aim is Correct and Good, to become a corporate HR. But, you are a fresher, all these days you got theoritical knowledge. To become a corporate HR you have to acquire practical knowledge of the same.
You said that you got some opportunities, eventhough, you are not interested to join. One thing is those companies are ready to pay Rs.5000 pm to you just for your theoritical knwoledge.
Try to join some where, instead of waiting for a good amount, earn knowledge (it takes at least 1 year), and I am sure later you will become a Good Corporate HR.
I wish you all the best for all your future efforts,
Manjunath
From India, Hyderabad
Hi Pearl,
Hope am not late in responding to your mail..just that when i read your mail..felt nostalgic as i faced the similar situation as well..remember those days ..1995 they were no access to internet or support groups which are available today..you are lucky in today's times to have access to the information and someone to say something..
Also would like to thank Manjunath for his encouraging response..
Forget them..don;t take it personally..may be this is a polite answer for no vacancies for the freshers..move on..
Well..believe me Pearl..we all have gone through similar phases..one just needs to be patient..and this experience perhaps can teach you a lot..depends how you take it..
Today when i look at the early career path/CVs of the top performers..invariably all of them had a low salary start..this reminds me the quote my father often said ..in the first job ..focus on the learnings not on the salary..do you know something most the campus placements by B-school ...about 80 % quit their first job!!! Do you know what you want?...how you present yourself in the interview is important..By the way what is your passion?..what drives you ??..is something you have answer to yourself as life is a great journey and it has lot to offer lot more than you think..
Would like you to transform yourself ..disappointed fresher to ENTHUSIASTIC fresher..
Cheers,
Rajat
Please refer this article..
http://content.monster.co.uk/9790_en-GB_p1.asp
How to Land your Dream Job
by Jenny Ungless
Monster Career Life Coach
For many people, work is a necessary evil – it’s what we do to allow us to afford to do fun things in our leisure time. Research has found that as many as two-thirds of people in the UK are unhappy at work. That’s a shocking statistic: most of us will spend around 80,000 hours at work during our lifetime – far too long to spend being miserable and not enjoying what you do.
It’s easy to dismiss the idea of having work that you love as an unachievable daydream. But if you do, you’re selling yourself – and other people – short. First of all, you deserve to love what you do for a living. And when you love your work, you’ll give your best: the most successful employees or entrepreneurs are those who are fired up by the pleasure and excitement of what they are doing, who’d love their job even if they weren’t being paid for it.
It’s basic common sense to choose a career that you’re really going to enjoy. But there’s the rub – most people don’t know what they really, really want to do. That’s partly because we are conditioned from an early age to aspire to what those around us – parents, teachers, peers, the media - define as a good job or career, and partly because most of us never take the time properly to get to know our own talents and desires. But it is possible to take control of your future and find your unique vocation. Here’s how.
KNOW YOUR VALUES
You can’t find out what you want until you find out who you are. What are your values? What’s most important to you? What are you passionate about? What do you really want out of life and how do you want your friends and family to remember you? Taking the time to think about the things that really matter to you is a good starting point for finding your ideal role. Work is a very important part of most people’s lives, but it is only one part – so get clear about what you want your life and lifestyle to be like, and what kind of work-life balance you’re looking for. You need to have a context for your career choices.
SPOTLIGHT YOUR SKILLS
The real secret to finding your career niche is to focus on the skills you like to use and things that you’re really interested in. Carry out a skills analysis: the trick is to focus on your favourite skills. The mistake that most of us make when we’re asked to list our skills is to focus on what we’ve done in the past, whether we’ve enjoyed it or not. But if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always had, and this applies to your career as much as to anything else. Concentrate on what you like to do, not what your CV says you can do. The second trick is to be specific. To say that you are a “good communicator” doesn’t really throw a lot of light on the subject. But if you know that you like talking informally to small groups of people but hate making formal presentations, then you’re starting to get somewhere!
WHAT INTERESTS YOU?
Once you know the skills you have and most enjoy using, the next step is to find the area or field where you want to apply those skills. The key here is to focus on what you’re interested in. Let’s face it, if you don’t care about what you’re doing or the environment you’re doing it in, your job satisfaction isn’t going to be very high. Think about it: if your favourite skills are winning over customers and negotiating deals, a career in sales could suit you well. But what will make the crucial difference is what you’re selling: if you’re not the slightest bit interested in the product, it’s hard to convince someone else that they should buy one! It’s the same with any career: you need to be genuinely interested in what you’re doing if you want to be really successful at it. Write down every single thing that interests you – what books do you read, what films and TV programmes do you watch, what do you talk about at parties? What kind of shops do you browse in? Who are your heroes or role models? Put together a comprehensive list of everything that you get enthusiastic about.
PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER
Now brainstorm around these findings: how many different ways are there for you to use the skills you’ve identified in relation to the things that interest you? Think in terms of roles or activity rather than job titles. And don’t be afraid to think imaginatively – the working environment is more flexible now than it has ever been, so allow yourself to think outside the “9 to 5” and “traditional career route” boxes. Don’t expect your ideal career to jump up and hit you straightaway. It might, but it probably won’t. Take time to muse, to think laterally, let your imagination run riot and let your intuition speak to you. Try to visualise your “ideal life” – if money was no object, or you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you really love to have a go at? What’s holding you back?
Think, too, about the criteria against which you want to assess all the possibilities. What are the most important aspects of work for you? The money? Your work colleagues? The working environment? How do you want to work – on your own or in a team, for example? Do you want to travel or be based in one place? You need to know your preferences so that you can find a career that fits you.
MAKING IT HAPPEN
Once you know the kind of career you’re looking for, you need to go for it! Use all the tricks in the book. Research your chosen industry thoroughly. Network as widely as you can and ask for informational interviews. If necessary, find someone who might give you some work experience or take you on part-time. Make sure that you are an employer’s most attractive prospect because you are motivated, informed and know what you have to offer.
Finally, remember that, in the final analysis, it’s your life, your career, and your unfulfilled potential if you don’t find and follow your dream. So go for it – you owe it to yourself.
From India, Pune
Hope am not late in responding to your mail..just that when i read your mail..felt nostalgic as i faced the similar situation as well..remember those days ..1995 they were no access to internet or support groups which are available today..you are lucky in today's times to have access to the information and someone to say something..
Also would like to thank Manjunath for his encouraging response..
Forget them..don;t take it personally..may be this is a polite answer for no vacancies for the freshers..move on..
Well..believe me Pearl..we all have gone through similar phases..one just needs to be patient..and this experience perhaps can teach you a lot..depends how you take it..
Today when i look at the early career path/CVs of the top performers..invariably all of them had a low salary start..this reminds me the quote my father often said ..in the first job ..focus on the learnings not on the salary..do you know something most the campus placements by B-school ...about 80 % quit their first job!!! Do you know what you want?...how you present yourself in the interview is important..By the way what is your passion?..what drives you ??..is something you have answer to yourself as life is a great journey and it has lot to offer lot more than you think..
Would like you to transform yourself ..disappointed fresher to ENTHUSIASTIC fresher..
Cheers,
Rajat
Please refer this article..
http://content.monster.co.uk/9790_en-GB_p1.asp
How to Land your Dream Job
by Jenny Ungless
Monster Career Life Coach
For many people, work is a necessary evil – it’s what we do to allow us to afford to do fun things in our leisure time. Research has found that as many as two-thirds of people in the UK are unhappy at work. That’s a shocking statistic: most of us will spend around 80,000 hours at work during our lifetime – far too long to spend being miserable and not enjoying what you do.
It’s easy to dismiss the idea of having work that you love as an unachievable daydream. But if you do, you’re selling yourself – and other people – short. First of all, you deserve to love what you do for a living. And when you love your work, you’ll give your best: the most successful employees or entrepreneurs are those who are fired up by the pleasure and excitement of what they are doing, who’d love their job even if they weren’t being paid for it.
It’s basic common sense to choose a career that you’re really going to enjoy. But there’s the rub – most people don’t know what they really, really want to do. That’s partly because we are conditioned from an early age to aspire to what those around us – parents, teachers, peers, the media - define as a good job or career, and partly because most of us never take the time properly to get to know our own talents and desires. But it is possible to take control of your future and find your unique vocation. Here’s how.
KNOW YOUR VALUES
You can’t find out what you want until you find out who you are. What are your values? What’s most important to you? What are you passionate about? What do you really want out of life and how do you want your friends and family to remember you? Taking the time to think about the things that really matter to you is a good starting point for finding your ideal role. Work is a very important part of most people’s lives, but it is only one part – so get clear about what you want your life and lifestyle to be like, and what kind of work-life balance you’re looking for. You need to have a context for your career choices.
SPOTLIGHT YOUR SKILLS
The real secret to finding your career niche is to focus on the skills you like to use and things that you’re really interested in. Carry out a skills analysis: the trick is to focus on your favourite skills. The mistake that most of us make when we’re asked to list our skills is to focus on what we’ve done in the past, whether we’ve enjoyed it or not. But if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always had, and this applies to your career as much as to anything else. Concentrate on what you like to do, not what your CV says you can do. The second trick is to be specific. To say that you are a “good communicator” doesn’t really throw a lot of light on the subject. But if you know that you like talking informally to small groups of people but hate making formal presentations, then you’re starting to get somewhere!
WHAT INTERESTS YOU?
Once you know the skills you have and most enjoy using, the next step is to find the area or field where you want to apply those skills. The key here is to focus on what you’re interested in. Let’s face it, if you don’t care about what you’re doing or the environment you’re doing it in, your job satisfaction isn’t going to be very high. Think about it: if your favourite skills are winning over customers and negotiating deals, a career in sales could suit you well. But what will make the crucial difference is what you’re selling: if you’re not the slightest bit interested in the product, it’s hard to convince someone else that they should buy one! It’s the same with any career: you need to be genuinely interested in what you’re doing if you want to be really successful at it. Write down every single thing that interests you – what books do you read, what films and TV programmes do you watch, what do you talk about at parties? What kind of shops do you browse in? Who are your heroes or role models? Put together a comprehensive list of everything that you get enthusiastic about.
PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER
Now brainstorm around these findings: how many different ways are there for you to use the skills you’ve identified in relation to the things that interest you? Think in terms of roles or activity rather than job titles. And don’t be afraid to think imaginatively – the working environment is more flexible now than it has ever been, so allow yourself to think outside the “9 to 5” and “traditional career route” boxes. Don’t expect your ideal career to jump up and hit you straightaway. It might, but it probably won’t. Take time to muse, to think laterally, let your imagination run riot and let your intuition speak to you. Try to visualise your “ideal life” – if money was no object, or you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you really love to have a go at? What’s holding you back?
Think, too, about the criteria against which you want to assess all the possibilities. What are the most important aspects of work for you? The money? Your work colleagues? The working environment? How do you want to work – on your own or in a team, for example? Do you want to travel or be based in one place? You need to know your preferences so that you can find a career that fits you.
MAKING IT HAPPEN
Once you know the kind of career you’re looking for, you need to go for it! Use all the tricks in the book. Research your chosen industry thoroughly. Network as widely as you can and ask for informational interviews. If necessary, find someone who might give you some work experience or take you on part-time. Make sure that you are an employer’s most attractive prospect because you are motivated, informed and know what you have to offer.
Finally, remember that, in the final analysis, it’s your life, your career, and your unfulfilled potential if you don’t find and follow your dream. So go for it – you owe it to yourself.
From India, Pune
Hi Pearl
Wish u all the best & may all ur sincere dreams come true.
Keep up the Spirit dear.....there is something gud instored for u in the days ahead.
Thanks for the response sp,Manjunath & Rajat....the reply was moral boosting to all freshers on the forum...keep guiding us.
Gud day
Regards
Priya
From China
Wish u all the best & may all ur sincere dreams come true.
Keep up the Spirit dear.....there is something gud instored for u in the days ahead.
Thanks for the response sp,Manjunath & Rajat....the reply was moral boosting to all freshers on the forum...keep guiding us.
Gud day
Regards
Priya
From China
Hi Pearl,
This is really true that all of us has gone through the same phase.
I would like to know which institute/ college you passed your degree from?
What about the Campus placement? There are many companies which are recruiting freshers only, and they float the information on the net.
Try and search these companies.
As Rajat has rightly said that you need to learn in your first job, I'm from a well reputed institute still I could not got a well paid job in the first go, I had to wait for 8 months.
Have patience, as "preserverance and patience pays".
All the best and be motivate always as your positive energy can bring good luck. :) :)
Cheers
Archna
From India, Delhi
This is really true that all of us has gone through the same phase.
I would like to know which institute/ college you passed your degree from?
What about the Campus placement? There are many companies which are recruiting freshers only, and they float the information on the net.
Try and search these companies.
As Rajat has rightly said that you need to learn in your first job, I'm from a well reputed institute still I could not got a well paid job in the first go, I had to wait for 8 months.
Have patience, as "preserverance and patience pays".
All the best and be motivate always as your positive energy can bring good luck. :) :)
Cheers
Archna
From India, Delhi
Hi Pearl
Cheer Up. :D
As everyone., I too went through a similar phase...
You know wht Pearl, at this stage Salary shouldn't be an issue., You should grab the opportunity "to learn", get practical exposure..Learning is a continuous process.
There are lots of opportunities in HR field., you just have to approach with an open mind.
All the Best!!!
Deep :)
From India, Calcutta
Cheer Up. :D
As everyone., I too went through a similar phase...
You know wht Pearl, at this stage Salary shouldn't be an issue., You should grab the opportunity "to learn", get practical exposure..Learning is a continuous process.
There are lots of opportunities in HR field., you just have to approach with an open mind.
All the Best!!!
Deep :)
From India, Calcutta
PEARL,
I understand your situation and appreciate your position.
You have carried out a lot of external analysis
to evaluate your position.
I would suggest, please do a self analysis of
WHY YOU ARE IN THIS POSITION TODAY?
THERE MIGHT LIES THE SOLUTION.
-what is the perception in the market for MBA hr?
-what is the perception of the institute from where you
got your MBA hr?
-what is the market rate of MBA hr as against MBA [ other subjects}
-why not seek a management trainee position ?
-what does the employer seek/prefer --is it knowledge or skills or competence
IT IS COMPETENCE----WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THE BUSINESS.
-IS the employer seeking knowledge or IMPACT ON THE BUSINESS
IT IS THE IMPACT ON THE BUSINESS.
-Are you positioning yourself correctly in front of the employer?
THIS IS CRITICAL IN THE SELECTION PROCESS.
-You may have the knowledge of HR, but does the employer see
it in that way?
etc etc
E
THESE AND MANY OTHER QUESTIONS AFFECT THE SELECTION
OF AN EMPLOYEE.
MY SUGGESTION IS
-GRAB THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY OF YOUR CHOICE
AND SHOW THE EMPLOYER
**YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN WHAT THEY ARE PAYING.
**PICK TWO MAJOR PROJECTS, WHERE YOU CAN PRODUCE
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE BUSINESS IN FIRST 12 MONTHS.
IF YOU CAN DO THIS, YOU ARE A WINNER ANYWHERE.
regards
LEO LINGHAM
From India, Mumbai
I understand your situation and appreciate your position.
You have carried out a lot of external analysis
to evaluate your position.
I would suggest, please do a self analysis of
WHY YOU ARE IN THIS POSITION TODAY?
THERE MIGHT LIES THE SOLUTION.
-what is the perception in the market for MBA hr?
-what is the perception of the institute from where you
got your MBA hr?
-what is the market rate of MBA hr as against MBA [ other subjects}
-why not seek a management trainee position ?
-what does the employer seek/prefer --is it knowledge or skills or competence
IT IS COMPETENCE----WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THE BUSINESS.
-IS the employer seeking knowledge or IMPACT ON THE BUSINESS
IT IS THE IMPACT ON THE BUSINESS.
-Are you positioning yourself correctly in front of the employer?
THIS IS CRITICAL IN THE SELECTION PROCESS.
-You may have the knowledge of HR, but does the employer see
it in that way?
etc etc
E
THESE AND MANY OTHER QUESTIONS AFFECT THE SELECTION
OF AN EMPLOYEE.
MY SUGGESTION IS
-GRAB THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY OF YOUR CHOICE
AND SHOW THE EMPLOYER
**YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN WHAT THEY ARE PAYING.
**PICK TWO MAJOR PROJECTS, WHERE YOU CAN PRODUCE
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE BUSINESS IN FIRST 12 MONTHS.
IF YOU CAN DO THIS, YOU ARE A WINNER ANYWHERE.
regards
LEO LINGHAM
From India, Mumbai
Dear Pearl,
Don't get disappointed :( :( ....
Great people always face a problem........see the big big examples around us like sudha murti....when she send her Resume to TATA Group she got an reply that you are not suitable for the post, then she aggresively asked them whats the reason & only her "womenhood" was her disqaulity to grap the job .........but she never disappointed....& you know this dynamic lady.....a very important pillar of "Infosys Empire" Today
So Cheers.........
& Never count your talent in money always try to give your best.whatever you do or whichever job you take......Money will automatically follow you.
Even I have started my carrer on very less salary...........but earning money was not my prime motto at that time......I gained Practical knowledge......& Today I got Money.....Position.....with carrer.
So dear Cheer up & start with a optimistic smile on your lips then see whole world will be yours.....
I hope I could give you a staisfy answer b'caz I have gone thr' all this but always remember that " WINEERS ARE NEVER QUIT & QUITERS ARE NERVER WINNER"
sO START WITH A FULL ZEALb'caz when ther is will ther is a way.
Warm Regards,
Mona
From India, Mumbai
Don't get disappointed :( :( ....
Great people always face a problem........see the big big examples around us like sudha murti....when she send her Resume to TATA Group she got an reply that you are not suitable for the post, then she aggresively asked them whats the reason & only her "womenhood" was her disqaulity to grap the job .........but she never disappointed....& you know this dynamic lady.....a very important pillar of "Infosys Empire" Today
So Cheers.........
& Never count your talent in money always try to give your best.whatever you do or whichever job you take......Money will automatically follow you.
Even I have started my carrer on very less salary...........but earning money was not my prime motto at that time......I gained Practical knowledge......& Today I got Money.....Position.....with carrer.
So dear Cheer up & start with a optimistic smile on your lips then see whole world will be yours.....
I hope I could give you a staisfy answer b'caz I have gone thr' all this but always remember that " WINEERS ARE NEVER QUIT & QUITERS ARE NERVER WINNER"
sO START WITH A FULL ZEALb'caz when ther is will ther is a way.
Warm Regards,
Mona
From India, Mumbai
Dear all,
Well thank you all for the encouraging comments and thanks to Mona for a highlight on Sudha Murthy..
Well, allow me to share this address by Steve Jobs ex-founder of Apple on his intial days of struggle & frustration..shares his three stories from his life..which is truly inspiring..please read the same though it's long but has a lot of lessons to be learnt and make a fresh start in our respective lives..
In particularly what i like his candid statement..
Am sure some of you would someday after 25 years would have a similar story to talk about... :)
Cheers & have a great weekend....
Rajat
This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve
Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation
Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.------
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement
from one of the finest universities in the world. I
never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is
the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation.
Today I want to tell you three stories from my life.
That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6
months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for
another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why
did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was
a young, unwed college graduate student, and she
decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very
strongly that I should be adopted by college
graduates, so everything was all set for me to be
adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that
when I popped out they decided at the last minute that
they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on
a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night
asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want
him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother
later found out that my mother had never graduated
from college and that my father had never graduated
from high school. She refused to sign the final
adoption papers. She only relented a few months later
when my parents promised that I would someday go to
college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively
chose a college that was almost as expensive as
Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings
were being spent on my college tuition. After six
months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea
what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how
college was going to help me figure it out. And here I
was spending all of the money my parents had saved
their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust
that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at
the time, but looking back it was one of the best
decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I
could stop taking the required classes that didn't
interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that
looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so
I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned
coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and
I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday
night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna
temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into
by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to
be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best
calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the
campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was
beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped
out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I
decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do
this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces,
about varying the amount of space between different
letter combinations, about what makes great typography
great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically
subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I
found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical
application in my life. But ten years later, when we
were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all
came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac.
It was the first computer with beautiful typography.
If I had never dropped in on that single course in
college, the Mac would have never had multiple
typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since
Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no
personal computer would have them. If I had never
dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this
calligraphy class, and personal computers might not
have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course
it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward
when I was in college. But it was very, very clear
looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you
can only connect them looking backwards. So you have
to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your
future. You have to trust in something - your gut,
destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has
never let me down, and it has made all the difference
in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in
life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage
when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple
had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a
$2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had
just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a
year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got
fired. How can you get fired from a company you
started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I
thought was very talented to run the company with me,
and for the first year or so things went well. But
then our visions of the future began to diverge and
eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our
Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out.
And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my
entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I
felt that I had let the previous generation of
entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as
it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard
and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up
so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even
thought about running away from the valley. But
something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved
what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not
changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was
still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting
fired from Apple was the best thing that could have
ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful
was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner
again, less sure about everything. It freed me to
enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named
NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love
with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar
went on to create the worlds first computer animated
feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most
successful animation studio in the world. In a
remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I
retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at
NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance.
And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I
hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting
medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes
life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose
faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me
going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find
what you love. And that is as true for your work as it
is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large
part of your life, and the only way to be truly
satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And
the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't
settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know
when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it
just gets better and better as the years roll on. So
keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something
like: "If you live each day as if it was your last,
someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an
impression on me, and since then, for the past 33
years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and
asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life,
would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And
whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in
a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most
important tool I've ever encountered to help me make
the big choices in life. Because almost everything –
all external expectations, all pride, all fear of
embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away
in the face of death, leaving only what is truly
important. Remembering that you are going to die is
the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you
have something to lose. You are already naked. There
is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a
scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a
tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a
pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost
certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that
I should expect to live no longer than three to six
months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my
affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare
to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything
you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them
in just a few months. It means to make sure everything
is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible
for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that
evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope
down my throat, through my stomach and into my
intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a
few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife,
who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells
under a microscope the doctors started crying because
it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic
cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery
and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I
hope its the closest I get for a few more decades.
Having lived through it, I can now say this to you
with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful
but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to
heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death
is the destination we all share. No one has ever
escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death
is very likely the single best invention of Life. It
is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make
way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday
not too long from now, you will gradually become the
old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but
it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone
else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is
living with the results of other people's thinking.
Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your
own inner voice. And most important, have the courage
to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow
already know what you truly want to become. Everything
else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication
called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the
bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow
named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park,
and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This
was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and
desktop publishing, so it was all made with
typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was
sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before
Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing
with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The
Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its
course, they put out a final issue. It was the
mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of
their final issue was a photograph of an early morning
country road, the kind you might find yourself
hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it
were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was
their farewell message as they signed off. Stay
Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that
for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I
wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.
From India, Pune
Well thank you all for the encouraging comments and thanks to Mona for a highlight on Sudha Murthy..
Well, allow me to share this address by Steve Jobs ex-founder of Apple on his intial days of struggle & frustration..shares his three stories from his life..which is truly inspiring..please read the same though it's long but has a lot of lessons to be learnt and make a fresh start in our respective lives..
In particularly what i like his candid statement..
Am sure some of you would someday after 25 years would have a similar story to talk about... :)
Cheers & have a great weekend....
Rajat
This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve
Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation
Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.------
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement
from one of the finest universities in the world. I
never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is
the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation.
Today I want to tell you three stories from my life.
That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6
months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for
another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why
did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was
a young, unwed college graduate student, and she
decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very
strongly that I should be adopted by college
graduates, so everything was all set for me to be
adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that
when I popped out they decided at the last minute that
they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on
a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night
asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want
him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother
later found out that my mother had never graduated
from college and that my father had never graduated
from high school. She refused to sign the final
adoption papers. She only relented a few months later
when my parents promised that I would someday go to
college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively
chose a college that was almost as expensive as
Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings
were being spent on my college tuition. After six
months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea
what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how
college was going to help me figure it out. And here I
was spending all of the money my parents had saved
their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust
that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at
the time, but looking back it was one of the best
decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I
could stop taking the required classes that didn't
interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that
looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so
I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned
coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and
I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday
night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna
temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into
by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to
be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best
calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the
campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was
beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped
out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I
decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do
this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces,
about varying the amount of space between different
letter combinations, about what makes great typography
great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically
subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I
found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical
application in my life. But ten years later, when we
were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all
came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac.
It was the first computer with beautiful typography.
If I had never dropped in on that single course in
college, the Mac would have never had multiple
typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since
Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no
personal computer would have them. If I had never
dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this
calligraphy class, and personal computers might not
have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course
it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward
when I was in college. But it was very, very clear
looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you
can only connect them looking backwards. So you have
to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your
future. You have to trust in something - your gut,
destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has
never let me down, and it has made all the difference
in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in
life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage
when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple
had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a
$2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had
just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a
year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got
fired. How can you get fired from a company you
started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I
thought was very talented to run the company with me,
and for the first year or so things went well. But
then our visions of the future began to diverge and
eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our
Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out.
And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my
entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I
felt that I had let the previous generation of
entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as
it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard
and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up
so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even
thought about running away from the valley. But
something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved
what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not
changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was
still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting
fired from Apple was the best thing that could have
ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful
was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner
again, less sure about everything. It freed me to
enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named
NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love
with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar
went on to create the worlds first computer animated
feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most
successful animation studio in the world. In a
remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I
retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at
NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance.
And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I
hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting
medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes
life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose
faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me
going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find
what you love. And that is as true for your work as it
is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large
part of your life, and the only way to be truly
satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And
the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't
settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know
when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it
just gets better and better as the years roll on. So
keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something
like: "If you live each day as if it was your last,
someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an
impression on me, and since then, for the past 33
years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and
asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life,
would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And
whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in
a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most
important tool I've ever encountered to help me make
the big choices in life. Because almost everything –
all external expectations, all pride, all fear of
embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away
in the face of death, leaving only what is truly
important. Remembering that you are going to die is
the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you
have something to lose. You are already naked. There
is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a
scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a
tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a
pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost
certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that
I should expect to live no longer than three to six
months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my
affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare
to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything
you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them
in just a few months. It means to make sure everything
is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible
for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that
evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope
down my throat, through my stomach and into my
intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a
few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife,
who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells
under a microscope the doctors started crying because
it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic
cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery
and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I
hope its the closest I get for a few more decades.
Having lived through it, I can now say this to you
with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful
but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to
heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death
is the destination we all share. No one has ever
escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death
is very likely the single best invention of Life. It
is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make
way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday
not too long from now, you will gradually become the
old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but
it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone
else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is
living with the results of other people's thinking.
Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your
own inner voice. And most important, have the courage
to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow
already know what you truly want to become. Everything
else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication
called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the
bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow
named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park,
and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This
was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and
desktop publishing, so it was all made with
typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was
sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before
Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing
with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The
Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its
course, they put out a final issue. It was the
mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of
their final issue was a photograph of an early morning
country road, the kind you might find yourself
hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it
were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was
their farewell message as they signed off. Stay
Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that
for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I
wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.
From India, Pune
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