Where do I want to be 5 years from today?

During the waiting time, before I got an offer from Clear Capital, I decided to make some good use of my time. Appeared for GMAT, got a score of 710, not the best score but I think it was a wise decision to not to think of retaking the GMAT. Finally it is a personal choice but I think the time spent in preparing and re-appearing for GMAT can be better spent in writing the essays.
Again there was a huge gap between the time I took my GMAT to my admission in INSEAD in 2009. I started the process in late 2007 so that I could apply for the session starting in 2008. My portfolio included ISB, Harvard Business School, Carnegie Mellon and not to forget London Business School. Was dinged (you got to know this word before getting into any school) by all but ISB, was happy to move into the interview round held in Delhi. I did convert this into a call (IIM lingo) but finally decided to reject the offer. A huge gamble, more so because things were not perfect on the work front. However, this decision had much lower risks attached to it when compared to what I did when I was in Schlumberger. I just said quits one fine day and packed my bags and left for home. What followed was fun, excitement and at times disappointment. Living out of a suitcase, if you want to phrase it.
I had spent almost a month at home after resigning from Schlumberger, no offers that appealed to me. Who says recession is the only time when unemployment prevails! This is a perfect example of structural unemployment (wiki for more). Some interviews were lined up, I went on to the last round for a consultancy firm offering services to the maritime industry. Consulting always fascinated me, so I decided to take this offer when it finally arrived. This was towards the end of December. Mumbai was my next destination, what followed was fifteen days of supercharged drama! I had some obligation towards my theatrical interests :).
Whatever, I resigned from that firm within two weeks and became a gypsy until I received the final offer from Clear Capital for the position of an Oil and Gas Analyst. Must say this kind of career change would not be possible today with the kind of skill sets I had. I must thank Gunjan, my IIT Roorkee batchie and Schlumberger colleague for passing me the advert for this position. Thanks buddy, see when you are jobless don't shy away. Rather spread the word and let everyone around you know that you are looking for a new direction in life.
The idea of an MBA became strong during the end of my first year in Clear Capital. There were some structural changes, the oil and gas team was no longer functional. I decided I should start planning for my future, MBA seemed to be the best option. However, my applications for 2008 were an outcome of my loss of interest in work. That shows my selection of colleges.
If one closely looks, there is no underlying common theme. I had randomly picked up four schools, the probability of getting into each school was different from that of the other. Diversification was the way to go! For example, I was very optimistic about the ISB call, LBS came next on the list as I was working in finance for a firm based out of London. Then there was HBS and Carnegie Mellon. INSEAD was always on my list, but I felt I was lacking the job experience required to apply to INSEAD. Had I been in Schlumberger for three years, I would have done so.
I did not put in a lot of thought into my essays, writing essays is not the biggest issue, its about framing your thoughts. I felt these questions were comparable to the essays we wrote in our exams in high school. I did not understand the purpose of these questions. Ok, they are used to evaluate a student's eligibility to sit in the classroom but is it not a mere play of words? Someone who has good presentation skills and is a master in essay writing should get through. Is it that simple or there is more to the question, "Where do you see yourself five years from now?"

Recollecting all that went into living and realising my INSEAD dreams

There was a time when I thought I had my professional life all charted out. I would be getting an admission into a Masters Course right after graduation, and follow it up with a PHD. A doctorate in Chemical Engineering, keeping up with the Doctor legacy of my family, though the similarity would lie only in the prefix!
My wing mates passing by in the morning would at times do the peek a boo game, “wait a second” would be the expression on their faces. There was something funny about my room. Instead of containing mock tests for the getting into the best B-schools in India, one would find white charts strewn all over the white washed walls. And I would add atleast two dozen new words from Norman Lewis every morning to the list. It was indeed a funny sight; from a distance it appeared as though I was scribbling on the wall. So when they passed by my room, they would consciously peek in to see what was happening. So there I was all set to phodofy my GRE. I was happily detached from the world of TIME and Career Launcher, while others were busy forecasting their performance in the main exams. The closest I came to MBA preparation, was flipping through the test material, pencil marks everywhere, that’s all I remember, honestly!
There were discussions, where I convinced my parents that MBA was not happening in my life. To me at that time, my opinion about my career was what mattered the most, and wise as I was (I thought so, shamelessly) I said MBA makes sense only after gaining some work experience. I never knew at that time these were the words - most uttered by the best B schools across the world! However that was just a scape-goat for me, had I been interested in pursuing a MBA, I would have tried to enquire about how many years of work experience are required, what kind of work does the magic in getting calls and so on. I was not thinking about any of these, “man kiya to dekha jayega” was my mantra (if I ever felt we would see). All I focussed on was my GRE.
Now if you are thinking I completed all those applications for MS, I am sorry dear friends, I have to disappoint you. I did manage a decent score in my GRE but that was the end of it. The scores till date lie in my blue folder. The owner of this folder never called upon her score genie to take her into the mystic world of chemical engineering hidden in the best labs of the world!
So what was I doing?? There was something new and very exciting happening in my life. The recruitment season was on; once again I had my own biases, though not backed by much market research. Infact that was an interesting incident that led to where I am today. Now as I give shape to my thoughts, the words of Steve Jobs at the Graduation Ceremony in Stanford come to my mind. The dots always connect, when I look back today, I know they have connected in my life. A Chemical Engineer at heart, I had set my eyes on British Gas. I walked into the Group Discussion room in my new salwar kameez, stitched for the occasion. The interviewer rose, we were all ready with our pencils to note down the topic of the day. But he had something else to offer. He looked at me and conveyed in a very gentle non-offensive manner that they were not going to recruit girls. This implied I was not eligible to apply for the job. I must say I was mad at them. However, in a very kind gesture, the interviewer sent for me later on, he gave me a word of advice- “Schlumberger recruits girls for the oil fields, so you should try there”. I took the rejection by BG as a challenge, it would be Schlumberger or no job. So I prepared a universal job resume, though my universe comprised of only one company.
I got through, an incredible boost for me. I still remember the day when the names were finally announced. I could feel the rush of hormones, hormones that give a kick and later on lead you to a state of euphoria, where ones mind just revels in some undefined glory, disconnected from everything around.
After all this babble, I have still not come to the beginning of the MBA chapter. Though, Schlumberger temporarily marked the end of my GRE dreams. So if there are folks out there, who think MBA right after college is not going to be the best thing for you, don’t you worry, there are many like you . If people are unsure about what they are doing, its natural. You learn as you go through these phases, you juggle through the options and pick the best one be it a job, a PHD or an MBA.