As most of my mates know, I am still jobless. Although there are a few opportunities in the pipeline, I do not have any offer yet. My other mates are trying hard as well, trying to get through the choppy waters of what is a truly a tricky job market. No - we are not looking for high flying investment banking jobs or management consultancy jobs or even truly transforming leadership programs. But whether it is networking or understanding recruiters or making cold calls, it all takes time and patience. I guess swimming the English Channel would have been easier in the last 2 months - at least that would have made me fitter! But I guess you have to go through the grind... I remember a Cranfield prof remarking once in class that it it wasn't the MBA students that he was worried about ... it was the graduate market whose lack of opportunities that kept him awake at night...
But in the doom and gloom, I have to admit the last 2 months have helped me relive my days back in Cranfield and look back at amazement and amusement as to all that we achieved as a cohort. The faces, the laughter, the tears, the exasperation, the trips and adventures and the feeling of oneness - is something that I will never forget. I feel that I am fortunate to have this quiet period when I can reflect back and really absorb the surreal experience I had at Cranfield.
Interestingly now, I share a house with 3 of my Cranfield mates - and 3 other girls from Armenia and Burma... That is +2 to the 38 nationalities I experienced last year at Cranfield... now how cool is that ;-) And it is this gang, that keeps me sane and going. It's a full house, there is never a dull moment, there is plenty of food, shared bathrooms (yikes !! - c'mon not that bad!) and plenty of masti going around. It doesn't feel too different from Stringfellow or Chilver Hall in that sense... and there is plenty of Cranfield nostalgia to share with our new friends... so much so that we hope to have someone from Burma and Armenia in Cranfield MBA sooner than later !
Finally, I have to say I am happy to be here in London. I have always been a city boy and village life - to be fair - can be dull especially in winter - the first term at Cranfield in hindsight was a weather-shock to me.... London definitely has more sunshine than Cranfield... and it is nice to see people commuting, shopping and going about life in a hurry... it is so much like Mumbai in certain ways.. and Indian food and sweets are so easy to get. ...that surely keeps the spirits up!
To the Cranfield FTMBA class of 2012 - All the best and learn from the rest !
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