…..But Because It is Hard!

I just had an incredible experience that I must share. The placement week at the Indian School of Business, where I am a student of the ongoing flagship PGP program, just got over. A multitude of corporates came with a number of positions and students went about seeking their fortunes with them. 

 I made it to a number of shortlists, all of them of my choice. During my interactions I was faced with an interesting comment – “You have had a vast experience in your Naval career, led teams and worked with diverse people, and that is evident. But this is going to be your first job in the corporate world, and I have an apprehension whether you will be able to measure up to the huge P&L responsibility and other profitability concerns riding on your shoulders.”

 I guess there is a perception reinforced over years and years of military veterans joining corporates. Veterans in India generally aimed for assignments in security and administration, leaving unnoticed a subtle shift in what constitutes the present day transitioning military veteran, a positive change that has been almost a decade in the works.

 The bulk of the present-day veterans were career officers who decided to change tack in their professional lives because they were driven by a burning desire to challenge their comfort zones. They know that the road they have chosen to turn onto, at such a vital stage in their lives, is the road less travelled. They are willing and ready to learn the ropes and face head-on the challenge that they have chosen to confront.

 This lot is about experiences. Experiences are what they bring, and experiences are what they seek, for they know that it is a plethora of experiences that will sharpen their skills further. A wise man once told me – the true literate is the one who is ready to unlearn and relearn without having to be ashamed of it. This lot is undertaking that very task silently every day.

 They are aware of the need to get rid of the skin of a hierarchical, regimented system and appreciate that it will be knowledge and performance, and not age or past laurels, that will differentiate them. Many put themselves through the grind of a top-tier management program, rubbing shoulders with a young cohort and gaining from their peers, for this very reason. 

 Keeping in mind the concerns of corporate houses, I guess there is a case for a more nuanced approach towards examining a present-day military veteran’s employability. We may need a novel architecture of the process where inherent skills can be matched with expected performance. Fitting skills and experiences with productivity prerequisites may call for a situational, rather than a case-based, approach.

 A confession at this point – many veterans are unsure about their career goals in the corporate world because they come from an organization that was very predictable in this aspect. So, instead of asking them about where they see themselves in the next 5 or 10 years, a better design could be to ask about experiences they hope to have had or competencies developed in this time frame. That could possibly be a more relevant approach, while delivering the appropriate insights.

 The veteran is not attuned to giving a polished response to interview questions that hiring managers and corporate recruiters may be accustomed to seeking answers to. The challenge lies at both ends.  Let there be greater effort from both sides to make this process more productive, just as President John F Kennedy famously said – not because it is easy….but because it is hard!