Everybody needs an Overnight Success!

I do a lot of interviews and the most common question i get asked by candidates are — What is the scope of growth for me in this job? — Very valid question indeed and i appreciate anyone asking it. Unfortunately the answer i give them in terms of the enormous learning they can derive, the opportunities to explore, the value they can bring in, etc.. does not seem to convince them.

What they are actually looking for is — How fast will i get promoted? How high will my pay scale shoot up? — Again, very valid indeed! But not when that is ONLY thing you are looking for, which is the case with the most.

Sometimes i wonder if it is not their fault but the way they have been shown an incomplete picture of what success is. I remember my school days when role models used to be the Kalams, Ambanis, Tatas and others whose stories were inspirational for our generation to put in the work and go through a process to achieve “success”. In the present what we are shown is only the “success” of young start-up founders (more of those who raise funds than make profits) but not enough of the process they have actually been through, which makes the millennial’s falsely believe that results need to be real quick with no clue of what process or skills they need in order to complement that.

The talk of get shit done and success will follow seems to not hit the right note always because they all want to be successful overnight. Everyone seems to be in a rush to get to the highest possible position without thinking if they are giving back enough consistently to deserve it!

Let’s aim for results, but not miss out the process that matters to get there!