Barring those who are oblivious to the masterpiece of Suzanne Collins, every other B-Schooler would have surely grasped the analogy drawn through Hunger Games – PLACEMENTS – A life-changing event in the life of every future manager that pushes human behavior to the extreme.
While there are some who wait desperately for these times (perhaps they’d make good District 2 tributes), most of us no matter how confident & able, would occasionally wonder – Why ME ?!
Well, and then there are the PPO-holders, who have the single largest responsibility of having fun and upholding the spirit of ‘MBA over’!! Belonging to this category allowed me, if not anything else, to observe people and have a thousand thought bubbles – questions; answer bubbles for many of which still lie vacant in the crevices of my mind…
Did I choose to be in this position?
Why do people want to be in my place?
What’s the right answer for the question – ‘Why studying? You are placed.’
Did anyone wonder if I asked for this?
Don’t I wish to play the hunger games (volunteer, maybe?!!)?
How did the best of friends become so competitive?
Is trust and collaboration on a sabbatical?
In this digital age, why is information selective?
Is everyone really happy with their placement?
Any regrets? Got lucky? Stepped on someone? Feeling frustrated?
Does he/she know more than what I do?
To be an individual player? or join a clan? or a strategic alliance?
The behavior leading to these questions, sometimes make me wonder if we are still ourselves – or has the game changed us? And if yes, how good or bad is the change!! One could perhaps try applying concepts of game theory to predict behaviors, but then, is it even possible to hypothesize random acts of self-preservation? Well, I don’t think so.
An interesting phenomena unfolded recently involving few of my colleagues (say, C1, C2 & C3) –
1. C1 who was eliminated after 1st round of selection process & spoke highly of the company & its comprehensive selection process.
2. C2 who was eliminated in the 2nd round & found the process to be very ineffective and poorly designed.
3. C3 who was eliminated in the final round & was appreciative of the overall experience.
Three different versions of the same process and no pattern whatsoever can only mean there were one or more confounding variables involved. On the surface, it may seem C3 was right, simply because he had maximum exposure to the process & therefore a natural choice for accurate feedback. But, does that logic hold ? In my little experiences of life, I think the logic is flawed because the game involves so many different players and so many different orientations, personalities & perceptions.
The single true learning is that irrespective of how comprehensive a process might be, the people running the process matter the most – thereby making or breaking the entire design & intent of the process.
Winning the hunger games is about being the last man standing, the concept of placement is the exact opposite !! However, we as competitive human beings have an innate tendency to convert collaborative situations into hunger games, resulting in unnecessary mental stress due to Cognitive Dissonance, which is the discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs or values at the same time, performs an action that is contradictory to one or more beliefs or values, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs or values.
Deciding to rebel against the capitol or in our world, deciding to uphold the spirit of compassion and mutual gain is purely individualistic. Some handy points to remember are –
- Mind your own business – As blatant as it may sound, the age old saying that “Ignorance is bliss” still holds. Steer clear from gossips & hearsay and the difference will be pleasantly surprising.
- Appreciate your destiny – You are special & so is your destiny !! May sound cliche, but life always has a plan for you. Go with the flow, make the best of situations & you’ll see the experience will be enriching. After all, we all crave for what we don’t have (yes, even PPOed folks think they are missing out) !!
- Be discerning & emotionally intelligent – People have experiences & then they have perceptions. Beware of falling prey to suggestions of multiple people based on their experiences, because it always comes with their own inherent judgments & biases. Exercise EI to gauge situations and handpick positive cues that can add value.
- Be yourself, Be happy – Nothing in this world except your loved ones are worth changing or being depressed over, not even the lousy first job. So be who you are and continue to charm, because there are no rejections, there is only compatibility (unless of course you want to marry the very first match on JeevanSathi.com).
As much as I hate to disturb the campus placement ecosystem, those who have fancied the Hunger Games analogy in this post might well be wondering – “So who is the Capitol in all this?“. For those who are left guessing, here’s an amusing video that is sure to leave you ROFL and also give you a hint…
Note:
1. Author of this blog post does not intend to advertise about Hunger Games (novel or film series) or JeevanSathi.com in any way & has no monetary interest in such related activity.
2. Author of this blog post strictly condemns drawing comparisons or conclusions of people and companies involved in the blog. They are merely used for the purpose of illustration.
3. Author of this blog strictly condemns anyone contemplating or drawing conclusions about his interests/preferences/opinions on his job offer or placement.
AKK learns HR 