The Career Development Cell of SSCBS organised a seminar on career aspirations with guest speaker Mr Ashok Ramachandran, the President and CEO of Schindler India. The recipient of the prestigious ET 40-under-40 award, he shared thoughts on capturing opportunities and making the best use of them. One of the highlights of the seminar was when he proved, with examples, how no jobs are beneath one’s standards and that opportunities are meant to be claimed with both hands and that the ‘Q-word’ (quit) is a taboo we need to steer clear from. With a climate of dissatisfaction with job profiles and underwhelming performance of students in job interviews, this perspective comes at an extremely crucial time for many of us.

Kashish, President of CDC, puts her experience of the interaction into words, “It was indeed an unparalleled experience to be able to interact with an eminent personality and the insights gained from an experienced individual who has faced so many odds and defeated them to be who he is today, gives the students immense opportunities to pick up from the best and mark points while defining the path for their future endeavours”.

Having the CEO and President of such a prestigious company talk to the students was indeed a tremendous opportunity for everyone. With many students harbouring MBA plans as well as a robust culture of entrepreneurship already in place, it was a breath of fresh air to have a motivational talk by someone we aspire to become. Mr Ashok too was impressed by the response of the students and has maintained an association with the institution. As he puts it in his LinkedIn reply to CDC’s post, students are always welcome to reach out to him for support.