One of our Alumni Mr.Darpan Tekadia is looking for an intern for his projects. He wants someone who is a fresher, is interested in marketing and has a background in computer science. This will be a paid assignment and will have the added incentive of direct mentorship by him. Please apply through below form before 23:59:59 today
The email from his student committee interested Atul. He hadn't had much luck accumulating the prized commodity that CV points are, and this seemed like an opportunity suited for him. What more, it was a paid project, and cash was always welcome! He applied.
"Who is this Darpan guy", Atul wondered, and though his LinkedIn profile did list him as an alumnus of their college, the Destiny Institute of Management and Business (DIMB), it was very sparse otherwise; not many connections, not much detail. His current job description was that of a freelance consultant.
Atul was lunching the next day when he got the call. Tekadia told him that his credentials seemed suitable, but he would want a commitment of 3 hours a day and end-of-day reports on the progress. The assignment was to carry out market-sizing for a new software that could identify online impersonation, and to generate client-leads for the same. Tekadia was willing to pay Rs.15000 for the work, which seemed pretty good. But given his own laidback attitude and the seriousness in Tekadia's tone, the idea of reconsidering his application crossed Atul's mind.
"Look, if you've applied for easy money, this is not the place. It'll involve some effort but you'll learn a lot. I believe that whenever you see two roads diverging, take the less trodden path. That'll make all the difference"
A reference to Robert Frost's poem, his favourite, or rather the only one that Atul could manage to remember through his entire schooling life. Something deep within urged him to sign up.
From the very next day, they began making a strategy on how to approach prospective clients and how best to create a positive impact of the product. The learning curve was very steep, as Darpan was very hands on and made sure Atul never slacked. The project was well on track, and slowly but surely, he began taking interest in Atul's other activities as well.
"Your student committee elections must be coming up right? Go apply"
"But I don't think I can put in all that effort. It requires a completely different mindset"
"Just imagine how much you'll be able to evolve as a person if you are part of it. The interaction, the arrangements, the respect and the satisfaction, it's a great platform for anyone to shine. I think it's a challenge but it's worth it, and you won't regret taking it up."
Five more minutes into the conversation, and Atul began filling the form. Not only this, Darpan changed his outlook about a lot of things. He started participating better in class. When earlier he considered regular meals outside or a party an unnecessary waste of time, now he began rewarding himself with them for good work done. He considered himself shy and an introvert, but started making the effort to meet people and network. Over the next couple of months or so, Atul could notice a gradual but effective change in the way he began approaching things. He started raising the bar in whatever work he took up, and volunteered for a lot of activities that he might have considered completely out of his league early on. Darpan kept giving him inputs at various points in time, and continued the association by giving Atul another project. Increasingly Atul had begun to sound confident in his interactions and had started to deliver work at a much more efficient pace. Darpan was also happy that rather than becoming completely reliant on him, Atul had begun to only bounce off critical ideas.
Then one evening while he was just getting out of his Mandarin class, a subject that he had discounted earlier but something that now fascinated him, Darpan called.
"Hi Atul, I'm having to move base for an assignment that requires my immediate attention. I won't be available on call anymore, but you can always email me"
"Oh Sir" Atul stepped out of his group to a corner, "I was looking forward to doing some more projects with you. I have a request, can I please meet you once before you leave? You've been such a great mentor that I would like to thank you personally."
"Uhm, that might be difficult actually", Darpan's voice gave away his hesitation.
Atul was polite enough not to press further. "That's fine sir. If you don't mind me asking, what is this assignment of yours' related to?"
"Well, how do I explain it to you... Let's just say that it's a futuristic concept" Darpan let the words hang in the air. "I'll send you an image in a while, maybe that'll give you an idea"
"Okay sure sir, I'll look forward to it" Atul was now curious "Thank you very much once again for all your help and guidance. I hope we can keep in touch and that you will be kind enough to respond to my requests as you have always been"
"I'll try my best. And you don't need to keep thanking me, I was just helping out the both of us. Take care!"
Ten minutes later, Atul found an email from Darpan with a photo that looked just like himself but atleast two decades older. Oddly, it was titled You/Me
The email from his student committee interested Atul. He hadn't had much luck accumulating the prized commodity that CV points are, and this seemed like an opportunity suited for him. What more, it was a paid project, and cash was always welcome! He applied.
"Who is this Darpan guy", Atul wondered, and though his LinkedIn profile did list him as an alumnus of their college, the Destiny Institute of Management and Business (DIMB), it was very sparse otherwise; not many connections, not much detail. His current job description was that of a freelance consultant.
Atul was lunching the next day when he got the call. Tekadia told him that his credentials seemed suitable, but he would want a commitment of 3 hours a day and end-of-day reports on the progress. The assignment was to carry out market-sizing for a new software that could identify online impersonation, and to generate client-leads for the same. Tekadia was willing to pay Rs.15000 for the work, which seemed pretty good. But given his own laidback attitude and the seriousness in Tekadia's tone, the idea of reconsidering his application crossed Atul's mind.
"Look, if you've applied for easy money, this is not the place. It'll involve some effort but you'll learn a lot. I believe that whenever you see two roads diverging, take the less trodden path. That'll make all the difference"
A reference to Robert Frost's poem, his favourite, or rather the only one that Atul could manage to remember through his entire schooling life. Something deep within urged him to sign up.
From the very next day, they began making a strategy on how to approach prospective clients and how best to create a positive impact of the product. The learning curve was very steep, as Darpan was very hands on and made sure Atul never slacked. The project was well on track, and slowly but surely, he began taking interest in Atul's other activities as well.
"Your student committee elections must be coming up right? Go apply"
"But I don't think I can put in all that effort. It requires a completely different mindset"
"Just imagine how much you'll be able to evolve as a person if you are part of it. The interaction, the arrangements, the respect and the satisfaction, it's a great platform for anyone to shine. I think it's a challenge but it's worth it, and you won't regret taking it up."
Five more minutes into the conversation, and Atul began filling the form. Not only this, Darpan changed his outlook about a lot of things. He started participating better in class. When earlier he considered regular meals outside or a party an unnecessary waste of time, now he began rewarding himself with them for good work done. He considered himself shy and an introvert, but started making the effort to meet people and network. Over the next couple of months or so, Atul could notice a gradual but effective change in the way he began approaching things. He started raising the bar in whatever work he took up, and volunteered for a lot of activities that he might have considered completely out of his league early on. Darpan kept giving him inputs at various points in time, and continued the association by giving Atul another project. Increasingly Atul had begun to sound confident in his interactions and had started to deliver work at a much more efficient pace. Darpan was also happy that rather than becoming completely reliant on him, Atul had begun to only bounce off critical ideas.
Then one evening while he was just getting out of his Mandarin class, a subject that he had discounted earlier but something that now fascinated him, Darpan called.
"Hi Atul, I'm having to move base for an assignment that requires my immediate attention. I won't be available on call anymore, but you can always email me"
"Oh Sir" Atul stepped out of his group to a corner, "I was looking forward to doing some more projects with you. I have a request, can I please meet you once before you leave? You've been such a great mentor that I would like to thank you personally."
"Uhm, that might be difficult actually", Darpan's voice gave away his hesitation.
Atul was polite enough not to press further. "That's fine sir. If you don't mind me asking, what is this assignment of yours' related to?"
"Well, how do I explain it to you... Let's just say that it's a futuristic concept" Darpan let the words hang in the air. "I'll send you an image in a while, maybe that'll give you an idea"
"Okay sure sir, I'll look forward to it" Atul was now curious "Thank you very much once again for all your help and guidance. I hope we can keep in touch and that you will be kind enough to respond to my requests as you have always been"
"I'll try my best. And you don't need to keep thanking me, I was just helping out the both of us. Take care!"
Ten minutes later, Atul found an email from Darpan with a photo that looked just like himself but atleast two decades older. Oddly, it was titled You/Me
No comments:
Post a Comment