This article is written by Ramanuj Mukherjee, CEO, LawSikho.
Recently I got a mail from a regular LawSikho subscriber. Here is the gist of what he had to say.
I already got a job in a top tier law firm after doing 5 corp law internships in top law firms. I am now in my last semester in 5th year. I never really got time to enjoy my college life, but now that I have finally got a job, I want to spend the rest of my days in college enjoying myself. I was thinking of taking your course earlier, but I think I can give it a skip now.
When I read it, it reminded me of my 5th year in college. I got multiple job offers on the 1st day back in college in 5th year, which was our Day 0. I made my choice, and then I felt like I have arrived somewhere in life.
I was going to start the job next year in July. I had around 15 months left. The goal of getting a job in a top law firm was achieved and then I had 15 months to go before I had to join. What was I going to do?
Most of my friends threw themselves into partying and chilling full time. I did some of that too. But I decided to give most of my time to building a business – which was iPleaders. That was the year we launched BarHacker. That was the year we hustled hard and found clients for our legal risk management business. That was the year when we pitched it to NUJS management that they should launch an online course for entrepreneurs. That was the year we launched the iPleaders blog. That was the year when we registered an LLP and a bunch of domain names.
We rented an apartment nearby, called it our office and got some juniors to work with us. We built WordPress blogs. We learned SEO and web design. We networked a lot. We tried hard and mostly failed. We kept trying.
Then we eventually joined our law firm jobs, but we knew that after a year we would probably get back to what we left behind. The year of trials and tribulations was a very important year – the year we put our basics in place. We built the floor of the house we will eventually live in.
However, when I look back now, I think I made a great mistake. I never took the time to prepare for the job I was going to join.
Just because you got a job does not mean you are ready to crush it at work. I didn’t even know what work was in store for me. I didn’t learn how to do that work. I didn’t even read the regulations and statutes I would have to deal with.
So when I joined the job, I was in for a rude shock. My work was often rejected by my seniors. I would have to go back and redo the whole thing again and again. I would have to spend ungodly hours in the office.
I made the mistake of thinking that it was the employer’s responsibility to teach me the work. I also thought I was a very smart person and I would be naturally ahead of others at work.
It turned out to be very wrong.
Within 3-4 months, I was stressed, my spirit was crushed. I was spending time till 3 am every day in the office. My health suffered. At some point, I was hospitalized for 11 days. I began to drink too much and smoked a lot.
At work, I was struggling. I didn’t like the work. One reason was that I did not find it intellectually stimulating, but then to get the better work I had to earn the trust of the seniors, and at that, I mostly failed. I was scolded every now and then, and I was miserable. I was not used to being scolded. I was used to being the champion, the overachiever, and I lost that.
I was very unhappy for most of that year.
Now I look back and know exactly what I did wrong. I did not prepare. I took it for granted that I will do well in that job.
So I requested the 5th year law student who already got a PPO and planned on chilling for the rest of the months to call me. I wanted to share with him my story.
When he called me, I asked him how he was preparing for the work he would be doing as an associate. He thought that the internships must have prepared him for that work.
Naive mistake, I had thought so too. So I described to him the kind of works he would have to do and the skills he needed. I asked him if he already knew how to do that work.
Of course, not. Who teaches an intern all that?
But they will teach an associate, right?
Sure, but answer one question.
How long do those associates you intern with spend in the office? Do you see them working late nights in the office frequently? Do you think they do it for fun? Do they not want to spend any time they save with their spouse, children, parents or friends? Do they not want to go home early?
If they have to spend time teaching you to do something, will they really like it? Will not they do just the bare minimum? Will, they not expect you to do everything in your power to prepare yourself and save their time?
Ok, consider this. How much of your annual package is a bonus? 5 lakhs?
Now some associates will just get 1.5 lakhs. Some may get even 4 lakhs or 5 lakhs.
Who gets more? Of course the ones your seniors will highly appreciate and recommend for a higher bonus. Right?
So if spending the next 6 months preparing yourself for your job will ensure that next year bonus time you will get a 4 lakh cheque when the rest is getting 2, will it be worth your time?
It is not just about money.
What is the price of your dignity, that nobody is upset with you or that your seniors don’t have to criticize you for failing to meet a deadline or expectations?
What is the price of hitting the ground running when you join, and surprising your seniors with high performance and earn praise for doing a fantastic job?
The price is preparation. And we have prepared hundreds of our students exactly in that way for the last few years.
What effect do you think my conversation had on the student? Did he enroll in a course from LawSikho that will train him for the job he is going to join?
What do you think? Respond to this and tell me.
I look forward to hearing from you. If you got a PPO, congratulations. But are you preparing for the next step of your life? Or are you too busy celebrating to think of preparation for a very important stage of your life?
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