10 ADVICES!!!

I wrote these Advices as part of my First and Last article for my Campus Magazine and I hope they are useful for you. These are a total summary of whatever I learned while I was doing my 5 years dual degree at IIT Roorkee. But I believe that the points also hold true for any student who has just joined a Graduate program. I hope you don’t repeat my mistakes and achieve success.

1) DON'T CHEAT

Yeah, this might sound like a cliché but so many of my fellow IITians have been trying to cheat lately that it makes me wonder about the standards of IIT JEE entirely. You might get a grade less but its helluva lot better than getting expelled or at best getting a Year-back. This is especially for the 1st year because 1st year is most strict and there will be no letting you go if you are caught. So act smart cheating is nothing worth bragging about. Also don’t give the statement that you have read enough during your JEE preparation; the 1st year is the toughest and carries maximum credits hence has maximum weight on your overall resume so give it the respect that it deserves. Don’t neglect classes and tutorials; you need only to use your time efficiently.

2) CGPA IS IMPORTANT

Yeah you will have seniors saying that CGPA isn’t important and cite you the examples of some other seniors who made it good without great CGPA. Don’t take them on face value, always question and you will find out that with low CGPA one faces a lot more difficulty everywhere in the future. If you want to go for R&D as your career its best to have CGPA above 8. Mine is 7.5 and I can tell you how difficult it was to get into a good college with this low a CGPA inspite of having great GRE & TOEFL scores. So no matter what happens always keep your CGPA at least above 7 or 7.5. Companies like best the students with CGPA in 7.5 to 8.5 ranges and good overall achievements. Always care about your future, its nothing to be ashamed off.

3) CHOOSE YOUR GOAL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

Study and do research about the various options you have after you pass out and make a decision. Talk with all your seniors, not only a few whom you know better but have all your seniors’ inputs, see what your likes or dislikes are and try to make your own decision as soon as possible. A student opting for a job in Finance needs qualities that are vastly different compared to a student applying abroad or one opting for a job in Core Companies and these are qualities that the companies will try to find in your CV so you have to build it accordingly.

4) INTERNSHIPS ARE IMPORTANT: HOW TO CHOOSE AN INTERNSHIP??

Whether you are applying for jobs or Graduate studies abroad your internships matter a lot. It’s a very important part of your CV. Now know that different internships are good for different goals. For example if you want to go for job in finance or IT sector its best to do an internship in a good Finance or Software Company. If you want to go for Core Companies do an internship in a good industry. Internships in abroad Universities are important only if you are applying for higher studies so don’t blindly go for them. Whatever may be the internship start applying early around August, make a database of your own and apply according to your Specific Area of Interest. For example for students who want to pursue higher studies; try to choose a particular research topic, if you don’t know it now research about all topics available and choose one you like the most. But whatever your fields always try to maintain continuity in all your internships. That means if you wan to go for Finance Sector then try to do all you internships in finance profiles. Also always try to be extremely specific while you are applying according to your selected Goal, the companies like to know that you know what you are doing and not blindly throwing darts.

5) RECOMMENDATION

Recommendations always help a lot. Often you will need 3 to 4 recommendations, especially if you are applying for higher studies. So in all your Class studies and Internships try to have a good rapport with people of influence in your fields. Try to impress them with your work. Always stay in contact with them. Wish them regularly and do not at any cost lose contact. You can’t expect to ask a person for a Recommendation for you out of the blue. You are not that important remember try to develop as many good contacts as you can and always stay in touch with them.

6) KNOW ALL YOUR CLASSMATES AND SENIORS

Now we were forced to know all our seniors and classmates and their likes and dislikes as part of our ragging. It was tough for us then but there was a good reason behind it. All students here have specific qualities they are good at and hence worthy of equal respect. You should do the same. Personally you might think yourself to be SRK but for the guy next you are just as big a fool as you think him to be. So don’t expect people to help you in your time of need; you are not that Great. Learn to make friends. Know to socialize.

7) ALWAYS STAY HUMBLE AND GIVE RESPECT TO ALL

Try to meet different people and know them; this will better help you develop a solid personality. All the English accents, body gestures and gesticulations come to naught if you don’t learn humility. Always be polite to your teachers, never antagonize them. Once again I remind you about the insignificance of us as viewed from the spectators’ perspective. We just have qualified one tough exam; it doesn’t make us great personalities. We still need a lot of work to do.

8) LEARN GOOD ENGLISH, BUILD A GOOD PERSONALITY & DEVELOP ON YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Stop these prehistoric convent-styled outdated accents and behaviorism. Be fluent, concise and have an emphasis on making the listener understand the point instead of making him look for a dictionary. Expressions while speaking are good only when they are required to make a point. Do not overuse it. Always speak in the language in which the other party is comfortable with. Once again I repeat it because it’s extremely important, don’t think yourself too high because you can speak in a so-called-accent, you accent is worth nothing if the listener is unable to understand you.

9) PARTICIPATE IN MANY EVENTS & ACTIVITIES BUT STAY AWAY FROM POLITICS

Its always good to have a lot of extra curricular activities in your CV and try to participate in a lot of campus events and sports activities whenever you can. But don’t run after posts they are grossly over rated. I have seen many go to unseen depths of disgrace just for posts and recently the trend is worsening day after day. Personally I have had no problems about getting selected in Job Short listings and these posts are incoherent jargon for Foreign Universities, so don’t fixate on posts, do it because you like it and you want to contribute that’s all. But if you have no other choice and are forced to get into politics for posts then learn to say ‘NO’. Yes the other guy might be a friend in need but if it needs to get into politics then it simply isn’t worth it. Instead work with some National and international NGO to fill out your extra curricular column. Do something good instead of getting into the disgusting political battles. My firm belief is that even beggars have a better constitution than politicians, and hence I would suggest you all to avoid this plague completely.

10) AVOID FACTIONISM, STAY UNITED

This problem started with our year. But it was moderated due to ragging. But from next year onwards we see all students divided into groups. The primary groups are the Haddus, The Sportspersons, The Self Proclaimed Cool Gangs, The Gamers, The Politicians, The Downloaders, and finally The Sleepers. Each of these groups thinks themselves to be the most important and the others as fools. This MUST stop. Any student body’s strength is its unity, but we are losing that strength fast. I don’t say don’t make groups but don’t get into destructive conflicts just because of some silly group politics. Stay Together And Prosper.