Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

Dear Isha,

I'm well aware that a great deal of stock is placed in education in India, and I'm not going to knock your educational aspirations.

But what I AM going to do is ask you to ask yourself why you think you need to go through more education? I'm asking this because education in and of itself is what YOU are buying, but how much will your continued academic education help your prospective employers?

Might it be time to put the books aside and take the plunge into the waves of action?

A graduate degree in electronics and communications, an MBA in marketing and IT, and an internship at O&M ought to be enough to get your cover letter and résumé into the YES! pile for all kinds of interviews for numerous roles within the world of PR, advertising, and marketing.

And once your cover letter and résumé have done this and landed you an interview (or a series of interviews) both those documents will have done their job, leaving you to use your face to face skills to clinch the deal.

At the age of what? 25 to 26, more academic study may NOT be your best option.

Here's why.

The world of academia is much like learning to drive a car: the process teaches people how to pass tests and memorize road signs but what it does NOT do is teach people how to work the wheel, use the brakes, and apply the accelerator in order to remain on the road in ever changing and forever varying road conditions.

The only people who are taught how to DRIVE a car, (not pass a test) are race car drivers, police and security officers, and Hollywood (Bollywood) stuntmen.

So, if you adopt the mindset of marketing race car driver, police offer, and stunt person, and if you then figure out which people you need to speak with and get to know so that you can pick their brains, you'll learn FAR more, FAR quicker.

And if, while you're doing this you read, re-read, and then re-re-read and take notes from the top 10 or 15 books on advertising and marketing you'll learn, know, and be able to apply more useful skills and knowledge than most of the lecturers and professors teaching the stuff.

On top of this you'll know (and, more importantly COMPREHEND) WAY more than 90 to 95 percent of the top graduates from the top marketing courses, run by the top marketing schools worldwide.

And if you can also establish a relationship or a mentorship with two or three top marketing and advertising people, from whom you ask for direction, feedback, and opinion on key elements and ideas (and if you do this WITHOUT stalking these people and becoming a pain in their ass) you'll increase your odds still further of becoming known, of being recognized, and of creating a reputation for being smarter than your average college graduate, masters student or not.

What THIS will do is elevate you in the minds of the people who matter: potential hirers. This is education by STEALTH. It shows application, determination and, more importantly, COMMITMENT.

In the work place much is placed on the notion of being a "self starter", as if this, as a quality is enough to make a difference.

It isn't.

Starting is one thing.

But endurance and resilience are totally different qualities, and, as such they are rarer commodities, both in the world of work, and in the world of business.

I really hope this helps. I hope your 2010 kicks ass. And I hope you go on to grander, better, and bolder things because you truly deserve to succeed. Good luck to you.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

Re-approach Ogilvy & Mather. See if they offer in-house classes on the subjects of interest. Also, the school where you earned your MBA - what further classes/learning do they offer?

Some community colleges in USA offer online courses for international students. Try that path too


Whatever Happens -
Good luck!
Natasha Chernyavskaya