As we saw in the last article , when you get to know about the delay in your joining date, ( a la Flipkart-IIM-A) you must do everything you can to know about the delay, find out what you can do in the interim and ask other pertinent questions.
The best case scenario is that this is just a delay, and you will join the organisation as expected. The worst case scenario is the opposite — that you can’t join the organisation at all. In this scenario, the action plan is obvious — get another job. Approach your B-school for help, reach out to the alumni, apply online, and work towards securing another offer.
However, if the situation requires you to only wait it out, what should you do?
Do not feel depressed
The key thing is to maintain a positive attitude about this development. Do allow the postponement of joining date to get you down. The worst mistake you can make is comparing your situation with that of your batch mates.
The next important thing to do is plan to spend your free time productively. If your personal contact with the company results in a project, it is great!
Sharpen your skills
But if it is not, then plan for some other productive activity. In this context, I will share two real life examples of management students, who have had similar experiences of joining later than the said date.
One student, who was not very good in verbal communication especially English, realised that he would not get a better chance at improving his language. So he joined a BPO as a temporary staff and got trained in communication, English speaking and other important communication skills. The best part was that he also got paid for this.
The actual job at the BPO helped him sharpen his language. When it was time for him to join the originally planned organisation, he went ahead with renewed confidence because of improved communication. In hindsight, the joining delay could have been the best thing to have happened to him.
In another case, a student I knew had an engineering background, and was interested in marketing. But he had no idea about selling, and in the waiting period, he signed up with a direct selling company which dealt with financial products. After a short period of selling credit cards to uninterested customers, his confidence soared and obviously, he picked up enough selling skills which helped him in the years to come.
Travel
But if working does not interest you since you are looking at years of working anyway, spend that period travelling.
However, do this only if you have some money saved. Ideally, you should go to the railway station or bus terminus, get a ticket for the earliest mode of transport and get in. Go where ever it takes you because the destination is not as important as the journey. Meet new people, interact with them, observe and learn about new places and new customs. This experience will be of immense value not only in your career, but also in your life.