At times in life we come across a turning point where we have to take the decisions that would decide the direction of our future and career.  For most people, this moment comes during the collage life when we have many options in front of us and there are multiple stakeholders involved in decision making.

One such turning point in my career came right after completion of engineering. It was year 2003/04 when IT Industry was not in a very good shape – moreover, as I graduated from an average collage the placements were not encouraging and I did not have a job in hand at the end of engineering.

So I decided to do what most people my age did – MBA.  I started preparing for the MBA entrance examinations and aimed to get into one of the tier 1 business school.  

As the time progressed, I got to know more in depth about my strengths and weaknesses. I realized that my best shot could be a boundary line percentile and I might not get the desired B-School at the end of the 1 Year of preparation.

Basically I got an inner voice that if I chase the MBA dream now, then I might not get what I am looking for in terms of quality – however, if I start looking out for a job and gain a few years of experience, I can do an MBA after that. Overall it will be a win-win situation.

When I shared this thought with friends and family – there was a lot of push back and everyone wanted me to focus on preparation for entrance exam.   Since I didn’t have any lucrative job in hand, their thought process was also right in a way. They motivated me to believe in myself, give my 100% to task at hand and not to quit. 

However since I had the experience of doing engineering from average college under my belt, I was sure that i don’t want to do MBA from Tier2 College. There were many questions in front of me.

• What if I quit now and don’t get a good job? I won’t have time left to prepare for MBA
• Hey, with practice – I can surely do better with MBA exam and might very well get tier1 admission.
• Do I not have belief in my capabilities?
• Am I quitting?

This was a tough time. After a lot of thinking I decided to go with my inner instinct. Once in sync with my own instinct, I got all answers automatically

• I believe in my learning and capabilities as an engineer. If I will stay positive and put 100% effort, I will get a job 
• I am not quitting.  Since I know my strengths and weaknesses better now, I am choosing the better option.

At peace with myself, I moved to Bangalore for job search – within 3 months I had an offer with big MNC.

Fast forward after gain few years of professional experience I have done MBA from a renowned B-School. Moreover, I realized that it was even more beneficial as I could relate the learning and case studies to the real work that I have done in all those years of professional experience.

Overall I feel proud of my decision back in time. I believe every one of us, at some point in life comes across a juncture where we have to take a tough call for career.

Going with Inner voice certainly helps!

It is a coincidence that years later, I came across a very famous book by legendry ex-CEO of GE, Mr Jack Welch – Straight From the Gut.

Make sure to not confuse impulsive thoughts as inner voice. Give your thoughts time and articulation and you will find your inner voice.