There are men, who assume that scoring great marks is the only way to be recognised by organisations. But once you enter the corporate world, it’s your performance that matters. Youngsters, who are being noticed for their good work by their organisations, are being sent abroad to get trained and also work there.
Twenty three-year-old analyst Murthy R. was sent to the US by his company, when he was just a year old in his organisation. “I went to Chicago where I received training in the process that we were handling in India. I came back to Bengaluru after 45 days and trained new employees here,” he says.
His experience in Chicago was awesome as he learnt about different cultures. “Being sent abroad at 22 doesn’t happen with everyone. You’re selected based on your performance. It doesn’t matter if you’re an MBA, a 90 per center or a gold medalist,” he says.
Twenty-five-year-old Figin PTA too was selected by his firm, a financial services company, to go to the US, based on his performance. “Marks and prior work experience don’t matter. In fact, I’m a computer science graduate and don’t have a commerce background,” he says.
Figin was given training in USA for two-and-a-half months. “We were given a service apartment to live in. At such a young age, one doesn’t have any commitments and it was nice to travel across the US,” he says.
For 23-year-old Michelle Augustine, who works at Deutsche Bank, the opportunity of a lifetime came when she was 21. She was sent to London by her company, to do an internship program where she had to work and study at the same time. “Being sent abroad right after graduating gave me a lot of exposure. We even holidayed in Greece, Italy, Paris and Amsterdam. Being a football fan, I visited the Liverpool stadium-—I didn’t even dream of it when I was in India!” she says.
It wasn’t the employees’ marks, but the communication skills that mattered, says Michelle, adding, “We had to prove that we could live away from home. They gave us accommodation and a stipend there. Living there teaches you to save and control your expenditure.”
Throwing light on this phenomenon, BS Murthy, CEO, Leadership Capital, an executive search firm, says, “This is basic stuff and part of the transitioning process. People are sent to get a hang of how things happen abroad and then they come back to implement it here, so that there is smooth takeover.”