Corporate: Expectation Vs Reality

We all can relate to that feeling when we use to look at those skyscrapers, people suited up having expensive coffee in their hands chatting to each other with some very sophisticated words that you can’t simply ignore but only fantasize in your mind that one day you would be wearing those bright business suites and chatting around like a pro. 

Eventually, you succeed in your goal and the day arrives when you get into those buildings wearing that branded logo around your collar but what also comes is the realization that the reality is way different from your expectation.

Here are some of the occurrences where you feel that “Was it actually my dream to come here?”

What looks outside is not necessarily the same as what’s inside

What looks like a glittering and shimmering tower of dreams from the outside is actually a desk in the middle of a floor with depressing interiors from the inside. A desk that can be surrounded by people who you are not that much fond of and loaded with a pile of work. You could only track the day when people either start their shifts or start leaving their seats. Soon you realize that the windows that look so dreamy from the outside are too hard to get a seat around inside and it's a luxury that not everyone can afford.

Your skill not necessarily decides your work

When you enter into an organization by clearing an intensive round of interviews on the basis of your skills then obviously you expect that you will be able to use your skills in your work or you’ll get your work as per your skills. But turns out, you are documenting stuff when you are good with codes or you are printing the papers when you are good with crunching the numbers. So, you realize that the work is not necessarily driven by the skills but the requirement of your team which can be visiting the client site to pick up the samples or simply filling the forms. It's easier said than done as most of the time you get stuck into dream killing jobs and that's just heartbreaking!

Hard Work is directly proportional to the results

You do the hard work and you get the results; as a beginner, you expect that right! After all, that’s what drives most people to do their best, to spend their precious time sitting at their desks doing something that only makes sense on screen. Sooner or later depending on how you understand things, reality dawns on you and you see clearly that it's not that simple. There are a lot of other factors in play here than just hard work that no college or university can prepare you for. 

To be honest hard work actually comes very late in the process flow of outcome, first of all, you must have work to start with and most of the time the good work gets poached away without even your knowledge.

Colleagues, not Friends!

We all watch dramas where there are groups of friends working at the same place and they form a tight group which laughs together and leans on each other in their time of need. So, you treat your teammates as your so-called friends. But this corporate world will teach you the most basic lesson, that they are actually your colleagues first. Colleagues who you will get evaluated with you and if you won’t they will probably cross you to get that golden opportunity.

Eventually, you’ll become what you use to hate

There is a perception or a feeling when you see someone who’s principally different from you and you say “I would never want to become like him or her.” But as they say, never judge anyone, as they have their own set of circumstances and sacrifices. So, down the lane without realizing you actually stand on the same podium wearing the same badge with people staring at you and making comments like you were doing some years ago.