In his recent movie ‘Kick’, Salmaan Khan ends the movie with the dialogue - “Main Dil Mein Aata Hoon… Samajh mein nahin”. Salmaan always has that penchant for delivering whacky dialogues which truly symbolizes his witty character. Though, the dialogue may not have any particular significance in the movie, but it delivers a fantastic lesson, a lesson that is so very crucial to take any decision in life.
A few days back CA Final results were announced and I met various students who cleared their papers and are over with the most difficult part of the CA journey, giving exam papers. I could see a sense of satisfaction and an attitude of confidence in their eyes, after clearing what could be one of the most difficult exams in the world. This day reminded me of my past and took me some 12 years back when I also felt similar, with stars twinkling in my eyes and a feeling of ‘I have done it’ echoed my mind again and again. But believe me or not, that excitement starts to fade away after some time and you start grappling with the question, “what next”. The same feeling crossed my mind as well as I started to wonder, what should I do now?
If you decide to take up a job, I have seen students take up any job for the sake of taking it. I have met very few youngsters who would have complete clarity on the type of job they want to pursue. Majority pick up whatever comes in their way since earning money is their main priority. What they fail to realize and perhaps, it later becomes a matter of serious concern is whether the job is close to their heart or not. More often than not, the job was not the one that gives them complete satisfaction or Kick, but by the time that realization sinks in, it’s too late.
Even I grappled with a similar question when I started my career. The first question was whether I should take up a job or should I pursue entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is something which is a dream of almost everyone, not because it is cool to be an entrepreneur, but simply because it offers you a platform to express you talents and your true self. Though the keeda to enter entrepreneurship was very much live within me, I still decided to tread the orthodox path of taking up a job. However, that entrepreneur keeda eventually reached a peak when after 9 years of qualification I left my Rs. 3million salary job and turned an entrepreneur.
It was almost 12 years back when I got a call from a BIG4 for my first interview after qualifying as a CA. The vacancies were in their tax division. During my articleship I got the opportunity to work in indirect taxes and that field fascinated me. After spending 6 months doing VAT and Service tax, I decided indirect tax is going to be my area of specialization. That feeling was purely because of the Kick indirect tax gave me, though I also did bits and pieces of direct tax and loads of audit. But none could match up the adrenaline that indirect tax rushed into me and consequently, I decided to pursue it as my career.
In the interview I was told there are vacancies in direct tax as well indirect tax but I told them very clearly of my interest in indirect tax, and my interest to give interview only for indirect tax. Remember, I was 24 years old young, newly qualified CA looking for a job and at that moment you would agree anyone would have just grabbed that job, whether it is direct tax or indirect tax or audit. BIG4 at that time (12 years ago) did give anyone and everyone a kick. However, I listened to my heart and I knew I would do well if I pick up indirect tax, and that’s exactly what I did. I got selected in the best BIG4 that helped me shape a great career later. Even if I had refused a direct tax job to them, I would have definitely got indirect tax job with some other organization.
Dil ki suno ya dimag ki.. is the key to the whole discussion. The mind always inspires you to take logical decisions, pick up jobs that are more valuable, offer more money and respect and do stuff which is a norm in the society. Things originating out of mind are very reasonable and therefore, risk free.
However, if you start to listen to your heart, your true self, your inner being, you would realize that those things are illogical, completely out of the norm and therefore, highly unreasonable. But beneath unreasonableness lies the real power, the power to do something different, the power to achieve what you really want to achieve and the power to be truly yourself.
Before I end this article, I want to offer you some practical tips which will help you identify whether you should take up a job or start your own consulting firm or do something else which makes you feel happy. I want you to write them down becasue writing your goals and action steps makes it much easier for you to achieve them. Writing gives you clarity and “Clarity always precedes Mastery”.
Since this article has become too long, please visit my blog www.nimishgoel.com for a detailed practical guide on how you can decide whether to start your own consulting firm or get into a job.
I hope these tips are of help to you and I have been of service to you. I wish you the very best in your career and may God bless you with power to be your self and accomplish the objective for which you have born into this world.
I would like to finish off by a quote from the great “George Bernard Shaw”:
“A reasonable man adapts himself to the world. An unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man”
Authored by Nimish Goel, a qualified chartered accountant who’s passion is to coach young chartered accountants and aspiring chartered accountancy students achieve the best in their life. Nimish used to work with Ernst & Young and PwC in India and has also worked in Europe. He now runs his own consulting company and runs a blog www.nimishgoel.com. He can be reached for any queries and issues on his blog.
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