PGPM program transformed my professional career and a better CTC

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How a PGPM program transformed my professional career and helped me to get a better job with a better CTC

7 Jun 2021
- admin
Some time back, I saw a video of the legendary Stan Lee of Marvel Comics (creator of Spider Man, X-Men, Iron Man, etc). In this video he is delivering a lecture to UCLA Graduates and the key takeaways of his advice to the youngsters was –

“Do your thing. Whatever you do, give it your best shot. You’ll be glad you did”

This has pretty much has stuck with me since it reflects my career journey throughout.

To leave a stable job in today’s uncertain job market, and go for further studies may be considered foolish by most. But then, changing a vocational path adds just a new dimension to the adage – Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Once you have been ingrained and successful in your chosen career, it becomes a taboo. Besides, your friends, family and colleagues also start questioning this “insanity”.

But, I did exactly that. My story begins as a Systems Engineer developing code who changed track to be a systems administrator. Then took a break to pursue SOIL Institute of Management’s PGPM in HR (Post Graduate Program in Management – Human Resources). Then came the path-breaking change into a different vocation altogether – Human Resources.

Today I have more than six years of experience and have worked in some of the leading international organizations in the HR function. Currently, I am employed with one of world’s leading consultancy organizations – Bain & Company as a HR specialist. I would like to share with you my journey through uncharted and untested domains. What prompted me to make this decision of a mid-career education and functional change?

Two years into computers and I had realized that the competition was tough and the job monotonous, and it would require something extra for me to go up the corporate ladder. The level of automation around me made me wonder whether the workplace was a “human” place at all? Was there an opportunity to be more humane and stand out from the crowd? I enjoyed working with people and wanted to make people’s working lives better. The wheels in my head started turning. My ambition was on fire and the next step was to discard the corrosive mindset “We’ve always done it that way”. I did just that. To achieve my goals, I decided to go back to a business school and earn a management qualification in HR.

Shortlisting the business schools was another exercise. I wanted to be away from the regular MBA degree as I learnt that they usually offered a straitjacket approach to curriculum building. Some of the cutting-edge management programs are offered by B-schools that draw their pedagogy from an international faculty, industry relevance and integration with liberal arts. This helped me to narrow down the choices and I realized that School Of Inspired Leadership (SOIL) was the place I wanted to be. The best-in-class experiential learning offered by the institute in its endeavour to integrate learning and inspired leadership was just the program that enthused me, since I felt that the system required a synergy between leadership and learning. The PGPM in HR program was designed for people such as me. The one-year program is apt for working professionals wanting to take a sabbatical and re-entering the corporate world at the earliest.

Throughout my time in the program, I learned about the importance of innovation, professionalism, attention to detail and above all – a HUMAN-CENTRIC APPROACH. The challenge I faced in transitioning back to life as a student was always there, but I prevailed and will carry the lessons I learnt with me for the rest of my career.

Here’s what the PGPM – HR Program gave me –
1. Expertise that helped speed my career progression – Designed to prepare the HR leaders of tomorrow, the PGPM – HR program equipped me with required business skills, boosted my confidence and enhanced my credibility with prospective employers. Besides, it helped me to get closer to my revised career goal of getting into an HR role.
2. Gave me the necessary skills and confidence to switch careers – The PGPM – HR program helped me expand my skills and acquire new ones in my chosen field of HR. The one-year MBA course also gave me an opportunity to pursue hands-on learning and successfully pursue a field that was diametrically opposite to my previous role.
3. Global Thinking – A global business vision has helped me in my career where I have worked with large transnational and multinational organizations. This has been made possible by learning imparted during the course which is in line with global industry standards.
4. Networking opportunities – Through the course, I got several opportunities to connect with global business leaders, industry professionals, alumni and classmates through a host of activities like company information interactions, workshops and seminars, group projects, HR labs, sessions with various CHROs, alumni meetings, case studies etc. This course enabled me to build a network ecosystem which I consciously continue to grow even today. The benefits are immense as I am now part of a global community and continue to learn and evolve through interaction.
The professional knowledge, skills and experience I gained while pursuing the PGPM – HR program gave me the insights to understand the nuances of HR in business and how to apply them in a business situation. The course certainly added to my undergrad degree and prepped me to move into more challenging and prominent positions at an accelerated rate. I started my career at the middle management level in a large IT transnational and have quickly moved on as a HR Specialist in one of the world’s premier consulting organizations.

It is an accepted fact that management graduates are offered a higher salary than graduates. There was a considerable jump in my CTC after the one year and the upward trend has been fast. This went a great way in paying back the loan which I took to finance my MBA.

Key Takeaways

From an employer’s perspective, a management professional should be endowed with the following qualities –
- Engagement
- Work ethic
- Critical thinking
- Analytical thinking
- Ability to collaborate
- Desire to learn
I was privileged to get insights into the true qualities (and more) of a global HR leader as part of my PGPM HR Course. The skills that I gained are helping me to make a profound impact in my profession and needless to say, have played an important role in transforming my career and CTC.

I am firmly of the belief that you can never get enough education and it is never too late to do so.

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