Jagat works as a research scientist in the Bengaluru office of a construction giant with French roots. He is most diligent, swiping his card duly at 9 am, reswiping it not before 7 pm. In office (and otherwise) he is the quiet sort, devoted to his work (he earned his spurs at an Ivy
League computer science department) and completely, even defiantly, ill at ease with networking.
The company has been looking for a department head to coalesce the burgeoning demands on resources commanded by the research and development wing. It so happens that no fewer than three people, apart from Jagat, shifted to this company on facing poor job prospects in the US. It also happens that one of these was mentored by Jagat during his PhD days at the same university as Jagat.
Now he, let's call him Sunder, is being promoted as Lead Scientist, which places him a rank above Jagat. In other words, Jagat would end up reporting to someone he supervised in school. Jagat is fully aware of, and partially uncomfortable with, the grim discrepancy Sunder's promotion will create in the organisation. When the European head of operations visited the Indian campus recently, Jagat raised the issue with him. He was shot down with the plea that the decision had been made at the highest level.
How did it happen? Well, Sunder belongs to a community that comprises over 50 per cent of the top management in the company's Indian arm. Sure, it's a global organisation and on paper, strictly meritocratic, but decisions such as promotions rely on other parameters, primarily networking. When Jagat raised the possibility of becoming Principal Research Scientist (PRS), a senior, global-level role, the boss from Europe laughed him off.
"That would take months of preparation, Jagat. You can't just walk in and demand it. Every geography has to ratify it. Nobody outside Bengaluru knows you. Some even here, I suspect, do not," he joked. "Work on yourself. I know you are a deserving candidate, but unless you are heard and talked about, PRS will be too big to nail."
This whole networking business, Jagat realised, would take time and, given his poor skill set in that department, there was no guarantee of success. Meanwhile, he had to work something out. He applied to an IT services giant in the domain of data analytics. Gowda, the HR head, asked him to dispatch his CV, and promised to get back.
That did not happen. A week passed, then another. The time for Sunder's promotion drew closer. Whenever Jagat tried reaching Gowda, his secretary said he was busy.
A month into his telephonic conversation with Gowda, Jagat landed at the IT giant's office - without appointment. When the lady at the reception asked him his name, he lied: "Mr Gowda knows." He was ushered into one of those box-sized rooms that abut the reception and are used for meetings. After a good 20 minutes, Gowda appeared, somewhat irritated.
When Jagat introduced himself, Gowda lost his cool: "You think this is your living room that you can just saunter in like that?" Jagat smiled and said he had waited too long for a response and was eager to hear from them since (he made this up, too) he had some other offers but was keen to work for this company. Gowda passed on to Jagat some numbers in the company's Mumbai office. "Call this lady," he said. "She is the India head of Business Intelligence and will interview you since you will report to her. She will be your point of contact from now on. And for heaven's sake, do not drop in like this again."
Not so fast. The lady in the Mumbai office kept as busy as Gowda (which is curious, because their role, after all, is to meet external candidates). Her secretary kept deflecting Jagat's requests for an interview until it became apparent that they either had no position for him or were not interested. On the other hand, Sunder had by now been promoted. In office one day, as Sunder addressed the R&D team on his plans for the future, Jagat looked at his erstwhile protege with a mix of admiration and regret.
Jagat could not deny that he was a little proud to see his "student" make it big but the prospect of reporting to him killed any benign feeling. Sunder stood first among equals, flanked by the bosses who had made his transition possible. The words of the European boss rang in Jagat's ears and he realised, to his dismay, how inept he was at that other, roundly significant aspect of his job.
The author has switched too many jobs in the past and hopes he can hold down this one