He spent almost an hour interacting with the students, sharing anecdotes from his experiences and gave pointers to follow. The interaction has been consolidated to cover key points that we can be think about, ruminate about and put into action.

Firstly, he emphasized that to be successful, one must be willing to take risks that come along with it. “Today the education sector has stagnated. There are many people with the required qualification. If you want to get a job in a such a scenario, you must be willing to innovate and take risks. It’s very important to keep a fresh mind always and learn continuously. To adapt to the requirements is crucial for on the job success also.”

He also noted that students have a tendency to be mollycoddled. “You are adults now. You can’t expect to be treated like children. You have to learn to make decisions and be able to take their consequences. You can not blame your mistakes on others anymore.”

Mr. Ravindra shared some of his experiences to convince students that it’s important to get one’s hands dirty to get the job done. An Indian employee who had joined a company in Japan was expected to get his table ready, including ordering the computer of required specifications, setting it up, networking and installing the required softwares etc. “You may be a software engineer, but you should be willing to do other things also. You don’t have a choice”, he noted.

He ended the talk with a note on how to plan the future. “Don’t prepare for your first job. Prepare for your career.” He urged the students to be willing to take any kind of work that comes along rather than just wait for a specific job profile. And most importantly, he noted that it’s very important to be humble to build a successful and lasting career.

To know more about Dr. Ravindra, click here.