Karan Bamba
VP – Commercial, HPCL (Reliance Jio)
Karan Bamba is a seasoned professional who has worked in Telecom for more than 25 years. His experience spans
organizations such as Siemens, Nokia, and HFCL – where he has held important roles in Engineering, Commercial, and
Business Transformation. He currently heads Commercial for Reliance Jio as Vice President.
On December 12th, Karan delivered a talk to PGDM students titled “A Corporate Journey, and Learning from It.” Using examples from his own experiences, he gave students some very honest and practical advice for building a successful
and rewarding career.
Some key pieces of advice were:
- Be sure to understand the fundamentals of business management – and put a lot of effort into studying all the core subjects. Regardless of whether you want a career in HR, one in Finance, or one in Data Analytics – a strong understanding of all core subjects will allow you to participate in all functions of a business.
- “Career success is not a 100-meter race, it’s a cross-country marathon.”
- While you may choose a major or a minor in your PGDM program, remember that first and foremost you have a “business degree”. Try not to box yourself into one specific business function – as it will “put screens on the opportunities that are available to you” A salesperson today may be a marketing professional tomorrow. A chartered accountant today may be heading the HR department tomorrow. Students should be able to seize the best opportunities that are available.
- A job typically offers four things: Learning, Responsibility, Exposure, and Money. The sigma of all four will be roughly the same across all organizations. Some jobs pay lots of money but offer little responsibility. Other jobs offer an incredible amount of learning opportunities but pay less. This should be acknowledged by job-seekers.
- Don’t focus on looking good at the cost of being good. Do not waste time, energy, effort, or emotion trying to make yourself look good for your CV. Make sure you are very strong in your fundamental subjects –
and skip-out on trying to pad your resume with irrelevant certifications from various institutes. After all, you can learn whatever you need to learn on the job – if you apply yourself and remember what you’ve been taught in your PGDM classes. - Early in your career, there is only one reward for hard work. That is more hard work. Apply yourself so much to the work that you develop a reputation for being a person that will consistently deliver whatever is asked. This will take you far.
- While you are studying, develop the habit of reading. It’s not necessary to read best-selling self-books that are intended for western-audiences. It is more beneficial to read about the experiences of people that you admire – which are found in Biography, Autobiography, Memoir, and even Novel form.
This webinar was part of an ongoing series, organized by the MYRA Career Services Office. The goal is to regularly provide honest and meaningful advice to PGDM students – and connect them with industry influencers and mentors.
To register for the next webinar, please visit myra.ac.in/webinar. Attendance is free and all are welcome.
