Research by: Geeta Mishra, Gaurav Manaktala, & Sandeep Puri
Case Abstract
The case is designed to enable students to critically think about career choices and the factors they can consider before arriving at a career decision. The case introduces the protagonist as grappling with two career choices and would allow the students to think from the perspective of someone choosing a job and a career. It presents rich insights into the dilemmas that students and working professionals are faced with while considering a job opportunity or switching a job or an industry. The case would enable the students to understand the key motivators and challenges an individual considers while making a career-related decision and also assess the impact of frequent job-hopping on one’s career.
It was February 2019. The protagonist Gaurav Manaktala was an employee at Deloitte, a Big four accounting and consultancy firm. For any ambitious finance buff such as him studying at a revered Indian business school to be recruited right off-campus by a big brand such as Deloitte was a dream come true. However, within a few months of joining, Mankatala’s dream was beginning to sour. He felt disengaged and demotivated at a job that was too mundane and mechanical and lacked zero or minimal opportunities to learn and grow. Besides, the long hours that he had put in during his five-day weeks and extra hours he clocked over weekends were upsetting his work-life balance. He craved for me-time and missed engaging in creative pursuits. In his attempt to break free from the job jail, Manaktala decided to apply elsewhere. As a result, he had an offer from Apollo Research and Innovation, a healthcare research company. He was wondering how frequent job-hopping would affect his professional profile, considering he had held five jobs in an eight-year career that included a two-year MBA. He was worried about relocating to a place outside his hometown and leaving his family behind. He was also unsure about changing from a much-favored financial consultancy to the unfamiliar healthcare industry He was at a career crossroads: to take the road to a new and exciting industry that promised perfect work-life balance or to persevere in Deloitte, a financial consultancy behemoth. He had three days to accept or decline the offer.
The case is designed to enable students to critically think about career choices and the factors they ought to consider before arriving at a decision. Through the class discussion, students should be encouraged to think about the career paths they want to take.
The case gives students an opportunity to:
- Think from the perspective of someone choosing a job and a career
- Understand the key motivators and challenges an individual considers when making a career-related decision.
- Assess the impact of frequent job-hopping on one’s career
To cite this article: Mishra, G., Manaktala, G., & Puri, S. (2020). Navigating a career crossroads. Asian Case Research Journal, 24(1), 35-48. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218927520500029.
To access this article: https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218927520500029
About the Journal
The Asian Case Research Journal’s (ACRJ) principal objective is to publish high-quality teaching cases on Asian companies and companies operating in Asia. We accept submissions from various areas including strategic management, marketing, organizational behavior/human resources, entrepreneurship, operations management, management information systems (MIS), economics, finance and accounting, and other relevant business disciplines. Priority is given to recent cases highlighting Asia-related business challenges with broad appeal and relevance to instructors and students worldwide. The date of occurrence of the case event should be recent ¨C no more than 3 years old. For cases that are older than 3 years, authors should provide a valid justification for this exception upon submission. All submissions should be based upon original research and will be selected through a double-blind review process.
SJR: 3
