Hey – What is Your Name?

Recently, I bumped into a former student of mine in the bank.  Nothing unusual about that, most certainly.  I was in the bank at our old campus and this student had come visiting the old campus for old times’ sake. When I suddenly bumped into her, the problem was that I could distinctly remember that she had been my student, I remembered where she was from, remembered some of the details about her- everything except her name! I could even remember which batch she belonged to and how she was in the class.  The silly thing with my brain was that it had her name somewhere but was not revealing it to me.  I talked to her for a few minutes and since it was time for me to get back, I excused myself and got back into my car.  Then suddenly her name popped up in my head! By then it was too late to be of any use. All throughout my conversation with my former student, I was distracted trying to get her name out of cold storage. And, somehow it didn't seem right to ask her for it. Maybe it was the effusiveness with which she met me and I did not want to pour cold water over her pleasure of bumping into me.  Perhaps it is the feeling that it is thoughtlessness or rude to forget someone's name.........

 

Is it that I am getting old? Is it that I am now meeting far more students than earlier?  I am sure many professors must be going through this agony every time they bump into their former students after some time.  Some faces are so clear in your mind and yet the name eludes you when you want it the most.

The dilemma one faces is that, sometimes, you may have spent some time with that student helping him/ her academically.  Maybe the student has been one of your advisees and one ought to remember them.  There could be a student who has been particularly memorable because one has pulled up that student time and again.  The student may have a dozen reasons to expect you to remember the name and details.   But the synapses do not always connect up in the professor’s mind!

I wish students would help out their forgetful former teachers and mention their names the first thing when they meet them.  Conversation and catching up could then be more pleasant for the professor rather than his being in the agony of trying to remember his student's name.  Please remember that your teachers are no longer as young as they used to be.

Bala@Ranchi

Some Hidden Dangers of Facebook Pages

When we were students in the seventies and eighties we parted at the end of the course with maudlin tears and promises to keep in touch.  Which we often broke and didn’t keep up with one another, apart from occasionally bumping into a few friends or trying to make it to the alumni meets, to talk about grey hair or the lack of it and who resembles Lord Ganesha the most! Today’s generation is luckier.  End of the course parties are only one more celebration and do not really mean you will not continue to meet each other.  It is also one more occasion to put up photos on Facebook, where you continue your interaction virtually.

Facebook pages, some secret and some open, also serve as an exchange of information about jobs.  It is a sort of good Samaritan act where former batch mates look out for each other by posting potential jobs opportunities in their own organization or other organizations.  This is especially the case with fresh graduates and those who have been out there for a couple of years.

The hidden danger in such groups is that the more senior batches are also members of the same group pages.  Say a guy, who is frustrated in his current position, writes in the e-group saying, “I am looking for opportunities in Finance and Analytics domains in Delhi. Have over 4 years of experience in financial services including equity research and investment banking support”.  He would be not only letting his classmates know that he is looking for a new job, but perhaps also his boss who may be from the same school. Or maybe not his boss, but someone on the Compensation Committee who would be deciding his pay increase;  may be someone in HR who would be handpicking a person for a plum assignment.

Another instance would be where someone posts a job vacancyoin the group page saying “ Hey – I have the following vacancy coming up in my company…..”.  Another guy then comments asking “Send me your email id” and yet another guy very helpfully tags a classmate or junior “Jumbo -- For your attention”.  Your intention to seek greener pastures would immediately become known to the bosses. Are you yet ready to let them know yet?

In the former case, at least the information is about the person himself/herself.  However, in the second case, “Jumbo” is probably not yet ready to tell the whole world.  He has, confidentially, reached out to some of his classmates but his privacy is breached by publicly telling the whole alumni group that he is looking for a new job.  Jumbo also could be, as part of his job, hiring from his junior lot for a position in his company.  With what level of credibility would he do that when it becomes known that he himself is planning to move – may be entirely for personal reasons? Would you want the world to know you are getting frustrated, or worse about to get fired from your present job?

Sounds far-fetched?  In a twenty year old business school where I teach, I know of a recent management trainee who is my student, his boss is my student from one of the previous batches and his one up manager is from one of the earliest batches of the same school. I also know that all three people are on the same e-group on Facebook (obviously they draw different meaning and purpose from belonging to the group).

                                                                                                        
Recently I posted a small note on this group page, which I belonged to as well, pointing out the danger of such breaches of information.   In response to this, another student wrote in saying that he enquired about a job from a consultant classmate about a job posting which the consultant friend was headhunting for.  It turns out that the job was in the same company that he was working for! It is a different matter that he was seeking out the information for a friend and not for himself.  But the embarrassment and the niggling feeling that your boss would think that you have become footloose may remain?

When Facebook pages are created for a particular graduating year, this may be not much of a problem. But its usefulness as information exchange would be rather limited? However, when a page reaches a few thousand members running across a couple of decades, it becomes as open as the PA system at Dadar station. One needs to think twice before commenting, and tagging on posts? It might be better to choose to send individual messages or emails?

Bala@Panaji