Category Career Query

Lying is not fun

 

Whenever I go to a party with friends, I come home and cook up a story. But my parents don’t believe a word of it. Now, my brother tells the same tales, they believe him. This infuriates me. Why do they believe the tales of one son and not the other? I feel very small when they treat me like this.

Remember you will gain respect and regard when you speak the truth with others whether they are your parents, friends or relatives. Truth always makes others feel good about you. Going for parties is not wrong but going for them without your parents’ consent and later lying to them not just makes you feel bad but also makes you think they are not on your side or appreciating you. With regard to your parents, you can always directly ask them why they believe your brother and not you. Their reply will enlighten you regarding their behavior.

 

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Being bullied

 

I get bullied very easily. Nowadays, I have stopped talking to a good friend of mine because of pressure from another friend. I am feeling very bad about cutting off from this good friend. But if I start talking to her, my other friend will be very upset. How do I keep both the friends happy at the same time? I do not want to antagonize either of the two.

You are highly susceptible and don’t have confidence in your own decisions. This tendency to cling to someone to get his or her favor is an indication of lack of confidence. In this case that you have cried, all you have to do is start talking with your friend even if the first friend gets a little disappointed. That is, if you want to talk to her, do so. When you do things you want and what you think is right, others will begin to respect you for the same. But if you succumb to pressure from others to do things their way you will never be happy within. You can keep both your friends happy by beginning to talk with your friend and bringing her over to the other friend also. All three of you, I am sure, have lots in common, which you can share.

 

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Shyness

 

I am a student of class IX. My problem is shyness. I am not able to give an answer even if I know it. I also suffer from stage fright. I am not bold and courageous. My father insists that I participate in competitions. I feel that I will not be able to speak on the stage. Please help me. I feel miserable that I will not succeed in life if I do not overcome my shyness.

Since you are aware that you are shy and have stage fright, you should also understand that this shyness would disappear if you have confidence in yourself. The fear that may fail when you are on the stage makes you afraid of the stage. Similarly the fear that you may not come up to others’ expectations and the anxiety that others would think negatively of you makes you shy. This can be overcome if you start thinking positively and take up such tasks, which you can complete successfully. If someone gives you work, complete it as well as you can and take pride in what you have achieved. Even complex tasks can be successfully accomplished if you spend time thinking how best you can complete it. Think of the different ways in which you can solve the problem and choose the best out of them. This way you will gain confidence in yourself and the fear of having to bear criticism will also disappear. You can thus overcome your shyness. In addition you can do breathing exercises for about three or four minutes just before you take up a task or just before going on stage for some programme.

 

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I am in XII. I want to be a good English news reader. Kindly guide.

I am a student of class XII. I want to be a good English newsreader. For this purpose I want to know which exam do I have to pass. I have been reading English news on the stage everyday in school. I have also won a number of prizes for being the best newsreader. I hope that you will help me fulfil my ambition.

You have made the right beginning by reading English news on a regular basis in your school. But you don’t have to appear for any exam to be a reader. News channels have a diction test, wherein they test your fluency, speed, diction and presentability. So hone all these aspects.

Besides diction, speed and fluency, certain other skills also matter: how good are you at interviewing people (for as you would have seen on news channels, news readers are also supposed to interview guests in the studio during the news hour); how good is your knowledge of happenings around the world and whether you keep abreast of happenings; and also how well do you handle difficult situations, like having to report the meagre facts again and again for two hours before more footage arrives, say in the Akshardham attack last year, or Indian Airlines hijack episode in 1999.

 

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The general perception is that civil services and media are the domain of humanities, science, medical and engineering students. Commerce students do not opt for these careers.

No, not any longer. There has been a change in the trend. Commerce student can take up anything now. In fact many of my students have gone for mass communication. Even in civil services, you will find good number of commerce students.

In fact, in lighter vein, when parents come to me for advice, as to what their children should study, I ask them in return, what they want their child to be: do they want him to be a film actor, or a politician, a journalist, a professor, a businessman or chairperson of a company. And I add, whatever career choice the child makes, he should equip himself to get admission to SRCC. Because I can name the best actors, best politicians, best police officers who have graduated from here. So name a field, and we have churned out the best in that field.

If the students are good, they can excel in any area. Now many doors are open, except that a commerce student cannot be a professor of physics or an engineer or a doctor. Barring that, you can be anything.

 

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Where does commerce figure today in the scheme of things of a career-oriented student? What kind of avenues and openings can commerce per se offer to those who pursue it?

I think it figures very prominently because it opens up many doors for those who want to make a good career. A lot of students give priority to commerce – this was not so earlier.

There are openings for commerce students in the traditional sense. They can go for CA, ICWA, for company secretaryship, or related areas in accounting and finance. If you want to do MBA, CA, CS or ICWA, you don’t necessarily have to be a B.Com. Even a BSc student can go for CA or MBA. The only difference is that commerce students or commerce pass-outs have an advantage over non-commerce students in case of courses like CA, CS or MBA, because some of the papers they have to study are taught at B.Com Hons level.

 

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