The Dream Job !

"Your 15 years of great service......"

He still remembered his first day in the office. Raghu had graduate Magna Cum Laude from a very prestigious engineering institute and joined this major Auto giant. But his fondest memory of the first day in the company was not about the company itself, but that of another new hire joining the company alongwith him. He still remembered those hazel eyes, those sparkling smiles, and those witty replies. He remembered their first lunch, and their first coffee...he knew he was staring at someone special.

When he graduated from school, Raghu was determined to do a MBA and rise amongst the corporate echleons of the company. But in the weeks that followed, work took a back seat as Raghu concentrated more on wooing his newfound crush than concentrating on his long term ambition. He started living in the glory of his past, while Sudha took advantage of their friendship to further her professional cause.

"I acknowledge your involvement in the Passat project...."

This jogged his memory of those 15 months when he worked closely with Sudha on the new convertible design. They had spent endless hours together, both in the office and out of it, discussing the minute details of car design and philosophy of life. In the end, the project was a huge success, but it left him a trifle disappointed as Sudha lapped up most of the credit for the project. Albeit her promotion to the post of Senior engineer and fat raise, Raghu didnt complain as she was still in the same design group and now under the same roof too. They got married soon after the successful completion of the project.

"....the launch of Toureag was a huge success....."

Toureag the flagship SUV was lauched during Raghu's 7th year at the company. He was one of the several engineers involved in this million dollar project. Sudha meanwhile had made a swift transition to the Marketing division and was incharge of the Touraeg brand. She weilded much more power and influence on most of their projects.

"....in 2002-2003 you worked on the Traction Control Systems...."

Those 2 years had been the most difficult for Raghu. Her excellent performance and exceptional networking skills had gained her admission at the Sloan business school in MIT. He spent those 2 years living alone and contemplating his past. 12 years ago when Raghu had joined the firm he dreamt of exactly the same career path as Sudha. As he pondered over all the lost opportunites and lost talent he still managed to feel happy for Sudha and he relived his ambitions through her.

" .....your toast on the evening of my party ...."

Soon after returning from Sloan, Sudha had been promoted to the post of Chief Financial Officer of this billion dollar company. As Raghu languished amongst the hundreds of engineers who designed some mundane components like brakes for the car, Sudha was accelerating her career making billion dollar agreements with various clients. She was regularly featured in national dailies, while Raghu continued with his non descript style of work wondering where things fell apart. 15 years ago he was the brightest new hire and he dreamt of being the CEO of the company some day. 15 years ago he thought he had met the love of life and wanted to spend the entire life with her. The latter dream came true, but there was no way he would fulfill the former.

He took one last look at the Pink Slip, and a wry smile lit his face as he saw the signature at the bottom of his dismissal letter. It was signed Sudha Murthy, CEO Volkswagen Auto.