Do Back to Work Programs Really Work?

A couple of years ago, she would have sleepwalked through this situation and would still have come out tops. Today, she had her own doubts on her abilities. Unfamiliar to a person who’s always topped in academics, done extremely well at sports, and rocked every singing competition she took part in. It didn’t matter that her resume was full of the word “gold medalist”, “CAT topper” or the names of the elitist academic institutions in the country. All it mattered for her was that two-year gap in her resume that gnawed at her in the recesses of her mind and made her seem like a failure. And what just happened didn’t help. At all.

So much for the “back to work” programs.  She had just been told that she wasn’t being shortlisted for permanent induction. In fact, none of her colleagues in the batch were being inducted or even getting their internships extended. She had asked her program supervisor for an honest and brutal feedback.

He had laughed at her when she pointed out the bullet points in the brochure which had promised full-time employment to those who successfully completed their assigned projects. She said she thought she had done a great job, and he himself had said so. He was blunt and brash. You women don’t read between the lines! This is just marketing! You’re a fool to take all this seriously!

She was furious, but could do nothing. Back to square one. Apply to one more such program? What do you say?