From Uncertainty to Direction: A Year That Changed Everything

A year ago, my life had narrowed to a routine of home, a laptop, a handful of calls, and a lot of waiting. I wasn’t looking for motivation or big speeches. I was looking for traction, something real that I could push against, something that would move.

had followed the expected playbook. Work hard, take ownership, aim for a faster track. I joined a promising EV startup, only to see it slip into financial turbulence almost immediately. When payroll stopped and shutdown conversations began, it stopped being about career planning and became survival math. How long can you hold out, and what is the most sensible next move?

Months of job hunting made the pattern clear. For junior roles, I was considered too experienced. For the roles I actually wanted, I lacked a credential. Once I stopped resisting that signal and accepted it, the decision became simple. I would not drift. I would reset.

The Reset: Choosing Momentum Over Drift

I took my first GMAT attempt in November 2024 and scored 625 on the Focus edition. It wasn’t a bad score, but it wasn’t enough for the doors I wanted to open. So I went again. On January 7, 2025, I retook the test and scored 675, roughly equivalent to 720–730 on the classic scale. The preparation was entirely self-driven, built on mock tests, repetition, and consistency.

The next sprint began immediately.

With ISB Round 3 deadlines approaching and family commitments filling the calendar, there was no perfect time to write essays. There was only a narrow window. Between January 9 and 11, I completed my application in three intense days. No consultants, no endless revisions. Just clarity, honesty, and a firm decision that if I was going to do this, it would sound like me.

When the admit came, it didn’t feel like a trophy. It felt like a starting point.

The Pace: Where ISB Tests Your Judgment

I joined ISB Mohali in April 2025. The first week carried the usual sense of newness, unfamiliar faces, new spaces, and the quiet optimism of turning a page.

Then the pace set in.

Not gradually, but all at once. Calendars filled up, deadlines overlapped, and group work collided with individual deliverables. You learned quickly, submitted once, and moved on.

Seniors had warned us that most days you would only manage two out of three things: study, sleep, or unwind. It sounded exaggerated at the time. It wasn’t.

That is when ISB begins teaching its real curriculum, judgment.

Not the kind discussed in theory, but the kind exercised in small, everyday decisions. Choosing sleep when your thinking begins to fade. Skipping a break because one delay today can create three problems tomorrow. Accepting that not everything will get done, but the important things must move forward.

I did not become more disciplined by becoming stricter. I became more disciplined by becoming more honest about my energy, my limits, and what truly mattered.

Learning and Leadership: Choosing Depth Over Display

Academically, I did not chase grades. I chased understanding.

My performance was steady, but more importantly, I stayed engaged. I asked questions that slowed conversations in a useful way. I challenged assumptions when something did not add up. I taught concepts to peers, because explaining an idea is often the fastest way to test whether you truly understand it.

The cohort played a significant role in this. You do not just learn from lectures. You learn from how people think, argue, structure ideas, and defend them.

During Term 1, a casual conversation led me to what became my most meaningful extracurricular commitment. A friend mentioned negotiation competitions from his law background, and it immediately resonated.

Negotiation is not an optional skill. It sits at the core of leadership, shaping how decisions are made when resources are limited and stakes are high.

That insight led to the creation of the Negotiation SIG. The goal was not to create something symbolic, but something functional. We built a structured roadmap, aligned it with cohort interest, and worked with faculty and external experts to take learning beyond the classroom. One of the most exciting outcomes was laying the groundwork for participation in international negotiation competitions, potentially a first for the Indian B-school ecosystem.

Placements: Navigating the Unpredictable

Placements brought a different kind of pressure.

I entered the process targeting senior strategy consulting roles aligned with my prior experience. Missing out on a shortlist for a firm I had strongly aimed for was difficult, not because of entitlement, but because it disrupted a clear plan.

What followed required a shift in perspective.

I began to see placements for what they often are, a system influenced by variables beyond individual control. Shortlists reflect not just capability, but hiring pipelines, business needs, and timing.

Once I stopped taking it as a personal judgment, I was able to move forward with more clarity.

Soon after, I secured a shortlist in the lateral hiring window for a Senior Consultant role in an automotive practice and converted the offer. The process involved two rounds, but the offer came after the first, which was uncommon across the cohort. Out of 33 candidates interviewed, only 9 offers were made.

What worked in my favour was not just experience, but how I articulated it. I focused on concrete examples of digital transformation and spoke about navigating ambiguity without overstating certainty.

Calibration Not Confidence

The most significant change ISB brought was not confidence, but calibration.

I still communicate directly, but with better timing, framing, and awareness. I have learned that clarity without calibration limits influence, and influence is what ultimately drives outcomes.

A year ago, I felt stuck and uncertain. Today, I have direction.

More importantly, I have learned how to keep moving even when the ground feels unstable. That, more than anything else, is what this year has given me.

Synopsis:

Akhilesh Sharma reflects on a year that began with career uncertainty and led to clarity through ISB. From navigating a stalled startup and retaking the GMAT to building the Negotiation SIG and securing a consulting role, he highlights how the experience reshaped his judgment, resilience, and ability to operate with focus and adaptability under pressure.