You could say a woman from Raipur has set the internet alight with a debate on the true measure of a job well done. The Charu Pandey phenomenon is as much about the respect for her tenacity as it is for the hard questions it raises: what is the cost of all this? Why do we keep patting each other on the back for clearing one test after another?
What put a fine point on it
It was only after some videos made the rounds of her long history with the recruitment process that things got heated. Opinions were quick to divide on what her record says about the system and the people in it.
‘Don’t make a hero out of it,’ was the line from one. Another put it bluntly: ‘Why clear and not join? You are wasting a seat. There are no reserve lists in most of these.’
How she did it
She was 23 when she set out with a plan to land a steady government position. For years, she put in the work for the SSC CGL, CHSL, MTS, the RRBs, and even SBI and IBPS.
That kind of follow-through is what has 19 central government exams under her belt. Even with a degree in maths and a family that would have been fine with her in teaching or some academic role, she put her head down and went for the competitive route.
In her own words
‘My family is very pleased with what I have done,’ she told ANI. ‘I am being given an award for this.’ She wouldn’t have put it past herself to try for as many as she has, though she didn’t see it coming at the time.
Put in a video, she puts it down to good old time management and the fact that, in the beginning, she was only after one job.
The pushback
There are those who can’t get on board with calling this a form of national progress, especially when it’s not clear if she’s ever joined. As one put it: ‘Dedication is one thing, but is this what a country should be holding up as a model?’
Some are miffed with the whole idea of an accolade. ‘What has she contributed to warrant an award? You should be recognising service, not a scorecard,’ said one. Another was more direct: ‘It is unwise to try and clear every exam. You don’t see any real passion for a field in that.’
Then there are the defenders
They will tell you these are no walk in the park. With lakhs vying for a handful of spots, to get through one is something; to do it over and over shows a level of discipline and mental fortitude that is hard to come by.
To them, it is a matter of staying power, not some kind of hoarding. A lesson in what the road is like for the rest of us.
A few things to take from it
For anyone in the thick of it, here is what you can make of it:
– Have a target in mind
– Keep an eye on the vacancies and when you can actually start
– Make time management a daily habit
– Know when you’ve had enough before you go for another round
– Do it the right way, don’t just re-take for the sake of it
It is easy to get into a cycle of exams and lose sight of the end game. These are ways to make sure your efforts are in line with where you want to be.
Looking at the whole of it
We have seen this kind of friction in the exam world before. People put in the years to be sure of their livelihood. But that runs up against the public’s unease with being lauded for results that don’t amount to a job.
It is a two-sided coin: you can be persistent and have options, but the system has to be better at telling you when to put the books away and get to work. Job seekers would do well to let this be a nudge to be more strategic, to find a fit, and to define winning by the job you take, not the one you pass.
