I consider my country at the top most position when it comes to competition. Straight from old school days to my graduation, there were lots of ups and downs in my life ranging from report card marks to board examination marks. After I entered into the corporate world, the struggles faced by me were totally different. Hardships were counted in terms of appraisal ratings, performance check, attendance hours, attending business calls, etc.
Considering all the above factors, I chose to struggle hard to the last extent of my breath to secure a seat in the most prestigious B-school of India, XIMB. The journey was interesting and it was tough too on managing the regular decorum of work at the office and come back home and prepare for CAT.
I do believe that CAT is the toughest exam which I have given till now and to secure a good percentile in it, you have to practice a lot. Moreover, it becomes much more difficult when it comes to preparing for the exam along with your daily routine work.
This world changes fast and you will never ever get to know when the strike of the clock takes you from an early morning to a late night. Efficient time management is the key to success.
For me, the most difficult part was to manage the time in both areas of my life - home and at work. But, eventually due to God’s grace, one day I decided to arrange for the precious time constructively. It was the month of August in 2015 when I took a decision to prepare for the management exam and most obviously to climb up the corporate ladder fast with more respect and knowledge. From Day 1, I prepared myself hard to get into a good B-School for the program on HRM (Human Resource Management) as because I was interested
From Day 1, I prepared myself hard to get into a good B-School for the program on HRM (Human Resource Management) as because I was interested in pursuingMBA in that particular domain only.
Unfortunately, I was unable to clear my interview for TISS (Mumbai Campus) [Dream school for HR]. Nevertheless, luckily I got into XIMB where the legacy and the life continues forever. Talking about my preparation, I used to keep 6 to 7 hours of time space after my office hours to prepare myself for the examination, GD and interviews. Practiced a lot of Mock test Papers from different institutions like TIME, IMS and Byju’s Classes. It helped me in two ways – one on how to manage your time while giving the exam and second on the wide scope of questions which can be asked on the paper. But, before practicing the model test papers it is very important to have your concepts clear on different topics ranging from aptitude, logical reasoning to vocabulary.
P.S. – CAT is no Rocket-Science!
The inspiration of my MBA dream is my then HR manager. Whenever I used to look at him or have a conversation over a cup of coffee, he used to motivate me a lot to shift my gears towards a different direction which can give me pleasure, happiness and most importantly a good salary package.
The way he used to conduct the leadership programs inside the organization starting from Talent development programs to Recruitment, everything seemed like a cakewalk for him. The way he used to present himself in front of the board of directors was totally apt and applaudable too. He is my sole role model and I wish that someday I will become like him. That sphere of interest inspired me a lot to bring a significant change in my life both in terms of knowledge and finance. I took one month of time to discuss about my interests and ambitions with my parents and to my surprise they quickly supported me for my thought and decisions. Decisions like quitting my job and then go for MBA and all. If an ‘Aam Aadmi’ like me can do that, then why can’t you?
I took one month of time to discuss my interests and ambitions with my parents and to my surprise, they quickly supported me for my thought and decisions. Decisions like quitting my job and then go for MBA and all. If an ‘Aam Aadmi’ like me can do that, then why can’t you?
Without a doubt, my long term goal/plan is to hold the highest position in a company which will eventually complete the full circle of my professional life. From a Senior Systems Engineer to a HR President/Head of an organization, sounds cool, right?
In the next 5 years, I plan myself to serve as an HR consultant in the top most consulting firms known in the world like Deloitte, KPMG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., PriceWaterHouse Coopers etc.
However, these are some of my long-term goals, at this point:
· Keep on learning and improving yourself (This has always been an objective, and I hope to continue it)
· Try to have a good work-life balance and pursue my other interests/hobbies (Clubbing, EDM (Electronic Dance Music),Travelling and Cooking)
· Keep up my passions and interests, and try to find ways to earn profits from them. I am a Movie Critic and I would seriously want to take this up into a next big level source of income.
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About the Author:
Abhishek Sarkar
I belong to the steel city of Odisha, Rourkela. I finished my matriculation and 12th from Saint Paul’s school, Rourkela. Moved on to NIST, Berhampur for pursuing my graduation in Electronics and Communication Engineering and then to Infosys Limited, Bangalore; was working as the Senior Systems Engineer there for a span of 2.8 years.