Tell us about yourself, your educational and professional background.
I started working after graduating as a computer engineer in 2009. I had three offers to choose from – Wipro, Accenture and Amdocs – and as any other engineer I chose the one based on the CTC offered. This landed me to work with Amdocs which turned out to be a right decision as the joining of other companies was delayed due to serious recession that year.
Time went by and there was a gradual feeling that something is still missing. This feeling made me to look for the options of higher education which was not planned till then.
I started to prepare for CAT in 2011, wrote it in 2012 but was not satisfied with the admission offers made by some colleges due to not a great score.
Few months later I switched to a different company and it was again time for CAT 2012 which I wrote in Bangalore, results came few months later and after a series of process I entered into IIM Indore, Mumbai campus in 2013.
What attributes are essential for a candidate to thrive in his/her career?
Clarity about the career is a very good thing to have as early as possible but due to the prevailing education system in our country it becomes difficult for many of us to get that clarity at the early stage of our life. Try to know your interests and passion and try to build your career in that field. It is not that Finance or Marketing or any particular stream suits for all. People are successful in all the fields where they work with passion. Don’t try to get trapped into a vicious circle where one takes money as the prime parameter for choosing his/her career.
If you are not clear that’s not a problem at all but try to get that clarity, keep asking yourself, meet people take suggestions from seniors, from the people who are already working, just don’t stop doing whatever it takes which can give you that answer.
How is a typical day at work for you?
I work in a pre-sales team. A typical day usually starts with preparing response and solution to any RFP/RFI – when there is work, doing pricing for it, coordinating with different teams to arrive at a competitive solution which appears attractive to the client. Response to any RFI/RFP goes through many stages before the contract is signed with the client, as a pre-sales person I am supposed to work on all of these stages.
What part of your experience in your B-school has been most helpful in your career?
During days of b-school you challenge yourself to the limits that make you know yourself better. This is something which you carry for lifetime and are ready to take on any challenges in personal as well as professional life.
What is the toughest decision you had to make in the last six months?
Getting married ! :P
What did you miss out on doing/trying at your B-school?
Reading more books which were not related to academics.
What advice would you like to give to the forthcoming batches of your B-school?
Life in a b-School like IIM could be very hectic for many students. I can see from my personal experience that for me it was mainly because of lack of basic concepts in some subjects. If before joining the program one can brush up his skills, it might become a learning boon for his complete duration of the course.
There are websites like Coursera which provide detailed classes of various management subjects throughout the year. One can also take those courses prior to MBA.