Divyansh Gupta from the Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay, Mumbai is one of India's Most Promising Incoming MBA Students 2022!
The following is Divyansh 's set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst incoming MBA graduates to determine the top 50 Most Promising Incoming MBA students of 2022. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated, Divyansh 's story and profile stood out. Here's his story in his words.
My name is Divyansh Gupta. I am from Delhi and Im 23 years old. I have worked for 13 months as a technical analyst in ION Trading India. My work involved technical investigation and subsequent resolution or escalation of client issue as appropriate. I am a computer science engineer from Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology. I like to read books and love to do long-distance cycling over weekends.
Tell us more about your extracurricular achievements
As a soft skills mentor in Leadership Development Program, ION trading India, Facilitated sessions on Business Meetings in Ion worth 6 hours to 150+ people Created reference document for joiners in IONs Winter LDP Hiring with 16 SOPs Designed and presented sessions on Documentation in IT industry to 150 joiners
Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
I accidentally performed a few changes in software I was working on during my internship and I could not roll those back. The software was a prototype that was shown to clients in sales meetings. I was new to work and did not completely understand how much implication would this error bring. Nonetheless, I informed my manager about the same a few minutes later and apologized; he was calm and helped me to roll the changes back. That day I learned that organization is bigger than self, and truth should always be told for the greater good.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
I love to cook. I am not very artistic, but I am very creative when it comes to food. I manage the entire process of cooking with utmost ease and efficiency. I am versatile and always like to go outside my comfort zone in trying to cook different cuisines. I am passionate about not only cooking myself but inspiring others to do so too.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
One of my biggest achievements has been bagging a 7 figure job after my undergraduate education. I worked very hard but did not expect to get a great job like that. One of the major learning from this event was that I started having more confidence in myself. I understood that self-confidence and hard-work to back it up are the key components that will help me push my limits and conquer my own goals.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
Professionally, I want to see myself leading a team with diverse thought-processes and varied experience at a multi-national corporation. Ideally, my position in the company would be one where I am able to debate, discuss and develop solutions to problems. I want to be in a situation where I can take my team forward to bigger challenges and prove our worth. I'll grow along with the people around me.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
A characteristic of mine that I'm most proud of is empathy. I believe in giving people my full attention, making them feel included, making sure to remember their names and use it while conversing. I feel this quality makes me connected to people, which leads to better collaboration and better social dynamics. I figured out that I had this quality only when I started working. I could feel the benefits of being empathetic from day one. And hence I found another reason to believe that I'll be a good manager.
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
Empathy, Flexibility, Open-mindedness, Vision
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
My house in Delhi has a tree in front which was ordered by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to be removed. It was very hard for me to see such a beautiful tree be cut down in its prime. The officials who came to order the felling of this tree, they told me that the felling can be avoided if I paid them. This was a tough decision as my conscience didn't allow to allow any of the 2 options. But in the end, I paid the officials just because I knew that the tree wasn't posing any problem to anyone and its felling was unnecessary.
If you were the CEO of any company of your choosing, which company would you choose and what would your first action be as CEO?
I would choose to start my own company and make sure that the company's culture is focused on customer. I have seen in numerous cases that companies that lose their customer-oriented thought-process start lagging in every aspect and eventually fade out. Though this is not the only philosophy I'd like to start my company with, I believe that a customer-oriented mindset is crucial.