Janhvi Agrahari from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow is one of India's Most Promising Incoming MBA Students 2022!
The following is Janhvi Agrahari'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, Janhvi 's story and profile stood out. Here's her story in her words.
Hailing from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, known for its sacred confluence of Ganga, Yamuna & Saraswati, Im Janhvi synonym of river Ganga. As the name suggests, Im a person whose core quality is purity and perfection. My sincere behavior has led to my great academic career. Ive received an award & scholarship from U.P. govt for my meritorious performance on the 10th & 12th boards. I was also ranked 3rd during my B.Tech at NIT-B. After graduation, Ive worked with in two industries; Capgemini and American Express as a Product Development Analyst. Besides this, I also like cooking, writing poetry, and spiritual meditation.
Tell us more about your extracurricular achievements
National Level Competition:Amongst top 300 candidates of India who received fellowship of 20k & internship opportunity at IIT Bombay, under Summer Research Fellowship Programme (SRFP) sponsored by the Science Academies of India.Social Work @ companies: 1. Taught basic Maths & English to 40+ guards & helpers via the social initiative of AmEx2. Aided AmEx in Daan Utsav to distribute 15000kgs grain to needy and poor people3. Volunteered for a plantation drive to plant 50+ saplings within the Capgemini campusSocial Work @ Rotaract Club:1. Coordinated a team of 20+ for the collection & distribution drive of clothes to 100+ needy families2. Guided 45+ classes for 20 students in Anganwadi3. Amassed 200+ volunteers for blood donation campPORs:1. Mentor, Talent Management AmEx, 20222. Convener, Mess Committee, NIT-Bhopal 20183. Event Coordinator, Quizzers' Club NIT-Bhopal 20174. Core Member, Rotaract, NIT-Bhopal 2016
Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
Being a meritorious student throughout my life, it was greatly expected of me that I could get into the government sector. With less exposure, I also thought that this is the right career path for me. During my 1st year at NITB, I got a 9.26 CGPA and a chance to upgrade my branch from Civil Engineering to Computer Science Engineering. Even at that time, I was aware that only 1-2 PSUs come to campus for the placements in CE, but I still took the risk and didnt upgrade my branch. By the time I was in my final year, all the PSUs have stopped recruiting from campuses & only a few private companies visited campus for the recruitment. I studied for GATE and failed miserably in the exams as I was studying for my placements as well. Later, because of my good analytical skills, I got placed at Capgemini. My final year at college was tough for me, as no company was opening for CE and all CSE students were having good opportunities. Knowing that somewhere you were responsible for this phase was really hurtful. I realized that sometimes life doesnt appear to you as you planned, but then its on you how you react to that situation. I stopped blaming myself and took that as an opportunity to start fresh. After thorough introspection, I realized that my wish to get into a govt job was mostly motivated by the set norms of the society and nothing else. I started my corporate culture and started liking the way industry and any business works. I developed my interest in understanding the nitty-gritty of businesses. I was working more on technical aspects but the business acumen behind it has always intrigued me. This was the reason I am doing an MBA. Everything happens for a reason, and this experience in my life proved it.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
Spirituality is one thing that I got from my mother. My mother follows BrahmaKumaris and her lessons in life have developed my inclination towards it. In BrahmaKumaris, we are taught about soul consciousness. It teaches that we should be mindful of our thoughts. My perspective toward life has changed, and my optimistic approach toward life has helped me successfully achieve great milestones. The Rajyoga Meditation helped me in controlling my negative thoughts. There were many instances when I had fear of losing and my negative thoughts were taking the control of my mind, but meditation always helped me in slowing it down. I strongly believe that having a spiritual inclination in life will always help you in maintaining your mental health which will ultimately lead to a healthy life.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
Two significant successes of my life were 1) During 3rd year of college, I was among the top 250 students at the national level who were selected for a summer research fellowship jointly sponsored by the Science Academies of India IAS, INSA, and NASI. Only 3 students were selected from my college for this programme. It was always a dream for me to be selected for a national-level programme and thats why this opportunity to do the internship at IIT Bombay was one of the biggest achievements of my life. 2) In SSC, I scored the highest marks in science subjects in the CBSE board for which I received an accolade from the Principal Secretary of Science & Technology Department, U.P. Achieving this position & getting honored by such an eminent personality was really a very great experience for me. This had a very special impact on me because this was the first time I was prized at such a prestigious level where I had really made my parents proud.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
Five years down the line, my goal is to join an organization with roles in the product management domain, where, as an individual contributor, I can work on assignments that will help me in a deeper understanding of a particular function/sector & accelerate my career path. Also, in my past college and corporate experience, Ive volunteered in various CSR activities as I always had this liking for giving back to society, therefore, I want to be associated with a firm that can give me ample opportunities to help society as well. To understand the nuances & gain the skills required for the role, I am pursuing an MBA which will help me in building the required business acumen through its structured curriculum & institute-industry interactions.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
One quality that has helped me shine throughout my career is Being Responsible. From school till college, there has never been a time when I was assigned a task and I didnt deliver it well. My manager also always said that the way Ive paced up with the new work and delivered the tasks are commendable. Not only do I deliver the tasks on time, but I also ensure that the quality of my work is also perfect. I also received a Blue Rewards AmEx recognition by the VP of International Credit Risk for delivering the change within strict deadlines. So, the one thing which has remained constant throughout my life is the sincerity I hold towards my responsibilities and I am really proud of this quality.
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
The skills which a good manager should possess are: 1.Decision-making skills: Despite leading a good team, it is always expected from the manager to take the last call/decision and the manager should ensure that this should be for the benefit of the business.2.Good communication: A manager should be presentable & soft-spoken. He/she should be aware of how to deliver & pass on the communication effectively in both oral & written form.3.Patience & calm: A manager should have patience & should be calm enough to understand the team situation under stressful conditions4.Ethically correct: A manager should understand that he/she carries the onus of his/her team and that no action of he/she should set a bad example for the team. 5.Motivator: A manager should be self-motivated because there are many situations where the team members work under great pressure & stress and its managers responsibility to pump up the energy level. A manager should be someone who appreciates each effort put in by his/her team. 6.Honesty, Loyalty & integrity: These are the values that play an important role in case of ethical dilemmas. The decisions derived from these values are always gonna be appreciated by the team.7.Structured & logical thinking: Being a manager, it is expected that they will give solutions to various complex situations and for that, they should possess a structured approach towards problem-solving. They cant beat around the bush, but are expected to quantify every solution statement. This does require logical thinking and a structured approach towards solving problems.8.Empathetic- A manager should understand the feelings of others and try to support in every predicament as much as he/she can. 9.Collaborative: A manager should know how to collaborate within & outside the teams. 10.Determined: A manager should be determined enough to reach the goal. He/she should never give up.
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
During my job at AmEx, my team was responsible for releasing code changes in the production environment. In one instance, my colleague by mistake released the wrong code in production which had a very minimal impact but our companys policy was value each customer. She told this to me & asked me not to tell anyone. She said that she will correct the code the in next release window. I knew that letting the wrong code run in the production will affect the customer experience and if I will tell this to senior leadership, my colleagues impression will become bad. It was a tough choice but I decided to go ahead and tell about this to the leadership so that an emergency ticket can be raised to resolve this issue. This was the right decision as the customer experience matters the most. The leadership considered that this was an unintentional mistake & asked to make more checks before releasing the code.
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?
If given a chance, I would like to be the CEO of American Express. Since I have already worked with the company for more than a year, I understand its culture & values. AmEx appreciates inclusivity in diversity, equality, etc. It has a very rich culture where its employees enjoy working. AmEx has ranked 8th in Fortune 100 companies (Best place to work for) category. Everything is great at AmEx but if I am asked to improve anything in the company, I would improve the technical infrastructure. I have worked as a Product Development Analyst, and I have faced a lot of technical issues while working due to infrastructure failure. Our deadlines were extended because of this issue. So, I would definitely work towards building more updated hardwares/softwares for the better functioning of the infra.