I had always been inclined to do something that connected my creativity with my profession and fulfilled my heart. Just like many other young adults right out of college, I was also confused about what to do with my life. I am an engineering graduate and I joined the placement offer I had got from my campus like many of my friends and while I worked in tech, I kept on wondering what I can do to have a good career and also fulfill my heart’s will. It was at that time, in 2021, that one of my closest friends appeared for the CAT examination and eventually got into IIM Calcutta after a great deal of toiling and scoring extraordinarily. I was much inspired by her journey and her goals and I learned about the prospects from her in detail. She also had a creative mind and the interesting connection of creativity and analysis in business drove her into pursuing MBA and also drove me into starting my preparations for it.
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I took some materials from my friend, like the books on quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning, data interpretation, and verbal reasoning by Arun Sharma, and started going through them. It was the initial period of my preparation and I wanted to get a hang of the syllabus first. Within days I realized one thing: Since I was also working full time and had to manage time to study while working, it would be of great help if I attended regular classes offered by some good coaching center as it would help me learn faster and also maintain regularity. I joined Takshzila, where I attended regular classes from May 2022 onwards, every day from 9 PM to 11 PM after office, in online mode.
The classes helped me, especially with Quantitative aptitude and logical reasoning. I already had reading and writing habit, so verbal was always a strong point for me. I also bought the CAT and Non-CAT mock test bundle from Career Launcher and started solving regular mocks from June. The mock tests were extremely well crafted and the full-length mocks gave immense exposure to how CAT and non-CAT MBA entrance examinations would look like and helped me get an idea. The sectional and topic tests were there to practice and analyzing the mock tests was essential for my preparation.
During preparation, my issues were with time management when solving Logical reasoning set and calculating quantitative aptitude questions. I had to practice a lot to overcome this issue and keep on brushing up the shortcuts, tips and tricks. Preparing for MBA examinations was fun and hassle-free with regular practice being the main mantra.
But in the month of September, during the prime time of my preparation, a disaster struck. I was down with severe Dengue and had to be hospitalized. Even after recovering and coming back home I could not keep my eyes open for days due to weakness and when I finally recovered fully and got back on my feet, I realized the entire month was gone! I was panicked, but I kept my calm and started my preparations again. I had to keep going and I could not let it go so close to fulfilling my dream. But health issues kept on following me. I got a viral infection in my cornea in October which made me lose a lot of time again. But I still kept on solving regular mocks and analyzing my weak points and difficulties. But the health issues had hampered my practice before CAT enough and I could not perform as well as I had hoped in CAT.
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I was miserable for a week. But then I jumped back on my feet and decided I had to do everything I could to crack XAT in one go! XLRI Jamshedpur became my dream college very soon and I made a plan for myself on how to prepare for XAT. English carries a lot of importance in XAT and luckily it was also my strongest point. The deciding factor for XAT is the decision making section. The section involves problem statements and five options given below for each question and one has to choose the most appropriate decision. This section is highly subjective and depends on the interpretation by the candidate to a great extent. But I got a lot of help from the Cracku XAT crash course bundle. My decision making fundamentals were strengthened by the Cracku classes and their tests, practice materials and assessments enhanced it further. Best part of XAT is that one can allot any amount of time to each section within the approximately 3 hour window.
Apart from Verbal ability and logical reasoning, quantitative aptitude and data interpretation and Decision making, there are two more sections in XAT which are not used for percentile calculation but marks are added if one gets an interview call. These sections are the GK section and the writing ability test. Essay writing has always been my strong point and I never really had to practice it a lot. For GK I followed the GK compendium and daily doses of GK provided by Career Launcher and also Manorama Yearbook.
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I still remember wondering whether I would be able to set foot in my dream institution, XLRI Jamshedpur, before the XAT examination. But the exam went good and when the results came out I saw that I had got a whopping 97.43 percentile overall and extremely good sectional percentiles in all the sections. I got calls from both BM and HRM programs and started preparing for the hardest part of Bschool entrance tests, the grilling interviews.
For the interviews, I went through the basic hygiene questions like why MBA, short and long-term goals, etc. Such questions are available in any GDPI preparation kit. I took a bundle from TIME and the instructors of TIME helped me a lot through mock interviews and GDPI guidance sessions. I also brushed up my knowledge of the company I was working in, my work, and my academics. Other than that, regular readings of newspapers like The Hindu and having a knowledge and opinion on recent geopolitical, social, and business news of the world are a must. Interviews are grilling, but it is all about preparing well and maintaining as much composure as possible. Researching about the institution you are seeking admission to and the course is also essential.
It is during this research part that I understood that HRM is indeed my calling. I love working with people and utilizing people’s potential efficiently for the benefit of all. I love helping people reach their goal and their full potential. The HRM program of XLRI Jamshedpur is one of the best in Asia and has international acclamation. There could be no other program best suited to my interests. I also went through videos on the InsideIIM YouTube channel and learnt about the journey of many HR leaders in top industries, trainees and interns working in interesting projects and many of them were from XLRI Jamshedpur. That kindled my interest in the field.
My interview for HRM went very well and I was hopeful. It was online, started 20 minutes before time and revolved mostly around personality-based questions with a few questions on my work experience and ‘Why HRM’. But I had my answers ready and I meant every single word that I uttered in the interview. The panelists were really nice and when the interview ended one of them told me to ‘Keep shining’.
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When the results came out suddenly on 12th April 2023 and I saw that I had straight away converted XLRI Jamshedpur PGDM(HRM) program, I was on cloud nine! I am really stoked about the journey that is going to start from June, in the oldest premier B-school of India, in a course that is so coveted worldwide.
Life has been good since then. I have also managed to crack the Unilever HR Changemaker Program and I will be flying to Mumbai in May for the three-day foundational program in the HUL campus, and I am thrilled to get this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
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I have been guiding my friends now, whoever wants my guidance, to achieve their goal in their Bschool entrance preparation journey and I would really love guiding everyone else through my article here. There are a few things one should keep in mind while preparing for Bschool entrance exams, like:
1. Keep calm throughout the process. It is long and tough, but you will achieve your goal, don’t worry.
2. Keep practicing and solving mocks. Analyzing mocks also provides a great window to observe your own learning path. But don’t get too hopeful or too sad by the mock percentiles. Keep preparing for your best shot.
3. Enroll in a good coaching center to study regularly. For extra practice, you can take the VARC1000, LRDI1000, QA1000 and DM1000 bundles from Career Launcher. They are highly helpful.
4. Keep reading newspapers and enhancing your general knowledge and knowledge on current affairs. Stay up to date about your academics and work experience. It comes to help during the GDPI.
5. Remain hopeful and confident. Quoting from my favourite movie ‘The Shawshank Redemption’: “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of the things, and no good thing ever dies!”
I am elated to share my own story as this has been a rollercoaster ride and a test of perseverance. I am hopeful to read all your journeys too, I am pretty sure you will also be on your cloud nine pretty soon, just hang tight there and keep smiling. It will work out, don’t worry!