After two non-serious attempts, this was my 1st serious attempt. I had the basics in place. So I started practicing the problems directly. I was always fond of Quant but used to struggle with LR/DI. CAT had a change in its structure and now there were 3 sections instead of 2. With the change in structure I had to give more importance to LR/DI as it became a separate section and a minimum of 80 percentile in each section is required for IIM calls.
My strategy was to solve all the types of questions regularly. I used to attempt sectional tests every other day and give a mock once a week followed by a short break. I had attempted around 20 Mocks. It is important to attempt a mock seriously just like the final exam, without any breaks and without any background music playing. Attempting a mock is only half work. The most important part is its analysis. My analysis of a mock test consisted of finding questions which I took more time to solve and whether it could have been avoided by any shorter formula or by skipping the question. It also consisted of finding questions which I could not solve because I did not read the question carefully.
I worked for an US based client and had to work in shifts. Working for 10-11 hours with a changing shift every week made it tough to prepare for CAT with extreme focus. To utilize time, I started to solve questions like Reading Comprehensions and Para Jumbles while commuting to work. In Office I used to finish lunch in 10 minutes and utilize the remaining time of my break to go through newspapers or read magazines in the library. For me a sound sleep of 6-7 hours was very important to prepare for CAT effectively. Everything else can wait but not CAT, so I cut down on the movies, parties etc. and used the time to get some rest. The key is to keep calm and enjoy the preparation. On the D-day I was able to answer only 15 questions from LR/DI section but I didn't let that affect my performance in the last section and was able to solve all the questions in Quant section. It is important to go with an open mind and to develop a flexible strategy as one cannot predict which section will be easy to solve and which one will be difficult.
Once CAT was over I started preparing for Interviews. Since it was my 3rd attempt, I had a fair idea about what to expect in an interview. So I started brushing the concepts of my core Academic subjects, details of my internship and my work experience, the history of my organization, review of its performance in recent years and recent trends in the sector which I worked in. I also prepared myself for the questions related to my hobbies and people/organizations associated with it. In the interview there is a high probability of being asked about current affairs. So I read about news ranging from MUDRA Bank to ISIS. For current affairs I followed The Hindu and Business Standard.
After being done with interviews, the wait began. Results of few colleges were out in the first week of April and I had converted them. I chose not to join them and waited for IIM Ranchi PGDHRM and Newest IIMs results. I was always inclined towards HRM and wanted to work for the most important asset of an organization. When the result was out during mid may, I converted IIM Ranchi in the first list.
Having joined the fastest growing IIM- Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, I have high expectations from it. I have spent more than a week at IIM Ranchi. Classes are highly interactive and are taken by some of the best professors in our country. Induction at IIM Ranchi is also one of its kind. Events like Drum circle, movie making, management challenge etc. were great ice breakers. I have met great peers coming from diverse background such as Physics, Architecture, Psychology, Mathematics to name a few. Some of them are from premier institutes like IITs, SRCC, NITs and some have work experience with Google, Amazon and others. I think this will help us in seeing a problem from many different perspectives. I am really excited for these two years and I believe that they will be as awesome as the induction.
About the Author:
Mahadeep Ray is a First year student of IIM Ranchi. I was born and brought up in Bhubaneswar. After graduating from CET Bhubaneswar in Information Tenchnology, I worked as a developer at TCS for 24 months. I am an automobile enthusiast and like to analyse the industry trends. I also like watching animated movies and listening to electronic music.
