Pratiksha Panda from the SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai is one of India's Most Promising Incoming MBA Students 2022!
The following is Pratiksha '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, Pratiksha's story and profile stood out. Here's her story in her words.
Hi, my name is Pratiksha which means to wait. Ironically, making others wait is my least favorite activity. Waiting with patience and being hopeful about good, is what I have tried to inculcate in me. Being an academically noticeable student, along with many others, since my school days I have tried my hand at other activities to stand apart from the rest. I believe that even a single mind and its imagination is capable of significant change. I am presently in the path to build on my strengths and carve out a better life for myself and my family.
Tell us more about your extracurricular achievements
1. At my +2 level, I was felicitated with The Times NIE 'Student of the Year' Award, 2015. The Times NIE Student of the Year Award is an initiative to felicitate students who display a combination of talent, leadership abilities, performance skills and academic excellence. The award also recognizes contribution made to the community
2. Participated and won the second runner up position for oral presentation, at a National Annual Seminar 'Modern Trends in Microbiology' hosted by St. Xavier's College, Kolkata.
Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
We were working on our first project that required extensive use of a data analytics tool - alteryx. Thinking it would be similar to our past projects, me and my colleague committed to deadlines that were not feasible with the manpower we had. This resulted in us faltering throughout and staying up on conference call till 4 a.m., working to meet unrealistic deadlines.We learnt that since it was our first project using the tool we should have run a demo or hands on of the work to understand the kind of time it would require, and made clear communication to our manager and client team about the same.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
I have always had a knack for expressing creativity through writing. What others do know of, is seeing my name under writeups and stories published in the school magazine, or hearing my name being announced at the assembly for winning the first prize at a creative writing competition.What others do not (and maybe surprised) to know is that I used to write at the gossip column of an entertainment segment at a leading newspaper brand. It was a reader's opinion column, inviting views on celebrity interviews, debut movies or just new releases. My regular writeups were acknowledged by t2 (segment of The Telegraph) with their exclusive merchandise when I was just 16!
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
1. (This maybe a little long so please bear with me.) I started preparing dedicatedly for CAT since May, 2021. I had a full time job at a big 4 consultancy firm, which left little room for full fledged "study time" during the weekdays. Trying to manage my online classes along with tough deadlines, and practically forgetting the existence of weekend fun - was my routine for the seven months. I remember canceling a trek with my friends because the week's leave would be needed prior to the entrance on November end. I did take a leave as anticipated, not for revision or last minute mocks, but because I had to be hospitalized a week before CAT. I remember not being able to stand well on 28th of November, and being advised against going for the exam, but pulling up every bit of my remaining strength to reach the centre. Although the exam did not go as well I had hoped for it to be, I was not disappointed. It was a success to me in its true meaning when I received interview calls from SPJIMR, IIM K,I,S, new and baby IIMs, MDI. And today, I am proud to be filling this form as an incoming student at the prestigious SPJIMR, Mumbai. I learnt that at any situation, no matter how hard it may seem, giving up is never an option.
2. I come from a BSc. (Honors) background and I joined a consultancy firm post my graduation. It was a tough nut to crack and convincing my interviewers to accept me on their team to finally delivering as per their expectations was an interesting challenge. My moment of success was when my team director told me that he will look into the hiring of juniors from my department going forward. What I learnt from this is, in today's world it is very hard to get a seat in the table. So once you do get a seat, you make it worth.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
I see myself working at a position of importance under a big brand. I have been in consulting domain, so I mostly see myself at a firm. However, I am open to switching job roles and trying a better fit if I get the correct opportunity.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
Honesty.I believe my honesty is a characteristic that has helped me and others in my life. It brings me a sense of peace to be upfront about things and vocal to my concerns. Being open and ready for conversations makes me a stronger individual.
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
Patience, Integrity, Honesty, Analytical ability, Kindness
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
One of my team members while working on a project, was given the responsibility to manage the juniors (freshers) who had just joined the firm and were working on entry level data wrangling in excel for the same project. My team member was also supposed to share one - fourth of my part of the analysis work as well. After a week, I realized that while managing the juniors she would make a few of them do her part of the analysis work as well. Although, my job was to get the analysis done and I was receiving the one fourth that was due from her side, well on time, I faced a morality issue with the idea of exploiting others without knowledge over and above their schedule. I confronted my team member about the same, and we decided to let the juniors stick to their part of the excel work and divide the analysis between ourselves.
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 currently choose Netflix.I feel Netflix is an amazing concept to binge watch your favorite shows and movies. What would make it even better, is if we could "watch our favorites, with our favorites!" Currently, it is difficult to host a watch party with friends while watching Netflix and I generally see people using other platforms to do so, such as discord, Netflix party etc. I believe adding the feature of enjoying movies together through accounts, would increase the entertainment value to a major extent. As a CEO, I would like to include this in the system and make arrangements for the same (buying a third party to make it authentic, or starting a new service).
Any Other Comments Or Factors You Would Like To Highlight About Yourself?
I have an interest in public speaking and have anchored/been an emcee for various programs (Xavullash) at St. Xavier's College as well as my school VMS.