I don’t precisely remember the date, but I think it was on the 23
rd of Jan, 2017, when the results for NMAT were declared. I submitted my SOP, which I made sure was the best that I could write at that point in time. (Also had a few friends proofread the SOP to make sure that no errors were left unnoticed).
I started off with my preparation that very day when I had received my call letter. At that point in time, I had also quit my Finance job to pursue an internship in Marketing, so I knew where my career was progressing. And I also knew that this would be the hot topic of discussion in my interview.
So how exactly did I go about with preparing for my CD-PI?
- I had 2 choices for breakfast, but owing to the fact that I love eating, I preferred consuming both, ET and The Hindu.
- The clock strikes 10, I catch the bus to Banaswadi and report to the office at 10:20. I’m already half tired now, and that’s when I have some mint to refresh myself. So about 20 minutes of Livemint before I get to content writing.
- I also made sure that I carried my notes to the office. Since I was working on content, each time I felt that my creativity was reaching saturation, I’d immediately switch to academics. I knew I had to know every bit of what I had studied, and that's why I made sure I was through with academics. (To all the aspirants, remember it’s very important to be thorough with your academics. This applies to everyone, not just the freshers)
- For aspirants with work experience, there’s no escape from academics but also make sure you know every bit of what’s on your CV. By no means should you give an indication to the interviewer that you have no clue of what you did in your previous job.
- For Case Discussion, I had attended A few sessions with TIME, but I also made sure that I practised what I had learnt. (A tip to follow: The crux of a CD is its structure. Make sure your group follows that structure, if not, try to get them to follow it)
- Some Pointers for CD
Number one, understand the problem statement of the case. It’s only when you have your problem statement defined, you’d be able to take the group on a logical path.
Then try to understand how the problem has been approached, in the given case.
Number two, pen down the possible courses of action to solve the given problem and have them discussed.
Number three, evaluate the feasibility of each of these courses. Make a cost-benefit analysis if need be.
Number four, see what are the changes you’d need to make to the existing business (structure) to implement the new course.
Number five, provide recommendations and substantiate it with good supporting data.
Summing it all up, a daily dose of the newspaper, thorough academics, knowledge of past work-ex, and for CD if you have a well-defined structure, then you are good to go.
Extra Tip: Make sure you know the Budget really well, like you yourself presented it.
All the best guys, hope to see you on the other side! And always remember, Effort never dies.
Still have doubts regarding the process? Chat with author of this article, Sumangal Kamath, a NMIMS student today from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm,
here.