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In Class XII, I had become obsessed with the idea of getting into the finest engineering colleges of the country, the IITs, given my academic record and a surge in expectations around me. While pursuing this dream, I focused solely on the JEE preparation and completely ignored the CBSE Board exams despite knowing that they accounted for a 40% weightage in JEE Mains. As a result, despite performing well in JEE, my overall score/rank took a hit because of my abysmal performance in the Board exams. It seemed that there was no alternative matching my expectations. With a gloomy month spent in solitude and introspection, it dawned upon me that in life, efforts and output are not always mapped 1 to 1. Many a time, when you prepare hard for something, several factors, beyond your control, creep in and alter the outcomes. One should happily embrace this discomforting reality and not get so emotionally involved/attached in the task that an unfavourable outcome leads to demotivation or dejection. Thus, while it is important to give your heart to Plan A, it becomes prudent for your mind to have a Plan B or C in place if things go south. Though this idea is fairly simple and commonly heard or spoken of in theory, in reality, or on the battlefield, it is extremely tough to practice/implement. However, after the abovementioned event, instead of getting attached to the outcome, I have tried to nurture a mentality of looking beyond, derive contentment from my efforts and maintain equanimity under all circumstances. This has helped me to tackle subsequent obstacles in life with ease.
Though it might not appear strikingly evident anymore, I was pathetic at conversing or speaking in simple English four years ago. During school, things were still manageable as I never experienced any sort of humiliation when let us say, I used past tense with didn't. However, things drastically changed in college. Multiple humiliations served as a trigger point for me to improve my communication skills. I decided that I would converse in English with my father every day for 20 minutes while going for a walk after dinner. At the same time, I started watching English TV Series, initially not because of interest but with the intent of improving my command of language. Also, since I was maintaining a diary/journal, applications like Grammarly further came in handy and helped me tremendously. The 3-year long struggle culminated into some amazing scores in the VARC section of multiple exams like CAT and XAT, wherein I was whiskers away from a 99%tile in VARC! But more importantly, the journey from someone who struggled to speak a single line in English to someone who was asked to deliver sessions on resume building and personality development by the T&P cell in college was a transformational panacea for me.
1) While practising for the intra-college football tournament, I accidentally fell and injured my knee. It turned out to be very serious and led to a full ACL and meniscus tear. I was advised bed rest for 2 months and rigorous physiotherapy was followed thereafter. I was obviously shattered as this unfortunate incident happened at the onset of the seventh semester when preparations for final placements and MBA are in full flow. The problem was compounded by the fact that studies were suffering as I couldnt attend any lectures or labs. But with the constant support from friends and teachers, regular self-studies coupled with video tutorials helped me surpass the expectations of my batch and family alike. I limped through each exam, gave every practical, made all project submissions, completed my research paper and bagged the third rank in my department that semester, which was my best performance. On a lighter note, I feel that breaking a leg brought good luck to me! As Bob Marley puts it succinctly, You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice. I am grateful for various incidents throughout my life that have percolated perseverance and resilience into my character and personality. I have realised that when one possesses the grit and courage to stand up the eighth time after falling seven times, one unfetters and conquers oneself. So, come what may, one embraces the obstacles with equanimity and ease, making oneself cherish the beauty of life.
2) By the fourth year of engineering, I realised that I had become slightly better than most students in my batch in terms of interpersonal skills. During the placement season, I observed that many students were technically proficient but, unfortunately, did not have a proper Resume and struggled to advocate their points effectively across the table. This was also highlighted by one of the companies to the T&P Head. Being someone who struggled to converse in English during his first year, I could empathise with most of the students and, hence, thought of lending a helping hand. As a personal initiative, alongside my preparation for MBA exams and placements, I conducted online sessions for the interested students, focusing on resume building and interview preparation to bridge the communication and presentation gap. The entire exercise culminated in my love for mentoring and assisting people in overcoming difficulties. Apart from getting messages of appreciation on LinkedIn, I was asked by the T&P Head to conduct a workshop. More importantly, I realised that above and beyond the tasks assigned, going the extra mile provides one with a sense of fulfilment, which is unmatched by any amount of praise.
One of my cousins, having graduated from XLRI-HRM, shared some wonderful insights about HR with me which piqued my interest in the domain. So, before even applying for CAT and XAT, I pursued tons of courses and learning paths on LinkedIn Learning on HRM and interacted with a lot of people in the domain to understand the nature of work. I found HRM to be aligned with my interests and aspirations. Having been luckily offered admission to MDI Gurgaon (for both PGDM and PGDM-HRM), I eventually decided to follow my heart and conviction by opting for HRM: the road less travelled! So, I naturally see myself in the HR domain five years from now. To be frank, with evolved interests, information and experiences, I would be in a better position to understand what exactly I wish to do in HR, however, at the moment, there are three key areas that I find fascinating. Firstly, given my love for teaching and mentoring, I think I can go into L&D and possibly venture into corporate training from thereon. Secondly, the HRBP role that serves as a bridge between different teams and interfaces directly with the business and C-level suite seems quite impactful and fulfilling in nature. Thirdly, we are witnessing how ML, AI, Data Analytics and other digital technologies are percolating into the field of HR. We have chatbots to resolve transactional queries, gamification in L&D, AI for resume shortlisting, predictive algorithms for retention and hiring, etc. Having pursued computer science engineering, I understand the technological landscape well and can thus, keep the field of HR abreast with the advancements.
Through various experiences and extracurricular activities, I have garnered unparalleled learnings on managing different people and delivering effective feedback accordingly. Leveraging my excellent interpersonal skills, I am able to connect with people, understand their perspectives and communicate the resolution in an amicable manner. During my internship at EY, there were five interns, including myself, in our IT Advisory team. We had to brainstorm, collaborate and work in unison. Naturally, being from different colleges and backgrounds, each had a different style of working. Two interns seemed quite impatient and wanted to jump swiftly to the execution phase without engaging in much planning. Many a time, their behaviour and certain remarks also reflected a nonchalant approach, which seemed to be dwindling the focus of other teammates and disturbing the overall atmosphere at work. This subsequently led to a delay in our project status review with the manager at the end of the first week. Afraid that this attitude might become a bottleneck for the team, I started having informal chats with them on different occasions/days. Eventually, I learnt that they were largely guided by intuition and confidence in their abilities than logic for results delivery. Subtly and politely, I explained to them that their method of working might be efficient in an individual contributor role, however in a team, not everyone can be expected to work in the same manner they do. Moreover, everyone needs to be on board with the same set of ideas and have a clear reason to go and achieve the end goal. I was cautiously able to put forward my criticism/feedback as an area of self-improvement for them, without coming across as rude or condescending. Fortunately, over time, they were able to realise their mistake. Their resultant slight behavioural change helped us to complete the subsequent deliverables with ease and on time. Later on, I also got recommended by my Senior Manager for the initiatives I undertook.
I earnestly believe that the 5Ps: Proactiveness, Problem-solving attitude, Passion and enthusiasm, People skills, Planning and execution encompass the quintessential qualities a successful manager should possess. As a manager, one cannot afford to remain in anticipation of the perfect weather and the complete alignment of the stars to depict ones brilliance. It becomes imperative to take charge, work in the over-constrained environment and yet drive success through innovative but practical solutions. With passion and belief, a successful manager has to align the goals of the employees with the goals of the organisation/project in a symbiotic manner so that both can progress. This is where the people skills come into the picture. With an affable personality, a manager has to empathise and advocate his/her points amicably and effectively to the team members. Lastly, the execution need not be impeccable but must be process-driven and in concordance with the end goal in sight.
In my school days, I was fortunate enough to captain my school football team in the prestigious International Inter-school Subroto Cup. Amidst the ongoing tournament, one of the strikers had got injured, and we needed substitution for the upcoming matches. There were two players in the fray. My coach was in favour of someone, who had got into the team because of the influence of his father, an acquaintance of my coach. This boy was irregular and had attitude problems. On the other hand, there was a guy who had not got enough opportunities on the field but was sincere in the training sessions. At this juncture, I had two options; be passive, let the coach decide and remain in his good books, or muster courage and vouch for the right person. I discussed this issue with my team and sought their inputs. My team and I decided to assess the suitability and fit of both the players in an objective manner by making them play in the attack-defence format, practise free-kicks, through balls and shoots. After much deliberation, I communicated the collective decision to our coach, which leaned towards the boy I was in favour of. However, my coach seemed to be of the other opinion and instead questioned my process and integrity. In my defence, I explained my rationale to the coach and helped him understand that the selected person played better. Also, I mentioned that this player maintained a good rapport with the team, kept his ego aside on the field and showed that much-needed team spirit. Though there was quite some discord, I could eventually convince my coach, thanks to my team's support.