Sachin bajaj from the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong is one of India's Most Promising Incoming MBA Students 2022!
The following is Sachin'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, Sachin 's story and profile stood out. Here's his story in his words.
Hi, I am Sachin Bajaj. I was born and brought up in Delhi. I graduated with B.Com honors from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, the University of Delhi in 2021. I have a formal work experience of 8 months as an Operation Delivery Associate at ZS Associates. Currently, I am pursuing my MBA from IIM Shillong. Post this I am looking forward to joining a management consultancy firm. My hobbies are playing cricket and football.
Tell us more about your extracurricular achievements
Member, Enactus (Social Service Club), Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi Successfully operated Balloon BioGas Plants in Jaunapur village New Delhi along with a team of 12 members Successfully organized two campaigns for the upliftment of the rural people in Jaunapur village, New Delhi Supervised less privileged women in the packaging of by-product (manure) produced from the biogas plants
Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
During my graduation, I wasnt involved in any of the computer software like excel Powerpoint and Tableau required in my job. However, I had limited experience in excel and PPT but Tableau was something that was entirely new for me. So when I joined ZS Associates as an Operations Delivery Associate one of my main responsibilities was to work on the tableau dashboard. Initially, when I started working on tableau I faced a lot of hardships and had to consult with my colleagues for small issues. This was really frustrating for everyone as I used to make small mistakes. However, I realized that if I want to excel at my job and become independent in it I will have to learn tableau at least for the beginners level initially. Therefore I started going through tableau courses provided by my organizations, requested KT sessions from colleagues, and lastly started developing a tableau dashboard using the dummy data. I felt that by developing a tableau dashboard I would be able to explore new functions and come across new terminologies that would help me to update the dashboard quickly on a weekly basis which my job actually was. In a few months, I could see the result of my effort as I significantly reduced the time I used in updating the tableau dashboard for instance the dashboard which I used to update in 6 hrs I now updated in 4 hrs. Further my number and frequency of doubts in the tableau reduced significantly. Also, I felt that team started trusting me with more imp deliverables.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
I feel that if I am given a chance to again decide about my career then I would like to build a career in sports, particularly cricket. It is not that I am not satisfied with my career but it is just that it is my hobby and playing the game makes me happy. I started playing cricket in class 1 and have taken professional coaching for a few years. After my graduation, I gave up my hobbies to play regularly due to work pressure on the job. However, I still get time to watch sports from time to time which refreshes me. But I feel if I can play sports at least three to four times a week I might feel even much better. Therefore I feel that if I can get started with sports in near future it would be great for me.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
During my association with Enactus, I was a member of Project Vidyut. We as a team were working for the welfare of a remote village Jaunapur. We organized various awareness campaigns in the village. During such campaigns, I came across a charitable library which was being built in the village. The librarian was open to accepting donations of old books. So, I pitched my team an idea to organize a book donation drive in our college. But much to my dismay, my seniors rejected the idea. They told me that since they had failed in such a previous drive it was not feasible. I felt that we were missing a great opportunity, so I contacted my old schoolmates in other colleges to utilize their support in organizing book donation drives in their colleges. We were able to generate a lot of inventory which filled the library with books. This incident made me realize that if your intention is good then no matter how many hiccups you face you will always find a way to overcome them. Also, contributing positively to the lives of these less privileged gave me a sense of joy which was more than any joy I would receive from any material benefit.Receiving Academic achievements for our hard work and dedication is a great source of motivation for continuing to perform well in the future with similar dedication and persistence. I graduated in Bcom Hons from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi. During my graduation, I was really focused and took my subjects seriously. Therefore, in different subjects of finance like Financial markets, institutions and services, and financial reporting and analysis I scored a perfect grade point of 10. I was able to perform well in these subjects because of my school teachers who helped me develop my basics in accounting and in college my professors who taught the subjects brilliantly and cleared all my doubts. This achievement has actually inclined my interest in the field of finance.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
In the near future, I am looking forward to completing my post-graduation and joining a management consultancy firm. While on the job I am looking forward to learning from various on-the-job programs and the firm diverse client portfolio. In the long run, I am looking to be part of the leadership team and become an asset to my firm and help various aspiring consultants. In my personal life, I would like to have financial freedom and security and have a happy and healthy lifestyle.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
One skill that I possess and I am proud of is that I have learned the importance of time management. This is a trait that I have developed while working with ZS Associates. Deadlines were sacrosanct at ZS Associates. I had to complete my deliverable on time and had to make sure that it is error-free and of high quality so that my manager requires lesser time for Quality Check thus saving her time and my time which gets wasted in correcting the mistakes.Further, I keep trying to find or learn new methods so as to reduce my production time of reports and deliverables and thus help my team with different tasks
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
The most important consideration without a doubt that a successful manager possesses is his or her leadership qualities. India's top B-schools or colleges prepare students to be future leaders in the business, corporate and social world. Also, relevant job experience also helps one to develop these skills. Further hard work and dedication in manager are also a must. If a manager has good leadership skills then he or she can direct the efforts of his or her team toward achieving organizational goals and thus achieving personal goals.
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
During my association with Enactus, I was a member of Project Vidyut. We as a team were working for the welfare of a remote village Jaunapur. We organized various awareness campaigns in the village. During such campaigns, I came across a charitable library which was being built in the village. The librarian was open to accepting donations of old books. So, I pitched my team an idea to organize a book donation drive in our college. But much to my dismay, my seniors rejected the idea. They told me that since they had failed in such a previous drive it was not feasible. I felt that we were missing a great opportunity, because of some administration reasons. I faced the dilemma of helping this initiative or going against my team. However, I contacted my old schoolmates in other colleges to utilize their support in organizing book donation drives in their colleges. We were able to generate a lot of inventory which filled the library with books. This incident made me realize that if your intention is good then no matter how many hiccups you face you will always find a way to overcome them. Also, contributing positively to the lives of these less privileged gave me a sense of joy which was more than any joy I would receive from any material benefit.
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?
If I were to be made CEO of a company it would definitely be of ITC because I am impressed and attracted by its social initiatives. Some of the ITC initiatives are in the fields of Women Empowerment, primary education, livestock development, afforestation, e choupal ecosystem, etc. one of the campaigns of ITC which attracts me is the one in which they contribute a part of the profits from products towards the education of women. Also, recently they have started an advertisement in which they are thanking people with a note for their contribution. With both the above-mentioned campaign they are contributing back positively to society and are creating a good image for their brand in the eyes of the consumers by thanking them for their contribution.
Any Other Comments Or Factors You Would Like To Highlight About Yourself?
A few other skills that I have developed over a course of time are that I look for details and make sure that my work is up to the standards that I have developed for myself. During my job, I was responsible for the production of at least 9 reports and deliverables and had to ensure that they are error-free and of high quality, before I pass them so that clients can use the reported metrics for their decision-making.Secondly, I feel that if I am persistent I can work relentlessly in pursuit of goals. Also, I believe persistence allows me to continue along the path of success despite any obstacles or difficulties I face along the way. Thirdly, the resilience trait in me allows me to quickly recover from setbacks, stress, adverse situations, or unexpected changes. For example, I feel that if I am a resilient employee and if I fail to meet a goal then I can quickly put together a plan to exceed my next objective.