In our list of India's Best 50 - the 50 Most Employable Students from the Class of 2021-23, we feature MBA students who have walked that extra mile and done that little more to stand out! One of those featured in today's story, Shazia Rahman, has shown an incredible amount of passion to achieve her true potential. Read on and find out her story!
The following are Shazia Rahman’s set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst MBA graduates to determine the top 50 Most Employable MBA Graduates of the Class of 2023. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated, Shazia's story and profile stood out. Here's her story in her own words.
Name an instance where you wanted something and went out of your comfort zone to achieve it OR Tell us the biggest risk you have taken so far in your life.
Apart from (or even somewhat more than) wanting a good placement from XLRI, I really wanted to go on the international student exchange. From my first day of joining XLRI, I have desired to spend a few months of my academic life abroad, meeting new people and learning new cultures. Along with preparing for placements, playing multiple sports daily, and maintaining a good social life I also made sure to put consistent efforts toward studying. I knew there are only about 15 HR seats for the international student exchange program. I knew I had to maintain a consistently high CQPI even to have a chance. At the end of 3 terms, I was ranked 7th on the list of people who had applied for the exchange. I got a chance to do my term 5 from France. Im filled with joy and pride as I fill out this questionnaire from the quaint city of Reims in France.
When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act?
Before joining XLRI, I worked at ZS Associates, a management consulting firm specializing in providing consulting services to clients in healthcare and technology. In 2 years of working at ZS, I developed some level of expertise in doing a specific type of Market Research project (both quantitative as well as qualitative market research). These projects were called Message Testing or Concept Testing. When I got accepted into XLRI, I sent my resignation letter, and my notice period in the company began. Two new associates in the team would have to take up these projects after me. One of the associates was from the Buenos Aires office in Argentina. Even though I had Covid at that time and was on sick leave, I took it upon myself to take knowledge transfer sessions for the new associates so that they could transform into their new roles seamlessly. I went above and beyond to take these sessions per their time zones. I taught them the excel functions and formulae required to build the message testing model. I would even check the models they made to see if they were giving the correct results, all while I had Covid.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
When I worked at ZS Associates before joining XLRI, we always had associates and consultants from both the India office as well as the US office working together on the same project. While our US counterparts were closer to the clients because of being in the same place, the India team took up all the technical and backend work that went behind the project. As we owned the problem-solving and data-processing aspects of the project, we always made decisions based on data. However, as the US team owned most of the client communication, they made any decision basis those communications. Because of this, there were many instances when we didn't agree upon the project's next steps or which analyses to take up next. I especially remember one incident when I disagreed with my consultant from the US about how to present some data to the clients as it had the tendency to be misinterpreted. I scheduled a zoom call with my India consultant and the US consultant as attendees. We tried to explain to her why we felt differently about how the data should be presented. We even created a few slides, citing examples to defend the same. After much discussion and deliberation, while the US consultant did understand our point of view, she felt that the client would feel more confident about our insights if we presented them in the way she proposed. Even though my suggestion was not implemented, I felt content that my opinions were respected and my hard work was appreciated.
What is the one thing you can claim to have some level of expertise or depth of knowledge in - it could be anything - a subject, a sport, a hobby, a venture, an initiative that has led you to do deep work in that field?
I am good at Sports! I have played Badminton and Volleyball at the State level all my school years. I have represented Navi Mumbai in various championships in different cities of Maharashtra. Even at XLRI, I'm in the college Badminton and Volleyball teams. I have been playing sports since I was a kid, and that's one thing I'm religiously consistent in, which has helped me develop expertise in it all these years. Not only does playing sports bring the adrenaline rush and the spirit of camaraderie as well as competition, but it has also become a channel for me to express my emotions. Wherever I am, whatever I may be doing, irrespective of the circumstances - I always take some time from my day to play. I've also learned a lot of life lessons through sports. The number one being the importance of hard work and consistency required to achieve goals. I've learned to use my strengths to my advantage and work on my weaknesses to improve.
If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use in any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?
If there's one thing I've learned in my course Financial Management at XLRI, it is that I should start investing as soon as possible. My professor wonderfully explained the power of compounding in every session of this course. He taught us that even the smallest amount invested monthly through the Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) could grow multifold. He also taught us how to minimize the risk of investments by diversifying our portfolio. So this is what I would do if I had 10 Million Dollars with me. I will invest the money in stocks and shares as soon as possible and diversify my portfolio. To indulge myself, I will also take out some money for my love of traveling. I would love to visit Italy and Greece someday, and what would be a better time to do so than when you have crores of money in hand?
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As per government tax payers' data and our assessment, only about 6,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn an annual 'salaried' income of INR 30 lacs or above. And only 11,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn a 'total' income of INR 30 lacs or more.
Have you ever considered how much time it would take for you to be amongst these top 0.5% earners in India?
Find out here!