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, Shivam Shukla, has shown an incredible amount of passion to achieve his true potential. Read on and find out his story!
The following are Shivam Shukla’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, Shivam's story and profile stood out. Here's his story in his 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.
Life is full of opportunities to step outside the comfort zone but grabbing hold of them can be difficult. I stepped out of my comfort zone when I finally decided to prep for CAT 2021. It was not an easy decision for me to prepare for it along with the job. I used to toil hard to keep the momentum going. Things became worsen due to covid and there were layoffs across different industries. Though I survived the work pressure increased tremendously. Two months were left for D-day when I finally decided to quit the job and focus on my prep. It was one of the biggest risks for me to leave a reputed organization for an exam of 2 hours. I knew that anything could have happened, but I wanted to give my best shot and it was the last one too. My parents showed confidence in me, and it motivated me to stick to my decision. Finally, everything went as planned and I was able to get through. A big thanks to Almighty, my parents, and my friends who supported me through the journey
When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act?
My close friends and family always count on me. The bond is so strong that there is no lack of trust and they keep sharing even small things with me . In this context , I helped one of my friend throughout the year to prepare for his MBA entrance exams. This is something I did solely for him. I gave him constant guidance and support, helping him with mock exams, tests, revision sessions, and interviews all the way up until the day he was admitted. I was genuinely moved by how much people value the kindness and concern you have for them. The smile and tears of joy on the day he converted the college gave me a satisfaction that I had changed a life and made a significant contribution to the world. When the rewards of his labor were realized, I felt really good. This has really inspired me to carry out increasing numbers of kind deeds for others and take pleasure in the little things of life.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
People do develop ideas and opinions that differ greatly from one's own when working in teams. In such circumstances, I try to understand the reasons, ideas, and motivations behind the disagreement by talking about it. There were several approaches suggested recently when my group was deciding how to approach a case study problem, but only two stood out, and the others were dropped. I put my idea forward because I was confident that it would at the very least produce some results.The alternative strategy that one of the team members had suggested was very speculative, but the person who made that suggestion was very confident in his idea. The other group members couldn't agree on which one to pursue. So, the two of us sat down and thoroughly discussed the merits and drawbacks of every component of the solution we were putting forth. It turned out that, despite the fact that both approaches would have produced similar results, the suggestion made by my group member was in fact a quicker one. We followed through with his answer. Consequently, working through issues, conducting a root cause analysis, and delving deeply into the problem at hand within the time constraints are the approaches I use to resolve any disagreements.
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?
Understanding human and their thinking process is something I think I can say I have some level of expertise or in-depth knowledge in. My work experience in sales and actual conversations and observations with different clients has contributed a lot develop these. Slowly I have a strong passion for this interest. Everyone is aware that people react differently in various situations and even in similar circumstances depending on who they are. How a person responds to a situation is greatly influenced by their understanding of the motivations and reasons behind their decisions, as well as the biases or thoughts that led to those decisions .Conflicts can be lessened if people can understand one another better, consultants can use it, and it also fosters some degree of empathy. Due to all of these factors, I plan to continue to develop and hone my skill that could map the person, his sense of sensibility, likes, dislikes, wants, desires, needs, etc., and later on would love to compile my learnings in a book offering solutions to contemporary human interaction issues.
If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use it any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?
If I were given 73.5 crores and told to use it , I would undoubtedly spend some of it on my family and myself as well as fulfill some desires that call for some corpus. I think that when large amounts of money suddenly come in tempted to spend more rashly on different areas. A few one-time costs also appear. If the money isn't earned; rather, it's just given, the person also grows more liberal and giving. This is a typical human propensity. Aside from this, I think that if I had extra money, I would definitely work on prevailing social issues, improve the livelihood and well-being of the needy ones , and build a model town. I would also make sure that people and governments know about this so that they could improve human lifestyle and create more conducive environments, which would lead to more peace, harmony, and happiness in society.
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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!