Sravya Rangavajjula from XLRI Jamshedpur is one of India's Most Promising Incoming MBA Students 2021!
About Sravya: "I am a dreamer and I believe that hard work, consistency and time management can make all the dreams come true. I have consistently topped in academics. I secured a 10 pointer in my 10th. I was a recipient of the SHE scholarship which is sponsored by MHRD for being among the top 1% of the board in 12th.In UG, I was department Rank 1 and University Gold Medalist. After graduation, I worked with FactSet as a software developer for 2 years. I wanted to pursue MBA from a top institute, worked hard for it and landed at XLRI. I made paintings in various forms like Madhubani, Mandala, Zentangle, Tribal art. I also painted bookmarks, polaroids, glass paintings. I also created an art page to post all my paintings and managed to gain 100+ followers within 10 days. I also participated in the Indian Art Contest and managed to get an appreciation award."
The following is Sravya Rangavajjula's set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst incoming MBA graduates to determine the top-50 Most Promising Incoming MBA students of 2021. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated, Sravya's story and profile stood out. Here's her story in her words.
Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
I prepared for about 9 months for MBA entrances, especially for CAT along with a full-time job. I gave 30+ mocks and almost 40 sectionals. But I messed up my CAT on the D-Day. I found the LRDI section to be very difficult and gave in to the stress. I could not keep my composure. As a result of it, I messed up my Quant section also. I was devastated. I thought of giving everything, decided not to give any other exams thinking that my hard work has been wasted. After 2 days, I got my senses back, realized that I had so many opportunities awaiting me and XAT was the best among them. So I started preparing for XAT, solved all the past 10 year papers and kept my calm at the exam and today here I am at XLRI Jamshedpur. From this, I realized that hard work never goes to waste and keeping calm in a stressful situation can turn out to be a great advantage.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
I am a trained classical singer and many are not aware of this. I have learnt classical music for 5+ years before graduation and restarted it recently.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
- Securing a university gold medal in UG. I had been through situations in which I was demotivated by myself and also my friends to study for the examinations. But I have always visualized myself being awarded the gold medal from the governor of my state and that power of visualization never let me give up on my dreams. I learnt that Visualization is a great technique to achieve any dream.
- Getting into XLRI Jamshedpur. I did not perform well in CAT. After CAT, I was completely devastated and even thought of not giving other exams. But after two days I realized that I cannot make my preparation for 9 months go in vain and let a single exam decide my destiny. I bucked up to prepare for XAT, worked hard, solved previous papers and today I am at XLRI Jamshedpur. From my aspirant journey, I realized that a "Never Give Up" attitude is something that is very important to achieve our dreams.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
I would like to see myself as the vice president of a vertical in the organization. I would like to be not just a manager but a leader who fosters empathy, inclusiveness and diversity among the team. I would like to evolve to be a value based leader and also give back to my alma matter and society.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
"Being Ambitious". I believe wherever I am today, it is because of that ambitious person inside me. My ambition drives me, pushes me hard to go that extra mile, be ahead of others and taking up new challenges. I believe it is something that sets me apart from the crowd.
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
- Empathy
- Good listening skills
- Patience
- Time Management
- Good communication skills
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
I had been a victim of emotional harassment at the workplace. It was from a teammate of mine who was second to my manager and was a senior. Initially, he used to help me even if not asked to, but later I got to know his real intentions when he told me that liked me and stuff. From the, I started maintaining distance from him and he could not take it. He started creating trouble for me at work, not clearing my doubts, insulting me in the meetings when my manager was absent, also sending me inappropriate and vulgar messages on WhatsApp. I tolerated this for 4 months but one fine day I finally broke this to my manager. I told him the complete truth and asked him to talk to the teammate who was causing trouble. My manager understood my situation and made sure that I had no contact with that teammate. Since it was a harassment case, I could have reported it directly to HR which was informed to us in the orientation sessions. But I chose to let my manager know about this first because he was my first point of contact. Skipping him for HR would be like disrespecting him which I did not want to. Also, that teammate who harassed me emotionally also helped me in the beginning. A complaint to HR would have resulted in his expulsion and I did not want that to happen because he was the sole bread earner of his family. Considering these two, I decided to talk to my manager first and if the problem is not solved even after that, I decided to talk to HR. But luckily my manager handled it very smoothly, made sure that there is no contact between both of us at work and that made my life easy. I took the right decision in that ethical dilemma situation.
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For the Class Of 2022, we are back with the 8th season of InsideIIM's Best 50 - India's Most Employable MBA Graduates - Class Of 2022! If you're graduating from a B-School in 2022, you're eligible to take part in this competition! Grab the chance to bring out your best side and impress your recruiters and peers. Take the opportunity to show the world why you are special, on your own terms.
If you're using a web browser (Mozilla or Google Chrome), then you can take part through this link. Otherwise, please download the Kampus App (Android | iOS), and head over to Competitions.