What is it like to be a product manager, you ask? I would imagine Ravan with his 10 heads, an equal number of arms, each of which are looking at different departments in a cohesive workspace.
As the summer placement season approaches, many of you would be fantasizing about being an Investment Banker. We have all seen the money, cars, girls etc. in The Wolf of Wall Street, The Big Short, etc. You would have also heard about the terrifying fact of working 18-20 hours each day with no holidays even on weekends. Most of you would want to be an Investment Banker for one of the 3 reasons;
I came across this interesting term ‘GEM’ during my CAT preparation last year. It seems to be the most disadvantaged group during the MBA admissions. Going by available facts, it definitely seems true - general engineers (especially males) face the toughest competition when it comes to MBA admissions. But if you really ask me, interviews are agnostic of your prior degree - that if you know yourself, you will do well in your interviews If you have secured an interview with the top management schools of the country, I recommend you start preparing right away - after all you are one of the few coveted ones to have even received a call! And plus, acing an interview is very different from acing the CAT. I would broadly divide the interview preparation into 3 categories -
Shortlists are coming out left, right, and centre. So, if you have been shortlisted or if you are expecting a call, this is for you. The importance that you give to CAT and other exams has to be given to this stage of the selection process as well. Maybe more. As the stakes just got higher. Not getting a call is one thing but not converting the calls is another. Don't be that person. Be prepared and prepare right away.
Now that you are done with the big hurdle of entrance exams it is not the time to rest but to prepare for the next big thing which is GD and interview. The Interview and GD calls will come quick and fast and it is essential that you make the most out of every opportunity.
The results of CAT will be most probably out by the second week of January and your WAT-PI round will be conducted in mid-February or later. This gives you roughly a time of 45 days to prepare for WAT-PI round. Although some of you might have already started preparing for WAT-PI but for those who haven’t, 'start your preparation now'. It is not late and even I started my preparation around this time only last year.
There are four facets of preparation for the interviews. I will describe each one in detail:
An interview for a seat in one of the best B-schools in the country which have produced some of our greatest business and economic leaders – it is bound to induce some amount of nervousness and anxiety. It’s completely natural and totally unnecessary. An interview, in its most basic form, is a conversation and not an interrogation; and everyone, especially the interviewer, likes to have a good, healthy conversation. What that requires on the interviewee’s part is the confidence to sustain one, and the twin sources of confidence going into an interview are: 1. Surety of one’s knowledge and preparation and 2. Practice – the feeling that you’ve been there and had those very conversations before. For both of these, an aspirant is not generally short on resources. Therefore, if you are willing to give it time and apply yourself, there is nothing standing in your path.
What is it like to be a product manager, you ask? I would imagine Ravan with his 10 heads, an equal number of arms, each of which are looking at different departments in a cohesive workspace.
As the summer placement season approaches, many of you would be fantasizing about being an Investment Banker. We have all seen the money, cars, girls etc. in The Wolf of Wall Street, The Big Short, etc. You would have also heard about the terrifying fact of working 18-20 hours each day with no holidays even on weekends. Most of you would want to be an Investment Banker for one of the 3 reasons;
I came across this interesting term ‘GEM’ during my CAT preparation last year. It seems to be the most disadvantaged group during the MBA admissions. Going by available facts, it definitely seems true - general engineers (especially males) face the toughest competition when it comes to MBA admissions. But if you really ask me, interviews are agnostic of your prior degree - that if you know yourself, you will do well in your interviews If you have secured an interview with the top management schools of the country, I recommend you start preparing right away - after all you are one of the few coveted ones to have even received a call! And plus, acing an interview is very different from acing the CAT. I would broadly divide the interview preparation into 3 categories -
Shortlists are coming out left, right, and centre. So, if you have been shortlisted or if you are expecting a call, this is for you. The importance that you give to CAT and other exams has to be given to this stage of the selection process as well. Maybe more. As the stakes just got higher. Not getting a call is one thing but not converting the calls is another. Don't be that person. Be prepared and prepare right away.
Now that you are done with the big hurdle of entrance exams it is not the time to rest but to prepare for the next big thing which is GD and interview. The Interview and GD calls will come quick and fast and it is essential that you make the most out of every opportunity.
The results of CAT will be most probably out by the second week of January and your WAT-PI round will be conducted in mid-February or later. This gives you roughly a time of 45 days to prepare for WAT-PI round. Although some of you might have already started preparing for WAT-PI but for those who haven’t, 'start your preparation now'. It is not late and even I started my preparation around this time only last year.
There are four facets of preparation for the interviews. I will describe each one in detail:
An interview for a seat in one of the best B-schools in the country which have produced some of our greatest business and economic leaders – it is bound to induce some amount of nervousness and anxiety. It’s completely natural and totally unnecessary. An interview, in its most basic form, is a conversation and not an interrogation; and everyone, especially the interviewer, likes to have a good, healthy conversation. What that requires on the interviewee’s part is the confidence to sustain one, and the twin sources of confidence going into an interview are: 1. Surety of one’s knowledge and preparation and 2. Practice – the feeling that you’ve been there and had those very conversations before. For both of these, an aspirant is not generally short on resources. Therefore, if you are willing to give it time and apply yourself, there is nothing standing in your path.
