From 89.9%ile On CAT 2022 To 99.07%ile On XAT 2023: Shantanu's Journey To XLRI Jamshedpur
Title: From Physics to Management: My Transformative MBA Journey
Title: From Physics to Management: My Transformative MBA Journey
It was June 2021, and the grip of the Covid pandemic was strong, making job opportunities extremely scarce. Despite the challenging circumstances, I was one of the fortunate few to secure a job offer from my college campus. Initially, I felt happy as the profile seemed decent, and the compensation was on the higher side. However, my happiness was short-lived as I quickly realized the harsh reality of the corporate sector. Within three months, I made the decision to resign and returned home. The only positive aspect of my experience was my manager, who introduced me to management and CAT (Common Admission Test).
It was way back in 2009 that, after seeing the film "3 Idiots," I decided to pursue a career in engineering. My parents, who are from middle-class Bengali families, wished to bring up their only son and make him a doctor. But their plan didn't work in spite of my zeal for engineering.
You must have heard this from someone at some time in your life:
Gaurav Bellal Natesh graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from BITS Pilani. After his graduation, he worked as a Facilities Engineer at ExxonMobil, one of the world's largest energy companies for about 11 months contributing towards several projects in the low carbon (hydrogen) space. With a stellar 10/9/9 academic profile, he went on to ace the CAT exam with a whopping 99.91%ile, and subsequently made it to IIM Ahmedabad! In this interview, Gaurav details his preparation strategy, his lowest point in the preparation, his interview preparation, and more. Read on!
My journey can be summed up by one of my favourite quotes from Shakespeare: "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves."
XLRI has achieved 100% placements for its PGDM BM and HRM batch of 2023. This year, the highest international salary touched INR 1.1 crores, while the highest domestic salary stood at INR 78.2 lakhs. The average salary for the batch saw an increase of nearly 7%, while the median salary stood at INR 30 lakhs, unchanged from last year. Notably, almost 44% of the batch received pre-placement offers, and the number of participating recruiters went up by 18%. Here's a quick breakdown of XLRI's 2023 placement report.