How I Made It To XLRI At 94%ile | Vandana K., PGDM(HRM) XLRI 2020-22

3. Although this point is a given, mock assessment is the road to improvement. Create an Excel sheet, updating every mock test scores and analyse the areas that require improvement and work on the same.

But alas, 94 percentile stared me in the face as I viewed my XAT result.

Devastated,  I was at the verge of losing all hope when I received my only interview call letter that year, from XLRI! It was my only chance to pursue management from a stellar MBA institute and I wasn't going to let it go! Bouncing back to my energetic form, I spent every day preparing for interviews and group discussions, attending mock interviews, working on the feedback and updating myself on business jargons. All those state and college level PORs and co curriculars came handy for a decent resume. I regularly watched motivational and GK videos on various platforms. I talked to a number of seniors and graduates, connected with them on Linkedin. This helped me to cultivate a professional outlook. For confident boosts, I didn't need any external source, as my family, especially my sister, graciously played that role. I took every screening level seriously, be it the self profile assessment or asynchronous video interview, carefully framing answers and getting them reviewed by seniors.

THE D-DAY

I distinctly remember sitting outside my interview room, as I was surrounded by candidates with 98+ percentiles, ample work experience or having completed graduation in commerce/management-related fields, feeling that my chances of conversion were subservient to theirs. GD went well but my interview was grilling, covering everything from my internships and extracurriculars to global affairs. I was asked about the meaning of my name and it escalated to Indian mythology.My interview took the shape of a discussion. One of the panelists was glued to my file containing my resume and certificates. I had mixed feelings about the whole experience. The words ‘low percentile’ and ‘rare chances’ were ringing in my ears sometime before I decided to consider my second attempt at CAT, crystal clear that no deterrent will stop me this time.

Covid-19 stole the thunder, locking us all in our homes and I eventually forgot about my XLRI interview. The results were declared a couple of months later and to my surprise, I got a direct convert, without even being waitlisted! A fresher from an engineering background with a mere 94.04 percentile was called to be a part of a 180-students batch, at Asia’s best institute for HRM and Indias oldest B school with excellent pedagogy, XLRI Jamshedpur! Joy knew no bounds as I kept refreshing the portal to make sure I wasn't dreaming. My advice to you would be that if you’re a call getter with a low percentile it's really not the end of the world, as your academic and extracurricular profile along with strong self-determination will speak for itself. So utilise your time effectively, building up a good profile and working on your GDPI skill sets along with targeting a good percentile. It's never too late to begin.