"Had No Expectations From XAT After My Failure In CAT" | Rounakshi's Journey To XLRI HRM

After a two month long internship at PwC, I found coding to be way more interesting than my electrical engineering course. I decide to pursue it. I received a PPO for my excellent performance in the internship. I had a settled career, ready in front of me. But, was it my calling, my happiness? I felt something was amiss.

It was finally in my final year of college when I realized my calling, my peace, and my happiness, something I always wanted to do. I was the Secretary in the Intercollege Techno-Management Fest of Jadavpur University. Working with cross-competency teams, calling up sponsors, arranging for funds, getting legal documents, going for publicity visits in different colleges, I had done it all. Though I have been a part of various fests since my first year, it was taking the lead in such a big event, I found my closure. Yes, it was MBA that I wanted to pursue. I realized my leadership skills and yes I was super happy.

Begun my preparations for CAT in 2019, May. I had two good months at home, where I focused on my strengths and worked upon my weakness. Things became difficult in July, as I joined PwC. The long work hours and doing domestic chores at home, took away most of the time. I barely managed three hours of study a day. Weekends were devoted entirely to my preparation. Fast forward to the month of November, I was pretty confident about CAT.

On the 24th of November, 2019, with fear and dreams in my eyes, I went for CAT. Unfortunately, it was not my day. LRDI section which was my strength turned out to be my biggest nightmare. I panicked, lost my calm, and eventually lost my battle against LRDI. As soon as the exam was over, I knew I did not stand a chance. It took me good fifteen days to finally realize that yes, this year’s CAT was actually over.

Still heartbroken, I made up my mind for CAT 2020. I was not much convinced about how I will fare in XAT as I was already pretty low in confidence. Yet I decided to use the last month to my advantage and prepare hard. But, destiny had other plans. Almost the entire month was spent at my client site working over 12 hours a day. I barely managed two hours of study per day including my weekend. I tried regaining my confidence and decided to keep myself motivated.

I arrived back home just a day before XAT, had a good night’s sleep, and appeared for XAT. I had no expectations from it after my failure in CAT. I still had CAT 2020 plan in mind. I did not discuss the answers or paper with anyone. I flew back to my client site after the exam.

Almost a month later, as I was still stuck in my client site, I got to know my XAT results one evening. I had scored a 97.2 percentile. I was happy after a long time. I decided that this was my chance to be a part of one of the most coveted B-schools of the Nation, XLRI. I prepared well for the GD and PI rounds. The first time I went to the campus for my interview, I fell in love with it. I knew this was the place I always wanted to be. I gave my best performance in both the rounds. Though I had a stress interview, I knew I could make it.

After months of anxious waiting, the results came. And Yes!! I converted XLRI, HRM. Finally, my journey as a proud XLer was going to begin. I am going to be a part of this brand forever. My dreams have come true. And thus, I have successfully changed my career path from an electrical engineer to an HR student at XLRI. The struggle, the failure, the motivation will all be a part of me and I will cherish them for a lifetime. Eagerly looking forward to my journey at XLRI. And, I have connected a few dots already…