No Converts This Year...What's Next?

It would be naive to assume that one could succeed the next year by doing the exact same things all over again. It was time for structured groundwork and flawless execution. I started by listing down the B-schools that offered the course that interested me. The next task was to shortlist the ones I was willing to join if selected. Once that was done I knew the exams that I had to take and the score required to have a real chance of converting the calls. I now had a clear target.

I knew my level of preparation and the number of hours I had to put in this time around. My current job did not allow that so I tried to shift to an office job in the same company. When that didn't materialize I changed my job to another company (one fifth the size of the one where I was employed). It came with a small pay-cut but I got a core profile and sane working hours. My parents and well wishers called it an unnecessary risk but the real risk was in being stagnant and failing again. Preparation time was no longer an issue.

According to my B-school shortlist I had to take three entrance exams: CAT, XAT and Maharashtra MBA CET. All of them were challenging in their own way. While the foundation for all three remained the same the exam taking strategy was different for each. I developed my own on the back of the numerous mock tests that I appeared for.  The efforts paid off with 99.62 percentile in XAT being the highlight. This was a major improvement from some 90 odd percentile just about a year back.
Interview calls started flowing in from top institutes but the job was only half done. A similarly thorough approach to the in-person assessment process helped me clear most interviews. It is May 2015 and I have made it to XLRI, NITIE, the new IIMS and more. Twelve months are enough to turn things around.

So don't let May be the end of a fruitless journey...make it the start of a triumphant one.