Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
Almost half a year into my job, I received my first project where I had no oversight. I was responsible for the deliverables and the timelines of execution of the project. I underestimated the time required to complete the project and promised a turnaround time of two weeks. I knew it might be difficult, but I believed I would be able to pull it off by stretching myself. I did not plan for contingencies and did not allow for buffer time in my planning, and as luck would have it, I could not complete the project as per the promised timeline due to the other tasks that I was assigned. Although the client did not complain and was happy with the quality of the work, I learned that an essential aspect of client handling is underpromising and overdelivering.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
My college friends would be surprised to know about me how much I have changed in the last two years of my life. My professional life has completely transformed me as a person. During my college, I had often received feedback that I used to be an arrogant and rude person. I used to have dominating nature, but the two years in my office have wholly humbled me in this respect. I have made consistent efforts to change these habits, and I am quite proud of the fact that now when these people meet me, they have a hard time believing that I am the same person.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
One of my most significant successes was when I scored 10 CGPA in my 10th standard. I do not consider it big because of the perfect score but because of how it changed me. I have not been a topper all my life and was an average kid who scored in the 70s till the 10th, but my score made me believe in myself. I learned that I can do a lot more than I think and should not shy away from challenges. Another achievement has to be my admission to IIM Bangalore. This one is special to me as it took a lot of hard work to achieve this. My story started with CAT 2018, where I had just scored 92 percentile, and being a GEM; I knew it was impossible to get into the holy trinity, which was my dream. I struggled very hard to crack CAT 2020 and convert IIM Bangalore. From this, I learned that no matter what the task is, if we persevere enough, we can achieve it.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
I am not sure about the number of years it will take, but I would like to be an essential part of a consulting firm where my decisions will significantly impact its operations. My objective is to lead it with competence decisively, add value to the organization, and help its growth. Three years after my MBA, I would have probably found my domain of interest and would be working my way towards becoming an SME in that particular area.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
If I have to mention one skill that I am proud of, it will be my presence of mind and being aware. This has helped me in many situations. One such being my interview for EXL Services at my college campus. In the first round, I faced a question about my weaknesses. I answered that sometimes I could come across as a person who offends others easily. The interviewer then challenged me to offend him. I declined to do so, but he insisted. I remembered that during his introduction, he had mentioned that he was from IIM Indore. I used this fact and tried to offend him by asking why he could not get to other colleges like IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, etc. He did get offended, but he loved my answer. I later clarified to him that I do not have any such notion about the college, but I had to say that to prove my point.
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
Based on my short experience of 2 years, I believe that having good soft skills is far more critical than having the required hard skills for a manager. They must have the appropriate emotional intelligence to understand their peers better and promote a healthy and productive environment. Another essential skill required would be to correctly distribute and delegate work, which, if done incorrectly, often leads to animosity among his subordinates. Apart from these, some qualities a successful manager possesses are good communication skills, experience, time management skills, etc.
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
I did not face any such dilemma in my professional life but I did face one in my personal life. I once came to know that one of my friends was cheating on her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was also a very good friend of mine. I was aware she was not happy but I thought what she was doing was wrong. So I confronted her and she told me that she did not want her relationship to end and would stop cheating on him. Now I was in an ethical dilemma about what I should do. I wanted to stay quiet and ignore this but that would have been unethical, though I would have kept both of my friends happy. I went to my friend and asked her to come clean. I told her that I would not say anything to her boyfriend but she had to confess what she did and apologize to him, then they can decide what would be best for them. I was sad that my decision ended up hurting my friends but I did what I felt was the right thing to do.
If you were the CEO of any company of your choosing, which company would you choose and what would your first action be as CEO?
I might have chosen to become the CEO of Flipkart, and my first action would have been to revamp its customer service completely. While I do love the platform, I have always been disappointed with their customer service, and that is the only thing stopping me from using their platform for my purchases as a customer. No offense to Kalyan Krishnamurthy though.
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Check The List Of InsideIIM’s 50 Most Promising Incoming Students 2021 Here!
For the Class Of 2022, we are back with the 8th season of InsideIIM's Best 50 - India's Most Employable MBA Graduates - Class Of 2022! If you're graduating from a B-School in 2022, you're eligible to take part in this competition! Grab the chance to bring out your best side and impress your recruiters and peers. Take the opportunity to show the world why you are special, on your own terms.
If you're using a web browser (Mozilla or Google Chrome), then you can take part through this link. Otherwise, please download the Kampus App (Android | iOS), and head over to Competitions.
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