After Deloitte debacle, i cried at home......!!!!!!

You are not lost till the hope of winning is not lost…………!!!!!!!!!

When Deloitteans were taking the holy bath, he took the pride in waiting for his turn, when CSCians were doing the same, he exhibited a never seen behavior, for his every nuance there lies logic and an unstoppable laugh, but when it comes to serious business, this man had the last laugh lately but in a stylish fashion. 

Praveen Kumrawat- who would be building better lives in the times to comes- placed in Ujjivan Finance has waited for his turn and finally thrashed all the adversities and failures that he faced in preceding companies.

I hooked up with him recently where we discussed about his new accomplishment…..here are the excerpts-

1. Praveen, let’s get directly to the business. Talk something about your interview and how you managed the situation thereon?

My interview was sterling and diversified as well as according to me; it was segregated into three parts. Initially, they were appraising my interpersonal communication skills by asking HR based questions and some direct questions from my background.

Then they assessed my technical knowledge by asking questions based on ratios, balance sheet, basic financial terminologies. At last but more importantly, they checked my situational response by giving me a case study which was a sort of real life problem and I handled the cross questions very well.

“Interview is just about showing how much perfect you are for their organization”

2. You have faced two rejections yet accepted them with a bright smile. How was that phase and how you coped up with that?

Honestly speaking, I prepared well for both the companies but in Deloitte’s process there were some technical glitches which exposed my concentration level and I was not able to clear through that round. After reaching home, I was into tears as luck has played its part for me but in a negative manner. Then I decided to follow ‘let bygones- be bygones’ theory and started preparing for CSC the very next day.

But as luck would have it, I was fired in second round but was living in a hope of getting a handsome job which I finally got. For me, the journey was quite tough as I have my own set benchmarks and when I don’t perform to that, it hurts. But, the experience of rejection helped me to improve upon my skills and come good next time.

“Remember, 1% hope is stronger than 99% pessimism…….therefore believe that you can and wait patiently for your turn”

3. How you improved upon your communication skills and technical knowledge?

Let me bifurcate this answer into two parts so that others can get it easily. Initially, we were not passively connected with our seniors and hence we were not able to gain comprehensive knowledge about essential things for cracking placements. And hence, it was all upon me to remain conscious about shortcomings and improvise.

A never lost man.......who finally had the last laugh.....Praveen Kumrawat

For my communication, I had enough treasure of words but I felt spontaneous fluency was the part I need to work on and hence by the start of 3^rd semester, I worked on my communication by joining classes where I worked hard. With that, I personally did a lot of mirror speaking, writing and self-talking to dwell deep into my abilities.

In technical, there were two parts into it-mainly aptitude and financial knowledge. I identified the level of aptitude by taking help from few seniors and worked upon that. I glued myself to basics and kept working hard. Also, I see a lot of engineers at IMS having phobia about finance, but seriously speaking even commerce students don’t have a bank of knowledge. My accounting part was a bit on a stronger side and therefore worked on other feathers of finance such as security markets, financial management etc.

“Good preparation leads to good execution of strategies……..”

4. How you prepared for the interviews and what are the key points to be kept in mind in an interview?

Well, I believe that no matter how much hard you work on your communication skills it is important to get a feel of interview before you face the real ones and hence I gave 3 mock interview and every interview came as an eye opener for me where I became aware about my faults and how much long I have to go to crack a tough interview. The best thing with mocks is that you face people who are actually working in industry and therefore every interview gives a whole new experience and learning to you. I worked meticulously with few classmates and we sat together to frame the best possible answers. Key points to be kept in mind while interview are:

1. They are not searching for a perfectionist, they are searching for suitability.

2. Try to connect the dots while answering questions.

3. Don’t take anything lightly as one mistake can become a lifetime mistake.

5.  A message to juniors?

With juniors I am very frank but I would seriously suggest that you must have heard a phrase “Don’t put all eggs into one basket” same as that is “ Don’t become egg on one basket” which means go and have participation in each activity whether formal or informal. Have strong communication with your seniors but no lip service, maintain a professional relationship. Start working on different aspects such as technical knowledge, communication as early as possible and don’t compare or compete with anyone.

“ Remember, where you end describe how you started………”

My parents are my Idols.......!!!!!!!

Sophistication lies in simplicity……….and this holds true for Surbhi Patodi- yet another girl achiever who got herself into CSC. She is ever smiling, well-behaved, and soft-spoken and never gets into arguments with others. She believes in living in harmony and peace and loves to spend time alone.

Hailing from a family where education is given due importance, she has always been a regular customer in the class; she considers her sister to be her best critic and idolizes her parents. Asking questions is also one of her hobbies and recommends attending classes regularly. For her CSC is an opportunity of improving her fortress of skills which will eventually make her a better professional……….

I caught up with her in an interesting interaction…….here are the excerpts……..

How much this job was a need for you and how do you see CSC as an opportunity?

Job, rather than my need, has become a tool for me in improving my confidence to a better level. It was very low at some point of time in my life. This is a moment which has given my parents immense pleasure and a reason to proud for.

CSC as an opportunity is good because location is Indore and being a Multinational Firm it will expose me to corporate environment and harness my skills. With that, it will cultivate professionalism in me and will enhance my communication skills. I have very broader view in terms of CSC as an opportunity.

You are a soft spoken girl who behaves well with everybody. How this quality breed up as being soft helps a lot in the interview?

This quality at large helped me a lot during my interview as if I don’t know the answer or a bit uncertain about any unexpected question, I skipped the question by politely replying and saying sorry for not knowing answer or giving nearby answer with a gentle smile which stabilized my temperament during an interview.

But you cannot politely say sorry every time as giving it a try is much better than skipping it, but yes jobs where communication is their primary concern, it helps being soft and polite to others. 

Your happiness lie in a happy environment around you……….and hence always believe in being humble to others……..!!!!!!!!!

Ever smiling, laughs her heart out, diminutive but powerful.......Surbhi Patodi 

You must have been feeling nervous about the interview. Share few moments of that phase?

I have gone through many interviews before during my graduation days and one thing I experimented here is to not to think about what I really don’t know and should focus on what I know. At the time of entering into the interview room, nothing was going into my mind; I was very relaxed and was prepared for the questions to come. It helped me in giving natural and genuine replies rather than getting overloaded with framed answers and getting stuck in between.

While I was waiting for my turn in the corridor, Kapil Sir and my friends shared some jokes which made me feel relaxed and made me light-hearted and fortunately, my interview went quite well.

The race is between you and your mind………let’s see who wins……!!!!!!!

How you prepared for this company and what worked in your favor?

I prepared through notes given by Paranjape Sir and Chabariya sir, understood the basics with the help of Kapil Sir’s special classes on Insurance and kept in mind the guidance of Mukta Chimnani Mam.

My communication skills and my habit of attending lectures daily with full participation helped me to remember concepts with real time examples which eventually worked in my favor.

Everybody is different, difference is who makes a difference…….!!!!!!!

Talk a bit about LIFE@IMS and one unforgettable moment?

LIFE@IMS is something which I had never thought off as it made me self-confident, allowed me to make a whole new set of lifetime friends. The ambiance here is very healthy and lively which encouraged me to come to college on a regular basis. The teachers’ guided me to the best of their abilities.

One unforgettable moment for me would be the holy bath that I had after getting placed and the flood of greetings from every corner of my life………

First job remains forever in your memories and the same happened with me…….!!!!!!!

An advice and tip to juniors?

 I would recommend juniors to attend classes regularly because my personal experience says that minute things discussed in the class helps a lot in cracking even a small but tricky question.  Being regular will eliminate your efforts in terms of last minute studies.

One tip is- Develop a habit of asking as many questions as you can in the class……. People who succeed are people who are investigative…..!!!!!!!!

My HONESTY worked in my favor.....!!!!!!!

A girl in specs, unhopeful of making it into CSC cried against all odds when she heard her name in the list. Pinky Kriplani- newly placed in CSC- enjoys an inner childishness into her, always likes to be with her close ones and believes LIFE@IMS has made her a better person.

She firmly pitches for honesty and dedication and is very serious about her studies. She is a throughout bright student who never topped the charts yet maintained a good consistency in her academics…………She belongs to a simple family and consider herself blessed to secure a place in CSC………

She gave her valuable time for an interview……..here are the excerpts………..

You were a good academician throughout your whole life. How did you manage that consistency?

I always study hard during exam time as I have always been a regular student but the one who don’t have her notes completed. I make proper time table and don’t go to sleep unless I am totally exhausted and I finish my course. No matter what the subject is, whether I like it or not, I put all my efforts with supreme seriousness.

For me, my satisfaction is important, not the marks…….!!!!!!!

How much this job was a need for you and how much you were passionate about getting into CSC?

Honestly speaking, I entered into IMS to get a PG degree. Have a place in any company was never my target. But my batchmates/ friends inspired me and pushed me to do this. Every now and then, they talked about placements, companies, job locations, hefty packages which motivated me.

After that I decided to prepare for placements and made CSC my target as it was the one which is an MNC and the job location is conducive for me too. Initially, my family was not happy when I told them about my decision for a job, but when I was placed they were happier than me.

How you prepared for this company. Please take us through that?

The two day gap proved helpful as I put all my efforts to prepare myself for the company and made myself a fit candidate for the profile. I lost my sleep for one day so that I can cover maximum topics, gathered study material.

But to be honest, all that study hadn’t helped me very much as very few technical questions were asked.

Take us through your interview in detail and share some tough moments of the same?

Technical interview was very nice and relaxing as rather than asking technical questions they gave me some situations and judged me on that basis as how I would be dealing with them. They asked me what I would do if my client is unhappy with me, what if I would be given repetitive work, what if I would if I have to work late night. I enjoyed that conversation as they also asked me about my interests and hobbies etc.

HR interview was a tad difficult as initially they asked some very basic questions but later on grilled me on one of my hobbies which says watching TV. They asked me about what was going on in Iraq and about ISIS. It came as out of the blue for me as I was not at all aware about it and told the interviewer candidly about that.  I didn’t lost my confidence and although I believe and admit that some of the answers given by me were kiddish, I think you must be honest and true to the person sitting in front of you.    

How much you were hopeful of a call and what you think worked in your favor?

My HR interview was not good as interviewer grilled me on certain questions and I was not sure about the call. I was hopeful but was undecided about my selection and the waiting period was full of anxiousness for me, but when I heard my name, I was into tears as I achieved my target.

My honesty worked in my favor as I was very honest in giving answers and never lost my confidence and temper. With that, blessings of my nearer and dearer ones made things easy for me.

Share something about your LIFE@IMS and an advice note to juniors?

LIFE@IMS had been awesome; I made some very good people here and made friends for life who backed me everywhere.  It has made me a better person and gave me lifetime moments to cherish.

For juniors, just set targets and work hard to achieve them. Always be yourself and try to learn from every experience of your college life.