In quest ...

Ahhh Career Switcher ... Why did you wait so long?

2009-11-05T14:46:00.012+05:30

With summer placements on for the Batch of 2011, I thought it is only apt to talk about what career switchers go through in the process - stories which are never glamorous enough to make it to media headlines.

Let me start with a question - Are you a non IITian, Indian-IT-male who is into his fourth year at IT work (it is important clarify here that IT work is IT whether done in a small Indian co. or a big international name. Infact bulk of what I write here is applicable for non IT "overexperienced" guys also.)?

If yes, then are you thinking of doing an MBA from the very esteemed institutes IIM(A|B|C) in India to switch into a bulge bracket investment bank?

If the answer is yes, you are in for a disappointment. While no investment banker will admit it openly, the bulge bracket banks do not want to even look at people with very high work experience (3+ years), especially when they are non-IIT. It is immaterial if you had a good consistent academic record and strong rewarding work experience. If you thought qualifications like CFA will show your strong inclination, you are wrong again. Therefore, before you buy that CAT form, it is my sincere advice, you switch into anything remotely relevant, even if in a boring data crunching/data mining profile at an investment bank and wait out there till you make it to IIMs.

Since a lot of us do not have very fixated career choices, one might ask what about consults? But then we are talking of people with non IIT backgrounds, who have had some successes in life. There will be enough top ranked IITians to overshadow these guys and barring very outside chances, consults are closed to these people.

Well what about marketing companies and general management companies - one might ask? The answer is no again. These companies typically have very structured training programs which are geared towards freshers and they generally do not like to look at experienced guys again.

Finally, what is left for these guys is the chaff essentially - some very niche consults or some surrogate investment banking jobs which are essentially data crunching/data mining jobs or some marketing roles in technology firms. Infact, one gets surprised that even some technology firms from the same background also do not want to look at these guys.

This.. people is the hard reality. You might hear of a few exceptions here and there. But broadly for the bulk of 'Indian,nonIIT,"overexperienced"-in-IT' males in IIMs this is the fate.

Since banks generally recruit from their summer intern pool itself and do not show up for finals, for these people the onus is onto them to persevere for their dream job post MBA by starting small and gradually making their way up.

It is a myth that gaining some experience adds value to your MBA. Well it may add value in terms of your understanding things well, but does not help you get your foot into the door of your choice. If you want to pursue an MBA here in top institutes in India, get in early or start looking out at top B-schools in US, where you won't see experience hurting you like this. While relevant experience would matter there as well, you have your fair chance of reaching out to firms and conveying them your passion. You hardly get your fair chance to communicate your interest to the firms here with over 100 firms crunched in 3 power packed days and with restrictions on reaching out to these firms on your own outside the placement process.

Back on campus after Internship...

2009-07-11T22:07:00.012+05:30

Back in campus after completing my internship in the research department of a top investment bank. I was among the few lucky ones to get an opportunity to intern with an I-bank, just a couple of months after Lehman went belly up (and the rest is history ...). My internship experience was great, primarily because it helped me find a fit (yeah you may call it cliche) for myself within an investment bank. I decide here to write about one of the lesser talked about functions of an investment bank on the markets side - "research".

(1) Compensation: Probably a good place to start is 'money' - we are talking of I-banks after all. At the outset, research may not pay you as high as Corporate Finance(CF) or sales & trading(S&T) functions. But, once you are recognized as a star analyst, compensation is easily comparable to what one may get in these roles. In any case, one makes good amount of money - it's just a bit less obscene ;)

(2) Work life balance: Typically, 8 AM - 9 PM kind of job, work life balance sits somewhere in between that of a trader and an analyst in CF. The corporate results months are tough but unlike an analyst in CF, the day does end for a research analyst.

(3) Glamour: Though a research analyst may not really be advising a company board on a huge M&A deal, the job does have its fair share of glamour. Analysts get to meet the top honchos, CFOs & CEOs of the companies they cover in order to perform fair valuation. They also meet the buy-side clients of an I-bank to market their ideas alongside the sales guys. In this sense, research is unique because it gives perspective from both the buy-side as well as corporates.

(4) Thrill: While the joy of making real money in an intense high pressure environment may be missing, research still is entwined with the market. The thrill of market, therefore, does not go away.

(5) Exit options: Research is fairly open in the sense that one can join research coming in from a consulting background or any core industry background. The exit options are also fairly open. On the other hand, trading goes by the maxim - 'Once a trader always a trader'

However, research folks are often criticized as their views change all too often. The reports published after hours of analysis become futile in a couple of weeks because of dynamism in the environment. However, research performs the crucial function of reducing information asymmetry in the market. The job is a bit academic in nature requiring diligent evaluation and (a lot of)report writing.

At the end of the day, it is a personal choice. If you are not the kind of person who can work in an intense trading environment or at a stretch for 20 hours a day, but still love I-banking, research is definitely an option worth considering.

A quarter of an MBA

2008-11-06T14:34:00.007+05:30

Just got over with my exams for the third slot here or a quarter of the coursework. It has been a roller coaster ride really. The huge red bricked architecture of the place is quite awing intially and so are the much famed Harvard steps and the Louis Kahn Plaza(LKP). Within first few days, the place offers one a 'realty check' as one sees and meets a large number of highly competitive, accomplished and ambitious people around oneself. For someone like me, it has been to that extent a humbling experience. On the flip side, it does get a lot of people distressed and paranoid, at least initially.

IIMA is known in MBA circles, for its scary academic rigor in the first term. However, we had it a bit easy - thanks to the newly implemented slot system. The migration to the slot system from the traditional term system took effect this year as an experiment. And yes, I am one of the 300 odd guinea pigs of this experiment. Coupled with major course restructuring, the system offers the faculty the flexibility to carry out a course over multiple slots, while the shorter courses get over within the same slot. The net effect has been a rationalization of the course load in the first term here, which no longer is the much dreaded first term that it used to be.

A typical day here involves 3-4 hours of group work for some of the next day's classes, along with 3-4 hours of individual work for the rest. Typical bed time is around 4 AM for most people and classes begin at 8:45 and go on till 13:10. On quite a few of the days, there will be a quiz at 14:30 following which the bull work begins for the next day and it goes on and on and on behind those red brick walls. Add to that club meetings, work for clubs, guest lectures et. al.

However, high amount of 'mugging' (IIMA's lingo for 'studying') remains an inconsequential part of the life of first years (or 'facchas' as they are called).

Time for me to 'mug' something now. More details on my life here later.

First post from WIMWI

2008-07-06T11:42:00.005+05:30

It has been over three months since I have posted anything here. Have I been busy? To some extent, yes. But, primarily it has been nothing else but procrastination, procrastination and procrastination. So, it's high time to revive this blog with my experience at IIM Ahmedabad or WIMWI as they call it.

It's hard to start. A bit too much has elapsed since June. There is just so much I want to talk about: financing of education, hangouts around campus, student diversity, dorms, dorm culture, tucchas, clubs, elections, rejections, selections, faculty, academics, quizzes, assignments, CP, group formations, group reformations, the TNite, Ramp, Harvard Dinner, birthday celebrations; the whole experience and my impressions of the place and the people.

Coming soon: first in the series of 'Life at IIMA'

Eat Outs in Bangalore

2008-05-12T15:04:00.032+05:30

Just a fortnight to go before I leave Bangalore, which has been my home for over past 3 years. Among a lot of other things, if there is something I'd surely miss about Bangalore, it's the restaurants and eat-outs here. So, I just decided to make an entry here for all the good eat-out places which I frequented while I was here. Hope some Bangaloreans might find it useful.

Samarkhand: It's one of my favorite places in Bangalore. For non vegetarians who enjoy Indian cuisine, it is simply sinful to leave Bangalore without tasting the delicious 'Nalli Ka Salan' at Samarkhand. Located in Gem Plaza on Infantry Road, this is one nice, quiet place. Prices are a bit on the higher side but then their portions are really big. The shorbas here are great too and so are the non vegetarian starters. I have never tried vegetarian but have heard that it's nice for veggies as well.

Caesars: Located on M.G. Road, this is again a nice quiet place. Food and ambience is good. Prices are a bit on the higher side.

Jalsa: Located on Outer Ring Road, a couple of km after the Marthalli bridge (if you are coming from Innovative multiplex), this place has great ambience reminiscing of the Mughal era. The food is average and overpriced. However, I'd still say it's worth a visit for all its grandeur.

La Casa: Located in Jayanagar 4th Block, this place has some really nice continental food. The sizzlers here are good. But nothing beats the Al Navarra pasta and the Mexican soup pot. The place is a bit noisy though and does not have a great ambience.

Tandoor: Again located on M.G. Road, this place has grand decor and good food. Prices are a bit high. But, this is again a nice place to spend an evening over good food & a couple of drinks.

Copper Chimney, Bangalore Central: Great ambience. Strategically located next to the Hint lounge, where you get to see the cool crowd of Bangalore. Food is average and overpriced for its quality. The outdoor seating arrangement is perfect for a romantic evening.

13th Floor: A lounge located in Barton Center on M.G. Road, it offers great view of the lit up Vidhoun Sabha. The outdoor seating arrangement is nice for pleasant Bangalore evenings. The place is a bit small though. However, a nice place to unwind with a couple of drinks and fine music.

Ebony: Again located on 13th floor of the Barton Center, this place also has a nice outdoor as well as indoor seating arrangement. The food is nice and so are the prices :). But, nevertheless, a nice place to spend a special romantic evening.

Umerkot: Located on Koramangla 80 ft. road, this is a retaurant located in Hotel Umerkot. It has some really nice cool drinks, especially the one with coconut base. The food and ambience also score high.

Chandni Chowk: When I first visited this place, it reminded me of the numerous mujras of the Hindi movies. The bead curtains and use of drapes and fabric: it takes a little while to get used to the ambience. The food is again overpriced for its quality. But, still, the place is worth a visit.

Sahib Singh Sultan: Located at Forum Mall in Koramangla, the decor of this place is like that of a luxury train. The food here is good and it's a nice place to spend an evening. Please make sure you make reservations before showing up as it is always full: be it weekdays or weekends. However, they do compromise on the quality of food when you come in a large group.

Dal Roti: Located on 80ft. road in Kormangla, this one is a very reasonable place with good food. The dal makhani and chicken tikka masala here is quite close to the authentic north Indian kitchen. They also serve phulkas here, though you might need to emphasize on 'fresh' phulkas.

Hyderabad House: Just opposite to Forum is this place Hyderabad House. The chicken biryani here is just amazing. However, refrain from ordering a large biryani. Go for two regular biryanis instead. I have always found the quality of chicken in large biryani to be horrible. Also, I really doubt whether they serve lamb in the mutton biryani. It just tastes too much like the counterpart of lamb: if you know what I mean.

Little Italy: Located on 100 ft. road, this is a nice place for Italian food lovers. The ambience is nice and quite contemporary.

100 ft Boutique Restaurant: Again a great place to relax and enjoy nice continental food. The pastas here are quite good. Ambience is nice.

The Village: Located on 100 ft road in Indiranagar near CMH crossing, this place has pretty average food. The prices are also reasonable. A decent place. No harm in visiting occassionally.

Aranya: A place with nice food, reasonable prices and good ambience is how I'd describe Aranya. Located on Outer Ring Road, it is a fine open air place which makes for a nice dining experience.

Three Quarter Chinese: Though it may not appear from its name, this place serves some really good north Indian food as well, which is referred to as the fourth quarter here. I also love the jal jeera served here. A nice place with ample seating place, you rarely need to make reservations. I also ran into cricket star Dhoni here once. They also have buffet on weekdays which is quite good and resonably priced.

Angeethi: Located on Museum Road, Angeethi is located in Museum Inn. This place has a nice buffet which is there on Saturdays as well. The food here is good. Only downside being, it is not A.C.

Banjara: Located in Jayanagar 4th Block Complex, this place serves good food. It 's a nice place though I don't really like the seating here. It's kind of noisy and overpriced for what it offers. They also serve buffet lunch which is quite O.K.

Tadka: Next to Banjara is this open air place called Tadka. I never liked the food here. They put in coconut in most of their dishes, plus, they have this really horific orchestra playing every evening. The cacophonic voice of the singer makes the experience miserable. I like the ambience and seating of the place though.

Sunny's: Located on Vittal Mallya Road this is again a nice place for continental food.

Mast Kalandar: Located in several places in Bangalore, it is a chain of restaurants which serve ready meals priced between 70-150. The food is decent here.

Mainland China: If you love authnetic chinese food, you must visit this place. You can get tofu (not the stinky one) and authentic chinese cuisine. The king prawns and the momos here are just amazing. They have buffet on weekdays which is quite reasonably priced, plus, it's a nice place to relax and spend time talking.

A taste of Rampur: Located above Hyderabad House in Koramangla is this place called 'A Taste of Rampur'. The food is pretty decent, so is the ambience as well as the prices.

Bayleaf: Located in Raheja Arcade in Koramangla, it is a decent place. The food is average and kind of overpriced for its quality. But sure the place is worth occasional visits.

Grameen: Located in Raheja Arcade again, Grameen is a small vegetarian place which is mostly full. The food is decent, decently priced and the ambience is nice too.

Tangerine: Located in Indirnagar, this place has some really nice sizzlers to offer. It's a small place with decent ambience.

Magnolia: A chinese, thai place in Koramangla 3rd block, it has got nice ambience and nice food which is quite decently priced.

Bobby Da Dhaba: Run by a sardar with a very authentic punjabi accent, this dark, smokey, crowded place attracts all the punjabis of Bangalore. I never understood why is it so overrated. I 'd strongly recommend not to try out any of the vegetables here and stick to conventional dal makhani and paranthas and lassi (called pattha here for some reason). Also, you have to reach rather very early or wait & wait & wait. I personally didn't find this place worth the wait.

This is surely not an exhaustive list. Maybe I'll add more to it as an when I recollect about more places. Plus, I'd sure miss the 'Strawberry with Cream and Ice-cream' and 'French Apple Cake with Ice-cream' served at Corner House. I am such a foodie :)

Admitted to IIM A !!!

2008-04-29T19:02:00.011+05:30

The much awaited results for the IIMs finally came out yesterday. I'd be matriculating to IIM Ahmedabad in June :D. Quite unexpectedly, I converted all the six calls. And it took a while for the feeling to sink in and for the celebrations to get over :), so I could come back to my blog.

Going forward, I sincerely hope to be more regular at my blog as I experience the crazy B school life. Have been spending the most leisurely time for the past one month with my long pending reading lists and sitcoms. I know it won't last for long...

The last one!

2008-03-24T21:17:00.004+05:30

Finally, had my last group discussion and interview today, which was for IIM Bangalore. I can't describe how much I awaited this moment. Feeling relaxed after a long long time. The GD was a case study; something to the effect of "Do patents curb or encourage innovation?"

My GD performance was fairly decent and I could pitch in a lot of times as we had around 3-4 dormant members in our group. This was followed by a written summary, a question on the 'most influential person of the 20th century' and career goals: all to be written in 15 minutes flat. My handwriting could at best be described as illegible :( :(

Coming to the interview, it all started with some basic introduction and discussion on my college. They were really interested in my job experience and we had a lengthy discussion on my role and business model of the organization, etc.

Then, for some fair amount of time, we were discussing the economic state of the world, recession is US, what triggered it, its impact on India, growth rates, GDP, share of different sectors in the GDP and so on so forth. Quite an easy going talk.

Then I was asked about my interests. I mentioned about 'reading' and named some 4-5 books I had read recently. However, they didn't probe any further into that. In retrospect, probably, I could have made my answer more interesting by mentioning some of my unconventional interests. However, can't do anything about it now.

I was asked if I had any questions. Well, I did ask one, though I sort of knew the answer they'd give me. Then, they asked me about my rationale for choosing the most influential person of the 20th century and that was it.

That's how it was for the person before me as well. Pretty decent, no tough talk. Panel however was a bit stone faced: no smiles, no frowns. I gave in a decent performance and am satisfied with it. There were a few areas where I could have improved, but then, that is always there.

Numbers speak for themselves!

2008-03-19T14:55:00.008+05:30

To quote Krugman 'Credit is like the fuel for any economy.' The drying up of credit in US economy has therefore led to its repurcussions in several sectors of the US economy.

A really naive question to ask would be why should the world be worried of US recession? A better question is: to what extent will it slow down the India growth story? I am no expert to give answers to these questions. Just trying to figure out here India's dependency on US through some numbers:

- Let me begin with the most important figure, which would be the size of the economy in question. Well, the economy of US is no less than a humongous 25% of the world's GDP.
- Now Coming to India: the most severely hit have been the IT companies or rather the employees working in IT companies. Why? Let's start with some numbers
India's IT & ITES exports (not including hardware): 31.3 billion dollars (Source: NASSCOM Strategic Review 2007 Key Findings)
Total IT & ITES revenues (not including hardware): 39.7 billion dollars

The important figure to complete the picture is the Indian IT & ITES exports to US, which is a staggering 67.18%, followed by Europe at 25.13% (FY 2006 figures from NASSCOM Strategic Review Report), though the share of Europe has been steadily but slowly increasing. However, it clearly reflects the huge dependence of the Indian IT & ITES sector on the US economy, which explains why it is the first one to get hit.

However, how much can IT & ITES sector impact India? After all it accounts for a reasonably small 5.4% of the Indian GDP. True, so let's look at which other Indian industries heavily export to US. These primarily include textiles, jewellery and automotive components. Quoting from the Indian Government's website (http://india.gov.in/sectors/commerce/commerce_overview.php):
Around 20% of the entire Indian exports go to US. However, unlike IT, no other sector (which primarily refers to jewellery, textiles, automotive components, machinery and chemicals) is as heavily dependent on US alone. The usage 'as heavily' is important here as I say this, knowing well the fact that:

- 35% of the India's total jewellery exports go to US and
- Around 25% of India's total textile exports go to US

There is surely a good domestic market as far as jewellery and textiles are concerned. However, the effect from a US slowdown will still be significant. If the above mentioned sectors are hurt, it would mean a downsizing of or less buying power in the hands of people employed in these sectors which could then have a ripple effect across all the sectors include retailing, banking, automobile and real-state.

Also, one cannot afford to neglect the ripple effect from other US dependent economies. So, if Chinese economy or other Asian economies (which account for about 50% of India's exports) start suffering owing to their dependence on US, India's exports to these countries will also be dampened which could hit us hard in a tightly integrated globalized world.

An update on the 3 K's

2008-03-18T13:55:00.003+05:30

It's been a long time since I wrote anything in this space. Much has elapsed in the meantime. So, the blog deserves an update.

- I got 'Ding' from Kellogg a few days ago. It was expected after a kind of debacle at the interview. The 'Ding' also brought back some uncomfortable memories of the interview.
- I had IIM Kozhikode and Kolkata interviews, both of which went surprisingly well. Both the interviews involved some basic Math and discussion on a classic that I recently read and some general background and career goals related questions. Pretty chilled out, as they say.

So, that's how the three K's: Kellogg, Kolkata and Kozhikode have been for me. Have my last interview of the season on Monday. That one is IIM Bangalore. Then, looking forward to a couple of chilled out months ahead. Already preparing a list of the books I plan to read, movies I plan to watch and the activities I want to indulge in.

What does the budget mean to me?

2008-03-02T11:47:00.012+05:30

Having devoured the newspaper for the Union Budget that came out yesterday, I try here to make some sense of how the budget could affect a typical engineer like me.

The best part of the budget which has spread much cheer in my peer group has undoubtedly been the rationalization of tax slabs. It is surely a great step, which will leave more money in the pockets of consumers like me. The tremors of this consumerism wave will ofcourse be felt and welcomed by auto, FMCG and retail sectors. A typical reduction in tax to the tune of 3000/- per month would surely lead to buouyancy in the economic activity given the fact that the saving limit that can attract deduction has not been increased.

The excise duty on packaged software has been increased from 8% to 12% and customized software has been brought under the service tax net, which in my opinion will make a little difference to the IT companies. The companies would surely pass on this increase to their customers which might make them a little expensive and hence might hit them a bit. Also, expensive packaged software could lead to more piracy in the software industry. The non extension of STPI tax benefits under Section 10A/10B is in some ways a welcome move as it is high time that software companies which have long been incubated and nourished by the government and earn huge money via IT exports, now pay their due. Though the measures may turn out to be a bit harsh for small and medium IT companies. But then, the announcement of 3 new IITs and 3 new IISc. will generate talented, employable man power which will hopefully greatly benefit the industry and the country in the long run. This is surely a sort of indirect impetus to the IT industry.

A 4% reduction in the excise duty for small cars alongwith the unravelling of Tata Nano is sure a step which will boost the sale of small cars, especially with people having more money in their pockets after tax slab rationalization. Also Hyundai has already decided to pass this benefit to the consumers.

The rise of short term capital gains tax from 10% to 15% will bring more stability to the markets and hence enhance the confidence of small investors like me.

Call it a populist budget or an election budget, which probably it is, it sure brought a mood of elation and celebration. Whether the government would gain from this in the elections depends on if the short lived memory of people remembers this budget or if some unforseen negative event overcasts this positivity in the months to come. The path ahead needs to be tread cautiously by the UPA.

The much awaited one!

2008-02-27T19:35:00.002+05:30

I had my Ahmedabad interview a couple of days ago and have still not got over it. Just keep on recollecting moments where I could have performed a thousand times better. Anyways, all I can do is wait now... wait for the verdict. So, the process involved an essay writing session for about 10 minutes followed by personal interview. The topic was 'Indian film music: Remixing or creativity'. This was followed by the interview. The panel had three professors: P1, P2 and P3.

The interview started with P2 asking me about my undergraduate education. How and why I decided to move to Ahmedabad from Delhi. What other options did I have and how was the overall experience in Gujarat: from food to riots to college life. Quite congenial so far, I thought to myself. This was followed by a discussion on budget and then I was asked to calculate my income tax which I did, just that I didn't realize I used the slabs for the previous year. So, now I know why P3 kept on saying that 'I don't think you file your own returns'. Some bloopers here as I didn't know about excise duty, surcharge on income tax, sales tax, men's and senior citizens' IT slabs, direct vs. indirect taxes and headquarters of WTO. Though I could still answer some stuff related to investment options, corresponding sections, corporate tax & VAT reasonably. For the most part, it was easy going.

Then P1 asked me if I studied 'Probability and Statistics' back in college. Ofcourse, they had my marksheet and I couldn't have said NO, though I so much wanted to. Then followed a few questions on a course which was ofcourse not my forte. He told me to give a pratical example of statistics which I did from my domain, but he clearly didn't seem to like the example. So, he asked me about why is statistics used, for which I gave an okish answer. Then, for the next 5 minutes, he tried hard to hear some fundoo statistic terms from my mouth but all that came to my mind was mean and standard deviation :( He told me to give a mathemetical model to estimate the value based on some data that he provided me. And I just sat there with an expression which can at best be described as dead faced !!! Nevertheless, looked like I disappointed him big time.

Thankfully, he gave up which seemed like an eternal impossibility. Then P3 took over and asked me about my job which I explained to him. Then, about major learnings from job and about two opposing business models in my domain, for which I gave reasonably good answers. Just that, he didn't like my definition of 'foundry' and told me to look that up as I left. That was all. Was offered a toffee which is still staring at me and serves to remind me of those 30 minutes again and again.

Let's see what's in store for me. How I wish I could have aced this one and had some peace of mind. But, there seems to be no end to anxiety :(

Of fame and fortune ...

2008-02-23T00:21:00.013+05:30

Much is being written and talked about the sale of top cricket players from around the world as part of India Premier League. The BCCI and players are sure raking in big 'mullah' and laughing their way to banks. Quite expectedly, this has again raised the question of cricket being given undue advantage over other sports and specifically our national sport. However, our national sport hockey currently seems to be entrapped in a vicious circle and I do not see why BCCI or media or public should be held responsible for the growing popularity of cricket. To me, it is just a case of being at the right place at the right time!

A recap of history of cricket and hockey in India makes things understandable. At the time when India gained independence, hockey was a popular sport in India. The Indian hockey team won 6 consecutive Olympic golds from 1928 to 1956. There is little doubt then, hockey, quite logically should have and did become the national sport. Cricket was not that big an affair at that time. India won another hockey Olympic gold in 1964 and yet another in 1980, alongwith a couple of silvers and bronzes in other Olympic years before 1980. However, the 1980 victory was the last major victory recorded by Indian hockey. The hockey team nosedived thereafter. The nation was disappointed and anxious to regain its lost prestige.

Just then, at an appropriate time when TV and advertising were gaining popularity, the 1983 world cup victory in cricket hit like a lightning and hooked people to the television. It provided the much needed fillip and energized the audience. It was the first major, totally unexpected cricket tournament win recorded by the Indian team. The big money, sponsors, advertisers soon followed. Over the last two decades, the cricket team has performed and delivered to the Indian audience and hence held their rapt loyalty and attention & ruled their hearts. On the other hand, hockey team has gone from worse to worst.

To regain its prominence and respected place in the hearts of Indians, the hockey team now needs to do something phenomenal: probably as phenomenal as winning the Olympic gold again. The iconic status, money and sponsors will follow on their own.

However, hockey seems to have been trapped in a vicious cycle now. To perform well, they need money and funds, and big money and funds demand good performance. Hope the hockey team is able to break this cycle and emerge and rise from its ashes like a phoenix.

But the hope is alive ...

2008-02-22T12:19:00.008+05:30

So, Kevin Rudd's apology to aborigines in Australian parliament will probably usher in a new era in Australian society, restoration of democracy in Pakistan does light some hope, Obama's lead in US and his promise to have negotiations and establish relations with Latin American and middle east countries is sure a ray of hope and so is the green technologies demostrated in the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. So, glad to see that there is something meaningful and something to look forward to too :)

What's wrong with the universe!

2008-02-22T11:59:00.008+05:30

I was just sifting through the recent happenings and am appalled to see so much negativity around. There is crisis in Sri Lanka where the tussle with LTTE goes on, a recession in US which has already led to sacking of employees in a few IT companies, a kidney racket which was busted in Haryana, intolerance towards a pluralist society as reflected in Raj Thackery's addresses in Maharashtra recently, a never ending crisis in Israel and Palestine, crisis in Nandigram, global warming and the threats posed by it, farmer suicides. Is it the human mind which tends to be more receptive to negativity or is it our media which loves to terrorize us? My quest for positivity is on ...

How to prepare for a B school interview ?

2008-02-18T10:18:00.007+05:30

This is a detailed post primarily aimed at serving me and several others battling with the task of prioritizing and effectively preparing for a B school interview. The realization has dawned on me after three interview experiences of this season, but thankfully before the big one.

The interview is essentially about YOU. The simplest strategy to prepare for an interview, therefore, is to put yourself at the center of the universe. Then every aspect of your personality is a direction in which you ought to keep on connecting the past, present and future. Here is how I would categorize things for somebody with more than a couple of years of experience:

(1) Personal goals and how MBA fits in them? How have your past experiences led you to this decision. It also helps to know about a few MBAs in the domain, you are aiming for: adds more credibility to your MBA decision.
(2) Experiences where you demonstrated leadership ability and team skills at work, tricky situations at work.
(3) Uniqueness in you which makes you a better candidate than the rest of the crowd.
(4) Knowing about your sector: how it grew, what is the future, what is the current growth, challenges, major countries working in that sector, how does the business environment differ in different countries, what are success factors and so on.
(5) Know about the company you work for: what is it in the news for these days, history of the company, its values, competitive position, challenges, strengths, future, numbers: profit, revenue, market share, etc.
(6) Your environment: knowing about states where you were born, brought up, studied, worked. Know about current political, social and economic situations in these states and also about the history of these states.
(7) Activities you indulge in for leisure or relaxation: Probe deeper into them. For instance, if reading is your activity, be prepared for questions like:
- 5 most recent books you read
- last book you read, which also means knowing about the author, his country, influence of his environment on his writings, prizes he won, history of his country and current political, economic, social condition in the country.
- favorite author: and then everything about him, his country, history of his country and prizes he won and so on and so forth
- favorite book: again knowing everything as mentioned about 'last book you read'
- Knowing about winners of 'Pulitzer prize', 'Man Booker prize', 'Nobel prize for literature' and significance of these prizes.
- Major literary events, etc.
A similar analysis has to be done for any activity you indulge in.

That's pretty much what I could think of at the moment. I'll keep on adding to this post as and when things come to my mind. This gives me some starting point to go ahead in a slightly organized manner.

2 down, 4 more to go!

2008-02-18T10:03:00.002+05:30

Well, had my IIM-Lucknow interview yesterday. For the most part the interview was fine, though the professors kept on trying to make a mockery of everything that you ever wanted to do in life or have done so far. Guess, that was their way of ascertaining whether you can stand your ground, which I did decently. It was an interview totally based on personal achievements, activities and aspirations. They asked about my goals and told me to sell myself to the panel which I did well. However, I did stumble badly when they probed me further on my activities. I can't help admitting that I did falter there. However, I do think that this was an interview which was interviewee led as far as possible. It also helped me understand and prioritize the stuff that needs to be prepared for an interview. A detailed post on that follows.

1 down, 5 more to go!

2008-02-13T14:54:00.006+05:30

Had my IIM-I Group Discussion and Personal Interview today.

The Group Discussion was a case study where Arun Kapoor moves from a PSU to private sector and feels constrained in the new environment where he doesn't have that kind of decision making powers. He resigns after his invoice of materials is not approved by his boss on grounds of his failure in seeking a permission. The discussion was healthy, everybody got fair airtime. However, somewhere in the 12th minute the moderator asked the group to concentrate on the last line of the case and take it further from there. Why he said that is something I do not understand. The last line was: 'If you were in place of Arun, what would you do'. The group then came up with a few solutions. Infact, we already were discussing solutions before he interjected. In retrospect, I feel I should have brought up the point that had been nagging me. It was regarding, talking of future steps from the current position, that is, after Arun had resigned and not look at it from a perspective of what could he have done alternatively? Anyways, it almost invariably happens with me.

Then, we were asked to summarize the discussion in 5 min. Stupid me, left the last line unfinished.

I was the third one in line for the interview. The first person came out after getting grilled on academics and I didn't get a chance to hear second one's story. Here is how my personal interview went. There were two professors in the panel. Let me call them P1 and P2 here.

P1: Take a seat. Tell me something about yourself without talking about your work experience or academics.

As I answer, P2 shows complete disinterest in what I am saying and keeps on looking in other directions. I weave in my career goals in my answer.

P1: So, what are semiconductors?

Told him some crap that I could recollect at that time. Not a very correct definition.

P1: I heard that they have different properties at different temperatures: behave as conductors and resistors at different temperatures.

You are right but I do not recollect the temperature ranges as of now

P1: Do you agree that human brain is a carbon chip and a computer is a silicon chip. So, why don't we use carbon instead of silicon?

Told him that doping could be easier in Silicon.

P1: Have you heard of something happening in this space where they are trying to use carbon?

I am not aware of that Sir

P1: Have you heard of nanoscience? What is nanoscience?

Told him what I knew and a few applications of it in the health sector.

P1: Did you see the movie Matrix? What is it about?

Spoke about virtual reality.

P1: Did you see Spiderman-3.

I am not too much into science fiction Sir

P1: No, but you would have heard about Sandman. What are they doing there? Integrating electromagnetic fields to bla bla

Listen patiently and smile at him. Blissfully unaware.

P1: So, did you read this book by bla bla on Nanoscience? What kind of books do you read?

Told him about some 5-6 books I had read recently.

P1: So, what kind of book is 'Crime and Punishment'?

Told him about some psyche of a murderer.

P1: So, a psycho-novel?

Yes.

P1: What is inclusive growth?

Told

P1: Can computers help in achieving inclusive growth?

Yes. Gave the example of ITC e-choupals

P1: So, which business is ITC into?

Told a few: ciggerattes, tobacco, retail, hotels.

P1: So, why do you think they are into e-choupals? How is ITC benefitting from it? Farmers don't go to Sheraton ...

Clueless :( :(

P1: So, what do you do as a bla bla in bla bla? Have you heard of prototype testing or bla bla testing?

I am not into testing. As a bla bla, I do ....

P1: That seems like a whole lot of diverse stuff. Looks like your company fits you in everywhere.

I like the diversity of my job and that's why I enjoy it.

P1: So, what is mentoring?

Told some bla bla

P1: What is nurturing?

Some more bla bla

P1 to P2: Do you have any questions?

P2: So, how was your experience in Taiwan?

Told about a different professional and business environment there.

P2: What is the political trouble in Taiwan

Told about China's claim over Taiwan while Taiwan's insistence that it is autonomous.

P2: What is autonomous?

Told some bla bla

P2: So, is Taiwan a part of United Nations?

NO, it is not.

P2: Why not? UN is just a collection of all countries. Then why not Taiwan?

Because, some countries and bodies like UN are aligned to the view of one China

P2: Why should UN align itself to that view?

Because, China being an economic superpower can exert influence

P2: Is china part of any UN body?

Blank

P2: You know like Security Council?

I am not too sure if China is part of Security Council. Call it the BLUNDER of the day. Man, am I screwed?

P2: Which other bodies does UN have? Have you heard of Permanent Assembly?

No.

P1: What is the role of Hamid Ansari in the foreign policy of India?

I am not aware.

P1: You know who Hamid Ansari is, right?

Yes, he is the Vice President of our country (What the hell do you think I am?)

P1: What was his background before that ?

I am not aware.

P1: Have you heard of NPT?

Told them about NPT.

Alright, that's it. I guess professors must have had a hearty laugh after I left. Need to prepare myself before the big one on 25th. Have IIM-Lucknow on Sunday. Stay tuned!

Kellogg Interview Experience

2008-01-23T17:51:00.001+05:30

I had my Kellogg interview today and here are the questions that I was asked:

(1) Do you have any questions on Kellogg (Strange! But that's how the interview started)
(2) What if you didn't do an MBA? Where would you see yourself ten years down the line?
(3) How do you think an MBA will help you?
(4) Which other schools have you applied to? When did yout write GMAT? How much did you score on your GMAT ?
(5) Why only x number of schools?
(6) Why not consider Indian B schools ?
(7) Why specifically US B Schools?
(8) Explain a situation where you exhibited team skills and what do you think about team skills of Indians?
(9) How has your company been doing in India ?
(10) Could it have done anything better or differently? What went wrong and where?
(11) Why have the Indian stock markets fallen recently?
(12) How is Indian market different from other east Asian markets in your domain?
(13) What is the difference between north India and south India ?
(14) What do you think are the skills a leader should possess and do you think you have them ?
(15) Do you have any questions ?

Lasted for about an hour with two phone calls that he attented to, in between. The interviewer was a very congenial person and made an honest attempt to dig information and understand me better.

Kellogg Interview Invite

2008-01-20T10:54:00.002+05:30

Received my Kellogg interview invite a few days ago. I spoke with the alumni and scheduled it for coming Wednesday. Right now, busy devouring the Kellogg website and digging anecdotes from my experience. Will surely post the interview experience here.

Kellogg Part 2 Submitted

2008-01-13T01:11:00.002+05:30

Submitted the Part-2 of the Kellogg application yesterday. I had submitted the Part-1 on 27th November. It's been over six weeks and I have neither received an interview invite nor an interview waiver from Kellogg. Really have doubts if my application has been touched at all till now. Have written to the admissions about this. Let's see.

Meanwhile, I am gearing up for the 'Group Discussions and Personal Interviews' for Indian Institute(s) of Management. Looks like IIM-Ahmedabad doesn't have any Group Discussion this time. Works well for me :)

CAT Results Out

2008-01-08T23:45:00.000+05:30

The much awaited CAT results are out today. I have been called for interview at all the six IIMs. The next couple of months would a crazy ride through Group Discussion and Personal Interview process for these prestigous Indian B schools.

On my Round 2 schools, I am done with Columbia essays and application. However, the recent developments have prevented me from pressing the 'Submit' button so far. Presently battling the Jan 11 deadline for Kellogg. Having already paid the money for this one, I have no choice but to slog it out.

Much needed reality check!

2007-12-22T22:53:00.000+05:30

I haven't posted for quite some time now. I feel awfully ashamed of myself as I look back at the last 20 days or so. I haven't taken any productive steps towards my R2 school applications. I am currently in my hometown on a vacation which I hoped will give me ample time with my essays. Ever since I came here, I have been just meeting my friends and relatives. However, before coming here, I just spoke to one of my recommenders again. It was really hard to tell him about the debacle at Chicago and Wharton and still convince him to recommend me for two other schools. Heck, I hated it! I feel I'll be wasting so much of my recommender's time if I do not get a call this time as well. However, he did give me some valuable advice and feedback as he was also one of my essay reviewers.

Just sat down now with Columbia essay 1. A strong goals essay still eludes me. So does the enterpreneural mindset question of Columbia.

Time to do some essay writing now.

Kellogg Part I Submitted

2007-11-28T11:50:00.002+05:30

I just submitted the Part 1 of my Kellogg application a couple of days ago. I have still not sat down to mull over the Kellogg essays. Ever since I got over with my CAT exam, I have been honeymooning, watching 'Friends' back to back and pampering myself with good food. I am just not happy with myself right now and am writing this post to get myself out of the honeymoon mode. The office work has also been too hectic lately. But thanks to the policy makers of our US based company, we have the last 10 days of December completely off when I would be flying to my hometown and hopefully spending quality time with my essays.

Meanwhile I have received three emails from the Kellogg office:

(1) Congratulations! You have successfully submitted Part I of your online application to Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University....

(2) We have received your application, and we look forward to reviewing it. Thank you!

(3) We are delighted that you have completed Part I of your application for graduate business study with the Kellogg School of Management....

The last one also has the login details for status check, etc. Hope I get the next one soon as well :)

What went wrong?

2007-11-20T07:39:00.000+05:30

Well, before delving into a thorough analysis of what went wrong and where, let me first announce that I also got my Wharton ding a few days ago :( Lately, I have been sort of busy with the Common Admission Test (CAT) which I wrote last Sunday. For the uninitiated, it is a test to get into the Indian Institutes of Management. Well, the test went well for me, I guess. Keeping my fingers crossed for the result. Meanwhile, I have started looking at my Round 2 schools. Here is the list:

(1) Kellogg
(2) Columbia
(3) Tuck (if time permits)

But before I even start applying myself all over again to essay writing, I must analyze the causes of my recent debacle in Round 1 schools. Here is what I feel an MBA applicant should always keep in mind:

1. Personalize: Yes, every MBA applicant knows about this. I understood the importance of personalizing my application while writing my Round 1 essays as well but somehow when I look back and re-read my application, I realize that I did not do a good job of it after all. There are places where my essays just lose sight and I let myself move outside the frame of the picture, laying more emphasis on the 'what' and not the 'why', 'how' and 'so what'.

2. My single most important take away from the application process has been that 'Do not bond yourself emotionally to your achievements and experiences' while writing essays. You might have landed on moon and had varied enriching experiences. You may not get space to write about some experiences anywhere in the application but then that's O.K. Your career goals essay is definitely NOT the place to talk about your experiences or sing a eulogy of yourself unless these experiences have significantly impacted your decision to pursue a certain career path. Use the essay space judiciously.

3. Make sure you remove the hazardous waste while recycling your essays. In my case, due to paucity of time, I tried to make my career goal essay from one school fit into the other school rather than taking a fresh look at the other school's essay. One must reuse only the harmless parts of an essay and as far as possible refrain from 'cut paste'. There are always subtle differences even for the same essay (say career goals) for different schools. Even if the essay questions are exactly the same, there are differences between the ideologies of different schools which must be kept in mind. In my case, some careless recycling resulted in a jumbled up story, which can at best be described as confused and chaotic.

4. Understand the school beyond what the website offers. The MBA blogs of current students are a great way of learning in depth about the schools and give a good perspective while answering the essay questions. This also in turn enables one to find out if he/she is the right 'fit' for the school.

5. Last but not the least, give enough time to all the parts of the application.

6. Oh! There is one more, perhaps the most important one: Make sure that there are no contradictions in your application. The best way to achieve this to have a common theme run through your application.

I am going to keep this in mind for my Round 2 schools. Hope, this understanding pays off. So, the journey begins all over again ...

Now I know the pain

2007-11-14T23:04:00.000+05:30

Oh! It tastes so bitter. Just got the 'Deny' from Chicago GSB. I know Wharton Deny is also due tomorrow and is somewhere on its way right now. Well, I'll write a detailed post on what went wrong and what I feel I could have done better and my future plans, et. al. But that post will have to wait a couple of days. Right now, time for me to drown myself in this sorrow only to come out of it quickly and move on to my Round 2 schools with full fervour. More on that later. Watch this space :)

The killer wait !

2007-11-03T00:13:00.001+05:30

Till now I have not mentioned here about my GMAT exam and the schools that I have applied to. I gave my GMAT exam on 13th August and scored a decent score of 740. I have applied to the following schools in Round 1:

(1) Wharton
(2) Chicago

The final verdict on the interview invite will be out in another 13 days. Meanwhile, the wait is just killing me, more so, as my friends have already started getting interview invites. The excessive use of '13' in this post seems quite ominous too. I guess, it is in my best interest to log off now.

Saviors turn into wretches ...

2007-10-23T22:25:00.001+05:30

I have been wanting to write about this for quite some time now but life has been too busy recently. So, I was working from home (yeah , my company is kind enough to grant me such leisure) last Tuesday and went to see a friend who was down with fever. He stays about a mile away from my place and obsessed as I am these days about my weight, I decided to walk my way to his house.

So, there I was, trotting my way with a mobile in one pocket, a rather huge house key in another, an umbrella in one hand and a bag full of laundry clothes in another. And, here is what happens when you carry a 3x4 wallet in a 2x3 pocket of your jeans: I just did not realize when my wallet fell out of my pocket.

Like anybody else would have done, the first thing I did was to block my cards. But, here is what my credit card bank told me:

"Your card is electronically blocked but might still be used manually. To ensure zero liability, you need to submit a copy of the police complaint in any of the bank branch."

Heck! Never in my life I had visited a police station. I had always seen Indian police only in Bollywood movies and always pictured them to be like the villainous police they show in cinema. Nevertheless, I did not want to take any chances with my hard earned money and hence went to the nearest police station with my friend. The police inspector told me to write an application stating the details of what, how, where and when I had lost. So far, so good.

When I went back with the application, I saw a completely different inspector sitting there. The look on his face told me that he was evidently not amused by a 'northie' girl coming up to him. Well O. K., I am proud of being an Indian. I like the diversity and richness of culture in this country. But, the truth is that in times of trouble things go from worse to worst if you are in a part of India where you do not know the local language. So, this inspector I was talking to, didn't understand Hindi (by the way, Hindi is our national language. but that is a different story altogether) and as I didn't know the local language and speaking English would have been construed to be my haughtiness, I spoke some broken Hindi. This further agitated him as he wanted me to communicate in English; probably that was an opportunity for him to flaunt his newly learnt English.

Never before in my life I felt so vulnerable. I showed him the application I had written. So this 'English gentleman' of a policeman read the application and asked "wallet ?? .. what is that ?" :O ... so I try and explain a wallet to him. You got to be really careful in a police station: always polite and obliging in front of those men wearing 'khaki' no matter what they say or how they behave. He pointed some rather unjustifiable 'mistakes' in the application and told me to get some plain A4 size white sheets worth ten bucks to rewrite the application. Well... I had had enough by the time. I took it as a nice opportunity to escape from the place to never return again.

Someone (I always keep forgetting names!!) said: 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely'. For me, the incident was a testimony to that. It makes me ponder as to how does a country like ours progress by leaps and bounds while our civil structure and legal framework is lagging so far behind. It suddenly struck me how we live in a such a vulnerable environment where the only way to lead a peaceful life is to be on your guard at all times. One mistake and you will repent forever... justice forever denied!

So, I moaned over the loss of my wallet for some time and went back home in the evening. Soon, I received a call from my credit card bank. They told me that an auto rickshaw driver found my purse and wanted to return it to me. He didn't have my contact number and hence didn't know what to do. So, he called up the bank by looking at the number on the reverse of my credit card. Well, was I dreaming? Was there some mysterious plan to harm me beneath this serendipity? I was completely taken aback. Do such kind of people still exist? Furthermore, when I contacted this rickshaw driver, he agreed to come all the way to my place to give me back my wallet despite the heavy rain that evening. I was completely awestruck by his unquestionable honesty and integrity. It's amazing how saviors turn into wretches and those we think as wretches turn into saviors at times. Life is interesting.

Why this blog?

2007-10-22T16:08:00.000+05:30

Ever been curious what makes most MBA aspirants (especially from India) hit the blogger? I believe the whole process really makes one think, introspect and understand a lot. There is definitely a quintessential connection between being an MBA aspirant and blogging. So, here is one more MBA aspirant, blogging as she wades through her journey to get an MBA and beyond that. However, as the title rightly suggests, I do not intend to keep this blog completely MBA centric. Hope this helps some and interests some.