Your Idea behind choosing the MBA, nowadays, is not just for the sake of adding a PG Degree in your portfolio, but more to gain exposure to areas where in you have absolutely no experience in. This is true not only for you, but for every student who is choosing the MBA as the first choice for their higher education.

The so called “Competitive & Tough” Entrance exams are not the only filter from which the student needs to be piped out successfully but in order to succeed in a Competitive MBA Program, an MBA candidate needs to develop certain qualities, which should mark them as the different student from those not done the quality MBA. So, in this neck throat competitive world, the best only wins!

We give you the 5 top qualities that make an ordinary student into a Great MBA student !

How to Sell: No matter what specialization you choose during your MBA, Be it HR, Marketing, Operations, IT or any other, you need to know how to sell your products or services. Today, not only the sales people should know the selling part better than others, but even if you are an HR student, you must know the selling tricks in order to sell your service to your customer. In this competitive world you should find the opportunities much easier than the past but at the same point of time, there are lot of competition running around you and if you do not possess the necessary selling skills you will be left behind in whatever the business area you will be working.

Decision Making: Any company which will take you after you qualified as an MBA, expects you to be a one minute manager, which means, you should take a decision like a quirk. The ability to make strong and quick decision will help you stand out from the other bunch of professionals. You need to remember that today’s world is very dynamic and is changing every second and the people who are not able to take the decision in fast and accurate manner will be left behind and soon you will be on the wrong side of dais.

There are lot of people around the world who have become successful in either in the corporate world or in their business field, and if you read about them or do a quick research on their success stories, the most common thing you will find out is that all these people at some point of time has taken some or the other quick and bold decision which had become the milestones.

So, at all the point of time during your MBA Course, try to take some bold and quick decision, be it during the study, presentation to the faculty, joining some of the training program etc. You need to realise the fact that it might happen that some of your decision may fall flat or not gave the desired result but at least you tried, no matter what the result, but still you are better than those who do not tried and just follow the laid down process and principles and for them the result also may be known at the start of their journey!

Discipline:  There is a very thin line between the discipline and Indiscipline students. MBA Course not only provides the degree of freedom to choose the subject, project, presentation, activities etc but these courses are the best way to learn the discipline in your personal and professional life. Students who are committed and wants to play it big in their professional life do take the full advantage of the MBA Course and learn the a-z of the discipline while completing the course.

Whether you join an MNC or start up you own venture, if you are not disciplined enough, people will not take your job serious and you will start losing the control of your life.

Leadership: MBA is most sought-after degree that is designed for the individual, wants to take the leadership role either in the organisation they worked for or even if they start their own venture. IBS MBA Course is the best available program which offers the high quality tools and techniques to the student in order to learn the best of the leadership skills.

Nowadays all the organisation wants their Manager to be the best leaders and even the organisation these days spend a lot of money on the program and activities which shall nurture the managers to a Leader.

Every student, during the MBA Course, can learn and enhance their leadership skills to their full advantage. MBA Courses are the best available platform for an individual to use and enhance their leadership qualities in order to make them grow in this competitive world shall use this as a ladder to grow fast in their corporate zone.

Clear Communication: It is always believe that people without the proper and clear communication cannot go far…It is always advisable that you must polish your communication skills even before joining the MBA Course. There is a say that you shall not undermine your opponent and this also holds true for the students of MBA Program. When you enter into an MBA College, you will encounter many students who are having an excellent command over English language and posses exuberant communication skills. At that point of the time many student start generating the felling of embarrassment and in the fear of that they avoid taking participation in many skill development programs offered during the course and thereafter left behind in learning the important skills and hence could not succeed in the corporate world.

Do not think that it’s necessary to have excellent communication skills even before you join the MBA college, as I mentioned above that it is advisable not mandatory, but you should never afraid of learning at any point of time, it is always recommended that you should take active participation in all the kinds of skill development programs and explore all the possible opportunities to make your communication skills as much better as can be.

So, the mantra of becoming a successful professional from an MBA Student is just one…

Do Not Fear!! Keep trying!  There are always two roads to walk in a professional life, one road will be the plane, simple, without bumper and with all the marks and signboards and this road will be the much walked in by most of the student turn professionals…

But, the other road will not have any signboard, much bumpy, have loads of sharp turn with many potholes and the distance will be the long enough to make you tired…but if you are able to walk this road even for some miles, you will be the one who are today a successful professional and Leaders !

So, while doing your MBA, Decide your road and just walk In.

Contributed by HIMANSHU CHAUDHARY ( Class of 2003-05, IBS HYDERABAD )

Sourabh grew up watching Bollywood movies, hailed from a small town called Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. Coming from a middle class family had high aspirations from him. He wanted to grow up to a typical Manager in a Global company in some metro city. Laden under the burden of his self aspirations didn’t know which direction to go & how to realize his dreams. He knew, Rupal, his cousin had done MBA & was earning handsome in some Multinational company. So, MBA was the most obvious choice to realize his dreams.  Graduating in Commerce from a Government College with a meager 60 percentage felt his chances were slight. Rupal was a busy man & for Sourabh it was tough to get Rupal’s expert advice for his career. However, he could manage a telephonic chat with Rupal on a Sunday. Sourabh felt dejected after speaking to Rupal. Rupal had told Sourabh about an acronym CAT. He once had heard of this in a seminar at his college. People said it was tough but was the key to a successful career.  As destined, in the dearth of professional advice & coaching, Sourabh fell prey to the situations. Sourabh prepared on his own & attempted to crack CAT but without any success. He later went on to do his MBA from a local institution without a Campus Placement & started his never ending struggle. After toiling for a decade, Sourabh now a Marketing Manager with an Education Consultancy preaches for better awareness & mentoring amongst the graduating students. He usually tells the students to have more & more options with them so that they can choose from the array of B-Schools later for the final admission.

Moral of the story: Be informed, plan better & don’t be Sourabh.

So, the need of the hour is to think beyond IIM’s/CAT. In fact there is nothing like if a student can make it into IIM’s/Xaviers/SPJIMR/JBIMS/FMS/NMIMS etc but if one can’t make it to these institutions then what? One have to have more options at hand. At the same time options must be “Ideal”.  To understand the Ideal options one has to do some rigorous research on the following parameters:

1. Budget: First things first, most important parameter that anybody thinks of before going for any type of course. Primarily there shall be few types of budgets involved in the selection of a B School.
   1. Budget A: In addition to CAT, aspirant must attempt at least top 4-5 National Level MBA entrance exams. Total expense incurred for attempting these exams will be the Budget A. Merely clearing these exams will not guarantee the admission to any of these top end B Schools. One needs to undergo the rigorous selection process conducted by B Schools.
   2. Budget B: On clearing the entrance exams, students need to attend the Selection Process. It generally comprises of Group Discussion & Personal Interview. Different B Schools conduct Selection Processes at different places. So the Budget B becomes the expenses incurred by the aspirants for attending the Selection Processes by different B-Schools
   3. Budget C: Last but not the least, Tuition Fees & Living expenses of the course will mean Budget C. In fact, aspirants must discuss it with their parents, who are the decision makers that Admission Fees of the Course to be paid needs to be taken care by aspirants on their own. Banks will finance once the B School issue the final Admission Letter to the aspirant. Also confirm before paying the Admission fees whether the B Schools offers Financial Aid/Bank Financing or not.
2. Geography: It is very important for a student to get adapted to the weather conditions of the place where he is going to be for next two years. Some students find it really difficult to adapt to the weather conditions & food of that place & end up withdrawing up from the institution within initial few months only. So, a physical Campus visit is highly advisable to avoid any such situation after the final admission.
3. Infrastructure: Do not forget to visit personally. Campus should be a descent property, well positioned & easily approachable. Many parents check themselves in case of the female students. Two years is a long time students must feel safe & comfortable in the campus. Enquire about the classroom types, library, cafeteria, hostel & other essential amenities viz. internet connectivity, Wi-Fi, Labs etc
4. Faculty & Research: Try to check out the profiles & experience of faculties. Top end B Schools will generally have this information on their websites. In fact this parameter must be given a lot of weithage. Faculties with Industry experience can make students learnings more practical. The research work by the faculties will show the kind of Intellectual Capital any institute has.
5. Teaching Methodology: As the batch of MBA receives students from varied disciplines. So, the immediate goal for a B School remains to bring these students on the same platform. This can be done by practical method of teaching. For example, by Case Study based method of teaching. In this method real life scenarios are given to students for solutions. This method would instill lot of common & business sense in the students through equal participation while studying the course basics alongside.
6. Rankings: Various agencies publish rankings on different parameter every year. One must understand the research methodology applied to the Surveys & the relevance on the parameters too.
7. Alumni: A strong alumni base indicates the yester year’s & also on the coming year’s placements. A strong alumni base would mean that the B School has been doing exceedingly well consistently in placements. Do enquire about the Alumni base before a final decision.
8. Placements: Most vital parameter while zeroing upon a B School remains to be the final placements. One needs to check at least past three years record before making a final call. Placed decently, may almost pay for a life time. Annual package will decide the kind of return on Investment that one would get. So, don’t forget to check the lowest, average & highest packages offered in domestic & to the international placements.
9. Brand: Brand means a unique identity, an image or a perception in the minds. A brand is formed over the years when great practices are carried on consistently over a long period of time & hence creating a rich legacy. One time placement can be had from any B School but a branded education may give a prolonged & a successful career. A branded B School will give a Job ready product to the market, readily to be absorbed in any organization. A brand will be recognized nationally & internationally & hence giving more options to the student.

If the parameters explained above are given due consideration & thoughtful, informed & collective decision is taken by the student & parents, may land the student in an Ideal B School. So, expand your options, be informed & then decide.

Good Luck!

Contributed by Bharat Sharma

 

Imagine a child compelling her mother for a cup of ice cream. Is the child negotiating or bargaining? Perhaps we use the term negotiation and bargaining interchangeably. You may find these techniques that are on display in everyday life at flea markets, roadside vendors, and even in high end market stores. You feel the asking price is a bit too high and haggle to get the price lowered.
People confuse between bargaining, influencing, persuading and negotiation because of their similarities. Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people to reach an understanding, or in business sense, to gain advantage in outcome of dialogue to produce an agreement upon course of action. Persuading involves, being able to convince other to take appropriate action whereas influencing encompasses both of these.
You fail numerous times and get annoyed. For me, Negotiation is an art since it involves expression or application of human creative skills as well as science because of the behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. I quote from the book I love to read about the 3 common errors which people do and you should refrain while negotiating.

1. Separate the people from the problem.
Fact of the matter is that a Negotiator is also human. Be smart to separate the substance and deal directly with the problem. Put yourself in their shoes; don’t blame them for your problem. Attempt to discuss each other perceptions and look for opportunities. Listen actively and acknowledge what is being said.
2. Don’t bargain over position.
Always remember arguing over a position produces unwise agreements and is inefficient. It endangers the ongoing relationship and you tend to lock themselves into these positions. The more you clarify your position, the more difficult it becomes to do so. Your ego is identified with your position.
3. Focus on interest, not positions.
For a wise solution, reconcile interests not positions. Interest define the problem, behind opposed positions lie shared and compatible interest as well as conflicting ones. But how do you identify interest- Ask why? Realize that each side has multiple interests and the most powerful interest is basic human needs.
You can sneak google and will find a lot of different negotiation techniques, but I’ve observed and would suggest my preferred 5 strategies for buyer and 10 powerful negotiation tactics which you may use at advantage in your daily and business life. You may use these strategies and techniques as a combination to gain success.

Five Strategies for Buyer
1. Remember you are in a powerful position and you should preserve and enhance it throughout the buying process.
2. Whether or not you are looking at competitive options, the seller thinks you are.
3. Understand the requirement and know as much as you can about what you are buying.
4. Learn all you can about the seller-his/her goals, values, organizations etc.
5. Identify and assess any risks involved with the product or service.

Ten negotiation tactics
1. Never say Yes to their first offer
Yes is the oldest word in the dictionary but saying yes to the first offer you chose not to see what may come next. Always wait to see the other side of the coin and you never know you may flinch a great deal.
2. Ask for more than you expect to get
This is funny and my personal favorites i.e. fire someone with expectations. I usually ask for more than what I need and finally settle on what I really need. Don’t be shy in asking more than your appetite.
3. Bracket your objective
Aim higher in case you fall short is a good saying. If your objective is clear before entering the negotiation call, half the battle is indeed won, ensure your objective has a set bracket; you can’t be a lost child in a mall.
4. Options give your power
Folks to choose between the devil and blue sea may not what you want. The chances of your failure increases in case you are fixed on one option, cherry pick your options; and if you don’t have, generate one.
5. Flinch at the other side’s proposal
I’ve seen many times people see what the other side want them to see. Play hardball; evaluate the other side of the proposal. It gives a threat to the seller that the customer isn’t interested, and the flip side is, you get to know what’s supplementary.
6. Play reluctant buyer
Imagine a stranger walk up to you at a bar saying, “I’m the best thing that ever happened to you. “Marry me.” You will be reluctant likewise never show your interest at first go, always try to gauge the seller by being a reluctant buyer and strike the iron when it’s hot.
7. Use the silent technique
Silence is golden, I was listening to a presentation from a major fortune company and during their sales pitch; I stayed quiet for some time, sensing something is wrong the account manager started to push harder, and at the end they gave us what we required.
8. Tap down the size of the discount
Try to gauge the accuracy of the discount. You should mind and analyze; IS it not a case of seller cutting you down on the quality of product or service. It’s imperative you minimize the profit but don’t kill the seller’s dream to make a penny on the deal.
9. Patience is a virtue to a negotiator
It’s a good saying have patience, all things are difficult before they become easy. It’s important you maintain you’re cool during the deal, as by getting worked up you may endanger the good work done till now.
Confidential only for IBS
10. Only a Mediator or Arbitrator can resolve the deadlock
Don’t scramble in a deadlock, let someone else take the lead; may be by trying harder you can endanger the relationship; it’s advisable to get it resolve through a mediator.

Negotiating is an important aspect in our day to day life. Negotiation involves being able to discuss and reach a mutual satisfactory agreement. Picture an employee asking for a raise from their employer, two organizations negotiating on intellectual property rights, lawyers bending on an out of court settlement, bureaucrats administering the tendering process. They all have one thing in common; all of them are negotiating for the finest result.

Contributed by Vaibhav Chandra ( Class of 2007-09, IBS HYDERABAD )

The title of this article may sound interesting but the actual reality is that there is no prescribed formula for success. Yes, there are certainly steps/or dos which can surely help in moving towards success. I am just penning down some them and believe me it works. I am sharing ‘secret’ with you guys based on my own experience. And these things are such that implementations of them will surely help.And there is no harm in working on these tips.

        1. Reading – covering various subjects

You may say this is but obvious, what is new? But I have observed that many people don’t read, or don’t have hobby or habit of reading. Friends, there is no alternative of reading; no other source or medium can be alternative of reading. I have observed people; be it students or experienced professionals who do read but their reading is limited to only their domain area only. What will differentiate you from others is your knowledge on various subjects apart from domain field. It will help you in your placement interview and even during your professional career. Extra reading on myriad subjects will help you standing apart from colleagues.

        2. Participation in events like Business Quiz, Open Lectures, Seminars, Management Festivals organized by prestigious management institutes

It is very important to participate in above mentioned events as it helps in interacting with students, professors, professionals of otherinstitutes and companies. Meeting new people from fraternity expands your network and helps you grow professionally. Make a team with like-minded friends and represent your college in these events. Believe me, it is finest way of marketing yourself and your institutes at these events.

 Make in-house club like Finance club, Quiz club, Marketing club etc.

Further, make a group of friends and create clubs like marketing, finance, quiz etc and arrange regular meetings of these clubs every fortnight or monthly. During my MBA, we used to take a topic and one team used to present before the club. You can also invite your faculty, dean in this meeting who can share their knowledge and experience.

        3. Build a profile on Linked in

Building a good profile on linked is a must. Nowadays having a strong presence on linked-in is a key to get calls from HRs of different companies. Hence, build a strong profile on linked-in, fill in all relevant details like email id, cell phone etc correctly so that they can connect with you easily.

But please be careful that in while doing so, please do not bluff, otherwise you will get caught easily and might end up with rejection without being selected.

       4. Watch English movies, documentaries,videos etc.

This may sound bit weird but it helps. Based on my personal experience, I can assure you that there are some fantastic movies and watching them improves domain knowledge as well as grip on English language. Please see imdb list of top 100 Hollywood movies and watch them.

Please note that I am talking about good English movies only and not any other movies which may teach you something else

Jokes apart, further, there are wonderful documentaries available on BBC documentary website which can be your knowledge capsule. You would have heard of ted.com, if not then please visit ted.com and you will be into world of learned, sharp, researchersindividuals who share their story in a short time. These will help in enhancement of knowledge on various subjects and will help in presentation skills.

    5. Develop some hobby + play one sport

During these precious 2 years, you should develop passion for one hobby; be it music, quiz, movie, reading or any other thing of your interest. But develop it, if you don’t have and try to nurture it throughout your life. Additionally, play one sport, be it cricket, badminton, football, or any other in house game. But play it regularly.This will act as a super stress buster in future.

Please don’t think about developing passion for ‘teen patti’.  It may backfire.

        6. Research about companies you want to join

Make a group of 10-15 people in your class and create a list of companies in the field you want to do your specialization and build career. Divide this list among group members and try to fetch some useful information on these companies business, name of the key decision makers, details of its HR department, recruitment officer, address, contact details etc.  And try to build a connect with them with the help of your placement cell. However, this exercise should be done during 1’st or 2nd semester so that this can be of help in your summer internship placement and final placement.

        7. Get a grip on Excel, PowerPoint and Word

This is utmost important. You should have a solid grip on Excel, Power point and Word. The entire corporate world runs on these three things. If you are not good at it, don’t worry, consult your IT faculty, seek their guidance or join professional classes or take help of your friend who is good at it. There are also good videos available on internet for excel, ppt teaching. Just search them and learn from it.

       8. Make a daily routine and stick to it

This suggestion may sound parental advice and weird but it is actually very important. In order to achieve something in life, one needs to make some sacrifice. During these valuable two years, you have to make most of it. And for that, you have to make a daily schedule for you and implement it too.

Ex: Go to bed at 11 or 12 and get up at 5 or 6 in the morning. This will expand your day and you will have almost 17 to 18 hours at your disposal in which you can finish all your work and you will not postpone work on tomorrow.

Further, after getting up early, do exercise, go for jogging/walking, do yoga, play any sport. Be it anything but do some physical exercise so that you feel fresh during the day.

        9. And lastly, focus on study

Last but not the least. Remember one thing that you are here to study and your entire existence is only for study. Don’t get distracted by other things and spoil this valuable time of your life. Make a routine of spending 3-4 hours for focused study to revise learnings of the day, to prepare for next day and so on. But keep busy yourself in the study as your parents have spent a good amount of their hard earned money to send you here. Hence, don’t do any nonsense which can crush their dreams of seeing you doing wonders. Bring pride to your parents, brothers and sisters and for all your well-wishers.

The above is easier said than done. But my friends, honestly, I have tried most of them and it has worked till date. You may disagree on some of the points but try to implement whatever you like, it will surely will help as each of the above tips isindeed a secret to success for an MBA student.

Contributed by janmang ( Class of 2010, IBS AHEMDABAD )

Linkedin Profile of janmang : http://in.linkedin.com/pub/janmang-mehta/21/b17/b59

Hi There! In my previous blog I touched upon the reasons why an engineering graduate should choose Finance as the preferred subject for MBA. Being an engineer myself, I tend to have a biased thinking and seeing from the eye of an engineer. Today let me think through the eye of an employer. Having interviewed various candidates in last few years, I am sure the blog below is going to help you analyze yourself and choose the right path. Most of our career decisions are influenced by our surroundings, social circle, and friend circle – so if a friend or elder brother/sister pursues MBA most of us decide the same, well! I am not saying “all of us”, but certainly “most of us”. It is time that we do a little bit of introspection and understand ourselves better before making a career decision. Each individual has his own strengths, his own weaknesses, all of us work in different environments and face different kind of threats from our competitors. All of us (even if we are brother and sisters or for that matter even twins) are not made out of the same mould, everyone is unique and thus it’s important to identify oneself and do a S.W.O.T analysis before jumping onto a career decision. What worked well for my elder brother/sister may not work at all for me because of multiple reasons, he may be good in his analytical skills and I may be bad in that, I may be good in my persuasive skills and he may not be that good in these skills, when my brother passed out the economic scenario favoured technical knowledge but the scenario today is totally opposite. So? What am I trying to prove here? Well! Nothing to prove as such, but to make you understand the importance of S.W.O.T analysis before going in for “MBA”.

Most of you may already know what SWOT means, but for those who don’t know it yet, S – Strengths, W – Weaknesses, O – Opportunities, T – Threats. Applying SWOT analysis to self needs deep analysis. SWOT analysis covers the inner and outer environment and seeks to establish a balanced approach to help an individual or an organization to progress within an economical environment. The better you understand yourself and the environment around you, the better will be your decision making. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors and they have impact only on you, while Opportunities and threats that are environmental factors under which you are expected to perform. Unless you understand the environment, it does not help if you understand only your strengths and weaknesses. You will be able to make the most of your opportunities if you understand them well and you will be able to progress if you understand the threats. Let’s take a simple example – Four people are given a task to reach from point A to point B in least possible time and you are one of them, the person who takes lesser time Wins. What would you do? You will start running? Well to be very frank, almost everyone would say “yes”. But is that the best thing to do? Answer is a clear ‘No’. If you look at the task carefully – you are not being asked to run but to reach point B in least time. So it’s better to do your analysis before you start running. After analysis you find that You have a bike while others don’t have it (Strength), You don’t know the path from Point A to Point B (weakness), all participants can take a GPS navigator to show you the path (Opportunity), One of your competitor is Usain Bolt (Threat). So does this analysis help you in competing better? Yes, it does, and now you have a fair chance to win the race. Pickup your bike, take the GPS navigator and race towards point B and let the others try to find out their own ways.

Many organizations also use this analysis to choose the right path, product, production techniques, marketing techniques, timing for launch of product, location of factory, location for launch of products and various other things to be successful in the long run.

So, any career decision that you make, it should be well thought of, well analysed and well planned. If you are strong in Persuading and convincing people then consider doing MBA in Marketing, if you are strong in accounts, economics, analytical and mathematical skills then consider MBA Finance as your subject, your choices will also depend on your weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Let me illustrate how the decision making changes when you consider all the factors together and not taking each one in isolation – You are good in understanding accounts and economics (strength), but you are weak in making presentations and building marketing strategies (Weakness), there is a huge demand of Marketing Managers in many Finance companies/Banks (Opportunity), there is a huge number of MBAs in Marketing passing out from institutes across India (Threat). Considering all these points together and doing an analysis, you can make a clear choice of selecting MBA Marketing, and you do that in order to use your strength, overcome your weakness, make the most of the opportunity and counter attack the threat with more confidence. I was just trying to tell you that you should not jump into conclusions without the complete analysis.

Your analysis and strategy needs to be in sync with your vision. If you have decided what you would want to be and what you would want to do then it’s helpful in making decisions, you still need to do the analysis to make a calculated decision. And even if you are not clear on your long term goal as of now, I would strongly recommend that you think of it now and consider doing a SWOT analysis to help you decide.

While doing the analysis, be fair and be true to yourself. Don’t underestimate your strengths – since something that seems unimportant to you may be important for an employer, don’t overestimate the weaknesses as it may be something that can be easily overcome, spend time in finding out the opportunities and threats as there are many of them that may not be visible to you as of now but once you start digging deeper you will be able to see more of them. Also, more importantly, your S.W.O.T should be related to your career objectives and should not be vague and completely unrelated, e.g. While doing a SWOT analysis before going for MBA, someone comes up with an analysis – I am a good runner, I am a emotionally week, there are opportunities in USA for miners and student of IIT are a threat to me – isn’t this completely useless? If you know that it is useless then you must be clear on how your analysis should look like. I have tried to cover a few examples here for your guidance, but if I try to cover all permutations and combinations of Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats then I will end up writing a book rather than writing a blog.

Now you know what you need to do before you choose to pursue MBA. Always use S.W.O.T to guide you in making the right decision.

Always remember “In making a career decision – Reward may not be directly proportional to the risk”

Contributed by DIVIK ( Class of 2004, IBS HYDERABAD )

The battle of getting into a top business school doesn’t just end at the stage of cracking the entrance exam. The next stage of the battle is to come out victorious through the Group Discussion and Personal Interview rounds. The second stage is where it’s all about how your personality, how you perform and use your communication skills rather than just the power of your brain. Most MBA training institutes do their best to tell you the basics such as you should be updated with current affairs, have a personal introduction ready, little tips on the do’s and don’ts but what they miss is that this is the stage where you are tested more on your soft skills, communication skills, presentation skills, interpersonal skills, body language etc. and that is what I am here to talk about.

Group Discussion:

It’s a simulative exercise where 8 to 10 students are given a topic by the coordinator. The topic can either be something related to current affair, abstract topic or even a famous quote. All the candidates are given a couple of minutes to prepare on the topic and jot down their points. The first thing to do at this stage is to jot down points in both favour and against the topic, this way you will have a counter argument even if you are supporting the topic or not.

Now keeping in mind, the objective of getting noticed for bringing in meaningful contribution to the discussion, you need to:

1. Remember 2 quotes – “First Impression is the last Impression” and “All’s well that ends well”: When we watch a movie, we usually remember the start and the finish very well but a very few scenes of what happened in between. The same can be applied for a group discussion where the chances of making a strong impact is either by being the first person to start the discussion or being the one to end it.

2. Listen & Respond: The most important thing which we miss in a discussion scenario is to listen and then make a point. Everybody tries to put in their points of view but there are very few who listen to something react to it. Try to be that person in the group.

3. Loud is not the answer: You will find that one person in the group is the loudest and quite aggressive. However, note that it’s not aggression but assertiveness that the coordinator is looking for. Don’t lose your temper or start an argument. It would be wise learn to agree to disagree instead of picking up arguments. If you find an aggressive person in the group, calm them down by agreeing to them and they will go quiet for a moment. That is your window to put across you view and why you disagree with some points mentioned by others. Make sure you convey that even though you disagree with their view, you respect it nevertheless.

4. Body Language doesn’t lie: Sit straight and keep your body relaxed because the coordinator can judge how nervous you are just on the basis of your posture. Lean forward to show interest and make eye contact with everyone in the group. Remember to never make an eye contact with the coordinator during the discussion. Keep a pleasant expression on your face and avoid frowned or shocked expressions.

5. Be a Facilitator: Saying “Let’s hear what XYZ has to say” to a person who is trying to speak since a long time, shows your leadership qualities and ability to handle a group of people well. Don’t miss this opportunity! Also if you find someone digressing from the topic, take the stand to bring them back.

Personal Interview:

You have cleared group discussion and already spoke in front of 10 people. All you have to do now is interact with just 2 people, but the most important thing here is that this stage is all about you. These are some ways you need to approach this round

1. Relax: It is normal to be a little nervous or anxious, so take a few deep breaths. Calm your nerves and remind yourself that you are one of those who have made it till this stage. Work on your shoulders as stress and nervousness tends to lock down our body and make our shoulders stiff. Take a deep breath and roll your shoulders back.

2. The First & Lasting Impression: In case of a personal interview, the first 10 seconds make it or break it for you. So here is the run down: the moment you enter the room, walk tall, make eye contact with the interviewer and keep a smile on your face. Greet them and introduce yourself. Wait until they ask you to sit and always sit from the right side of the chair. Make sure you have only a file with you, place it on your lap when asked to sit and rest your hands on top.

3. Introduction: Remember this personal interview means everything is supposed to be about you. Keep your introduction short and to the point, tell them things which are not mentioned in your file or resume, but it is important to touch the information in the file briefly. However don’t exaggerate or make up false stories as the interviewer are experienced enough to catch the fibs.

4. No Nonsense: You need to keep in mind that the people taking your interview are experienced and have taken thousands of interviews before yours. So don’t to act smart around the interviewers and understand that having a no nonsense attitude will work in your favour. Don’t try to digress if have no idea about the topic in hand. Give it an attempt and it is absolutely OK to say that you don’t have much knowledge in this field but will come back with an answer. The interviewers will appreciate the fact that you are genuine.

5. Don’t be fooled: Sometimes the interviewers will try to get friendly with you but that doesn’t mean you start getting over friendly and cracking jokes. This is a test, where the interviewer is trying to gauge your interpersonal skills. Same ways, in a stress test they will grill you down until you break. This is a test to check how you perform under pressure.

6. Pleasantries & Other words: Phrases like “Thank You”, “I am obliged”, and “I beg your pardon” will never let you down during a personal interview.

7. Paraphrase: I have come across a few people who say “good question” in order to buy in some time to think of an answer. Avoid saying this as it means that the rest of the questions asked by the interviewer were not good enough. Instead of saying good question, paraphrase the question, for example, “So what I understand from your question is that…? “

Along with all the above, remember to be yourself. All the B- schools are looking for talented and skilful candidates and that’s the reason why they are so stringent in the selection process. Make good use of this opportunity to shine and dazzle.

All the best!

Contributed by Sonia Dubey ( Class of 2009, IBS PUNE )

Linkedin Profile of Sonia Dubey : https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniadubey

 

Master of Business Administration (MBA) is an exclusive and exhaustive course that prepares you for the Corporate Life. I, in particular, am a big fan of this post-graduation degree course and am recommending it to everyone who is eligible. From being a science student with B.Sc Biotechnology degree to breaking balance sheets in the credit department of a public sector bank, is how an MBA degree has transformed my career affinities. I was always told to be a doctor like my father and thus bio science stream automatically found its way through my school days. I was quite a good student of Biology but as destiny would have it, I got an opportunity of doing MBA.

MBA at IBS, Hyderabad for me is not just a post graduation degree course but an experience wherein I competed to chisel my skills and bring out the best in me. Initially I was scared of competing with commerce graduates since it was a cakewalk for them, while it was a completely new territory for me. The first semester of my MBA just went by ascertaining the fact that I stood chance amongst so many commerce graduates. The first year of the course offers general MBA knowledge and all the inducted students have to study the same subjects. People with prior work experience understand the nuances of an MBA through their practical experience in the industry. The combination of enthusiastic fresh graduates and experienced professionals form a good team for each subject since most of the assignments are allocated in teams. The first step is to embrace the positives of both the groups and slowly embark the journey of becoming a Team Leader/Player. This calls for learning to identify the weaknesses of your peers and understanding how to build a team that complements each others’ strengths and weaknesses.

At IBS, Hyderabad most of the students will be gathered at the common hall or the lawn and everyone will participate in achieving the task allocated to their teams- You break the ice and begin the journey from being an introvert to one who can communicate well effortlessly. In the initial days I used to interact a lot with my seniors for their guidance on how to get good CGPA. This part is also called making friends by breaking the barriers of Seniors & Juniors. They guide us with academics as well as recreation. I in particular had a fun ragging session and then was treated by my seniors at “Phirangi Pani”-my first encounter with Hyderabad beyond my college campus. The junior-senior relationship is a beautiful bond and the ease with which you bond with your seniors is an art that can be helpful in corporate life too.

As some time passed, people became a part of various hang out groups such as study group, hostel group, masti group etc. We learn to socialize with so many people from various backgrounds; we learnt the importance of adjusting to the existing situations, especially unpleasant ones. Attending and bunking classes, professors, lectures, assignments, presentations, hanging out, and parties became a part of the daily routine. All these helped me gain more confidence and develop my inner strengths. In MBA a major portion of the course is delivered through case studies where real life corporate examples are involved. Students are also asked to prepare skits to get an idea of how real life business situations are and how we should respond to them. From presentations & case studies to grading group work turns out to be very effective. During exam time each member of the group prepares a topic and presents it to the other members of the group. Teamwork is one of the most important aspects of my MBA experience. Until my graduation, my experience of being in a team and working with them was limited to the sports tournaments but now I could actually get good scores through teamwork.

I was inclined towards various inter college quiz competitions and sports tournaments. I participated in many inter MBA college quiz competitions and won several accolades. I was told that these extra certificates would add a lot of value during my placement process. Initially I did it just for the certificates but then I enjoyed interacting with students from other colleges, getting a chance to visit other universities and represent my college and giving my 100% for the preparation of such competitions. My personality was getting a holistic development and I liked the positive energy that emanated from within me.

The first year of MBA went into discovering one’s affinity towards a stream of specialization and at the same time working towards achieving the minimum CGPA for getting the desired subjects. Finance subjects in particular always carried minimum CGPA criteria to be fulfilled. I got a decent CGPA of 8.25 during my first year MBA and also got all my desired subjects but unfortunately I got separated from my group of friends. The annual fest at the college campus is another unforgettable experience. There were a lot of competitions, dance parties, ramp walks etc. I learnt the art of being an event manager and all the tasks involved with managing a successful event such as getting sponsors for the show, preparing hoardings, inviting colleges and organizing the whole function.

Second year is a little more rigorous which demands shorter sleep cycles & more hard-work especially for non-commerce students who opt for the Finance stream. Being a self-challenger that I am, I wanted to do finance specialization and be a good competition for other students. Another feather to my cap was developing the art of reading and comprehending financial newspapers, magazines & journals. I read a lot of articles and also started writing for the finance club at the college. I found that I was a decent writer and with the help of my friends I started my own blog. I sensed a funny bone in my articles and also presented them at college gatherings. Thus, my communication skills (reading, writing & speaking) were greatly developed during those two years, which comes handy even today. MBA course also offers a practical experience of the corporate world in the form of “SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT” (SIP). Good companies approach the college for hiring interns and based on CGPA followed by interview students are offered 3 months of paid/unpaid summer internship. Before actually being thrown into the ocean, the college puts you in a river for developing your fins for navigating your way successfully through the choppy waves of the corporate world. The internship demands you to utilize all your abilities, research and deliver what the SIP guide wants you to do. Adjusting to the corporate atmosphere took its time but nonetheless it was worth the experience. Some people also get final placement offers from the same company of internship, if your mentor feels that you are an efficient worker who can contribute to their organization.

Placements prepare you for the rat race present in the outside world. It’s not just an impressive CGPA but an overall configuration of your personality that is judged by the companies visiting for recruitment. First the company’s delivers its corporate presentation wherein you have to decide whether the job profile suits your interest or not. The placement session helps you foresee your skills/potential that you have developed during the course period and apply for the position with great confidence.

I discovered my love for analyzing the financial statements of companies and making project reports. Now, I am working as a credit analyst and working in the same field for which I discovered my affinity during my MBA days. MBA has given me a platform to develop, hone and inculcate my business/personal skills and put my best foot forward.

Contributed by Sneha Singh ( Class of 2010, IBS HYDERABAD )

A popular proverb says ‘Well Begun is Half Done’ and this can be applicable to YOU if you are an MBA aspirant. The one main aspect required to crack an MBA entrance exam is a well defined plan and strategy. The plan will work as a roadmap and will guide to towards your goal/destination i.e. admission in a B- School. Planning is a simple and systematic process which helps to achieve the complicated task step by step.

We will be sharing few tips which will help you in preparing for the MBA entrance exam with ease. It will also focus on the overall preparation i.e. written exam, group discussion and personal interview. MBA colleges ideally look for candidates who not only have a good command over academics but have an all round personality.

Tips for MBA aspirant

1. A Clear Vision/Reason

First and foremost thing which is important for an MBA aspirant to know is why you want to do MBA. Yes, MBA colleges assist their students in getting a job with better salary package but that should not be the sole reason for pursuing MBA. Cracking an MBA entrance will be relatively easier then answering the question of ‘Why MBA’? – The answer should be related to what you want to do in your life.

If the degree of MBA will help you in achieving your goals and will also provide you a platform to achieve them then you should consider doing MBA. It will help in sharpening your existing skills and also develop others.

2. Well defined roadmap

Preparing for MBA entrance exam is a rigorous task in itself which requires a student to prepare themselves at multiple levels – academics (entrance exam – written), preparing for GD and PI which involves keeping oneself abreast with latest events in the world economy and not just being restricted to Indian news. You also need to work on your presentation and vocabulary skills which will be helpful in GD and PI.

In order to achieve this goal i.e. cracking the MBA entrance exam you should have a well designed plan in place from Day 1. A plan will work as a roadmap and help you keep a check on yourself if you deviate from the path and will also help in overcoming the hurdles one after another.

3. SWOT – Analyse Yourself

Before getting admission in a B-School, you will have to go through various tests like CAT/MAT/IBSAT/SNAP etc. Each and every test differs from the other in terms of the structure, however one thing is common among all is the basic curriculum. Also many colleges have their own selection process.

Briefly you will undergo following process before getting selected into a B-School

• Written Examination
• Group Discussion/Personal Presentation
• Personal Interview

As an MBA aspirant, you now know what is required from you, the process that you will have to undergo and the various subjects that you will have to study – Quantitative methods, Analytical Reasoning, English/Vocabulary, General Knowledge, Current Affairs etc. It is advisable that you now analyse your areas of strength and weakness. You may be stronger in mathematics but may find English/vocabulary/grammar to be difficult.

The reason for SWOT analysis is not to neglect the subjects which are your weaknesses. It is rather to allocate more time towards them in order to overcome your weaknesses.

   4. Have a disciplined approach
Once you have completed your personal SWOT and know the areas which will need high concentration, you need to start with a disciplined approach – Prepare a time table and make sure that you follow it systematically.
It will be a systematic approach wherein you will have to set your weekly and monthly goals, work out how much time you can dedicate every day for your studies and how will you achieve the target set for yourself.
Target setting will help you to have a focused approach and work towards your goal with dedication. Ideally you can prepare a goal sheet for yourself which will help you to check if you have deviated from the path and also the how much task has been accomplished.

   5. List the exams to appear

As we said there is a list of different entrance test for MBA -CAT/CET/SNAP/IBSAT/MAT etc. you need to decide in advance which exams you want to appear for. Ideally you should first make a prospective list of colleges which you would like to consider for your MBA education. Once you have finalised on the list of colleges check which exams score are been accepted/considered by these colleges in order to accept the application and also the approximate cut off percentile/percentages required.
Make sure the list of colleges that you have shortlisted does not run in a huge number, as applying to every college involves a cost w.r.t purchasing the application form of the college. Post deciding on the exams to appear, start working on the required curriculum which shall be helpful in cracking the test in the first place.
You also consider taking mock test prior to the final test date of the respective exam. However you should keep last month or two specifically for mock test; such tests will help you in preparing on your accuracy and speed skills. The mock tests will also give you an approximate estimate of where you stand with respect to the particular test and grey areas you need to work on.

6. Cracking/(Preparing for) the Group Discussion

Usually Group Discussion is the second round in the process of selection. Before appearing for the GD you must be well prepared. Topics given in the GD are spontaneous thus your advance preparation would be helpful to you during your GD process. It is advisable that first you understand the topic well and have atleast 5/6 points to talk about. Advance preparation right from the Day 1 will surely be helpful in cracking the Group Discussion. You can prepare by reading daily newspaper both National and Financial times, Magazines (any topic need not be related to national/financial issues), fictional books (novels – helpful for improving on vocabulary and creative thinking). You should also participate in mock interviews
which will help you to learn & overcome your mistakes

     7. Cracking/(Preparing for) the Personal Interview

Personal Interview will be the last and the most crucial stage in the process of your selection. You can start preparing for personal interview once you have completed with your written examination. It is advisable to start first with a set of interview questions available from different sources especially internet (this are the questions asked to students in past). However this step is just a prelude and do not expect that the same set of questions will be asked to you. Also you can appear for mock interviews and also learn from different mock interview videos available from free resources like youtube.
Key Takeaways
                a) Have a clear vision – Why MBA – How it will Help me in my career
                b) Design a well strategic approach to study the curriculum
                c) Focus on overall preparation – News/Current Affairs/Body Language
                d) Be thorough with your resume – Interviewer asks question from your resume
                e) Have a well disciplined approach towards preparation.

Contributed by Timir Palan ( Class of 2010, IBS BANGLORE )

Linkedin Profile of Timir Palan : http://in.linkedin.com/pub/timir-palan/b/287/4a3

All of us have memories of our college life and those memories only hit us once we graduate. Especially when we feel we have lost touch with our friends because of the intolerable professional work load and because our personal lives almost become non-existent. A discussion regarding our love lives with a friend over a call for hours is now replaced by busy meetings and follow-ups with clients. From chilling out and hanging around, we are now busy with business meetings and running towards achieving targets. But yes, we all have learned a lot from those college memories. Even if it is a casual conversation with friends or running after teachers for our college assignments and convincing them to mark us at par with those who had already submitted assignments on time. Most of us think it is ok to submit a bit late and some of us think that it is fine to not even submit the college assignment.

You would be surprised to know that I hardly used to make the college assignments on time. Not that I’m proud of it but now I realize the important traits that I missed by not doing what was required. I do agree that most of our teachers load our not-so-strong shoulders with tons of assignments and I also agree that it’s not easy. But it is done for a good reason. There are students who go an extra mile to complete these assignments. It can be through the fancy slides that they make, usage of interesting fonts, the kind of research work they do, the way they compile the data and give a fluent presentation to please the teacher. And most of us would just copy the assignment from such incredible students of the class, try to be a part of the presentation groups in which there can be minimal contribution, just read the slides to earn an average grade and still not give a damn(as they say). Such students would also mock those who complete the assignments and make creative presentations saying that they just aim to impress the teacher. Well, life answers all the mysteries in its own and as they say hard work never goes in vain. Trust me, it actually does not.

The games begin when all these students enter the professional world that promises them fancy salary package and job profile. When they come on board, suddenly the manager turns to that robotic machine who would load you with some intricate data which you are expect to sort and present in no time to him. He expects you to not knock his door for trivial problems and use Google and consult other colleagues (who love to see you being scolded). And then you realize that life is not as easy as running after the teachers with that effortless assignment and life is also not that casual when we did not give a damn on even submitting an assignment. Your teacher might not bother you much but when it comes to work, you are judged at each and every thing you do, from sending a mail to the font you use. And when you are paid for the work you do, the expectation is much more.

When you missed on soft skills assignments, your mail writing skills dropped. You realize it even more when you are scolded by your manager for all the incorrect mails that are sent. Your soft skills teacher would have pleasantly corrected you and you might have been praised for your mail writing skills at work. MS Excel and PowerPoint are those relatives who have been latched on to us without any choice. A presentation is an attractive and convincing tool for cracking some of the biggest loopholes in the business. The business world trusts numbers the most which is why we are expected to turn some raw data into constructive figures. This in turn could have the capability to bring in more revenue and help project us better than our competitors. This makes it very important to know how to conduct a market research and sort the complicated data via MS Excel.

Every meeting that you attend with your superiors and clients will have a different discussion and you would be expected to share some presentation or data and contribute significantly to the meeting. You are definitely not expected to jeopardize the meetings with some irrelevant data. You have to be good at MS excel, Microsoft PowerPoint and in conducting a market research. Try to remember the times you tried skipping the market research assignments and did not bother on IT assignments when all the jargons were taught with patience. You will face an entirely opposite situation at work. Maybe if you would have made up to those assignments with all passion and submitted at your best, today you would have learnt from your minor mistake and would have been recognized for the same at work.

I do agree we all learn from our mistakes. Some learn by making the mistake during the college and some carry them to work. Being casual about work is the root of all loopholes. We realize what we lost when life takes a serious turn. We take advantage of our parents’ money by not taking the assignments seriously and when the same assignments turn to submissions at work place with no delay, with a salary at the end of the rope, we get paranoid. Had it been a routine, we would be comfortable with all intricate work that we would be assigned with.

A PGPM course is designed in a manner to incorporate all those qualities in an individual to empower one with the leadership and professional skills. Adding to that, we should not forget that our faculty has worked with various organizations before taking up the profession of teaching. So, whatever assignments the professors give to the students, they have a lot of relevance in one’s future endeavors. In case one wants to shine from the very first day of the work, one should start considering college assignments as submissions at work and professors as Managers.

Contributed by Rahul Wadhwa ( Class of 2011-13, IBS GURGAON )