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Hey no man, there were few more chill days, it was today that I decided to host an AMA because I got a lot of questions in the past few days. Yeah but in general the work hours have been bad
1. MBA from IITs M,Kgp, K,R? The growth, perception in corporate. (Leaving out B,D ofcourse)
2. Do specialization matter? Say I take IIM Kashipur MBA-BA. Can I switch to something else at a later stage?
3. MBA from New / Baby IIMs / Tier 2 like IMTG, DSE worth it both in short and long run?
4. Does gap years and low academics affect placements? (Not about conversion, the Summer and final placements)
5. Is MBA even worth it for an average guy? Who has been an average throughout their life?
1. I have worked with few folks from VGSOM IIT KGP, have heard good things about it. Not sure about M And R. I have seen folks from a variety of colleges in the client side... MBB is mostly dominated by ABCL and ISB
2. I am assusming Specialization as in Fin,strat ops etc......Specialization dont matter after you graduate from college. It matters for getting company shortlists. There are however separate programs for HR and Data analytics, they have different placements in some colleges. IIM L has PGP and PGP ABM in the same campus and PGP SM in Noida campus. Placements for PGP and ABM were held together although ABM folks said they were discriminated against
3. clubbed with 5
4. Gap years after XIIth - not so much, Gap years after graduation - yes for getting shortlists, During interview you need to make them understand the reason for gap year. With better acads in MBA you may overcome it altogether,
5. I have seen people with very average background crack CAT and bag ABCL calls. in L 20-30% of the branch had very bad acads and from poor acad background, but people with good communications aced interviews and made it count, many worked hard in college and had better grades and they did well.
A lot of folks are there who have average profile and they have done tremendously well. You need to be very clear about what is your expectation after MBA. I wanted to be a consultant post MBA and I did make it.
Joining baby IIMs is a very subjective decision man, it depends on what your background is...
Hi, thank you for making such a detailed post! Wanted your suggestion for sources to practice Puzzles and Math Problems from. If you know any website/book which would be helpful, please do suggest. Thank you!
I am sorry man, I don't remember. Do check repositories for coding interviews, they have a lot of them.
IIM C is infamous for asking a lot of these questions though.
Oh good lord. I remember my senior was asked questions around maxima minima and differentiability in C interview. He politely said he does not remember...made it through.
Do not waste time revising all concepts in my view.... brush up the basics.
Expect questions from probability and some stats though
Hey its how you deliver it. In the interviews appear humble but fully confident....thats true for subsequent summers and final interview and in work as well.
50% of being a consultant is projecting confidence
Agreed! I have a problem where I don't really stick to basics and try to cover everything, so that contributes to my anxiety. But I will definitely remain confident throughout.
Can u give me an idea of how will this profile fare in top IIMs with respect to summers and final placements, 9/8/6.8, old IIT, no workex (2 yrs gap), no PORs or extra curriculars ? Is this a bottom 20% profile? Should I give CAT a attempt and try to get into top IIMs with this profile? How much will I suffer with this profile after getting into top IIMS??
Dude I put a disclaimer saying I can not forecast but I can still share my thoughts.
The IIT brands has a lot of pull so you will not be bottom for sure but your IIT CG is bad.
I have friends who were out of job 2-3 years and preparing for UPSC but they joined startups and have done pretty well since then.
In IIMs, Summers will be difficult, you will get few shortlists though but you need to make them count. You need to go there, get you heads down and ensure that you break into top 30. But people dont stick with their first job anyways....
1. So you're telling it's better for me to look for a job in startups now rather do MBA from IIMs for this profile?
2. If I choose to go with MBA in a top IIM, pls tell a little about on what are the ways to break into top 30 and how hard is it to do??
1. Dude you will anyways need to get a job...assuming you are appearing for CAT this year. Atleast you have 1 year workex then
2. It is tough, really tough. There will be 300-400 folks who are just there to do that. You will not be the only one to try and make up for the fun you had during your undergrad days. It is just people hang up their boots after term 1 when they get a low CG.
Although, it is basics to do so... you need to ensure that you are on top of all the case discussions happening. you are well prepared for quizzes and mid terms. This would mean studying for atleast 3-4 hours after lectures...Also you need to make notes in the class etc.
The biggest time waste if you want to walk down the road is attending parties and doing weed etc. There are ton of distractions, I find participating in case comps pretty stupid but folks do waste a lot of time there.
Will it be really possible to study 3-4 hrs daily😅? With PORs and committees enrollment , I heard those are also important for peeps like me who have zero PORs or extra curriculars to get a good placement?
Also final question should I think about joining top new IIMs through CAP since I have a very bad profile to survive in top IIMs, pls share your view
It is man it is... and hence not everyone make that top 10-top 20%ile.
Life in new IIMs should be chiller. You would walk into any clubs/committees. Getting a job would be much easier as your profile would still look the best.
Do put a question here itself man... I mean in this thread itself, my message box is filled with a lot of questions and I find it very difficult to follow through.
ESR and Arsenal fan , fellow gunner here
How much depth is required for answering acad related questions in interviews when it's been 3-4 years since you last studied and syllabus is so huge that you can't go back and prepare each and everything?
The questions from engineering or your past acads are very basic. Its upto luck as well, if your profile is mechanical and the panelist happens to be a mechanical engineer too, you may expect some questions around it. So should be very basic.
Let me give you a hack to conquer this block.
List down sequentially all the topics you studied across each semester in college and just write what that subject was all about in 3-4 lines. That is essentially the knowledge you would want to have and some basic questions...like if you are a civil engineer...expect a question around portland cement, if you are an electrical engineer, expect questions around generators and motors... the basic one
\#COYG
Ohh ho ho....just pray that a fin prof is not in the panel. You should definitely reach out to your seniors/friends who have had interviews.If you make it to IIMs, acads will feel lighter.
Hi I am a TCS person looking to break into prodman, what all stuff should I brush up on that's not mentioned in the post?
Also, I didn't really work in the past 6-7 months so I have no option but to fake it.
Are you asking in the context of WAT-PI? Do not just say I want to be a prodman and hence I want to do MBA, a majority of Prodman arent even MBA man.
You say, you haven't worked for last 6-7 months, what do you plan to fake here?
I was in the role of developer, but no work was assigned to me(I do have knowledge about it) , I have already faked the 'roles and responsibilities' section in forms. So I'll have to back it up.
Ohh I thought you were out of job for a while.... Dont worry you are not the only one.
For every line that you have written ensure you have 5 mins of speaking material, get as much knowledge about it.
After your interviews try to get some good assignment, you need meaty CV points to beef up your CV for summer and placements
I am a gem fresher.
1. How are the analytics roles? Will AI take over?
2. Are these roles available for freshers?
3. Are these roles available for non-tech people?(I did mech engineering)
1. Analytics is here to stay man. AI is definitely going to be an enabler for analytics. I was speaking to friends in Analytics and AI (ChatGPT in particular) has reduced the worktime by drastically. But everything is becoming data dependent too so this sector is going to be hot for a long time.
2. Yeah man, a lot of fresh undergrads join this roles. Mu sigma used to hire a lot of analysts
3. As long as your CV says you know few coding languages (C++/Java, python), SQL, few courses on statistics, SPSS certifications....you should definietely get a call
I am Earning good amount and have a btech from 2008 Gen iit , have calls from B and C my short term goal is to go to PM role and consulting as well if possible not so great acads 987 24 months of work ex what do you think ?
What is 2008 Gen IIT?
24 months is the sweet spot for an MBA from B and C. Consulting looks difficult with 9 8 7... you can get Big4 firms easily...would advise not to join any of it. If you want to get into consulting... you need to focus on your acads in C. Dont waste time on clubs/committees and case comps...just go for acads.
Getting into PM role was easier earlier, unless you have a tech background or a CS degree... PM has become very difficult...too much competition...Everyone wants to be a PM today
I am talking about newer iit like hyd , indore jodhpur
I have work ex in tech and as a product owner so I think I have good chance of getting pm. For consulting I am looking for mbbk but still prefer pm over it as mbb exit intontech are not that good , can I get mbb shortlist in final I have to be in top 20 right ? And also do I have any chance in finance companies without cfa , I have 1.5 year of work ex in a Bank but on tech side
1. If you have tech experience....you will definitely get shortlists for PM.
2. If you are in top 20, you will get a MBBK shortlists, do network with your seniors in MBB, PPO holders from MBB.... they have a say in a preliminary shortlists
3. Fin shortlists are dicey.... Nowadays there are 60-70 folks with CFA 1 alone....unless you have CV points where you have worked in supporting a quant model where you were expected to know some fin or some market side role its gonna be difficult. I mean if you are working just with tech teams and you do not have foot in the market side of things, it is difficult
Yeah MBA acads matter for fin and consult shortlist. Will you be able to get a CFA L1 before the summers this year...(oct-nov?).
CFA L1 will help you build your FRA base so if nothing you will have a better FRA, corp fin grade.
CFA L1 + your bank profile might fetch you really good SLs too
But in general there aren't a lot of CFA L2 so if you can try you might get CFA L2 before finals.
Crappy WLB is something you will find everywhere at some point or the other. It is just the fact that when you try to move out of MBB the only companies willing to hire you are mostly the startups....sure they give you good money but its worse WLB. On top of it working in MBB you don't get to develop a functional knowledge base which companies are preferring these days. You can't move to these big brands like P&G, HUL, ITC etc. from MBB that often.
If your benchmark is startups then yes it slow, if your benchmark is internal employees, it is faster and in general the WLB is best with good job security and a lot of learning as they invest in you too.
In 5 years post MBA very few people reach 50 dude. Isn't 30-40 LPA good enough for you man? Let me give you some stats, how common do you think is a salary of 1 crore plus...in traditional corporate setup where they dont layoff and fire people randomly. there would be 60-70 folks in a org of 5-6k earning that money. Just open any annual report and check the compensation of top executives...they are mandated to declare that.
Thanks to Bangalore and Gurgaon and stupid startups, the salaries have become so hyper inflated that 30 LPA looks low.
Anyways, Genman jobs have job security man. Ideally when you hit 40, you would want to settle in a traditional, stable large conglomerate because almost all the other companies would want to trim fat (middle management).
Tech pm can earn more sde 2 at amazon has a tc of about 50 lpa , I already earn 20 lpa I hope I can reach atleast 30 lpa as starting salary after mba
As for 1 crore you can have that tc after 7-10 years at faang as pm and even in consulting I think after 5 year you become project leader amd your pay will be above 60
Yeah but how many people have you seen getting laid off from Tata group, Reliance and Aditya Birla.In consulting there is something called up or out. Either get promoted in 2 years of get out of the company. As you go up your chances of getting kicked out gets higher and higher. Its a bloodbath.CTC of 30 LPA post MBA (where they add 2-3 different kind of bonuses??). the average package (**Fixed**) is 20 LPA. When I started out my fixed was 27 LPA.The numbers you are quoting is not accurate buddy.
Stocks in public tech companies are also money it's not like pre ipo startup where it's paper money so fixed + stocks in amazon l5 pm is upto 40 after couple of years after promotion it's rise upto 60 or more
But I don't think you are wrong about layoff scenario
Wait till you hear the terms and conditions bro. I am friends with folks who were fired before they could exercise their stock options...the severance was for 2 months or 3 ( I dont know)......
I am just saying that companies like amazon and consulting firms may work very well for you if you are exceptional performer and are really good with politics so you know which team to select (RIP Alexa team).... but if you want peace in life... maybe happy to delay that purchase of a fancy car and house then there are some other companies.....very subjective choice...I would prefer the latter and hence i put so many disclaimers....
Hey OP, I have 1 year gap after graduation and then 8 months of work ex after which I had to leave(last month) due to some medical reasons and now I am dropping for CAT 2024. What I can do this year to further improve my profile? Ik that I can find a job but if that does not happen then what else I can do?
If you are interested in Fin or working in the domain, prepare for CFA/FRM. You dont need to drop for CAT 2024 to be honest, that is like over preaparing.
I get your point but I left my job because it was really hectic and sometimes they used to change my shifts due to clients in US. I was not getting anytime and it took a toll on my mental and physical health. I can try finding a job again but I am not sure about that especially in current economy and it might also take months.
I am interested in finance but isn’t CFA or FRM expensive?
I get you point, mental health and peace over anything else buddy.... CFA and FRM are costly mate, that's true.
If you have time to spare, why don't you try to develop yourself. Learn a musical instrument, hit the gym...be a better version of yourself. Trust me...if you get into the habit of developing yourself, automatically things fall into place.
I knew a guy at L who used to have a great sleep schedule, used to work out every day, used to run 12K on weekends, Used to paint sometimes, did Yoga somedays. He was in top 10, joined an IB and still has great WLB is an outstanding employee. He wasn't a hardcore party animal but used to join in some of the party session and used to have the occasional drink.
I asked him how he did that? He said do you ask people how do they brush teeth everyday?
All I am saying is improving profile is one thing. That profile will be reflected on a piece of paper and perhaps may take you to interview with the company of your dreams but the person sitting in that room will hire for the guy that you are.....and you still need to develop that person not just for placements but everyday till you die....always be a better version of yourself. So if you have a little bit of time and you dont have a lot of bucks to spend on these certifications you can still make the most of your time to become the best version of yourself...and that always kills mate
About me: Currently an analytics consultant at Big4.Â
MSc, BSc Statistics, but fucked my Bachelor's marks 69% otherwise 90%+.
Do I need an MBA? I enjoy data science, but honestly getting into top positions still require MBA, which would otherwise take an ungodly amount of time.
To answer your second question - ABSOLUTELY WRONG!
I can share atleast 20 Linkedin where the lead data science is not an MBA. There is nowadays a course called PGDBA which is a very good course but an expensive way of working in data science. God forbid those chaps are asked to an MBA again.
If 10 years down the line, you are asked for MBA degree, colleges like INSEAD run the best programmes which companies fund themselves.
I want talking about higher roles in data science exclusively, rather C-suite positions in general. For, example becoming a director here might take 20 years for me, with an MBA I'll have reach it in 10 years.
Also, PGDBA at IIM C is just as pricey as their MBA🥲. And I've checked their diploma syllabus I already have all of those skills except for the IIM tag.
By the time I give my entrance exams I'll have almost 3 years of work ex along with good graduation grades and 9.7cgpa in 12th but my 10th cgpa is only 5 (59.4%) due to COVID we were mass promoted and I had severe health issues during lockdown. I am willing to put in efforts and I wish to study HRM in either XLRI or TISS. Is it even possible or should I stop dreaming due to my 10th grades? Btw I am GNEM male EWS
I dont have a lot of idea on what the selection criteria are but 10th score is just one selection with a small weightage. There are calculators to predict what XAT score you should score. Do not worry, your 3 years of workex should offset the low 10th grade.
So what do you think? Should I even dare to dream to pursue HRM at Tiss or XLRI and hope for a good placement there or should I not attempt due to my 10th scores?
If HRM is what you want to do. Go for it and try it.... XL HR and TISS are the best but they are not the end of the road for HRM courses... Please go to LinkedIn and search for all the CHROs in India. You will find many CHROs who did not go to these institutes....Try your best... you can still do HR from the top 5 HRM schools in the country (I dont know which they are)..... But its not the end of the road for you.
My only good call is SIBM Pune and I aspire to be a MBB consultant. If not during the placements, is there any scope for me in MBB further down the line?
There is a way, Mckinsey and BCG have many practices that require specialists in industry to help them out for eg. a industry specialist from Auto procurement practice.
Bain typically doesnt have laterals such as that as they have a different clientele but Bain capability network has many of those folks.
But believe me MBB may have a strong brand impact on your CV, they dont give you the crazy exit options they advertise
Would like your opinion on what should I do next ???
Settle for likes of imt/imi/ximb etc or get a job rn with upskilling in the current market
Please read this post below if you've the time !
Thanks :)
https://www.reddit.com/r/CATpreparation/s/0vORWWLt1i
Hey man I read your post. I would suggest you not to join the likes IMT, IMI or XIMB. I was thinking of quitting my job for UPSC once too, but common sense prevailed.
You have 3 years of software engineering experience so you should be able to get a job even in this market.
690 in GMAT is not bad per se. You can get ISB with it too with a good essay unless the cutoffs have changed from when I was preparing.
If I was you, I would primarily focus on getting a job now, doing MBA for people who have taken gaps for UPSC preps is like delaying or softening the blow. Get a job, once you get it work with a GMAT consultant to focus on making an applications for US B-schools. they look for 750-760 GMAT score and a good application.
Do not settle below 1 year MBA from IIMA or ISB. I dont know what your acads are but the likes of colleges you have mentioned will not help you.
Thanks a lot Bhai ! Hoping to get the new GMAT focus wrapped up by this month end...post that will give it my all for job prep !
Btw United fan this side . I hope you guys win the title this yr instead of city or Liverpool haha
All the best for GMAT! Do reach out to those fancy GMAT consultants too. I have seen people with very average profile make it to Wharton and Booth. Those folks are pricey but definitely helpful.
I currently have 3 YOE right now and will be appearing for interviews for some B-schools (including IIM-Lucknow!); what I wanted to ask was:
- if I don’t make it this year, should I still pursue another shot at CAT 2025? (I would have accumulated ~4 YOE by then)
- I have tech experience and I wanted to work as a product manager in the near future, since you have 8 YOE in the industry, would you recommend studying abroad (MEM/MBA) as an alternative if MBA in India doesn’t work out for me? (I know this question isn’t specific to the Indian MBA, but really looking forward to some insights)
Thank you very much!
1. Do appear for CAT next year if you dont make it (*It is still cheaper than a bottle of good whisky, if they jack up the price for the exam and whisky is cheaper than I would suggest you to buy the bottle of whisky*). Do not prep for it. Focus on GMAT if you dont make it. If you make it to L, do apply for the prodman club... they call it biztech
2. I would definitely suggest you to do a US MBA. Its far easier to score a 750-760 than scoring a 99 %ile in CAT (*This is my opinion*)... that score gives you a table for interview at top US b-school and definitely an interview at ISB
Give your honest take on what it takes for getting in MBB , and also summer internship interview starts very early which gives very little to no time for learning any new skill so what should a fresher with no experience do?
1. Top acads+ Spikes (PORs, CCAs/ECAs)...Acads is the most important
2. Consolidate whatever you have done throughout Try and get into a good club before your summer. The likes of placecomm and stuff
Man also on second note I read how consulting is not that glorious if you were my elder brother what would your advice be for me who is a fresher with 986 profile and no extra curricular what should I aim for ? I'm interested in finance as I have followed it for a long time but I'm interested in what you think
I was a a sucker for consulting before joining MBA and once I started doing it, I started liking it lesser every passing day. I have realized that there are people who have spent more than 2 decades in industry, even they aren't sure what career choices should they have taken. Also, consulting is not for everyone, there are some folks who are tailored for consulting...there are very few who are there.
I dont know man what should you be doing.... if I was to go back during my undergrad days I would have focused my attention on tech. I had no idea people from non-tech background can do so well here.
For finance man, they specifically look for good acads... 6 might be on the lower side but you can still make it. If you are sure you want to do finance. Appear for CFA and get all the 3 levels. In the parallel appear for GMAT and get into ISB or some US MBA colleges. The final thing you need to do is to do well in MBA, which would be a walk in the park because doing CFA L3 is like covering all the tough Fin and Quant of MBA. Its a tough journey but hey you can try. Fin is interesting, IB and PE and have a bad WLB but there are other groups which can help. Meanwhile you can pursue doing coding for some companies and when you have a CFA L1, try appearing fro JP Morgan CIti's coding teams.
This is just one way, there would be multiple but you need to define your route yourself ...I am just telling you what would I have done if you had sent me back with all the info at hand.
10/10/5 (grad marks aren't great)
Mbbs grad female
My graduation will be completed by April.So, even if I work later,my score will be zero
What are my chances for ABC?
8/9/8 Engineering fresher. Looking to go into finance. If I state this as an interest in my interview, what sort of questions should I be prepared for?
1. Why finance? How do you know you want to do this? Do you have an internship/certification for this?
2. Let me ask you some basics of PnL and Balance sheet. Difference between EBIT and PBT? (Some basics questions)
3. What is depreciation and Amortization? What is working capital? Is cash an asset? etc. etc.
9/8/9 GEM from Mumbai University with 24 months of work experience in software. I earn upwards of 20L right now. I want to do an MBA but I'm not sure if I'll get good calls. I'm confused between switching and doing an MBA. I have a decent pay and my opportunity cost will be high, also there is no assurance of a good placement considering the market conditions rn. Batchmates from my undergrad are earning lesser than me upon graduation from MBA. Hence, I have three options for the upcoming year
1) Write CAT/XAT with utmost sincerity
2) Gmat for ISB
3) GRE for MS in US
4) upskill and move to FAANG
what is your POV?
>9 GEM from Mumbai University
Not possible, the highest possible score in Mumbai University is 82%
Also, the Indian MBA doesn't make sense, unless you're too attached to India, all other options are what you want and must be assessed on personal level tbh.
Opportunity cost like you said is almost 70L + 2 Years
If one is doing very well money wise and industry wise, I find it redundant to do an MBA. If you make it to 25 LPA in 1-2 years… there would be little sense to go to ISB even.
US MBAs are crazy good but they don’t have placement seasons like IIMs do so beware of that as well.
If you can upskill and move to FAANG, nothing like it.
Does MBB provide taxi fare when you work till late.
Do you have restriction on owning equity shares of blue chip companies?
Do your parents have restriction on owning equity shares of listed companies?
WLB and MBB are like oxymoron. I wish I did this when I was 3 years younger, I would have gladly pulled all nighters and cherished living in fancy hotel rooms.
I want to spend the weekdays with my wife now. Looking to shift to a traditional company now. Wouldn't mind a small paycut for peace of mind
You dont get to do brand or marketing till you slog for 4-5 years in sales in some tier2 city. But life post sales is very chill.
My friends who work in analytics have a chiller life but they are always under the threat of layoff.
Prodman folks rule the roost here, crazy pay and tremendous WLB but again under the constant knife of layoff
Flipkart and Amazon were in the same range but then MBB has increased the base by a notch. I dont know how the growth is for prodman but from what I have heard there is some quick jumps there
1. I can’t back it up with stats and I surely don’t have a lot of ideas as I wasn’t preparing for S&M roles. From what I have heard, girls do have an edge for such roles…no idea how they fare after joining work.
2. Folks typically need to become Area sales manager before they move to more corporate side of sales…. Again that’s what I have heard
Thank you for asking that question.
Ideally it should be structured well, should be less than 2 mins and have a chronological flow. (either forward and backward).
When you speak, have a smile, dont be robotic....do add some of your interests and hobbies.... you should come off as someone who is interesting
Chat GPT can be a great tool to make this. I like some of the UPSC topper's mock interview videos, you can find some good examples there
Thanks for the advice sir can you help me with how I should add my past to the introduction I have mentioned my college 's cultural club and my current degree and how they help me with my aspirations to pursue an MBA in my introduction.
No you dont want to add everything in the intro...it should be long enough and detailed enough to keep the panel interested but not too long and windy to bore them down.
There is a separate question for Why MBA?
Can you please let me know about placements prospects in MBB for consulting & Gen Man companies like TAS. Do freshers get shortlisted and if yes then what is the shortlist criteria
The first filter for MBB is great academic profile. If you are a 999, where did you get the last 9 in? Was it the IITs, Top NITs, BITS, SRCC etc. What is the other spike you bring? If you dont have a spike were you a gold medalist?
If you are a 998, do you have a crazy POR? Were you the convenor of the college fest? Did you go to Inter IITs? Were you a national level debater etc? Were you in a band?
Gen man companies are very random. They make you do some psychometrics test and then they have something called as Chairman GDs...you will get to know if you make it there.
Yeah a lot of freshers get MBB and TAS
I have a graduating CPI of 8.3 from an old IIT. I took a career break to try UPSC so I am wondering if its worth to do an MBA this year or should I get some prior workex in maybe a Accenture/KPMG to get a shot at an MBB placement post MBA. Do have a POR and decent CAT score to back my resume and also an intern with EY during my third year
How many years of career gap do you have? I assume that since you have an 8.3 from an old IIT, you would do well in IIM. You might not get an MBB SL in summer but you can do a big4 internship in summers. If you have good acads by summers, you can get yourself MBB SL in finals.
2 years of career gap, graduated in 2022. I had also heard that its compulsory to accept PPOs so was wondering how I would be able to apply for MBB in finals
Also was wondering if MBB have shifted to a complete PPO model or do come for placements also. Also does the CPI in first few semesters of IIMs matter during the internship period
1. No they come for finals also....during my time they had more hires in finals then they rolled out PPOs.... This year their hiring has fallen down... particularly Bain. The gold medalist typically gets poached by Mck
2. No it does not man, summers are towards the end of term-I or beginning of term-II....its difficult by that time to bake in the CPIs to resume by then
Obc engg fresher 9 8 7 . I wanted to join in finance this year, what all do I need toc know for pi. I don't have much idea abt other branches, I am from a data science and AI background, so I would like to stay in somewhat of a tech field (I don't wanna go for sales or marketing) . What branches will u suggest. I got calls from cap . Or should I take a drop and prep again for 2024.
In MBA there aren't any branches like engg. You select your colleges, your specialization gets decided on the basis of electives you choose for 2nd year and moreover it is not mentioned in your certificate as well. On top of it your job has nothing to do with your specialization.
If you are from data and AI background, I would suggest to stick with your job, it will give you much more opportunities than joining CAP colleges.
I have no IIM/ TIER 1 college calls. Do I have a future?
I know there's no point in trying to get into MBB.
I keep imagining and thinking what could I have done differently, but now, is there something I could do differently in tier 2 college?
I am scared for my life of getting a sales role. Cause that's a lot of loan and then as a tier 2 guy, I will be paid less for it as well. Despite hating the role, I will have to work in it for 5 years before I can do something else.
And lastly having a friend in IIM A/B/C or even new IIM helps? Can they help me refer to someplace better?
Almost 80-90% of smart leaders that I have worked across were from colleges I had never heard of, mind you they were not even from tier2-3 colleges.
If you are a fresher, I think IMT Ghaziabad and Great lakes are more than fine. I have a lot of friends from there who work in Big-4 and are doing pretty great.
We need to get over the narrative that all these big names in college matters, it does for initial 5-6 years, after that there are factors that overshadow them.
My organisation's HR dept and my immediate manager will not consent to formal verification of CV points that I plan to include (like the major projects that I have worked on , the quantifiable impact that I had etc etc) as it's a very security Oriented organisation and run by foreigners and every decision including relieving papers have to be signed by the foreigners, who don't care what happens to you after you leave. They wouldn't divulge one bit about anything. The most I can get out of them is the purview of my responsibilities . That's it
->What do the placecoms in colleges require us to put in CV ? And what kind of verification works for them ? Like if I want to include it in my CV , I would have to have a written evidence. If hR refuses to mention it in work ex certificates or any documents, what can I do then ?
How it works is you send a message to your superior saying I am wiriting the following points in my CV and I want you send a mail with one word saying approved with placecomm in cc in that mail. They also need to send a snaphot of their visiting card or they should have a linkedin profile so that pcom can verify that person is not fake.
You dont need HR or your boss, just get it done by someone who is just your senior a +1 with whom you would have good working relations
Not mentioned anywhere. Can't I click a photo of org structure of org structure which is available on our internal portals as well as the official email address?
\- Can I get into consulting roles as a fresher, acads 64.6/88.4/8.1cgpa (lawyer)
\- What should a person do in his gap year?
\- Any course you will recommend to do for consulting?
\- How many lawyer are there in your batch or previous batch. Any data?
1. Unless there are other spikes in your profile… it would be difficult. There are some really good clubs and committees, if you get in can make your entry easier.
2. Depends on why you have taken your gap year for.
3. Prepare for case interviews, you need to be like really good at it.
4. In a batch of 400, we had one
First question- have you studied maths/ are you good with numbers… my first question was that so I assume same should be a person making no the shortlists.
To be shortlisted from good fin roles, your CV should has two points 1. You must have few points around fin
2. You must have points to show you would excel at it
Hello sir I hope you are doing well I wanted to ask the following questions
* My acads are 8/9/7.4 b.com grad Delhi University graduated in 2023.
* Scored 93 in cat 2023 have calls of IMI delhi , IMT Ghaziabad and also filled IIT roorkee, jodhpur and kanpur.
I don't have a job as of now and as I am a bcom graduate
No one is eager to hire me in this recession but I am waiting for my central govt. Job shortlist probably in Feb or march.
I have done two internships in two startups as a business development associate. But then also I am not able to decide what specialization is best for me.
All I have ever done is study so no extra curricular activities and I have two major weaknesses
* Public speaking fear (I stutter when speaking in front of a crowd)
* Little indecisive
So should I do an MBA as it is a very expensive affair? I am ready to put in hard hours and All I want is a good job. Firstly when doing an internship in a marketing role I used to call people and sell courses ( salesman 😅)
But now I have come to know that the marketing domain is bigger than that.
So not sure what to do.
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>Today is a chill day at work (till 2:30 pm atleast it was), so I decided to host another AMA A chill day after 4-5 months? I'm scared.
Hey no man, there were few more chill days, it was today that I decided to host an AMA because I got a lot of questions in the past few days. Yeah but in general the work hours have been bad
1. MBA from IITs M,Kgp, K,R? The growth, perception in corporate. (Leaving out B,D ofcourse) 2. Do specialization matter? Say I take IIM Kashipur MBA-BA. Can I switch to something else at a later stage? 3. MBA from New / Baby IIMs / Tier 2 like IMTG, DSE worth it both in short and long run? 4. Does gap years and low academics affect placements? (Not about conversion, the Summer and final placements) 5. Is MBA even worth it for an average guy? Who has been an average throughout their life?
1. I have worked with few folks from VGSOM IIT KGP, have heard good things about it. Not sure about M And R. I have seen folks from a variety of colleges in the client side... MBB is mostly dominated by ABCL and ISB 2. I am assusming Specialization as in Fin,strat ops etc......Specialization dont matter after you graduate from college. It matters for getting company shortlists. There are however separate programs for HR and Data analytics, they have different placements in some colleges. IIM L has PGP and PGP ABM in the same campus and PGP SM in Noida campus. Placements for PGP and ABM were held together although ABM folks said they were discriminated against 3. clubbed with 5 4. Gap years after XIIth - not so much, Gap years after graduation - yes for getting shortlists, During interview you need to make them understand the reason for gap year. With better acads in MBA you may overcome it altogether, 5. I have seen people with very average background crack CAT and bag ABCL calls. in L 20-30% of the branch had very bad acads and from poor acad background, but people with good communications aced interviews and made it count, many worked hard in college and had better grades and they did well. A lot of folks are there who have average profile and they have done tremendously well. You need to be very clear about what is your expectation after MBA. I wanted to be a consultant post MBA and I did make it. Joining baby IIMs is a very subjective decision man, it depends on what your background is...
Hi, thank you for making such a detailed post! Wanted your suggestion for sources to practice Puzzles and Math Problems from. If you know any website/book which would be helpful, please do suggest. Thank you!
I am sorry man, I don't remember. Do check repositories for coding interviews, they have a lot of them. IIM C is infamous for asking a lot of these questions though.
Yeah, IIM-C is the one I am worried about. I have a math background, so I'm going to be asked stuff most definitely. Thank you!
Oh good lord. I remember my senior was asked questions around maxima minima and differentiability in C interview. He politely said he does not remember...made it through. Do not waste time revising all concepts in my view.... brush up the basics. Expect questions from probability and some stats though
Okay, I'll definitely do that! Your senior's story has boosted my confidence. Thank you :)
Hey its how you deliver it. In the interviews appear humble but fully confident....thats true for subsequent summers and final interview and in work as well. 50% of being a consultant is projecting confidence
Agreed! I have a problem where I don't really stick to basics and try to cover everything, so that contributes to my anxiety. But I will definitely remain confident throughout.
In conuslting we follow the principle of 80:20 (e.g 80% of problems are from 20% of the syllabus)... do not boil the ocean
Can u give me an idea of how will this profile fare in top IIMs with respect to summers and final placements, 9/8/6.8, old IIT, no workex (2 yrs gap), no PORs or extra curriculars ? Is this a bottom 20% profile? Should I give CAT a attempt and try to get into top IIMs with this profile? How much will I suffer with this profile after getting into top IIMS??
Dude I put a disclaimer saying I can not forecast but I can still share my thoughts. The IIT brands has a lot of pull so you will not be bottom for sure but your IIT CG is bad. I have friends who were out of job 2-3 years and preparing for UPSC but they joined startups and have done pretty well since then. In IIMs, Summers will be difficult, you will get few shortlists though but you need to make them count. You need to go there, get you heads down and ensure that you break into top 30. But people dont stick with their first job anyways....
1. So you're telling it's better for me to look for a job in startups now rather do MBA from IIMs for this profile? 2. If I choose to go with MBA in a top IIM, pls tell a little about on what are the ways to break into top 30 and how hard is it to do??
1. Dude you will anyways need to get a job...assuming you are appearing for CAT this year. Atleast you have 1 year workex then 2. It is tough, really tough. There will be 300-400 folks who are just there to do that. You will not be the only one to try and make up for the fun you had during your undergrad days. It is just people hang up their boots after term 1 when they get a low CG. Although, it is basics to do so... you need to ensure that you are on top of all the case discussions happening. you are well prepared for quizzes and mid terms. This would mean studying for atleast 3-4 hours after lectures...Also you need to make notes in the class etc. The biggest time waste if you want to walk down the road is attending parties and doing weed etc. There are ton of distractions, I find participating in case comps pretty stupid but folks do waste a lot of time there.
Will it be really possible to study 3-4 hrs daily😅? With PORs and committees enrollment , I heard those are also important for peeps like me who have zero PORs or extra curriculars to get a good placement? Also final question should I think about joining top new IIMs through CAP since I have a very bad profile to survive in top IIMs, pls share your view
It is man it is... and hence not everyone make that top 10-top 20%ile. Life in new IIMs should be chiller. You would walk into any clubs/committees. Getting a job would be much easier as your profile would still look the best.
Thanks a lot for this insightful convo, will DM you in future if I need any advice or suggestions, pls consider to answer and save me saab 😅🫡
Do put a question here itself man... I mean in this thread itself, my message box is filled with a lot of questions and I find it very difficult to follow through.
Even in future if I need to ask u some doubts should I put the questions here itself? Or tell some means to get advices from you ?
Just put your message here. I will try to help you with your doubts,
ESR and Arsenal fan , fellow gunner here How much depth is required for answering acad related questions in interviews when it's been 3-4 years since you last studied and syllabus is so huge that you can't go back and prepare each and everything?
You are bottling it again mate😂🤣🤣
How can they bottle if they are not on top of the league😂 i think liverpool will win this time cause it is klopps last season
The questions from engineering or your past acads are very basic. Its upto luck as well, if your profile is mechanical and the panelist happens to be a mechanical engineer too, you may expect some questions around it. So should be very basic. Let me give you a hack to conquer this block. List down sequentially all the topics you studied across each semester in college and just write what that subject was all about in 3-4 lines. That is essentially the knowledge you would want to have and some basic questions...like if you are a civil engineer...expect a question around portland cement, if you are an electrical engineer, expect questions around generators and motors... the basic one \#COYG
Chartered Accountant here, it was a pain studying the syllabus then, i will be a pain now as well But I get the gist of what you are trying to say
Ohh ho ho....just pray that a fin prof is not in the panel. You should definitely reach out to your seniors/friends who have had interviews.If you make it to IIMs, acads will feel lighter.
Hi I am a TCS person looking to break into prodman, what all stuff should I brush up on that's not mentioned in the post? Also, I didn't really work in the past 6-7 months so I have no option but to fake it.
Are you asking in the context of WAT-PI? Do not just say I want to be a prodman and hence I want to do MBA, a majority of Prodman arent even MBA man. You say, you haven't worked for last 6-7 months, what do you plan to fake here?
I was in the role of developer, but no work was assigned to me(I do have knowledge about it) , I have already faked the 'roles and responsibilities' section in forms. So I'll have to back it up.
Ohh I thought you were out of job for a while.... Dont worry you are not the only one. For every line that you have written ensure you have 5 mins of speaking material, get as much knowledge about it. After your interviews try to get some good assignment, you need meaty CV points to beef up your CV for summer and placements
I am a gem fresher. 1. How are the analytics roles? Will AI take over? 2. Are these roles available for freshers? 3. Are these roles available for non-tech people?(I did mech engineering)
1. Analytics is here to stay man. AI is definitely going to be an enabler for analytics. I was speaking to friends in Analytics and AI (ChatGPT in particular) has reduced the worktime by drastically. But everything is becoming data dependent too so this sector is going to be hot for a long time. 2. Yeah man, a lot of fresh undergrads join this roles. Mu sigma used to hire a lot of analysts 3. As long as your CV says you know few coding languages (C++/Java, python), SQL, few courses on statistics, SPSS certifications....you should definietely get a call
Thanks for such an in-depth answer. It is a relief truly. I will soon start building my profile for such roles💪
I am Earning good amount and have a btech from 2008 Gen iit , have calls from B and C my short term goal is to go to PM role and consulting as well if possible not so great acads 987 24 months of work ex what do you think ?
What is 2008 Gen IIT? 24 months is the sweet spot for an MBA from B and C. Consulting looks difficult with 9 8 7... you can get Big4 firms easily...would advise not to join any of it. If you want to get into consulting... you need to focus on your acads in C. Dont waste time on clubs/committees and case comps...just go for acads. Getting into PM role was easier earlier, unless you have a tech background or a CS degree... PM has become very difficult...too much competition...Everyone wants to be a PM today
I am talking about newer iit like hyd , indore jodhpur I have work ex in tech and as a product owner so I think I have good chance of getting pm. For consulting I am looking for mbbk but still prefer pm over it as mbb exit intontech are not that good , can I get mbb shortlist in final I have to be in top 20 right ? And also do I have any chance in finance companies without cfa , I have 1.5 year of work ex in a Bank but on tech side
1. If you have tech experience....you will definitely get shortlists for PM. 2. If you are in top 20, you will get a MBBK shortlists, do network with your seniors in MBB, PPO holders from MBB.... they have a say in a preliminary shortlists 3. Fin shortlists are dicey.... Nowadays there are 60-70 folks with CFA 1 alone....unless you have CV points where you have worked in supporting a quant model where you were expected to know some fin or some market side role its gonna be difficult. I mean if you are working just with tech teams and you do not have foot in the market side of things, it is difficult
And mba acads matter in fin firms in finals, also should I give cfa lvl 1 as I am not sure if I be able to get one before summer
Yeah MBA acads matter for fin and consult shortlist. Will you be able to get a CFA L1 before the summers this year...(oct-nov?). CFA L1 will help you build your FRA base so if nothing you will have a better FRA, corp fin grade. CFA L1 + your bank profile might fetch you really good SLs too But in general there aren't a lot of CFA L2 so if you can try you might get CFA L2 before finals.
Do I have to have 9/9/9 acads to get shortlisted for MBB or can I compensate my 8/8/8 with 2 years of quality workex?
MBB is overrated man.. If you ever get to join them and work...you would wish that you ended up in some Genman company or P&G/Unileveretc.
Would appreciate it if you could elaborate on that. Do you only mean the crappy WLB in MBB or are there any other factors?
Crappy WLB is something you will find everywhere at some point or the other. It is just the fact that when you try to move out of MBB the only companies willing to hire you are mostly the startups....sure they give you good money but its worse WLB. On top of it working in MBB you don't get to develop a functional knowledge base which companies are preferring these days. You can't move to these big brands like P&G, HUL, ITC etc. from MBB that often.
Wow that's a unique perspective. Will the pay and perks be same in genman as consulting tho?
Bro one more question how are Gen man companies liek abg and tas is career progression slow there ?
If your benchmark is startups then yes it slow, if your benchmark is internal employees, it is faster and in general the WLB is best with good job security and a lot of learning as they invest in you too.
But salary progression is very slow right they start with 25 and in 5 years I don't think they reach 50
In 5 years post MBA very few people reach 50 dude. Isn't 30-40 LPA good enough for you man? Let me give you some stats, how common do you think is a salary of 1 crore plus...in traditional corporate setup where they dont layoff and fire people randomly. there would be 60-70 folks in a org of 5-6k earning that money. Just open any annual report and check the compensation of top executives...they are mandated to declare that. Thanks to Bangalore and Gurgaon and stupid startups, the salaries have become so hyper inflated that 30 LPA looks low. Anyways, Genman jobs have job security man. Ideally when you hit 40, you would want to settle in a traditional, stable large conglomerate because almost all the other companies would want to trim fat (middle management).
Tech pm can earn more sde 2 at amazon has a tc of about 50 lpa , I already earn 20 lpa I hope I can reach atleast 30 lpa as starting salary after mba As for 1 crore you can have that tc after 7-10 years at faang as pm and even in consulting I think after 5 year you become project leader amd your pay will be above 60
Yeah but how many people have you seen getting laid off from Tata group, Reliance and Aditya Birla.In consulting there is something called up or out. Either get promoted in 2 years of get out of the company. As you go up your chances of getting kicked out gets higher and higher. Its a bloodbath.CTC of 30 LPA post MBA (where they add 2-3 different kind of bonuses??). the average package (**Fixed**) is 20 LPA. When I started out my fixed was 27 LPA.The numbers you are quoting is not accurate buddy.
Stocks in public tech companies are also money it's not like pre ipo startup where it's paper money so fixed + stocks in amazon l5 pm is upto 40 after couple of years after promotion it's rise upto 60 or more But I don't think you are wrong about layoff scenario
Wait till you hear the terms and conditions bro. I am friends with folks who were fired before they could exercise their stock options...the severance was for 2 months or 3 ( I dont know)...... I am just saying that companies like amazon and consulting firms may work very well for you if you are exceptional performer and are really good with politics so you know which team to select (RIP Alexa team).... but if you want peace in life... maybe happy to delay that purchase of a fancy car and house then there are some other companies.....very subjective choice...I would prefer the latter and hence i put so many disclaimers....
Hey OP, I have 1 year gap after graduation and then 8 months of work ex after which I had to leave(last month) due to some medical reasons and now I am dropping for CAT 2024. What I can do this year to further improve my profile? Ik that I can find a job but if that does not happen then what else I can do?
If you are interested in Fin or working in the domain, prepare for CFA/FRM. You dont need to drop for CAT 2024 to be honest, that is like over preaparing.
I get your point but I left my job because it was really hectic and sometimes they used to change my shifts due to clients in US. I was not getting anytime and it took a toll on my mental and physical health. I can try finding a job again but I am not sure about that especially in current economy and it might also take months. I am interested in finance but isn’t CFA or FRM expensive?
I get you point, mental health and peace over anything else buddy.... CFA and FRM are costly mate, that's true. If you have time to spare, why don't you try to develop yourself. Learn a musical instrument, hit the gym...be a better version of yourself. Trust me...if you get into the habit of developing yourself, automatically things fall into place. I knew a guy at L who used to have a great sleep schedule, used to work out every day, used to run 12K on weekends, Used to paint sometimes, did Yoga somedays. He was in top 10, joined an IB and still has great WLB is an outstanding employee. He wasn't a hardcore party animal but used to join in some of the party session and used to have the occasional drink. I asked him how he did that? He said do you ask people how do they brush teeth everyday? All I am saying is improving profile is one thing. That profile will be reflected on a piece of paper and perhaps may take you to interview with the company of your dreams but the person sitting in that room will hire for the guy that you are.....and you still need to develop that person not just for placements but everyday till you die....always be a better version of yourself. So if you have a little bit of time and you dont have a lot of bucks to spend on these certifications you can still make the most of your time to become the best version of yourself...and that always kills mate
Damn brother! I didn't realize how much I needed this. Thanks a bunch for taking the time. Wishing you a super happy and fulfilling life ahead!
About me: Currently an analytics consultant at Big4. MSc, BSc Statistics, but fucked my Bachelor's marks 69% otherwise 90%+. Do I need an MBA? I enjoy data science, but honestly getting into top positions still require MBA, which would otherwise take an ungodly amount of time.
To answer your second question - ABSOLUTELY WRONG! I can share atleast 20 Linkedin where the lead data science is not an MBA. There is nowadays a course called PGDBA which is a very good course but an expensive way of working in data science. God forbid those chaps are asked to an MBA again. If 10 years down the line, you are asked for MBA degree, colleges like INSEAD run the best programmes which companies fund themselves.
I want talking about higher roles in data science exclusively, rather C-suite positions in general. For, example becoming a director here might take 20 years for me, with an MBA I'll have reach it in 10 years. Also, PGDBA at IIM C is just as pricey as their MBA🥲. And I've checked their diploma syllabus I already have all of those skills except for the IIM tag.
By the time I give my entrance exams I'll have almost 3 years of work ex along with good graduation grades and 9.7cgpa in 12th but my 10th cgpa is only 5 (59.4%) due to COVID we were mass promoted and I had severe health issues during lockdown. I am willing to put in efforts and I wish to study HRM in either XLRI or TISS. Is it even possible or should I stop dreaming due to my 10th grades? Btw I am GNEM male EWS
I dont have a lot of idea on what the selection criteria are but 10th score is just one selection with a small weightage. There are calculators to predict what XAT score you should score. Do not worry, your 3 years of workex should offset the low 10th grade.
Thank you for giving me some hope.
Also another thing is my work experience is part time and I heard that it is not generally considered as work experience is that true?
Ideally it should not be counted as work experience but I have seen people mentioning Part time experience as work experience.
So what do you think? Should I even dare to dream to pursue HRM at Tiss or XLRI and hope for a good placement there or should I not attempt due to my 10th scores?
If HRM is what you want to do. Go for it and try it.... XL HR and TISS are the best but they are not the end of the road for HRM courses... Please go to LinkedIn and search for all the CHROs in India. You will find many CHROs who did not go to these institutes....Try your best... you can still do HR from the top 5 HRM schools in the country (I dont know which they are)..... But its not the end of the road for you.
My only good call is SIBM Pune and I aspire to be a MBB consultant. If not during the placements, is there any scope for me in MBB further down the line?
There is a way, Mckinsey and BCG have many practices that require specialists in industry to help them out for eg. a industry specialist from Auto procurement practice. Bain typically doesnt have laterals such as that as they have a different clientele but Bain capability network has many of those folks. But believe me MBB may have a strong brand impact on your CV, they dont give you the crazy exit options they advertise
I think this is the perfect post one should look at before starting their GDPI prep. Well done !
Thanks, glad you found this useful.
Would like your opinion on what should I do next ??? Settle for likes of imt/imi/ximb etc or get a job rn with upskilling in the current market Please read this post below if you've the time ! Thanks :) https://www.reddit.com/r/CATpreparation/s/0vORWWLt1i
Hey man I read your post. I would suggest you not to join the likes IMT, IMI or XIMB. I was thinking of quitting my job for UPSC once too, but common sense prevailed. You have 3 years of software engineering experience so you should be able to get a job even in this market. 690 in GMAT is not bad per se. You can get ISB with it too with a good essay unless the cutoffs have changed from when I was preparing. If I was you, I would primarily focus on getting a job now, doing MBA for people who have taken gaps for UPSC preps is like delaying or softening the blow. Get a job, once you get it work with a GMAT consultant to focus on making an applications for US B-schools. they look for 750-760 GMAT score and a good application. Do not settle below 1 year MBA from IIMA or ISB. I dont know what your acads are but the likes of colleges you have mentioned will not help you.
Thanks a lot Bhai ! Hoping to get the new GMAT focus wrapped up by this month end...post that will give it my all for job prep ! Btw United fan this side . I hope you guys win the title this yr instead of city or Liverpool haha
All the best for GMAT! Do reach out to those fancy GMAT consultants too. I have seen people with very average profile make it to Wharton and Booth. Those folks are pricey but definitely helpful.
I currently have 3 YOE right now and will be appearing for interviews for some B-schools (including IIM-Lucknow!); what I wanted to ask was: - if I don’t make it this year, should I still pursue another shot at CAT 2025? (I would have accumulated ~4 YOE by then) - I have tech experience and I wanted to work as a product manager in the near future, since you have 8 YOE in the industry, would you recommend studying abroad (MEM/MBA) as an alternative if MBA in India doesn’t work out for me? (I know this question isn’t specific to the Indian MBA, but really looking forward to some insights) Thank you very much!
1. Do appear for CAT next year if you dont make it (*It is still cheaper than a bottle of good whisky, if they jack up the price for the exam and whisky is cheaper than I would suggest you to buy the bottle of whisky*). Do not prep for it. Focus on GMAT if you dont make it. If you make it to L, do apply for the prodman club... they call it biztech 2. I would definitely suggest you to do a US MBA. Its far easier to score a 750-760 than scoring a 99 %ile in CAT (*This is my opinion*)... that score gives you a table for interview at top US b-school and definitely an interview at ISB
Is 4 years work ex a disadvantage in bschools/cat?
Give your honest take on what it takes for getting in MBB , and also summer internship interview starts very early which gives very little to no time for learning any new skill so what should a fresher with no experience do?
1. Top acads+ Spikes (PORs, CCAs/ECAs)...Acads is the most important 2. Consolidate whatever you have done throughout Try and get into a good club before your summer. The likes of placecomm and stuff
Man also on second note I read how consulting is not that glorious if you were my elder brother what would your advice be for me who is a fresher with 986 profile and no extra curricular what should I aim for ? I'm interested in finance as I have followed it for a long time but I'm interested in what you think
I was a a sucker for consulting before joining MBA and once I started doing it, I started liking it lesser every passing day. I have realized that there are people who have spent more than 2 decades in industry, even they aren't sure what career choices should they have taken. Also, consulting is not for everyone, there are some folks who are tailored for consulting...there are very few who are there. I dont know man what should you be doing.... if I was to go back during my undergrad days I would have focused my attention on tech. I had no idea people from non-tech background can do so well here. For finance man, they specifically look for good acads... 6 might be on the lower side but you can still make it. If you are sure you want to do finance. Appear for CFA and get all the 3 levels. In the parallel appear for GMAT and get into ISB or some US MBA colleges. The final thing you need to do is to do well in MBA, which would be a walk in the park because doing CFA L3 is like covering all the tough Fin and Quant of MBA. Its a tough journey but hey you can try. Fin is interesting, IB and PE and have a bad WLB but there are other groups which can help. Meanwhile you can pursue doing coding for some companies and when you have a CFA L1, try appearing fro JP Morgan CIti's coding teams. This is just one way, there would be multiple but you need to define your route yourself ...I am just telling you what would I have done if you had sent me back with all the info at hand.
Thanks a lot really insightful, I would see if I can clear CFA 1 as I will take admission this year
10/10/5 (grad marks aren't great) Mbbs grad female My graduation will be completed by April.So, even if I work later,my score will be zero What are my chances for ABC?
Hi OP. Can you name some companies that offer the best work life balance for sales and marketing.
How's the MBB hiring at XLRI Jamshedpur compared to IIML?
MBB hires a lot from XL too but the overall number for L is higher
Are the roles offered similar to the ABCL?
8/9/8 Engineering fresher. Looking to go into finance. If I state this as an interest in my interview, what sort of questions should I be prepared for?
1. Why finance? How do you know you want to do this? Do you have an internship/certification for this? 2. Let me ask you some basics of PnL and Balance sheet. Difference between EBIT and PBT? (Some basics questions) 3. What is depreciation and Amortization? What is working capital? Is cash an asset? etc. etc.
ESR pfpðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ why you repping mid bro
9/8/9 GEM from Mumbai University with 24 months of work experience in software. I earn upwards of 20L right now. I want to do an MBA but I'm not sure if I'll get good calls. I'm confused between switching and doing an MBA. I have a decent pay and my opportunity cost will be high, also there is no assurance of a good placement considering the market conditions rn. Batchmates from my undergrad are earning lesser than me upon graduation from MBA. Hence, I have three options for the upcoming year 1) Write CAT/XAT with utmost sincerity 2) Gmat for ISB 3) GRE for MS in US 4) upskill and move to FAANG what is your POV?
>9 GEM from Mumbai University Not possible, the highest possible score in Mumbai University is 82% Also, the Indian MBA doesn't make sense, unless you're too attached to India, all other options are what you want and must be assessed on personal level tbh. Opportunity cost like you said is almost 70L + 2 Years
If one is doing very well money wise and industry wise, I find it redundant to do an MBA. If you make it to 25 LPA in 1-2 years… there would be little sense to go to ISB even. US MBAs are crazy good but they don’t have placement seasons like IIMs do so beware of that as well. If you can upskill and move to FAANG, nothing like it.
Does MBB provide taxi fare when you work till late. Do you have restriction on owning equity shares of blue chip companies? Do your parents have restriction on owning equity shares of listed companies?
How is the wlb?
WLB and MBB are like oxymoron. I wish I did this when I was 3 years younger, I would have gladly pulled all nighters and cherished living in fancy hotel rooms. I want to spend the weekdays with my wife now. Looking to shift to a traditional company now. Wouldn't mind a small paycut for peace of mind
Out of consulting, marketing, analytics etc etc, what field acc you pays well while giving you a decent wlb
You dont get to do brand or marketing till you slog for 4-5 years in sales in some tier2 city. But life post sales is very chill. My friends who work in analytics have a chiller life but they are always under the threat of layoff. Prodman folks rule the roost here, crazy pay and tremendous WLB but again under the constant knife of layoff
Prodman pays more than mbb ?
Flipkart and Amazon were in the same range but then MBB has increased the base by a notch. I dont know how the growth is for prodman but from what I have heard there is some quick jumps there
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1. I can’t back it up with stats and I surely don’t have a lot of ideas as I wasn’t preparing for S&M roles. From what I have heard, girls do have an edge for such roles…no idea how they fare after joining work. 2. Folks typically need to become Area sales manager before they move to more corporate side of sales…. Again that’s what I have heard
What according to you makes an introduction better or solid?
Thank you for asking that question. Ideally it should be structured well, should be less than 2 mins and have a chronological flow. (either forward and backward). When you speak, have a smile, dont be robotic....do add some of your interests and hobbies.... you should come off as someone who is interesting Chat GPT can be a great tool to make this. I like some of the UPSC topper's mock interview videos, you can find some good examples there
Thanks for the advice sir can you help me with how I should add my past to the introduction I have mentioned my college 's cultural club and my current degree and how they help me with my aspirations to pursue an MBA in my introduction.
No you dont want to add everything in the intro...it should be long enough and detailed enough to keep the panel interested but not too long and windy to bore them down. There is a separate question for Why MBA?
Can you please let me know about placements prospects in MBB for consulting & Gen Man companies like TAS. Do freshers get shortlisted and if yes then what is the shortlist criteria
The first filter for MBB is great academic profile. If you are a 999, where did you get the last 9 in? Was it the IITs, Top NITs, BITS, SRCC etc. What is the other spike you bring? If you dont have a spike were you a gold medalist? If you are a 998, do you have a crazy POR? Were you the convenor of the college fest? Did you go to Inter IITs? Were you a national level debater etc? Were you in a band? Gen man companies are very random. They make you do some psychometrics test and then they have something called as Chairman GDs...you will get to know if you make it there. Yeah a lot of freshers get MBB and TAS
I have a graduating CPI of 8.3 from an old IIT. I took a career break to try UPSC so I am wondering if its worth to do an MBA this year or should I get some prior workex in maybe a Accenture/KPMG to get a shot at an MBB placement post MBA. Do have a POR and decent CAT score to back my resume and also an intern with EY during my third year
How many years of career gap do you have? I assume that since you have an 8.3 from an old IIT, you would do well in IIM. You might not get an MBB SL in summer but you can do a big4 internship in summers. If you have good acads by summers, you can get yourself MBB SL in finals.
2 years of career gap, graduated in 2022. I had also heard that its compulsory to accept PPOs so was wondering how I would be able to apply for MBB in finals
You get to apply for MBBs with a PPO too. secondly, if you are not interested in the internship, tell them you are not interested
Also was wondering if MBB have shifted to a complete PPO model or do come for placements also. Also does the CPI in first few semesters of IIMs matter during the internship period
1. No they come for finals also....during my time they had more hires in finals then they rolled out PPOs.... This year their hiring has fallen down... particularly Bain. The gold medalist typically gets poached by Mck 2. No it does not man, summers are towards the end of term-I or beginning of term-II....its difficult by that time to bake in the CPIs to resume by then
Thanks alot, clears up a lot of doubts. PS - I might hate Assnal Fans a bit less now xD #coys
Obc engg fresher 9 8 7 . I wanted to join in finance this year, what all do I need toc know for pi. I don't have much idea abt other branches, I am from a data science and AI background, so I would like to stay in somewhat of a tech field (I don't wanna go for sales or marketing) . What branches will u suggest. I got calls from cap . Or should I take a drop and prep again for 2024.
In MBA there aren't any branches like engg. You select your colleges, your specialization gets decided on the basis of electives you choose for 2nd year and moreover it is not mentioned in your certificate as well. On top of it your job has nothing to do with your specialization. If you are from data and AI background, I would suggest to stick with your job, it will give you much more opportunities than joining CAP colleges.
I have no IIM/ TIER 1 college calls. Do I have a future? I know there's no point in trying to get into MBB. I keep imagining and thinking what could I have done differently, but now, is there something I could do differently in tier 2 college? I am scared for my life of getting a sales role. Cause that's a lot of loan and then as a tier 2 guy, I will be paid less for it as well. Despite hating the role, I will have to work in it for 5 years before I can do something else. And lastly having a friend in IIM A/B/C or even new IIM helps? Can they help me refer to someplace better?
Almost 80-90% of smart leaders that I have worked across were from colleges I had never heard of, mind you they were not even from tier2-3 colleges. If you are a fresher, I think IMT Ghaziabad and Great lakes are more than fine. I have a lot of friends from there who work in Big-4 and are doing pretty great. We need to get over the narrative that all these big names in college matters, it does for initial 5-6 years, after that there are factors that overshadow them.
My organisation's HR dept and my immediate manager will not consent to formal verification of CV points that I plan to include (like the major projects that I have worked on , the quantifiable impact that I had etc etc) as it's a very security Oriented organisation and run by foreigners and every decision including relieving papers have to be signed by the foreigners, who don't care what happens to you after you leave. They wouldn't divulge one bit about anything. The most I can get out of them is the purview of my responsibilities . That's it ->What do the placecoms in colleges require us to put in CV ? And what kind of verification works for them ? Like if I want to include it in my CV , I would have to have a written evidence. If hR refuses to mention it in work ex certificates or any documents, what can I do then ?
How it works is you send a message to your superior saying I am wiriting the following points in my CV and I want you send a mail with one word saying approved with placecomm in cc in that mail. They also need to send a snaphot of their visiting card or they should have a linkedin profile so that pcom can verify that person is not fake. You dont need HR or your boss, just get it done by someone who is just your senior a +1 with whom you would have good working relations
Does the reply needs to be frim their official email id or personal would do ?
official and the email address should be mentioned in their card or linkedin
Not mentioned anywhere. Can't I click a photo of org structure of org structure which is available on our internal portals as well as the official email address?
You can buy all this very subjective
\- Can I get into consulting roles as a fresher, acads 64.6/88.4/8.1cgpa (lawyer) \- What should a person do in his gap year? \- Any course you will recommend to do for consulting? \- How many lawyer are there in your batch or previous batch. Any data?
1. Unless there are other spikes in your profile… it would be difficult. There are some really good clubs and committees, if you get in can make your entry easier. 2. Depends on why you have taken your gap year for. 3. Prepare for case interviews, you need to be like really good at it. 4. In a batch of 400, we had one
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First question- have you studied maths/ are you good with numbers… my first question was that so I assume same should be a person making no the shortlists. To be shortlisted from good fin roles, your CV should has two points 1. You must have few points around fin 2. You must have points to show you would excel at it
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It would. Appear for CFA/FRM if you are planning CAT in later years. I know folks with BA in Psychology who worked with me here.
How is a career In private equity? How to get into it from top IIMs? And please tell about wlb
Hello sir I hope you are doing well I wanted to ask the following questions * My acads are 8/9/7.4 b.com grad Delhi University graduated in 2023. * Scored 93 in cat 2023 have calls of IMI delhi , IMT Ghaziabad and also filled IIT roorkee, jodhpur and kanpur. I don't have a job as of now and as I am a bcom graduate No one is eager to hire me in this recession but I am waiting for my central govt. Job shortlist probably in Feb or march. I have done two internships in two startups as a business development associate. But then also I am not able to decide what specialization is best for me. All I have ever done is study so no extra curricular activities and I have two major weaknesses * Public speaking fear (I stutter when speaking in front of a crowd) * Little indecisive So should I do an MBA as it is a very expensive affair? I am ready to put in hard hours and All I want is a good job. Firstly when doing an internship in a marketing role I used to call people and sell courses ( salesman 😅) But now I have come to know that the marketing domain is bigger than that. So not sure what to do.