A fresh Beginning...

July 31, 2020

Hi Everyone,

I sit today to write my first ever blog. I thought a lot over to which topic I shall start with? After giving some intense thinking, the answer actually was simple and obvious- To share my experiences to crack one of the most competitive and securing an admission to a prestigious institution, NITIE Mumbai.

Background-

10th – 73.7% | 12th – 81.8% (Science)

B.Tech (Hons. EEE) – 85.1%

National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jamshedpur

Work ex – 60 months (as of Jul 2020), Strategic Sourcing Lead (AM-SCM)-Bharti Infratel Limited

Prologue-

From an early age, I took sports seriously & played quite well. I started off with cricket and moved on to football, volleyball, badminton, TT, athletics, handball. But I finally matured in Basketball, to which I represented school and College teams at different levels and also went on to lead college Basktetball team Captain in final year of my engineering.

Meanwhile, I never compromised on my academics and somehow always managed to score well and bettered on last performance, which is quite evident from the graph.

At this point, you’re probably asking yourself this question - Has this guy started to brag already?

No.

Being an Army BRAT and a product from KVS, a combination which have high degree of probability with interest in sports as extra-curricular.

But, all I want to convey is that success or what I thought of as success seemed to come naturally to me in every field.

I was convinced that I was an all-rounder, a self-acclaimed title. And while it seems so clear in retrospect, that mind-set made me over confident, brash, and arrogant. But as you know, the only constant in this world is Change.

Change is Inevitable!

Journey-

For me, a dream of wearing a uniform with a Starred insignia which I have carried from my childhood.

In summer of 2011, I appeared for NDA just after my 12^th exams, like as appeared for IIT-JEE and AIEEE for enrollment in widely popular engineering.

Mockingly, I was unable to clear even NDA written but able to secure ranks in JEE-AIR 9000 something and AIEEE-AIR 9100 something. But as the fate would have it, a Gen cat, had to satisfy with EEE branch in NIT Jamshedpur (I was never in favor of taking a drop concept)

So, in May 2015 I graduated from NIT JSR with an Engineering degree and 2 appointment offers in hand-Wipro and Bharti Infratel. Choice was obvious and it was Bharti Infratel (initial package was bit more and gold medallist from senior batch was there too. A proud moment to be offered as average student).

I joined Infratel as GET on 6^th Jul-15, and excited, motivated to learn new things. I was transferred to Guwahati for 6 months and then to a field role in Indore for 14 months. After delivering good results, I was called in HQ based in Gurgaon in Feb 2017 in SCM Ops.

But the dream was on!

I appeared for 4 CDS and 4 AFCAT and able to clear the written every time. In all, I appeared for 8 SSBs over the course of next 3 years, out of which 6 times I got screened-out on very first day while 2 times went to give final round.

However, failed to convert. Failures can shatter you to the core. It makes you vulnerable to desperation. Anxiety hovers, dancing over your head.

I have never given a thought to doing MBA late until 2019, when from final year, 2014, onwards all my friends were started preparing and giving for CAT/XAT through CL, Times and what not. I failed to grasp the importance there only. I lost.

So what restricted me to take a drop and prepare well with focus?

Responsibilities.

Being eldest of five siblings, 3 sisters and a brother, comes some responsibilities. My father got retired a year after I graduated and hence it was tough decision to leave the job as early as 2017, for all my siblings were still doing their studies and I was the sole earner in family and my huge part of the salary went into their studies, especially sisters. If I not care, nobody will.

Till last year I have only thought of either converting SSB interviews or growth with changing jobs, as both were secure in terms salary and money flow be constant. But didn’t able to succeed at either. Growth at the current job is stagnant and adding to the psychological feeling of losing the race.

Drivers-

Responsibilities as sole earner
Unable to crack SSB interviews for so many times
Low but gradual growth in current job
Not able to convert interviews to switch at
Peer group inferiority
less salary increment

Leaving the job was out of option despite you know you can crack better exams if focused. And this my friend not an easy decision to take. Family is as important, I think the most important institution. I have to take a balanced approach, a tough one.

These have build up pressure hard enough on me that I was so demotivated that I would have quit. But something kept me going!

CAT

It was summer of 2019, when I finally decided to appear for CAT, IIFT and XAT to pursue MBA as my two sisters have graduated and started working. A big relief. (but I should also add a feeling of jealousy and a pressure to find a better option as my whole band of friends are either switched to other jobs with a good hike or they admitted at a top B-School)

At the time of application, I already had 4+ years of workex, which is considered very high for a 2-year course and much people had pulled with negative thoughts leave inspiring.

I knew myself well, that huge workex may play a negative effect in my shortlist. Hence CAT this year is must and there is no way failing it. I have to get good percentile for sure!

As you can imagine, there was pressure has build-up from everywhere. My workload had doubled too. I felt like everything and everyone in the universe had united against me.

I tried my best to stay away from negativity and tried to maintain a positive outlook.

I now had 4 years of work ex behind me. I was changed person. I could feel it within me.

I targeted studying after office. But with work-load, task actually turned out to be an Everest. I had to sacrifice weekends and utilize the time for study.

I enrolled with a test series of IMS for mock practices (but I was only able to use 9 mocks out of 40). I knew I had to better my VARC which could result in blunder and made a habit of reading newspaper and books.

CAT happened on 24^th Nov’19 and a week later IIFT.

Results for IIFT got out in 10 days only and got shortlisted for GDPI round. CAT results were declared on 4^th Jan’20. I was able to fare well. As expected VARC was a bit on lower side but enough to get shortlisted by IIM-Lucknow, NITIE, CAP, IIT Delhi.

Please do not ask what happened in XAT!

I prepared thoroughly during Jan-Mar on current affairs and basic understanding of economics and other major historical events and worked on my body language.

I will not go into nitty-gritty of interviews but I did give my best in all interviews and fared well.

Somewhere between march due to lockdown, things got scattered, NITIE and IIML interviews done virtually and IIT-Delhi’s interview got scrapped. Final results pushed by a month or two.

End Results-

Converted NITIE and 6 IIMs including IIM-L.

I will be joining NITIE as it was my first preference, being a Supply Chain professional with over 5 yrs of workex.

Mecca of Supply Chain it is!

What worked this time?

I introspected and learned from the previous failures
Earlier I was too comfortable with the job this time I was not.
I was ready with better preparations to tackle questions related to any field
I set it as a target to achieve and was adamant.
I took notion of body language which has changed significantly over the years and it had humbled me.
I was and am confident but not over-confident and eager to learn new things and in new ways.

Epilogue-

Yes I know, the dream for that starred uniform unfulfilled, but I can’t be crying for that for many years. Let it be a bygone.

Life should go on. Change is still constant as was in the prologue.

These results are not the end. Failure is not the end.

Life is struggle and there is a long road ahead.

There is no end to success. Success is a Myth.

One should always strive to do better in terms of professional, personal and social development.

I will do mine.

I would fall 999 times to get up 1000th time.

I will end it by a quote from my favourite-

"I can accept a failure, but I can't accept NOT TRYING"- Micheal Jordan

Let it be a fresh Beginning!