hello, is someone there?

04:22 PM

Hey

04:24 PM

Yeah

04:24 PM

Hello Guys

04:29 PM

I can safely say "Been there, done that"

04:29 PM

The purpose of this chat is to discuss with you guys the possibilities on how to enrich your CV and get noticed. I am open to any questions you may have

04:30 PM

Giving a brief on myself - I am a second year student of IIM Udaipur. I did my internship at GE in the FMP division. I am also a media cell representative of the college.

04:31 PM

Hi Ankush. Firstly will like to know what exactly a copany coming for summer placement look for in a candidate given the fact that most of the students sitting for summers have no clarity about the choice of their specialisations?

04:33 PM

company*

04:33 PM

Hey. From my experience i can say that companies look for interest

04:33 PM

Hi

04:33 PM

they are aware of the lack of technical subject domain knowledge. hence how you present your interest and what you say about it is what they are looking for

04:34 PM

Hey romil

04:34 PM

And how exactly they gauge your interest from your C.V which in case of a fresher has no relevant work experience

04:34 PM

Yeah so thats hitting the nail on the head.

04:34 PM

So good B-schools have a lot of activities going on from day one itself. Case study competitions, quizzes etc

04:35 PM

Hey

04:35 PM

so if someone is interested in suppose say marketing, what he did in HUL Lime challenge becomes a differentiating point

04:35 PM

that was just an example

04:36 PM

Is college CGPA mentioned in CV?

04:36 PM

there are many such competitions happening which help you put in tiny points in CV which ultimately lead to the discussion you want to have with the interviewing panel

04:36 PM

Hey Arko.

04:36 PM

yes. 10,12, college and post grad if any

04:37 PM

are generally mentioned

04:37 PM

okay so from what I derive from your thoughts is the fact that we need to participate in more and more of b school case discussions and competitions?

04:37 PM

format largely depends upon college

04:37 PM

yeah that is one of the ways to build CV points. Mind you, they can get you talking, post that its how you carry the conversation that will determine the outcome

04:38 PM

Okay that kind of reaffirms the kind of things we keep hearing from our peers and seniors.

04:38 PM

Supposing we never have won any of the competitions but participated enough....does that helps?

04:39 PM

Participation helps. But it depends upon placecomm what kind of items they allow in CV

04:39 PM

Oh. And CV are one page right? So what if achievements and por are in high numbers and one page is not enough.

04:39 PM

on a serious note, you need to identify the points that will be most relevant

04:41 PM

anything below class 10 is generally considered redundant

04:41 PM

unless its extraordinary

04:41 PM

Hi, I am Sristy working in TCS for the past 3 years. I am planning to appear for CAT 2017. Is it good to go to a Bschool with 3.5 years of experience and what should I do to make my work and CV look good. Will there be placement issues with this exp?

04:41 PM

Thank you Ankush for being here today. When do the summer placements generally happen ?

04:43 PM

Summer placements start around 1-2nd week of O ctober for younger IIMs and 3-4 week of October for older ones

04:45 PM

I have little idea about private colleges. XLRI is clubbed under older IIMs generally

04:46 PM

I,graduated (B.B.A),have excellent academic scores,while winning extra curricular activities too, working in an organisation with a small role as digital marketing executive. Will it impact my future prospects in iim admission and placements because of my small role?

04:47 PM

So how do we categorise on what is our interest by the first two months in he b school

04:48 PM

No. The CAT form only asks for work ex months. so that will not impact getting an interview call. In the interview, you should be able to drive your learnings and impress the interviewer

04:48 PM

that is all that counts

04:48 PM

Thnx!

04:49 PM

I think in the first two months, you should ideally study and understand all the subjects well. You will automatically start liking some subjects. You should try and explore them using B-School resources (Like bloomberg terminals for finance)

04:50 PM

also understanding core concepts of all fields is important for any MBA grad. Hence your core focus should be really clear in the first 4-5 months of MBA

04:50 PM

Thank you.

04:53 PM

Does that answer everything ? o.O

05:06 PM

Apart from competitions, what other areas we can target to enhance our CV. Ways to get relevant CV points for a decent finance and consulting summer internship in the first 3-4 months of B-school?

05:12 PM

So one other important area that can help you is live projects. There are loads of live projects being floated around every now and then through a specified club in a B-School (for eg. ConsultU at IIM Udaipur) You should select the domain that interests you and do some brainstorming on it. Becomes a great talking point in CV and helps convey that you are an active person

05:14 PM

Also some B-Schools have iCell. getting involved in it helps prepare a pitch for core finance companies

05:15 PM

In the first two months of joining a b-school, a CFA research challenge comes up. It is hosted by the CFA institute. participating in it can become another CV point if core finance is your area of interest. Otherwise its of little use

05:16 PM

Hey Ankush, this is Abhishek, I am a BTech final year student at IIT Roorkee and am planning to appear for CAT '17. I wanted to know that what could I do other than internships and college projects to enrich my CV in order to get a top notch B school ?

05:18 PM

Hey abhishek. Ideally i would suggest you to get a work ex of more than 1 year before you sit for CAT

05:19 PM

workex gets you points in admissions

05:20 PM

lso

05:20 PM

also*

05:20 PM

helps you in interviews both while admission and while placements happen

05:20 PM

you also relate better to the cases and learnings as you would have experienced the problems when you work. So ideally speaking, you should try to get little work experience before joining B-School

05:21 PM

Ankush, I want to pursue a career in finance and have gained a bit experience by interning with an investment bank and now with Kotak Mahindra but most of the companies are highly reluctant to even listen to an undergrad for finance roles and expect me to have a financial pedigree and that's where I feel doing an MBA will help.

05:21 PM

having said that, as a fresher you can do many things that people with work ex find it difffcult to do

05:22 PM

You are like a blank slate and hence learning acumen is higher

05:22 PM

could you please mention what exactly are those things that I could do in my undergrad ?

05:23 PM

You can start by looking at courses like CA, CFA etc that are longterm but add a lot of value for finance profile

05:24 PM

you can also do short term courses like stock market courses. FRM is another interesting course in this area

05:24 PM

you should also start to understand and follow the stock market. helps in building basic level finance knowledge

05:25 PM

i am planning to appear for CFA but next year, immediately after the graduation because these 4-5 months I arduously want to prepare for CAT and campus placements and wont be able to appeart for CFA this year...

05:26 PM

You have to sit and prioritise! CAT does not require arduous hardwork. It needs smart work!

05:27 PM

Most of the classmates here have had little or no coaching for CAT.

05:27 PM

So plan well. CAT isnt just about the CAT score. That is only 55% of the total admission weightage (in IIM Udaipur. Changes for each college)

05:28 PM

I completely agree that I have got to prioritize.

05:28 PM

go online and study the admission criteria and accordingly build a better profile. That makes your chances better at cracking IIMs

05:29 PM

Always remember that the competition is cut throat. Each point can change the level of college you get into.

05:31 PM

I think we are nearing the end. Best of luck with your admissions/ placements.

05:32 PM

See you guys again in some other chat

05:32 PM

that's the precise reason why I want to put my every effort into improving my CAT score and thank you Ankush for your guidance

05:32 PM