zabardasti ka post :)

For the record ... I somehow converted IIFT too...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gaurav Gulati
Date: Thu, Jun 19, 2008 at 3:42 PM
Subject: Waitlist Candidate for admission to MBA(IB0 2008-10 at its Kolkata Centre

Dear Candidates,

On the basis of your performance in the Admission Test comprising
Written Examination, Group Discussion, Essay Writing and Interview, your
name has been placed on the Waiting List for admission to Two-year MBA
(International Business) 2008-10 for KOLKATA CENTRE of the Institute.

It is expected that a few more seats are likely to be offered to
General Category students on 26th June 2008 for admission to the above
mentioned course.

You are requested to please send an acceptance letter through email to
the Institute latest by 23rd June 2008 that if you will be offered the
admission to MBA(IB) 2008-10 at its Kolkata Centre on 26th June 2008 as
per merit whether you will be intrested to join at Kolkata Campus on 1st
July 2008 or not.

With best wishes,

Gaurav Gulati
Programmes Officer
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

May Day Gift

Converted all the IIM Calls I had from LIK -- One of the happiest day for me.
Will be joining Lucknow for sure .

4/11 hype is doomed

The hype that I had created for 4/11 in family,friends,office and everywhere is doomed for now.
Supreme Court in India had a separate plan to bomb things 1 day in advance.

Anyways, I hope the wait is not long and I am through to the IIMs I deserve :).

First Convert

Finally something started happening in my favour.
NITIE Call converted. :)

Waiting for 4/11

NITIE drama + masti

NITIE finally made me to visit Mumbai after 12 years.Those were great days in my last visit.

Reached Mumbai at 9 PM and ate pav bhaji first thing on landing :)
Finally UP waale bhaiyaji caught me and charged double auto fare to reach NITIE.My bad start:(
The arrangements there were cool but that 96 step climb was a bit difficult after being used to the lifts in the IT matrix.
Reached Audi at 8 AM along with fellow aspirants.
And then we had the presentations powered by Matrix backdrops and no AC.
Soon , I realized that it will be a long day for me , for I was in Panel 19.

Thanks to the seniors and the audi facilities ,where we were shown Mandi gyaan to start, some cricket mimics and finally the Dilbert strip.

Certificate verification at 12 PM made it even more interesting on the whole sarkaari tantra.
We were asked to leave for lunch and be back by 2PM for the GDs.
Finally, the process started for me :P

Topic :-
Can Indian brands become global ?

Number of Ppl present - 12
Panel Members - 6
Time:3 minutes(To read the case)+ 24 minutes (To discuss)+3 minutes (To conclude)
Brief Snapshot of Discussion:
Was 4th in the group.

Group Performance:
Everyone got a decent chance to present the views.But the active participation was from half the juta.The guy who started ,just started to give a start and concluded as he had to :)2 members in the last were just hogging on to others points and just copy +pasting IT ishtyle.

My Performance :
Gave lots of gyaan and had few one to ones with the junta
1)IT and Pharma sector brought India to globe
2)India bad in FMCG ,Cold drinks and Mfg
3)India still not good with Agri and Mfg
4)Bt Cotton and globalization (gosh what was I speaking)
5)Its not about that nly India is a part.We are all brick in the wall (koi gaana ga raha tha)

My corrections or fights :)
1)One guy started to contradict by calling HLL example for FMCG. (bhaiya bidesi company hai)
2)Another guy started contradicting someone on Mobile not getting manufactured in India by giving Airtel example (kahaan mobile banana ..kahaan network)
3)In the last a guy was telling IBM has not called India Centre of Excellence (IBM is not the Gods )

I just could not help myself and got moved a bit by emotions.

PI:
Was called at 6:30 PM.Passed time thru watching How I met ur mother,Friends,Andaaz Apna Apna (Thanks Seniors)

Panel Members Intro:5 Profs
Mar gaye :(

Me:May I come in sirs ..Wished them
Prof:Hey u came in smiling.. First guy who did that.
Me: (Marta kya na karta) Said aadat hai..can't help
Prof:Tell me something about yourself.
Me:told
Prof:What's the difference between leader and manager ?
Me:Leader has vision ,Manager -works as per assigned tasks.
Prof:Hmm.. so what are the tasks of a manager
Me : Global gyaan (Planning ,Execution ,Motivation, Completion)
Prof:Why are u preparing this much for this CAT?
Me:Some good gyaan
Prof : So what does it require to ace this ?
Me: The D-Day and some introspection on weakness.
Prof:Is it good be negative or critical?
Me: Critcal obviously helps ,but not that critical that we become negative.
Prof:Hmm ..so in testing u r supposed to think negative and break the code rt?
Me : Yes , we do that .But we also ensure that no existing functionality is broken.
You need to think for as many possible cases.
Prof : Why MBA ?
Me : Funde
Prof :Strengths and weakness
Me : Some more funde
Prof : We are done.
Me:Have a Nice Day.Thank you sirs

There were lots of things discussed in PI.Not able to recollect for now.
Have to catch sleep after all.Reached Bangalore at 2 AM.

Its all boiled down to the CAT now

Yesterday, I saw the IIFT results.Not selected.
Was not selected by FMS in the writtens only.

Hence it all comes to the CAT based calls and results.
May the force be with me :)

The 'K'all

Any other special thing that day:
India -Australia final

Venue :IIM ,Bangalore
Date :4th March,2008

Article :-
Corporate Sector must help out the entrepreneur junta in setting up SME.

Number of Ppl present - 9
Time:2 minutes(To read the case)+ 12 minutes (To discuss)
Brief Snapshot of Discussion:
Was 5th in the group.Mostly ppl were work-ex and were not interested (ab aadat ho gayi hai sabko :) ).
Was a peaceful discussion that was boring for me ,maybe more so for the Profs.

Group Performance:
Everyone got a decent chance to present the views.But the active participation was from the first five.Other 4 ppl were just there to question the group ,on what we were discussing ,with not enough add-ons.

My Performance :
Came in early.Gave some rational and few irrational thoughts :-
i)Maslow's law (zabardati ghusaao )
ii)NRN and Infy
iii)Vishal MegaMart
iv)Petrol pump and dhaba
v)OnMobile incubation

PI:
Was called 5th as per GD order and entered the room.

Panel Members Intro:1 Old Prof OP, 1 Young Smiling Prof YP

Most of them from the Old Profs in the beginning as had happened in 'I'
Me:May I come in sirs (Forgot to wish them .. my bad...)
YP:Please give your folder to me.(Me Obliged).
OP:Tell me something about yourself.
Me:told
OP:What are qualities of a leader ?
Me:Motivating people,lead by example
OP:What's the difference between leader and manager ?
Me:Leader has vision ,Manager -works as per assigned tasks.
OP:Tell me 2-3 business leaders
Me:NRN,Azim
OP:What's the leadership difference b/w NRN and Gopalakrishnan ?
Me:NRN -- more people centric (talking to people on ethics etc.)
Gopal - Reorganized Infy etc.
OP:In the form ,u have mentioned ur accomplishments as joining Infy
Me: Tried to defend etc.OP:But we are looking for some innovative,analytical skills etc. that u might have shown.
Me :Some gyaan , that this accomplishment opened so many avenues for me
OP:Is the recent downfall in US affecting attrition ?
Me: Yeah,they removed ppl in IBM and TCS.
OP:So Infy doesn't have that process ?
Me:Its there ..some ratings every yr. Also at joining time ,ppl get removed if they fail in written.
OP:What's the number ?
Me :Not sure ,but arnd 100-200ppl have left this way.
OP:What happens if Democrats come to power and obama is Prez.Suppose he bans outsourcing.How will Infy react?
Me:Diversify to various locations,Maybe create Infy US and ask ppl to work there only.
OP:Why is that u ppl do not have good products etal..doing all low end stuff ?
Me:Finnacle is there .Its being used in US,Europe and many Indian banks except SBI.
YP:But HDFC uses Flex cube and BoB is using this that.
Me : Not sure abt that.
YP:Ok..which bank u know ?
Me: PNB,Union bank
YP:Any big bank ?
Me: Not remembering .. (complete blank)
YP:ICICI
OP: What are ur extracurriculars and hobbies.
Me:blabbered the crap..
OP :What's ur percentile..
Me:Bata diya
OP : And in VA
Me: Bata diya
OP:So which all calls ?
Me: bata diya
OP:B didn't call
Me: Told Acads might be the reason.
OP to YP : I am done .. u have anything to ask ?
YP: In GD , you were telling abt Infy starting from SME to large scale company.
What is SME ?
Me: Told about revenues and profit.
OP and YP:Completely disagreed on this.
Me: Not sure then..might be..
YP: We are done.
Me:Have a Nice Day.Thank you sir

It was general IT and my company stuff.Not sure,how they will think that I can fit in.Think they do :)

The 'L' Experience

Finally my best bet day arrived on 22nd February.

Any other special thing that day:
Reached 2 hours in advance and had to roam around Safina Plaza.

Venue :Hotel Monarch Luxur,Bangalore

GD: If you give a man a fish,he eats it once.You teach a man to fish,you loose a business oppportunity.

Number of Ppl present - 10
Time:30 minutes(To write about the topic)+ 15 minutes (To discuss)

Brief Snapshot of Discussion:
Was 9th in the group.All people were from good companies and had significant work-ex.
It tended to move towards fish market sitution.But common sense prevailed mutually where the guy who kept speaking was given the chance to keep speaking.

Group Performance:
Everyone got a decent chance to present the views.Junta was very much IT ccntric and coaching funda mentality.
Gave examples on FDI at the outstart :)IT companies case studies, what happens in my company,that company etc.One good point was abt creating terrorism thru trainings.

Was quite receptive to my different ideas as they focussed less on IT :)

My Performance :
Came in late..maybe after 3-4 minutes as was cut each time I tried to enter.
Finally made a successful entry.Gave examples on:
*Mind Tree Consulting
*Alexander the Great
*Pakistani bowlers Akram and Shoaib
*Leadership
*Importance of teachers

Might have been in top 2 based on content basis.

PI:
Was 9th when entered the room.It was already 5 PM.

Panel Members Intro:1 Old Prof OP, 1 Young Prof YP

Me:Good Evening sirs.
OP/YP :Good Evening.
YP:Please give your folder to me.(Me Obliged).
OP:Ok..tell me something about yourself.
Me:told ..Sultanpur inevitably came in.
OP:So where is Sultanpur?
Me:Near Amethi and 140km from Lucknow
YP:(Looking at my file)Where is your CAT Admit card and score card.
Me:Sir,Its in the pocket there.
YP:And where is your Degree?
Me:Its very big ,hence have kept in the last.
YP;You are not an organized person.Where are your final marksheets?
Me:(Can't help,but it was the best way,I could arrange them).Sir,Its there in the middle along with other marksheets.
Me:(Asking OP)So Sir, should I continue my introduction.
OP:Yes,Please carry on.
Me:Good gyan
OP:What have you learnt in 2.5 years of work in AAAA
Me:Told the technical and soft skill things.
OP:So what has been the happiest moment of your life?
Me: Told About joining AAAA and why.
OP:So what u did with first salary?
Me:Thanked God
OP:And didn't buy anything for family members,brothers,sister.
Me: Blabbered something abt not going home,so bought nothing.
OP:So where are you basically from?
Me:Told Bihar UP thing.
OP:(To YP)OK...I am done.
YP:What is a semiconductor?
Me :(Got bit nervous and shaky here)Told any material that has high impurities and due to increase in temperature start conducting electricity.
YP/OP:Conducting electricity?
Me:No Sir..(Told something so that they were pacified).
YP:Give few uses of semiconductor.
Me :Told
YP:Name 2 materials used in semiconductor.
Me:Si,Ge
YP:2 companies that manufacture them.
Me:Intel,Solectron.
YP:2 countries where they are manufactured.
Me:China and Taiwan.
YP:u r sure its ,China?
Me:Yes sir,there is Shanzen area in its south that's famous for this.
YP:Ok,why are they not manufactured in India?
Me:Told intial installation setup issues etc.
YP;So are they rare thing not easy to find.
Me:No sir.Infact Si comes from sand SiO2.
But the cost part makes it difficult.And other countries have already taken the lead.
YP:Ok..We are done
Me:Have a Nice Day sirs, Thank you sir

My initial smiles had got lost into nervousness after semiconductor wala question.
Finally,when I was leaving,I felt it went for only 5 minutes only to realize it might have been 10 minutes.

Lets see what's the outcome of this one.

The I - IT experience

It was an I day.
CAT Score:-
DI - 92.3 percentile
QA - 96.01 percentile
VA - 99.85 percentile

Overall --- 99.54 percentile

Any other special thing that day:
Reached an hour in advance.

Venue :IIM ,Bangalore
Date :19th Feb,2008

Case Study:
A guy Ashutosh ,working in SEB,is caught with the dilemma of heeding to his boss and sanction the extra amount the contractor is asking.

Number of Ppl present - 7
Time:5 minutes(To read the case)+ 14 minutes (To discuss) +5 minutes (To write summary on what the group discussed and not what you thought)
Brief Snapshot of Discussion:
Was 3rd in the group.Mostly ppl were freshers and had TIME junta quotient and funda.
Was a peaceful discussion that lost steam in the end.Could have added more heat :)

Group Performance:
Everyone got a decent chance to present the views.I felt they called people on GD performance basis .Although I didn't like problem solving approach ,certain solutions and method suggested by the group, but had to carry on with Group Dynamics.

My Performance :
Chipped in early and told that the root cause was the Contract agreement signed between SEB and contractor.Group did not take much buyin on this and were engaged in unnecessary talks on relationship of manager and Ashutosh.

Gave around 7 points discussed in the case during the writeup.

PI:
We were told that the calls will be in random order.
Was called 3rd and entered the room.

Panel Members Intro:1 Old Prof OP, 1 Young Smiling Prof YP

Most of them from the Old Profs in the beginning
Me:Good Morning sirs.
OP/YP :Good Morning.
YP:Please give your folder to me.(Me Obliged).
OP:So you work in AAAAA.Tell me something about AAAAA.
Me:told
OP:Ok..what's Cloud computing?
Me:Sir...No Idea.
OP:Ok...Try making some guess.
Me:No sir... I really do not have any clue.
OP:Do you read computer magazines like ComputerWorld etc.
Me: No sir.
OP:Ok..Tell me what's Grid Computing?
Me : Its related to Parallel Computing.adding many computers to work parallely to work together.
OP:Have you heard of Deep Blue?
Me: Yes sir, It was a computer that was able to finally defeat Gary Kasparov in Chess.Initially ,it was defeated .But in last tournament,it finally defeated him.
OP:Ok..This was Deep Blue..Can you tell me a company that was called Big Blue..
Me:No Idea.
OP:Think,Its an IT company.
Me:Its IBM sir.They had started this blue collar job 's funda.
OP:So what are blue collar and white collar jobs.
Me:Service indutry - blue collar,management - white collar...(Mistake ho gaya..blue collar jobs are for workers,working on wage hour basis)
YP:Sure???
Me:Yes sir.
OP:Ok..so u have heard this term 'dig blue' ?What's the difference b/w digblue and bigblue?
Me:Sir ...No idea
OP: In the form you have mentioned that you are in QA team.What does it do ?
Good gyan
OP:So why not XXXX does everything.
Me: Told abt Vendor Mnagement policies of the client.
OP:Ok..What do you see the future of IT industry?
Me:told some points on how much it is data oriented and needs to be looking into the business aspects and information will be more relevant.Things like Business Objects and Reports will be the key.Also ,speed and accuracy will hold the key in future.
OP:Ok.. in the form you have mentioned that you want to become a Biz analyst.What do u think will be a typical day for a Biz analyst.
Me: Blabbered something and gyaan for 2 minutes.
OP:Have you heard of DotCom Boom?
Me :yes sir..Started the Y2K ram kahaani as background.
OP:No ,I am asking abt dot com thing.
Me:Just a minute sir,will be coming to that only. Finished off the answer in next 2 minutes.
OP: Ok..what is meant by Data Mining?
Me: Told..
OP:What was your favourite subject in college days??
Me;Mathematics.
OP: Ok..but I will ask you a Physics question.
Me;OK sir.
OP:There is a weighing machine and is measuring weight of a jar.The jar is closed and around 50 flies are resting on it.Suppose they start flying.Will the weight measured increase or decrease?
Me:Remain constant and gave funda behind it.
OP:That's the right answer.
Me :Thank you sir.
OP:What do you perceive as the biggest problems for IT industry ?
Me:Knowledge Management and Operating Margin maintinenace(described 2nd point in detail).
OP to YP :I am done.You have any questions.
YP:What is E-R diagram.
Me :told.
YP: Can you explain via Payroll sytem.
Me: Told.
YP:This is your Infy joining letter.Can you explain what this BVQI is?
Me:Sir,no idea.
YP:ISO 9000
Me :Related to Quality and Management.
YP:CMMi Level ..who gives it ?
Me :(Goofed it big time)It was designed by Purdue University and started explaining it.
YP:No,I am asking who gives it?Say I am an IT company .So who will accredit me?
Me :Sir ,I don't know.
YP:Ok ,what is ISO -14000 related to ?
Me :Environment.
YP:What is data migration?
Me :Told.
OP:Where are you from?
Me;Told my Bihar UP connection.
YP:Governor of UP?
Me : TV Rajeshwar
YP:UP has 2 houses.what do the 2 houses do?
Me:Told something about legislation and bill thing.
YP:Can u name the 2 houses?
Me : Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad
YP:Why do some states have 2 houses?
Me;Normally dependent on size of the state.Normally larger states have it.
OP:How will you rate ur performance in GD?
Me:7/10 ,Because I gave points related to Contract,Laws which was not explicitly mentioned anywhere.
YP:In term of rank ?
Me:2nd -3rd
YP:From top?
Me:Yes sir.
YP:Ok..We are done.You may leave.(I stand up and was abt to thank them)
OP:And please read that IT magazine Computer World,Its really good.
Me:Sure sir,but since my current focus is on business.Hence, I have not been able to do so.
OP:You have any questions for us?
Me:No Sir.
OP:Have a Nice Day.
Me:Same to you sir.Thank you sir

My only constant reaction was a smile that I kept for the entire interview.
Finally,when I was abt to leave,even they started smiling.
Hope it continues :)

The IIFT Goof Up

Trying to use the PG template for the post

PROFILE:
Acads:
X --87.2%
XII--81.2%
Undergrad Major - GPA/%age -- 71.2%

Work-Ex:
IT -29Months

IIFT Score:-32.76

Any other special thing abt u:
No idea
Venue :Coffee Board ,Bangalore

GD:
Topic:Sustaining Economic Growth and Role of Services
Number of Ppl present - 12
Time:40 minutes (2minute for participant +15 minute of open round)
Brief Snapshot of Discussion:
Was 6th in the group.Mostly ppl were IT centric.Tried to tell that IT is not only services.There are many more things.Also , we need to focus on World Story.
Gave reliance IPO and Bangalore example in the open round.

Other Salient Details:
Break time :We got coffee and biscuits.That was the best part of it.

PI:
Panel Members Intro:1 Fin Prof ,1 Lady Prof. prev. IIFT alumni
Questions:

Fin Prof exits for a break.Lady takes over.
1)Tell something abt yourself.
told
2)Which book u r reading currently ?
told
3)u have mentioned a book by Pankaj Mishra in CV form.Can u tell any other books by him ?
told and described.
4)So what did u learnt in Romantics.
Gave gyaan.
5)What have u learnt in 29 months of Work ex?
Good gyan
Fin Prof enters and starts his questions :-
6)Tell me name of few trade organisations at global and India level?
Told WTO and described a bit.
7)Whats Doha round?
Gave gyaan
8)at India level,trade organization ?
Port Trust Authority of india (An invention by me.don't know what in the world made me say that).
9)What does it do?
Told , it regulates the ports etc.
10)What does CERA do ?
Regulates electricity
11) u seem to have not read economic times?
told it has been months and have been out of touch
12)Why do u want to do MBA?
Talked of Long term and short term goals.

Thank you.

The MBA Quest

The stakes are high this time.
I have given exams other than CAT in the past.
2004 - NA
2005 season - XAT
2006 season - XAT and FMS
2007 season - FMS and IIFT

Above data shows the importance the CAT exam has for me.
Once the written barrier is broken, time to break the GD-PI bar.

On a more truthful note

The post I did yesterday was more what others have seen in my attempts.
Now ,my take on the beast :-
Shot 1 --
Well prepared.Getting consistently good percentiles in VA with a DI havoc now and then in CL Mocks.Did not learn that out and succumbed to QA pressure as well on the D-Day.
Result - 92 percentile
Shot 2 --
Frustrated by Time AIMCATs.Thought , I am good for nothing.Started getting low scores in the last mocks as well as few practice tests.
End result -- 85 percentile

Shot 3--
Good learning at IMS.Was doing everything correct except of doing it on the right day.Screwed VA completely along with a bit in DI.
End result - 95 percentile

Shot 4 --
Started the season badly with a debacle in AIMCAT joining test.Thought the cycle needs to be revisited.Joined CL again.No dangerously good results.Just OK kind.Didn't fired full throttle in the Mocks.But the day it mattered, it happened.

End result - 99.54 percentile and 3 calls L,I,K
2 calls A and C were not there due to 92 percentile in DI.
The B call is a rare phenomenon.Only ppl with 90 percent marks and extremely good acads get it.

Thank God ,I am still insane.

Cat and Bell - No way

I love the lines given by Paul Coleho writes in Alchemist:-
Quotes from the book ::

* “When you want something, all the world conspires in helping you
to achieve it.”

* “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve:
the fear of failure.” (The Old King)

* “At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening
to us, and our lives become controlled by fates. That’s the
world’s greatest lie. Whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.”
(Melchizedek, the Old King)

* “What happens once will never happen again. But what happens
twice will surely happen a third time.”

And these lines inspired me to bell the animal year after year and finally I succeeded in my 4th attempt.Its a story of new opportuities and the way life works.

Attempt 1 -- 2004
The best preparation I did to bell the CAT.
Somehow Infosys happened a month before and although , I did not loose focus ,something happened.

Its So true that , No One is ever completely satisfied with life which
we often hear in the saying
"
kabhi kisi ko mukammal jahan nahin milta
kahin zameen to kahin aasman nahin milta
jisay bhi dekhiyay woh apnay aap mein goum hai
zuban mili hai magar hum zuban nahin milta
kabhi kisi ko mukammal jahan nahin milta....
bujha saka hai bhala kaun waqt kay shoulay
yeh aisi aag hai jis mein dhuaan nahin milta
kabhi kisi ko mukammal jahan nahin milta....
teray jahan mein aisa nahin kay pyar na ho
jahan umeed ho iski wahan nahin milta
kabhi kisi ko mukammal jahan nahin milta
kahin zameen to kahin aasman nahin milta..."

Attempt 2 -- 2005
Infosys training days in Mysore.
Lost sight between Matrix and the bell.

Attempt 3 -- 2006
Got into 2 projects when it was crucial time to prepare.
Lost track in last

Attempt 4 -- 2007
Finally belled it.Lets see how the next round goes.

Battle and the Warrior

Its the fight to the finish.A nerve wrecking drama is about to start in a week.
Lets see , how I fare in it.