Home Entrance Exam Prep Exploring the life of a B-Schooler with students of IIM Bangalore, FMS Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad and NMIMS Mumbai

Exploring the life of a B-Schooler with students of IIM Bangalore, FMS Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad and NMIMS Mumbai

D2C Admin

0 min read

One understated aspect of the life of a B-Schooler is the interactions that are experienced on campus. These range from in-class discussions, study groups, committees, networking among peers, seniors, professors, guest lecturers, competitions, making teams for competitions and the list is almost endless. The life of a B-Schooler in the new normal will be devoid of a few of these in their native forms. They will, however, see a “new-normal” version of it. This session of Dare2Compete IGNITE is on Campus life, to give a clear understanding to B-Schoolers in both 1st and 2nd year as well as to MBA aspirants on what to focus on, to make the most of the 2 years.

The session had Newton Bishoyi, BCG, who was also a Placement Committee member at IIM B; Bijayeta Pati, PepsiCo, IMT Ghaziabad ,has had 9 stage finishes in prestigious corporate competitions; Jinit Dharia is a Gold medallist, has an institute rank 3 at IIM Bangalore and attended Yale on an exchange program; Shubham Gupta, who made it to the Dean's list of top 5 students at FMS Delhi and was also on the Placement Committee for both years and will be joining McKinsey & Company. Also present was Ayushmn Sikka, Bain & Co., NMIMS who has had multiple stage finishes in corporate competitions; an eclectic mix of B-Schoolers who have made a mark for themselves.

Here are the points that were discussed in detail during the session:

The transformational effects of life on a B-School campus
In-person classroom learning v/s virtual classroom learning
How to make the best of 2 years of MBA?
What is the best way to build a CV?
The impact of COVID-19 on Summers and Final Placements and how should one prepare?
Importance of Corporate Competitions in the life of a B-School student
Importance of College Societies
Importance of peer learning. How it will get impacted post-COVID?
What are the points that maximize the chances of CV selection in the respective organisations of the panellists

The life of a B-Schooler, a metamorphosis

Jinit from IIM Bangalore describes B-School as an "Endoscope that can be used to view your hidden talents". He compares it to an unparalleled experience and says that the life of a B-Schooler is much more complex than what meets the eye. Drawing parallels from his own run time at IIM Bangalore, he says that the 2 years of an MBA will throw at you multiple things like clubs, committees, competitions, research papers, and other exciting engagements. The onus of choosing what's best for you lies on you.

Ayushmn from NMIMS resonates with Jinit's thoughts and says that he was a fresher straight out of an engineering college who did not know the different industries. And then he went onto win a competition organised by a top FMCG. This in itself goes to show the degree of learning and the transformation that he went through and this is just one such instance from all of his 2 years of life as a B-Schooler! Slated to join BCN, Bain & Co., he says that he had no clue about the world of consulting and is now going to be a part of one of the largest consulting houses. Some of the things that young aspirants, like the 2 years prior version of him, can hope to learn are time management and performing under stressful situations to name a few.

Bijayeta from IMT says that a life of a B-Schooler revolves around cumulative learning where one learns through their own experiences as well as the experiences of seniors, professors and industry peers. She also stresses on the importance of the Induction week where the fresh batch of B-Schoolers interacts with the senior batch for the first time in an immersive manner. Given the current COVID-19 situation, the induction week will most likely be a ritual affair like many other things, but nonetheless the learning is going to be immense.

Newton from IIM Bangalore says that the timing of things going virtual for the fresh batch is actually a blessing in disguise. He says that if the situation had to come to this then the timing couldn't have been better than this. He goes onto explain by enlisting that scoring in the first and second semester of an MBA is crucial. The scores of the first 2 terms are key in deciding if you get to go on an exchange program and the type of university you get. He also says that once you have scored well in the first 2 terms, you have almost set a decent momentum which is slightly easier to maintain through the subsequent semesters. Given that the students are not on campus, they can focus all their energies on learning and not get distracted by the multitude of activities that take place on the campus.

The first few terms are comprised of compulsory courses which add to building a strong foundation. The weightage of the credits that one needs to finish in the first 2 terms is very high. Having an un-interrupted time to study and ace will actually work for you as opposed to against you.

Shubham Gupta from FMS Delhi says that the virtual setup will gravely impact peer-to-peer learning. The incoming second year students caught onto this early and are conducting live sessions online to compensate. Although things have taken a hit but all is not lost still. He also second's Newton's opinion that academics are extremely important in the first year. He also points out that by the time you sit for your final placements, you will be mid-semester and might not have all your scores to put on the CV. Having a good 1st and 2nd semester scorecard will definitely help you in final placements as well. The incoming batch, he says will be unique in terms of knowing how to adapt to dire circumstances.

The panel unanimously agreed that a consistent performance is needed more so than ever. Going by the recent trends seen with other forms of education where the final exams were scrapped due to COVID-19 and the last recorded score was considered final.

Life of a B-Schooler who is also a Place Commer!

Newton from IIM Bangalore chimes in by saying that, "there are only 2 things that you can do of the 3 things. And the 3 things are, Placement Committee, social life and academics". Here are a few key attributes of the life of a B-Schooler who also chooses to be a part of the Placement Committee:

A Place Commer along with their acads has to dispense added duties which makes time management a crucial skill and also teaches how to absorb pressure. It is a necessary soft skill that will come in handy in a multitude of situations.
The learning curve of a Place Commer is unmatched when compared to any other society or committee.
You get to interact with CXO while yourself being a student. This gives you a clear insight into what lies ahead and also form a source of learnings that will shape you as a professional.
The race to wrap up Placements faster than others adds another layer of complexity. Alongside it also imparts some key management and operational skills.
Most Placement Committee members are not allowed to participate in corporate competitions.
Being a Placement Committee members adds to your CV points and also helps your application stand out from the rest to the recruiter.
A high demanding role, it will impact your social life and academics.

Dos' and Donts' of the life of a B-Schooler

Networking - Ensure that you network across your batch as well as the senior batch. A lot of the activities on a B-School campus require you to draw alliances, such as corporate competitions. Most of them call for a team participation and we have it on good authority that a team can make or break your chances of cracking the competition.
Personal Branding - Taking the example of group projects, Ayushmn says that your interaction in this scenario will add to your brand on campus. Try and steer clear of the freeloader tag in such a scenario. This might lead to your batch mates deflecting from your direction when it comes to exploring other opportunities together.
The unending list of committees - A good way to have a holistic take on your life as a B-Schooler can be to partake in the various committees on campus. Bijayeta from IMT was a part of the Academic Committee and shares that this exposed her to various short term projects that aided her learning process. She also goes on to say that being actively involved in committees will help you establish your brand and discover others. This will help you in establishing efficient groups for various activities.
Library - Ensure that you know your library well. It will go a long way in shortening the research phase of say a case study to be discussed in class or on the stage of a competition.

All moving parts of the life of a B-Schooler, from the perspective of learnings, can be categorised into 4 buckets:

Academics - How much push one chooses to give on this front is a personal preference. As discussed earlier, this is an important variable, especially so during the first 2 semesters.
Placements - It is an important aspect of the life of a B-Schooler and most students tend to deal with it sincerely.
Co-curricular - This along with the extra-curricular bucket is what a B-Schooler should leverage to stand apart from the rest of the batch. Academics and placements are like the basic features of a car like the wheels and the engine. Every car has these parts. Now what sets apart the high-end luxury model from the basic, nominally priced model is the bells and whistles that come with it. And co-curricular and extra-curricular achievements are just that. Bells and whistles put you in the high-end category! Corporate and campus-based competitions form a major chunk of this bucket. Also doing research papers with faculties along with live projects will open up new doors to learning which are not even visible from any other perspective. Ayushmn wholeheartedly agrees with Jinit here and says that most Marketing faculties are involved in various studies and research. Reaching out to them and exploring synergies can be a good way to start. An international immersion is also one such experience during the life of a B-Schooler that will enrich the entire experience. These range from a short 15 day immersion to a semester on exchange. Jinit shares that when he was in IIM Bangalore and IIM B ranked 26th in the QS ranking. He made it his aim to do an international stint with colleges ranked above IIM Bangalore. Jinit says that let either this be the criteria to choose an international program or a subject or a field that you are inclined towards.
Extra-curricular - Following your passion is a horn that has been tooted by many and for good reason. Being involved in an extra-curricular activity adds a new dimension to your CV in front of the recruiter. The usual sports and drama clubs is something that has been done and dusted. Jinit Dharia draws from his own experience and shares that he started a startup during his time on campus.

The first 2 months in a B-School!

As soon as one enters a B-School there are a multitude of challenges awaiting. From getting acclimatised to a new way of learning and life, to preparing your CV for Summers and then the actual Summers. What are the key steps that a B-Schooler must take to ensure that their profile is attractive enough to the recruiter?

The first aspect is academics. Although it is true that some B-Schools leave out the academic scores from the CV for Summers, still the advice is to focus on the first terms grades. Having a clear understanding of the core subjects taught in the first semester will help you field questions from the recruiter with much ease and finesse.
Try to be a part of clubs and committees. The benefits of these has been stressed upon repeatedly and this goes to show how important it is for the holistic development of a B-Schooler. In case your want to explore a role in finance, your participation in clubs and committees with this tone will help with your inclination towards the role.
Live projects - These give you a clear understanding of the workings of a particular domain. It will again send a strong message to the recruiter that your decision to pursue a particular role or a profile has been well thought through and tested. As has been evident from other IGNITE sessions, having clarity of thought is of utmost importance in the eyes of the recruiter.
Skills - Bijayeta with her experience in corporate competitions and interacting with many from the industry has garnered the learning that having a diverse set of skills helps in building your case.

Quantifying on a CV and how?

Shubham who was a part of the Placement Committee for both the first and the second year of his MBA at FMS Delhi shares a few key pointers with regards to CVs.

Make sure that you quantify the impact that the particular achievement has had on the organisation or the society. For instance, if you were a Business Development intern then quantify the numbers that you have individually contributed towards.
Quantify impact but in the right manner. Ensure that not every achievement uses the same phrase "I worked at...". Mix up the choice of words in a manner that it makes for a good read.
It is okay to exaggerate on your CV. But exaggeration has to be close to a point of believability. Calling a grain of sand Mount Everest is something that the recruiter will see and call you out on.
All CVs before being locked in for placements go through a validation process. Depending on the B-School, this process might be handled by the Placement Office or the Placement student committee.
In case there is a competition or a certification that you have done, ensure that you start gathering proof for it now. This, depending on the certificate issuing body can take time.

Pro-Tip - How to frame a CV point? For instance, you worked on improving the forecasting of a model. The CV point instead of reading something like, "Improved forecasting by X per cent and this helped optimise operations", should instead read like, "Optimised Operations, reduced cost by X figure by improving Sales forecasting accuracy by Z per cent".

Are Clubs and Committees compulsory?

Contrary to popular belief, it is not a pre-requisite to be a part of a particular club or a committee to make it on a shortlist. The question here one should ask is, is it required or not to be a part of a club and committee, and that is where the answer inclines towards a positive. This is the case due to 2 reasons; first is that you get to interact with many internal and external stakeholders while engaging in activities of these clubs and committees. It gives you a deep insight into how people function in different situations. The second reason is, a very niche part of being a part of a club or a committee gives you talking points for an interview. A recruiter gets to understand firsthand how this has impacted your learning and what are the soft skills along with your acumen that you bring to the table.

If your interests do not align with any of the clubs or committees on campus, then one must not force it as there are other ways of improving your CV and adding points to it.

The value of joining Clubs and committees for a fresher with no work ex

Ayushmn from NMIMS Mumbai was a fresher when he first stepped into a B-School. And for him, the life of a B-Schooler had its own challenges. He says that for a fresher who hasn't traversed the professional grounds as much will find it difficult to fill out the CV with notable achievements. He iterates that joining clubs and committees will help you in building a well-rounded CV. He himself was a part of the Placement Committee for the first 3 semesters and realised that his interest lay in corporate competitions and he chose the latter.

He also says that you may or may not be a part of a club or a committee but instead may be working on getting various certifications. The point that they all concurred with was that a club or a committee joined for the right reasons showing a learning curve is what translates well onto the CV. Joining a club or a committee can be one way of showing growth on the CV and certifications can be another, especially in your first few semesters.

Corporate Competitions, why they are important?

Bijayeta has had 9 stage finishes in campus and corporate competitions during her life as a B-Schooler. She won the Special Mention Award for Reliance TUP 4.0 in her first year and reached the national finals of Reliance TUP 5.0 in her second year. She stresses on the fact that corporate competitions provide a holistic development and learning opportunity. It is a great medium to practically apply the learnings garnered from a classroom setting. She uses the example and says that one learns segmentation in the classroom setting but actually interviewing a customer on-ground helps you put concepts into perspective.

Another advantage that cannot be replaced is the unique view into the organisation these competitions tend to provide. Almost all competitions involve interaction with the CXOs and other teams from the organisation. Interacting with them will help you explore the ethos of their work culture along with what is it that they expect from their future team member. This will help you decide if this organisation and/or role is the right fit for you.

Students from all B-Schools are not eligible to participate in all Corporate Competitions. However, there are still a wide variety of competitions that are open to most or all B-Schools. Make it a point to participate in the ones that do come to your B-School. This will help recruiters take note of your campus and over time more and more competitions will open up to your campus.

Competitions = Pre-Placement Interviews

Corporate competitions vary in terms of structure and qualifying criteria. Some of them offer PPIs to members of the winning teams and some also offer PPIs to national finalists. Ayushmn and Bijayeta both are examples of getting an interview with recruiters with whom they would not have been able to interview through the normal placement route. Bijayeta was the AMENA winner for PepsiCo Dare to Do More and was able to convert her PPI and is now slated to join PepsiCo.

The best mechanism to ascertain the best profile and industry for you

Some students set on their B-School journey with a clear roadmap. They know the role and the industry they want to start their post MBA professional life with. But most students are looking at exploring and finding out through their B-School journey what is best suited for them.

Exposure is key

Jinit Dharia shares his decision mechanism and begins by stating that he considered 2 things while making this decision himself. He says that you should choose electives in a manner that it gives you an exposure all across the board. This will give you a clear idea of the industry and will aid in making the decision. Next he goes onto say to tap into the information that is available on Dare2Compete and with seniors with regards to the different types of competitions in different fields. These competitions can serve as a looking glass into what working in a particular industry entails. A happy melange of campus and corporations can ensure that you get to sample different industries.

Outside of competitions, there are live projects that can also serve the same purpose.

Pre-Placement talks

The famed pre-placement talks are when a company visits the campus and walks you through what they have on offer for new recruits. Aspects covered during these pre-placement talks are profiles on offer, the growth one can expect, company culture and other such details that one might not be aware of. Pre-Placement talks are a great way to understand if the role and industry is the right fit for you. Another great way of gaining insights is to speak to your alumni working in the company. Seek answers to what does their typical day look like, what is expected of them, etc.

Consider your strengths and weaknesses as well while choosing the best fit for you. For example, if technology and innovation are not some of your strong suites then maybe Product Management is not for you. The role sounds alluring but might not be conducive to your growth.

How to validate your choices?

Once you have done the groundwork and have a few options in mind, a great way to arrive at the final coveted industry is to:

Tap into the alumni network - Reach out to the alumni working in a particular company that you are eyeing. Try and cover 2 categories of alumni while figuring out who to reach out to. The first category is the ones who have stayed with the company beyond the 6 months - 1 year honeymoon period and second category being of those who shifted immediately after the honeymoon period. This will help you attain a holistic view of what it is like to work with the company in question.

The senior batch - Network with the senior batch and keep good terms with them. Remember when you network build, bonds that sustain the passage of time. When you would have finished 6-7 months on campus your senior batch would be getting placed. Gaining from their personal interaction with the company and their experience will help you draw your own conclusions.

How to crack a corporate competition

The dream team - You will be working alongside a team with a common goal. Ensure that you choose teammates who are as invested in the cause as you are.

Interactions - Most competitions require some form of primary research. Ensure that you have a team that doesn't shy away from diving into conversation with complete strangers with an agenda in mind.

Numbers matter - There are many reports online that will give you facts and figures but where they fail to deliver is in the insight department. Unless you interact with the actual consumer you will not be able to understand the numbers no matter how exhaustive an online report is. If a jury wanted to look at numbers they would go to Nielsen. What they are actually looking for is decoding of these numbers into a beautifully strung viable solution.

Secondary Research - The importance of secondary research should not be undermined. Speak to alumni from the company and get a firsthand understanding of the gears and levers of the industry.

Placements and COVID-19

There can never be a good time for a pandemic to ravage the country. The effects of COVID-19 were seen on different fronts. One major front that took a hit sending ripples well into the next year or so was the B-School placement. The lockdown is being lifted in a phased manner but all educational institutes continue to function via the virtual channel. The academic calendar has been pushed further by a few months and so have the placement processes. Here is what can be expected on the placement front, which holds an important place in a B-Schooler's life:

The general opinion is glimmer than it needs to be - Newton from IIM Bangalore says that there are industries that have been hit harder than the others. While a few have taken a serious blow, there are others that have adapted and have started showing an upward trend. E-Commerce is a prime example for this among others. The focus has shifted.

Only a delay in dates - The usual schedule for placements will see a delay this year. Shubham from FMS suggests that this time should be utilised to keep oneself meaningfully engaged.

The onus is on you - A witnessed shift in trends, now students will have to be more attentive and proactive when it comes to placements. Companies are still expected to engage with campuses but the individual attention that a student gets might reduce.

Most B-Schools have decided a tentative date for Summer Placements and the same shall follow soon for the Final Placements as well. With a shifted industry focus, Newton predicts that the placements should go off smoothly.

Advice to the incoming batch

Jinit says that the 2 coming to years will be a combination of in campus and virtual classes. Irrespective of the medium, one should try and experiment. Understand what is the one thing that you will love to do for the rest of your life. Try and think of these things while not taking into consideration the baggage of virtual/in campus classes and other things.

Ayushmn's suggestion is that the new batch should focus on learning. The importance of differentiating yourself from others is more so now than ever. Build your brand and pay special attention to it. Use the fact that the on-campus noise is not there to distract you during this phase of virtual classes.

Shubham says that the best thing the incoming batch can do is keep negativity at bay. Stay positive and make the best out of the situation. Identify your focus and the mantra remains the same. Things will eventually fall into place.

Newton's advice to the incoming batch is to build friends for life. The life of a B-Schooler is a phase that will not present itself again. Bonds, memories and learnings from this phase are irreplaceable as well as formative at the same time. He also says that everything in the B-School setup comes at an opportunity cost. You will find yourself always choosing between say academics or social life, committee duties and academics, so on and so forth. How he sailed through these decisions himself was by taking a decision and then working hard to make it right. He also says that there are no wrong or right decisions here.

B-Schools see a diverse set of students everywhere. You should use this diversity as an inspiration and should learn from this as opposed to drawing comparisons for the worse.

IGNITE - The Spark to your Dreams, was realised through a series of 6 information-packed sessions which saw recruiters and leaders from Reliance, ABG, TAS, Flipkart, Mondelez International, BCG, McKinsey, Bain & Co. and more. In case you missed any session, here are links to catch up on them: