“Keep exploring till you find your way”, Ashu’s inspiring journey from Engineering to MBA to McKinsey & Company

“It is all about having fun.” I have always been an inquisitive child who was interested in knowing the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of every new idea I came across. My journey to McKinsey & Company wasn't a cake walk. It began with the desire of learning that made me focus on studies and pushed me to take part in all kinds of activities and competitions. Being a hardcore Maths lover, engineering was the most obvious choice of carrier for me. I, thus, completed my mechanical engineering from NIT Jaipur.

The need to enhance my skills to achieve my professional ambitions, made me want to pursue an MBA. I ended up taking a role so dynamic that now, learning never stops.

Since a regular dose of Maths and Logical reasoning were involved, CAT preparation was fun. Combined with rocking Punjabi music in the background, it felt more like enjoying numbers and applying rationale than studying. This exact study pattern continued within IIM as well, a regular dose of Punjabi music with little numbers ka tadka! It is an amazing realization that what I learned in B-school has changed my approach of handling difficult problems in a more structured and mature way, in both my personal and professional life.

I feel more confident and equipped than before for making the right choices even if they were hard. My decision to not go for an internship gave me the strength to try harder for a job in consulting. This was a job that would beautifully supplement my wish for lifelong learning and made me realize: “It’s OK to keep exploring till you find your way.”

A lot of free time at IIM Lucknow combined with a curious bent of mind urged me to take part in my first competition. It revolved around understanding the everyday challenges faced by the management. Also, how different logic, ideas and creativity can be applied in resolving them. Once I realized how much fun and enjoyment I had while preparing for the competition, it became an indispensable part of my B-school journey.

Case competitions provided me the perfect platform to work in teams and test my ideas. It enhanced my thought process and help me receive exposure to the ways and means of working in a corporate environment. I believe - no matter the outcome, as long as a case competition forces you to be aware of an industry, makes you think of the lines of financial feasibility and pushes you to come up with creative solutions; you are a winner.

The 2 competitions that are close to my heart are TAS Invictas and HUL LIME. TAS Invictas was my first competition and our efforts bore fruit when we emerged as national winner. HUL LIME was the competition whose campus finale we lost. But I really enjoyed working for it. That is what matters the most apart from the great learning experience it provided. Even though I lost the competition, I learned to take care of every nitty-gritty, both in my ideas and projections. It helped me in cracking other case competitions henceforth. Looking back, I guess every competition helped me grow on personal as well as professional front.

Throughout my journey, there were quite a few times when things didn’t go as I wanted them to. I felt dejected and disappointed. In short, there are times when you feel there’s nothing you can do to achieve your goal. Sit back and watch. Everything falls into place eventually. It might take some time for the picture to get clear. All you need to do is have faith and work harder. Don’t miss out on opportunities and always have a clear picture of what you want, in your mind.

My overall journey from Engineering to MBA and to McKinsey & Company gave me version 2.0 of myself. This is more confident, more friendly, more mature, more professional and a lot more aggressive.