Meet the National Winner of Citi Leader Award from JBIMS

Every stage of Citi Leaders Awards, a 10 month-long competition, tested a different set of skills and challenged participants to perform their best. Here is a concise description of the competition and her experience.

The procedure of Citi Leader Award

There were a few pre-finale stages that everyone had to get through first. These included CV-based shortlisting, aptitude tests, psychometric tests, personal interviews, and a case study. During the finale, we had a group discussion based on a case study and a personal discussion with an organizing team member based on a different case study. The personal discussion was unique and challenging. It consisted of a role-play where I was the superior manager and the organizing team member was a junior-level executive in the company I was leading. I had to analyze the issues faced by him according to the case study given to me and address them. I analyzed each issue, understood the reasons for it and worked with the junior-level executive to solve the problem. 

Competitive contenders

It was a long journey to the finale but it was worth it because each stage of the competition was a unique opportunity for me to hone a different set of skills. The case studies were in-depth and interesting. Overall 15 students across the country made it to the finale. It would not be fair to point to a particular team as the toughest contender because I believe we all made it through the same rounds and were chosen from 1200 applicants across top B-Schools in the country. We all had unique strengths that helped us during the Finale.

A perfect panel discussion

For me, the most memorable and special moment was during the pre-finale stage of the competition in the personal interview. It was more like a discussion, rather than an interview. It was definitely an experience I enjoyed since I was able to interact directly with the Citi leaders and talk about certain topics that are important to me. We met the Citi India head, the founder of Nykaa, former MD of HCL as well as former MD of ICICI. We had the opportunity to ask them questions about their journey and to me, this was the highlight of the Finale.

I would say that the Citi Leader Award has instilled in me a dynamic and confident leadership quality. It has made me more responsible towards the future of the society and its needs. All thanks to this award which has helped me groom myself for a future leadership position!