The edgy walk of Placements at IIM Nagpur | Abhishek's story
Gossips changed to group discussions, newspaper services became active again, students were focusing more on companies rather than classrooms and the obscure picture of placements which was always looming around made the environment even more competitive and intense. Amid the changes, some students were rigid like an oak tree and shone constantly with regards to their responsibility in IIM Nagpur.
This was in fact, a stark difference between the placements of graduation and post-graduation phase which I observed that contrary to my graduation times where the whole focus was given to placements and students left no stone unturned for converting the company. But in post-graduation, though students were laboriously preparing for companies, their focus was still directed on their individual goals with which they had initially come to college - be it was sports, competitions or other club events.
The final stretch before the walk
The walk of placements at IIM Nagpur started a month before the actual placements when the announcement was made by the placement committee regarding the onset of companies for specific domains. At that time the mock interviews and GD's had become a common sight. The mock interview which I gave was better than average as per the interviewee and it made me quite complacent.
It was my complacency that restrained me from checking the detailed feedback of my interview until I faced the first real rejection. I remember the evening when the placement committee convened a batch meet for sharing the placement protocols which included selective information sharing on social media platforms w.r.t our PPOs, PPIs, CGPIs and other placement details.
They strongly emphasized on adhering to the dress code of interviews, feedbacks of mock interviews, preparation regarding the sector, CVs, company and brushing up of technical concepts learned and applied during the MBA curriculum. That was the moment when I realized that the tickling sound of my watch had become louder. I could sense the sudden goosebumps creeping through my nerves making me anxious and focused. But my focus was momentary which I realized as soon as I entered my room.
The sight of novels over-casted MBA books, sports was given the utmost respect and importance and my laptop was opened more for creative writing purposes. The change which I inculcated in myself was the habituation of interrogating my CV lines and thus finding the loopholes every week. In terms of technical preparation, I believe I didn't do much apart from finding and cleaning the book named "Kotler", known as the Bible of Marketing.
The placement walk begins
The notification for the first firm felt like a siren of the secluded ship sailing in the vast ocean in which everyone wanted to jump. It was a Consulting firm having a strong brand name in the market, a regular recruiter during placements at IIM Nagpur. Around forty per cent of the candidates applied after scrutinizing the job profile and taking feedback from seniors who were working there.
Though I didn't apply for it, I became part of the recruitment process eventually as I was involved in the CV compilation of my friends who applied for it. The regular updates of the results which made me jittery were tough to bear. The absence of the names of my friends from the clearance list was disheartening to see.
The results came after a rigorous recruitment process and for a moment I was having a mixed emotion of happiness and restlessness. I was elated to see the talented candidates of IIM Nagpur proving their worth when it was most required but at the same time, there was fear and pressure of being unplaced which had just started to rise. The night went rejoicing and cherishing the feat of our friends and in the morning we were back on our track focusing on the job description (JDs) of companies floated by the placement committee.
The beginning of the struggle
My walk of placements at IIM Nagpur became edgy when for the first time I took out my tailored suit and reluctantly wore it on the day of the interview. Shaving clean, preparing formals and wearing them were gruelling tasks which I hated the most, especially after the waiting phase and the final phase of self-consolation where I used to introspect rejections.
We must reflect upon the interview experience holistically, thereby, imbibing the learnings and obviating the future mistakes. The analysis is important but we need to make sure that in the process we do not become harsh on ourselves and start judging ourselves bitterly, which eventually leads to self-demoralization. We need to understand that recruiters are also human with a limited capacity of evaluation and we as an individual with distinctive traits are like specific keys, made to open specific locks.
The final selection is a multi-step process and every stage demands patience, determination, self-belief and most importantly, clarity within our minds. It's the mind that acts as a sword at the time of the interview. I took this learning from my first rejection and ensured that I vacated my mind before I entered the interview room again.
The end of the edgy walk
The first firm for which I applied was a German manufacturing firm and the role offered was that of Business Development Manager. Generally, I looked into various perspectives before applying for a firm such as job-profile, the brand of the firm, the location offered, pay-package, future growth opportunities and the LinkedIn profile of candidates that were hired in the past. But for this firm, I applied primarily because my past work experience in B2B Sales matched the company requirements.
I had a preconceived notion that I would easily crack it and hence, I didn't pay much heed to the company preparation part. I cleared the initial rounds of interview, though I felt I could have been better in terms of my composure and calmness and the second round where I felt that my answers were beyond the expectations of the interview panel left me dejected after the results were announced.
Holding on to rejections to make it to the top
The long tiring day where I was continuously sipping water to alleviate my jitteriness and had a staggering walk all round the day, sweating all the way, thus came to its end. The night went deliberating the unexpected and making sure that I wipe out the stinging memories. The next day I took my detailed mock feedback and started preparing for the upcoming interview.
For my second interview, the waiting time was the main obstacle before me. I tackled it smoothly by diverting my mind to music and surprisingly read newspapers in the library which had been seldom done by me even though I had availed newspaper subscription services at my hostel. The rejection by the second firm which was into human resources didn't make me feel bad as I was dubious about my survival and career trajectory in that firm. But after three rejections, came the day when my luck along with hard work favoured me and I got placed in the Sales and Marketing role of an Automotive firm.
The Path-Makers of IIM Nagpur
The placement committee of IIM Nagpur made sure that the candidates come out of the gloomy dejection phase soon, shooting new JDs of companies just after the end of the placement process. Sometimes the JDs were shot like machine-gun bullets which used to propel our mental recovery and would again illuminate the edgy path of placements.
The committee members made arduous efforts for improving every candidate's skill-sets, whether it was communication, presentation, subject expertise or CV preparation. They made sure that the feedback of each interview was taken seriously by students and before applying for a job role, the candidates have researched the profile well. In fact, for some students, the members of the placement committee took a step forward to empathize with them and resurrect them emotionally.
The innumerable sacrifices, persistent efforts, open communication, consistent support provided by the placement committee members and the concomitant adherence of the batch to the directions given by the placement committee made IIM Nagpur the sixth IIM overall to achieve hundred per cent placements with a combination of brands and job profiles.