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Alina Kumar
PGDM, Batch 2021-23
Executive Member QCB-The Quizzing Club

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I am Alina Kumar, a student of PGDM (2021-23) at BIMTECH in Greater Noida. My academic scores before joining the institute were as follows:

10th – 89% (SSC)

12th – 88% (HSC)

Graduation – 8.14 CGPA

I did my B Com (a non-engineer degree!) from the University of Mumbai. My work experience includes working as an HR trainee at iFortis Corporate and as a marketing intern at Unschool.

B-School Journey

Let me share with you my B-School story. My preparations for CAT 2020 did not yield desired results but it helped me a lot while appearing for XAT 2021. A discussion with my parents and dad’s superiors at his office helped me in making the right decision (I’m so glad and grateful for this!).

Although little time was left, I gave my best during the preparations. I swore I would make the best out of whatever time was left! I don’t know how to put this forward but when you start something new the vibes really speak about the outcome. This principle has always guided me in my life. On the day of the XAT exam, I felt the most amazing and positive vibes. I knew the final outcome was going to be good 🙂

XAT 2021 Result

Fast forward to 18th January, the XAT results day. Below is my scorecard:

XAT 2021 Scorecard

Alina’s XAT 2021 Scorecard

I scored 78.21 %ile. Since I had completed my graduation, many asked me to sit for XAT again to improve my scores. However, I wanted to get into a good B-School at any cost. So I thought of giving my best rather than giving up and waiting another whole year for a totally unpredictable outcome. I made the choice to save myself from regret again and that proved to be a smart decision.

I started searching for colleges within my percentile range and narrowed it down to two colleges —  BIMTECH and Welingkar. Both the colleges hold a good reputation, possess rich curriculum and provide great career opportunities. I got calls from both of them. I was keen to get an admission into Welingkar due to its proximity compared to BIMTECH.

BIMTECH Interview

I started preparing for the interviews whole heartedly, read newspapers regularly, practiced HR questions, went through a lot of GK, studied about major events and headlines from the past 10 years, researched about the college, the professors, gave mock interviews and what not!

 

My BIMTECH interview was scheduled for March 22, 2021, on Zoom at 11.10am. I logged in 10 min late due to some technical issues and there I was, about to face my life’s first-ever interview! Taking a deep breath, I told myself to stay calm and give my best!

There were two female panellists on my screen. Let’s call them F1 & F2 and myself A. The interview process comprised of a 5-minute extempore followed up by the personal interview.

Extempore

My extempore topic was “Is politics a farce?” I presented my views on the topic, how politics and government was quintessential for each and every country, it’s development and stable functioning. I gave a few examples about world leaders, explained how they work, how people look up to them, what impact their decisions have made on their overall public image and how some have stood by the true sense of governance.

Personal Interview

Then we started with the PI round which lasted for 20 minutes. Here’s a gist of the whole conversation:

F1: Introduce yourself Alina.

A: I gave a basic introduction of mine, which comprised of my academic, personal and family background.

F1: What do you expect from this interview?

A: I told them I really have high hopes from this interview and expect it to go very well. I look forward to answer all of their questions and make my mark as a suitable candidate for their institute.

F2: Have you ever held leadership position or managed a team?

A: I told them how I used to take part in college activities and used to work in various teams. I also told them about how I’ve arranged various events and fests by leading and managing a team many times.

F2: Have you ever faced difficulties while holding such responsibilities, internal or external and how did you tackle them?

A: I told them about a few discrepancies occurred during the college events which we as a team always tackled and handled successfully.

F1: Tell me some major events of your life and your learnings from them.

A: I asked whether those events can be personal ones and hence shared those with them. I explained how those events gave me major life lessons and how those helped me in developing myself into a better person.

F1: What are your hobbies? Have you ever showcased your creativity somewhere?

A: I love fashion designing, sketching and dancing. I expressed my passion towards and proficiency with these though I never received any professional training. But unfortunately I never got a chance to showcase my attributes anywhere though still I’m working and looking forward to find some way or other to do that.

F2: Which subjects have you studied in your undergrad? Which one is your favourite?

 

A: My undergrad subjects included psychology of human behaviour at work, business economics, financial accounting, cost accounting, direct and indirect taxation, and business commerce, of which psychology of human behaviour at work is my favourite.

F1: I’m also very much fond of Psychology as a subject. Tell me what’s a common trait of an employee at the workplace?

A: I was not able to answer this question properly but I mentioned how competition is a driving force amongst employees at a workplace which leads to better efficiency and productivity on the part of employees.

F2: Which newspaper do you read?

A: The Hindu

F2: What are today’s top 5 headlines?

A: Told the headlines which included the farm bills, the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states and union territories, etc.

F1: What are the farm laws? Why are the farmers protesting against them?

A: I explained all the 3 bills and what changes are amended. Also I explained why the farmers are protesting against these and presented my opinions on it, and how some steps can be taken for their relief.

F1: In which states will elections be conducted?

A: The elections will be conducted in the states of West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and the union territory of Puducherry.

F2: Who js the new president of the USA?

A: Mr Joe Biden

F2: Thank you Alina, do you have any questions for us?

A: I asked how shall I utilize the time before joining a B-School, and which certifications and skills should I pursue in the meantime.

F1: She told me to go through basics of finance, marketing or whichever field I find most interesting and if I feel like then can opt for a certificate course in that particular field.

I thanked them for the interview and the interview ended. The panellists were really sweet and polite. It felt like more of a conversation than an interview between us.

Verdict

On 22nd May, when I received a mail stating that I have made it to BIMTECH’s PGDM core program I had tears in my eyes. I could see a brighter and successful future. Honestly, I’m all over the moon now. I’m glad that I did not lose hope and didn’t back off from putting my best foot forward.

 

I also received a call from Welingkar. Their interview was held on 22nd April.  I was waitlisted for 4 programs but since I had secured a seat at BIMTECH I did not take part in the rest of Welingkar’s admission processes.