My Life, My Way

As the Maharashtra CET draws nearer, meet Nikhil Jain who cracked it successfully in 2009 and made it to the most coveted institute of all CET aspirants - the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. In conversation with Satarupa Bhattacharya -

Counter-intuitive as it sounds, we hear of very few students at the MBA level who had also gone for a Bachelors degree in management. Why do you feel that is the case? How did you plan for your MBA?
Well, I must agree to your point that very few students with BMS/BBA degree are able to reach the top 10-15 institutes of our country. The reasons are manifold; there is a considerable percentage of students from BBA/BMS who having already achieved a management degree don't feel the need to pursue further education in management by doing an MBA/MMS/PGDBM.
Also, if we look at the ratio of the number of students graduating from engineering to that graduating from BMS/BBA background, we see that it is highly skewed in favour of students with engineering background. Hence, there is a greater statistical probability of an engineering graduate reaching the MBA level. Having said that, I also see a greater passion among engineers to reach the top MBA institutes vis-à-vis their peers.
As far as my case is concerned, I was crystal clear in my mind that if I ever pursue an MBA, it will only be from one of the top 10 institutes in our country. Hence, while I was working in the FMCG sector (for 2 years), I was simultaneously preparing for competitive exams like CAT, SNAP, CET etc.

When did you start preparing for the MBA entrance exams? What exams did you take As I have mentioned earlier my preparation goes back two years.
Having not secured the required percentile in the first attempt, I was not dejected or discouraged as it inspired me to push myself much harder towards the pursuit of my goal. I have taken competitive management exams like CAT, NMAT, SNAP and CET. All are different in the level of analysis and in their form and structure.

What was your weakest area when you started preparing for CET? How did you work on improving your performance in that?
Many, I must say (laughs)…But on a serious note, I felt that RC and data analysis were the major areas requiring improvement. I used to feel repelled whenever I encountered RC or DA. But overcoming such hurdles is a matter of realization that has to come from within. It is the only thing that can motivate a person to aggressively move in the direction of one’s dreams. I started taking help from my professors and peers to understand the scope of the passage and get a comprehensive perspective. Also for DA, I used to solve a very large number of questions and at the end of it, analyzed the analysis of my own solutions. This gave a tremendous boost to my confidence and life became much smoother in course of time.

How difficult was it to balance work and preparation and did you have a strategy as such for that?
I would not say that it was very difficult to balance work and preparation, but yes, there was tremendous pressure in my job as a territory sales manager. But at the same time I knew that I had to crack the CET and get into the institute of my dream. I used to wake up early in the morning, work on polishing basic concepts, solve a few problems and then analyze my logic and approach with that given in the solution. I used to spend equal time on my strengths as well as weaknesses because areas of weakness constituted almost 30-40 percent of the curriculum and I didn't think it would be wise to only focus on the other 60-70 percent.
Then as the exams approached nearer, I used to take leave from the company so that I could completely focus on solving Mock Question papers and then spend time on analyzing where I had gone right and wrong, and what were the other ways in which I could have solved the problem in a smaller timeframe. The latter aspect is very important considering that the entrance exams test your ability to perform under very strict time constraints.

In your opinion, how is the CET different from other tests? Do you think there can be any one particular strategy that students can adopt in order to ensure success in the CET?
CET is more about speed, accuracy and to some extent luck. There are 200 questions that have to be solved in 2.5 hrs which boils down to 1.33 min per question. The level of difficulty is medium but the fact remains that in securing a seat in the top 2-3 Institutes, you have to compete with more than 1,00,000 students. As far as other Exams like CAT, XAT etc are concerned, the level of difficulty is higher and also the number of questions is lesser. SNAP has GK questions in addition to the conventional sections like verbal ability, Quants, DA.
In my view, there is no set strategy that can be applied in any competitive exam, and the CET is no exception in that respect. You should be thoroughly prepared before taking the exam and when you receive the paper, scan it for 1-2 minutes in order to understand and decide which sections you will attempt first and last. Mind you, this decision making ability will not be generated overnight. Your preparation over a period of time will help in developing the judgment much needed during the exam. However, sometimes even after that, the judgment on the Day can go wrong. Luckily it didn't happen to me in CET, although it did happen in SNAP.

How was your GD/PI experience at JBIMS? What do you think finally impressed the panel in your favour?
The GD required us to choose 1 out of the 2 topics at hand. We were a group of 14 students who had to discuss the chosen topic for 15 minutes and then summarize the discussion in 5 minutes. I was the second to speak after a lady started the discussion. Out of the total members only 4-5 participated with the passion that is required in a GD. The rest were either silent or made one or two entries but with digressive points.
Then came the PI part, where the panel consisted of an elderly lady and a gentleman. They asked me questions such as "You already are working in a good organization, then why an MBA?"
"How will it benefit you considering that you are a management graduate and that to a large extent there would be duplication of curriculum?"
"How does marketing of FMCG products differ from marketing of OTC(over the counter) products?"
"How has your FMCG background helped you as an individual?"
I answered all the questions calmly, but with confidence. This is one thing I would advise all MBA aspiring candidates: in life, you should be knowledgeable about what you are doing, and there should be tremendous confidence in what you have done. The panel tried to test me by saying that given your score in CET, what if you don't get through in JBIMS, to which my reply was "I have been trying for 2 years now and if the need arises, I will try even for a third time, but I will not compromise on my dream". I believe the honesty and modesty with which I answered their questions placed me in good light. I secured 16 out of 17 marks in the PI.

What are the most important learnings that you have had from your stint on campus so far? Did you face any difficulties or challenges with the rigour of the course initially?
To my surprise, I found the campus life an extension of my professional life to a considerable extent. Time management, adhering to deadlines, discipline, finding solutions to real problems etc were things that I had already dealt with while working. However, there have been significant learnings in aspects such as organizing several things and prioritizing each element in the order of importance. If you are in one of the premier B-Schools of the country, then at any given point of time, you will find yourself in the middle of an entire range of activities. There would be projects, PPT presentations, inter B-school competitions, case study analysis, submissions etc. Plus there are internal tests that form part of the assessment marks. Hence you have to be constantly on your toes and be aware of what is happening in your immediate as well as your external environment.

Finally, what is the most important piece of advice that you would give to any MBA aspirant?
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their Dreams"- Always remember that. If it is to be, it is up to me. Never compromise on your dreams. On your way you will come across people who may try to discourage or demotivate you. There will be testing times when the pressure may be huge and you will find a lack of resources to cope with it. However, the thing we tend to overlook is that if you are under pressure to perform, so are all of your peers. With that in mind and also the fact that 'time is a very good game leveler', you will definitely muster enough courage and confidence to swim ahead, even in choppy waters. Focus on your strengths but never lose sight of your weakness, focusing on the latter may one day convert it into an added strength. On that note, I would take this opportunity to congratulate you all for aspiring to become future managers and wish you all the very best in your endeavor of achieving your dreams.