I observed very much change in my personality and attitude over due course of 8-9 months, says Vidhi

I passed my SSC examination in the year 2014. Then after there was a major decision that I had to make regarding my career. The choices I had were Science, Commerce or Arts field. So, I used the Elimination method to decide what to pursue. From start, I was very much inclined towards commerce as my father is also an Accountant. I always knew that science was never my cup of tea. Further two choices were left with me Commerce and Arts. So I decided to take commerce.

Further in my journey after completing my HSC boards, it was decided in well advance that I will come to Mumbai for my graduation and further studies. Now this part was quite challenging. Two major challenges which I faced were Choosing the degree and second was the admission process. When it comes to making choices for myself I knew that I didn’t want to do plain BCom, neither I wanted to do CA or CS. So here also elimination method worked best for me. The choices left were BBI, BMS, and BAF. I got into the 2017-2021 Batch of BBI from SK Somaiya College of Arts, Science & Commerce.

After my bachelor’s degree in Baking and Insurance, I was a bit confused between CFA and MBA. But after talking to some people, I concluded that MBA is the better option for me right now. And of course, I will do CFA but after completing my MBA and gaining some experience of 2-3 years.

This is how the journey of choosing my career has been till date.

Talking about my current college IESMCRC, it was a very quick journey that’s what I felt. As soon as my graduation got over, I prepared for the CMAT examination. All my preparation was self-study from YT and Google. I did not join any classes for the same. There were Covid times in 2021 so exams, as well as admission processes, were delayed. One thing that was very clear in my mind was that I didn’t want to take a year gap. My CMAT exam was supposed to happen in January, but it got postponed ad it was then held on 31^st March 2021. After the exam in a week or so results were declared. I got 72 percentile and then I filled out forms of only two colleges IESMCRC and SIES. Unfortunately, I was not able to secure a seat in SIES. Then I filled out the form of IESMCRC.

The admission process here was quite smooth. I received the mail regarding the booking of the slot for the Interview and Oral presentation. The Interview happened online due to pandemic. The interviewers were friendly and overall, it went very well. I was expecting to secure my seat here for PGDM. Results were a little bit late but one thing which I would really appreciate was they had one online session after interview and before the results, where all doubts were cleared and all rules regulation, and nitty gritty of college was stated. Soon I got the results and luckily it was in my favor. My journey of PGDM in IESMCRC started in September 2021.

When my journey began, for 1^st four months classes were online. The real joy began when our college started offline in March 2022. Maximum of my college time is spent in lectures and doing class assignments and group projects. Our timing is generally 9:00 am to 4:00 or 5:00 pm. Depending upon that we sit in the cafeteria or library to do our group projects. Apart from academic activities, I am a member of the Corporate Interaction Cell (CIC) of our college, where I act as a bridge between the placement cell and students. I also took part in Sarvodaya competition which was held by Sarvodaya group. The competition was to present the startup idea. I also took part in the events like FinQuiz and Mock Stock organized by the Finance club of our college. IESMCRC also gives opportunity to do some certification courses. I did two to three courses from different platforms which have added value to my resume.   

I observed very much change in my personality and attitude over due course of 8-9 months. I have built confidence to speak in front of people, my communication skills have improved and most importantly I learned time management to some extent. Sometimes it used to be a very hectic schedule, like everything come at once, there I learned to prioritize my work and manage time. Apart from this, I inculcated the habit of reading newspapers daily.

One thing which I would appreciate is professors here are very friendly and if you be in contact with them then you can learn a lot. Also, we have mentors allotted to each student so if you need any guidance you can run to a mentor anytime. In fact I experienced that not only mentors but every professor is ready to guide me if I ask for some help.

That’s all about my first-year experience in IESMCRC.

My short-term goal is to gain experience in a multinational Investment Banking company. I am inclined towards various roles in investment banking such as Associate Investment Banker, Research Analyst etc. In next 5 years I see myself as leading the key projects in my company.

About the author

Vidhi Chetan Dagha holds a bachelor's degree in Banking and Insurance. At present, she is pursuing PGDM from IES's Management College and Research Centre

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha