Don't be afraid of making mistakes: Jill Shah

Hello mates,

A warm greeting to each and every one reading this article regarding my journey towards my career decision. I was very much sure as to which stream I wanted to go for after appearing for my SSC exams. Chartered Accountancy (CA) was the desired career choice that I had already made, while just entering into a new phase of my life. The sole reason was that each of my cousins tried for the same but couldn’t succeed and watching them study and sharing knowledge about it made me a little curious. Eventually, it grabbed my attention completely. Seeing me taking interest in the field, they used to explain to me simple terms and that made me more interested in it. Hence, I took admission in the Commerce stream. Initially, I got into Mithibai College, Mumbai via Gujarati minority seats. I scored decent marks in Boards but had to study Gujarati as my second language in the college because seats for French language were already full.

Roughly, around 15 to 20 days later, I got a call from KJ Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce saying that they can provide me with Japanese as my second language. Having the curiosity to learn a new language, I opted out of Mithibai College and got myself admitted to Somaiya for my undergraduate education. The matter of fact was that if I wanted to prepare for CA, having a college nearby would be a great time saviour. So KJ Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce was the best option for me at that time. After appearing for HSC, I started preparing for my CA exams and hence, continued my further graduation process in the same college in BCom. Unfortunately, I had to drop my CA studies and as a backup plan, MBA was the course I wanted to go for.

I started preparing for my entrance exams with the guidance of my tutors at private coaching classes. The only strategy my tutor believed was to work hard and solve as many past papers as you could, as that would not only help you know your level but would also help you increase your speed and confidence to solve each and every problem. He always used to say, “It should take you less than 3 hours to write a paper but about 6 hours to evaluate your paper.” By this, he meant that you should try attempting your entire paper before the given time limit and while evaluating mistakes and the entire paper, one should make sure that in the future, no such mistakes are repeated. I appeared for CAT, NMAT by GMAC, CMAT, and MAH-CET, scoring the highest in MAH-CET. I got into Indian Education Society’s Management College and Research Centre (IES MCRC).  For getting into the PGDM course, getting a decent score was not enough. We had to appear for group discussions and personal interviews and after evaluating us on all possible parameters, they would select us. My coaching classes did conduct some sessions of GD and PI, so that we were used to such atmosphere and could evaluate ourselves among others. For each step there, you need to be updated on the current topics related to each section like sports, education, politics, entertainment industry, financial information, stocks and shares, as the GD topic would either be on some current topic or something abstract like colour black, shape circle, etc.  Also, in some colleges, they give a case study to discuss and would judge you on the basis of your ideas and English proficiency. As far as PI is concerned, they would always want to know you more than what you have mentioned in your CV.

Important tips for GD and PI:

• Take the initiative to start the GD only when you are very much sure as to what the topic is. Give a proper introduction to the topic and a flow to continue the discussion further.
• One should always focus on facts and figures if they know them, and be confident enough while speaking the same.
• Try to speak more than twice in the entire discussion, each time with a new point (repetition of the point may mark you on a negative side).
• Never ever interrupt a person who is speaking. If that person is about to make a point, you might lose a point. But if in case the person is repeating the same and you want to make a point, then it would be considered.
• Focus on each and every one’s point but do not write the same while the GD is in process.
• Try to conclude on the basis of the entire group and not as an individual’s opinion. This would show them that you were attentive throughout the discussion (Conclusion means the summary of the entire discussion and not adding new points to it).
• Never change your stand on a certain topic depending on others. Be sure as to what you support and stick to it throughout.

• For PI, make sure you prepare the answers for some basic questions (easily available on Google).
• Be confident about what you speak.
• Always support your answers with a concrete example.
• Be honest about yourself and never over-exaggerate things as they might easily catch you.
• First analyse the question, think for a moment, and then answer.
• Follow all the verbal and non-verbal gestures.
• Do not sit in a standstill position throughout as that might show that you are nervous.

Seniors would be the best connecting link for you and the college. Try to be in contact with some and know more about the institute, and grab each and every opportunity that knocks your door.

Learnings and insight about my journey so far at IES MCRC:

Vision is necessary; expanding it would be done by the experts who have more knowledge and wisdom to shower on us. Be ready to try all the new things that come along your way. Get out of your comfort zone and see the change in you. Every faculty member is like Google, one just needs to input some feed and get tons of information and knowledge out.

College life is all about friends and the network we build that would help us in the future too, and MBA is all about networking and keeping relations. The college teaches you to be confident and learn from your past experiences. Here, you would be judged only by the number of students studying with you but the entire world is still waiting out for you. Hence, learn and correct them while you face the world.

Being a fresher, the first job definitely teaches you a lot. Be ready to unlearn everything learnt, and learn it with a fresh start and approach. The main thing I have learnt is that in a minimal period of time, one cannot learn each and everything but can try to learn the most. Patience is what I have gained after working for 2 months. As damage needs time to heal, trust yourself and try to learn new things, and take time and process it. It should not turn out like ‘jack of all trades; master of none’. Try asking more questions and going to the depth of everything. Try to apply all the basic concepts you learnt in theory and relate it to your practical experience gained. It would surely work as a case-study of your own self. The best learning while working was-do not be afraid of making mistakes, just give it a try, as experience is the best teacher.

When work is no more a burden to you, then it definitely turns out to be your correct choice, like my work turned out to be my correct choice.

About the Author:

My name is Jill Shah I’m currently pursuing MBA (2^nd year student) at Indian Education Society’s Management College and Research Centre. My hobbies are reading, travelling, and exploring. I am interested in the field of marketing (mainly digital marketing), learning new languages, and some adventure-related stuff such as trekking.