Students’ Speak: Dos and don’ts of pre-placement preparation

By Neeraj Premjani

The journey of every MBA aspirant begins with the desire for a dream job. The seeds of which are sown much before you join the institute and even before you appear for the entrance test. This is how important placements are to an MBA student.

Amid all the extra-curricular activities in any B-school, most candidates find themselves lost and end up seeking advice from too many seniors which only leads to ambiguity. Here’s a structured, tried-and-tested method to prepare yourselves for campus placements.

The placement process of most companies would comprise of group discussions, case discussions, group interviews and multiple personal interviews. Some companies may take the unconventional approach of asking to do an elevator pitch, role play, etc. Overall, this may seem intimidating but there’s a method in the madness and the following tips will surely help you perform better:

Written tests: More often than not, these tests would have questions on quantitative ability, logical reasoning and English. The difficulty level is moderate and can be easily managed with a quick revision of basics.

Group discussions: There are certain topics that find their way in GDs across all colleges, these are usually the trending topics at the time. It helps to prepare some strong points for these topics beforehand. For e.g.: Our Finance Minister’s statement on the role of Millennials in the auto sector slowdown was a regular feature across all GDs. Another important type to watch out for is abstract topics such as Zero, Black, etc. Such topics are often meant to judge your creativity. Reading the newspaper every day certainly helps as it gives you substance to speak about but simply reading will not help. List down the trending topics and start preparing your notes on each one of them. Do not write points that come to your mind first because everyone will think of those points. Look for points that will help you stand out in a group discussion.

Personal interviews: Personal interviews will be based on your resume and the basic concepts of your specialization. It’s essential to be thorough with all the points on your resume and to have a good explanation for each point. Refrain from bluffing on your CV. There will be a lot of cross-questioning which can put you in a spot of bother. Questions like “Why MBA?”, “Why this company?” often pop up in interviews and answering them in a balanced way is extremely crucial. These answers will have to be modified slightly depending upon the company you apply for and the kind of people they want. “Tell us about yourself” is always the first question and this is where you set the tone of your interview. Highlight the points around which you’d like to build your interview, try to mention things that would intrigue the interviewer.

Prepare a doc wherein you can compile all these answers, write a detailed explanation of each point on your resume, have your friends counter-question you to get more viewpoints. Add real-life examples to all the strengths, weaknesses that you mention; self-awareness is paramount.

Apart from the above points, there are certain dos and Don’ts that I would like to share:

Dos:

• Find out about the company you apply for on sites like Glassdoor, read the job description well, go through the company’s website and identify their strong and weak points.
• Reach out to seniors who work there or even connect with people on LinkedIn and ask them about the role, etc.

DON'Ts

• Last-minute preparation is a long and rigorous process, do not leave it for the end.
• Not knowing what you want- identify your areas of interest and apply accordingly. Set your priorities right such as profile, brand, pay, location and designation.
• Don’t panic in the interview room; confidence is the key.

At KJ SIMSR, the placement cell is completely student-driven and considering the huge batch of an excess of 500 students they do a commendable job in bringing over 170+ companies to the campus. The process demands you to be prepared well in advance as the time between the signup, shortlisting and final process date is very short, which is the same across all institutes. Don’t let peer pressure get to you. When it comes to placements, from personal experience, it’s the Where that matters than the When.

About the Author:

Neeraj Premjani is a student of Master of Management Studies at KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research in Mumbai. He is passionate about marketing and sales and is a Potterhead at heart.