Summered

Summer placements – they seem to be a national talk whenever IIMs are going for them. Yes, they are an important part of our curriculum but somehow media is more interested in it than we guys are!

It all starts with CV making which I never thought will be such a long drawn and time consuming process. Writing each line very meticulously, in the most precise manner, adjusting margins and fonts and layout, hoping to getting the right message conveyed, showing to seniors and batch mates, getting feedback and making changes – it is really an exercise. One thing is for sure, one will not take too much time from now on to make a CV once he/she has gone through this process here.
The time crunch is felt when we have companies making their presentations on campus, and regular classes being held with quizzes, assignments and pre-readings. Once the CV is done, we go into the prep mode and this is where our seniors are again at rescue. And I think this is the best part of IIM C culture, seniors helping out a lot. This was what they got from their seniors and now we will pass it on to our incoming batch.

Next in line is the application process to companies one wants to apply. Some are relatively easy and on the other end, there are quite a few which consume a lot of time in filling up. The questions asked are quite comprehensive and require much iteration to come up with the final version of the answers.

Prep has no meaning if there is no one to test you on it and yet again we turned to the senior batch to do the needful. Mock interviews are conducted by them and the best part is that they never refuse any junior. They are also doing all this when they are bound by their classes and other academic requirements.

Amongst all this madness and rush, we had our mid term exams and diwali celebrations too :) And I believe this is what really “management” is all about!

Well, moving forward, we had company interactions lined up and as the D-Day approached, the campus was gearing up for the upcoming placement season.
Finally, the day dawned and everyone dressed in their tuxedos was all charged up for the upcoming interviews. For me, the day started at around 9 in the morning and was done by 2 in the afternoon. Taking back to back interviews is not an easy task but I think it is test of knowledge combined with resilience, pressure handling and keeping a high energy level during the day! Some of my closest got offers in their dream companies and it were great to be a part of their joy and happiness. But the day was not that lucky for me but I knew that next day will be my day and it turned out to be that only!

For the record, I will be joining the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) for summers starting in April 2009.