The Unofficial blog of IMI Students

THE SUMMERS REPORT - 1

2006-04-15T13:48:00.000+05:30

With the batch of '06 donning the corporate colours and the batch of '08 dreaming about the days ahead at IMI (not to mention the whole drama of the waiting lists and hostel allocations) the batch of '07 is slogging it out in the sun.
Right from studying the distribution network of HLL product in Himachal to the SRF plant in Chennai the batch of 07' is enjoying its place in the sun ,both literally and figuratively speaking. Some are lucky to enjoy the plush enviorns of an centrally a/c office (though the work load they have to match up with makes up for it) whereas others (like moi) are putting in their best to beat the sun and doing what in corporate terminologies is better known as Market Research.For me its a sense of deja vu cos a lot of this brings back memories of my job where if i was not travelling i was on top of antenna trying to figure out what to do with the technical faults (which i better not get into )
A important learning is that when you are out in the market place taking with people who have no time to listen to jargons like brand name, brand loyality et al. the realisation dawns that all kotler said is much easier said than done. So while a lot we learnt during the past one year comes in handy ,all the flashy terms are better kept inside than blurted out .
This is just what has come out of a weeks experience and im sure as time passes by there would be much more to learn and of course more buckets of sweat would be shed.
Signing off on a sweaty note :-p

Gaurav Sahai

Farewell Time for the Class of 2006

2006-04-08T17:50:00.000+05:30

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

You guessed it right, it's time for us to leave

In July 2004, 120 odd boys and girls stepped into the impressive reception of International Management Institute. They had dreams in their eyes - eyes wide with anticipation of what the two years that lay ahead would bring for them. They wanted to make it big. They wanted to be known. They wanted to be acknowledged and accepted. Each wanted to rise as an individual. Need it be said that they have more than made their mark. The Class of 2006 takes a stroll down the memory lane of this place they have called home for almost two years now. Time has flown; a thousand thoughts flit across our minds, driving home the mere fact that we have all spent some of our most cherished moments at IMI. Time has come for the Class of 2006 to get out of the classroom and storm the corporate world.

It's time the Class of 2006 made way for the Class of 2008 - arguably the Best batch that IMI has ever had, atleast in terms of the CAT percentiles. The cutoff for IMI two years back was a little more than 90 and now it has shot up to 93.65 and a sectional cutoff had to be introduced because of the overwhelming number of applicants. Although it will take some time before we get to know the exact batch composition, one thing is for sure - this batch will beat the hell out of competition when it passes out. Wishing good luck to the incoming batch and rocking placements to the Class of 2007.

It's time to say good bye to IMI and to this blog, it was wonderful to share our experiences at IMI with the outside world through this blog. We hope that the upcoming batch will keep this Blog alive and IMI will scale greater heights in the time to come. We will give posting rights of this blog to the Class of 2008 as soon as it gets finalised, I am sure they will have lots of experiences to share through this blog. Meanwhile, if anyone from the prospective Class of 2008 is interested in posting stuff here, feel free to get in touch with me at "anuragxp" at gmail.com

If you could not read what Einstein wrote, IMI Rocks! :)

-Anurag Saxena (anuragxp)
(The outgoing owner of this Blog)

P.S: Part of the post was written by Surbhi, I hope she won't mind this final act of CCP :D

kritva 2006 - my experience....

2006-03-10T11:53:00.000+05:30

5th march 2005..... by that time i had secured my addmission in IMI, DELHI. kritva 2005 was a grand sucess and INDIAN OCEAN performance was too good to describe in words.... but what i remember is my first encounter with my seniors.... sidharth... muktesh...saikat... avtar...sweetgirl... and any more. while indian ocean was performing...sidharth said me..dude..next time you gonna make it bigger... and i replied with a sense of pride... yes we will..

5th march 2006... by that time i had completed my 8 months and 16 days in imi.....kritva 2006 was again grand success... D.J. suketu was making every one dance on his peppy numbers..... and on dance floor..this time it was me.. saying to sidharth and his friends.... " we have done it again... in our own style.... and in a big way....!!!!!!

probabaly that moment...i realized hard work and efforts put bring success.

i enjoyed myself every single moment being associated with team kritva. it was a great feeling... now kritva hangover is over and life is back to assignments, submissions,quizzes and exams...

how time is running..i don' have any idea... but the only thing i know is that these two years at imi wud be my best experience of life undoubtdly.... this place has energy..this place has a beauty of its own...

cheers to IMI
cheers to team kritva
cheers to pgp 1 for making it a grand success.....

thanks to all the particpants from various B -schools...

ABHISHEK AGGARWAL AKA crazy
IMI

IMI Kritva 2006

2006-03-10T09:49:00.000+05:30

The two-day fest Kritva is an annual feature at International Management Institute. Replete with many events, both formal & informal, the fun and frolic of the extravaganza draws large crowds and participation from colleges all across the nation. Following a tradition, KRITVA 2006 commenced with much aplomb and fanfare on a bright and cheerful morning. This year, the theme for the event was Fear of the Unknown; more specifically, conquering this selfsame fear. The names of various events scheduled for the fest very effectively echoed the theme – Alchemy, Demons and Angels, Riddle of the Sphinx, and so on. The very feel of the event mirrored the theme – ethereal, surreal, mystical. The campus played host to teams from colleges across the nation, some of which include XLRI, NITIE, the IITs, NMIMS, KJSOM, DSE, FMS, MDI, IMT, IIFT etc. The enthusiasm and exuberance of the participants was at its peak, and the campus turned into a melting pot of myriad personalities, each unique in his/her own way. The true spirit of the fest came alive each time the participants interacted with each other and the hosts.

Seen in the picture are Apurv Pandit (Editor-in-Chief, Pagalguy.com - lighting the lamp). To his left is Rohit Awasthi (Head of Marketing, Pagalguy.com). On the right are Dr. C.S.V Ratnam (Director of IMI) and members of the Mongolian Delegation.

Day 1 of Kritva commenced with the inauguration, presided over by our guest of honour – none other than the inimitable pagalguy, Allwin Agnel.

Allwin delivering the Keynote Speech

With him were the Editor-in-Chief Apurv Pandit and the Head of Marketing Rohit Awasthi representing the very successful MBA forum PaGaLGuY.com on our campus. Also in attendance were the visiting Mongolian delegation and the Director of IMI Dr. C. S. Venkatratnam. Once the guests had lighted the proverbial ‘lamp of knowledge’, Allwin enlightened the audience with a hard-hitting and stimulating speech about his personal experiences as an entrepreneur. To say that the listeners were inspired and invigorated would be an arrant understatement.

Left to right: Dr. Ratnam giving the inaugral speech. Rohit Awasthi, Apurv Pandit and Allwin Agnel on the Dias.

The first event for the day was the final round of the much-awaited Marketing case study, Riddle of the Sphinx. The team from MICA bagged the first prize followed by the teams from IMI and MDI in second and third positions respectively. A rather interesting informal event called Google-philes followed. The event called upon the participants to display and leverage their skills in Google searching. The winners for this event were NIILM, with both the second and third prizes won by teams from IMI. The Systems case study, Clash of the Titans, saw the team from NITIE bagging the first position, closely followed by KJSOM. The Stock game, aptly called Bulls and Bears, was won by IMI. An interesting informal event called Meet the Press required participants to defend what they had to say in a simulated press conference. The event was won by IMI.

The much-awaited Business Quiz, hosted by renowned quizmaster Parnab Mukherji was slated for later in the evening, and IMI emerged winners with the second prize going to MHROD-DSE. The day came to a close with an electrifying jam session by budding college rock bands from colleges across Delhi. Bands from IIFT, FORE, IMI and many more came together to pay tribute to several rock-and-roll legends of yesterday and today. With a fervour befitting of the frenzy Kritva brings, the bands expertly serenaded the audience into the night with retro classics of the styles of Led Zeppelin and Pearl Jam, and contemporary classics like Coldplay. And as if that was not all, there was a late-night screening of the classic movie Dracula, based on Bram Stoker’s story about the legendary vampire Count Dracula who had a fetish for young women’s blood. The movie brought the theme of the fest alive, and together with the décor of the amphitheatre and the growing night, chilled and thrilled the audience.

Day 2 of Kritva 2006 began with the finals of the Strategy case study, David versus Goliath. The team from IIT Kharagpur bagged the first prize here. The informal event Ad‘apt’ was next in line, where several advertisement enthusiasts stretched their imaginations as far and wide as they could. The team from IMI had their creative juices flowing in the right direction, which was evident in their winning the game. This was followed by a fun-filled informal game called Just a Minute, which tested participants for symptoms of verbal diarrhoea. This was also won by IMI. Alchemy, the Finance case study finals were up next, and ended with MDI and FORE bagging the first and second places respectively. The last contest for the day was the HR paper presentations Demons and Angels. This was won by NMIMS, and MDI came a close second.

The euphoria instituted by Kritva 2006 was taken to another level as the very celebrated DJ Suketu set the amphitheatre ablaze with his best dance numbers. As the crowd grooved to the beats of “Kya Khoob Lagti Ho” and “Bin Tere Sanam”, ecstasy and exhilaration were redefined at IMI. A mix of hosts and guests jived and boogied into the wee hours of the morning. And when it all ended, another successful episode of Kritva was etched on to the minds of all who experienced it. Needless to say, the memories shall be cherished by one and all for years to come.

KRITVA ' 06: FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

2006-02-19T02:13:00.000+05:30

International Management Institute presents its annual management festival

KRITVA-2006 “Fear of the unknown “ - 4th-5th March
http://www.imi-kritva.com

We fear that which is beyond our control, we fear that which is unknown to us. It is the absence that plays on our minds. The unknowing that slowly gnaws upon our insides. The key to conquering the primordial emotion of fear lies in accepting it. Accept that which is unknown and the battle is already won.
Join us at Kritva 2006 as we vanquish the fear of the unknown.
Derived from Sanskrit, Kritva means ‘to do’ & that is the underlying spirit behind the annual, inter college fest. The genesis behind the festival is learning through interaction & application of this active learning to our lives. In essence, Kritva is all about ‘acting on what we learn, & sharing this learning through interaction’

Events at Kritva '06:
1. Alchemy- Finance Vertical : Total Prize worth Rs 25000
2. Riddle of the Sphinx- Marketing Vertical: Total Prize worth Rs 25000
3. David vs. Goliath: Strategy Case Study- Total Prize worth Rs 25000
4. Clash of the Titans- Systems Case Study- Total Prize worth Rs 25000
5. Demons and Angels- HR Case Study- Total Prize worth Rs 25000
6. Online Games- Click and win,Starting 25th Feb.
7. Phantom of the Opera- Cultural Night- Work hard & party harder that’s the motto at IMI.

Official Dates: 4th-5th March 2006

Official Website: http://www.imi-kritva.com

See you there ..
Team Kritva

Getting a Dream Job

2006-02-05T16:07:00.000+05:30

Computers and Anurag Saxena (aka Anuragxp) are two synonyms which is accepted through out IMI and in many B - Schools across India (via MBA forums). This is his GD/PI experience @ HCL Tech for Project Management Profile which is the dream profile for many people:

The Company: HCL Technologies

The Profile: Project Management

The Process: HCL offered four profiles in the campus – Sales and Marketing, Finance (Banking and Capital Markets), HR, Project Management. The company had a very rigorous selection process comprising of a group discussion followed by two rounds of interview. The topic of the GD was “Dead Yesterday, Unborn Tomorrow”, we were told to behave as if we were sitting in a boardroom discussion and avoid the fish market scenario. Since the topic was very abstract, everyone was getting a fair chance to speak and most of the group members were discussing the topic in a philosophical manner. I interpreted the topic from a Business angle and substantiated my points with the example of Radio. This impressed the panelists; after all they were hiring Business Managers and not philosophers.

The next hurdle to cross was the technical interview. The panel seemed to be very knowledgeable but tried to make me feel relaxed and there was no stress whatsoever. They started by asking some trivial questions like “Introduce yourself”, “What are your weaknesses, according to your teachers” and gradually the questions started getting tougher and technical. Some basic questions on the fundamentals of programming, difference between C and C++ etc. were asked and I was asked to write a complex SQL query. Unfortunately the query was too complex to write and I told them that I could not do it using SQL but the desired function could be performed using a front-end script and even explained the logic to them (thankfully, they were impressed).

Next, I was asked to name my favourite subject and when I replied “Software Project Management”, their eyes lit up. What followed was a grilling question-answer session on the intricacies of Software project management, Software development lifecycle etc. Then they tested my knowledge of CASE tools (ERWin, BPWin and Rational Rose) and Project Management software (MS Project), asked me to prepare a requirement document to build the “Table” in front of me. Then they gave me certain scenarios in project management and asked me how would I go about handling the situations. They also asked me about how comfortable I was in using Project Management tools like MS Project, the important qualities of a good Project Manager and the most important phase in SDLC.

Next, they looked at my CV and started questions on the Projects that I had done in my graduation. They asked me to tell them about each project in detail (the platform, the front-end and the back-end, benefits for the organisation, the team structure and what role I played in the team etc.). Since I had done all the projects honestly and sincerely, I was very comfortable in answering those questions.

The next round was supposed to be an HR Interview (all the other candidates went through it), but somehow they decided that they could not tolerate me for one more round, so they selected me after the first interview itself. I may have missed the fun of the HR Interview, but I’m not complaining :)

Key Learnings from the Experience:

Revise the key subjects, for a person with computer science background, the most important subjects are: Software Project Management, Object Oriented Programming fundamentals, Software Engineering, Networking and E-Commerce.

Do not write something on your CV that you do not know about, dummy projects/fancy terms can land you in big trouble. Make sure you go through your project reports (the ones mentioned in your CV) before the day of the Interview.

Read Business and Technical magazines on a regular basis, you are supposed to know about the happenings in the Industry.

Keep track of the major players in the Industry; it helps if you know about their products and offerings. You must research the IT Industry thoroughly before the interview.

All the Best!

Copyright (c) Anurag Saxena. All rights reserved.

Logging into an IT Company

2006-01-27T00:35:00.000+05:30

After Marketing and Finance comes the turn of Systems and if you are in IMI and you think of Systems, the first name that comes to your mind is Sajal Dubey - The President of the Systems Club at IMI (incidentally, he is also the president of the Alumni Committee). Sajal was fortunate to get a profile of his choice, many people would die to get a Pre-Sales profile in a top-notch product development company such as Newgen. Here goes his experience:

The Company: Newgen Software Technologies (http://www.newgensoft.com)

The Profile: Pre-Sales (Combination of Marketing and Systems)

The Process:

1. It all started with a Psychometric test. There were general questions. Important thing here is ‘be yourself’ because there will be a lot many questions with similar reasons/answers and if you try to bluff in few, you might end up spoiling the chance.

2. Next phase had no group discussion and we were directly called for an interview. There were 2 panellists – one was VP – HR and another was a HR lady who kept quite through out the interview. Interview started with general HR questions like – tell us something about yourself, 5 years and 10 years down the line stuff, why Newgen, which profile you are looking at Newgen and why. Some time was spent on my project at summers. Things you should do before facing an HR interviews are:

i. Make a list of questions you think relevant and write down their answers.
ii. Do the above at least the month before the final placement day.
iii. Keep updating the answers.
iv. Ask your friends to take your mock interviews and ask for feedback (trust me it helps) and if possible go for at least 3 mock interviews.
v. Most important of all, “Don’t lie”. I am not saying be honest, but “look honest”. If you try to lie and if they catch you, say bye bye to the company (and in most cases, they will catch you)
vi. Be confident of what ever you are saying and back up with examples.
vii. Thoroughly prepare what you have done in your summer. This thing can make or break your chance. Exaggerate a little (if need be) but don’t make it too obvious. Be proud of what ever you have done in your summers and say it confidently.

3. Then there was the 2nd round of interview. Again there were two panellists – one was VP – Marketing and other was a senior person with Systems knowledge. They asked me some simple IT questions first on SDLC, Project management etc. Then were marketing questions like where can I sell their products in Jabalpur (my birth place), what problems can I face. Then there was a small discussion about the profile they are offering and any location preference I have. Few things to note before you go for technical interview are: (specially for Computer background people)

i. Prepare Software project management (elective on 4th term) thoroughly. That’s the one of the most important subjects that they will grill you on.
ii. Revise little bit of OOPS and its basic concepts.
iii. Keep a track of Indian IT industry. You must know about the recent happenings in the Industry and know about the upcoming technologies.

Some more gyan before I close:

1. Go through the company’s website. Try to find the company’s latest happenings.
2. If you are not short listed in one company, don’t give up. Some thing better is waiting for you. (This has happened in our batch where people have ended up in better profile and package)
3. Its mostly personal decision on which to go for – Profile or Package. I would suggest profile.
4. Talk with the seniors working in the company. It helps a lot.
5. It doesn’t matter a lot where you did your summers but what you did. Do your summer project honestly and sincerely.
6. No one is going to open your certificate folder but it doesn’t mean you have the liberty of writing any thing you like. If you are not extraordinary in studies, leverage in extra curricular. The point is thinking about your strengths and cash it.

Last but not the least, do subscribe to Google Alerts. It will always keep you updated.

All the Best for Placements!

Copyright (c) Sajal Dubey. All rights reserved.

The Art of Getting a Finance Job

2006-01-25T19:02:00.000+05:30

Ok, the first experience from the Marketing Guru and the next one comes from our Finance Honcho (she's a Systems champ too btw). The following is a Gyaan session from Anuvalli, one of the most sincere students in campus. Enjoy!

IMI Campus, New Delhi: CitiCorp final shortlist was being announced; the first name called was mine. The entire world went suddenly silent. Everyone around me was shaking my hands and my lips were mouthing the words thank you by themselves. There was a wave of relief seeping thru every fibre of my body and my only thought then was that I don’t have to face the MCKC interview now.

There is no hard and fast rule to crack final placements except for this one thing- preparation, preparation and preparation. Well, If u thought you could just walk in there and bag that 50k+ p.m. job, sorry to disappoint you that’s only for the dreams. It’s better to shoot yourself with a gun rather than attending a placement final selection process without any preparation. Forgive me for being blunt, but that’s how important and necessary it is.

And yes the preparation word being repeated thrice was deliberate. The way I see it, the preparation before a final placement has to be on three fronts. However there can be many ways to prepare. This is what I had used and has worked for me. U got to start preparing at least a month before the first company comes to campus.

Prep 1- General Awareness

Almost all companies conduct a Group Discussion procedure, which is always elimination round. Most often the topics are general and in some select occasions, ITC for instance, u have case study. By the time of the placements, u would have analyzed enough case studies to know how to handle one, so am not commenting on this. As for the general topics, there are two areas: global issues and local issues.

Global issues – I recommend that you read “The Economist” for these. Reading even the first main article of the e-edition every week for 10 weeks (or at least 5 weeks i.e. a month) is sufficient to make you aware of most global issues. Don’t think this is not needed, Progeon’s GD topic was – “Lessons learnt from the EU”.

Local issues – The Economic Times (or substitute it with any business newspaper) is a must. Even if ur not a finance major you still need to read this. Understand that when a company is looking at hiring people across specializations, they have a common GD process. Why, a company like Tata Motors, which was looking at Marketing and HR specialization, gave a GD topic on the sensex. Only you are to be blamed for missing a good marketing job, just because the GD topic was ‘fin’. So start reading the ET everyday beginning from at least a month before the placements begin and of course while the companies keep coming.

You don’t have to read the entire paper; just reading the editorial pages are sufficient for GDs. It is difficult to form an original opinion on whether the sensex will cross the 12000 mark or not, however you can always borrow others’ opinions and its opinions that the editorial pages offer u. Reading the editorial pages of any daily newspaper is sufficient to make u aware of most of the other local issues.

While reading a newspaper article, imagine it as a GD topic. Note the different points being made on that topic. Try to remember around 4/5 points at max on that topic. Most often just one line in a paragraph would capture the entire essence of the point being made. By heart that line, say it aloud as if you are making that point in a GD. It will help u to recollect it quickly. It is important to remember that line, for most often u would get to speak only one sentence in a GD or only one sentence out of the whole lot u have spoken would have got you through, for that would have been one of the few sensible sentences spoken on that topic in the whole course of the discussion. So look for these nuggets and one for each of the 4/5 points is all it takes for u to crack that GD for sure.

As for GDs with HR type topics like do MBA’s make good managers (Yes! you get such topics too) etc, trust your common sense.

Prep 2- Fundas

Whether you are a fin/marketing/HR/systems/operations major, u have to prepare on your fundamentals. This is the main reason why you are asking the company to hire u, so u got to be strong in you basic concepts. Since I am a fin major I can only talk on how to go about preparing on finance fundamentals. I am sure later posts would cover the other majors.

-----Fin Majors--------

FM1 and FM2 course preparation is a must. If you don’t have Brearly Myers, get it ASAP. Reading as many chapters (5 is the bare minimum) as possible is necessary. U can follow any other fin book u want, in addition, to BM and not as a substitute to it.

When interviewers pose u fin questions, they expect u to give specific answers and sometimes even words. You are sure to get these answers in BM. This is why BM is the best book I recommend to you.

When u read BM don’t skip any topic covered as unimportant or slacken your concentration. The most commonly asked question was whether NPV is a better measure or IRR? BM gives you 4 reasons as to why NPV is a better measure. I’m sure if u had read that analysis the first time, u would have never thought it important to remember. So please give importance to every issue being covered.

None expects u to be a Brearly or a Myers. They only want to test your clarity on the fundamental concepts. For instance, when they ask u what are the ways in which u can value a company, someone who says “net worth, DCF, market capitalization (etc)” to some one who says “ there are many methods, but broadly they are on three basis- asset based, income based and market value based. The most commonly used method in asset based is net value at market price or at book value; in income based DCF is used and market value based it is market capitalization. P/E ratio etc.”, who do u think is going to be selected. Notice that the answer in both cases is the same but the difference is in the clarity. Comes from preparation and nothing else.

You also need to prepare on one of the fourth term fin elective. Sometimes companies ask u which is your favorite fin paper. You should have an answer and being a fin major it is ideal to choose a 4th term elective rather than saying FM1/2, but nothing wrong in saying corporate finance. Prepare quite extensively, ur expected to have considerable knowledge on this paper for its you favorite.

When you have an interview in a few days time, I suggest u read the summary of BM chapters to refresh your memory. Also there are many online fin tutorials by many foreign universities that will in few minutes help u cover the fundamentals and give u the clarity on those concepts, use them. Do read the glossary to get precise definitions of important terms.

-----------------

Prep 3 – Personal Questions.

You need to prepare on these questions, don’t think u would answer them off hand when asked. At that time u would hardly be able to come up with anything that sounds good. It is easier to prepare on this front.

To begin with collect as many commonly asked personal questions as possible (may be one of the future posts could be this). Think of an answer for each one of them. Imagine yourself to be the interviewer, ask if an interviewee gives that answer would it sound convincing and good to u. Edit and re-edit the answer.

Whether u prepare on any question or not, u have to prepare an impressive response for ‘tell me about yourself’. This is the first question asked in almost every interview and this is the best question they can ask u. This is your moment to tell the company everything u want them to know about you, make the most of it. It’s your chance to create an image for yourself in the company’s eyes, so work on it. I know people who customize their answer according to the company and the job profile. This is also your chance to say why you think you have an edge over everyone else, indirectly. So please do prepare.

And yes, being honest is the best thing to do. You have to state the truth, but not necessarily the whole truth, that’s as per your convenience. Just avoid lying.

Some General Gyaan.

I’m taking the liberty to give a little more gyaan. To begin with, u don’t necessarily have to bag the first job that comes on campus nor the first one u sit for. But what is important is that u take each experience as a lesson. When ur not selected, think about the entire process, think what according to u went wrong. Then think of what could have been done to prevent that and work on it so that it doesn’t happen the next time. U have to do this everytime u have not been selected. There is no other way u can get better. If u feel nothing has gone wrong and that u should have been among the ones selected, don’t lose heart, u have to convince urself to the fact that u just did not match the company’s profile and there is nothing wrong with you. But of course this can’t be the reason every time, u know that. However if u have not made it, don’t worry. Just think which is the next company and start preparing for it earnestly. Never slacken ur pace, no point crying over spilt milk.

Want to end with what a friend of mine told me, which has given me great confidence every time I faced the process, ‘remember the company needs u more than u need them’. Rock placements!! All the best!!

Copyright (c) Anuvalli H. All rights reserved.

Experiences from the Final Placements

2006-01-19T21:43:00.000+05:30

The Final placements were great and we have been getting a lot of requests to share our GD/PI experiences. The following is the first post, from our resident marketing guru "Saikat Bose" (popularly known as curtz / curtz-imi on MBA forums), many more experiences to follow soon. Enjoy!

Company: TNT Express

Profile: Sales and Marketing

The Process: The selection process started with a case based GD about "The movement of Indian manufacturing industry" and an analysis of "Has it lost its charm as a big recruiter in B-schools". The GD was great, normally the IMI junta is pretty well behaved in GDs unlike most other places.

Six of us were selected for the first round of interviews, the panel consisted of 3 corporate big wigs from TNT, their Northern India HR head, Eastern India HR head and head mktg n sales Northern India. The interview was awesome, i have never heard of a more friendly panel..they were cracking jokes, sharing exp and behaving more like friends than interviewers. The interview lasted for arnd 1 hr 10 mins.

Questions were basically CV based mostly HR oriented like "how will you react if tomorrow someone calls you a parcel boy" ...."how does blogging affect your life"..."do you have a girl friend" "what does relationship mean to you" hell lot abt xtra curries coz thats my strength ....also stuffs like facing some HR situations. The technical interview part was basically learnings from summer, using that knowledge in the express industry, the way a pharma co. can be pitched by a logistics co...and on what parameter a logistics business proposistion has to be judged .. also a few scenario questions...

After this round 3 of us were shortlisted for a video conference with the National sales head and National marketing head in b'lore....that interview was full technical grilling abt summers, areas of academic interest, and implementation of all kinda theories taught in b-skool..also i was asked for my choice what in marketing did i want to do in TNT and why will i do that and how do i plan to structure my future . It was arnd a 45 mins interview and it was stressfull, like for every reason there was a why and after every why there was a why not.

All in all i think it was a well thought out strategy to test a candidates reaction and acumen on two completely different situations....the panel knew its job and it knew about everything that i thought only i knew and i can faff my way thru including stuffs like blogging and hard rock

Well that's my experience and yeah after the 2nd round of interviews ... i was informed that i am the only person from campus that they are selecting and they are giving me the profile i wanted.

Key learnings from the TNT experience :

1) Never underestimate any panel, on most occassions they know abt all the things thats there in ur CV, they do their homework before coming..so be ready to face all questions.

2) Never be stressed out and always keep that smile on...i have seen ppl losing jobs for becoming a bundle of nerves.

3) Know ur areas of strength very carefully and always try to push the interview towards that area.

4) Be clear in whatever you say, an advance preparation on the general HR questions is a way in which you can be a lot more confident in the HR questions which in most cases makes the difference...though i didnt do it as i was always preety clear abt my life , goals n whatever i wrote in CV..most of my friends did and it woked quite well for em.

5) Never try to faff in an interview, if you dont know an answer say it frankly, believe me it'll be appreciated, if you know just a part of any answer, be clear that you know only this abt the answer, believe me the interviewers wont be overjoyed when they hear you giving a dozen of bookish defn coz all ur defn are not needed in ur workspace, they will highly appreciate if they find in u a person of integrity.

Copyright (c) Saikat Bose. All rights reserved.

Final Placements 2006

2006-01-17T16:27:00.000+05:30

Another Successful Year for Placements at IMI, India

The full time Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) at IMI has again reported strong placement of its 2006 graduating class

New Delhi, January 17, 2006: India’s first corporate-sponsored Business School, International Management Institute (IMI) once again emerged as one of the favorite hiring management schools by the corporate houses with its entire batch of 118 students of the class of 2006 getting job offers within hours from the scheduled start of 9th January 2006.

With average salary of Rs. 6,37,482 per annum.. The highest salary offer was of Rs 8.13 lacs per annum by ITC. While companies like Citi Group and Infosys offered a package of Rs 6.5 lacs to Rs 7.2 lacs per annum. The Citigroup (Citibank, Citicorp, Citifinancial) jointly made 20 offers, emerging as the single largest recruiter for the second consecutive year. Infosys with 9 offers and JP Morgan Chase with 7 offers were the other prominent recruiters.
Other prominent recruiters who recruited the students from IMI included Ernst & Young, JP Morgan Chase, DHL, CB Richard Ellis, Progeon, Career Launcher, DSCL, HCL, IMRB, RocSearch, SAB Miller, Axis Risk Consultants and Newgen.

“If we see from the sector point of view, more of our students were hired by the Consulting and the Knowledge based companies. However, banking & financial services have continued to dominate the hiring process with Citibank, HDFC, Standard Chartered, HSBC AMC and CitiFinancial hiring in significant numbers, said Prof. MM Anand, Chairperson, Placement Committee, IMI.

The other emerging sector – Insurance was represented by ICICI Lombard, Prudential and IFFCO Tokio. CEAT, Blowplast and JK Group represented the consumer durable segment, whereas DHL and TNT’s presence indicated the growth of the logistics sector.

The India Today Group, Radio Mirchi. ABP Ltd and Dish TV represented media while Maruti and Tata Motors represented the automobile segment. The knowledge sector was represented by McKinsey Knowledge Center, Pipal Research, Pulsar Knowledge Center among others.

Several employers had to return empty handed.
The year 2006 also witnessed a significant increase in the number of pre-placement and lateral offers.

Placements at a glance –

Entire batch of 118 students placed within hours with a number of students having more than one offer
Over 65 companies participated in the recruitment process
Many companies including Ernst and Young, JP Morgan Chase ,Citicorp, DHL, Infosys visited the campus for the first time
Highest salary was 8.1 lakhs (gross) per annum by ITC
Average salary rose to Rs. 6,37,482
Citigroup - Single largest recruiter with 20 offers followed by Infosys with 9 and J.P.Morgan Chase with 7 offers
Significant increase in PPO/Lateral offers

About the Course –

Full time Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) offered at IMI imparts a global outlook, equipping the students with specialized skills and fosters attitudes that elicit a commitment to excellence. Started in 1993, the two year full-time Post Graduate Programme in Management is recognized by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Ministry of Human Resource Development.

About International Management Institute
International Management Institute (IMI), India's first corporate-sponsored B-school was established by companies like RPG Group, ITC, Willianson Magor, JK Corp, Nestle and many other Public and Private Sector companies in 1981. IMI provides a world-class internationally oriented management education with a difference in content, delivery, focus and presence. Started in collaboration with IMI Geneva (now IMD Lausanne), the institute has been associated with some of the leading international business schools and has a thriving student exchange programme with Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand and ESC Rennes, France and Flinders University Adelaide, Australia.

GD / PI Experience # 01

2005-12-10T22:59:00.000+05:30

Profile: B.E. (Civil Engineering) Aligarh Muslim University

Work Experience: Nil

CAT Percentile: 96-99.7 in eng/90 in DI/70 in QA

Other calls: TAPMI, MICA, IMT-Nagpur, and KJSIMSR... all converted...

GD/PI experience:

Written test

Topic: DO ENGINEERS MAKE THE BEST MBA??

GD: We were told that the rule was that a chit containing the topic for GD would be drawn, if we were uncomfortable with it the second would be drawn but that would be final.

The first one was: Should there b more FDI in aviation industry it was rejected unanimously. (Thankfully for me)

The second was: Should age differentiation be banned at the workplace?

The gd was decent (as in no fish market) people got that chance to speak and fortunately so did me.

Interview: a short one...mostly general Questions.

I was asked what I wanted to be in life... Why MBA & Why IMI....

What I did when I dropped a year to prepare for CAT.

Technical Questions (Related to Civil Engineering) what are the properties of a good building material? How can u make a building earthquake resistant?

The in the end, if i would avail of the IMI hostel and then i was asked that a company claims to build a flyover in 3 days.... is it possible? Would like to reserve my answer due to intellectual property rights issues.

We shall be adding a few more interview soon, till then do check out the interview experiences here: (in case you haven’t already done that )
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-related-discussion/6085-imi-results-out-mg-10.html?highlight=imi+batch+2007

Team IMI

Move Over Summer of '69...It's Summers @ IMI

2005-12-10T22:55:00.000+05:30

Life is a Box of Chocolates Forrest, you never know what you are going to get. Some habits die hard and quoting this line from Forrest Gump is something I just can’t resist. This in many ways sums up the Life @ IMI.

Carrying on from the last post which talked about the quintessential IMI ishtyle, this post will talk about an important part of the life i.e. the summer placements. Any B-School student / aspirant understands the importance of summers so I won’t give a monologue on this. The reason why only B-school students /aspirants have been mentioned is that they are the target customers of utmost importance. (Moral of the story: never let an opportunity to show off your knowledge go by:-p).

Back to business and the summers @ IMI this year. List of companies that have visited thus far include pharma majors Dr. Reddy Laboratories & Ranbaxy, SAB Miller India, CEAT , IMRB India (International Market Research Bureau ) , JK Group ( JK tyres & paper) , DCM Group , Infotech , Business research firms Rock search , Smart Cube . A lot many waiting in the pipeline would add names to this list as an when they move from the pipeline to the mainline.

Now for all the Aspirants we would be uploading the gd/pi experiences of those selected last year so as to help you out in your preparations. We will ensure that the profile of the people whose gd/pi experience is put up is as varied as possible.

Team IMI

IMI @ Nite :D

2005-12-02T23:51:00.000+05:30

Life @ IMI

2005-12-02T23:14:00.000+05:30

IMI - Everything Else Is Incidental... 1st july 2004 - 2nd dec 2005......the feeling continues...the dream lives on...the passion grows ...... and life rockS like never before. It's very difficult to express about life @ IMI in just a few mere words....it's like capturing a whole wide sea of expression in just few words which is just impossible.... for life here is just not about living...but also about dreaming..hoping..exceling...wondering..smiling...supporting..learning ...challenging...and achieving a whole new experience together.... as someone in campus rightly said...in IMI we dont live in IMI but IMI lives in us.

The following attempt is a very naive attempt made by someone in IMI to try and write something about the life in campus...as its the only literary misadventure undertaken by any student to write about the life here...so awarding the author his place of fame here it gets a space in IMI's Hall of Fame Blog

"Life @ Campus"

SALVATION... Is it not what we all distraught materialistic souls run after and aim to attain as our final goal in our life?

Well - with the change in time from eons to today, the word salvation too has undergone a sea of change in meaning. From a one time meaning of attainment of 'NIRVANA of SOUL', salvation today means the attainment of that bit of knowledge that acts as a gasp of oxygen when one fights for survival and glory in this age of 'Everyone is Brutus competition'.

Buddha got his salvation under a bodhi tree... Newton got his under an apple tree... and we here at IMI get it in our amphi (for the uninitiated - our open air amphitheatre) and as if following a trend, we too have a couple of trees to get inspiration from. No soul who has ever passed through the gates of IMI will ever contradict the statement that the best place to achieve the IMI experience is in its open air amphitheatre... which we at IMI call the 'life of campus'.
The common saying in the campus is 'The Amphi Never Sleeps' (I have a tickling feeling that a now-so-famous ad line was inspired by our amphi). I think Sir Issac Newton will second me when I say that every realized dream starts with the weirdest of imagination.

Well - who could have thought before him that a falling apple could be a precursor to the discovery of the laws of gravitation? Out here in IMI... 'most of the theories ever formulated'... 'darest of the dreams ever dreamt'... 'classiest of the quotes ever quoted'... 'coolest of the logics ever generated'... 'mushiest of the emotions ever felt'... and the' best of the life ever experienced'... are all joined together by the common thread of the amphi (being the place where most of the aforesaid things are experienced).

From trying to comprehend the uncomprehendable demon of accounting to nearly bursting our jugular veins listening to craps by our own santa and banta singh. From strategizing for the next volleyball game (undoubtedly the most popular game on campus) to trying to comprehend the beauty of foreign languages and in that process nearly going insane. From trying to figure out how not to get caught sleeping in O.B. classes to deliberating on the most optimal way to utilize time (basically meaning getting up 5-10 minutes before the commencement of classes and then optimizing the follow-up activities) before reaching for the classes.

From trying to digest the thoughts of Kotler, Porter, Senge and Covey (well am desperately trying to find a digestive pill for that) to always crying out loud 'work load is too heavy'. From juggling between the meetings of Prometheans (marketing club), Finalyze (finance club), Systematica (systems club), The Human Edge (hr club), Quiczars (quiz club), Placecomm and Alcomm (well there are so many that I may be missing some of them) to firmly stating that 'Partying' is the only relevant concept that is 'Going On'.

From brainstorming over presentations to be delivered in the shortest of delivery time (I think it's the only inhuman activity overlooked by the ever crying out aloud human rights activists) to partying on the weekends (if by God's grace there are no classes) over a bottle of wine. From religiously celebrating all festivals from Diwali to Valentine to celebrating birthdays in apna IMI ishtyle. From dreaming to delivering, in some way or the other the life of the campus (our amphi) is related to 'em all. Amphi sees 'em all, feels 'em all and records 'em all and as time passes by, old order changes to new, new faces sit at the amphi, new theories get dissected at the amphi, new strategies gets formulated at the amphi and new articles gets written about the amphi... amphi watches silently... slowly spreads open its arms... smiles and whispers... 'Enjoy your life @ campus... and attain SALVATION'.*

* written in august 2004 by someone from Class of 2006

Welcome

2005-12-01T11:30:00.000+05:30

This blog is meant for sharing experiences at IMI, Delhi. We will also share happenings from the campus as and when they happen..placement season around the corner, all the breaking news stories will be posted exclusively here. Also, prospective students will help the others by posting their GD/PI experiences at IMI. All this and much more..coming soon...very soon!

Team IMI