The first three days were a nightmare in the college. But, that is history as this Jharkhand resident, has relocated to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh as the sales manager with the Larsen & Toubro Finance
She was like a fish out of the water when Pallavi Mandal walked into the college to pursue her management course in a city college. But that is history as this Jharkhand resident has relocated to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh as the sales manager with the Larsen & Toubro Finance.
“The first three days in the college were very tough and I wanted to run away from the place as it was the first time I was out of my home, away from my parents and my brother and sister. The classroom and everything, even breakfast, lunch and dinner —was so strange, but that is history as today thanks to the college I am myself and the college has made me what I am today,” says Pallavi.
Nothing comes in easy, one has to struggle. She was a determined woman as she did not lose her cool while she was made to wait in the wings by the corporate world. Finally, it turned out that ‘all’s well that ends well’, as she was one of the few to make the cut in the campus placement from her college.
“I went through four companies before getting the nod from L& T Finance. Other people might feel that my campus placement was a cakewalk, but I know that a lot of struggle and fight made this a successful placement for me,” recalls Pallavi.
Every day is a learning day and that is what she is doing even at her workplace in Bhopal. “It has been a good experience and most importantly, it has been learning every day. I have a long way to go, and the beginning has been good,” says she.
Sitting on the sidelines with her friends and colleagues awaiting the nod from their respective companies was a testing time for her. But when it came, it came in a flash.. “Like other companies, L&T Finance came with three crucial steps for the placement process, namely online test, case study and the final interview.
“After giving my online examination, I was not sure that I would be among the selected students for further process,” says Pallavi. “I wanted to clear my placement in the 4th company and did not want to sit for the 5th company.”
The wait was finally over. Now placed in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Pallavi has begun the second innings of her life. “It is fine and I am enjoying each day,” said Pallavi.
However, those few days were testing times for her. “I cracked my case study discussion, and then came the final interview in which you get the time to prove yourself”. She was a mixed bag of emotions with too much of clutter in her head, positive and negative thoughts on whether she would crack it or not. Finally Pallavi’s positive thinking made the difference. “Definitely, I was very nervous but at the same time the only thing I thought was, this is my time, and I convinced the interviewers that I was the right candidate for the company.”
Although I did convince everyone in the meeting, I did not want to seem overconfident. I was also encouraged by the body language of the people talking to me, which gave me some positive feel.” Thanks to this success, I went on to complete my third and fourth semester in a very relaxed mood.
I never had any backlog throughout the two years of PGDM. I was also the council member in my college, which, directly or indirectly, you can say, groomed me a lot, made me a real manager in my life
College life was a great learning for me. It started with BIMhrd Presentation, and Aiyaswamy Cultural Competition. And those two months were the most memorable days for me. Then the lectures, exams, attendance, all these things really made me busy and built up a real manager inside me. I always maintained 90-95 percent of attendance in my college. I never had any backlog throughout the two years of PGDM. I was also the council member in my college which, directly or indirectly, you can say, groomed me a lot, made me a real manager in my life. Being a part of such a team taught me how to be patient, how to work for others and help them with their goals. I did my internship in Mantra Media Pvt Ltd. for two months, which is digital consulting firm. I learnt a lot and tried to give the best solution to the company.
I passed out from the MGM School, Bokaro Steel City, Jharkhand. Later on for my graduation, I went to St. Xavier’s College , Ranchi. Doing MBA was a dream for me from class X. And then I decided to do my MBA in Marketing from a Pune college.
My father Animesh Kumar Mandal works in SAIL. My mother Nilima Mandal is a proprietor of Ganesh Acharya Dance Academy. I also have a brother and a sister. The main person who helped and supported me a lot to make my career successful is my elder brother Rajesh. Whatever I am today is because of him.
Dancing is my favourite hobby, besides singing and listening to music.
By Joe Williams
