An alumnus of the prestigious B-School, Indian Institute of Management Indore, Sayantan Banerjee is reaping the fruit of his confidence and determination that helped him clinch a meaty position in marketing with ABP Pvt Ltd, which is a name to reckon within the media. He shares his campus placement story
Sayantan offers a quick insight into the profile of his campus placement. The contentment in his voice is unmissable, “I have been placed with ABP Pvt Ltd. The profile which was offered to me was in the marketing domain. However, as per company policies, there is a job rotation through various departments in the first year and at the end of the first year, we are allocated our departments and the final job profile. As for the package, I cannot disclose it. However, I am happy to share that the return on investment for me is more than 100 percent in terms of the cost of MBA, thanks to my package!”
Sayantan takes a walk down the memory lane of the placement day, “The placement process is very taxing on all the candidates as it goes on for a few days and happens round the clock. Personally, I always knew that getting placed would not be a problem. So, I was not nervous about it. But anxieties are always there, no matter how good anyone is. The primary thing to do is to tackle the stress and anxieties and take the challenge head on with confidence! Especially in the case of B-Schools, confidence and the way you communicate goes a long way in determining your placement!”
He cuts to the chase, “The placement procedure varies from company to company. In this case, for example, there were a total of 14 students who were shortlisted by the company for the final interview. There was no intermediate process. The resumes were sent to the company and there the candidates were shortlisted accordingly. The interview was conducted in 2-3 rounds. One with each of the two VPs of the media channel and a final round, where both of them were present once again. The interview round was mostly about guesstimates and a few questions based on the profiles we could be offered. Also, there were questions based on the strengths and weaknesses and achievements in personal and professional life.”
He reveals what made ABP a tough nut to crack, “For this particular company, I had to face a direct interview with two vice presidents. So, it definitely was a big deal. However, I kept a cool head and went about the placement process. It was a long wait until the results were declared, but it was all worth it.” He gets philosophical at this point, “If something that you had pinned your hopes on doesn't work out, it takes a lot of effort to get back in the game, but on the other side, if you make the cut, you find yourself on cloud 9. Thankfully the latter happened with me as I could ace the placement procedure.”
Sayantan took the route less travelled to land the placement, for he played it smart, “I felt it was most important to have an understanding of the type of questions I could confront in the interview and then prepare myself accordingly. ABP, in its previous screening processes, had asked a few guesstimates. So that was obviously going to be the main area of focus for me for the following rounds. Along with that, I worked hard on making sure that questions related to my CV and myself were thoroughly prepared but not memorised. At the end of the day, I was clear about what I wanted to say and that was the key to clinching this placement. Instead of answering questions even before they are no more on the interviewer's mind, it is better to listen to the question very carefully, take a few seconds to sort your thoughts and then start answering.” He adds further, “Obviously sugarcoating answers does not help in any way. It's good to stick to the point and be truthful instead of beating around the bush. Realising this turned things in my favour as well.”
By Namrata Gulati Sapra
