After completing her MBA in Marketing and Finance from a renowned business college in Pune, Vatsala Mandar, from Sikar, Rajasthan, is placed at Liberty Videocon General Insurance, in Pune, as a Relationship Manager
Meet Vatsala Mandar, one of the pass-outs from a wellknown management institute from Pune who made it big by getting placed through campus placement at Liberty Videocon General Insurance, which is a joint venture between multinational groups Liberty Mutual and Videocon Industries.
Vatsala’s parents played a huge role in her campus placement process and her institution groomed her and successfully made her a part of the corporate world. It was a tough journey for this girl from Rajasthan who had to leave her family and stay all alone in Pune. Attending conferences and meeting people from the corporate world moulded her to face the competitive and challenging corporate world.
Vatsala was born in Sikar, Rajasthan. Her father is a doctor in Sikar and her mother is a homemaker. She spent her early childhood in Sikar. Vatsala is like any other simple girl. “I did my entire schooling from St. Mary’s School, Sikar, Rajasthan. I was an average, hesitant child who did not like going to school and talking to new people. Although, Step by Step Public School taught me how to be social and how to talk to new people without being hesitant”, she adds. She completed her graduation in Commerce from Rajasthan University. After graduation, under her brother’s guidance she opted to do her masters from one of the best management colleges in Pune, even though it meant that she had to stay away from her family.
She did her specialisation in marketing and finance. “I chose to be in marketing and finance sector because this field offers long-term opportunities with many diversifications. The advantage of being in marketing field is, one gets wonderful opportunities to connect and interact with many successful and inspirational corporate leaders and learn from their hard work and experience. Their teachings will always be useful in my corporate career,” she adds.
"The two-year journey of my MBA was a holistic learning experience. I never thought that rules and regulations would groom and nurture me in a person who would be capable of facing problems and turning them into opportunities
“I joined Liberty Videocon General Insurance Pvt. Ltd. I give credit to my college, which has played a vital role in developing my personality and preparing me for the corporate world. My college regularly motivated and helped me in preparation for interviews for the placement”, she says.
“The company that visited our college for the campus interview, i.e. Liberty Videocon General Insurance, took two rounds of group discussion, a psychometric test, and two rounds of interview—firstly a creative introduction round, followed by the final interview round with the Marketing Head. Like every other student who had come for the interview, I too had butterflies in my stomach before the final interview but I recalled my mother’s teaching to be positive and confident in every situation of life, so I went for the interview with an optimistic mind and I answered the questions with confidence. Questions were mainly based on subject knowledge and interpersonal skills. The interviewer checked on many aspects including personality, patience, aptitude and analytical skills. And I am happy to say that my dear old mother’s magic, her last-minute advice, worked, I cleared the final round and was placed on 21st December 2016,” she says.
“It is always a wonderful feeling to see your friends being placed and commencing their corporate journey. I also felt happy in their successful placement and enjoyed with them but at the same time, one might get under a peer pressure for one’s own placement. I give credit to my college, which helped me in every aspect of my life and treated me equally. My parents have always supported me and they were always there to help me. They have taught me how to stay positive and motivated me whenever I faced difficulties”, says Vatsala.
Vatsala with friends“The two-year journey of my MBA was a holistic learning experience. I never thought that rules and regulations would groom and nurture me in a person who would be capable of facing problems, and turning them into opportunities. In the first year of MBA I learnt many things, which I would not have learnt in any other B-school. Those learnings made me more confident about myself. Struggle remains the part and parcel of my campus placement. Knowledge is an asset that will always remain with me wherever I go in life—knowledge never goes waste. Even after all ups and downs, I stayed calm and was working in order to improve myself because ‘an arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. So when life is dragging you back with struggles, it means that it is going to launch you into something great’. I always kept myself motivated, kept a positive approach and that’s how should one survive the tough times,” she adds.
For her, life is all about having an idea, developing it, and taking it further, to accomplish the goal.
“When it feels like we are living a mechanical life, which loops in the same pattern repeatedly, but actually, it is not the case. For example, it is impossible to take the same breath twice or standing in the same stream of river twice. One has to move forward. When we are standing in darkness and we are unable to see any further, the first step which we take is the one which guides us. It is same about life,” Vatsala adds.
Be confident and have positive mind with right attitude
Be yourself and be an opportunist
Never hesitate in asking for help from colleagues. They might give the best last-minute advice
Don’t give up, believe in yourself
Keep setting yourself for new challenges
By Vineet Kapshikar
