Learnings from my MBA

With the 2021-2023 batch getting ready for their MBA life and the 2020-2022 batch gearing up for the upcoming placements, the demand for CV pointers (ideally learning) is at an all-time high, and I drafted this long article to address precisely that. Hopefully, this helps anyone reading it, irrespective of their curriculum batch year or whether they are considering an MBA later in the future.

In my opinion, while you are in an MBA college/course, there are five broad ways to learn (or make sure your resume is full until the placement season arrives, pardon my bluntness) and make some decent earnings in the way (much likely in three of the five scenarios)-

• Competitions
• College Committees
• Internships
• Research Projects
• Developing/continuing a hobby

There is a sixth option as well, Freelancing,?but that goes with all the other five options here, so that is an added bonus to talk about during the interviews. An MBA candidate can choose any number of permutations and combinations amongst these broad options available.

Let me dissect each point to some degree here-

1.????Competitions

This is my favourite section to talk about, and therefore I think I am correct to discuss it first. Throughout my MBA tenure, I was an?avid and ardent fan?of?business competitions, participated in many competitions, and even won a handful.

I summarized my learnings and various statistics in the following two LinkedIn?posts; you may check it out if you wish-

Some important pointers according to me-

• While a majority of the competitions are available on?Dare2Compete, a decent number of them are also available on?InsideIIM,?and it is better to follow both closely
• Choosing the right teammates is essential for success; freeloading already has its lion’s share in MBA class projects and presentations, no use letting that virus infect the sanctity of competitiveness
• A fact that I repent on much too often, making the PPTs/presentations presentable is almost as important as the content it contains, if not more
• Broadly there are two different kinds of competitions-

1.Corporate competitions

• Corporate competitions are much sought after and present the winners with the best of opportunities by awarding them?PPIs?(Pre Placement Interviews),?PPOs?(Pre Placement Opportunities),?Live Projects,?Cash Prizes?and much more

2.College-level competitions

• For those like myself who failed to win corporate competitions, college-level competitions come to the rescue
• I have won quite a few of them, which has helped me immensely in?understanding real-world problems, learning outside of a classroom environment, pitching my solution to a panel of judges, strategizing about the solution, and connecting several individual dots and many more!

I will be sharing the certificates that I won down below, be sure to check them out if you can!

I have been publishing my portfolio on SlideShare for some time now, and you can check it via the link below-

2. Internships

Another avenue via which students can rack up a substantial amount of experience is by solving real-world problems. Internships?help the students during placement interviews as it gives them an opportunity to speak on their role in the company and what they improved/worked upon as an intern.

I worked on many internships throughout my life, and even during my MBA, I worked on a live project and a couple of internships. You can visit my?LinkedIn profile?to have a glance at the companies I worked and my?roles and responsibilities?there-

Some important pointers according to me-

• Although?Internshala?handles the bulk of?internship applications, there are several top sites like?LetsINTERN,?OysterConnect,?Youth4work,?to name a few
• To increase the chances of getting selected, it is advisable to apply for multiple internships (in the preferred domain, of course) spanning a plethora of websites
• Now, even reputed NGOs come up with internships that require people to volunteer or help them?with their upcoming initiatives. I did some internships for NGOs like?eVidyaloka,?CRY - Child Rights and You?and?New Barrackpore Navchetna Welfare Society
• Doing an?internship from an NGO?provides you with the satisfaction of giving back to the community in some shape or form?(certificates and LORs from them are an added bonus!)
• There are many?scams that take place?in the internship domain, and this answer of mine strives to illustrate just a small part of that-

3. Developing/continuing a hobby

Being an aspiring writer myself, I completely get when people say they are improving their hobbies as our hobbies define us and make us a better version of ourselves.

Writing keeps me sane and helps me soothe my paranoid self, every once in a while.

Some important pointers according to me-

• There are loads of publishing firms like?Author's Ink Publications,?Onlinegatha Publication,?Moments Publishers,?where you can self publish your work. These, along with other new-age publishing houses, hold periodic competitions that help struggling and aspiring writers be published on a global platform
• Being published in an anthology helps you connect with?other aspiring/established authors, thereby building a sizeable network
• I have a group called?Un-paid Opportunities,?wherein I post?(well, I admit, I used to, I haven’t been much active recently, but others post here as well)?details regarding the competitions conducted by the publishing houses as mentioned earlier
• I have been published in?more than 15 different anthologies?(nationally and internationally),?and the experience every time has been very enriching, to say the least
• Some of my recent certificates that I earned via creative writing-

4. College Committees

This is another avenue of learning in your MBA, and many students join college committees?(be it functional, interest or traditional heavyweights like the placement, student administration bodies)?where they form inseparable bonds of friendship and moments to cherish and become nostalgic to later.

Some important pointers according to me-

• Being part of an MBA college committee ensures that?people management skills?are inculcated within the members
• The journey from being an initial member (shadow member) in the committee to a?final/core member?is filled with ups and downs that constantly ensure that the student faces tough situations and learns from them
• Be sure to join only those committees that truly align with your interests as this is a?long term commitment; many?join multiple committees only to drop out in the second year and go ahead with the one(s) that they truly like

5. Research Projects

This is a good option for those who are?academically inclined and gifted. Publishing?research papers?while in an MBA course ensures that the student has?lots of experience?if they decide to go into the research line and pursue a?PhD.

Some important pointers according to me-

• Faculties help a lot in this regard, as they are always in touch with?journal companies?and a plethora of?research topics?to write on
• Top journals like?Springer?and?IJSER?are the dream for many to publish
• Publishing in a journal (especially ones that are peer-reviewed) is a matter of respect, and very few students across the MBA environment in India manage to do that, so if you are within that minuscule percentage that manages to publish, be sure that the interview discussion will focus on that?(which is a huge benefit)

6. Freelancing

I was a freelancer (as a writer)?for more than 8 years,?and this had been the source of my pocket money for most of my un-employed life.

Some important pointers according to me-

• Develop a solid?portfolio of your work, websites like?Freelancer,?Upwork, and Guru?need freelancers to have a solid profile and portfolio,?which in turn grants the freelancers visibility to clients
• During my early days of freelancing, I used to pick projects from classified sites like?Quikr?and?Olx
• Please beware of the umpteen number of?scams that are omnipresent?in the freelancing world, and I have been part of many among them
• I previously shared an answer where I detailed the money I earned?during the lockdown period?(before I joined my current job), which contains a freelancing segment. You can check the link below for the same-

Some of the certificates I won (B-School Competitions)-

I hope this long post of mine has helped at least someone gain a fair bit of direction as to what mode of learning they will pursue while they are in their MBA tenure. Although I would not say I have achieved loads during my MBA, still, I am a strong believer in sharing experiences and learning from them, and hopefully, there is something to learn from mine too!