Second:
The idea is to help an underprivileged child in his/her education by mentoring and by helping financially.
It all started when I thought abt myself and what difference it could have made had I had a mentor who has seen the world, achieved a lot and had guided me from early on in my career. Also, looking at some of my achiever friends, I realize the difference their parents have made in their own lives. I have this great opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s lives.
Also look at my capability to earn. It’s far higher than an avg Indian. And look at farmers from AP committing suicides because they don’t have 20K to pay off their loans! A family gets ruined when a farmer commits suicide. Or look at students who don’t have money to pay their fee. Money has very high utility to them when compared to what it gives me. Can’t I help a child pay his/her fee? How much will it cut into my wealth? Not much. And what’s the difference it makes in a child’s life? Very big. So let me do it.
My current plan is to be conceptually clear abt who am I going to mentor (in Tamilnadu/Andhrapradesh or boy/girl etc), how to select (acads/financially needy), how much to involve myself (select from a hostel like Ramakrishna Matt? Or a poor family ? Should I be continuously involved in studies or during weekends?..) should I have any conditions (abt academic performance etc) for continuing help? What if the student continuously fails to study well (despite my efforts)? How should I help (finances or in kind?) etc
Once I am clear about these and probably in a few weeks, I will bounce off these ideas with my friends, family and an undergrad professor I trust and take it forward. I think I will get lot of inputs from that professor.
And abt my placement in KPO company, it is still dragging cos the CEO is unable to give an appointment now. Hopefully something will happen over the weekend.
And O.. "friends" in my last post is abt friends TV show (Rachel, Joey Tribbiani etc)
Monday, January 31, 2005
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Interview never happens! Friends gets craking into my time
I got immersed into three things since my last blog.
First:
Further interview supposed to happen in that KPO Company I mentioned in my last blog dragged on for the last one week and it is yet to happen. There is a HR lady who kept dragging it for the past 4-5 days. I think she had no clue when her CEO boss is likely to be available. And so she promised me that she will get back in ‘an hour’ and that never happens until the next two days. It is slightly difficult to manage (and be ‘interview ready’) when stuff you anticipate does not happen. I am not sure abt issues at her end, but it is a drag on the company’s brand and my time. If I decide to get in that company, I will fix this expectation management. Oh and add to that my preference to do one thing at a time, I stuck to ‘be prepared’ agenda and ended up only preparing and watching ‘Friends’ to fill rest of my time!
Talking abt expectation mgmt, Infosys manages expectations well. In fin markets, every one knows infy to be a company to ‘under promise and over deliver’. Simply put that means, know what you are going to deliver and promise little less than that. Infy also couples high performance with that. Not sure whether the same thing holds at a project level.
That's abt the first one.
First:
Further interview supposed to happen in that KPO Company I mentioned in my last blog dragged on for the last one week and it is yet to happen. There is a HR lady who kept dragging it for the past 4-5 days. I think she had no clue when her CEO boss is likely to be available. And so she promised me that she will get back in ‘an hour’ and that never happens until the next two days. It is slightly difficult to manage (and be ‘interview ready’) when stuff you anticipate does not happen. I am not sure abt issues at her end, but it is a drag on the company’s brand and my time. If I decide to get in that company, I will fix this expectation management. Oh and add to that my preference to do one thing at a time, I stuck to ‘be prepared’ agenda and ended up only preparing and watching ‘Friends’ to fill rest of my time!
Talking abt expectation mgmt, Infosys manages expectations well. In fin markets, every one knows infy to be a company to ‘under promise and over deliver’. Simply put that means, know what you are going to deliver and promise little less than that. Infy also couples high performance with that. Not sure whether the same thing holds at a project level.
That's abt the first one.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Iview for EA role in a KPO company
I was interviewed in a KPO company for EA to CEO role.
There were two interviews yesterday. There could be another round of interview at the company's location.
I will share more information later.
Chanakya
There were two interviews yesterday. There could be another round of interview at the company's location.
I will share more information later.
Chanakya
Thursday, January 20, 2005
More jobs: Still searching
I got jobs in three companies till now (in and out of campus). And one with a good salary and in KPO opearations. But I am still looking for the role I want. I guess searching for job is like searching for your life partner. Some critical criteria have to be met before you are satisfied(!). I am currently planning contingencies to my plan [on job search... please.. :) ]. I may have an interview this weekend. After that, I may have to overhaul my plans.
Campus news : Approx 170 ppl would have got one or more jobs till now. Its 2 weeks since placements have started. Traction on placement front will go on at least till Feb end, as ppl from our previous batch told us.
Other than the placement hungama, market blues are troubling me. Am losing some money now. All decisions were good decisions when markets went up. Its the other way round when markets are going down.
- Chanakya
Campus news : Approx 170 ppl would have got one or more jobs till now. Its 2 weeks since placements have started. Traction on placement front will go on at least till Feb end, as ppl from our previous batch told us.
Other than the placement hungama, market blues are troubling me. Am losing some money now. All decisions were good decisions when markets went up. Its the other way round when markets are going down.
- Chanakya
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Another offer from a KPO co ::::: two more interviews to go
I received an offer from a KPO company (cant disclose it right now) I attended interview with.
I have an interview tomorrow with Evalueserve.
- Chanakya
I have an interview tomorrow with Evalueserve.
- Chanakya
Monday, January 17, 2005
Offers till now
Here is a count of offers till now. These are a day or two old.
DISCLAIMER : Numbers may not be accurate. These are not official figures
DBS 2
ATK 2
Mckinsey 6
Citi 4
IBM 8
Yahoo 2
Marakon 2
CTS 16
Nokia 5
Fidelity 5
GE Money 2
GECIS 7
BP-DCT 3
BP-Global 1
Amazon 3
Kanbay 8
GS 2
Ambit 4
Deloitte 22
JPM 3
NIIT 4
Wipro 13
RPG 4
ICICI MT 2
V customer 7
Mittal steel 2
Friday, January 14, 2005
Interview with Irevna
(Jan 6, 2008) How I cracked the Irevna interview post is here: http://chaitanyasagar.com/tell-me-about-yourself-no-not-that/
----
Had an interview with Irevna yesterday. Selection processes had a GD followed by interview. I did well in both.
Yesterday's interview drove home two important points:
1. Importance of reasearch about company and industry
2. what companies usually look for is just smart MBAs
I will explain these in my next posts because I cannot disclose some details right now. Interview results will be out next week.
- Chanakya
----
Had an interview with Irevna yesterday. Selection processes had a GD followed by interview. I did well in both.
Yesterday's interview drove home two important points:
1. Importance of reasearch about company and industry
2. what companies usually look for is just smart MBAs
I will explain these in my next posts because I cannot disclose some details right now. Interview results will be out next week.
- Chanakya
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Monday, January 10, 2005
A term and a new lifestyle
There was some confusion abt cognizant offers today. Lot of my time yesterday and today went towards organizing for representing our opinions before admin. Admin was receptive.
One of my favourite companies is coming to campus with the exact role I am looking for. My fav role (exec asst to CEO) is not just less frequently offered in campuses, but also "HOT" in the sense that CEOs tend to take their assts from open market than from campus placements. I lost some of the offers outside of campus just because companies cannot wait for 3 more months for me to join. Lets see how it goes.
Our next term started. And interviews are going on.
I am taking "IT enabled services and strategies" course by Mr. Ravi Aron, a prof from Wharton. He is a great prof and has excellent public speaking skills. He has vast knowledge and can relate interesting facts off the cuff. It has been a pleasure listening to him today.
Another good course I am taking is "Managing your career: Strategies for personal leadership". Ms. Tina Dacin is taking up the course. It is very introspective and promises to be an exciting course.
-Chanakya
One of my favourite companies is coming to campus with the exact role I am looking for. My fav role (exec asst to CEO) is not just less frequently offered in campuses, but also "HOT" in the sense that CEOs tend to take their assts from open market than from campus placements. I lost some of the offers outside of campus just because companies cannot wait for 3 more months for me to join. Lets see how it goes.
Our next term started. And interviews are going on.
I am taking "IT enabled services and strategies" course by Mr. Ravi Aron, a prof from Wharton. He is a great prof and has excellent public speaking skills. He has vast knowledge and can relate interesting facts off the cuff. It has been a pleasure listening to him today.
Another good course I am taking is "Managing your career: Strategies for personal leadership". Ms. Tina Dacin is taking up the course. It is very introspective and promises to be an exciting course.
-Chanakya
Sunday, January 09, 2005
got an offer : not satisfied yet
Got an offer from the tech company i mentioned in my last post.
Not satisfied yet.
Some folks are pretty happy and are accepting those offers.
Lets see how it goes
- Chanakya
Not satisfied yet.
Some folks are pretty happy and are accepting those offers.
Lets see how it goes
- Chanakya
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Flash: IBM makes 12 + offers; gave a top 5 tech co interview
IBM made some 12+ offers. Many may not take them up as the package was not to the satisfaction of students. DBS made two offers.
Lot of other interviews are going on.
I gave a Tech co (a top five co) interview. It went on really well. I had the opportunity to quiz an IBU head on several issues (Why china delivery center? what does the co do to enhance domain expertise? Why is the company organized the way it is? Why does he like best in the co. etc). I may not get the generic analyst role but asked him for the exec asst role that I was looking for. Lets see whats in store.
- Chanakya
Lot of other interviews are going on.
I gave a Tech co (a top five co) interview. It went on really well. I had the opportunity to quiz an IBU head on several issues (Why china delivery center? what does the co do to enhance domain expertise? Why is the company organized the way it is? Why does he like best in the co. etc). I may not get the generic analyst role but asked him for the exec asst role that I was looking for. Lets see whats in store.
- Chanakya
Flash: Mckinsey takes 6; ATK - 2
Flash: Mckinsey takes 6; ATK - 2
Got an interview tomorrow. Cya
- Chanakya
Got an interview tomorrow. Cya
- Chanakya
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Interview prep - again!
A student from previous class (of 2004) has written us a wonderful mail today. THANKS for his support. I am sharing it because it may help some of you folks preping for ISB interviews. Here it goes:
----------------------
Dear Class of 2005,
It is that time of the year when ISB campus starts buzzing with a tremendous amount of activity round the clock. As if your own work pressure wasn’t good enough, you also have a lot of recruiters to deal with. Now that all of you are ready to make that ‘cut’, I have been trying to think about what makes good interviewing skills;
· I guess first of all confidence helps a lot. Last year most of the people who landed up two or more jobs weren’t the so called academically top scoring students of the batch. Sometimes, and especially so on ISB campus, knowing what you want to do and presenting that during the interview helps. It's just that if you appear too desperate for a job then the interviewer is less likely to be impressed. You should present your best face of course but the interviewer should also feel like he needs to convince you that the company is right for you, not that you'll take anything anyone offers you. Self confidence implies competence. If you're feeling nervous before an interview I think the best thing to tell yourself is that you have proved just by getting into ISB that you are one of the brightest in the world and with a proven record of success. You're in the top 0.000001% of the world population and in the long term you will be fine. If not this job then the next. If not this week then next week. Whether you're successful or not is not going to be determined by one job interview. It's going to be how you perform for the rest of your life. And you've proved that you've got the quality to make it. If you take that perspective then you'll feel less under pressure and hopefully more confident and more at ease.
· You should try and be an extremely good listener. Most people do not realise how much they can improve as ‘listeners’. If you stop thinking about what you're going to say when the interviewer is asking a question and rather concentrate on what the interviewer is asking you'll do far better. By listening well, you can pick up so many cues to what the other person is saying - the words, the tone, the unsaid questions. This would also ensure that there is a small pause after the question and before you start answering. You will come across as a more composed and sincere individual; a more mature professional which companies expect to find on the ISB campus.
· You should know your CV inside out. Look at every single line and think of all the questions they could ask you on it. What are the areas you're afraid of questions being asked. Trust me people will ask questions on this. Do not lie about what happened, interviewers are used to being lied to and they can spot subtle signs better than you can hide them. They've had more practice. Every single student they've ever met will try to exaggerate just a little somewhere. Say you made a mistake and that you learnt from it - that'll give you integrity points. You should have a good reason for everything you did. It should sound consistent with everything else. You should be able to explain what you learnt from each stage in your life and what mistakes you made – and how they helped you improve for the future. You should know everything (ok, may not be everything but most that a professional is expected to know about!!) about the industry and company you worked in.
· You should be able to speak for five minutes on any course you did at ISB. Before every exam you should ask yourself whether you could explain all the main concepts you studied to a bright college grad with no background in business. If you can't then it means you don't really understand it well enough to explain to someone who might grill you on the fundamentals. If you can speak at the drop of a hat for 5 minutes on any subject at the end of the MBA you would have done better than 90% of the graduates.
· You should know the company that you're applying for inside out. You should understand the industry and you should have a perspective on what the company should be doing. It may not be right but it's important that if you're asked for a viewpoint you deliver something that you've thought of and not something that you're repeating. For example, what new products its introducing, what are its competitors doing, most importantly how could what you studied in class or in some course can be used in a practical way for that company.
· Most of you have come to ISB after having worked for well known corporations around the world. ISB placements have to be, and are different from what happens on other Indian campuses. The process here is more detailed, you would go through two or three rounds of interview, meet the top management, will be able to negotiate your job profile and salary packages (edited)..... but then you can always contact them directly and try to get an interview organized for yourself!
· Finally, this is the time when you would need a group of close friends to work with, and work for. There would be long days and long waits, some great news and a lot of disappointments – so you need at least one or two such people who know your resume/strengths inside out. They would be the saviors when you have to look composed and confident immediately after a bad interview. So hurry up, form your own huddle and stand by it!
All the very best for the placement time. Alumni and the whole world (of your family, friends and competition schools) is watching you give another terrific performance this year. May you all get what you really deserve and desire for – yes THE BEST!
With all my best wishes,
XXXX
------------------------
Thanks dude.. that was great and timely help! Indeed, many of our "seniors" have been helping us on every important occassion.. and are keen on keeping ISB flag high. Thanks ALL of them.
----------------------
Dear Class of 2005,
It is that time of the year when ISB campus starts buzzing with a tremendous amount of activity round the clock. As if your own work pressure wasn’t good enough, you also have a lot of recruiters to deal with. Now that all of you are ready to make that ‘cut’, I have been trying to think about what makes good interviewing skills;
· I guess first of all confidence helps a lot. Last year most of the people who landed up two or more jobs weren’t the so called academically top scoring students of the batch. Sometimes, and especially so on ISB campus, knowing what you want to do and presenting that during the interview helps. It's just that if you appear too desperate for a job then the interviewer is less likely to be impressed. You should present your best face of course but the interviewer should also feel like he needs to convince you that the company is right for you, not that you'll take anything anyone offers you. Self confidence implies competence. If you're feeling nervous before an interview I think the best thing to tell yourself is that you have proved just by getting into ISB that you are one of the brightest in the world and with a proven record of success. You're in the top 0.000001% of the world population and in the long term you will be fine. If not this job then the next. If not this week then next week. Whether you're successful or not is not going to be determined by one job interview. It's going to be how you perform for the rest of your life. And you've proved that you've got the quality to make it. If you take that perspective then you'll feel less under pressure and hopefully more confident and more at ease.
· You should try and be an extremely good listener. Most people do not realise how much they can improve as ‘listeners’. If you stop thinking about what you're going to say when the interviewer is asking a question and rather concentrate on what the interviewer is asking you'll do far better. By listening well, you can pick up so many cues to what the other person is saying - the words, the tone, the unsaid questions. This would also ensure that there is a small pause after the question and before you start answering. You will come across as a more composed and sincere individual; a more mature professional which companies expect to find on the ISB campus.
· You should know your CV inside out. Look at every single line and think of all the questions they could ask you on it. What are the areas you're afraid of questions being asked. Trust me people will ask questions on this. Do not lie about what happened, interviewers are used to being lied to and they can spot subtle signs better than you can hide them. They've had more practice. Every single student they've ever met will try to exaggerate just a little somewhere. Say you made a mistake and that you learnt from it - that'll give you integrity points. You should have a good reason for everything you did. It should sound consistent with everything else. You should be able to explain what you learnt from each stage in your life and what mistakes you made – and how they helped you improve for the future. You should know everything (ok, may not be everything but most that a professional is expected to know about!!) about the industry and company you worked in.
· You should be able to speak for five minutes on any course you did at ISB. Before every exam you should ask yourself whether you could explain all the main concepts you studied to a bright college grad with no background in business. If you can't then it means you don't really understand it well enough to explain to someone who might grill you on the fundamentals. If you can speak at the drop of a hat for 5 minutes on any subject at the end of the MBA you would have done better than 90% of the graduates.
· You should know the company that you're applying for inside out. You should understand the industry and you should have a perspective on what the company should be doing. It may not be right but it's important that if you're asked for a viewpoint you deliver something that you've thought of and not something that you're repeating. For example, what new products its introducing, what are its competitors doing, most importantly how could what you studied in class or in some course can be used in a practical way for that company.
· Most of you have come to ISB after having worked for well known corporations around the world. ISB placements have to be, and are different from what happens on other Indian campuses. The process here is more detailed, you would go through two or three rounds of interview, meet the top management, will be able to negotiate your job profile and salary packages (edited)..... but then you can always contact them directly and try to get an interview organized for yourself!
· Finally, this is the time when you would need a group of close friends to work with, and work for. There would be long days and long waits, some great news and a lot of disappointments – so you need at least one or two such people who know your resume/strengths inside out. They would be the saviors when you have to look composed and confident immediately after a bad interview. So hurry up, form your own huddle and stand by it!
All the very best for the placement time. Alumni and the whole world (of your family, friends and competition schools) is watching you give another terrific performance this year. May you all get what you really deserve and desire for – yes THE BEST!
With all my best wishes,
XXXX
------------------------
Thanks dude.. that was great and timely help! Indeed, many of our "seniors" have been helping us on every important occassion.. and are keen on keeping ISB flag high. Thanks ALL of them.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Interview prep!
Many favorable events in the past few days!
First - The ex-boss I mentioned earlier asks me to inform him before I take the plunge because 'something is brewing' at his end 'that I may be interested in'. Well hope that something is really a good job offer.
Second - I got calls from a 3 placement agencies telling me that they have the job that I am looking for. The companies they talked abt include some well known technology companies. One is among top five. Lets see how it goes.
Three - My interview prep went on really well. It was a great experience to think through my past and list down what I learnt and what I achieved... very similar to the experience I had during my isb apps time. Only this time it is more structured i guess.
I will share a framework that will help both prepare for interviews and write your resume.
What your interviewers (ur prospective employers) will be looking for is a combination of your
- smartness
- domain knowledge
- leadership
- initiative
- execution
- drive and energy
- presence
and to add to that amount of responsibility you handled and ur customer centric approach
Think through your experience and categorize all your experiences and achievements into the above heads.
For your resume - figure out a likely combination of above skills/attributes a prospective employer or a school will be looking for and try and reflect those attributes in your resume.
For your Interview - Once you have your experiences categorized, it will be easier (in an interview) to recollect your experiences in the interview (e.g. tell me an instance you exibited initiative, leadership, blah blah...)
Hope this framework is useful. I learnt this in a workshop that mckinsey guys did for us.
Thats it for today. Enjoy!
- Chanakya
P.S. Another good thing that happened - Markets fell by 200 points :) and I pumped some money in... I was waiting for markets to crash for some time now. It just went up and up while I waited. Hope my money grows and hope I did not sink it today!!!!
First - The ex-boss I mentioned earlier asks me to inform him before I take the plunge because 'something is brewing' at his end 'that I may be interested in'. Well hope that something is really a good job offer.
Second - I got calls from a 3 placement agencies telling me that they have the job that I am looking for. The companies they talked abt include some well known technology companies. One is among top five. Lets see how it goes.
Three - My interview prep went on really well. It was a great experience to think through my past and list down what I learnt and what I achieved... very similar to the experience I had during my isb apps time. Only this time it is more structured i guess.
I will share a framework that will help both prepare for interviews and write your resume.
What your interviewers (ur prospective employers) will be looking for is a combination of your
- smartness
- domain knowledge
- leadership
- initiative
- execution
- drive and energy
- presence
and to add to that amount of responsibility you handled and ur customer centric approach
Think through your experience and categorize all your experiences and achievements into the above heads.
For your resume - figure out a likely combination of above skills/attributes a prospective employer or a school will be looking for and try and reflect those attributes in your resume.
For your Interview - Once you have your experiences categorized, it will be easier (in an interview) to recollect your experiences in the interview (e.g. tell me an instance you exibited initiative, leadership, blah blah...)
Hope this framework is useful. I learnt this in a workshop that mckinsey guys did for us.
Thats it for today. Enjoy!
- Chanakya
P.S. Another good thing that happened - Markets fell by 200 points :) and I pumped some money in... I was waiting for markets to crash for some time now. It just went up and up while I waited. Hope my money grows and hope I did not sink it today!!!!
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Friday, December 31, 2004
Happy New Year!
We celebrated new year with a party (music is blasting off just beside my room right NOW!)
How to use occassions like new year to maintain your network:
Occassions like new year are invaluable to create opportunities to get in touch with ex-bosses, friends and important people (personal and professional). Meet ppl and write to as may as possible. Catch: Dont just BCC ppl. Not many will reply to your mail. Nor will they consider that you remembered them. Even if they reciprocate wishes, they will send you another BCC! A personalized mail will take time but will pay you off in terms of relations.
This is quite evident in the mails I received today.
- -
I got in touch with an ex-boss and a great friend and sought advice on career decisions I should take. His replies clarified a few things. A gist of his suggestions:
Large companies will slot ppl into a narrowly defined role and broad-based experience will be a challenge. Getting into smaller companies and in specific roles will give me the exposure and contacts I am looking for. Also BPO services will get commoditized and KPO srvices are likely to sustain steam longer.
- Chanakya
How to use occassions like new year to maintain your network:
Occassions like new year are invaluable to create opportunities to get in touch with ex-bosses, friends and important people (personal and professional). Meet ppl and write to as may as possible. Catch: Dont just BCC ppl. Not many will reply to your mail. Nor will they consider that you remembered them. Even if they reciprocate wishes, they will send you another BCC! A personalized mail will take time but will pay you off in terms of relations.
This is quite evident in the mails I received today.
- -
I got in touch with an ex-boss and a great friend and sought advice on career decisions I should take. His replies clarified a few things. A gist of his suggestions:
Large companies will slot ppl into a narrowly defined role and broad-based experience will be a challenge. Getting into smaller companies and in specific roles will give me the exposure and contacts I am looking for. Also BPO services will get commoditized and KPO srvices are likely to sustain steam longer.
- Chanakya
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Tsunami effect, placements and networking!
Tsunami waves have had definite impact on me. Everytime a natural disaster occurs in India, as a country, we are equally unprepared and admin machinery takes time to respond to such disasters. After Orissa cyclone, Rajat Gupta and others have formed a disaster recovery mechanism. I am not sure what happened to that!
Last time I thought about such disasters, I thought of going to the place of disaster in person to volunteer to help victims. However, many oncoming placement deadlines have stopped me. To me, this is just an excuse. Is it going to be different next time? (Hope such disasters dont happen in the first place!)
I applied to a few more companies. Some roles to which I applied are in sync with my career plans. Some of them are not. This set me thinking. Do placements mislead students? Does every one apply to companies (and later join them) based on good plans on what they are going to do next? Do students explore future work environments enough before making a career decision? If yes, how can we explain many MBAs shifting from the first company within a year? Based on such thoughts, I am focussing on companies that are in sync with my career plans. I also wrote to my ex-boss, friend and guide to help me vet my approach.
More networking and gnan - I joined a very good group India strategy think tank . There are lot of good discussions out there. And I reunited with a good old friend in that group. I am going to enjoy being in that group.
- Chanakya
Last time I thought about such disasters, I thought of going to the place of disaster in person to volunteer to help victims. However, many oncoming placement deadlines have stopped me. To me, this is just an excuse. Is it going to be different next time? (Hope such disasters dont happen in the first place!)
I applied to a few more companies. Some roles to which I applied are in sync with my career plans. Some of them are not. This set me thinking. Do placements mislead students? Does every one apply to companies (and later join them) based on good plans on what they are going to do next? Do students explore future work environments enough before making a career decision? If yes, how can we explain many MBAs shifting from the first company within a year? Based on such thoughts, I am focussing on companies that are in sync with my career plans. I also wrote to my ex-boss, friend and guide to help me vet my approach.
More networking and gnan - I joined a very good group India strategy think tank . There are lot of good discussions out there. And I reunited with a good old friend in that group. I am going to enjoy being in that group.
- Chanakya
Sunday, December 26, 2004
A sad day for me
Today is a very sad day for me.
Barely a week after I named this blog "on marina sands in full moon" (b cos thats where I made my career plans during my formative years), Tsunami waves have hit Indian east coast and hit the Marina beach the hardest. More than a thousand ppl died because of this. I called up all my friends in chennai and other coastal regions. All of them are safe, thanks God.
Otherwise, I made a lot of progress on the research (on BPO) front. I found very good research reports. Cris Infac is certainly one of the best reports I have seen.
That is it for now.
- Chanakya
Barely a week after I named this blog "on marina sands in full moon" (b cos thats where I made my career plans during my formative years), Tsunami waves have hit Indian east coast and hit the Marina beach the hardest. More than a thousand ppl died because of this. I called up all my friends in chennai and other coastal regions. All of them are safe, thanks God.
Otherwise, I made a lot of progress on the research (on BPO) front. I found very good research reports. Cris Infac is certainly one of the best reports I have seen.
That is it for now.
- Chanakya
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Progress BPO industry analysis and my views on ISB experience
I made some progress on the BPO industry analysis that I began yesterday. I am using some of the Mckinsey techniques that I learnt recently. Till now, I put down initial hypothesis as to how big the industry is going to be, what customers are going to demand in near future, how competition is heating up etc.
I want to share some thoughts I penned down some time back at a request of my friend. Hope this will be useful to some of you.
What I like
Opportunity to get a World class MBA in India
Let’s look at the options that students with workex (of 3 or more) have for world class management education. Esp if they want to work in India post MBA. Other B schools in india are out of the consideration set because of low avg experience (2 years or less) and in my opinion such low experience levels do not aid learning. Hence many consider schools abroad. Given that most Indian students have to take a dollar loan, they will not be able to pay back that loan with an Indian salary. Bottom line is that such students (who would like to work in India immediately after MBA) with experience have no option to get an MBA in a world class management institute.
ISB caters to such increasingly large number of students who otherwise leave for mgmt education abroad or just be India without it. So there is a clear and large market segment that ISB caters to.
Also, because of its connections with many high profile B-schools (Kellogg, Wharton and LBS), individuals and companies, ISB could quickly put in place the required high quality infrastructure… both hard and soft (faculty, course materials etc).
Faculty
Faculty is undoubtedly ISB’s greatest asset. “Wow! What a class it was!” is a regular feeling we have after each class. Most of our professors come from partner schools and other prominent schools in US, Asia and Europe. Many among them are Indian Diaspora and bring rich teaching and consulting experience to class. They are committed and connect with the vision of creating a world class management institution in India. In so doing, they do get a sense of giving back to their home country. Examples: Kellogg’s Dean Mr. Deepak Jain visits our campus often and talks to us asking for our concerns. He was instrumental in the formative days of ISB. Dean of Anderson business school (Mr. Rajiv Banker) taught us a course and is area leader for technology elective.
One professor (an American), I spoke to has this to say about ISB’s faculty: “Your faculty is envy of any B school. Just look at the list. Each of them has been successful in their own area and is an excellent professor in his own right. I think you guys are very lucky”
Just as an aside, Rajat Gupta (former managing director - McKinsey & co) is coming over next week to take a course in management. ISB promised NR Narayana Murthy (Infy chief mentor) and Rangarajan (former RBI governor) as well.
Infrastructure
Our campus is picturesque and has world class infrastructure. I think the classrooms and other facilities compare with the best in the world. e.g. fully computerized (you can control even the window blinds from a computer) classrooms, classrooms have large plasma screens to view presentations, have video teleconferencing facilities etc).
Students
Each one of the students I met with here is unique…student body here is a very interesting and diverse set of ppl. To give you some facts, there are around 40 IITians, similar number of CAs (most of them rank holders) and a bunch of engineers all from diverse geographies and industries. From diversity point of view, there are doctors, marine engineers, ppl who worked in World Bank, a German, a UK citizen, some 40-50 NRIs, and many who have international experience, a national swimming champion, models (and stewardesses!), movie freaks, poets, absolute tech geeks, quizzing gurus, all India Taekondo (a marshal art) champion, youngest CA and so on. Bottom line- I consider it reasonably diverse. Aspects in which diversity in ISB falls short of international levels are low female ratio (19%) and low international students ratio (very low).
We asked some professors as to how they compare ISB students with those in US B-schools. The American prof that I talked about earlier had this to say: “You are pretty much there with the Dardens and Sterns and so on though I can’t tell you right away how you compare with the top three”
Extensive industry interaction
We have many CEOs and ppl in senior management coming over to ISB to deliver lectures. Actually we have an overdose of such interaction that we let some of them go to complete our assignments or prepare for next day’s classes. Such industry interaction provides with different perspective of how they run their businesses and many a time confirm what we learnt in the classroom. Recent visitors – Kiran Majumdar Shah (Biocon CEO – India’s Biotechnology icon), Kiran Karnik - Nasscom President, Mr. Harris Miller, Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), Jayant - Director marketing - Intel, Mr. Kishore Biyani - founder and head of Pantaloons and other retail companies, Mr. Ravi Ramu-CFO of Mphasis BFL Group and. Think I have made my point.
What I don’t like
Very intensive
Program is very intensive and is designed to keep us on our toes every day. We just have no time to rest. We have to run fast to stay still. Our seniors blame us that our batch is responsible for making our course grade intensive. I am not sure whether that is a compliment, but I found it very difficult to get good grades over here.
Permanent faculty
Some of the permanent faculty recruited by ISB could not meet students’ expectations. I too did not like some. But possibly we are being harsh to them. First, students are comparing them with exceptional visiting faculty and two, probably we need to give them some elbow room to adjust themselves.
Apart from this, students here have a party culture and keep blasting off music at midnight every fortnight or so. This has no relation to ISB’s program but I did not like that part of my experience. This junta wants to extract more out of every thing. Be it acads or parties.
I wrote more about what I like than what I did not. That is in line with the proportion of my actual likes and dislikes about ISB. Well, I kind of thought aloud and probably wrote too much. I am sure my ‘thoughts’ are long. Hope they are not lengthy.
I want to share some thoughts I penned down some time back at a request of my friend. Hope this will be useful to some of you.
What I like
Opportunity to get a World class MBA in India
Let’s look at the options that students with workex (of 3 or more) have for world class management education. Esp if they want to work in India post MBA. Other B schools in india are out of the consideration set because of low avg experience (2 years or less) and in my opinion such low experience levels do not aid learning. Hence many consider schools abroad. Given that most Indian students have to take a dollar loan, they will not be able to pay back that loan with an Indian salary. Bottom line is that such students (who would like to work in India immediately after MBA) with experience have no option to get an MBA in a world class management institute.
ISB caters to such increasingly large number of students who otherwise leave for mgmt education abroad or just be India without it. So there is a clear and large market segment that ISB caters to.
Also, because of its connections with many high profile B-schools (Kellogg, Wharton and LBS), individuals and companies, ISB could quickly put in place the required high quality infrastructure… both hard and soft (faculty, course materials etc).
Faculty
Faculty is undoubtedly ISB’s greatest asset. “Wow! What a class it was!” is a regular feeling we have after each class. Most of our professors come from partner schools and other prominent schools in US, Asia and Europe. Many among them are Indian Diaspora and bring rich teaching and consulting experience to class. They are committed and connect with the vision of creating a world class management institution in India. In so doing, they do get a sense of giving back to their home country. Examples: Kellogg’s Dean Mr. Deepak Jain visits our campus often and talks to us asking for our concerns. He was instrumental in the formative days of ISB. Dean of Anderson business school (Mr. Rajiv Banker) taught us a course and is area leader for technology elective.
One professor (an American), I spoke to has this to say about ISB’s faculty: “Your faculty is envy of any B school. Just look at the list. Each of them has been successful in their own area and is an excellent professor in his own right. I think you guys are very lucky”
Just as an aside, Rajat Gupta (former managing director - McKinsey & co) is coming over next week to take a course in management. ISB promised NR Narayana Murthy (Infy chief mentor) and Rangarajan (former RBI governor) as well.
Infrastructure
Our campus is picturesque and has world class infrastructure. I think the classrooms and other facilities compare with the best in the world. e.g. fully computerized (you can control even the window blinds from a computer) classrooms, classrooms have large plasma screens to view presentations, have video teleconferencing facilities etc).
Students
Each one of the students I met with here is unique…student body here is a very interesting and diverse set of ppl. To give you some facts, there are around 40 IITians, similar number of CAs (most of them rank holders) and a bunch of engineers all from diverse geographies and industries. From diversity point of view, there are doctors, marine engineers, ppl who worked in World Bank, a German, a UK citizen, some 40-50 NRIs, and many who have international experience, a national swimming champion, models (and stewardesses!), movie freaks, poets, absolute tech geeks, quizzing gurus, all India Taekondo (a marshal art) champion, youngest CA and so on. Bottom line- I consider it reasonably diverse. Aspects in which diversity in ISB falls short of international levels are low female ratio (19%) and low international students ratio (very low).
We asked some professors as to how they compare ISB students with those in US B-schools. The American prof that I talked about earlier had this to say: “You are pretty much there with the Dardens and Sterns and so on though I can’t tell you right away how you compare with the top three”
Extensive industry interaction
We have many CEOs and ppl in senior management coming over to ISB to deliver lectures. Actually we have an overdose of such interaction that we let some of them go to complete our assignments or prepare for next day’s classes. Such industry interaction provides with different perspective of how they run their businesses and many a time confirm what we learnt in the classroom. Recent visitors – Kiran Majumdar Shah (Biocon CEO – India’s Biotechnology icon), Kiran Karnik - Nasscom President, Mr. Harris Miller, Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), Jayant - Director marketing - Intel, Mr. Kishore Biyani - founder and head of Pantaloons and other retail companies, Mr. Ravi Ramu-CFO of Mphasis BFL Group and. Think I have made my point.
What I don’t like
Very intensive
Program is very intensive and is designed to keep us on our toes every day. We just have no time to rest. We have to run fast to stay still. Our seniors blame us that our batch is responsible for making our course grade intensive. I am not sure whether that is a compliment, but I found it very difficult to get good grades over here.
Permanent faculty
Some of the permanent faculty recruited by ISB could not meet students’ expectations. I too did not like some. But possibly we are being harsh to them. First, students are comparing them with exceptional visiting faculty and two, probably we need to give them some elbow room to adjust themselves.
Apart from this, students here have a party culture and keep blasting off music at midnight every fortnight or so. This has no relation to ISB’s program but I did not like that part of my experience. This junta wants to extract more out of every thing. Be it acads or parties.
I wrote more about what I like than what I did not. That is in line with the proportion of my actual likes and dislikes about ISB. Well, I kind of thought aloud and probably wrote too much. I am sure my ‘thoughts’ are long. Hope they are not lengthy.
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