Kartikeya Singh
We bring you Kartikeya Singh!!! He graduated in 2018 in the discipline of Electrical Engineering. Read on to know more about the razzmatazz from an Electrical Engineer to an IIM Ahmedabad graduate.
How was your college life ?
I was a part of Fluxus.
What are you doing presently?
I am currently doing MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.
What inspired you to dive into this specific field?
My interest in pursuing an MBA and thus foray into management arose during my internship at Amazon. During my internship I worked on a challenging set of problems in the technical domain. Things were going good but I felt that there was something missing. I felt to be working on and to be having an understanding of a very small part of the overall picture at Amazon. I had solved the problems but I never thought about who is this code exactly going to help? Who is my customer here? What are their needs? Who are the stakeholders involved? These questions were in an essence covered by my technical & product manager at Amazon. I never really had to think about it. I just coded as per the requirements given by them. This triggered a response in me where I felt I am not completely satisfied working in a functional silo on a technical problem. What interests me more is the overall picture. The picture of how a business transforms its resources to make money. This is what persuaded me to go for CAT and get into the prestigious management institute at IIM Ahmedabad.
After entering into IIM Ahmedabad, it has stood strong on all of its promises in inculcating me with a deep sense of knowledge on managing a business. There is a strong sense of ownership that is encouraged in the institute. You are the decision maker as an MBA irrespective of the next domain you enter post your graduation whether it would be Consulting, Finance, Marketing, or Product Management. There is emphasis in forming long lasting networks which aid both in your personal & professional development. The ability to look at a birds eye view of business & then into the detailed functional aspects gives me a clearer picture of what I had missed before in my internship at Amazon. In terms of co-curricular & extra curricular activities I find that they are similar to the ones I have experienced at IIT Indore. One key difference is that the students are given much more independence while performing these activities. Another example of this would be how co-ed Hostels are a commonplace in many management institutes At the same time however the increased independence brings more accountability to the individual. It truly has been a very enriching experience.
How did you prepare for the profile?
There are two parts to preparing for an MBA. One is to build a strong profile that would help you in the MBA college for your internships and placements & the second is the preparation for a common entrance exam like CAT. Both are equally important if one wants to be a successful management professional. For building a strong profile you would want to target five things 1) Positions of responsibility (say a secretary of the Gymkhana) 2) Internships (preferably in management rather than a technical role. A note here is that stronger brands like Amazon or Goldman are preferred irrespective of the nature of the role) 3) Extra-curricular ( Could be dancing, sports, case competitions, or say public speaking/debating) 4) Social Work 5) Strong Academics (High GPA or a research paper). To prepare for CAT start early. I am an avid reader of Economic Times & other such magazines which prepared me well for the VA (Verbal Ability) section. I feel this is the section where most engineers find trouble based on my past experiences with my batch mates. I prepared mostly through mocks & study material by Time coaching institute in Indore. Post selection for interviews for IIMs your edge is your uniqueness. This could range from anything to you being from a fairly small town, to having your entire family as govt employees and you being the only one foraying into the private sector. The interviewers look for stories they can understand and have an interest in. They might not be as interested in saying that you scored a 9 CGPA and have nothing to say about it vs say that you scored a 8 but have a good story where overcame a lot of odds to get you that GPA.
Your message to those whose dreams resonate with your reality?
Feel free to contact me on LinkedIn or WhatsApp if you want to discuss your career options regarding an MBA. I am most willing to respond.
