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Genman Gyan PDF
Genman Gyan PDF
SEPTEMBER 1, 2016
RAJBARATH KR
RAJBARATHKR@GMAIL.COM
TAS FB page
RABARATHKR@GMAIL.COM
TAS website
Why Genman?
Fresh in college, it is common for someone to be muddled with multiple career options
especially because IIMs do not offer any specialization. I had a dilemma between consulting
and general management. But, thats when interacting with seniors, faculty, friends and
peers with relevant work experience was very helpful. The pre-placement talks (PPTs) apart
from offering delicious delicacies also offer a good glimpse about the company, their people,
culture and commitment. It was in these PPTs that I realised I was not interested in
consulting. A few experiences and my personal inferences made me despise consulting as a
career option as well. Having seen them all, I liked TAS PPT the best. For an $110b, century
year old group with over a 100 companies spanning the length and breadth of the world,
they were absolutely down to earth and genuine. With no unnecessary frills whatsoever they
meant business and I liked it. I would always advice one to go for a firm where one will feel
at home. More than the juicy perks, hefty benefits or jazzy tours, liking the firm you work for
matters more in life.
Summer internship is one precious opportunity to waste merely for material ends
Resume Tips
Following the PPT season, were weeks of rigorous preparation for the internship process.
The starting point here was the resume, so I made sure my resume suited the company and
profile I applied for. Here are a few tips to guide you through the process.
What do recruiters look for in your resume?
Good academics
Balance between sections (almost equal number of equally good points)
Your leadership qualities leading a team, magnitude of your responsibilities
Impact you have created in the work you have done
Consistent good performance throughout your career
Sector specific work/exposure if you are asking for that particular sector in your
internship
Exposure to industry through events, placecom, etc.,
Drive to initiate, deliver, excel and inspire
What points could you include in your resume for work ex or internship?
Did you recruit/interview someone?
Performance appraisal, fast tracked promotion, recognition from clients.
Did you implement any best practices which you company follows even now?
Were you the sign-off authority for something?
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your buckets, then he should get a flavour of what all you have done. This is not
conveyed in the second case. Do not have buckets for every section.
Remove jargon from your work ex. Put your points across in layman terms and
highlight the real impact created.
Specify the short forms you use for name of your institutes (IITM, NITT, CEG)
Try to bring the impact in the first half of the sentence and use the remaining to
qualify it and give a context.
Do not force fit sections which you are really not interested / good at say sports
Application form
The next major task is preparing answers for behavioural questions and making your SOP
for the application form. It is at this moment that you introspect about your life and it might
not be a rosy experience. Thats when chickens come home to roost! But, trust me, it is
common! Despite that, I would advise not to give in to the easy option of bluffing your way
through the form. Instead of practicing hard to put on a good mask to the HR, it is best if you
realise your flaws and start changing fast.
While filling the form, keep in mind the values of the company you are applying for. Try to
reflect these values in your answers but dont force-fit or explicitly state the values from their
website. Ideally speaking, SOP is for your career/life. So talk more about yourself, your
strengths, aspirations, and passion and use examples to substantiate each claim of yours.
However, have a few elements about to the company towards the end to show that this
company will help you achieve the goals that you had earlier stated in your SOP. For short
and long term goals, you could consider short term as 3-5 years and long term as 13-15 years.
Keep you ambitions realistic in this section. It is a good idea to not write about your
entrepreneurial ambitions here. You can use quotations but they have to very apt precise
and not mere fillers. Please avoid clichd phrases and quotes. Avoid bombastic adjectives.
Try to highlight the work you have done and your contribution more than how big your
position/project was. Highlight your leadership experiences, show your learnings. You could
also go in a chronological order showing that you have had consistent interest in say,
leadership. Avoid restating the points already mentioned in the achievements section unless
you have to quote it to prove a point or it is really big. For filling your form, you could take
the guidance of seniors but remember they cant write it for you for a very simple reason
Your pay cheque will not be addressed to them.
Psychometric test
Psychometric tests (PT) could get on your nerves. There are times during your test when you
think - "Is the question setter that dumb? How many times will he ask the same damn
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question?" But if you identify the trend that the questions are similar, half your battle is won.
This is because consistency in your answers is key to success in psychometric tests.
Here are a few sample questions for which you will have to choose an answer amongst
answer Strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree. These questions are not
exhaustive and only test a few of your personality traits. There could be many more like
these.
There are other question formats too apart from the one above. The key to clearing
psychometric tests is being true to yourself. Have the position and the company in mind and
remember the core values of the company when you answer these questions. Answer in the
context of work and not in a social context.
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GDs
The next crucial part is the Chairmans GD. (You can find sample topics here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B9wNgKZ2AZe1VHpNR0dBM21KTEU )
Here are a few things you can keep in mind for your GDs
Do not start unless you are absolutely sure. Bad start might ruin your chances.
Be very structured in articulating your thoughts give examples and complete your
argument
It helps to note down your points and others (for the summary)
Whenever you make a point try to relate it to or contrast what was spoken earlier
Remember, its not a debate, it is a discussion so dont shout or hog
Content and delivery are more important than facetime. In a 15 minute GD, 5 entries
with 30 seconds each or something proportional is good enough
Keep track of time and make sure your group does not deviate from the topic will
fetch you brownie points
Give chance to the silent participants. But dont put them in a fix when they really
dont want to speak
Finally, make sure your group arrives at a conclusion or solution to the problem at
hand
Most often genman firms come on day 1 and all well-paying consulting and banking firms
come on day 0. So making a decision to sit for genman would mean you are ready to give up
on consulting firms. It is a conscious risk that you have to take, but if not for that, you would
never get what you wanted.
About my interview, it went reasonably well, however my panellists had a poker face all
throughout. By the end of the interview, when I knew I got the offer and my friends did too,
my joy had no bounds. After we were placed, we helped our friends who were still in the
process. On day 2, I realised that whoever was yet to be placed, was still there not because of
any dearth of talent but only because they could not handle the behavioural aspects of the
interview. That is why I insist the importance of preparing for behavioural (HR) questions.
Yet another thing that was apparent by the end of the internship process was the culture of
the firms, conspicuous by their conduct. While every other major firm resorted to
backchannel means to poach candidates by calling them against the placement norms, Tata
never did anything like that. It was the most transparent and genuine process ever, which
respected the preference of the candidates.
So! Thats the story of my summers. I hope each one of you get some wonderful unforgettable
experiences in your summers. Dont worry! Put in your best efforts and leave the rest to
chance.
Wish you all the very best!
RABARATHKR@GMAIL.COM