PFP Series

[Preparation for Placements]

Behavioural Questions

Instructions:

 You may consult any PrepCo member to improve the quality of your answers and
leverage their summer /final placement experience
 The soft copy of the final document must be uploaded in the google form here.
 File naming convention : <RollNo>_<Name>_PFP-HR01
(Example: P21077_Anant Vermon_PFP-
HR01)
 Deadline for filing the form: 21.07.2022, 09:30 P.M.
 Font: Times New Roman | Font size: 12 | Line Spacing: 1.5 | Format: Word Document
 All the questions are mandatory
 If you decide to indulge in Plagiarism, please remember that no one remembers copied
answers. You are putting yourself in the danger of a blank face in the interview. 

Name : Siddhant Srivastava

Roll No. : P22250 

Note: You are required to prepare for questions like “Tell me about yourself,” “What are your
Strengths and Weaknesses,” etc. And keep the same handy for yourself. The same is not
required to be added to this document.
1. State your professional goals? (150 words each; 150*2 = 300 words)

a. Short-term
My short-term goal is to hone my managerial skills in my 2 years of MBA. I would
like to participate in various events, clubs, case competitions and live projects which
will transform myself into a new human being who is much more capable of handling
management related decisions. Once I transform myself, I would like to showcase my
skills by working in a reputed company as a manager. I would like to give my 100%
towards my managerial responsibilities assigned to me by the company. Since
learning process never ends, I wish to transform myself further by taking a note of my
short comings during my job as a manager and improve myself constantly.

b. Long-term
My long-term goal is to take on key roles in a reputed company like CEO, CFO, COO
and be part of the main decision-making process to run the company. I am also open
to start my own business in the next 15-20 years. I believe in the next 15-20 years I
can develop the necessary insight to start my own business.

2. How do you respond to criticism? State an example where you faced criticism. (200-300
words)
I respond to criticism differently in different situations. I if criticised, go into a mode of
self-introspection where I look at carefully what was the task given to me and how did I
execute it. If at all I feel that the criticism is valid and aiming at my self-improvement, I
am open to learn from it and appreciate the person who pointed it out to me. However, if
I feel that I have been unfairly criticised I am not afraid of voicing my opinion and want
to resolve the issue by healthy discussion.

3. What is/should be the work culture at your ideal company or workplace? State at least
three qualities you look for in an employer. (300 words)
 The ideal work culture I dream of is where employees are amiable and are not hesitant to
make the new employees feel that they are like a family to the organization they work
for. It is a place where employees are dedicated and hardworking. The motivation behind
their hard work is that they understand the vision of their leader and realise that by
working hard they are creating value in the society. It is also a place where the company
constantly aims for new heights and in the process motivates the employees to improve
themselves so that both the organization and employees are mutually benefitted. In an
ideal company, I believe there would be healthy competition among the employees to
outperform others at the same time there is a culture of empathy and trust maintained by
the employees.

4. What are your extracurricular interests and your hobbies? What qualities have you
developed from them? (300 words)
In my free time I love playing outdoor sports like badminton, volleyball, basketball. I
also love playing indoor sports like chess, table tennis, carrom to name a few. I also love
doing yoga and meditation. I believe yoga and meditation help to rejuvenate myself at a
deeper level and make me calmer and more composed. It gives me a much deeper
perception into life. Playing outdoor sports like volleyball and basketball help me in
developing my team communication skills and strategic skills.

5. What has been your most significant contribution to a project you partook in, either
professionally or academically? Detail your key learnings from the experience. (200+200
= 400 words)
During my time in TCS, from Sep 2021 to Mar 2022 I was the part of the team where our
client was “Evo Energy”. As a part of this project, we had to delete the virtual streetlight
assets and insert virtual service line and points wherever asked by the client. As a part of
this team, I initially worked as a production user where my only job was to delete the
streetlights of a region given to me. Shortly I was moved to QC where my job was to
check the files done by the production users and make changes if I found any
discrepancies. At the same time, I was made the mentor of a team of 3 where any I would
solve all their doubts regarding the job they had or escalate some issues whose solutions I
don’t know.
6. Given below is a list of domains. Pick any two, and explain how you think you would fit
in for a role in the chosen domain. (300 words each; 200*2 = 400 words)

a. Business Analytics
I believe a job in business analytics is what would suit me. As a business analyst I
would get the opportunity to make sense of real time data and the process of number
crunching to make sense of it is something I believe I am good at. I have a good
knowledge of MS Excel and Power BI which further give me the confidence that I
can take up a job in business analytics with relative ease. I believe I have good
analytical and problem-solving skills which I can use as a business analyst to
contribute in a company positively.

b. Consulting

c. Finance

d. Human Resources

e. Marketing

f. Operations
I believe I would fit well in an operations related job. I’m a mechanical engineer and
operations research and production planning and control are courses which I took
during my engineering. Also, my father is VP Operations in Rich India Pvt. Ltd. So, I
also draw inspiration and insight from him. I would love to work in an FMCG
company where I am given to manage operations and supply chain of that company.

g. Entrepreneurship

7. Narrate a situation where you had to deal with an inefficient

teammate/colleague/subordinate; what did you do to bring about a change in their
approach to maintaining the team's productivity? (400 words)
During my time in TCS, when I was working for “Evo Energy” client as a QC, I had a
 production user under me whom I felt had a lot of potential but was not performing his
100%. I took a very friendly approach toward him. I tried to understand his social
situation and his likes and dislikes to understand him more. I built how much ever trust I
could build and tried to expand his horizons. As a result, his technical knowledge
increased significantly and his errors also reduced.

8. What do you believe has been the most important/most challenging decision that you’ve
made (work-related or personal) in your life so far? What were the significant factors that
you considered, and what were their consequences? If you look back on it now, would
you have done anything differently? (500 words)
I think recently the most important decision I had to take was selecting the right B-School
for me since in many ways it will shape me in what I will become in the future. I am
fairly satisfied with my choice of IIM Nagpur since it is in the centre of the country and
the professors are very knowledgeable here. Considering the calls I got from various B-
Schools I was particularly confused between IIM Kashipur, IIM Nagpur and IIM Ranchi
(BA). I immediately rejected IIM Ranchi as the seniors were very unfriendly there.
Between Kashipur and Nagpur, I gravitated more towards Nagpur due to excellent
professors and good industrial connectivity. I am positively satisfied with my choice. I
believe this IIM will provide me with great opportunities to improve myself and honing
my managerial skills. If I had to look back, I would definitely love to talk to the seniors
of each of the B-Schools to get further clarity while making decisions like these.

9. Narrate a situation where you encountered failure, and if given a chance, how would you
have tackled it differently to avoid that failure? (300 words)
During my time in TCS, When I worked for “Evo Energy”, due to some unforeseen
circumstances we were very much behind on our delivery. We as a team worked very
hard day and night to deliver the files by month end, but the quality of our files was not
that great. I believe if at the start of every month, if we had taken quality time in
analysing the hardships we might face in the future, we would be better prepared to face
situations like these which would significantly decrease the errors in our files leading to
customer satisfaction.
10. Tell us about one person you look up to, a role model, on personal and professional
fronts, and why? (There could be separate role models for each case or the same) (200*2
= 400 words)
I look up to Ratan Tata as my role model. I think it is very hard to find a man like him
who has passed so many hurdles in order to make the brand of Tata stand out in the world
without compromising on the quality. We associate Tata with a feeling of trust because
he painstakingly ensured that for us the consumers, the quality is not compromised. What
makes him a Ratan Tata a real gem is that despite achieving such high levels of success,
at the core he is a very humble person, nowadays it is a very rare combination.
Furthermore, due to his philanthropic activities, he has become the gem of everyone’s
eyes.

11. Pick a brand that you associate yourself with. Elaborate on what aspects stand out to be
common. (200 words)
I think the brand I would associate myself would be Amul. Normally in the
advertisements of Amul, enthusiastic and lively people are shown using that product and
I feel I can relate very much with the lively vibes of the Amul advertisements. Also, I
have consumed a lot of Amul products since my childhood from ice creams to butter to
cheese spread, so it is more than just a product, it is an emotion which I can resonate with
reasonably well. I think the way Amul portrays itself as a people’s brand is similar to
how I want to portray myself to the society as an amiable and helpful person.