About the Author
Niharika Prajapati (IIM Calcutta 2020-22)
MA: What inspired you to prepare for CAT/MBA?
Niharika: During my work tenure at Siemens Healthcare, I was very much inspired by the things which shaped the products, the considerations which were taken to build a customer-centric product, etc. I felt like I belonged to the other side of the table so I took CAT to upscale my career.
MA: How you managed to prepare while working?
Niharika: It was quite difficult. I had a nine hours job schedule. I used to get up in the morning hours and make the best use of my time. I used to attempt mocks, sectionals during the morning. Then, I followed up on the doubts and analyses after coming from the office. It is all about time management. If you plan your schedule right, you will find time to manage and excel in both.
MA: How did you begin the preparation, did you have a strategy or plan for the upcoming months before the D-day?
Niharika: My preparation was mostly concentrated around understanding basics and taking up mocks. First, I finished all the four books by Arun Sharma. Then, I started taking sectional tests and mock tests. I worked on my accuracy and then scaled it up to attempt more and more questions. Every day, I used to fix up a schedule in the morning and keep my learning targets aligned. My D-day strategy was based on taking up the right questions. I spent a reasonable amount of time first scanning around the type of questions, classifying them, and then taking the ones I was comfortable with.
MA: Which was your strongest and weakest area? Did you focus on bettering your strong areas or worked to improve your weaker ones?
Niharika: My strongest area was DILR and the weakest was quantitative aptitude. I knew the concepts well but couldn't speed up my calculations initially. It took me a lot of time and practice to bring up a command in Quantitative Aptitude. I used to put timer and practice aptitude questions regularly. I kept a small notebook for formulas and revised them up.
MA: Can you share some of your interview experiences?
Niharika: It was all varied and intriguing. Sometimes the focus was on academics and sometimes on hobbies. I was asked a lot of questions relating to my hometown and work experience.
MA: Any tips for CAT 2020 aspirants?
Niharika: Commitment is the key to success. Keep on revising and solving. For interviews, have a clear understanding of your MBA story that you may plan to pitch in. Work on your concepts, they will be the foundation of your success.
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