Stick to the point; in the resume as well as in the interview.

About the Author:

Meenal Gupta (Assistant Manager Reckitt Benckiser, MBA IIT Kanpur)

"Truly believe in the saying that every single thought and action creates a ripple effect, hence think good do good and goodness will soon follow you."

MA: How has the journey from BSchool to the industry been like? Do you think choices made at the college level, have influenced your career path?

Meenal: For me, the journey from Bschool to Industry has been really exciting and at the same time overwhelming as well. Since I was a fresher when I joined the MBA program, a lot of practical learnings came only when I joined the industry.

Choices made at the college level did influence my career path especially during the time of placements. I think it is very important that as students we should think about what sort of career do we want to pursue rather than focusing on the package that we are getting. We might be getting a good package in a company but the role might be not be something we are looking for or want to build our career in. Hence it is important to figure that out and give interviews with companies offering similar kinds of roles.

MA: What does your typical day as a project/stakeholder manager looks like at Reckitt Benckiser?

Meenal: My typical day at RB looks the way I want it to look. The best thing about RB or my team and my role is, it gives me a lot of flexibility and ownership in terms of how I want to manage my work. There is a lot of say I used to get even when I was new in the company on what I feel is right for the project, or how it should be done. There are a lot of projects I have worked with, I get the autonomy to make decisions on my own, talk to all levels of stakeholders, manage vendors, etc thus leading to getting the credit when good work is done along with getting the scolding also when something goes wrong.

MA: Please share some of your life learnings with our readers, things that will help them excel in their careers?

Meenal: Some learnings which I have gathered over a short span of my career are:

a)     Never write an angry Email. If you feel angry and want to immediately reply to an email- shut down your laptop, go and walk somewhere for 10mins, calm yourself, and then respond to the email.

b)     Never hold a grudge against someone especially in the office, you will be the only one who will be affected by it. Forgive, forget, and move on.

c)     Be calm, focus on your work rather than the politics that happens in offices (happens in every office). Learn to ignore it.

d)     Apologize, Accept your mistakes.

e)     Stand up for yourself or others when you feel something is wrong

f)       Everyone is replaceable, hence learn to prioritize yourself, your health, your family, hobbies, etc. Give time to yourself, learn to balance your work with your life, and not balance your life with your work.

g)     Last and foremost, take a chill pill. Relax and enjoy your life and you will start enjoying your work.

MA: Any tips for students in the final year of MBA, on how to grab their dream jobs?

Meenal: Some tips:

a)     As mentioned before, at the time of placements apply for roles you are interested in, not just for the sake of getting more package or not for the sake of getting a job, better leave it for the candidates who want it (At least that is what I did)

b)     Be real- the interviewer has more experience than you and has been through the same process of applying for jobs, hence he/she will be able to figure out the exaggerations mentioned in your resume

c)      Be confident- If you are real in the interview, you will automatically be confident about the things you say

d)     Give examples- Try and give examples of the questions asked. Try to follow the STAR model- Situation, Task, Action, Result (Mention measurable results if possible)

e)     Customized Resume- Modify your resume according to different companies and different roles for it to be more relevant thus increasing your chances of getting shortlisted

f)      Stick to the point- In the resume as well as the interview try to keep your answers short, crisp, and to the point

g)     In the end, enjoy the ride and create memories as this will be one of the best experiences of your life!