10 Tips to Improve Confidence Quickly

If you want to improve confidence in your daily life, there are many ways you can go about it. This is, after all, a serious issue that affects every aspect of your life. It's worth devoting some time and energy to this goal!

The tips we will be covering here are not meant to be comprehensive, but designed to get you moving in the right direction. Some of them may not seem like they are directly connected to confidence, but they really are. These tips are not listed in any particular order of importance. Focus on the ones that you resonate with.

1. Learn how to breathe! Seriously, people lacking in confidence are usually shallow breathers. If you need help, study yoga, chi gung or look for books or courses on proper breathing. If you don't get enough oxygen, you will tend to feel anxious and lacking in confidence.

2. Get regular exercise. This is another way to get more oxygen, and it also gives you better health overall, which is important for confidence. Pick an exercise program you will enjoy, whether it involves sports, a gym or hiking outdoors.

3. Learn something new. Pick something that you don't urgently need to do, but that you always wanted to know, like a new language, art, dancing, cooking, a musical instrument or sport. Don't pressure yourself to excel at it, just have fun picking up a new skill.

4. Change your habits. Start in small ways, like the routes you walk or drive. Try eating different food, try a new hair style or way of dressing. It doesn't have to be drastic. The point is, people who lack confidence often seek a feeling of safety in comfortable routines -and stepping outside of your comfort zone is something you need to get comfortable with!

5. Get rid of clutter. Dump those old magazines, papers, clothes you'll never wear, broken toys from when you were twelve, etc. This is good advice for almost anyone, no matter what their issues. In this case of confidence, however, this will help you feel more clarity and a sense that you can move in new directions.

6. Pay attention to your speech patterns. Very often, people with low self confidence speak in a low or halting voice. Don't shout at people, but focus on making yourself heard. Do this when ordering your morning coffee, when talking on the phone or at a meeting at work.

7. Don't agree with everyone! Being agreeable is another habit many people need to break. Don't argue just for the sake of it; in fact you don't have to argue at all. The point is not to go out of your way to show people that you agree with them when you either disagree or are neutral. You could say something like, "I can see you point of view, but I haven't quite made up my mind yet." What you say is really not as important as how you feel as you're saying it. It's not your job to boost everyone else's ego!

8. Sit, stand and move with confidence. This may seem either silly or obvious, but how you hold yourself has a lot to do with how you feel about yourself. It works both ways. If you are feeling anxious or lacking in confidence, you will tend to slouch, look downwards and unconsciously try not to take up too much space. Yet doing these things reinforces these very feelings. So if you can sit up straight, look directly at people and walk in a way that shows you are comfortable in your own skin, you will feel this way.

9. Mirrors are your friend. At least, you can make friends with them. Very often, when we are not feeling confident, we don't like to look at our own reflection. This is another exercise that is very simple, and you don' t need to go overboard with it. When you are near a mirror, just look yourself in the eyes for a few seconds. Try to smile and feel some love for yourself. If you are in public, you can do this in a low key manner. Most importantly, don't avoid looking at yourself!

10. Keep up appearances. This may sound superficial, because it is! We are talking about appearances here. Dress in a way that makes you feel good about yourself. Likewise, keep your hair styled in a manner that compliments you. You don't need a gigantic budget to accomplish this. Just make the most of what you have, and pay attention to how you look. This isn't to impress people, it's to show yourself that you are taking the time to look your best.


Courtesy ArticleBase

Moderately paced, steady, and bang on target!!

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Well that's how I'd sum up my progress in my first (and fortunately, only) attempt at CAT. Without any background or knowledge whatsoever about Management, I'd decided to take the plunge. And a blind plunge it was.

I had started in July with an attempt at CAT 2006 (Dunno why? But still...), started joining online forums and contacting remote friends for advice. I realized I was really miserable at quant, and focussed on quant itself for the month. I started with Arun Sharma, and pretty soon I was sitting for hours solving exercises. I'd spend up to an hour on some LOD III problems, (no other respite!) and still hope to get somewhere...

In august I started scouting for help, and in the course, joined the TIME aimcat series and a revision series with Munira Lokhandwala. The actual number of fundae in CAT are quite few, and even in the revision series, I think pretty much everything was covered. In the months of August and September, I focused a lot on solving section tests, and in my test taking abilities. The most important lesson here was to program myself to leave a question in 30secs/1 min if I could not reach a solution.

September and October were again spent in taking a lot of mocks. I'd borrowed papers from IMS, CL, CF, and PT practically everywhere and used to solve some 2-3 mocks every week. The important point was comparing my attempts with the 'easy' questions as listed in the keys to the mock. I was very active on Pagalguy, constantly keeping myself updated on AIMCAT's and CL mocks.

The last 3 weeks were spent solving quant and DI Topicwise from old TIME papers. The key here was solving in a group, as even if one of us got the answer, we could see the approach and rapidly move ahead.

Another important point I'd like to highlight here is the effect that the mock tests had on my confidence levels. Getting a top 100 rank almost every time and comparing my attempts with other scorers made me more and surer of my strengths and weaknesses in handling the CAT. In the end, it’s the confidence that you have in yourself that enables you to perform your best…

A Summary of my results…

XAT....Big time flop, scored 60 percentile in quant!

NMAT.....finally selected, merit no 121

IIFT....waitlisted
FMS....Converted MBA (MS) Paid and then withdrew fees

MH MBA CET....99.83 percentile (after 3 Back to Back GDPI’s and some travelling)
SNAP..... All India written Topper, selected in SIBM.

CAT.....99.90 percentile, converted MDI.
IIM’s (Separate from CAT yaar, all important!) Converted AHMEDABAD,
Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode, Waitlist 152@ Lucknow

Moral of the story....No matter how many calls U convert, U are as good as the best college U converted. Cheers and best of luck!

Dinesh

IIM – Ahmedabad

Remaining Positive at Job Interview

Preparing for an important interview takes time and practice. The feeling of helplessness that overcomes candidates applying for a position can become a factor in the interview process. That sense of vulnerability can cause an interviewee to lack the self confidence that is sought by most employers. The following are tips and tricks can help you to take control of the interview.

Research, research, research. We would suggest that your research include, whenever possible, a conversation with an employee of the company or organization to explore the group culture which would clarify what they value, how they do business, how they treat people, and whether people enjoy working for them. The result of this arduous search will be the assurance that you can bring to an interview any and all available knowledge about the targeted company. This assurance will bolster the self confidence required to make that positive first impression and will help the candidate to be perceived as the problem solver that the company requires. The reason for this is that an employer will be seeking to hire someone capable of solving the company's problems.

Let me give you an Example! A well chosen example can be compared to the picture worth a thousand words which will vastly broaden the positive impact of any answer. Whenever possible, the question will be followed by a short but clear theoretical answer followed by the candidate saying: "Let me give you an example ". Use strategically chosen examples of your past achievements to clarify and illustrate your answers. A well chosen example can be compared to the picture worth a thousand words which will vastly broaden the positive impact of any answer. When asked about business solutions, for example, a candidate can show not only how he or she solved problems but also how they contributed to the success of others by quietly providing help and information behind the scenes which will show them as a team builder as well as a coach.

Answering the question. When a candidate is asked: "Tell us something about yourself", the standard ice breaker question, they could ask: "Do you mean personally or professionally". Answering the question, although it is not always easy, is an important part of controlling the interview. Such tactics portray a lack of focus and an inability or unwillingness to follow instructions all of which are characteristics undesirable in a potential employee. Answering the question, although it is not always easy, is an important part of controlling the interview.

Remain positive at all times. Being able to retrieve the positive elements of even the most negative situation is a desirable characteristic in an employee. Let us take an extreme example. Being fired or downsized can be the most negative experience possible. Yet some of the most successful executives in the history of business have been fired at some point in their career. Those who continued to be successful were not demoralized. They were able to portray there firing as a key learning experience and many were subsequently able to show exactly how what they learnt from that experience contributed to their future success.

The knowledge inherent in all four of these strategies will put the candidate in the power position of being able to deliver the message of their choice to a potential employer under any and all circumstances including the unpredictable situational questions. Practicing and mastering the techniques with friends, colleagues and references will bolster the confidence level of an applicant and will make any interview a positive experience.

Courtesy Article Base

Tips on How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Is it your first time for a job interview? Feeling quite nervous about it? Well you don't actually have to because if you do, you will not be able to concentrate well on your interview. Here are some tips to follow which may help you to be prepared enough for your job interview.

1. Do some research about the job
Find out as much as you can about the company or the organization. List the names of officers, department heads and managers
so you can identify to whom you should send your resume.

2. Be on time
It is the best way to start your interview right. Not only do employers not appreciate waiting for job applicants, but they will also think you are not careful about being on time for work or meeting deadlines. Remember first impression does matter, so don't let your employers have a bad impression on you by not being on time.

3. Wear appropriate clothes
Dress neatly and in a style appropriate for the job you are seeking.

4. Put your best foot forward
Remember one of the most important reasons for the interview is to show that you have the ability to do the job. Impress your employers by your witty answers and by being positive without being boastful though. Be courteous, alert and attentive all throughout the interview.

5. Ask questions
The interview is a two way process. Interviewers will more likely appreciate it if you will ask questions pertaining to the job you are applying for and it simply shows that you are really interested to be part of their company.

6. Write a "thank you" letter
Write a letter thanking the person or people you spoke to at the interview. You may also include in your letter clarifications about something during your interview.

With the tips mentioned, surely your interview will be a success. Just stay calm and be confident. As the saying goes "Do your best and God will do the rest."


Courtesy ArticleBase

Believing in Yourself, Succeeding and Making Dreams Come True

I have been thinking about aspiration and survival. Take a family and community whose culture places massive value on aspiration and the qualities of life that nurture it - protection, promotion, love and respect, nurturing. The right to believe in yourself; making dreams come true, being real, succeeding, finding fulfillment – without paying a huge price - is an integral part of that culture. Survival is presumed.

Then look at a culture where pain and suffering are elevated to the status of the only worthwhile human experience. The most important person is perhaps the son of God, who ended up on a cross, being tortured to death out of love for ordinary folks. Perhaps each person is born with a brand of sin on their soul, and if they get it wrong in life they end up in hell. Sex is dirty. Poverty, suffering and self-denial are saintly virtues.

Combine that deadly, asphyxiating, soul and heart-destroying culture with perhaps a family one driven by a parent whose needs are paramount, who will even fake crises. Add a dash of molestation or worse to the mix and you end up with a somewhat minimized capacity to survive in the world let alone develop any aspirations you may have.

In such an environment, everybody is trying to survive - and learning from the parent how to do it at the expense of others. If there is a child with talent or strong aspirations, the family will stifle it, and they are unlikely to be aware of what they are doing. The message on the surface may be "we love you" but the real one is "drop dead, there is no ways we are going to let you get ahead."

I had aspirations of what I wanted to do from a young age, but I had a jealous parent and siblings and there was not even enough attention for me to learn how to survive in the world. So I have spent my life wrestling with just survival, when inside my heart and soul I have been longing to fly. My aspirations have always burned from within. But if you do not know how to survive, you can forget about being able to develop your aspirations. I have often felt like a wild animal thrashing against the bars of its cage.

The good news is that you can work with what you were exposed to in the past to change your life forever. I know, because I am doing it; building self-esteem, entitlement and emotional fluency and correcting misshapen beliefs and myths about life and who I am. What my family and my culture could not do for me I am learning to do for myself. Survive well, and flourish, without compromising myself.  I am changing my life and stepping out of history.

I reckon next time I am born it is going to be in a nurturing family culture, with lots of love, emotional fluency, lots of celebration of aspirations, great generosity of spirit - which would be cosmically stepping out of history I guess!


Courtesy ArticleBase

Are You Really Serious About Achieving Your Goals?

If so, here are two simple steps that I share with audiences as a university speaker that really work. And this works not only for me but for hundreds of thousands of people who use slight variations of this system.

Step 1: Make ‘Em Top-of-Mind

To be successful it is crucial that I keep all my goals "totally top of mind". In order to accomplish this I know that I will need to focus and bend each and every one of my 300 billion or so neuron brain cells to this task.

First, I printout a list of all my weekly goals and stick them on the wall right over my desk where I cannot help but look at them each and every day. And the goals look back at me!

Remember, this isn't a to-do list. It's a list of the most important outcomes or goal achievements that I expect to have accomplished by a given day every week. On the left side I write my primary goals for the week (maximum of 3), and on the right side I list my secondary goals (this week I have 8 of those).

Step 2: Find an Accountability Buddy

Another tool that can be amazingly powerful in goal achievement is to have someone who will hold you accountable to achieving your weekly goals. In my case, it is my brother and best friend, Adam.

Every Monday morning we meet to go over our goals. We both play supportive and positive-only re-enforcement roles in achieving our goals. He holds me totally accountable and I serve the same purpose with him. While we are supportive, we also freely dish out a little sass if the other did not follow through on what he said he would during the week. To be candid, we have found that we would much sooner disappoint ourselves than we would disappoint each other.

I setup my primary goals such that achieving even one of them is better than achieving all the secondary or sub-set goals combined. Whenever you achieve one of your weekly goals, just draw a line through it; give yourself a mental high-five and save it. Then at the end of the week, the paper now contains your accountability record for the week. You can see which goals you achieved and which you didn't, and then you can think about how you can improve next week.

Maybe you were overly ambitious. Maybe you got off track because of too many distractions. Analyze your week! Maybe you achieved most of your secondary goals but none of your primaries. Perhaps you even achieved all your goals and now you are ready to step up your efforts. Remember to rejoice in your victories; it will drive you to higher goal achievement.

Both Adam and I keep all of our weekly goal lists on our laptops and review them often as the list of goals is ever expanding and this becomes a great way for both of us to lay the ground for autobiographies (A long term 10 year goal of mine!).

I also like that whenever I see my goal sheet, I see all my goals for the week, and this reminds me of where I want to be by the weekend. I am also reminded of my commitment to Adam.

If you follow these two steps, you stand an excellent chance of achieving whatever it is you want in life. I can personally attest to the fact that I would not be a successful university speaker today if it weren't for this wonderfully simple system.

Courtesy Article Base

The power to move on against all odds

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are. Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal. It was in 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built. Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site which took the life of John Roebling. Also, Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move. 
"We told them so."       "Crazy men and their crazy dreams."  "It`s foolish to chase wild visions."
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.
He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.
It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered crazy and foolish by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do. This shows us that even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.

Courtesy Article Base

Interview Process in MBA Entrance

If you have a face to face interview, remember that professional appearance and punctuality makes first impression the best. Admission officers will also ask your motivation for pursuing MBA. An MBA is a big investment, and it is important to ensure that the candidate is pursuing an MBA for the right reason. It is worth preparing some questions to ask the interviewer to show that you have done your homework. The interview is a reflection and how you will participate in a lectures and case study discussion.

In some cases, admission officers are unable to conduct personal interview with Indian candidates so the application form is the only means of assessing candidate motivation and abilities. An MBA demands a high degree of effort and commitment. Solid credentials, good work experience, or even sound academic achievements do not outweigh an application that is poorly presented. Admission officers will be questioning the motivation of someone who has not take the time and effort to complete their form carefully. Initially write a draft version so that the final version is perfect in all respect. Application essays enable evaluation of the candidate ability to communicate their thoughts in clear, concise manner. Improperly prepared essays shows that candidate has not put much time or thought into the application. Extracurricular activities such as voluntary work can strengthen an application. Moreover includes achievements that demonstrate your integrity, motivation, leadership, creativity and team work skill.

A reference letter from a senior manager, particularly from a well known organization, is desirable. However, admission officer recognize that many talented applicant work in a family business, or small firms. Successful candidates are those who have the drive, capacity for hard work, along with team work, communication and analytical skills that can help them to reach higher posts after completing the program.

GMAT (graduate management aptitude test)

It is a computer adaptive test mandatory for advanced study in business and management. All business school will assess the GMAT score of the candidate before giving admission to MBA programs. It measures student's general, verbal, analytical, mathematical and problem solving skills. The quantitative section of the test measures basic mathematical, analytical and problem solving skill of the candidate. GMAT consists of seven subdivision each consisting of multiple choice questions. Total testing time is three hours and 30 minutes that is held six days a week for three weeks every months. Score validity is 5 years.

TOFEL- test of English as a foreign language evaluates the English proficiency of people whose native language is not English. About 2400 education institutes in the US and Canada requires TOFEL SOCRES FOR ADMISSION. The test is also used by institutes in other countries where English is the language of instruction. TOFEL tests the ability to understand north American English. TOFEL test is administered as a computer based test in India.

Computer based test has no question paper or answer sheets. It will have different set of questions for different examinees. Also, it never gives an answer of not answering a question. The test is scored out of 300 and the duration of the test is 4 hours.

Courtesy: Articlesbase.com

Benefit from Effective Time Management Techniques

Effective time management skills show you how to utilize your time and get a list of things done in a scheduled time frame. People who are able to accomplish all tasks on a list in the given time, they are known to have good time management techniques. So, how to develop good time management skills so that your hours are not wasted and you are ahead of the feeling of failure!  

Weaker time management means more worry and more tasks on your back. You can see the problems it would cause if you lack those skills. It could impact your job if you fail to realize goals. There are emotional impacts when we have the feeling of failure, and that we have wasted away a day when we could have been doing something else.

Good time management skills start with a planner. It keeps heed of your everyday activities. Before you start planning in a day to day planner you have to examine the things you are doing to waste time, and eliminate them. Then only go to the next step. Stick to the golden rules of effective time management - and good old common sense. Don't try to over-plan or achieve something unrealistic. You shouldn't plan over 168 hours of your week. Make sure you eat and sleep well, and have time for other necessary activities.

Realistic goals are easy to achieve – if you know a project is going to take you 20 minutes, don't write 15 minutes down.

Employers value people with better time management skills. A squanderer of time is profitable to the workplace, and the boss is not likely to be happy with that outcome. People with poor time management skills are usually deemed lazy and unproductive. It's hard to hold fast to a job with those qualities on your resume.

Don't you long for a better life, productive and more rewarding! Consider adopting good time management techniques to reap more time and downsize clutter. Make sure you first start with a goal in your mind and then set off materializing them. Stick to your game plan you have designed for each day. Developing effective time management skills takes some time. That's why you will need to organize your habits to discard the unproductive ones. When you use your time effectively, you will find yourself feeling less stress, and having more time to enjoy your life, your work, your dreams and desires.

Courtesy: Articlesbase.com

For the MBA / IIM aspirants

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To set up a little credentials so that U all do read, and if read do try to think on whatever I say:
My Education details:
Schooling - Don Bosco School
Graduate - BBS from S.S College of Business Studies, Delhi University (rated No. 1 in Asia)
Post Graduation - MBA from IIM Indore (In my very first attempt)

I know, I know... U must be getting this gyan from many in the market, given the fact that they want to make the most (read: money) from the fact that u wish to make a corporate carrier.
However, I will not be earning much (may be I earn a little from the Ads -if any), and probably u can well presume that I am not here for money.


Hope that adds some credentials to whatever I say:

Firstly, guys do not make the mistake of thinking that IIM is a key to the RBI safe vault. It is sure a ladder to success but not to gold. Think of your future career in terms of your desire rather than just pay package (though I wont disagree that the major motivating factor for me was the pay package EXPECTED). Its only few (read 5% people out of all the top B school students) get a handsome salary which is hyped in such a way that it seems that this is the minimum one can expect (All thanks to our MEDIA).
If you really wish to go for an MBA, then do make sure to be true to yourself and work hard towards it. It is no ways a cake walk but not even impossible. Most of us get bogged down by the fact that there are around 2,25,000 students appearing for CAT. But, if we apply some analytical skills to this numbers we see:
Around 1,80,000 appear for the entrance
Out of this, only 30% of the people are the one who have worked hard for CAT.
That leaves to 54,000 only. Out of this 54000, its only around 50% people who have the skill set to crack CAT. That then leaves me with only 27000 aspirants.
Approx 2700 seats in IIMs for 27000 aspirants - that is whooping 10% success rate. I think that a very decent success rate in today's market.
So DON'T DON'T go just by the numbers of aspirants. Go by the actual number of competitors u have for the IIMs seat.
Once, u have that self confidence and determination, be sure 50% of the work is done.
Attribute 30% to your skill sets and 20% to luck (yes, yes, yes... LUCK plays a decent role... I feel myself, that I was indeed one of the lucky ones in the year 2006).

Will write more into it as time permits from my job.... ;)

CAT Preparation: A detailed analysis

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What does it take to crack the CAT?

The first and most important requirement to crack the CAT is aptitude. If you don’t have it, it’s very difficult to get a good CAT score. Aptitude is one thing that cannot be acquired or built up by practice. But don’t think that this fact undermines the importance of practice in the course of CAT preparation. While you may have the right aptitude, you may falter on the D-day just because you don’t have the right temperament and attitude to face the situation. The pressure on the day is immense and, unless you have built the confidence to face it by practising under simulated environment and doing a detailed analysis of your performance throughout the preparation period, you can very well have a bad day when it matters. While aptitude determines the zone in which your CAT score may finally lie, practice reduces the variability of that score and tends to push your score towards the ceiling of your zone. Practice does not mean taking numerous mock tests to get familiar with the kind of questions that may be asked or to optimise your time distribution for the various sections of the paper. The more important part entails that you analyse each and every paper you take to identify the kinds of problems you are good at and the types of mistakes you make. After identifying your strengths and weaknesses you need to take subsequent papers with the aim of improving your knack of picking the problems you can solve easily (and also in quick time, as an easy problem which takes a lot of time is no good). Moreover, you need to work on your weaknesses too, because you never know what will be the exact pattern of the paper and you may run out of easy problems to solve. But before all this you need to develop the platform for making your practice sessions more effective. This can be done by revising the theoretical concepts thoroughly so that you don’t make blunders at later stages. So, the right mix of aptitude, theory, practice and analysis will help you sail through one of the most competitive exams in the world!

What was my strategy for CAT?

My strategy for CAT was simple. As I said you cannot acquire aptitude by any means, I thought it was no point worrying about something I do not have control upon. If I had the ability it will be evident in the result, otherwise it will make me a wiser person in terms of understanding my weaknesses. So, I just concentrated on building up my confidence of taking the paper in a pressure situation and worked on my temperament throughout the period. For this, I first brushed up the concepts and then started the practice sessions, coming back to the concepts whenever I felt the need. I did not take too many tests, a blunder many people do during CAT preparation, but focussed on analysing each and every paper thoroughly. I also took self administered previous years’ CAT papers and followed them up with analysis. This helped in steadying my performance towards the end of the preparation period when I was able to get more or less similar scores in most of the tests I took. I was also pretty confident of myself in the real CAT and was sure I could handle any kind of variation they might put in the paper.

Tips for Various Sections:

a.    Reading Comprehension

RC is all about reading more and more, be it newspapers, novels or internet articles to make yourself familiar with various styles of writing and to improve your reading speed without compromising on comprehension. Apart from that attempting the RC passages in the mocks you take and analysing your answers to understand why your viewpoint differed from the actual answer is also important. Even if you are not able to cover all the passages within the time limit for the mock, you should attempt them later keeping appropriate time constraints.

b.    Verbal Ability

The VA part tests your foundation of grammar as well as vocabulary. Vocabulary can be improved by doing a lot of reading, which may be combined with RC practice. But the important thing is to be on the lookout for unfamiliar words and understanding their meaning as well as the various contexts in which the word can be used. This is necessary because the same word can have different meanings in different contexts. Your grammar can be tested directly in sentence correction/completion or in questions like parajumbles, etc. For this you need to brush up the basics and identify the subtle variations that may confuse you. This should be followed up with a lot of practice to build an instinctive ability to sense anything wrong in a sentence.

c.    Logical Reasoning

You can improve your logical reasoning ability by getting familiar with all the types of questions possible, though there is a limit to the improvement. Search for some good books on logical reasoning and practice hard. Also cover all the questions in the mocks and previous CAT papers.

d.    Data Interpretation

DI requires you to be good with numbers, in terms of interpretation ability as well as quick calculations. So, improve upon these two qualities by solving sufficient number of problems and practising the various shortcut techniques available for calculations. If you are not comfortable with the techniques, u may make blunders in the CAT or may have to fall back upon the time taking regular calculation methods.

e.    Quantitative Ability

The first thing to do for quant is to be thorough with your concepts, as this is one section where your concepts are really tested. Then you should improve your ability to apply the concepts by practising a lot. Fast calculation ability will also come in handy for this section.  

Ashutosh Jha

IIM- Lucknow

IIT- Delhi

When My Dream became a Reality

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It was the summers of 2004, final year of college, when appearing for CAT crossed my mind for the first time. I remember attending a free session on CAT for newbies. The guy giving the lecture was trying to explain how difficult it is to make it to an IIM. There were 160 odd of us sitting in that conference room and he said "In a typical CAT scenario only one out of you will make it to an IIM". At that point of time i was like "Dude, are you nuts" (I said that to myself). I tried calculating the probability of me making in decimals and i fumbled after the first zero. While the guy at that point was saying "Typical IIMer finish long calculation in less than a minute, for which we mortal beings require calc. (For that calc effect blame it to my 2 years of dumb IT job).

We were doing our summer internship/design projects (read doing absolutely nothing) at that time so joined coaching classes along with a dozen of batch mates. We used to go to the class early morning after a typical engineering night out (ah, how badly i miss those night outs now).

My first impression about CAT

Quant: Now this is what is gonna be my forte. Being a 100/100 marker many times in school and being an engineer, quant is gonna be a cake walk for me.

DI/LR: My logical abilities are great. But these calculations in DI, gosh!!! i missed my calc so badly.

Verbal: Being a Bihar boarder, studying in hindi till 10th, this sure is gonna be a tough nut to crack.

CAT's first impression about me

Quant: Oh this guy thinks he is very smart. Let’s give him back. He will struggle to clear the cut offs, constantly.

DI/LR: This guy can not be more right.

Verbal: So what if you are a Bihar boarder, your grammar is all right, your reading speed is great, just finish off the Norman lewis soon.

Within a month, I had stopped attending the classes, I found them useless. I had suddenly found a new interest in "Movie Making". Was spending hours with camera and editing the movie clips.

After the summer was over, I had finished 3 chapters of Norman lewis, a few mock cats and 6 short movies. Come October, the big news arrived. Our (team of 3) movie had been nominated to Berlin short film festival in micromovie categories. And expectedly was followed by 15 days of fame (yeah, we were on newspapers, tv, internet). In November we were to go to Berlin to attend the festival. Did somebody ask what happened to the CAT 2004.

CAT 2004: 87 Percentile

Come 2005, Joined HP along with dozen of batch mates. Nothing much to say here. With little enthusiasm, joined a test series, mock scores were again like previous year, varying from 80 to 98 percentiles. Didn’t ever bothered to look back into the mock papers once I took them. How bad it cost me :( .

CAT 2005: 94 Percentile

Year 2006, Frustration grows. Still at HP. Joined a coaching classes this time but hardly ever attended it. Was there only for Mock CATs and also didn't miss any free opportunities by the biggies. We were group of 6 friends slogging it out together. We were also doing mock cats at home other than those on Sundays. I relied on the strategy of postmortem of mock cats. Will always miss cut offs in one of the sections with over all being pretty descent. As the C-Day was coming near, scores were increasing but so was the nervousness. How badly I wanted this year to count was evident.

Took a week long break from work just before the exam. Didn't have the stamina to study in last 2-3 days. The C day finally arrived. Could hardly sleep in the night, was nervous like hell. Tried not to pay any heed to "all the best" messages, but those messages and phone calls were making me believe that the occasion was much more larger than i had initially thought. I was burdened with all those best wishes and pressure to perform. Was trying all those "tips to cool myself".

• Taking deep breaths
• Drinking glasses of water.

Was kinda convincing myself, "Let it just start once, you'll forget everything else". And it indeed did. I started with Verbal (had followed the strategy of giving 40 minutes to it, and 55 minutes each to DI and Quant all through mocks). Since the going was tough, gave full 50 minutes and attempted almost all. DI seemed walk through and so looked Quant, untill disaster struck. (It all seems so funny now :P) Never ever in my life I had such an urge to go out and have a pee. I in fact checked out the possibility of it during the CAT paper but expectedly wasn't allowed. Last 15 minutes were unbearable, left the paper with my heads down, was trembling, almost tears in my eyes. 15 minutes in a CAT paper are too much to be wasted, was going to realize it later. After the paper I rushed out for the nearest loo only to find a long queue there.

 Fast Forward to January 2nd, 2007

CAT 2006: 99.46 (DI: 97.04, VA: 99.96, QA: 90.70)

The scores looked pretty descent, with doubts over the quant score.

IIMA comes out with the calls. Rejected.

IIMC Rejected, B Rejected, L Rejected.

Quant score had me in big time. Finally Indore gave me a call (I still remember the sigh of relief I had). K Rejected (Couldn't believe).

All just doesn’t end here. XAT scores: 99.67 (DI: 99+, VA:87+, QA:98+) but no call from XLRI either. To top it all when MDI declared its GD PI call list, my name didn't figure even there. Though after repeated phone calls and mail exchange they finally gave me a call, and in JMET at rank 429 calls from IIT B and D would have been a miracle only.

Time for final results

NITIE (PGDISEM) : WL 4
SPJAIN: WL 4 (finally converted)
Few days back i booked a railways ticket to my home town: WL4
IIFT: WL

And after painfully agonizing wait IIMs came out with their results.
I remember I was literally hitting F5 every second on the IIM result page the day it was out. And probably I was the first one to see the result as well.

Opened the result page, was trembling while keying in my registration number, hit the RESULT button, and here it was..

Name : VISHAL KUMAR JALAN Registration No. : 5150531

You have been selected for admission to PGP (2007-2009) of IIM Indore.

And there it was. A mix of shock, excitement and don’t know what. I just punched my fist in the air and everything after that was a blur. Was unable to think or speak anything. I had made it to the one of the most coveted institute of India.

My DrIIM had come true!!!!!!!

Vishal Jalan

IIM- Indore

Pursuing a Dream

For accessing quality CAT tests login to www.mymbaprep.com and for guidance and discussing your doubts with IIM mentors login to www.careerinfoline.com.

Any preparation for CAT is a waste if you are not confident enough to face the challenge. So, the first and foremost thing is to be well prepared, especially in your weak areas. Nothing can ever replace practice. So, take every Mock CAT as if it is the real CAT and the real CAT like a Mock CAT. Thoroughly analyze your Mock CAT so as to identify your mistakes and weak areas and progressively work towards improving them. Bring focus in your preparation.

In order to be mentally prepared for the exam, be ambitious and never ever think that cracking CAT is not possible for you. You just have to believe in yourself and your ambition should be to get admission in the best institute. It is extremely essential that you remain calm and focused during the exam time. Every single minute, or should I say every single second, counts. Forget about the world and believe that you will make your destiny on the exam day. If you think you are not motivated enough to work hard for this, then try to fascinate yourself by the life at a B-school. That will help you bring that motivation from within you to work for the goal.

Don’t fear sounding stupid if you don’t understand something. Don’t keep your any doubts unanswered. Discuss your doubts with your friends and teachers. There should not be single doubt in your mind on the exam day. That will help you communicate and be confident and this is what u all need for the exam. Only a confident mind can be cool and being composed during the exam time is a virtue for all.

Life @ IIM or for that matter at a premier B-school in India is one a must-have experience if someone has not been to IIT in his life. For IITians, IIM is better . You get to interact with so many brilliant individuals. So much to learn and so must to develop yourself that you would have thought that college life should have been for an eternal lifetime.

In the end, don’t ever feel disheartened by your failure. Everyone has a potential to excel in life under any circumstances and at any place. In life what matters if working to for the goals which you always wanted to achieve. Strive hard and you the wonders and laurels your hard work can bring to you.

Gaurav Goel

IIM – Lucknow

IIM- Ahmedabad, an Experience worth Sharing!!

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It was one of the most prestigious moments of my life when I walked into the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad campus. There was a sense of accomplishment and happiness.

There wasn’t any gap in my calendar, not even a Sunday, since I started preparing for CAT and other exams. First there were the written tests and then interviews and to add to all this, my college exams. Once here, the entire fatigue almost disappeared. However, there was this strange feeling of not knowing what would be coming up in next few days in a strange place full of strangers!

I had joined as a doctoral student but no one seemed to believe it after meeting me. I was the youngest in the lot and therefore had many people to take care of me.  I thank God for that!!!  This is how my life as an FPM started at IIM A.

Fellow Program in Management (FPM) is a doctoral program offered by all IIMs. The FPM program prepares students to pursue a career, which requires high scholastic aptitude and academic research. Therefore, it looks for highly motivated students interested in academics and having an inclination towards research. It is a four and half year long rigorous course which requires lots of patience and focus. At IIMA, It is offered in 10 different areas of specialization.

The institute considers different scores, for different areas of specialization, which include GATE, UGC-JRF and CAT etc. Candidates are shortlisted on the basis of the scores and have to appear for an interview which basically gauges the academic preparation and the motivation levels for research. The interview process is once in a lifetime experience. It is not a stress interview but an opportunity to interact with some of the best minds in the field of management. The interview was fun and I actually mean it.  I recommend everybody undergoes it once just for the experience of it.

 I am a life science student and had no background of management when I appeared for the interview. However, I had revised thoroughly everything that I had studied in my post graduation. The panel asked me questions based on what I had studied and then listened patiently to my answers. The panel was more than happy to hear me out and even guide me if required. And thus with a faculty dinner starts a long and arduous journey called FPM.

 There were questions on current affairs related to agriculture – the area I had applied for, a few general questions testing my knowledge of management and statistics; and some HR questions testing soft skills. And at the end of 45 minutes, I wanted to sit there and continue to chat but they said that they were done. J

The course is designed with several different phases. The first year courses are the same as the PGPs and provide a general overview of management. Second year focuses on the area of specialization with doctoral level courses in the respective areas. This is the time when a student gets to know more about his/ her area and has the opportunity to dig deep into the areas of interest along with development of research skills. The next two years are basically the doctoral dissertation where an individual makes the contribution to the chosen area of specialization. All through these years, an FPM student needs to have patience and the passion to work on his/her area of interest. This is how a long and trying journey of an FPM concludes but the learning continues.

The 4.5 years of FPM will help you grow intellectually, personally and professionally. All you need is to be serious and perseverant and above all, have faith in yourself.

 Varsha Khandkar

IIM- Ahmedabad

CAT, How do you crack it?

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If there is one question that everybody is going to ask you after you crack the CAT it is, “How did you prepare?” Now you might think, “Well, I haven’t yet, I mean I might but…” I would say a huge part about tackling the exam is mental/emotional and believing that you are going to make might just be the perfect starting point.

When I decided to write the CAT a lot of people around me thought it was the prefect plan for disaster. I had done rather well in my Bachelors and an academic career seemed to be the safest and most obvious thing to do. I had my own reasons to go ahead with my plans and did just that.

All this was fine but had to be put in action. So I joined a coaching centre in Kolkata (a relatively smaller one, not one of the bigger names). Faculty was very good but did not bother to check if the students were really keeping up.

Having done my Bachelors in English literature, I had assumed I would have a bad time with quants. However, most of the topics are pretty basic and it was only the level of difficulty that was a challenge. I worked for about 2 hours on QA and 1 on DI and vice versa on alternate weeks. I was solving Arun Sharma and given time was able to crack a decent number of the LOD III problems and was feeling quite pleased with myself.

Then the first simulated CAT happened and I didn’t feel that great after all. I realized I wasn’t even able to concentrate for 2 and a half hours at one stretch. Also, I realized that while I was reasonably comfortable handling the quants chapters, doing the section as a whole meant quite something different. I also needed to pull up my DI scores.

For the QA section I started solving sections from old material (plenty available and impossible to do those many mock-tests). Also, I subscribed to the Quant a Day thread from Pagalguy.

My scores started picking up in both the sections but overall it was a bit skewed. I spent barely any time on the English section and consequently the overall score wasn’t as high as it could be.

A lot of people were enrolled at multiple places and that sometimes worried me a bit. So I enrolled for a test series at another institute as well. It was hectic but I guess it wasn’t a bad decision. I managed to balance the two and performing at both places certainly boosted my confidence.

I made it a point to review each test I wrote, no matter how pressed for time I was.

That was pretty much it for the written part. It’s obviously not a prescription. Cracking the test is about finding the right balance and I have just told you how I found mine.

When the results were out I was naturally happy but worried as well. Having come this close I didn’t want any slips. Also getting leave for all the interview dates seemed to be a problem. I was barely on my sixth month at office and wanted a few scattered days off for a reason which I didn’t want to disclose. I was lucky enough to have a supportive boss so at least the leave bit was taken care of.

For the interview I did the routine: read newspapers and magazines, brushed up college stuff and got down to the details about the project I was working on. Also joined an IIM batch for mock GDs and PIs. I won’t say each session was very valuable but it’s good to be part of it. You’ll get to know the people you will be competing with and can form a small group where you can share articles, tips etc.I definitely gained confidence and it showed with time.

The interviews had a few googlies. At one particular interview I was asked to compare Mahadevi Varma to Mahashweta Devi. I had studied Hindi in school, else wouldn’t have known what to say. One might say a student of English literature should not be expected to know this. I have also had Chemical engineer friends who complained that they were asked questions about Chemistry not Chemical Engineering. So this kind of thing is quite possible and I suppose it’s your poise and demeanor that saves you then.

Again there are some typical questions and some prescriptive answers too. A lot of things are said to be total no-nos. Then again there will be some story doing the rounds about how this totally arrogant guy took on the panel heads on and wowed them completely. It is best to be oneself of course and confidence isn’t a bad thing at all. Also the vibes you get from the panel would give you a sense of how to handle it.

So that’s what I remember of my CAT prep, have fun with yours!

Tanya Choudhary

IIM- Ahmedabad