When I left my job to prepare for CAT...

I remember the time when I had typed my resignation letter and how it took me more than five whole minutes to just click on the send button. It was quite scary to not have a job but then I wanted to chase my dream of going to a good b-school and for that I had to do well in MBA Entrance exams. Back then I thought that the comfort this job provides may end up being my excuse for not doing well.

I had been working with Deloitte for almost an year. An urge continuously irked me to get going on my dream and start preparing for the CAT exam. But my job salary, perks and status, all suited well to my life. Moreover, coming from a middle class family, the importance of money was drilled from quite a young age and I knew quitting the job could be a huge risk. But I wanted some strong motivation to do well in MBA Entrance exams. And after long discussions with friends and family, I decided to take that risk and give all my time towards exam preparation. I left my job and came back home.  

I began my preparation by giving mock tests. I started in August and I had just 3 months left for the exam. There was a lot on my platter -  no job, no stream of inflowing money, no habit of sitting and studying and mounting pressure of studies. Initially things looked difficult as I had lost my touch with studies and everyone around would keep reminding me of the ticking time. But I started to feel comfortable with how I was doing after a month. My mock test scores were improving. I had started making my strategies for the exam and things looked better.

Sharing some do’s and don’ts that aspirants might find useful:-

With just a month left for the exam day, I scored badly in two mock tests and lost my motivation but my mind kept on telling me that this is your only golden chance and you have to crack it. I believed in myself and things started to improve again and I increased my efforts as well to make sure that I get through in this very attempt. The support of family and friends kept me going. Also, I used to meditate to keep myself calm and improve concentration. So, all this proved to be fruitful as I scored 98.85 in XAT and 98.31%ile in SNAP. 

Then came the interviews. My strategy for interviews was: just be yourself! I had some of the most amazing experiences in those interview rooms, each was unique, tested me along different dimensions, and left me spellbound. The one common factor was that the interviewer is NOT out to scare you, or poke holes in your form, or expose a lack of depth in your knowledge: they genuinely want to understand who you are, why are you doing what you are currently doing, and what you want to do henceforth. And here I am now, on my way to Symbiosis to study for my MBA. If there is one takeaway from this journey for you, my reader, it would be to believe in yourself