When Varun Khanna entered Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida in 2007, the world seemed at his feet. The global economy was surging ahead and India was leading the charge. It all changed with the 2008 Lehmann Brothers-led sub-prime crisis, and the global economy went into recession. Like Varun Khanna, B-school students were filled with a sense of dread about placements. Surprisingly, despite the recession, Jaipuria Noida’s placement programme began with a bang in November 2008. Varun was targeting the Analytics/ Research and Banking sectors. To his immense relief, his target companies like Grail, Essar and Deutsche Bank began making the rounds of the Jaipuria Noida campus towards the beginning of January 2009.
“After completion of quantitative aptitude test, group discussion and two rounds of personal interviews with the Vice-President Sales and HR, I cracked my first job on-campus with Deutsche Bank. The role that was being offered to me was that of an executive responsible for corporate tie-ups in a priority vertical of Deutsche Bank. I could hardly believe my luck!”
With the placement offer from Deutsche Bank, Varun’s confidence soared to a new high. At the end of his first year at Jaipuria Noida, Varun had interned with the Premier Banking Division of the global banking giant, HSBC. It was a two-month internship where he had worked on a premier vertical of HSBC’s Greater Kailash Branch in New Delhi. He had gained some insights into the working of Banks and the kind of profile that he wanted. With the Deutsche Bank offer in his pocked, Varun was able to successfully leverage his position and skills to land his dream job with the HDFC Ltd.
“I chose HDFC Ltd. over Deutsche Bank as the role offered to me at HDFC was in the field of Financial Analytics/ Research. It was the profile I wanted. It’s been more than two-and-a-half-years now and I’m now an Assistant Manager, working as a credit appraiser with HDFC. My role is that of a loan underwriter and I recommend/ approve mortgage loans based on the repayment capacity of the client. HDFC, being the largest mortgage lender in the country, has its clientele spread across India, with international offices in the Middle-East, UK and Singapore catering to our NRI clientele.”
Varun’s typical day at work includes accepting loan applications from different sales channels that source business for HDFC, and perusing, recommending and dispatching them to the central sanctioning hub. He handles 15 such people who source business for HDFC, and is also responsible for their product training, and keeping them informed of latest developments in terms of policies. The other part of his job is interacting with potential clients, understanding their capital requirements and providing them with optimal solutions. Such clients are usually HNIs or High Net Individuals. He is also responsible for developing new channels for sourcing business and exploring corporate ties with selective companies. Varun feels that his role is very holistic in nature and gives him immense exposure to all facets of banking.
“It all actually boiled down to the kind of support I received from my family; and faculty, peers and mentors at Jaipuria Noida. It’s time to reap the rewards of consistent hard work and perseverance during those two years at Jaipuria Noida. Personally, I feel very lucky to have been groomed by such a fantastic set of professors who always showed me the right path. I feel that the extra sessions at Jaipuria Noida for personality development, group discussions and personal interview sessions served us really well.”
When you have your dream job, work becomes play. That is exactly what has happened with Varun. The good news is that his work has found widespread recognition in his department at HDFC. He has recently been offered the role of Branch Head in one of HDFC’s branches in the Middle East. He is looking forward keenly to this tenure.
“My two years at Jaipuria Noida were the best years of my life. There was immense value addition to me in these years. Jaipuria Noida is unforgettable.”
When it comes to advice to his juniors at Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida, Varun chooses the words of Chetan Bhagat. ‘It’s ok to bunk a few classes, score low during exams, goof up in a few interviews, take leave from work, fall in love, etc., as we are all human beings, not programmed devices.
“So don’t be serious,” Varun concludes, “be sincere”.

When Varun Khanna entered Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida in 2007, the world seemed at his feet. The global economy was surging ahead and India was leading the charge. It all changed with the 2008 Lehmann Brothers-led sub-prime crisis, and the global economy went into recession. Like Varun Khanna, B-school students were filled with a sense of dread about placements. Surprisingly, despite the recession, Jaipuria Noida’s placement programme began with a bang in November 2008. Varun was targeting the Analytics/ Research and Banking sectors. To his immense relief, his target companies like Grail, Essar and Deutsche Bank began making the rounds of the Jaipuria Noida campus towards the beginning of January 2009.
“After completion of quantitative aptitude test, group discussion and two rounds of personal interviews with the Vice-President Sales and HR, I cracked my first job on-campus with Deutsche Bank. The role that was being offered to me was that of an executive responsible for corporate tie-ups in a priority vertical of Deutsche Bank. I could hardly believe my luck!”
With the placement offer from Deutsche Bank, Varun’s confidence soared to a new high. At the end of his first year at Jaipuria Noida, Varun had interned with the Premier Banking Division of the global banking giant, HSBC. It was a two-month internship where he had worked on a premier vertical of HSBC’s Greater Kailash Branch in New Delhi. He had gained some insights into the working of Banks and the kind of profile that he wanted. With the Deutsche Bank offer in his pocked, Varun was able to successfully leverage his position and skills to land his dream job with the HDFC Ltd.
“I chose HDFC Ltd. over Deutsche Bank as the role offered to me at HDFC was in the field of Financial Analytics/ Research. It was the profile I wanted. It’s been more than two-and-a-half-years now and I’m now an Assistant Manager, working as a credit appraiser with HDFC. My role is that of a loan underwriter and I recommend/ approve mortgage loans based on the repayment capacity of the client. HDFC, being the largest mortgage lender in the country, has its clientele spread across India, with international offices in the Middle-East, UK and Singapore catering to our NRI clientele.”
Varun’s typical day at work includes accepting loan applications from different sales channels that source business for HDFC, and perusing, recommending and dispatching them to the central sanctioning hub. He handles 15 such people who source business for HDFC, and is also responsible for their product training, and keeping them informed of latest developments in terms of policies. The other part of his job is interacting with potential clients, understanding their capital requirements and providing them with optimal solutions. Such clients are usually HNIs or High Net Individuals. He is also responsible for developing new channels for sourcing business and exploring corporate ties with selective companies. Varun feels that his role is very holistic in nature and gives him immense exposure to all facets of banking.
“It all actually boiled down to the kind of support I received from my family; and faculty, peers and mentors at Jaipuria Noida. It’s time to reap the rewards of consistent hard work and perseverance during those two years at Jaipuria Noida. Personally, I feel very lucky to have been groomed by such a fantastic set of professors who always showed me the right path. I feel that the extra sessions at Jaipuria Noida for personality development, group discussions and personal interview sessions served us really well.”
When you have your dream job, work becomes play. That is exactly what has happened with Varun. The good news is that his work has found widespread recognition in his department at HDFC. He has recently been offered the role of Branch Head in one of HDFC’s branches in the Middle East. He is looking forward keenly to this tenure.
“My two years at Jaipuria Noida were the best years of my life. There was immense value addition to me in these years. Jaipuria Noida is unforgettable.”
When it comes to advice to his juniors at Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida, Varun chooses the words of Chetan Bhagat. ‘It’s ok to bunk a few classes, score low during exams, goof up in a few interviews, take leave from work, fall in love, etc., as we are all human beings, not programmed devices.
“So don’t be serious,” Varun concludes, “be sincere”.