“Selecting a Business School is always a tough task for graduate students, and the choice depends upon several factors,” says Ashutosh Shukla, PGDM from the Jaipuria Institute of Management’s Noida campus (batch of 2014-16). “My selection criteria were that the college have an excellent reputation, rising placement records, experienced faculty members and a focus that not only concentrates on academics but also on extra-curricular activities.” Therefore, choosing Jaipuria, Noida was the “best decision” for Ashutosh, as all of his “expectations were fulfilled.”
Graduating with a BBA (Finance), this young man from Lucknow says that he opted to do a PGDM because he wanted to “get a holistic perspective about the business world, acquire new skills and knowledge, consolidate his business networks and get the best career opportunities.”Ashutosh got all of this and more during his time at Jaipuria, Noida. “Today,” he says“I am placed with a reputablefirm, Capital First Financial Services Ltd., and I get a good package in my role as Credit Collection Manager.”Looking back on his Summer Internship Programme (SIP) with IndusInd Bank (Consumer Finance Division),Lucknow, Ashutosh says that the topic of his dissertation was the ‘Study of Consumer Credit Appraisal for Financing Vehicle Loans and The Working of Indusind Bank’. He also explained his role with the bank: “My role was to examine consumer loans files, check the CIBIL score card and prepare CIBIL reports. I also worked as a team member in the bank’s credit department.” In this role, he credits the institute with giving him the skills and knowledge he needed to succeed: “The knowledge and skill-sets I acquired at Jaipuria, Noida helped me a great deal. I used to suffer from stage-fright, but the faculty at the Institute helped me to overcome this by the several presentations I was asked to make. We were also taught how to communicate in the right way, work in teams and acquire leadership qualities.”
Talking about his current role with Capital First, Ashutosh says his responsibilities “include coordinating and liaising with Capital First’s legal team to ensure legal action is taken against defaulting customers;initiating effective follow-up with customers and optimising resolution; ensuring a satisfactory rating in all audits and a lot more.” However, his placement was no cake walk. “It was a stressfulinterview of about 50 minutes, in which the interviewers grilled me about everything starting from my schooling to my PGDM,” he recalls. “They checked my domain knowledge and asked me several conceptual and situational-based questions. These includedthe banking and credit appraisal processes adopted by banks.” He also added that the interviewers placed a lot of importance on his SIP and “a number of questions pertained to this.”
“Two years of the PGDM at Jaipuria, Noidahave changed my life,” Ashutosh says. “I have gained lots of domain knowledge about the business world and have become more disciplined in my approach. I have learnedhow to work within given deadlines and I am now ready to enter the corporate world.”
However, what he will take away are “lots of wonderful memories,” of his time at Jaipuria, Noida, including the learning environment, his many friends, the faculty members and all of the festivals,sports events and parties. “I participated in various extra-curricular activities,” he tells us, reflecting on all of the opportunities that the instituteafforded him. “I won a business quiz competitionorganised by the National Entrepreneurship Network. I was Senior Coordinator of the Sports Committee, I participated in Uddan, the Annual Management Festival, and I represented my college in various sports events and management games.”
Ashutosh Shukla’s words of advice to the current batch at Jaipuria, Noida are based on his experiences:“Be thoroughly prepared with your SIP topic. Read your CV before appearing for an interview and be enthusiastic and cheerful. Know your domain knowledge thoroughly and the sky will be your limit!”