Prasad Shejwalkar from the 2011-13 batch shares highlights from his PGDM, shares tips on careers in HRM and talks about how his life has changed after Jaipuria.
From being a student at Jaipuria, Indore not too long ago to being the Assistant Manager – HR at a name like Genpact, it has been a huge personal transformation for Prasad Shejwalkar.
The journey hasn’t been smooth, and there have been a lot of ups and downs. One thing that has stayed with me constantly is the experience to handle people, which I feel is the mantra for my career. The transformation happened per the organization’s need, as well as my own personal interests.
Jaipuria played an important role in molding my career. I learnt important skills there like the optimum use of resources/options available, and working with my peers to establish a common goal. So, I can say Jaipuria had a significant impact on my professional journey so far. These learnings have helped in so many ways: the way you interact with the leadership in your organization, your approach to addressing employee concerns, giving a proper ear so that you give a first time right solution, handling sensitive information like the C&B of employees, how to retain team members, and event planning and execution at an SBU level for the country. I am prepared for all of these responsibilities thanks to my time at Jaipuria.
For me, a career in HRM was a given – I was a catalyst in this area even before I joined Jaipuria. At the same time, I would say that people need to first understand the difference between HR in the service industry and HR in the manufacturing industry. Most of the B-Schools try to impart points that are move involved with the manufacturing industry, but fail to do so for service industry.
Also, to be an effective HR Manager one needs to have a serious interest towards people, an eye for detail, a sensitivity to information shared with them, and a diplomatic and approachable nature. With the growth of technology, the modern HR professional also needs to build expertise in this area.
Another way in which Jaipuria Institute of Management helped me develop my abilities is by its focus on both the curricular and extracurricular, which molds its students into well-groomed personalities of tomorrow. Organising events, meeting corporate leaders, leading teams….all these helped to develop my skill set.
Jaipuria, Indore was also known for doing things differently like digitalization, focusing on entrepreneurship, etc. If I had to suggest something that it needs to do differently then that would be trying to focus more on the service standards rather than the manufacturing standards, since the way things work in the service industry are completely different to that of the manufacturing industry.
My life has become very busy since I left the Institute and I do wish I had more time to keep in touch better with my batchmates, with whom I shared a wonderful two years. It was a wonderful time that I will cherish forever.