The placement record at the Jaipuria Institutes of Management (Lucknow, Noida, Jaipur and Indore), has steadily remained in the 100 per cent bracket with average pay packages touching the 6 lakh mark. However, this is not the only factor that attracts students to these B-schools. Ritam Dey, PGDM from Jaipuria’s Noida campus (batch of 2014-16), says that the experience “helped me increase my confidence levels and improved my interpersonal skills.”

Dey, who comes from a middle-class family in Siliguri, graduated from the Camellia Institute of Technology & Management, Boinchi, West Bengal where he obtained a B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering. Realising that he did not want to restrict his career to just one area of expertise, Dey decided to do an MBA. “It was a big decision for me,” he says adding, “that is why my parents were keen for me to get admission in to a good college where both studies and placements were up to the mark.”

Dey says he zeroed in on Jaipuria Noida because it was an institute that had “an excellent reputation, a good infrastructure, excellent faculty and a 100 per cent placement record.” His memories reflect his fondness for campus life and speak volumes about his overall experience. “For me, every moment is memorable – whether hanging out with friends, meeting new students, going for outdoor activities, interacting with the faculty. But what stands out is getting placed. Having my teachers bless me made me feel so proud,” he says.

Working with Airtel in the capacity of Territory Sales Manager today, Dey’s career journey began with Jaipuria’s summer internship programme. Describing the experience he recalls his time at ITC Limited where he was a Sales and Marketing Intern. “The subject of my dissertation was on ITC’s ‘Customer Loyalty Programme and how to increase the sales of the company’s Personal Care Products’.” Dey’s responsibilities during his internship included “monitoring the monthly targets of the First Club /Categorized Leadership Outlet stores which fell under the loyalty programme.I also inspected potential outlets to change them into FC ones and promoted ITC’s Savlon products,” he says.

Dey’s love of interacting with new people is one of the reasons why his job at Airtel is so satisfying. He also feels that his decision to do a PGDM after a B.Tech was the right one because it opened up many avenues especially in the Telecom sector, where his current role “includes handling distributors and retailers, leading sales executives and increasing the revenue as well as the customer market share.”

This young man, who by himself, took up a certification course in Lean Six Sigma (Green Belt) from KPMG, says that his interview with Airtel during the selection process went very well with the faculty at Jaipuria Noida, helping to plan his strategy for the next round. “There was a situation-based question, which I answered convincingly, pertaining to persuading the decision-maker of an MNC to buy a pen worth Rs.10 pen as opposed to the Rs.1000 one he was using,” he recalls.

Looking back at the placement process, Dey’s advice to students would be to, “Be yourself! Be confident and be honest!”