The interviewing process of TVS Motors was known be rather exhaustive. Gagandeep knew that Jaipuria Lucknow was one of the few B-schools in India, which dedicated a substantive part of its second year in preparing its students for placement interviews; still he could not get rid of his apprehensiveness.
“In the second year at Jaipuria Lucknow, for 2 hours every day without fail, we would do a complete post-mortem of all national dailies. Expectedly, the first few rounds of the TVS Motors interview simply revolved around general awareness, quants, aptitude and reasoning. Even in the final round where we had a face-to-face interview, the stress was quite a lot on analysis of current events. The impetus of the initial rounds carried me through the situation appreciation test, and the GD, where we had to explain and stand-by our reactions to the situation. The interviewing Officer, Mr Ramalingam, was a psychologist and had been assessing the mental attributes of people for the last 30 years, and knew what he was looking for in prospective employees.”
With schooling in Himachal Pradesh and Birla Vidyamandir in Nainital, Gagandeep has been a hosteller for as long as he can remember. After hisBTech in Computer Sciencefrom Amity, Noida, he decided to top-off his education with a PGDM in Marketing and Finance from Jaipuria Lucknow.
“However far-fetched, wild, and unique your idea; Jaipuria,Lucknow will always encourage you. My first year Internship at IFFCO fertilizers, was a revelation. My communication skills had undergone a complete transformation in Jaipuria, Lucknow.I was to carry out a survey on three different aspects. Firstly, the strategy for the existing products; secondly, upcoming products in the fertiliser market, and lastly use of technology in the industry. Obviously I had to create three separate questionnaires and thereafter interview DGM’s of 10 competing fertiliser companies. Not only did I manage to complete the task, but even today I’m in touch with most of the DGM’s.”
Gagandeep joined TVS Motors on the 17^th of May 2012, and is currently undergoing the orientation programme. He observes that TVS lives up to its tag of being an employee-centric organisation.
“Jaipuria Lucknow was, is, and will always remain the knowledge centre for me; a place where you can start anything. I remember how our batch, encouraged by Reena Ma’am, decided to start classes for underprivileged children. We descended on the nearby slums, encouraging dwellers to allow their children to study. In out after-class hours of Jaipuria, Lucknow, we taught these kids. We even arranged for their pick and drop, and their meals at Jaipuria, Lucknow as well, and when the time came to move on we selected a motivated bunch from our junior batch to keep this fire burning.”