A few days back in college, a couple of juniors asked me, “Which institute or site would you suggest for MBA entrance preparations?”

“If your aim is to just crack the entrance exams, many institutes can make you do that, but if your vision of success involves getting into a dream B-School and have a thrilling lifelong journey even after that, then join Career Launcher because at the end, its all about how better you know yourself and CL enables you to do that” I answered.

This advice of mine is based on the stellar learning experience I had with CL. The beauty of my journey with CL has been the individuality which I have felt during the guidance right from the starting of entrance preparations to getting into one of the top B-Schools of India. And this is going to continue beyond that also, owing to the continued guidance I expect to get from my CL Gurus.

After getting the results for CAT & XAT, the next big question was how to prepare for the Group Discussions, Writing Ability Tests and (of course) the Interviews! I turned to Shreya Jain (Ex-CLite; IIM-C 2018-20; Mentored at CL CP centre) for advice, the person who provided me an amazing guidance throughout my preparation. Her exact words were “Just join CL PDP and attend the first two orientation classes including Introduction to PDP and Goal Setting (more than once if you can). Everything will itself be taken care for afterwards.”

I was a bit shocked at the second sentence, but I understood why she said that after first day of PDP. I was a bit confused till then regarding the interview preparation. It was like I knew what I had to do but didn’t know how to do that. I knew a bit about my strengths and weaknesses but didn’t know whether they were enough to overcome the challenge. I knew I was passionate about doing an MBA but was doubtful of my potential. What goes in an exam preparation is not just hard work and studies, its about the emotional sentiments which take toll on an otherwise calm mind. And it is these moments which are considered make-or-break. So of course there is a pressure (from your own expectations, family, friends and of course other candidates) in these conditions and at the same time, few fears also.

While all these thoughts were going in my mind I entered the CP centre for my first PDP interaction and the next three hours were extremely inspiring. It was taken by Sreeni sir and truly stays till now the class in which I have enjoyed the most and learned the most. Till then I had fears- some rational, some irrational. After that class, irrational ones disappeared and in their place in my mind came the solution to the rational ones. Three hours went like a breeze. When the class ended and I came out, I saw the transition of 70+ faces from confusion and anxiety to calmness and excitation! And it was a surprise that he did all that without talking about the need or the challenge of making it to the top B-Schools, instead he talked about various things like the concept of IKIGAI, Circle of Concern and Influence, Disruptions in different fields, etc ( and what inspired me the most was his friendship story and how they started CL together ). The result was that instead of thinking about how I will get into a good MBA college, I started planning for how I will achieve my overall goals in my life and it really made me again think about the positive opportunities I had instead of the imaginary challenges. I was inspired.

Next day turned out to be equally fascinating. The class was taken by GP sir. What happened at the end of his class was that the 70+ faces turned from calmness and excitation to confidence and happiness. The knowledge he imparted to all of us was not regarding what to tell the interviewer to get selected but what to do, to know ourselves so well that we could be at ease with ourselves and be natural (an advice which would be of great help entire life). The ease with which all students were able to connect with what he was saying was inspiring. “Our potential can be a great motivation to us if we put it in the right direction with clarity of thought” was my main lesson from his class.

The next couple of weeks of PDP programme were truly awesome and the chill morning weather of the CP made that even more special. Enlightening Group Discussions with great minds from diverse backgrounds under the guidance of passed outs from reputed B-Schools, WATs practice, everything improved my perspective by great measures. I never imagined that preparations could also be so enjoyable. The ease with which the whole programme was designed, the booking system for classes, slot bookings for interview and general discussions with mentor- was truly phenomenal. I felt CL was like a mini trailer of what life at a B-School would be. Exciting and full of Opportunities.

The mock interview and discussions with GP sir remain the most special moments of PDP programme. I still remember when after the end of my first interview, we were discussing about my story till then and my mock interview, he said, “What you are right now creates more impact than what you were during the interview. You need to be completely truthful regarding yourself.” And after that he listened to all my concerns patiently and gave great advices. When I came out of his cabin, I felt like I was re-introduced to myself in those 45 minutes. The thing for which I congratulate the CL most is that they don’t pick students and then tell them who they are, instead CL makes a person capable of knowing the “SELF” and understanding their true potential. The simplicity with which CL gurus do that is what makes all the difference and is the secret recipe for success of Clites. As the time is limited between results and Interview preparation, one needs a very customized guidance to bring out his/her best qualities forward and CL did exactly that for me as well as my friends.

So the conversion of XLRI call is not what I have achieved but what my family, friends and CL motivated me to achieve. A great mind is not great till it is focused in the right direction and that is what CL PDP does with its students. The best part of the CL is that in an era when most of the people see you as competition, it was the warmth in the atmosphere of the Career Launcher which made me truly happy.

Now about me- Wanted to do Economics Hons but ended up with a B.Tech in ECE. Passionate about Economics. Interested in Human Psychology. Reading newspaper since 10 years. XLRI’te HRM soon. A proud CLite. Looking forward to continue learning experience at XLRI and make the institute proud.

Ankit Thakur

XLRI convert – 2019-21