The placement season is upon us.
It’s a common sight in the campus that students, some happy, some sad, roam
around the campus dressed in  formals braving the brutal October heat
in a bid to get their dream placements in some of the best companies. However,
two known foes stand in the way of this dream placement…Group Discussions and
Personal Interviews. These two processes have left students baffled for ages,
never seeming to become predictable, no matter how much ‘practice’ they put in.

To
help students cross this hurdle with ease and confidence, Humanist – The HR
Club of SIMSR, invited Mr. Ketan Gaikwad to deliver a session on how to
effectively crack the GD-PIs. Having already organised Transcend, a series of mock GDs and PIs, the team
thought some professional tips would be helpful. Himself being an alumnus of
SIMSR, Ketan was more than happy to come back to his alma mater and help the
current students in overcoming their apprehensions and master the process. The
session was organised and was attended by the students of SIMSR in full force,
making it an event with the largest turnout for any committee-organised event
till date.

Currently working in Deutsche
Bank, Ketan had always been one of the brightest minds in the college. He has
been certified as a counsellor since the age of 16. After graduating from
SIMSR, he was working with ICICI bank before shifting to Deutsche Bank. He also
gives sessions at various reputed institutions wherein he gives GD-PI tips and
tricks to both MBA students as well as aspirants

The start was simple, with Ketan
asking the audience the problems they faced while facing Group Discussions. The
audience, comprising of both 1st and 2nd year students, participated
enthusiastically and put forth their questions readily. From there, tips and
tricks started flowing out one after the other. The pointers like how to sit,
when to talk, when to interrupt, how to put your point across were simple and
effective.

Once the GD part was
covered, the Personal Interviews part followed a similar pattern. Questions
like “Tell me about yourself” and “Where do you see yourself in 5 years” were
shown to be loaded guns by Ketan. The correct body language, words and tone to
be adopted while answering questions in the personal interview were just some
of the tips that Ketan had to give.

All in all, the session was an
absolute hit among students, going by the feedback that the team received after
the event. Taking a group photo with Ketan was a matter of joy and
accomplishment for the team. It would be safe to say that the team enjoyed
organising and executing the event immensely and looks forward to hold many
more similar sessions for the students. After all, the dream placement remains
only 2 hurdles away and as the Humanist tag line says – People Planning
Progress.