Admission Story: Shashank Shekhar, XLRI Jamshedpur, 97.8, XAT

Shashank Shekhar graduated from Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal University, Karnataka with 80%. He is currently enrolled in PGDM-HRM of XLRI Jamshedpur. Shashank cleared XAT exam with a score of 97.8.

He also had experiences in various fields, which includes 8 months as an Automotive researcher at JATO Dynamics India, 6 months as an Assistant Manager at Maruti Suzuki India Limited, and an Engineer at L&T Technology Services for a span of 1 year 4 months

Shashank Shekhar Profile

Current institute: XLRI Jamshedpur
Graduation College: Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal University, Karnataka
XAT score: 97.8
10th Percentage / GPA: 86.6
12th Percentage / GPA: 76.6
Graduation Percentage/GPA: 80.9
Work Experience: 8 months -Automotive researcher at JATO Dynamics India, 6 months- Assistant Manager at Maruti Suzuki India Limited and 1 yr 4 months- Engineer at L&T Technology Services

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Shashank Shekhar Admission Experience

Did you avail of the benefit of any reservation?

Shashank Shekhar: “General (No reservation).”

Describe the general setting of WAT / GD (if any)?

Shashank Shekhar: “The GD was conducted offline with 6-8 members per team. The topic was given and we were given 2 minutes to think about the topic before the channel was made open for discussion. The GD had a decent level of aggression, but if anyone wanted to chip in the members used to allow him/her to speak if he/she didn't speak for a while or at all. Pro-tip: Quality points matter more than the number of your appearances in the discussion. However, ideally, 3 appearances throughout the GD would be optimum in my opinion.”

What was the WAT / GD Topic?

Shashank Shekhar: “I vaguely remember the topic - It was related to the role of an HR manager in some critical business situation.”

What were your answer/points put forward for the WAT or GD respectively?

Shashank Shekhar: “I don't remember the exact GD topic. But you must remember - Ethics matter a lot in the GD of XLRI. Whatever you say, must be ethically correct.”

Describe the general setting of your personal Interview.

Shashank Shekhar: “I was the third person to get interviewed that day. First question - Tell me one similarity between the previous candidate and you? I was at first taken aback by this question. I answered about the conversation I was having with that candidate in the lobby. I think this was to check what kind of conversation you usually have in a social gathering or in a waiting room. A good way to check your behavior in public.

I could drive my interview towards my domain so it was a cakewalk for me. The entire interview revolved around my domain - the automotive industry. I was asked questions about manufacturing, marketing, and current advances in the auto industry. It is thus important to have an expert level in-depth knowledge of atleast one field.

Pro-tip: Be HONEST, which will make you CONFIDENT as well in the interview."

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Mention at least 5 interview questions that were asked to you and your responses to each of them.

Shashank Shekhar: “Q.1)Why MBA? Why HRM?

Ans)Working in different fields and in different roles, I could get a chance to manage, mentor, and lead a team. To further hone these skills and learn new ones and get leadership and strategist roles in the future by setting myself on a journey from managing a team of 41 workers to managing corporate employees or an entire business unit, I felt the need to undergo an MBA course in Human Resource Management.

Q.2)Have you justified your academic ability in light of the marks scored till now?

Ans)No. My average grades in academics do not portray my full potential. I have never had the urge for scoring excellent marks. I have always enjoyed experiential learning more than academic learning. Researching about the practical application of the concepts I study, ideating innovative products and solutions, and participating in competitions have always been my preference. This gives me a better exposure to the current real-life problems than the standard set of problems in textbooks.

Q.3)What is your most significant academic achievement and why?

Ans)I received a 100% tuition fee waiver under the AICTE scholarship for admission in B. Tech program at MIT Manipal in 2012-2016.

After losing hope of getting admission into IITs and NITs, the only option I had was to take admission in a state-level engineering college. While my family was going through a financial crisis, taking a loan for admission to a private engineering college was out of option. Finding myself in a do-or-die situation, I gave my best performance in the Manipal University entrance test and received an AICTE scholarship for admission to MIT Manipal. This achievement gave me the confidence that I can perform better even in a dire situation. I often take inspiration from that performance whenever I find myself going through a tough phase.

Q.4)Describe a situation where you achieved results against odds?

Ans)I was managing shutdown activities at Maruti Suzuki. I modified the working procedure to reduce water consumption, which required extra manhours. This faced confrontation from the workers’ union. I convinced them of projected savings that would increase workers’ job security in the ongoing recession in the industry and assured them of payment for extra hours instead of half-day compensatory leave, after consulting my reporting manager. I finally executed the task with their support. The incident taught me to be patient in a panic situation and use data-backed logic when suggesting a big change in an age-old standard working procedure.

Q.5)Describe a situation where you had to come up with an innovative solution or display innovative thinking.

Ans)I was an observer when my friends from dental science backgrounds were once discussing the trouble, they were facing for the development of a working model of a dental physiotherapy device. Inspired by the design of the engine of a car, I came up with an innovative solution of developing it out of steel using CNC machines for high precision which would prevent air leakage without the use of a seal. For the requirement of a source of compressed air, I came up with another idea of using the rubber bulb and tube of a conventional blood pressure measuring instrument. This model was sufficient to showcase the working of this device. This way of getting the model ready was not only cost-effective but also less time-consuming. To bring this idea into reality, we pitched it in the MUTBI business plan challenge, and received special commendation for our innovative product idea."

Mention 3 reasons why you chose this college over other colleges which you converted.

Shashank Shekhar: “Three major reasons to join the HRM course at XLRI Jamshedpur:

Brand image - After joining the MBA course, now I understand why tier -1 colleges charge 25 Lakh for the course whereas tier-2/3 colleges charge half of that. It is because ""signaling"" and maintaining alumni relations is an expensive affair. Marinating a brand image costs a lot. Once you are a part of the brand, you benefit from the image all your life.

Average package - XLRI bags one of the highest CTC/packages of all B-schools in India. Honestly, it was one of the major reasons to choose this college.

Faculty - XLRI has the best faculties for the HRM course. So it was an easy decision to choose XLRI over any other college in India. Although TISS charges an extremely low course fee, the brand name, exposure, and final placement package of XLRI is incomparable."

What was the reason for you not converting other colleges? (if any)

Shashank Shekhar: “Apart from XLRI, I had a call from SPJIMR for Operations. However, I could not convert the call after the final group interview (GI) round. I was taken back during the GI round when questions related to current affairs were asked to me. While I was preparing for CAT and other MBA entrance exams, I focused only on QA, DILR and VA. I completely ignored current affairs assuming that it is required only in TISSNET. This was a huge mistake. In fact, the current affair is a big part of your preparation.”

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