Career Transformation Journey

Experienced as a software professional in an e-commerce space, I joined XLRI Jamshedpur to hone my business skills and knowledge to become a better leader.

Courses such as Digital Transformation, Marketing Strategy and Organizational Behaviour provided interesting tools to understand the customer needs and pain points better. From critically evaluating an existing corporate strategy to being aware of unforeseen disruption, the case study approach of Executive PGDM helped me develop nuanced heuristics in making complex decisions faster.

With a wonderful transformational experience and stimulating peer interactions, I'm set to embark on a new journey in the corporate world with everything that XLRI has taught me in the last one year!

Career Transformation Journey

After graduating from NIT Surat with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering a few years ago, most of my classmates went on to further for higher education or follow their chosen careers. On the other hand, I wanted to gain industry experience before deciding on a career path, so I joined L&T MHI Power Boilers Private Limited as Quality Control Engineer.

My professional experiences made me familiar with changing team dynamics, employee engagement, and building leadership capabilities. I received constant appreciation from my colleagues and top management for continuously driving the team and different projects and my eagerness to learn new things, deal with challenges and come with solutions to succeed. During these five years, I learned a lot of things from my seniors and colleagues.

While working, I realized that I need to go beyond what I was doing in my job and should try to explore other areas of business, get a holistic view of the businesses and learn about different aspects of running a business in terms of strategy, finance, human resources and many more. This was when I decided to go for an MBA. Finally, in 2020, I decided it was time to take the next step in my career, so I started preparing for management exams and took the XAT. I got admission in Ex-PGDM Course at XLRI, Jamshedpur batch 2021-2022.

The reason behind choosing a one year programme over a two-year course was that the students joining this course would come from different backgrounds and industries, allowing me to have good peer learning and know more across various domains and industries.

Joining XLRI from Day 1 was about starting a journey full of learnings in terms of professional and personal development. Having gone through this MBA journey, I can confidently say that it completely transforms you as an individual, not just socially but also professionally. It has taught me to think and convey ideas with clarity, critically evaluate complex business problems, and develop innovative solutions. It has forced me to come out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to collaborate, become a competent team player and create a broad-minded approach to deal with problems.

I can undoubtedly say the learning has been multidimensional. It has opened up multiple avenues for professional growth and numerous opportunities for me to explore in my journey of professional excellence. I am sure with newly learned skills and an abundance of knowledge; I can contribute more effectively to the organization that I will work for and become the competent leader which I always aspired for.

Career Transformation Journey

I began my career as a Software Developer at Gilbarco Veeder-Root India Pvt. Ltd. in April 2016. While working at Gilbarco, I got the opportunity to work across the breadth of IT domains starting from Embedded Systems and driver development to Security and Payments to emerging technology like Cloud. My roles also transitioned in Gilbarco from Software Developer to Project Manager to NPD Analyst and Engineer. All these changes in roles and responsibilities in mere 5 years gave me a perception on two things: firstly, and most importantly, I am capable of handling work pressure and customers needs and am passionate about contributing to overall business, and secondly, the overall job market scene was too dynamic to just remain an individual contributor. Thus, the decision to pursue a management career was taken.

Choosing a programme that meets your needs from the many options available is a difficult decision. I found the XLRI ExPGDM programme to be the best fit for me because its highly analytical and case-based pedagogy, as well as its application in current business situations and wide range of electives, will help me connect my professional learnings with classroom concepts and gain knowledge across broad business functions. The ExPGDM programme emphasises workplace values and social responsibilities.

The programme is of 15-month duration and spread across 6 terms. The Ex PGDM program taught me about a variety of topics, including Finance, Marketing, HR, General Management, Operations, and much more. Along with the curriculum, the leadership talks from various industries provide an insight into the industries and assisted in broadening my horizons. The program taught me how to work effectively under pressure, manage my time, and collaborate effectively with a diverse team.

Interacting with my peers as part of a diverse-profile batch has helped me appreciate the commonalities and significant distinctions across numerous industries, allowing me to develop a better understanding of the greater world in general while also allowing me to build my network. All these definitely helped in altering my thought process and analytical skills for better. This, in turn will help me achieve my career goals as well as personal goals.

Career Transformation Journey

My one-year at XLRI ExPGDM was nothing short of an extravagant one - filled with highs and lows, assignment calls, group case discussions, interview prep sessions, and late-night campus strolls. As an MBA student, one learns to operate on extremes and handle high pressure and high-stake situations. As it is rightly portrayed that an MBA is not just a pathway to mobility and tons of opportunities, it is also a platform to grow, collaborate, foster friendships, and more importantly garner confidence to seize opportunities. My experience at XLRI's one-year flagship MBA program pushed me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to reconsider that self-imposed label. Below are some of the key learnings around leadership, grit and perseverance, team building, fostering relationships, and of course networking during the past one-year that I would like to share:

• XLRI taught me the importance of grit. After attending countless guest speaker sessions and seminars with entrepreneurs, global business leaders, and investors, it became clear that intelligence isn't what distinguishes the "winners" from the "losers", rather, it's about perseverance, enthusiasm, and zeal to learn.
• Effective leadership is not about having the best team and building things, it's about building a team that is determined to achieve a common objective, has a learning mindset, has good coordination, and accepts feedback in the right spirit.
• Flat hierarchies in study groups at XLRI were an intriguing aspect in the overall learning experience as they brought out the inherent leader in us. We learnt that one led not because of their competence, seniority, designation, or prior experience but because that they were legitimately seen as the most helpful and the biggest contributor to the whole group.
• Someone has rightly said: Your "network" is your "net worth". Networking is yet another powerful tool that XLRI provided us through its wide expanse of successful and ever-growing alumni network. A powerful network can truly do wonders and open doors for you that you never thought existed.
• An MBA can be overwhelming and mentally exhausting so, to stay ahead of the curve, learn to compartmentalize things. I learnt to let go and give time to things that truly mattered, could make a difference, and in any way help my well-being.

ExPGDM at XLRI was an excellent learning platform for a comprehensive experience that gave me the confidence to face even the most difficult situations. Would strongly recommend it to anybody looking to pursue higher management studies in the country.

Career Transformation Journey

More than 9+ years down my corporate career, I felt the need to reform myself to be a better fit for stepping into the shoes of a competent Leadership Role. Though I had garnered the technical expertise required in my profession over the years, I needed to upskill my traits of business analysis, critical decision making, strategy formulation and seasoning myself as an empathetic leader who values people and relationships. As an aspiring MBA candidate, I was overwhelmed to get admission into the Ex-PGDM Program in XLRI which is not only one of top B-schools in the country but also one of the pioneers in nurturing responsible leaders. I was fortunate to step into the journey with a cohort of talented individuals from diverse backgrounds who made the experience worthwhile. Immersing myself into the rigorous yet rewarding journey, I was able to undergo a multifaceted development into an individual with a mindset to challenge the conventional norms. Equipped with the tactical intricacies of Strategy, Operations, Finance and Marketing I was able to develop a rational business mind ready to venture into uncharted territories and gauge the ever changing business dynamics with strong intent and farsightedness, but with the heart of an empathetic leader. Another key takeaway for me is that I have learnt that society, humanity, and the environment are the most important stakeholders and sustainable development is the only way forward for value creation. At the fag end of the journey, I would like to declare that I am enriched by the XL experience and grateful for having an opportunity to live the XL life.

Career Transformation Journey

When I considered my experience prior to earning an MBA, I found it was more in line with an operations function. I used my analytical and problem-solving talents to tackle essential needs while working as an analyst at JP Morgan Chase and Company. XLRI's ExPGDM Program provided me with a platform to improve my talents in a variety of business areas. I learnt diverse ideas and frameworks in fields such as marketing, strategy, finance, and operations, which would benefit me in making key decisions in my future career. One of the most memorable aspects of the training was sharing the same classroom with people from all backgrounds and disciplines. This raised the level of conversation in the classroom and aided cross- functional training. Many of the disciplines included case discussions and simulations, which allowed us to encounter real-life difficulties and use our learnings to make the best of the scenario. Working on a variety of projects and tasks with tight deadlines gave us a taste of how we'll need to manage our work-life balance once we're back online. I was lucky enough to be placed at Mindtree Limited, where I was granted a consultant position. I'm excited to put everything I've learned in my new capacity to use and continue on the professional path I've set out for myself.

Career Transformation Journey

MBA is not a professional degree, it’s a deeper discipline.

Having pursued M.Tech and graduated from a Leadership program with General Electric. I wanted to try my mettle in the business management world too. However, just like miners never get into the mines without proper equipment, I too was adamant to equip myself with all the necessary tools to survive in the business world.

During my previous role, I have developed several expertise such as managing projects, customers and stakeholders and it was time to leverage these learning into the bigger contexts and in different industries.

Executive PGDM at XLRI has really transformed me into a seasoned business enthusiast. I have gained many insights, having interacted with the business leaders, and followed the academic rigour. The learning, not just academic but experiential too, from this program has already opened doors to any and many industries, I aspire to work in.

Lastly, whoever has gone through this course will agree that it changes the way one looks at everyday life too. MBA is not a professional degree it’s a deeper discipline that changes everything for everyone.

Career Transformation Journey

Before Joining the ExPGDM course in XLRI Jamshedpur, I was working as a Senior Business Development Manager in Collegedunia Web Pvt. Ltd. Post B.Tech, I was inclined towards a career in Sales and Marketing. Working in the ITES Sector for 5 years helped me foresee the rationalities of innovations and product development in the modern world. These 5 years transformed me completely,I went from being a college student to a working professional, and my time there taught me the value of deadlines, accountability, targets, and collaboration. My long-term goal was to master various parts of company management and combine those skills and knowledge with industrial work experience in order to advance in the organization and offer my best. I require knowledge of business management to reach my long-term goal, which I can obtain through management programs offered by B-schools.

The XLRI Jamshedpur ExPGDM is a uniquely designed management program aimed at developing young graduates with relevant work experience into future leaders through holistic development. Personalized learning into essential parts of company management is possible thanks to the academic curriculum and global exposure from notable corporate executives. All of this helped me to transition into my current role at Atos as Service Delivery Manager. The course enabled me to think out of the box and move outside my comfort zone to achieve my goal of transitioning into IT.

The decision of joining the ExPDGM program at XLRI Jamshedpur was one of the critical decisions which transformed my career from sales to IT

Career Transformation Journey

“There is a lot to learn.” This is what led me to retrospect about various crossroads in my career and start my preparations for MBA Exams. Those were tough days to parallelly work and prepare for the exams, especially when we have already started taking mid-level Organisational responsibilities. During my last year in TCS as an IT Analyst, I was planning various business requirements along with different Billing/Ops-related tasks. This gradually accelerated my interest in these subjects as I was totally dealing with the technology part of any product till then. It was getting difficult to gather information on the overall vision of the business (apart from the most expected interests). This is how I could decide that I need a shift in my career with additional knowledge on such divisions. At times, I was very sceptical if I could be the best fit, but also, was very confident on the fact that my interest has now shifted to understanding the business. This made me get the platform of XLRI, Jamshedpur. With all the subjects getting introduced, I felt there is an ocean of concepts to be learned. Most importantly, it’s about the wide factors that we must consider while making any decisions. I wish to put forward an example, one of our professors mentioned a very unthought point on the initial days of our sessions, “Understand the price of each second you have invested for this course, now decide how much of the time would you like to waste not studying”. He asked us to calculate it to make us understand the worth of each second that we spend during our course. It’s not about the exact figure he mentioned, but I could understand that my learning has already started. My perspective changed. The facts that I ignored were now forcing me to observe them through a different lens.

Sometimes, the frenetic pace of activities and studies is too tiring. As I have only seen the business from the perspective of an IT professional, now, there is an ocean out there to understand for me. But I started enjoying most of the subjects, understanding the real value chain! Peer education is also one of the best experiences where I learned a lot that cannot be taught but experienced. This has helped a lot in introspecting myself and enhancing my skill set.

These learnings and the opportunity to work in Accenture Strategy as a TS&A Analyst has opened the way to learn from an umbrella of technological/Business expertise that can help me excel going forward. This resembles one of the mushrooms as the power-up in the Super Mario game where I could boost my skills for some with a power booster and grab the best opportunities lying ahead of me.

Career Transformation Journey

I am Aseem Dhanda. After completing my B.Com Hons, I joined PwC in Corporate and International Tax services. Post completing five successful years at the firm, I thought about taking the next step forward and opting for an MBA program. Fortunately, I prepared well and got through XLRI ExPGDM through the XAT examination. For me, significant reasons for choosing the program included a rise in my career trajectory, enabling me to create a broader impact in the ecosystem and leverage the key learnings and experiences towards a brighter future.

Through the XLRI general management program, I believe I have gained knowledge of the most relevant subjects in a brief span. Further, the course allows you to interact with some of the brightest minds in the country, take responsibility for your actions, and gain a broadened perspective. Additionally, I utilized the program to join two committees. Firstly, Corporate Project Committee, which helped me widen my network of professionals working at various levels in the country and get a large proportion of my batchmates to have a crack at experiencing live virtual projects of their choice. Secondly, Sports Committee, for the endless love I hold for the games while promoting and motivating people to engage in them.

I feel that the initial weeks were the toughest, only to realize that they aimed to prepare me for the following year. This included recognizing my capabilities and clearing any doubts about my career plans. After going through industry sessions by top experts (hosted by the program) and rigorous preparations, I got placed at DBS Bank in Strategy Planning and Operations.

Overall, I felt that the general management program comes as a complete package for any budding manager. It takes you through a ride of ups and downs in a short period. Some of the key takeaways would be to take risks because the last paid-off chance covers all the previous ones. Further, be optimistic, and expect the unexpected but remember, relative grades are only evaluated during the course and not a day beyond it.

Career Transformation Journey

The ExPGDM program at XLRI is undoubtedly the best for professionals looking for a deeper insight into the industry as well as holistic view of business management.

I come from a startup background and was looking to enter the corporate IT sector for overall career progression.

After much research, the ExPGDM program appeared to be the best in terms of the industry exposure, renowned faculties and the close knitted XL community that exists amongst the cohort as well as the alums.

The course pedagogy and real time industry insights through various series of guest lectures by industry leaders shape an overall career progression trajectory that’s unmatched. The cohort and the faculties provide deep insights and intellectual stimulation about various industries and there is a steep learning curve to shape one’s career.

This 1 year at XL has helped me reach nearer to my long-term goals and holistically developed approach to management that equips one for a bright and successful career. The program has transformed my thinking, approach to solving problems, and has helped me evolve into a sustainable and ethical industry leader.

Career Transformation Journey

My name is Ayush Kr Ashish. I began my professional career by joining KPIT Technologies in 2015. Following a brief initial training and induction, I was allocated a Software Engineer position that entailed developing multiple features test designs from scratch for automotive infotainment systems, focusing on instrument panel clusters (IPCs). I learned a lot about developing and testing software for automotive ECUs. An infotainment system gathers and analyses data from sensors located throughout the vehicle and is responsible mainly for relaying crucial information about different vehicle elements to the driver in the form of warnings, chimes, and tell tales. I switched to Robert Bosch after working in the automobile industry for around two and a half years. I had the opportunity to collaborate closely on cutting-edge autonomous driving technology. I was responsible for optimizing inter-ECU communication and vehicle diagnostics for the project centered on ADAS capabilities. I took the initiative in time estimating, conveying deadlines, collaborating with cross-functional teams to synergize numerous intermediate artefacts, and connecting with onsite teams to develop a clear communication flow.

Despite having over six years of industry experience, I recognized that understanding how different business functions contribute to accomplishing organizational goals was lacking. As a result, I began looking for an MBA program that would assist me in filling this gap and preparing me to handle complicated business situations.

Consistent XAT and group interview preparation helped me secure admission to the Executive MBA program at XLRI, Jamshedpur. Working professionals with at least five years of industry experience are encouraged to enrol in the course. It's exciting and fast-paced. The executive MBA helped me enhance my leadership and people management skills via group interactions and projects with colleagues from varied industrial backgrounds and work cultures. My MBA forced me to push myself outside of my comfort zone. I researched business case studies, employed the most recent management tools and approaches and improved my business, team, and collaboration skills.

MBA gave a platform for analyzing and comprehending the products and services offered by various businesses and their competitors. By utilizing the skills taught in MBA and presenting my relevant experience, I aced an interview with Virtusa for the Project Manager post. I am confident that everything I have learned from the MBA will be used daily, providing me with a practical mind set and framework for addressing and acting in successful business situations.

Career Transformation Journey

XLRI Played a vital role in the transformation of my professional career. Almost six years with Infosysbefore joining this program, and now I have transformed myself into a person with both technical and business acumen. There is a lot to prize and cherish in the ExPGDM program. Case-based teaching, which bears a strong connection to the current world's commercial difficulties, stands out for me. Understanding how a core industry runs and being introduced to the world of marketing has helped me grasp components of the IT and Non-IT worlds. The course has allowed me to understand my areas of strengths and weaknesses and manifest them for better productivity. In addition to all these being the CR (Class representative) has helped me to understand my peers better. The course curriculum has been a great mix of business skills, ethics and soft skills which is a necessity in the life of a leader. Additionally, XLRI gave me an opportunity to stay alone and lead a hostel life which was something new for me.

Thank you XLRI for making this a memorable and enriching experience till now and I am sure there are more to come. I would wholeheartedly recommend to aspirants who are looking to make a mark in the world of business.

Career Transformation Journey

After completing my engineering in Information Technology, I started my career with SAP Labs India in 2016 at Bangalore, Karnataka. I was assigned the role of Software Developer in the Financials domain of a cloud-based ERP solution for small and medium enterprises, Business ByDesign. Being part of a product that has been in the market for more than a decade, I was able to work towards enhancement, development, legal compliance and maintenance of the product in a fast-paced agile environment.

As work progressed and I was given more responsibilities, I realized that though I am technically strong, I am yet to develop business intellect to analyze the overall product development for which I needed to learn more, challenge myself and upgrade my skills. Having worked on an ERP solutions where I got to learn of the business processes of different industries, the desire to obtain a deeper understanding and holistic knowledge of running and managing a business grew further and MBA was the clear option ahead which would give me an academic knowledge and latest skills for a long-term career growth.

Persistent preparation helped me acquire a seat for the Executive MBA course in XLRI, Jamshedpur. Through the amazing academia, group interactions and projects with peers from various industries and work cultures, the executive MBA helped me strengthen my leadership and people management skills in addition to enlightening me with holistic knowledge and knowhow of different aspects of business. I researched the most recent international business trends, used the most up-to-date management tools and practices, and set goals for myself to enhance my business, teamwork, and collaboration skills.

Success begins as the end of your comfort zone and MBA forced me to venture outside of my comfort zone. It served as a platform to analyze and understand products and services offered by various industries and their competitors. Applying the skills gained in MBA and demonstrating my relevant experience, I was able to ace an interview at Jio Digital for the Product Manager position. I am sure to utilize learnings from the MBA to every day of my life, thus providing me a practical mindset and framework for looking and acting at succeeding business situations.

Career Transformation Journey

I started my carrier as QA(Analyst) in Zensar Technologies. I have experience in STLC(Software test life cycle), Agile Methodology, Salesforce, API testing, and postman tool. While working on the technical aspect of the project, I got interested in the business aspect of the project. It led me to pursue an MBA. In XLRI, the pedagogy is developed to learn more by solving more cases and applying the theoretical knowledge practically. XLRI ExPGDM provides many programs like CPC(Corporate Project Committee that helps understand the market and job work via live internship projects ).

PMP(Mentorship Program) connected me with mentors who guided me regarding the skills needed for the job role I aimed for. CDC (Career Development Committee) provided mock interviews, case preparation, and CV preparation that ultimately helped crack the interview and landed me the job in my dream company Accenture as a Solution Architect. As I have come to understand, as much as we need technical skills, we also need to improve our business and soft skills. And XLRI helped me enhance both business acumen, technical and soft skills.

Career Transformation Journey

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other” – John F. Kennedy.

As an electrical engineer, I started my career as a technical support engineer at Siemens. From a purely technical role, I switched to a marketing and strategy role. My interactions with the leadership team made me realize how a strategic mindset and a holistic understanding of the business are crucial for being an effective leader. This is why MBA seemed like the best next step for me to achieve my career vision.

Building leadership skills and developing an individual professionally and personally is at the core of any MBA program. Being part of XLRI’s flagship program has been one of the most enriching experiences so far. Along with the knowledge on core subjects like operations, finance, strategy, marketing & HR that I hoped to gain from an MBA, I thoroughly enjoyed the insights from my peers with diverse experiences. Deliberating on topics like corporate sustainability, Ethics & Public Policy gave me an important perspective on responsible leadership. XLRI gave me the perfect platform and resources I needed to accelerate my career transformation.

I look forward to resume my professional life with the amazing opportunity I got through XLRI and applying these learnings throughout my leadership journey.

Career Transformation Journey

Since the beginning of my career, I got the opportunity to work as a business analyst and hold a client-facing role. I knew that my ladder from there had to take me to become a consultant. XLRI allowed me to join Accenture Strategy as a Consultant and prepared me to face the bigger challenges. It helped me learn the business aspects of the decisions made behind a project and the significance of empathizing with the client's need to develop the best possible solutions. The case- based curriculum made sure that the students not only acquired theoretical knowledge but also learned from the actual events and challenged each other's thought processes to arrive at a decision.

Career Transformation Journey

My professional journey began with Wells Fargo. In 2016, I completed Chemical engineering from VIT University, Vellore, and was selected by a US Leading Bank in the campus placement drive. I joined as part of a eBrokerage, IT Support team as an Application System Engineer. During that time, our project was being transitioned from Vendor to in-house. We started as a 4-member team, wherein I was the youngest member, and further hiring for the team members was still in progress. The initial six months of the project were intense, it was like I had jumped on an already running treadmill, and its speed was increasing day by day. I followed the mantra of 1% progress one day at a time, and it worked like a charm. The most valuable learnings from my four years and nine months with Wells Fargo have been the power of consistency and how having a learning mindset helps an individual seize all opportunities.

While I was grateful for all the opportunities I got at Wells Fargo, I was determined to tap my unrealized potential. Therefore, with the same valuable learnings, I started my MBA Entrance exam preparations. Feb 18, 2021 is a memorable day as it changed my life forever. I was thrilled when I received an email from XLRI Jamshedpur “Congratulations! We are pleased to offer you admission to the Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Management 2021-22.”

The one-year rigorous ExPGDM program at XLRI has been most rewarding. The General Management curriculum offers once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from some of the best professors in the country and a diverse set of cohort members. It also helped me connect classroom learning to my previous work experience. My time at XLRI has enabled me to develop a structured mindset to solve complex problems and develop the agility to navigate the fast-paced and ever- evolving business world. Additionally, XLRI Jamshedpur also gave me an opportunity to start a new mentorship committee with my fellow committee members. The mentorship committee helped connect our diverse cohort members to industrial and academic mentors to get guidance and a broader perspective on their career journey ahead. My previous professional experience, coupled with the learnings at XLRI, has helped me grow and transition into a Customer Project Manager role in Ericsson.

As George Bernard Shaw once said: "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." I am thrilled and look forward to my professional journey ahead, and I set out with a mindset of creating a 1% better version of myself one day at a time.

Career Transformation Journey

5 years into the corporate world, I came across a confused stage in my life. A career jump was essential but a 2-year program wouldn’t quite cut it for me then as it wasn’t feasible to take that long a break. It was at this juncture when I came to learn of XLRI’s flagship 15-month management program – ExPGDM (General Management). This course was catered for working professionals with a good amount of industry experience, enables them to grasp the latest in management theory, broadens their perspectives and gives them the right platform to catapult their career thereon. The course was rigorously designed to test one’s capabilities but made sure the necessary acumen was grasped by the students.

Overall XLRI’s ExPGDM program has been the right fit for me and I would strongly recommend this course to anybody fitting the criteria who would be looking to grow on a professional front.

Career Transformation Journey

I stepped into the 1-year Ex-PGDM programme with around 6 years of experience in handling network design & optimization activities for telecom customers across the globe. The primary driving force for taking up a rigorous MBA programme like this was to gain a more holistic understanding of all the various functions that are part of the corporate setup. The driving force was always not to stay restricted to a pure technical role and explore all the different functions. And this programme has indeed given me the platform to achieve all this and much more beyond my expectations at the start of this journey.

The extremely well-crafted curriculum at par with internationally renowned institutions has helped me upskill immensely in important business functions such as Finance, Marketing & Strategy. Additionally, a highly diversified batch with people coming from across industries and geographies has been a great source of learning through the duration of the course. This foundation has enabled me to transition into a Solution Architect in the Mobile financial services sector. Transitioning from a technical role in network design & optimization to a role in the financial services sector would not have been possible in the absence of any of these crucial support pillars.

Career Transformation Journey

The approach of Sir Dave Brailsford to break down the objective of winning races into segments has always inspired me to focus on progressive improvements to make any process meet perfection. During the initial stage of my professional career, I started working with small-scale electrical consultants, Power Projects India Private Limited and Manav Energy Private Limited as a Graduate Engineer. Being curious has helped me learn new technologies and earned me the position to lead the design team. I represented the organization in Dubai's Middle East Railways Conference 2018 and India's Defence Expo. I was recognized for outstanding work in Technology and Solution Development for the year 2016-2017. Later, I worked in Dubai for Rotary Engineering Fujairah as an project engineer in the ENOC Greenfield expansion project managing warehouse, logistics and procurement. Finally, I worked in R J Constructions to plan and manage the EPC projects in the Oceania region including the procurement of electrical equipment from India.

With more than five years of experience with prestigious clients such as PGCIL, DFCCIL, DMRC, I stood at that point of life where I felt restricted to one side of the story. One crucial role is to work closely with mid-level management leaders of vendors and clients. Their clarity in making decisions always amazed me and inspired me to move from engineering to management. As an advocate of extensive exploration, I needed insights on various topics, including corporate finance, risk analytics, collateral, and risk management. My short-term goal was to work as an operations manager with an e-commerce firm. I would like to see myself collaborating with cross-functional teams from warehouse, supply chain, production, and logistics, to inculcate 'first time right' business strategies, minimize the errors, and improve operative efficacy. I decided to pursue an MBA, which is one of the best decisions I made in my life.

XLRI's ingenious pedagogy and a subtle blend of theoretical and case-based pragmatic learning would magnify my know-how and deepen my critical judgment. Besides, I gained insight into global best practices and learned from the first-hand experience of one of the world's most diverse student bodies. Also, an opportunity to meet industry leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators through its conclave is spellbinding. I am confident that XLRI's ExPGDM program has transformed me into a pioneering thinker, a future-ready leader, and an adaptable professional. Being a part of the placement committee, I can say that XLRI's alumni network has been an added advantage in post- program completion job opportunities.

It is needless to say that this course has helped me to transform my career aligned with my aspiration. I will always be grateful to this college, and I hope to live up to its expectations.

Career Transformation Journey

After having laboured for 6+ years, one gains many abilities and vast amounts of knowledge. However, basically this human capital lack’s structure. An MBA degree, to me, is a device that extensively aligns my private and expert studies to a concept system that is geared in the direction of delivering, even as placing me in a high-strain environment. I started looking at the value proposition of different regional business schools and XLRI was the natural choice in terms of the right mix of course rigor, peer-group experience, faculty diversity and overall learning experience.

The 15 months programme has minimum overlap among the following batches. This basically means that, even though there may be an underlying XLRI subculture, every batch has its subculture. Therefore, it's safe to mention that the student culture at XLRI is unparalleled.

XLRI Ex-PGDM is designed to push the scholars to the restriction which allows them to preserve rationality at some stage in the annoying choice making. My revel in being the Finance Committee member and a logo ambassador of this batch made me recognise that a hundred and twenty of several of the best humans in India agree with in me to feature price to the revel in their approximately to have.

And this is humbling.

Career Transformation Journey

Doing MBA in the XLRI Ex-PGDM program is a turning point in my career. The program's administrators were always very responsive to my needs, and the faculty brings a lot of experience from both academia and industry, giving them the ability to ground the lessons and concepts in real- world examples of practical application. It enriched me and gave me a flavour of all the business facets. They have high standards of performance, especially in evaluation, and I am glad to be challenged in this regard as this skill has become increasingly important as I have advanced in my career. I found the coursework to be engaging and relevant to my company and manager role. Of particular interest were courses on managing effective organizations, operations, strategy and leadership and ethics—these courses arm managers with practical skills that they can implement with their teams. I am delighted to have spent time learning with talented professionals from diverse backgrounds and industries. This has provided a lot of fresh perspectives and interactions with people with different ways of thinking and approaches to problem-solving. I formed professional and personal relationships that I value highly, and that will serve me well in the years to come. This program has not only transitioned and given a jumpstart in my career but has also given me an immense opportunity to connect and network with industry stalwarts.

Career Transformation Journey

I began my professional career as an Officer in Canara Bank, India’s fourth-largest Public Sector Bank. During eight years of my journey in Canara Bank, I got opportunities to work in several exciting and challenging roles ranging from processing corporate credit proposals worth thousands of Rs. crores to heading a branch for 22 months. I also had the massive privilege of heading a crucial department of the bank in a state-level controlling office for 14 months.

I have always been a staunch believer that continuous learning is essential to maintain our relevance and ensure future career success. Thus, after gaining experience in crucial banking facets, I wanted to learn new things that would enable me to work in a more dynamic environment where I can directly influence policymaking and take the role of a leader on a larger scale. I quit the bank and joined the program of ex-PGDM of XLRI, Jamshedpur, to embark on a new journey.

I have cherished every moment of my journey since joining this great institution in June 2021. The courses taught by some of the best faculty in the country, provided the required base for learning crucial aspects of any business. Working on several course-related assignments along with brilliant people coming from various sectors helped me understand different viewpoints and develop the right perspective.

The above factors played a critical role during the placement process. I got utterly disappointed after failing to convert my initial interview calls. I cannot forget the support provided by the Placement Coordinator, Placement team, and other batchmates in this phase. It made me mentally stronger and helped me in cracking the interview of 'Bain and Company.' I can never forget the day on which I was selected as a Manager in Bain and Company. Moving from a public sector organization to one of the biggest management consulting companies in the world, is a huge transformation. This would not have been possible without the platform given by XLRI. I will now work even harder in the next chapter of my life, duly remembering the lessons and values learned in XLRI, thus doing justice to the impetus provided by this great institution in my life.

Career Transformation Journey

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore” – Andre Gide.

My first job was a dream come true. I joined as a Software Engineer in India’s top IT Services Company. It was a fantastic experience working with people at various positions- supervisors, group leads, managers, unit heads, top global clients. It was only here that I started thinking about pursuing business management, and it gave way to another dream.

While I thoroughly enjoyed my workplace, time went quickly; I learned a lot there, and it started building in me that I needed a change. I decided to join a startup, and there I was – from working in India’s top IT services company to a startup where there were no clearly defined processes and procedures. The only motivation that remained with me was to learn and lead; To have the courage to build. My passion for business management kept growing, and it was in this startup that I was encouraged to follow the calling. Intense research for India’s best MBA colleges landed me at XLRI’s Executive PGDM program meant for candidates with rich work experience. With God’s grace and unfettered support from my friends and family, I was offered the Admission Letter from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

Each day here gave me a new experience and has transformed me in various ways. With the classes and workshops to attend, numerous assignments to work on, building the professional profile, drafting content – XLRI kept asking for more. There were exams and mocks to take, certifications to present, interviews to attend and improve on. Going further seems challenging at times. But, with support of the esteemed Professors, XLRI alums and mentors, and your batchmates, you somehow sail through.

And undoubtedly, there is always a right time for each of us at XLRI. From a Software Engineer to a Business Graduate, I will be joining as a consultant in a growing organization, where I am ready to explore the understanding of the concepts and ideas learnt in the college. This institution has offered many learnings, experiences, and good people to meet, but I will keep craving for more!

Career Transformation Journey

It was challenging for me to quit a job with a public sector bank in the thick of the epidemic to pursue my MBA goals. But I've always liked taking on new challenges. After completing my engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, I worked for three years at an IT firm before joining a Public Sector Bank.

It was a difficult decision, and I had to first persuade myself. The rich and dynamic tradition of XLRI, along with the one-of-a-kind experience and new insights that this voyage promised, persuaded me to take the risk. With the benefit of hindsight, I can confidently claim that this journey ticked all of the right boxes.

The experience of passing through the hallowed halls of XLRI has been transformative not only in terms of my work, but also in terms of my life. It was a true honour for me to be taught by professors at the institute who are world-renowned experts in their professions. I was also lucky to be a member of a vibrant cohort of classmates from all backgrounds who have helped me re-shape my thinking and extend my horizons by sharing ideas from their extensive and varied experience.

Apart from the academic rigour I've witnessed at XLRI, which has helped me hone my skill set and prepare for the future, the institute has also provided me with a platform to follow my diverse interests and push the boundaries. I've discovered new facets to my personality because of this institute-facilitated road to self-actualization, leading to a deeper understanding of self and its interaction with the world outside.

With 6.8 years of expertise in businesses ranging from IT to finance, it was challenging for me to make the shift from banking back to technology. However, the options provided throughout the course, as well as combining my previous interests and experiences with my ambitions, really aided me in my circumstance, allowing me to emerge victorious on the other side. The objective is to bring transferrable abilities to the table, which in my situation as a banker was slightly more manageable. Working in such a fast-paced profession gave me an advantage because, like technology, constant change and adherence to new practices are unavoidable.

The overall immersive experience that the institute provided me during my MBA journey was interesting and enriching, providing me with the required tools and skill sets to tackle the challenges of life, while also assisting me in evolving into a better human being.

Career Transformation Journey

My journey in XLRI has been an enriching and eventful one. When I joined the course coming from a unique background like Earth Sciences, I was not very sure, career-wise, what lay ahead of me and by pursuing MBA from a reputed institute like XLRI, I was hoping I could propel my career in the right direction. XLRI helped me in this transition through their well-articulated and up-to-date curriculum and world class faculty. The teaching method of the faculty is so refreshing, practical and engaging besides the faculty themselves being very knowledgeable, patient and humble, I am glad that I could be part of this experience.

While my experience in the manufacturing industry gave me the necessary technical expertise and my managerial knowledge was mostly hands-on, the courses designed by XLRI empowered me with knowledge on a variety of subjects like Managerial Economics, Corporate Finance, Corporate strategy, Operations Management , Managerial communication , Managing Human Behavior besides other subjects which gave me a holistic view of the business environment and how to amalgamate all these learnings in the corporate world to effectively lead an organization. Based on my newly acquired knowledge, I have now transitioned to the role of a business consultant where I am hoping to incorporate my learnings to provide solutions to a variety of industries to deal with the ever dynamic and agile corporate environment.

Career Transformation Journey

"There is no passion to be found in playing small—in settling for a life that is less than you are capable of living" - Nelson Mandela.

Throughout my life, whether as a student or an employee, I have always been focused on being the better version of myself every day. My varied roles & responsibilities in the Automobile sector have presented me with uniquely challenging opportunities to solve complex problems in an ambiguous and uncertain environment, thus grooming me as a leader, problem-solver, and go-getter.

I started my career with JCB and then moved to Hero MotoCorp in 2015. Trust me! There can’t be a better place to learn than a factory that produces a motorcycle every 7 seconds. I worked in operations planning and led cost optimization & digitization initiatives, and then I shifted to Business excellence under the plant head’s office. This role enhanced my knowledge from function/department level to factory level.

My journey, which started from Marketing, then to operations, and finally at Business Excellence, gave me a holistic view of the business. It helped me to get selected for the incubation centre of Hero MotoCorp. For around 2 years, I worked as an Intrapreneur at the Corporate Innovation Cell of the World’s largest Two-wheeler manufacturer. We were a team of 4 members who co-founded the Shared mobility business vertical of Hero MotoCorp.

Albert Einstein once said, “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”

My job role was very fulfilling, and I have developed solid leadership, analytical, and problem-solving skills. But to develop sound business acumen, it was imperative for me to provide a solid structure on top of this base knowledge. I believed that an MBA could help me get equipped with the necessary tools to be a transformative leader. XLRI’s Ex-PGDM was a perfect choice for this. My hard work and perseverance helped me secure admission and opened a world of opportunities.

I was introduced to various domains which were earlier alien to me. The Case study and simulation-based teaching approach from some of the nation’s best faculties pushed the learning curve exponentially. Class diversity, Leadership talk series from renowned industry leaders, and the alumni network provided an opportunity for 360-degree growth and a global viewpoint. A wide range of electives gave me a choice to pursue excellence in the domain of my choice. Also, my previous experience helped me to view things from both lenses, as an employee and an entrepreneur.

My journey has been very fulfilling and has given me a lot to learn and execute. I have gained solid cross-functional knowledge that will enable me to link classroom learnings with practical scenarios.

It is rightly said that the key difference between Creativity and Innovation is “Execution.” The advancement of society doesn’t happen merely with an idea but with the successful execution of that idea.

Career Transformation Journey

“A true leader has the conviction to stand alone, the courage to make bold decisions, and compassion to listen to the people in need. He doesn't set out to be a leader but becomes one through the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent”.

Having developed strong moral values and principles required to become a good human being in the early days of my life, I realized soon that I possess some of the qualities which are needed to become a good leader – be it strong work ethics, zeal to take on responsibilities, perseverance, teamwork, trustworthiness, patience, optimism, ability to learn quickly, inspire others or having the courage to face failure.

I have been a Software Engineer in an IT MNC and most recently was into the role of Technical Team Lead. I utilized my problem-solving skills along with analytical acumen to deliver quality products to the customers and help them grow their business. I got an opportunity to push my boundaries while working abroad at client locations. People management, team leadership along with strong technical skills helped me excel at work and get appreciation from clients. I got two promotions while working at a client location in the United Kingdom.

Keeping an eye on my long-term goals, I decided to pursue an MBA to refine my business acumen along with leadership and managerial skills. I applied for three Tier I colleges of India offering MBA courses and got offers from all of them. XLRI Jamshedpur, being a premier institute, gave me an opportunity to learn from one of the best faculty, renowned business leaders, and diverse student community. It enabled me to amplify my professional network, broaden my enterprise knowledge and have a greater awareness of the global market along with real-world business challenges.

Being on the higher end in terms of work experience acted as a barrier when it came to getting a job with desired profile during campus placements, but it was never meant to be your final destination. I would remain grateful to all my friends and faculty members who remained transparent and honest and lent genuine support throughout my journey.

For future aspirants, I have a simple mantra - Don’t take shortcuts in your life as they will cut short your journey in the long run. Never compromise on ethics and integrity. Stay away from negativity and demoralizing factors. You are incharge of your destiny, so never get bogged down by challenging situations in life as they are meant to make you stronger. Take part in a sprint to experience the joy of running and relish the journey rather than constantly yearning for winning the race. Rise above self- centeredness and aim to bring a change in the lives of people. Spread happiness wherever you go and keep working hard; success will follow. Keep thriving and stay grounded.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. This is just a start, and the sky is the limit…

Career Transformation Journey

I came to Xavier School of Management (XLRI, formerly Xavier Labour Relations Institute) with five years of experience in Quality Assurance. I was working with Cognizant Technology Solutions (From 2016 to 2021). I was looking to get into Product Management or Consulting jobs, but given my previous experience, it looked hard. But once the course commenced, I realized that the subjects and their syllabus were designed very carefully to keep it abreast with the current market and business. It is not an easy job considering how rapidly the world is changing. But the college took care of it very efficiently.

Coming on to placements and its preparation, I was really impressed with the whole process, as it was very structured: -

It began with Placement Office Authorities speaking to me one on one to understand my expectations.

My Career Development Cell (CDC) SPOC analyzed my profile and informed me about the skills I need to acquire to get into the roles that I was aspiring for.

Multiple workshops were organized to acquire those skills.

Finally, the Placement Committee (PlaceComm) SPOC guided me through the placement process and made it very smooth.

It was because of these efforts made by the college and the committee members that I was selected in Bain & Company (Bain Capability Network). Coming from an IT company with experience in quality assurance and then making it into one of the best companies in the world was truly a dream come true moment for me. Even in terms of the package, it was a huge leap. I had never expected this kind of outcome, and this could not have been possible without the effort of the college, Placement Office, and various committees (especially Career Development Committee and Placement Committee).

Career Transformation Journey

Before Joining the ExPGDM course in XLRI Jamshedpur, I was working as an Application Developer Analyst with Accenture Pvt. Ltd. I have always been inclined to be a part of the transformation technology can bring to the business industry, thus, after enhancing my skills as a professional for 57 months, I decided to further my career in a leadership role in IT business strategy. Working in the ITES Sector helped me foresee the rationalities of innovations in the modern world. My tenure as a professional before MBA taught me the value of deadlines, out-of-box thinking, accountability, targets achievements, collaboration with clients. My long-term goal was to master various parts of company management and combine those skills and knowledge with industrial work experience in order to advance into IT business strategy & leadership roles.

The ExPGDM program from XLRI Jamshedpur was the perfect fitting piece to the puzzle of reaching towards both my long and short term goals. The XLRI Jamshedpur ExPGDM is a one-of-a-kind management programme aimed at transforming young graduates with relevant work experience into future leaders through a holistic approach. The academic programme and global exposure from famous corporate executives allow for personalised learning into crucial aspects of company management. All of this helped me to transition into my current role at Atos as Service Delivery Manager. The course enabled me to use my business knowledge to live my vision, lead by example and inspire to strive for excellence. The decision of joining the ExPDGM program at XLRI Jamshedpur was one of the most life- changing decisions which transformed me from being just an IT professional to a young leader ready to take on the world!

Career Transformation Journey

I worked as an IT Analyst at Tata Consultancy Services, in the retail domain, for six years before joining the ExPGDM course at XLRI Jamshedpur. At TCS, I was first introduced to the realm of consulting. I played the role of a Functional Consultant, responsible for solving category and space management problems for retail clients across the UK. Having successfully implemented Digital Transformation programs for some of the biggest retail clients across the UK, I knew that consulting was where I belonged and wanted to build my career post MBA. At XLRI, I was exposed to a quality curriculum taught by one of the best faculties across the country, which helped me create a good grasp of the fundamental concepts. I was fortunate to be a part of a diverse cohort with a broad spectrum of experience from all major sectors, which helped me gain insights about unknown industries – a good to have for all consulting professionals."People ask, 'What's the best role you've ever played?' The next one." Kevin Kline

Living by this quote, I am excited to take up my new role with Accenture Strategy & Consulting and embark on my post MBA journey. I look forward to using the acquired business acumen from my work experience coupled with the learnings from my academic tenure at XLRI to become a responsible future leader.

Career Transformation Journey

The enthusiasm and thrill of getting an admission offer from one of the top B-schools are unparalleled. The Executive PGDM course at XLRI is unique in itself. It gives working professionals the chance to enhance their skills and ability and excel further. The decision, though, wasn’t an easy one. To resign from the secure confines of a job as a Manager at a Public Sector Bank that too at a time of an economic slowdown brought about by the pandemic was tough. But what convinced me to take the plunge was the rich and vibrant legacy of XLRI and the experience and learnings that were to come along with it. Now when I roll back a year, I can say with conviction that it was the best decision of my life.

The transformational journey in terms of my career and enhancing my skill sets to be adaptable to the corporate world was made much easier by this programme. XLRI allowed me to interact with a vibrant cohort of batchmates from diverse professional and geographical backgrounds. During the various group assignments, group discussions and social gatherings, which was a routine, I learned a lot in terms of diverse professional and social cultures. This interaction with my peers helped me broaden my way of approaching and analysing situations.

The case study-based learning and the deep insights provided by the vastly experienced faculties helped me sharpen my skills sets and be future-ready. The guest lectures, conclaves, workshops and gruelling mentorships sessions from top industry professionals enlightened my knowledge with their learnings and experience. I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Conclave Committee. It gave me a platform to pursue my varied interest. As a part of the committee, it facilitated self- actualization and gave a new dimension to my personality.

At the end of this MBA journey, I feel short of adjectives and superlatives in praise of this esteemed institute. All I can say is it has transformed me into a better professional and, above all, a better human being.

Career Transformation Journey

“Opportunity is everywhere. The key is to develop the vision to see it. To see an opportunity, we must be open to all thoughts.”

Optimism and self-belief were my key motivators when I decided to pursue MBA from a leading institute and step outside the comfort zone of my established work-life. A business-enthusiastic and with a passion to contribute to society, I walked into a new phase of my life at XLRI a year ago and there was no looking back since then.

Prior to joining the Executive PGDM program at XLRI, I was working as a Sales Engineer in the core industry in the oil and gas and general manufacturing sectors. The coursework at XLRI coupled with extra-curricular activities helped me understand different industries and different roles. I developed a theoretical understanding of different areas of business including finance, strategy, operations, human resources, and marketing. Through close interactions with peers, faculty, and mentors, I got a first-hand understanding of the changing landscape of the industry and identified areas/skills to build and hone that would be my strengths to take on upcoming challenges at the workplace and beyond. My interactions with the mentors and industry veterans helped me understand the consulting industry which I was keen to step into post my masters. I studied in-depth different concepts related to case- studies and practiced simultaneously and developed an aptitude for case-solving towards analyzing business challenges.

To the prompt and zealous efforts over the months, I got into a consulting company on a full-time basis which I had yearned to explore after completing my masters. Getting into XLRI as a manufacturing cum oil-and-gas industry professional and getting out to the corporate world with a better understanding of business activities and better placed to tackle different scenarios and solve problems, I believe that the journey at XLRI has been truly a transformational one.

Career Transformation Journey

If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it-then I can achieve it - Muhammad Ali

I started my professional career as a GET at Tata Motors plant after graduating in Mechanical Engineering from NIT Rourkela. Having worked in the Operations & New vehicle Launch domain in a leading Automobile company, I have excelled in problem-solving and know in and out of the Manufacturing processes. As a budding engineer, I got to learn new things daily. But what I lacked was to channel my efforts optimally with the understanding of Marketing, Sales, Strategy & finance domain. It tempted me to pursue a master’s in management. The ex-PGDM course at XLRI was my first choice being the oldest 1-year MBA program.

It’s a brave new world. It’s not just about finding a new job. It’s about changing careers. I knew I was taking a leap of faith, stepping into the unknown. It was like trading comfort and familiarity for an aspiring job. I enjoyed meeting peers from the diverse industries community and hearing how their experiences translated to our course lessons. I loved the most about this course because of the amalgamation of business & HR courses and the complex set of problems it presents in an ever- changing environment that genuinely helps one understand his limits and then go way past them. The XLRI methodology of teaching and my past working experience has helped me reinvent myself continuously every day and simulate real-life business problems during this course. MBA at XLRI has helped me shape myself as a professional who can also efficiently handle the human elements in a business.

As an Engineer, problem-solving has been a part of my DNA. I love moving step by step from the problem to an actionable solution. As an operations manager in my previous role, I had solved many Production problems & bottlenecks under a very tight deadline, sometimes on the same day. It tempted me to choose consulting as my dream role during my MBA. I knew that in consulting, I would have to work on the most pressing issues for my clients & which seems super exciting to me. I also knew that I had to work on improvising my skill set to get the consulting role.

I started preparation for consulting interviews & also participated in various consulting competitions across different B-schools & Corporates across India. I also organized 2 National level Case competitions on Start-up & E-commerce. These activities helped me move a few steps closer to my goals. Thus, I targeted consulting roles and was finally able to grab the role of a consultant in a reputed Indian consulting firm. My time spent learning and growing at XLRI helped me adapt to land this job. I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to further their education and lead their organization into the future. I'm confident to say that if you want to grow in your career, consistency is the key.

Career Transformation Journey

My name is Pratyusha Roy, I have completed my engineering from R.V College of Engineering, Bengaluru. I am currently Pursuing a full-time MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur. I am possessing 7+ years of experience in Operations Management in Manufacturing Industry and Tech Consulting in IT industry. I have previously worked as a consultant in Capgemini, later I have worked as a product manager in a consumer durable company Aquila Comforts Pvt Ltd.

An MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur has helped me transform my technical skill with managerial skills.

I have Expertise in Product Management (Product design, launch, marketing etc.), Operations & Team management.>/p>

I Exhibit customer-centric process thinking and strong analytical skills to help stakeholders glean key insights into business problems enable them through effective strategy execution & achieve sustainable results.

I am currently placed in Infosys Consulting as a Management Consultant

Career Transformation Journey

With good experience in the IT and banking sector, I decided to further enhance my knowledge in business and joined one of the most prestigious colleges in India, XLRI Jamshedpur. With world-class faculty and a specially crafted curriculum for experienced professionals, XLRI helps in nurturing and enhancing our skills. What differentiates this course from other courses are the faculties here. XLRI has a rich and knowledgeable family of faculty. Their way of teaching is very practical and imbibing. I am honoured to be a part of the XLRI family and the learnings and experience gained here will always stay with me.

This course further added to my learning curve by helping me gain insights into various management domains. I've recently transitioned to a position as a business consultant, where I intend to use what I've learned to provide solutions to a variety of industries in order to keep up with the fast-paced corporate environment.

Career Transformation Journey

My journey in XLRI has been an enriching and eventful one. Coming from data science domain, I wanted an insightful management journey so that I can use a combination of both to excel in my career. MBA from a reputed institute such as XLRI has really propelled my career in the right direction. XLRI helped me in this transition through their well-articulated and up-to-date curriculum and world class faculty. The teaching method of the faculty is so refreshing, practical and engaging besides the faculty themselves being very knowledgeable, patient and humble, I am glad that I could be part of this experience.

While my experience in the data science domain gave me the necessary technical expertise and my managerial knowledge was mostly hands-on, the courses designed by XLRI empowered me with knowledge on a variety of subjects like Managerial Economics, Corporate Finance, Corporate strategy, Operations Management , Managerial communication , Managing Human Behaviour besides other subjects which gave me a holistic view of the business environment and how to amalgamate all these learnings in the corporate world to effectively lead an organization. Based on my newly acquired knowledge, I have now transitioned to the role of a decision analytics consultant where I am hoping to incorporate my learnings to provide solutions to a variety of industries to deal with the ever dynamic and agile corporate environment.

Career Transformation Journey

My decision to get admitted to the ExPGDM program at XLRI was one of the best decisions made in my life. After an 8-year stint in the corporate arena working in various roles, I felt the strong urge to learn the management side of the business with my engineering foundation. The GMP program at XLRI helped me to develop a strong business viewing angle to corporate issues and is the best steppingstone for experienced professionals to move into the management world.

The GMP program aims to develop excellent business leaders through a rigorous admission process followed by a well-developed curriculum of business skills and soft skills on the behavioral and communications side. My experience to learn multiple concepts taught during classes with an experienced, in-house worldwide faculty, intense group discussions with peers from diverse backgrounds, and subsequent implementation of the learned concepts into the real world have been very enriching and satisfying to the extent that I can smoothly blend into multiple business management roles.

I would highly recommend the XLRI GMP course to any experienced professional on any given day, given the fact that XLRI is one of the oldest B schools with a great alumni base and excellent coordination in the industry.

Career Transformation Journey

The Ex-PGDM at XLRI, Jamshedpur is a 15-month Programme. Over the past 1 year, I learned from multiple industries, multiple geographies and multiple stages of growth from a fantastically diverse, motivated and engaged class. A key element of my time at XLRI Jamshedpur was the close learning with the multiple companies and mentors helping us in the preparation of interviews and how it transformed and solidified my career ambition, and it starts even before we actually joined the school!

The partnership and coordination with the Placement committee started all the way from the first month. The CDC worked with us on creating an XLRI style CV that is clear, succinct and focused on impact. We even run this through a peer review that ‘scores’ the CV! This was a great platform upon which to build the XLRI experience. The Guest lectures of eminent personalities from the different sectors of the industry added an immense value to our b-school journey.

Of course, a huge element of MBA careers is about Academics and Placements. All the Professors have been highly knowledgeable and we gained insight from them which is going to stay with us forever. We also learnt a lot from the recruitment presentations, attending on-campus events run by companies and more. We go as far as doing 1:1 interview preparation, that’s specific per sector, but also specific per company! In my case, I worked with the Careers Development Cell to put together a comprehensive plan to prep for my upcoming interviews, drawing from the experiences of past students, alumni and careers centre staff. This all resulted in an offer from an IT Technology firm.

Career Transformation Journey

I began my career at Same Deutz-Fahr, a global Tractor manufacturer headquartered in Italy, as a Graduate Engineer Trainee in 2015. Later, I worked with HII-Mech engineering for a brief period.

My role in both the firms included the responsibilities of a design engineer and a project coordinator. As a part of the job, I worked from the design conception phase to the end of the assembly line and testing phase, gaining an overall exposure to the product development and operations of the manufacturing firms. This exposure sparked my interest in operations management.

Having worked in such a background, I felt it is essential to get exposed to the company's business side as I aspire to become a C suite executive. So, I decided to pursue an MBA from a top tier B School in India. Then I cracked GMAT and joined XLRI after an intense selection procedure.

My design thinking skills coupled with an innovation mindset, experiences in process improvement projects, stakeholder management, solid analytical acumen for data-driven decision making and a holistic view of the business process helped me bag a perfect role in the service excellence division of a multinational IT giant.

Without the XLRI's ExPGDM program, it would have been difficult for me to make a successful transition from an automotive R&D background to the IT service excellence division.

Through the fantastic academicians, guest lectures from industry leaders, and peer learning from a highly diverse cohort, I have received a holistic knowledge and know-how of different aspects of business, innovation, and leadership, the value of which is immeasurable. It gave me the skills and understanding beyond my wildest thoughts. It has truly helped me become a more humble, empathetic, and problem-solving leader ready to contribute to the corporate world and society's greater good.

Career Transformation Journey

XLRI brings people, culture and technology to bring a transformation in the industry. The alumni network of XLRI has helped immensely in understanding the various facets of business. My mentors have always been there to guide me through the course. They pushed me to understand and reminded me why I joined the course in the first place and helped me achieve the transformation I was looking for. The peer-to-peer learning combined with the classroom experience helped me in understanding various topics relatively easily. The rigorous nature of the course forced me to be a quick learner while the Guest Speaker Sessions helped us stay updated with the recent trends in the industry. There have been multiple conclaves where there is a day for extensive discussions with various celebrated guests who have transformed businesses and listening to them is highly inspirational. I am very happy with the placement procedure as I feel it has been a fun process and my future job ticks all the requirements, I could think of. To wrap things up, It has been an awesome year in XLRI. The knowledge gained is immense and being among such talented peers for a whole year is one of the best take away from the course which changed me in so many ways.

Career Transformation Journey

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change yourself. This proverb guides the very resolution of pursuing an MBA after gaining a certain level of experience in the middle of one’s career, with the core intent of personal transmogrification. With an institute like XLRI Jamshedpur, the career explorations and transformation opportunities are immense for any professional not only in India but also in abroad.

I had started my IT career journey with Tata Consultancy Services with the initial ILP days at Trivandrum for almost 3 months being spent in developing the technical competencies and honing the soft-skills. After completion of the ILP, I was relocated to India’s financial capital, Mumbai with allocation into one of the world’s largest wealth management and investment banking institute based out of the US. It was here that I learnt to take small-steps in finishing off the deliverables on time, developed skills and exposed myself across the emerging technologies as well as the financial & wealth management domain proficiencies that helped me to climb up the ladders one at a time. Coming from the technical background, the financial knowledge was a black box in the daily working with the client and It was the dexterity that I pondered about upskilling myself and learn more about the operations, strategies and finances and other aspects of the management and decided to go for an MBA.

In the 7 years’ time I had leveled myself up from having started as new team members to being a lead of several teams spread across multiple functionaries and line of businesses of our client. Thus, I was striving for the top-notch b-schools of our country that offered MBA for a candidate with my profile and XLRI gave me that opportunity to pursue one of its flagship ExPGDM (previously called GMP) course.

The rich and fast paced course certainly has enlightened me with the leadership and people management skills through group interactions and peer learnings & projects. MBA certainly served as a platform to analyse and percieve the businesses and strategies enabling them. Applying the insights, skills, knowledge gained in my MBA, and the relevant experience, I was able to ace an interview of project management role at Atos. And, I am sure to utilize learnings from the MBA to every day of my life, thus providing me a practical mindset and framework for looking and acting at succeeding business situations.

Career Transformation Journey

After working in Atos for 3.5 years as a Functional consultant for implementing Intelligent Automation for US based clients, I continued my career journey with Tata Consultancy Services. Starting in 2019, I was assigned a Team Lead role in Mumbai, working for clients in the hospitality and Construction Industry.

My part included working with the client over Migration of on-premises Oracle E- Business Suite (EBS) to Oracle Cloud and Data Integration of HAPPAY Cards with Oracle E-Business Suite. I worked for strengthening TCS’s competency in Travel and Expense business domain resulting in 95% Customer Satisfaction Index.

During this period, I gained valuable insights into the project and team management processes, as the position entailed managing team members and meetings, as well as extensive customer engagement and collaboration with cross-functional teams and stakeholders. With my critical thinking approach and interpersonal skills, I was able to handle these situations, but I knew that there were many more parts of project management that, if I could gain, would enable me to work more efficiently in this capacity.

The position required understanding of client business models and was a good fit for my inspiration to attain an MBA. The client engagement helped me realize that, while I am technically proficient with module requirements, I am yet to develop the business acumen necessary to assess overall product development. I began looking for an MBA program that would help me fill this need and prepare me to deal with complex business situations.

Working in collaboration with professionals having industry experience benefitted me from this comprehensive and fast-paced course. Through group interactions and projects with colleagues from various industries and work cultures, the executive MBA helped me strengthen my leadership and people management abilities. The course pushed me to venture outside of my comfort zone. Every day has yielded breakthroughs. To mention a few things, the program taught me about time management, functioning successfully under duress, and effective teamwork with a diversified team. Along with the curriculum, the leadership speakers from other businesses gave me a better understanding of the various industries and helped me broaden my horizons.

The program also includes a career development path and mentors for individuals by upskilling and broadening our skills. They provide us with a platform for self- development through various resources and continuous profile and skill building activities. All these help us to prepare ourselves for the journey awaited, further professionally and personally.

Career Transformation Journey

After graduating as an engineer from Bangalore Institute of Technology, I started working as a Senior Software Development Engineer in a B2B SaaS firm called Sprinklr. The vast exposure to building creative CXM solutions for various clients gave me multiple opportunities to learn and grow in a product-based environment setup.

After five years, I decided to pursue an MBA to learn the necessary skill sets to pursue my aspirations further. It also gave me an opputunities to connect to an extensive alumni network of the esteemed institution.

The transition I can speak to the best is that of a Software Engineer to a Product Manager. It helps to work very quickly regarding the more technical aspects of the product development process because of my previous experience in the B2B SaaS startup.

Being an engineer opened up many doors in the product world, as there are many roles, particularly in the AI/ML space, requiring a higher level of technical knowledge from their PMs. This helped me learn how to think about prioritizing work with my team, managing stakeholder expectations, and tracking dependencies.

The whole journey has enabled me to understand why we do what we do and how we can be better to take our teams and companies closer to the ideals of good product management.

Career Transformation Journey

Getting a campus placement is the dream of every student. It is a matter of security and pride for most of the students. As an engineering graduate, I, too, aspired to get a good campus placement to get a kick-start for my career. And I got it. I cracked Day 0 with TCS. It was indeed a moment of pride. To see the turn of events, I loved my job, my domain, and the challenges that came with it.

But is that all? Should I learn more to face the challenging business world? To get an answer to this, I came to XLRI.

To see new challenges, I chose to become a Placecomm Representative. In the COVID era, this role helped me develop a regular connection with my classmates. And that is when I could see the variety, the depth, and the limitless ocean of ideas, jobs, and profiles. The rigorous journey in XLRI, the trainings sessions, assignments and made me transform to a complete business leader. I got selected in Accenture (ATCI) and of course, getting placed at the is also a cherry on the cake ;) Looking forward to an enthusiastic journey in Accenture in the senior business role. I found a new sky with XLRI, and I cannot wait to fly in it.

Career Transformation Journey

My name is Suvasmita Mohanty, and I started my professional career in 2014 as a fresher in TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES. In my last role, I was a Team Lead. After seven years of continued service, things started getting monotonous, and I thought it was the right time for a career switch. This is where I decided to pursue my MBA. With my family’s support, dedication, and commitment, I was able to convert the ExPGDM programme of XLRI, with my level of experience, the ExPGDM programme was the best fit.

I feel fortunate to have chosen the right career decision. Getting into XLRI is one of the best things I have done. The rigorous course curriculum and the immense peer learning that we gain here are beyond comparison. I am very thankful to all my professors and mentors for guiding me throughout this XL journey. And today, I can proudly say that I am part of the XL family and the rich Alumni base, and this will remain with me till my last breath.

It gives me immense pleasure to share with you that I have been placed as a Service Delivery Manager (SDM) in ATOS Syntel. I look forward to excelling in my career with the knowledge gained here. I am sure that this learning, combined with the holistic and structured problem solving that MBA has equipped me with, will enable me to drive growth in a competitive environment.

Thank you.

Career Transformation Journey

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me - Carol Burnett

I believe every individual has a dream of growing in life, whether personal or professional. This requires hard work. I had a taste of creating impact while working at Voltas. I have had the unique opportunity to grow a business from scratch while having a supportive work environment. In my opinion, for any individual to take prominent decisions requires an excessive amount of understanding across different platforms. Hence, I had always wanted to diversify my intellect abilities.

While I cherish my time at Voltas, I desired to overcome the comfort zone you get into while working long term with a Tata company. I decided to expand my horizons & joined XLRI Jamshedpur for their one year MBA programs. Such a short time of one year at XLRI gives you a whole life worth of experiences. Somewhere between the academic pressure, co- curricular activities & everyday shenanigans, you are being transformed every moment.

The choice of electives is diverse and helps students harness knowledge in the area of their interest. Coming from a mining background, I got a chance to develop my business knowledge through the core subjects of Finance, Marketing, and Human Resources & further enhance my strategic concepts through the various subjects taught at the institute. The Professors are very engaging, and they make all the efforts to deliver a course in the best way possible.

In the end, I have come to the conclusion that MBA is not about stressing over CGPA, MBA is not about losing sleep over placement, MBA is not about the external competition, rather MBA is about pushing your limits beyond your comfort zone, MBA is about innovating yourself every day with out of box thinking, MBA is about collaboration with peers. This change in mindset has more ROI than any job could give me.

Career Transformation Journey

I am an electronics and communication engineer who started a career in IT, having worked for around seven years in different IT companies. I started my career at ITC Infotech where I worked on SAP BASIS and SAP Solution Manager Modules, and then I made a career switch to TCS as IT Analyst. Before joining the ExPGDM program at XLRI, Jamshedpur, I worked with Accenture as Application Development Team Lead, leading a team of around 20 resources.

The program added a lot to my skill sets together with giving an unparallel exposure to various aspects of business skills needed to thrive in a career. The curriculum, assignments, workshops, guest speaker series develops a new way of looking at things.

During the 15 months of MBA, you get excellent exposure to various industries as case study methodology at XLRI covers the length & breadth of management problems across multiple industries. The fundamentals of problem-solving in any sector remain the same - listening to the customers, design-thinking approach, and connecting the dots between problem and solution. In addition to the academic training, interaction with various industry leaders at XLRI, hearing their success stories, and problem-solving approach instill confidence in students, empowering them with a "Can-do" attitude.

Career Transformation Journey

We rarely come across moments that break the continuum of life, change our perception of reality, and show us that nothing would ever be the same.

XLRI was one such defining moment when I knew that after years of struggle, I had finally put my feet on firm ground where I could build my future.

I had one of my best experiences as an XL-er. The learning was immense. Not only were we exposed to various disciplines of management science, but also to the ethical sciences and humanities.

The first step of leadership rarely has anything to do with management. XLRI taught us that the foremost learning as a future leader is self-awareness and empathy.

The path was never smooth. The program was rigorous highly compressed, and we were riling under pressure all the time. Multiple times our feet would get knocked out from under us. But those are the exact moments that take us to our dreams.

It was a life-changing experience for me. The program not only built a solid foundation of knowledge but also empowered us to think beyond the possible.

I learned from the best faculty during my tenure, met so many inspiring people, and participated in numerous activities that honed my leadership skills.

My following chapter will begin at Accenture Strategy, where I have been offered the role of a Consultant. I am eagerly awaiting to embark on this unexplored terrain holding to my values, and everything XL taught me in this incredible year!

Career Transformation Journey

A long time ago, when kings and monarchs ruled the lands, a wise king gave away all the army and the wealth he had achieved in his career to charity. To his heir apparent, he gave just a sword and a horse and told him, “If you have the capability within you, earn back the entire kingdom with these two things.” Times have changed, but the values haven’t. The education has replaced the sword in you, and the discipline has replaced the horse in you.

After going through the exciting journey of ExPGDM with utmost pride and confidence, I can say that you get both the sword and the horse at XLRI.

In my work experience in the PPC Department of the largest steel plant in India, JSW Steel Vijayanagar Works, I was the planning in charge for South Auto customers like Toyota, Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, BHEL. I had the task of planning their requirements in a highly complex and turbulent steel plant. While this experience gave me a lot of learning and a platform to showcase my leadership and mentoring skills, where I had led multiple cross-functional teams, I always felt like doing something more significant than this. At this point, during the Covid times, I decided that it was time was my next step in my career.

After going through the rigorous selection process for the prestigious one-year program at XLRI, I received the call letter for the ExPGDM program on a fine Monday morning, and I was thrilled to bits. I was also humbled at the same time to realize I will be a part of a cohort from the most diverse backgrounds, both professionally and culturally.

Things I got from this program: - Excellent friends to always rely upon, best professors in the country to learn from, most exemplary of the opportunities to portray your capabilities, learnings to lead yourself and others “Ethically”!

Things I didn’t get from his program: - Peaceful Sleep (I’m Serious! If you sleep for more than 5 hours on any given day, you are not doing justice to yourself or this program)

A mechanical engineering degree from MIT Manipal and a work experience of 5 years in the core sector, specifically the harsh steel industry, is not something you encounter daily. I always wanted to leverage my past, combine it with the business acumen gained in my MBA journey and go back to help core businesses in my country to become better versions of themselves. When I cracked the interview at Vector Consulting, I was on cloud nine. At that moment, I knew that I had transformed my career by going into operations consulting, where I would be using my past and the present to build my future.

I will be eternally grateful to XLRI for giving me an opportunity and platform to prove myself. I hope I will do justice to myself and my professional career to make this world a better place for all.

Career Transformation Journey

I came to XLRI Jamshedpur with about five years of experience in Technical Planning & Project Management in TATA Motors Limited. As the course commenced, I realized that the subjects and their syllabus were designed very carefully to keep it abreast with the current market and business. It is not an easy job considering how rapidly the world is changing. But the institute took care of it very efficiently in providing support in acquiring the latest tools and trends to understand different perspectives of the industries. Coming on to placements and its preparation, I was really impressed with the whole process, as it was very structured. It began with Placement Office Authorities speaking to each one to understand everyone’s expectation. Career Development workshops and interviews analysed my profile and guided me about the skills I need to acquire to get into the roles that I was aspiring for. Multiple workshops were organized to acquire those skills. I was looking to get into a General Management or Consulting jobs and various activities organized by several committees at the institute helped me to achieve what I desired for. It was because of these efforts made by the institute and the committee members that I was selected in Accenture Operations. Coming from a Non-IT company and then making it into one of the best IT companies in the world was truly a dream come true moment for me. Even in terms of the package, it was a huge leap. I had never expected this kind of outcome, and this could not have been possible without the effort of the institute, placement office, and various committees.

Career Transformation Journey

I began my career at John Deere India in July 2015, mainly working on Product Development as a Product Engineer after completing my graduation in Mechanical Engineering. In my job at John Deere, I led projects which gave a flavour of various aspects of product development. I wanted to accentuate my skills further and develop a 360-degree view of business management.

With that in mind and given my experience, I started to look for an executive program from a prestigious B school that meets my requirement from the variety of options available. Fortunately, I came across XLRI’s PGDM program, whose curriculum has a blend of Finance, Marketing, Sales, Human Resources, Operations, Strategy, and IT. I found the ExPGDM a perfect program for me as its highly analytical and case-based pedagogy approach to learning, its application in current business situations, and the wide range of electives helped me connect my professional learnings with classroom concepts and gain knowledge across broad business functions.

Apart from the regular coursework, the programme also provides various career development paths for individuals by collaborating with an external career development agency. This provides us with a platform for self-development through multiple resources, continuous profile, and skill-building activities. All the committees (placement, guest speaker, mentoring, workshop, alumni, etc.) along with the career development agency work in unison and provide students abundant opportunity to learn and hone their skills in the area of one’s choice by connecting with industry experts’ and the humongous XL alumni base.

The Management program at XLRI, Jamshedpur, transformed me personally and developed my skills, and I was successful in bagging the role of Product Manager in Bajaj Finance. I am looking forward to applying my MBA learnings into this new role and further growing in the career trajectory I envisioned.

Career Transformation Journey

“Experience is the best teacher which gives exposure to all aspects of life. There are many aspects of life to be learned unless you go for it. It is the endeavor to which you are exposed and your action on it culminates in experience”

This quote resonates with me and acts as a guiding hand for me to explore things. Working as a senior manager in the automotive industry, I was able to develop my technical as well as people management skills. However, after 5 years in the industry, the time warranted for introspection of what more can be done. At that point I felt that a much-needed holistic business insight was the major skill required to grow personally and professionally along the corporate ladder. In my opinion, for any individual to take prominent decisions requires an excessive amount of understanding across different platforms. Hence, I had always wanted to diversify my intellect abilities and I decided that a formal management education would fill the gap.

I am very happy to be pursuing my ExPGDM program from XLRI. This is me probably ticking off another item from my to-do lists. But I profoundly believe that the experiences that I have encountered be it personal to professional have allowed me to broaden my horizons, introspect myself, understand myself deeply and bring a transformation from within and I would state that this ExPGDM experience was worth every penny I have paid for.

Choosing Executive PGDM from XLRI was one of the best decisions as the cohort was from a very diverse background, which allowed me to learn and relate from their experiences and insights along with my own experience and knowledge.

The ExPGDM delivered the general management skills that has enabled me to explore my options across a wide range of sectors giving me significantly greater flexibility. It is generally said that it is extremely difficult to switch both industry and function simultaneously. But for me, a career switch took place by pursuing a ExPGDM at XLRI.

The lessons and learnings captured here is beyond any justification of the quality time spent, surpassing all the opportunity costs that were once considered. The journey is so beautiful that it transforms you not only as a leader but also as a human being. The transformational impact will make sure that you inoculate all decisions effectively with accountability abiding by the brand tagline

- For the greater good.

Right from the constant academic pressure to co-curricular activities to personal commitments and not to forget, the social peer pressure, you are being transformed every moment. One realizes the importance of clock-speed in this journey. The priorities you set for life are the ones gaining your time from the only 24 hours of a day. The prioritization / rightful decision making is what differentiates oneself from the rest. The bunch of innumerable experiences one is exposed in a year at XLRI transforms one to the depth never imagined!

Career Transformation Journey

I started my professional journey as an Engineer in Construction industry, post my B. tech in Instrumentation and Control Engineering. I undertook the charge of Planning coordination and operation & Tendering and contract management Team, handled Multiple project activity in Electrical and Instrumentation Items, procurement, supply, erection, and commissioning. Played critical role in Bagging multiple projects for L&T construction. I handled Electrical and Instrumentation Items of Mega projects, worked with multiple stakeholders, faced difficult situations during crisis management. Working for four years in Planning coordination and operation team and three Years in Tendering and contract management team, gave me initial exposure of being professional in my domain and to cross the threshold that is required to be ready for next important assignment. I was looking for further career growth that may take me work closer to the management side.

This prompts me to take my career beyond what I was doing. I wanted to move up in the ladder of hierarchy in the organization. So, I decided to pursue MBA from XLRI. During this MBA program, I learn about the various function of the business with the focus on finance, strategy and marketing. Further I gained transferrable skills to transform myself from core operations, supply chain management and Tendering and contract management to IT role. Getting exposure to learn business intelligence and data mining, big data analytics and other analytical tools Such as R and Python, and to digital transformation, along with the peer learning from the cohort of 114. I have transformed myself to be industry ready for IT role. My interest in finance management coupled with operations and other core and electives courses, have given me foresight to analyse rationally the overall picture. If I conclude this, MBA program (ExPGDM) gave me a good launching pad to my professional journey.

Career Transformation Journey

I worked through R&D sections, mainly in emerging technologies focusing on AI and Machine Learning. It got me close to many cutting-edge tools, and I had a keen sense of developing models. I got an opportunity to interact with clients multiple times throughout my career. I also got a fair understanding of how the technology capabilities and business requirements did not always match up. This taught me to focus on the business approach more by approaching the clients frequently and connecting the dots with the requirements.

The curiosity to look from a business perspective led me to pursue an MBA from XLRI, where I could cover the entire course within a year, thanks to its executive program. The course helped me connect with people from various industries and technical abilities and understand the strengths of each segment and the latest technological interventions.

I had an opportunity to take part in the campus placement for Accenture Technology Consulting, and they selected me for a Consultant role. The new position is an excellent opportunity to interface between business requirements and technological solutions. I am sure I will take the technical skills that I already possess and apply the newfound business orientation and capabilities to help clients with emerging technologies.

Career Transformation Journey

Transitions aren’t just about doing something different. A career transition is a lifestyle redesign that entails rethinking how you feel at the end of the day, how you want to spend your time and how this relates to your long-term goals.

As a Mechanical Engineer who switched lanes into IT, working with a global leader like TCS gave me versatile experience and multifaceted knowledge about the global businesses. The LIRIL (Leading the change, Integrity, Respect for Individual, Excellence and Learning & Sharing) values imbibed during my stint of 5 years placed me in good stead. However, I still felt that there were some key skills missing from my arsenal that were impeding my progress. That is when I decided to take the leap of faith and enrol in the ExPGDM programme at XLRI. This was truly a life-changing journey for me.

The programme is an essential blend of all the real-world skills needed to reach new heights after gaining work experience. The curriculum includes all of the knowledge and rigour required at the mid-career level. The professors and facilities are exceptional, ensuring that every students are understanding. I learned skills relevant to the Finance, Marketing, and Human Resources components of management, as well as advanced my knowledge in the IT domain and learned brand new things about organisational structure and behaviour. The course is truly designed to excel because it combines theoretical and practical knowledge. We were exposed to a variety of simulations and games that encouraged the leader in all of us to make decisions and use our abilities to manage our business. A truly multidimensional curriculum that taught us not only how to work for a conglomerate but also how to take ownership as an entrepreneur.

The programme also provides us all to highlight our individual talents as well. It wields us and forces us to leave our comfort zones. I was elected as an executive member of social media Team. This responsibility honed my networking and digital thinking skills. As Social Media Team member, we are responsible for handling various social media handles and understand the algorithm running behind various social media handles like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube interacting with students, industry leaders and coordinating industry wide conclaves. This developed digital marketing skills along with instilling design thinking skills to solve problems.

In life, transformation is always brought about by something. It changes us. The Management programme at XLRI, Jamshedpur transformed me personally and developed skills that will serve as the foundation for my future corporate career as an Ethical and Sustainable Business Leader.

Career Transformation Journey

My career started with Infosys where I started as a technology consultant. I have always been someone who has never settled for less. Within 2 years of my professional career with Infosys, I moved to Massachusetts, USA as the youngest member of one of the mission critical projects at Infosys. I worked for one of the major retail banks in the New England region for over 3 years. During my stay in the US, I had the opportunity to attend numerous tech and social events at MIT and Harvard. These learnings would later help me become the person I am today.

I came back to India during the pandemic for visa stamping, and it were these few months that re- ignited the fire in me to go back to the classroom. I applied and made it to the cohort.

“If you can’t dream, what’s the point?” has been a phrase that has been a key driver during my career. I have always been an achiever in most of the assignments I have taken in my career – An All- India Mathematics Olympiad Rank 30 holder, consistent high performer at Infosys and someone who has been extremely competitive to achieve the next big thing in career. Joining XLRI was a moment of truth for me. The academic journey has been an enriching and totally transformative one.

As a professional, my only dream has been to work with one of the best brains of the country and impact the bottomline in a broader sense. My selection in Accenture Strategy has ensured the same and given newer challenges to overcome. The transition from technology to management consulting is never an easy one, however, when you are an XLer, you always believe that you belong. The hustle to the top must never stop – onward and upward we move!

Career Transformation Journey

I started my career as an SAP ABAP consultant in Accenture back in 2016. While working on the technical aspect, I had to understand the functional and business aspect as well. After 2 years I got an opportunity to transform my career into SAP Sales and Distribution domain. Now understanding the business processes was more important than technical aspect.

However, I realized that working directly with clients understanding the great potential in the technology space and solving business problems would accelerate my growth and for progressing to the senior and diversified roles in an organization, I need to have a good knowledge and understanding of key business functions. Hence, I decided to pursue XLRI Ex-PGDM program to understand business across functions, gain knowledge of problem-solving frameworks and enhance my business acumen.

My journey of transformation from a technical professional to Management professional was full of rigor and hard work. This program has helped me not only in my learning’s but also in building my overall personality. When look at my MBA journey, I can undoubtedly say the learning has been multidimensional. Every day was a new challenge, but it contained the learnings of a lifetime. The knowledge I have gained and the memories I have collected will be cherished for life. I feel esteemed that I will be graduating from this prestigious institution, and I hope to carry forward its legacy lifelong.

Career Transformation Journey

Don't limit yourself as any people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe you can achieve. Opportunities don't happen, you create them. These are the thoughts that I live by and these have helped me grow in my career. My previous work at Infosys Ltd. involved techno-functional consulting and my goal was to become a pure business consultant professional. My institute helped me in achieving this goal through various career development activities and leadership talk series.

The course was rigorous and it helped me gain valuable domain knowledge which eventually helped me evolve as a management professional. The peer learning that I received here was immense, owing to the diverse academic and professional background of the students.

Transformation always happens in life, it’s just a matter of time. The stepping stone towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. Without leaps of imagination and faith, we lose the excitement of possibilities and dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. This program at XLRI Jamshedpur transformed me, both personally and professionally and I look forward to the learnings this new role would bring.

Career Transformation Journey

“Experience is the best teacher which gives exposure to all aspects of life. There are many aspects of life to be learned unless you go for it. It is the endeavor to which you are exposed and your action on it culminates in experience” This quote resonates with me and acts as a guiding hand for me to explore things. Working as a senior manager in the automotive industry, I was able to develop my technical as well as people management skills. However, after 5 years in the industry, the time warranted for introspection of what more can be done. At that point I felt that a much-needed holistic business insight was the major skill required to grow personally and professionally along the corporate ladder. In my opinion, for any individual to take prominent decisions requires an excessive amount of understanding across different platforms. Hence, I had always wanted to diversify my intellect abilities and I decided that a formal management education would fill the gap. I am very happy to be pursuing my ExPGDM program from XLRI. This is me probably ticking off another item from my to-do lists. But I profoundly believe that the experiences that I have encountered be it personal to professional have allowed me to broaden my horizons, introspect myself, understand myself deeply and bring a transformation from within and I would state that this PGDM experience was worth every penny I have paid for. Choosing Executive PGDM from XLRI was one of the best decisions as the cohort was from a very diverse background, which allowed me to learn and relate from their experiences and insights along with my own experience and knowledge. The PGDM delivered the general management skills that has enabled me to explore my options across a wide range of sectors giving me significantly greater flexibility. It is generally said that it is extremely difficult to switch both industry and function simultaneously. But for me, a career switch took place by pursuing a ExPGDM at XLRI. The lessons and learnings captured here is beyond any justification of the quality time spent, surpassing all the opportunity costs that were once considered. The journey is so beautiful that it transforms you not only as a leader but also as a human being. The transformational impact will make sure that you inoculate all decisions effectively with accountability abiding by the brand tagline - For the greater good. Right from the constant academic pressure to co-curricular activities to personal commitments and not to forget, the social peer pressure, you are being transformed every moment. One realizes the importance of clock-speed in this journey. The priorities you set for life are the ones gaining your time from the only 24 hours of a day. The prioritization / rightful decision making is what differentiates oneself from the rest. The bunch of innumerable experiences one is exposed in a year at XLRI transforms one to the depth never imagined!

Career Transformation Journey

Prior to my stint at XLRI, l was working as a Technology Consultant at EY primarily in the FinTech space. Post my MBA, I aspired to carve my career in the impact sector. Owing to the pedagogy, my learning and the amazing network of XL, I got placed in Ericsson in their Mobile Financial Services domain which aims at enabling financial inclusion globally. I would be working there as a Business Development Manager to strengthen Ericsson’s business and relationships with the ecosystem.

Career Transformation Journey

So far my foundation is concerned it rests on the three pillars that are Science, Sports, and Dramatics. As a part of Science pillar- I've completed my B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from NIT Surat. Post that I worked with KEC International limited as an Engineer-Operations & Planning for 4 years and 9 months. It's an RPG group company and I worked in its cable division where, we manufactured Low tension, High tension and Optical fibre cable. There I got an opportunity to lead the documentation approval team for Railway new product development for three products: Contact wire, catenary wire, and signalling cable. I also worked as a Project coordinator for Plant Relocation Project, I also drive the Innovation Cell Chapter of our Plant and also handle the Planning Operations of our Plant.

 As a Part of Sports Pillar- I'm a Sports enthusiast since my childhood. I’ve played district level football and state level basketball. I've served as a College Sports Secretary and successfully organized and executed Annual Sports fest and Inter-NIT fests there. As part of the dramatics pillar, I started as a stand-up comedian and mimicry artist. From the past 4 years, I have been performing as a professional theatre artist in plays like speechless, life at the first floor bhavai to name a few.

Moving forward, I wanted to transition into a role where I could amplify my impact by polishing the same versatile personality to a broader range of problems. To succeed in such a role, I needed a holistic view of the business that XLRI instills. XLRI's General Management Program provided me with a platform to improve my talents in a variety of business areas. Many of the disciplines included case discussions and simulations, which allowed us to encounter real-life difficulties and use our learnings to make the best of the scenario. Working on a variety of projects and tasks with tight deadlines gave us a taste of how we'll need to manage our work-life balance once we're back online.

I was lucky enough to get placed at Accenture, where I was offered a consultant position. I'm excited to put what I've learned in my new capacity to use and continue the career path I've set out for myself.

Career Transformation Journey

A year ago, when I decided to pursue a full-time MBA after working in corporate world for five years, there were a lot of apprehensions. Amidst the pandemic, pursuing an MBA was questionable & risky. However, deep inside me, I always knew it is the right step to take in my career. After working for five years in the IT industry, I gained a good grasp of several technologies. I felt comfortable working as a tech guy; however, whenever I tried to envisage my future career trajectory, I felt something was missing. That’s when I decided that it is time for me to get back into the academic world and pursue a full-time course. I started to look for a course that could meet my expectations of upskilling myself and also allow me to leverage my work experience. ExPGDM program at XLRI felt like the right fit, and I decided to give it a shot. Fortunately, the stars aligned and I converted my interview. MBA at XLRI has provided me a rich experience of studying from renowned professors of the country. Subjects of Finance, Marketing and Operations helped me understand the aspects of business from all angles. Case study-based teaching helped me to understand the concepts with real-life examples. XLRI also radically changed how I thought the businesses work in the world. With all the knowledge, along with the guidance and mentorship, I could crack the interview for consultant role where I will get the opportunity to apply the concepts learned in this course. It has been an incredible journey at XLRI, and I will always look back fondly at the time, which transformed my career from being a techie to business consultant. Pursuing an MBA has definitely brought exponential changes in my career trajectory.

Career Transformation Journey

I am an IT professional with 7 years of experience. I was working as an analyst in TCS before joining XLRI Jamshedpur Ex-PGDM batch of 2022. I had worked with various Manufacturing, Hitech and retail clients during my tenure in TCS. I wanted to know more about the business aspect of what we did how it was fitting into the grand scheme of things in a consulting firm. So when the time came I joined XLRI and majored in strategy and marketing. The exposure I had at XLRI and the curriculum broadened my perspective of how things actually work in consulting how we can add value to the firm and to our clients. I also learned about how strategy plays an important role in the decision making of firms, into providing solutions to various client requirements and the implementation part of it. I also had a chance to interact with an amazing cohort possessing a rich and varied experience from multiple industries. This experience will be invaluable in my future journey as a Technology consultant in Accenture. My previous experience combined with the learnings I got from my time at XLRI has enabled me to not only add value to the future organizations I will be a part of also helped me evolve as an ethical and responsible human being.

Career Transformation Journey

“When I thought of doing my MBA, I never imagined I’d be placed in such an award-winning and socially-engaged company, Accenture."

I started my career journey as a campus recruit for Idea Cellular Limited as a Graduate Engineer Trainee (GET) as a Transmission planning engineer. Although being an electronics and communication engineer, I was overwhelmed to be able to apply all the engineering fundamentals that I have learned in my college days into my professional life but after a while I realised something was missing. I cannot limit my wings into the technical field itself. After interactions with family, colleagues and seniors, I learned the importance of having business expertise. All of this convinced me to pursue an MBA, and I was fortunate enough to be accepted into a prestigious institution such as XLRI. The General Management Programme instilled in me knowledge of various domains – Finance, Marketing, Operations, and much more.

ExPGDM's diverse cohort provided invaluable peer-to-peer learning opportunities through Group Projects, Class Participation, and informal contacts. The curriculum and the faculties are top-notch and set a benchmark for the rest of the b schools to follow. The General management component of the curriculum has provided me with ample opportunities to experiment and discover my areas of interest. The electives offered are both concentrated to a stream as well as diversified to make me a 360-degree business leader. The one year program has not only exceeded my learning expectations, but has also allowed me to grow as an individual. It made me more self-aware, confident, and, most importantly, a responsible leader. Additionally, it taught me how to survive and work in a virtually connected platform in these challenging times and still build valuable connections for a lifetime. The essence of working on our soft skills, being ethical in business was always given a key focus.

I have been fortunate to be placed in Accenture Operations, where I have been offered a position of an Associate Manager. I am looking forward to applying my learnings into this new role, and further grow in the career trajectory I envisioned for myself.

Career Transformation Journey

I started my career in hospitality as a Sous Chef with ITC Hotels. The concept of gastronomy was something that always excited me. This passion for food lead me to my career in Culinary Arts. At ITC, I led the food production department for the hotel, which involved managing the overall planning and operations for the Food Production department. I have also had the opportunity to work with the ITC Foods Division, for multiple projects in the Frozen foods space.

One of the most fulfilling aspects about my job was having the opportunity to create something new each day and to be able to interact with people from different walks of life. Over the years, however, I realized that my role as a chef limited me to the back-end operations of business. I wanted to expand my horizons in terms of my job profile and subsequent career opportunities.

Post my experience with ITC, I founded the backyard bowls, a cloud kitchen startup offering multicuisine packed meals as well as heath meals catering to students and working professionals.

Throughout my career in hospitality, I closely observed the food market evolving, adding along massive opportunities that the growing food business had to offer. This potential in the booming market really drove me to build a venture of my own from ground up.

Finally in 2021, I joined XLRI’s prestigious ExPGDM program to gain a better insight into business strategy and sustainable scaling. The program greatly enhanced my understanding around how businesses operate. Being a part of the Placement committee gave me the opportunity to closely work with an eclectic team giving me significant exposure to corporate communication.

I participated and was fortunate to win multiple case competitions, an experience that gave me an appreciable insight into concepts such as business strategy, marketing and sustainable scaling and growth in ventures.

Coming from an unconventional background, making a transition in terms of both my domain and industry was a major challenge. The learnings and insights garnered through the year have been most invaluable in helping me hone the right mindset to prepare for a career switch.

My experiences over the past year at XLRI equipped me pivot my profile to a fascinating role and truly enabled me to transform my journey!

Career Transformation Journey

Being a part of XLRI has been a thrilling journey full of diverse experiences and opportunities. The exposure that I found here, I doubt I could have gotten anywhere else. The culture and practices followed in XL are unique and brilliant in itself. It lets you explore your own capabilities and then supports you to build on it. The diversity that I saw in my batchmates gave me insights on various industries and their experiences. Being a part of this vast network is a definite honour. The faculties, and my batchmates have helped me grow through various fields and phases. I found a sense of purpose around my area of interest and specialised in it. More than half way through the course I can confidently say that I hone new skills picked up on the way. In the journey from being an experienced professional to becoming a seasoned professional, XL has sprinkled some amazing ingredient This time in XL has been an adventurous journey with many transformations, personal and professional, and will be the most happening time of my life.

Career Transformation Journey

With XLRI, the brand and quality are an assurance, which significantly impacted my confidence during interviews. What transpired is the platform it gives, making one confident enough not to worry about any other source for skill and value addition. The current Ex- PGDM batch boasts students from diverse backgrounds, which proved beneficial for me through different knowledge-sharing events. XLRI, as a brand, entails the right mix of camaraderie and value learning. In the transformation journey, XLRI offered new horizons of management education. The teaching methodology empowers students to think beyond the possible, providing guidance and industry-related learning. On the individual level, I could relate to the technical experience I had in my previous organization and can now see that through both technical and business lens, which is one of the critical aspects of personal development. On the other hand, soft skills are also taken care of through activities conducted by XLRI and also the academics entail the proper participation of students across subjects.

Career Transformation Journey

I began my career at Publicis Sapient in July 2015. While working for a client, I was drawn to the thrill of assessing, analysing, and documenting changing business needs and their impact on relevant stakeholders, as well as delivering value to the client. As a result of my successful project delivery, my desire to work on more high-impact projects grew stronger. However, because I had little knowledge of business operations, I needed to learn more. As a result, I decided to pursue an MBA, which will help me advance my career by preparing me to understand dynamic business complexities and effectively respond to them. Choosing a programme that meets your needs from the many options available is a difficult decision. I found the XLRI ExPGDM programme to be the best fit for me because its highly analytical and case- based pedagogy, as well as its application in current business situations and wide range of electives, will help me connect my professional learnings with classroom concepts and gain knowledge across broad business functions. The ExPGDM programme emphasises workplace values and social responsibilities. The programme is of 15-month duration and spread across 6 terms. The Ex PGDM program taught me about a variety of topics, including Finance, Marketing, HR, General Management, Operations, and much more. Along with the curriculum, the leadership talks from various industries provide an insight into the industries and assisted in broadening my horizons. The program taught me how to work effectively under pressure, manage my time, and collaborate effectively with a diverse team. Interacting with my peers as part of a diverse-profile batch has helped me appreciate the commonalities and significant distinctions across numerous industries, allowing me to develop a better understanding of the greater world in general while also allowing me to build my network.

Career Transformation Journey

Before my MBA, I had worked in a more technical role with major global leaders like Capgemini and Vertiv Energy Pvt. Ltd. and I always wanted to prepare for my next big professional leap and pursue a career in Management Consulting. My previous experiences in a Consulting role made me realise that I needed to broaden my knowledge and decided to acquire more of a business and management education before I could work as a Management Consultant, particularly in an international setup like Accenture Strategy. At that point, I felt that an MBA would help me bridge any knowledge gaps and achieve my intended goal. As an engineer I had garnered excellent quantitative and analytical skills and an MBA, along with my previous work experience in fast-paced environments, is definitely going to help me extend these skills and apply them across different business functions. I am grateful to have gotten into Ex-PGDM programme from one of the best and reputed institutes – XLRI Jamshedpur which has eased the transformation in such a short time span.

Career Transformation Journey

After spending around half a decade in the corporates, it was time to take an academic pitstop and upgrade myself to the next new level. My stint with Cognizant was heading towards the end of 5 successful years garnished with learnings and promotions. I worked as a Change Manager with one of the most niche clients worldwide - PepsiCo. While shouldering this client-facing role at Cognizant, I realized how imperative it is to understand every nuance of a business to keep it up and running. The Director of the account and the Project Manager would handle the business communications ecstatically, besides managing a big fat team. I was under a strong influence of these virtues and was firm that I must undergo a career change and there could be no better time than this, and hence, I made a prudent decision to pursue an Executive MBA.

It took me eight months to prepare for the exams, all thanks to lockdown, where I could save my commute time and the leisure bio-breaks that are rhetoric at the workplace. Being a resident of Jamshedpur, I grew up learning about the status quo of XLRI. So, when I held the offer letter, I could not believe I had already made it through. As I embarked on this new academic journey, I thoroughly enjoyed the sessions, especially the courses that dealt with strategy and marketing. Although virtual, the case-based pedagogy took us to a whole new universe altogether. The heated discussions, the counterattacks, the intellectual debates all of these broadened my horizon in understanding business management at an elevated level. With time I started to see bright prospects ahead of me. I realized it was time to appear for interviews and crack them at my full potential. I made it to Accenture Strategy for the consultant position on the zeroth day of the placement drive. It was a matter of absolute pride to have conquered a senior management position right at the first leg of the course.

Nevertheless, an explicit credit goes to the industrial mentors under whose guidance this back-breaking path became a seamless journey. Each one of them had majorly contributed to carving the best shape possible out of me and helped me realize my potential and capabilities to the fullest.

I’ll be graduating in the next four months and will hold a degree of a lifetime from a premier B-school worldwide. My career has taken a sharp diversion where I could see nothing but leadership prospects in the coming years. Grades and pointers aside, I am fulfilled that I shall be carrying a sack full of learnings and niche business management skills, which I believe XLRI, the oldest b-school in Asia, imparts in a unique style. A token of gratitude to my family, who always stood by me through thick and thin. The upcoming phase of my career will be pivotal, and I am eagerly looking forward to an enthralling journey ahead.

Career Transformation Journey

Prior to Joining XLRI Jamshedpur, I have been working in It services for Retail clients mostly for around 8 years. I also had worked for around 3.5 years in international location In Japan where I was directly interacting with the client in their day-to-day IT activity. I was working on BI tools like MicroStrategy, Power BI and technologies like Business Intelligence, SQL,ETL Angular. I have worked for organization like Infosys, Genpact and Mindtree. My last company was Mindtree where I was working as Technology Lead.

After my MBA at XLRI Jamshedpur, I will be joining Jio Platform in the Role of Product manager. After my joining I will be taking care of any of existing or upcoming Jio product. Jio is currently leading the digital transformation drive in India with its product in almost all the sectors be it Jio mart or Ajio or Jio Digital. Apart from this start up culture of Jio is also a great learning curve for any individual. Jio Platform will provide chance to an individual to switch to his area of interest with its various domain like Jio Mart in Retail, Ajio in E-Commerce, Jio Telecom in Telecom, Jio Tv in Media and Entertainment.

Career Transformation Journey

From being a manager in the automobile industry to being a future senior consultant with one of the big four consulting firms, my journey has been nothing short of career transformation. I graduated from the college of engineering Pune and joined Bajaj auto ltd. It was like a dream come true. I got to work on challenging projects, and the output products are reshaping the electric vehicle industry. After the successful launch of a few E.V projects, I felt something was missing; maybe it was a lack of holistic understanding of business or the financial, marketing nitty-gritty.

As Viktor E. Frankl said - “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response, and in our response lies our growth”.

I chose MBA. While I had a shortfall of one month of experience to be eligible for most executive MBA programs, the EXPGDM program at XLRI Jamshedpur brought magical beginnings. The unique pedagogy of the course provided me with a broader understanding of business and helped me connect dots between my five years of professional experience and the business world. With a diverse cohort, I enhanced my knowledge of different industries. The extracurriculars taught me invaluable lessons, whether it’s taking tough calls, strategic thinking, or networking. These learning and experiences enabled me to get a dream role in cloud strategy consulting, even though I have a non-IT background. Executive programs have a stigma that your future role will align with your past experience, as unlearning is not easy. Fortunately, I can say XL helped me break the stigma. XL nurtured the leader in me, and XL provided me with a new path for excellence.

Career Transformation Journey

I have started working in 2015 in WIPRO after completing my graduation in Computer Science. I got a chance to work in production support and in development teams. After working for around two and half years I switched to Infosys BPM where I was a senior system engineer. I worked in a product environment where we used to develop and support the product according to the client’s requirements. There I got interested to know more about the journey of a product along with the development point of view. Then I explored the option where I can get exposure and MBA seems to be the choice where I can get a holistic knowledge of the business.

Then started preparing for MBA entrance exams and finally after clearing multiple tests got admission to the premier institute XLRI in the ExPGDM course. Here I got a chance to interact with peers who are from diverse industries who were viewing things from different perspectives which were good learning. We had several guest sessions and conclaves with industry leaders as guests and I got a chance to learn from their experiences. The mentorship program helped me to clear my doubts and to bridge the gap that I was having before joining the course and to enter the business world. The case study pedagogy also helped a lot to view things from a business perspective which I haven’t thought of before joining the course.

I am glad that I got the desired role that I was looking for even before joining the course. I am looking forward to starting the post MBA journey and implementing the learnings that I got during this year.

Career Transformation Journey

I am among those few who have the Tier 1 Institutes of the country as their Alma Mater, and my journey is nothing short of a roller coaster ride. The journey that started in 2010 with the preparation for IIT-JEE is heading towards the lanes of Electronic City in Bangalore, after a year of XLRI chapter in between.

I am Gaurang Agarwal, and I am very excited to share my career transformation journey with you all. XLRI has played an important and integral role in shaping me into the person I am today, helping me transform my career. Before delving into the XLRI journey, let me take you my initial or what I call my “Formative Years”, which became the foundation of my career.

I am an alumnus of IIT Dhanbad and have my B.Tech. in Mining Engineering. No, I didn’t choose mining, but it chose me. Those who have been to the gruelling process of IIT counselling know it well ��. After four years of Engineering, I have had the opportunity to work in one of the largest primary producers of Aluminium in India, Hindalco Industries Limited, as an assistant manager in Operations and Strategy. I was responsible for strategy building and implementing Lean manufacturing practices alongside several digital initiatives across all the bauxite mines of India owned by Hindalco.

I assisted leaders in mining through optimum utilization of resources by deconstructing requirements and forming a detailed strategy with multiple stakeholders to deliver the results with minimum deviation on the ground. It also involved working alongside KPMG on several cost reduction initiatives in Hindalco. Working with different stakeholders and alongside KPMG instilled in me the capability of narratives, persuasion, stakeholder management.

Being involved with the employees of all the levels, I could understand the problems a core sector such as the manufacturing or mining industry is gripped in. I gained domain expertise in the industry concerning IT integration, people management, Project Management, Regulatory and statutory requirements.

But still, it all seemed to be very superficial even after the five years of experience. Understanding the nuances of other functions such as finance, commercial, corporate strategy, downstream business required a holistic and a 360-degree approach to see things from the bird’s eye view, which is the art of macro-management. To understand the complete upstream to downstream of a business and why the leaders do what they do, it was necessary to take a leap of faith to get the answers in the fastest way possible. MBA from the renowned B-Schools in India could quench my thirst, and thus I landed at XLRI, the oldest B-School in India.

XLRI’s ExPGDM program is a concoction of everything I could ask for. I needed a fast-paced learning program that could provide me with skills and the ability to sharpen my current skill sets to be ready for the world I wished to enter.

The support system of the institute in the ways one can imagine surpasses one’s set benchmarks, and I can vouch for that. The immense industry connect series by which we learned through the top industry leaders, and in class, all the learned top-notch faculties sharing their knowledge and experience helped us hone our thinking process and mindset according to the current industry demands and needs.

One of the greatest learning ones can get out of the B-Schools as XLRI is peer learning, and on top of that lies the immense possibility of networking. The learnings through the projects, assignments, discussions outside the class gave me the confidence to inching towards my aspirations. My aspiration, having come from the core industry, was to become a consultant to help the core sector improve at the pace other sectors are improving in terms of Digitisation and IT integration. I knew that the domain expertise combined with the skillsets I gained and honed at XLRI would give me a strong launchpad for my wings to fly. My desire to fetch a role where I could learn immensely and get a chance to work on multiple projects were fulfilled on the day I received the most coveted message from Placecomm. With the “Congratulations!” from the friends on being selected in Infosys BPM as the senior consultant – solution design marked a major and a significant milestone in not only my journey but also the XLRI’s journey as an institute that has nurtured yet again another responsible leader for the greater good of the country.

Career Transformation Journey

“Stay patient and trust your journey” – this is a quote which is commonly used and rightly so because everyone’s journey is unique and has its own highs and lows. To accomplish a journey of thousand miles the most important part is to take that very first step towards accomplishing it. Life is full of surprises and challenges some might seem unreal and not feasible but trusting your intuition and self believe and facing it head on is what gives you the strength to successfully tackle it.

I started off my career with Cognizant Technology Solutions in 2013 as a fresher straight out of college. Different phases demand different versions of you. During my cognizant days my prime focus was to master the deliverables given to me and understand domain and business jargons. The journey there was exciting as I was exposed to real time projects and direct interaction with clients had unknowingly made me a better listener and improved my communication skills. As is rightly stated that you understand that it is time to take a jump when your growth stops. And the lack of new challenging tasks and growth motivated me to upgrade myself to stay relevant and then I joined PicewaterhouseCoopers in 2019. It was tough to leave the comfort zone and explore a new company, new technology and new business process everything together.

During this age of digital transformation, it was a blessing in disguise to be able to work on one of the emerging technologies. Transforming my role from software developer to a senior consultant helped me get a holistic view of business. My focus shifted from timely deliverables of tasks to understanding the client pain points, agenda of migrating their workload, assess their current architecture and give them a feasible solution.

Little did I know that all these 7.5 years of corporate life was helping me to create a better version of myself with improved communication skills, inculcating bargaining skills and customer management skills to move a step closer to my dream of pursuing an MBA.

People have different motivations to pursue an MBA ranging from getting a post graduate degree to their interest in varied specializations. Funnily for me the first time I felt the spark was in a client meeting where I was presenting a technical solution for a lead. It was after my presentation that the jargons like value chain, logistics, bargaining power, cashflow, gross profit margin were discussed and I couldn’t contribute anything because of my ignorance.

Now that I have been through a proper executive MBA program I feel immensely satisfied that I do understand finance and operations now. These are no longer jargons. The course has helped me to bridge that gap of proper business knowledge from all aspects. The learning pedagogy which is a hybrid of slides, case studies, simulations has helped me to be able to relate to how a business actually works. On one hand gaining knowledge through lectures and classroom training is essential but here equal focus is also given to networking and peer learning which I personally feel is a must have in a B-school. Right at the beginning I knew what I was getting into because a 1year MBA is supposed to be hectic and challenging. It requires 100% commitment and sincerity to get the most out of this course.

“A good education is the greatest gift you can gift to yourself or anyone else”

Career Transformation Journey

I was one of those kids who knew what I wanted to be in the future. While other kids watched cartoons and shows on TV, I watched CNBC with my father and learned about markets. My goal was clear that I wanted to be a part of financial markets. I pursued Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from Christ University with specialisation in finance and investment. This is where I learned the art of managing portfolio, accounting, and financial markets. I was elated when I got to work in the Forex sales department of Axis Bank, where I got the opportunity to interact with top Indian companies and help them hedge their forex requirements. I did learn a lot at Axis, but something was amiss, as after a point, I did not feel utterly immersed in what I was doing. I wanted to venture out, learn something new and gain fresh insights into other industries. It was time to take the next step in my career. I scored fairly well in GMAT and secured admission in XLRI- ExPGDM Program. I wanted to join a course where I could use my learnings from the corporate world and gain skills to climb up the corporate ladder.

The ExPGDM program gives one a flavour of the business knowledge required to excel in the corporate world. This course helped me learn everything from Marketing to HR and gain a fresh perspective about different industries. While everyone talks about academics, I would like to highlight the peer to peer to learning at XLRI. Networking with my batchmates helped me learn about different industries and gain insights. Placement at XLRI is the last thing one needs to worry about, as there are abundant opportunities for each one of us. My learnings from previous organisations and knowledge acquired during my time at XLRI helped me land the Category Manager role at Supr Daily. Working with a startup and getting a 360-degree overview of a business while working as a category manager got me excited for this role. I am excited as I embark on the next phase of the journey.

Career Transformation Journey

The prospect of doing an MBA was always at the back of my mind, right from the days of my final year B.Tech project, when I received a valuable lesson that innovation for the sake of innovation is not how businesses work. Since I was already placed in Deloitte Consulting, which was an opportunity I was really looking forward to, I temporarily shelved the plans of MBA. But that did not hinder my curiosity from looking at everything from the lens of business feasibility.

While my journey at Deloitte was going on a right path, and I really enjoyed the work I was doing, the prospect of pursuing an MBA was always a matter of “when” rather than “if”. The pandemic- induced virtualization of workspaces gave me the perfect opportunity to transfer the hectic traveling time towards exam preparation. The trust in the process and practice bore fruit, with the fruit being the ExPGDM admission letter from XLRI Jamshedpur, an opportunity which I accepted readily.

The first observation I observed as I started my journey at XLRI was the complex ways in which the various concepts were interlinked. Not only did it make me appreciate the subjects I was studying, but also I was able to retroactively translate the same to my previous work experience as well. Through this, I gained a holistic view of myself and my skills, where I stand professionally, and the areas I needed to improve.

Through this, I identified Product Management as one of the Career Paths I could explore. I could leverage my past experience as a Technology Consultant (through which I became well versed with Agile Methodology and SDLC models) and combine it with the strategic and management skills acquired during the duration of the program, to build value inducing digital products. With the help of the rich pedagogy, combined with various industrial connections and resources available, I was able to equip myself to dive into the world of Product Management.

The journey, however, would not be complete without the peer-to-peer learning obtained during the course. Not only was I able to hear a wide variety of viewpoints due to different backgrounds my peers have come from; through the same, I also received first-hand insights into how various industries actually worked. And last but not least, building the Mentorship Committee with the help of my fellow peers is something that was a very unique and memorable experience.

I personally believe this journey has been akin to visiting a vast library. With an unlimited number of resources and pathways available, it has been a journey wherein I am confident that I have come out not just understanding what to think about but also how to think.

Career Transformation Journey

Career is a mix of knowledge and personality. When I joined XLRI, I was bit unsure of my decision as leaving a government job or a well settled life for pursuing MBA was a tough decision but then with each passing day, I gained confidence and there was an overall change in my personality. I was a branch manager at Canara Bank, and was doing well in my career but to bring about an overall development professionally as well as personally, this decision of doing an MBA has proved to be one of the best decisions of my life. Coming to XLRI changed my approach towards life. Though I got placed with a decent salary, this course has transformed me. I got an opportunity to be elected as one the Class Representatives of my batch which itself made me more responsible, be connected and become a bridge between the student and the faculty.

My career got transformed from working in a public sector bank to an international investment bank.

Some decisions are difficult at the beginning but ends beautifully. I will always cherish the memories we created at XLRI.

Career Transformation Journey

It is often said “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them”

Prior to my MBA journey I worked in the Telecom industry for about 6 years with Ericsson India Pvt Ltd, one of the most renowned Telecom firms. During my tenure, I have got ample opportunities to contribute to diverse projects by successfully executing high-end activities, reducing costs, and achieving customer satisfaction. My role also presented me with various opportunities to represent Ericsson on eminent platforms. After a fulfilling experience, I realized it is time for me to take the next career step to enhance my business acumen and learn the finer aspects of management. This was what drove my decision to finally pursue an MBA.

I passionately decided to expand my horizons through the wings of one of the most prestigious B-school institutions, XLRI Jamshedpur offering the ExPGDM programme, being one of its flagship endeavours. I've had the excellent opportunity to be a member of a diversified batch with classmates from various sectors. It has been extremely enriching learning from the various professors who have taught us different subjects. Their teachings are something that I intend to inculcate for years to come. The pedagogy followed by the professors is one that helps students understand management right from the scratch. I've got an exponential transformation poised to lead the way in the coming years.

Career Transformation Journey

After graduating from Delhi University, I started my career in 2016 as an Analyst in Evalueserve Pvt. Ltd. in Intellectual Property Research and Development and then further moved up to work as a Senior Analyst. My passion for working directly with clients and solve real life business problems made me look for more opportunities and soon I started to work as a Project Manager where I used to manage joint-venture set up of multiple clients single-handedly by providing client-centric solutions through proactive problem-solving and analysis, catering to their individual requirements along with handling other parallel projects in the team.

However, I realized that working directly with clients in a different industry, preferably IT, due to great potential in the technology space, and solving business problems would accelerate my growth and also for progressing to the senior and diversified roles in an organization, I need to have a good knowledge and understanding of key business functions. Hence, I decided to pursue XLRI Ex-PGDM program to understand business across functions, gain knowledge of problem-solving frameworks and enhance my business acumen.

Mentoring by world-class instructors and rich peer learning from a diverse group of seasoned professionals, has prepared me to deal with the different business scenarios. XLRI also gave me the platform to transform my career successfully from a Non-IT to IT sector. Later, through my career progression, I see myself working in senior roles by leveraging my functional and industry expertise.

Career Transformation Journey

Amidst the pandemic, it was not easy for me to leave the relative safety of a job at India's largest bank to pursue my MBA dream. But what convinced me to take the plunge was the vibrant legacy of XLRI coupled with the unique experience and new perspectives that this journey promised to provide. Now, when I look back at this journey with the benefit of hindsight, I can say with conviction that it ticks all the right boxes.

As a resident of Jamshedpur, I always took pride in the fact that my town is home to one of the best B-schools in the country, and I always dreamt of being a part of it one day. I never knew then that the dream would become a reality in the years to come. It was my destiny to study in XLRI as I had almost decided not to appear for the entrance exam, thinking that it was beyond my capabilities. The day I got my admission letter was one of the happiest days of my life.

The course is rigorous, more so because it's a 1-year program. I have never had to multitask with so many things simultaneously and move out of my comfort zone as I had to during the course. I believe when such an environment is combined with top-level business learning by leading international business minds, it's a perfect recipe for a transformational experience. XLRI proved to be the catalyst I'd been seeking.

I have been fortunate to be part of a very vibrant and diverse cohort of batch mates who have helped me re-shape my thinking and broaden my horizons with the insights from their rich and vast experience. I can say with pride that I have forged some of my closest friendships here.

The MBA program gave me ample opportunities to network, which helped me forge links with people having similar interests and professions for getting information and sharing knowledge. Coming from a non-engineering, non-IT background, I never thought I'd get placed in an IT company. I was lucky enough to be mentored by some of the best industrial people through the mentorship programme at XLRI. I have also had the chance of interning with a start-up which was quite the opposite of my experience at SBI and has helped me develop new insights. That's the extent of transformation XLRI has helped me achieve. Overall, the program has been a great learning experience that enriched my business acumen and prepared me to lead in the management world. I am indebted to XLRI as I embark into the world of Finance.

Career Transformation Journey

I have worked as a computer science engineer for the past five years, which has always been one of my passions. However, I often felt certain skills were needed as I progressed in my career. In my interactions with colleagues and seniors, I realized the value that business knowledge could bring to the table.

All of this persuaded me to pursue an MBA, and I was fortunate enough to be accepted into XLRI. The ExPGDM program covered finance, marketing, strategy, and various topics. It was always emphasized that we should improve our soft skills and ethically conduct ourselves in our business dealings.

I benefitted a lot from the leadership talks, career counselling, and mock interviews. They not only taught me the skills I needed, but they also helped me understand the value I could bring and craft a resume that tied everything together. They assisted me in painting a picture of who I am now and how I can contribute value.

I was also fortunate enough to be a part of the Corporate Projects Committee, which forced me to come out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to collaborate, become a competent team player, deal with high-pressure situations and multitask within strict timelines.

 

Looking back on my MBA experience, I can undoubtedly say that the learning was multifaceted. Every day brought a new challenge, but it also brought the lessons of a lifetime with it. It has provided me with numerous opportunities for professional development and exploration as I continue on my path to professional excellence. With newly acquired skills and a wealth of knowledge, I am confident that I will contribute more effectively to the organization and transform into the competent leader I have always aspired to be.

Career Transformation Journey

On considering a career change, go for it! Life is short-lived, and you've got to take it while it's there and run with it- Michelle Lombardo

This quote captures the essence of my willingness and desire to pursue my career dreams. Before starting my MBA journey, I worked as a senior executive in Larsen and Toubro Infotech, wherein I got to wear various hats and work with multiple teams across Corporate. Working closely with my company's mid-management leaders was a requirement of my job. Their decision-making abilities astounded me numerous times. Also, what fascinated me was how consultants were so well versed with both the knowledge about business and the technology and connected both to get such creative results. In these interactions with corporate leaders and colleagues, I understood what value business knowledge could bring to the table.

While the career in the five years had given me immense learning that I was deeply immersed in, I felt certain skills were needed as one goes forward in one's career. With limited perspective and understanding of business, the journey would be difficult. So, I decided to devote myself full time to learning and follow the mantra of "Learn, Unlearn and Relearn," wherein I wanted to get into the phase of unlearning and relearning. This learning desire made me land at XLRI, Jamshedpur, one of the country's most seasoned and reputed B schools.

The willingness of personal and career transformation primarily guided me in pursuing an MBA. However, the procedure was not simple. The transformation takes a lot of time and requires a lot of effort. The environment at XLRI in the Ex-PGDM course has taught me to be innovative and meticulous in my approach to any strategic goals set for a professional. This program has broadened my horizons and has aided me in viewing issues with various dimensions and a different perspective overall. Additionally, it taught me how to survive and work in a virtually connected platform in these challenging times and still build valuable connections for a lifetime.

The program carries international prestige among the employers; at the same time, it has delivered me high-quality networking opportunities with the brightest minds. It has aided me to come out of my comfort zone and explore the recent business trends and apply the latest tools and techniques to challenge myself to improve business, teams, and collaboration. Another important lesson that I learned was that society, humanity, and the environment are the most important stakeholders, and sustainable development is the only way forward for value creation.

The knowledge and skills that you will gain from completing this program will prepare you for a successful career and help you differentiate yourself in the workforce. I would highly recommend the ExPGDM program to all individuals eager to prepare themselves for a successful and rewarding future.

With years to follow in my career, this one year would be the pivot that has changed the trajectory for the rest of my life.

Career Transformation Journey

Before Joining the ExPGDM course in XLRI Jamshedpur, I was working as an Assistant Manager in one of the Subsidiaries of Vedanta Limited. Post-B.Tech, I joined Vedanta as a GET. My short-term goal was to get hands-on experience in an industry that is progressive and performance-driven, and Vedanta provided me with such a platform. At Vedanta, I transformed from a college-going student to a working professional, and work experience over there taught me the importance of deadline, responsibility, safety, and teamwork. My long-term goal was to learn different aspects of business management and combine those business skills and knowledge with industrial work experience and secure a higher position in the organization and deliver my best. To achieve my long-term goal, I need knowledge about business management which I can get through management programs offered by the B-schools.

The ExPGDM by XLRI Jamshedpur is a specially crafted management program aimed at shaping young graduates like me with relevant work experience into potential future leaders through holistic development. The academic program combined with global exposure from eminent corporate leaders enables personalized learning into critical aspects of business management. The strong alumni network, world-class infrastructure, unique pedagogy, good connection to industry, experienced faculty, and peer-to-peer learning was added advantage. The kind of exposure that I got at XLRI Jamshedpur will foster my personal growth and enrich me with beautiful experiences for life.

America’s aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart once said that “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward”. The decision of joining the ExPDGM program at XLRI Jamshedpur was one of the critical decisions which transformed my career from core industry engineer to high profile IT management consultant.

Career Transformation Journey

The Ex-PGDM course has been an insightful journey with just the right amount of challenge, right in the “Goldilocks zone”. After 5 years in the development sector, I had become more aware of social issues and the role industry can play in solving them. I felt a strong need to upskill myself and build a deeper understanding of business and management.

The coursework at XLRI has provided a broad scope of study where I could explore my prevailing interests in Organizational Behaviour and Strategy. The brilliant faculty and the case approaches have also ignited a strong interest in Marketing and Financial aspects of management. Additionally, the cohort’s diverse backgrounds also enabled tremendous peer learning in the classroom. At XLRI, there is also a focus on providing industry exposure to the students. I have had an opportunity to interact with and learn from various industry leaders through the industry connects, guest speaker sessions and conclaves conducted. We’ve benefitted from industry experts conducting workshops on diverse subjects such as data analytics, agile and DEI amongst others.

It is hard to reflect and identify transformation as it happens in one’s life. It often happens that one keeps moving forward, seldom realizing the weight of change that has happened in oneself. I am confident that my year at XLRI will augur well for my career in corporate and an experience I will draw from for years to come.

Career Transformation Journey

Dream!! As dreams are one of the most beautiful things that are there. Dream of whatever you love, want to be, Dream what may seem impossible, Dream big. As they say ‘Aim for the Moon even if you miss, you will end up in stars.

My journey of MBA had started in 2018, after preparing hard while managing a 9 to 5 job and that too without any coaching. I was able to score pretty well and had calls from MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad, NITIE Mumbai and all the IIMs except the top 5. With my average profile and the GEM tag, I was quite happy with the calls. I couldn’t join any of the converts due to my parents' health. I picked myself up and attempted CAT in 2019 but my percentile dipped. It amounted to nothing. Now I had more than 4-years of work-ex, and the 2-year program looked like a distant dream but I decided to fight the odds. As if things were already not bad enough, the pandemic struck us, and things changed pretty quickly. I managed to get decent score in CAT and XAT and went on to convert one year and two-year program of many top-notch B-schools of India.

Finally, I stepped into the 1-year Ex-PGDM programme of XLRI Jamshedpur with around 5.5 years of experience in Business Analytics and Sales Operations having worked with marquee clients. My major motivation for enrolling into this programme was to obtain a more comprehensive grasp of all the numerous tasks that comprise the business. The driving force was always not to stay restricted to a pure technical role and explore all the different functions. And this programme has provided me with the platform to accomplish all of this and much more, far beyond my expectations at the outset of this adventure. The extremely well-crafted curriculum at par with internationally renowned institutions has helped me upskill immensely in important business functions such as Finance, Marketing & Strategy. Additionally, a highly diversified batch with people coming from across industries and geographies has been a great source of learning through the duration of the course. I was also a part of Placement Committee, which pushed me to communicate with multiple stakeholders, become a skilled team player, cope with high-pressure circumstances, and multitask under rigorous deadlines thus added immense value to my MBA.

This Course has enabled me to transition into a Solution Architect in the Mobile financial services sector. Transitioning from a technical role to a client facing role would not have been possible without the learnings I got here at XLRI Jamshedpur.

Career Transformation Journey

In the film 'Transformers,' an automobile can transform into a humanoid in a matter of seconds. However, in real life, the transformation from a Software Engineer to a Management student involved several twists and turns before arriving at XLRI Jamshedpur. Even before the classes began, the pressure was building due to the never-ending case studies. Cases are the XL Life's unmistakable flavour. They have the ability to turn even the most mundane subject, such as ethics, into something that makes a lasting impression.

I went from seeing items as purely products to seeing them as a buffet of contributing parts that culminated in the whole, similar to learning to appreciate all the intricacies of a cuisine while still managing to enjoy the dish. A bottle of Coke kept me up in my late-night GMAT preparation while I was in the aspirational stage. Traveling to work on my bike was just another routine, with me bemoaning the delays caused by the notorious Bangalore traffic, and HR was the most talked about topic in the company.

Coke is no longer just a drink in a bottle during the transition stage at XL. 'Coco-Cola' became a brand and a conglomerate all of a sudden. The bottle design, which I could comfortably hold in my hand, reminds me of the attractiveness, ergonomics, presentation, and every other factor that influenced my decision to purchase the drink. Traveling by bike reminds me of the operations and planning that I would do to be on schedule, and HR's position has been changed into a lifesaver for the organisation.

After being introduced to the MBA world and all of its multi-dimensional thinking, I witnessed all of this and more. Surprisingly, I enjoy the extra information just as much as the Coke (i.e., a lot). It's the mundane things in your environment that no longer seem noticeable. MBA does not teach you anything new; rather, it trains you to be aware of your surroundings and not to overlook anything.

Career Transformation Journey

I started my professional journey with Engineer in Manufacturing industry, post my B. tech in Production and Industrial Engineering from NIT Jamshedpur. I undertook charge of operations as a line manager. Leading a team of more than 60 people was of great experience. I also learned learnt some keys aspects of manufacturing which was related to the management of method, machine and material. Thereafter I worked as a planning manager and was responsible for the planning of manufacturing for the overall plant. Thereafter, I moved in the procurement division were focussed on vendor management and optimization of Inventory. After working for 10 years in different function in the value chain, I felt that although I am good in certain function, I was not comfortable in other functions like Finance and marketing. To have a better understanding of business I wanted to enhance my skills. I tightened my belt and started preparing for the entrance exam, and with the help of my hard work and God grace I was able to make to ExPGDM course of XLRI Jamshedpur, my dream college. Looking back, I feel that I made the right decision. The learning which I have gained from faculties and peers are outstanding. It has transformed my relationship with time and has helped me to better person. I have been fortunate to be placed in Tech Mahindra, where I have been offered a role of a Business Consultant. I am looking forward to applying my learnings into this new role, and further grow in the career trajectory I envisioned for myself.

Career Transformation Journey

“Doesn’t every engineering graduate pursue MBA? What’s so unusual about this career option?” These were some of the comments I frequently received from many of my close connections. Little did they know that everyone has a unique story. The career journey I envisaged for myself may have appeared the traditional route of today’s millennials, but it was a road less traveled for me.

An engineering graduate employed with a renowned MNC, comfortably settled in a busy metro, pursued her other passions alongside corporate work, rose in her professional career, got regular recognitions. This seemed like the kind of perfect life any corporate figure like to have. Well, this didn’t seem to entice her enough, as she kept the career growth quotient relatively high. She didn’t want a career transformation; she wanted a career up-gradation.

I spent a significant five years with Accenture working as a Business and Application Analyst. I was introduced to many business scenarios and technical assignments during those professional formative years. The concept of crafting strategic plans in line with the latest technological methods sparked curiosity in me, and I waited to grab such an opportunity. I did get a few and worked on them, which instilled further confidence in my potential to ace such areas. Stakeholder management and client delivery was my forte in the business analysis arena. I realized that to scale up the ladder, I needed to have the expertise of many projects in my basket or get groomed for a managerial outlook. I opted for the second option. Embarked on my MBA preparations, and many months later…

Here I am at XLRI, one of my dream b-schools. The 15-month program initially felt weighty due to the shorter duration of the course and grasping a lot of concepts. But the weight didn’t crush me down, thanks to a natural element in me – passion. Time seems to pass with the blink of an eye when one ought to follow one’s dreams. I could realize the intricacies of the theories and ideas taught within the four walls. The peer learning networking would only aid in the refinement of my thought process and the up-gradation I looked for before MBA. I had a specific goal and role in my mind for my placements. And I am glad to share that I did grab that opportunity and made it a reality.

But life is not always full of glitter and shine. There are challenges on both the work front and in the personal space. The difference lies in how we respond proactively to the hard times and not by reacting. Very much shunning the common notion of work-life balance and peace. We are our navigators in this sea of uncertainties. Thank you for taking your precious time and reading my short career journey.

“You become what you believe, not what you think or what you want.” - Oprah Winfrey

Career Transformation Journey

I started my career as a product analyst where I worked on product designing, development & strategy; specifications optimization; and new product positioning. My passion for working directly with clients, solve real life business problems, designing business strategies and pursue my passion for marketing in business development made me seek more opportunities. Soon, I was selected for the role of regional marketing manager to take care of the biggest volume centric region in India, where I took care of marketing operations, strategy & business development, channel sales productivity and supporting business growth in close coordination with sales, product strategy and aftermarket teams.

Both the work profiles have helped me to develop a holistic and comprehensive understanding of the product – right from its conceptualization to retail Working in business strategy has further allowed me to contextualize the rapidly evolving state of the business dynamics and ecosystem . I have realized that with the changing business ecosystem role of business analytics and data insights directly affecting revenue and growth became even more critical, important and exciting. However , I realized that progressing to the senior and diversified roles in marketing & strategy in an organization, I need to have a good knowledge and understanding of key business functions & industry trends. Hence, I decided to pursue XLRI ExPGDM program to understand business across functions, gain knowledge of problem solving frameworks and enhance my business acumen.

ExPGDM’s courses on marketing strategy, brand management, market research & business communication and will help to sharpen my marketing skills and knowledge while unique and best in class courses on financial management , operations consumer focused product planning & management accounting will help me to bridge my knowledge gaps.

With mentoring from world class faculty, cutting edge curriculum, perspectives form thought leaders and rich peer learning from diversified experienced professionals, the PGDM prepared me to be Business Ready from Day 1 , also providing me access to the prestigious global alumni network, spread across industries and geographies.

XLRI Ex-PGDM program is one of the best one year programs in the country. The carefully crafted one year program is designed to develop business competencies, effective team-work and leadership skills to set you up for an accelerated career growth I worked in core automotive sector in sales and Marketing function but was always inspired and thrilled with the power of technology in any sector/industry today. Information technology and digital transformation has been completely disrupting the entire business landscape with ever evolving and rapidly changing dimensions of industries and processes. Currently, India sees a boom in the technology sector, with companies like Paytm, OYO, Udaan, etc. taking the world by storm with products that have disrupted traditional business models. There has been a paradigm shift in major consulting firms, such as Deloitte and Accenture, which are aggressively employing technology as a means to deliver end to end business transformation across a whole spectrum of industries. Hence, I see great potential in the technology space in India. XLRI, with its core courses like a strategy for digital economy and specialization like Information Technology Management, provided a great launch-pad into this dynamic technology space.

XLRI ExPGDM program gave me a platform to me through which I found a wonderful excellent opportunity to make my career shift from core automotive sector to the technology sector.

The ExPGDM Class of 2022 had an impressive mix of individuals from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds which added immensely to the peer learning experience. Peers with rich experience in the class means as much learning beyond the Class as inside; one of the top reasons why Alumni strongly value their One Year at XLRI Leveraging my functional and industrial experience, I will work deeply on a diversified portfolio to drive sustained development , find new avenues of growth in the different sectors. Later through my career progression, I hope to see myself working in senior strategy roles building a broad ecosystem of partners across channels, technologies and competition.

Finally, XLRI , with its emphasis on studying emerging economies, aligned perfectly with my career aspirations.

Career Transformation Journey

When I started my ExPGDM, I had about nine and half years of experience in marketing in the retail and manufacturing industry. I had spent the major part of my professional journey working in fashion and lifestyle retail exploring companies like PUMA and LEVIS. My work exposed me to every possible challenge, quick decision making, and last moment changes in the plan. It helped me explore places and people, transforming my entire perspective. “The gap between what is expected and what you deliver is where the magic happens, in business and in life,” as Jay Bear once said. The challenge is to identify this gap and bridge it. XLRI taught me various things in terms of academics and a professional journey ahead of me. With these learnings, I am joining Virtusa as a Campaign Manager. I am hoping for a fantastic experience in a familiar domain of marketing but an entirely new industry with new challenges, where I have so much more to learn. This one year changed my perspective and helped me evolve into a more dynamic professional. Looking forward to this transformational journey I hope to make a difference at Virtusa bringing a fresh perspective to the table with my previous experience and this one year of learning.

Career Transformation Journey

"Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What's important is the action. You don't have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow." - Carrie Fisher

I worked as an IT Analyst in TCS for about six years. During that period, I worked on different projects and got exposed to different functionality of the IT industry. The decision to join the Executive MBA program was to take a leap in my career and learn the broader perspective of the corporate world, like how organizations manage to stabilize and grow their business while coping with changes in their internal and external environment. The Ex-PGDM course helped me get the 360-degree view of factors necessary for any business professional to grow and understand their working industries. The supportive learning environment allowed me to tackle day-to-day challenges. The entire learning experience is leveraged with the exposure to different case studies, group assignments, and projects added with varying teaching methods of experienced faculties. While dealing with the academic schedule, we had to prepare for the job interviews parallelly. The support and guidance of faculties and different committee members helped me get ready and face the job interviews. Hence the entire journey is all about learning and gaining experience. Where we will learn from our failures and work upon our weaker areas, enhance our skills and try to become better people who can look back and feel proud and thankful for the person they have become.

Career Transformation Journey

Before joining XLRI, I was working as a Customer Success Manager in a SaaS-based IT product company. My job involved developing strategic and tactical initiatives to maintain and improve customer on-boarding, retention, and engagement. I developed success plans for customers that outline their critical success factors, metrics for success, potential issues, and provide recommendations. I also showcased the progress quarterly, gathered program measurements, and tracked and analysed the data to ensure the achievement of the business goals.

After five successful years in the IT industry, I opted to pursue management studies to strengthen and sharpen my managerial skills. The ExPGDM program provided me with the opportunity to learn from the diverse cohort. The programme curriculum allowed me to explore and discover my interests, and the electives offered are both focused on a stream and diverse, allowing you to become a 360-degree business leader.

The experience taught me about the business and financial consequences of managers' technical decisions and overall strategy, as well as the need of communication and interpersonal skills in leading diverse, cross-functional teams. The XLRI ExPGDM program is the key to unlocking new doors of opportunity for me in the business management sector. This opportunity to pursue an MBA will be a transformative experience for me, allowing me to take my passion and business experience to the next level.

Career Transformation Journey

The journey from being an engineer to being a student of one of the most esteemed institutions of XLRI has been a life-changing experience.

This experience has changed my view of life. I have gained business knowledge in the course, and real examples and cases helped me implement our studies in real life. It has helped me in changing my overall personality. Studying with one of the most esteemed professors is a privilege, and the overall environment is so conducive for learning. I feel more confident than ever before when I am about to work in the business arena. The best thing about the course is getting updated regularly with the current trends of the market. Being part of the committee also helped me work in similar real-life situations, which enabled me to learn a lot. Also, students here came from diverse backgrounds, which allowed me to learn about other cultures' stories that inspired and broadened my horizon. In the process, I developed the skill to connect and interact with different people, which is much needed in today's global workforce.

Here I have learned how to constantly upgrade myself with the current trends, which is the most significant transformation in my life. One does not stop learning the post-MBA program. One has to learn even more to stay with the times. An MBA, then, is a lot like life. It is about constantly reinventing yourself, rebuilding your skills and knowledge, proving your caliber time after time, and, very importantly, unlearning what's not relevant and relearning constantly.

Career Transformation Journey

In TCS, I worked as a presales consultant wherein I proposed technology solution to customers in QA services. Although I delivered quality services to various customers from Healthcare, Manufacturing and Energy resources, I still lacked business understanding of those customers. Thus came the idea of an MBA, which will give me an overall understanding of the company’s business, revenue generation strategy and various forces working behind a decision-making process: may it be as a business owner, marketeers etc. And yes, the aim with which I had landed in the ExPGDM course was met fully. Not only it gave me confidence on business aspects but prepared me for a future leadership role.

Post MBA, I will be joining Wipro as a QA Manager. QA was something I had already explored pre-MBA. XLRI helped me, was in tuning my managerial skills and communication skills, taking a QA decision that benefits the customers’ finance aspects. The faculties have been very helpful in making us understand the overall decision making in a business: may it be accounting, marketing, financial management, organizational behaviour. Exceptional feature of ExPGDM was the experienced peers from different industries, interactions with them helped in getting a different perspective to decision making.

Career Transformation Journey

Before enrolling in the ExPGDM program of XLRI, I worked as a Software Engineer at Oracle, one of the world’s largest software companies. I was working on the development of value selling and sales enablement tools. I worked as a PL-SQL developer, writing scripts and generating reports for business analysts. I was a technical guy who didn’t know about the business aspects of the product as I lacked the business and strategic knowledge required.

So, when I joined XLRI, I learned how to look at different problems with a strategic mindset. Its pedagogy involved classroom learning of real-life problems by cases, even on the virtual platform. It gave me the required skills to understand the thought process of a successful leader. I met 113 bright batchmates who came with very rich and diverse experiences in the program. I learned about different viewpoints of a problem and learned about various business domains from them. My undergrad and industry experience gave me the technical knowledge, but ExPGDM has given me the required business, strategy, and management skills. Overall, the course brought out my holistic development to become a future manager.

After this course from XLRI, I will join an MNC as a business analyst in a data consulting role. From a coder to a consultant, I see this as a career transformation. Now, I will be combining my technical knowledge with the business concepts learned at XLRI to understand the client’s problems and recommend solutions. XLRI has opened many opportunities for me as it has nurtured the leader in me.

Career Transformation Journey

With 5 years of industrial experience in the domain of construction, having exposure to on- site execution and delivery of projects, as well as driving multiple projects to closure in the capacity of Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, I had developed the expertise in negotiation, team building, conflict resolution, and stakeholder management.

Executive PGDM from XLRI helped me gain better insights on the intricacies of the business, and many aspects around it, including finance, strategy, ethics, sustainability, among others. On the one hand, where subjects on finance and marketing helped me understand how does any firm designs its business model catering to the demand of customers and creating a revenue stream for itself, the courses on strategy, sustainability, and a few others on IT, namely MIS, Digital Transformation made me delve deeper into the minds of the corporates and think like them, and ponder what will I do to ensure continuity of the business subjected to this dynamically evolving market. The recent unprecedented times have opened a plethora of opportunities for firms across domains to rethink the way they have been operating and switch to a better way of working. Thanks to the era of Digital Transformation, which is revolutionizing the entire industry. After completing my course, I would be joining Teleperformance as Consultant – Knowledge Services, where I would be working with like- minded peers to leverage our capabilities and solutions to help our clients accelerate digitalization and achieve their business outcomes faster.

I am super excited about the new beginnings, and I look forward to it.

Career Transformation Journey

I began my career in 2016 as a SAP Associate application developer in Accenture ATCI. While working in backend of ERP system I understood business processes and after 2 years of learning I got an opportunity to take up role as an SAP PLM Functional Consultant. My five year long journey with Accenture gave me versatile experience and multifaceted knowledge about the global businesses. Back then I was intrigued by how the Business works and there is so much more to be learnt. All this made me consider pursuing an MBA, and I was fortunate enough to make it to a prestigious institution such as XLRI. The Ex-PGDM (GM) Programme instilled in me knowledge of various domains –Marketing, Strategy, Operations, Finance and much more.

This was truly, a transformative journey for me where I acquired skills and developed as a management professional. Ex-PGDM (GM) program at XLRI taught me about time management, working effectively under high pressure, and proper collaboration with a diverse team. Along with the curriculum, the leadership talks from various industries provided an insight of the industries and helped broaden my horizons. Apart from academics the institution also provides us opportunity to build our skills in various other areas through sports, cultural activities, student communities and clubs which for an overall development.

My journey of transformation from a technical professional to Management professional was full of rigor and hard work. This program has helped me not only in my learning’s also in building my character. When look at my MBA journey, I can undoubtedly say the learning has been multidimensional. Every day was a new challenge, but yet it contained the learnings of a lifetime. The knowledge I have gained and the memories I have collected will be cherished for life. I feel honoured that I will be graduating from this prestigious institution, and I hope to carry forward its legacy lifelong.

Career Transformation Journey

My MBA experience was terrific, and it will surely go down in history as one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. I was able to meet and interact with people from all over India, create a close circle of friends, and study various subjects and terms that are critical for any manager to know. Self-confidence and a strong approach to thinking about and analyzing circumstances were the most important things I gained.

2021 was again a year of uncertainty due to the ongoing covid pandemic. But At XLRI, I was exposed to both online and offline classes. Hostel and Campus life is an incredible experience as well. I come from a core background with 9+ years of experience. I was an integral part of the commercial team, responsible for P & L Statements and other financial statements. My constant interaction with the regional finance and accounts team created interest in studying further. At XLRI Jamshedpur, I learned about the business implications. I couldn't apply my business expertise to recognize the influence at the firm level before, but now I can relate to the firm's performance at a higher level. I have the necessary skill set, business approach, and plan to address challenges and maintain control over the business area.

I have gained transferrable skills to transform myself from core operations to IT. I am excited to start a new journey at Infosys as Senior Consultant after XLRI Jamshedpur.

Career Transformation Journey

I started my professional journey in Information security audit and advisory practices with Deloitte Assurance and Enterprise Risk Services (commonly known as Deloitte USI) for three years then gradually moved into Technology Risk Consulting with Ernst & Young India Pvt. Limited for two years.

With a keen interest in getting into more business driving roles related to strategy and consulting, I decided to pursue my master’s degree in business education with XLRI’s Post Graduate Diploma in Management for executive professionals (Formerly known as XLRI General Management Program).

Along with the academic courses offered by eminent and renowned faculties in areas of marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Strategic Management, Operations, Economics, Accounting, and Information Systems, the program also offers other additional benefits such as placement assistance, career guidance, mentorship opportunities from industry experts, interactive sessions and conclaves with business leaders across industries.

Through the ExPGDM program, I was able to secure a technology consulting role in Accenture – globally one of the biggest professional services firms. Along with the role, the remuneration provided was also more than twice my previous compensation. The role entails vast opportunities to assist clients in digital transformations, technology initiatives, and management decisions that would shape the future strategies for their businesses.

Career Transformation Journey

Since my undergraduate program, I've been fascinated by the world of business. I saw how businesses vary in size and scale. On one side, a street vendor selling vegetables is running a business. On the other side, a person selling high-performance sports cars is also running a business. When I compare both, it's evident that these two businesses differ in size and thus revenue. And that's what most people would observe. But I soon realized that so much goes on behind the curtains to make a business successful. I was intrigued by that idea and got curious to learn more. That's when I made up my mind to pursue an MBA degree.

After my stint as a manager in one of the top Steel companies in India, I found that the time was ripe to enroll in an MBA program. An MBA degree would give me an excellent boost in my career trajectory. When I started searching for the top B-schools that offer a program most suited for my aspirations, I came across XLRI, Jamshedpur, as a prospect. I started interacting with a few alumni to get a clearer picture of the program structure and know if I'll make a good fit for the cohort. I was already aware that XLRI is the top private B-school in India. I was also aware that the program I was aiming for was very challenging and would require utmost commitment from me. Finally, I applied for XLRI without much hope, knowing how difficult the selection process was. Soon I was shortlisted for the selection process, and after grueling PI sessions, XLRI offered me a seat in their premier program. I was happy beyond words.

Since the beginning of the program, I have had the opportunity to interact with some of this country's best young minds. The entire cohort is highly diverse, and it offers varied perspectives on many subjects. The professors are highly experienced and are some of the most qualified professionals in their respective fields. The teaching pedagogy guarantees to cover all relevant topics one would require to succeed in the business world. Equipped with such in-depth knowledge and experience, I'm sure that my peers will be the future business leaders of this country. Personally, this program has made me highly confident and humble. It has improved and imbibed in me the qualities of out-of-the-box thinking, strategy, management, and attention to detail. No matter where I go after, I'll use my experience and knowledge to make a positive impact and make my alma mater proud.

Career Transformation Journey

Before XLRI I was working as a Consultant in a Big4 organisation working only in the implementation/execution phases of Digital Transformation projects for various clients without much exposure to the business case and value capturing behind these projects. I am very fortunate to join XLRI ExPGDM a well curated program that enabled me to understand the different facets of the business. Upon completion of the program, I would be joining ‘Accenture Operations’ in a Managerial position which would give me an opportunity to drive the Business Transformation projects end to end i.e., from inception to developing a strategic business case, Design, Execution to improve the operational excellence and agility of businesses by leveraging the digital technology powering through Analytics, ultimately enhancing the customer experience.

I would be extremely grateful to our XLRI Professors, PlaceComm, CDC and every committee which worked relentlessly throughout the year and thank my colleagues and batchmates for bringing their diverse experiences which together helped me in shaping a business leader for tomorrow!

Fly XL...! Fly High!

Career Transformation Journey

"Sailor who wanted to get ashore"

It's been an eventful journey. An 18YO kid from a small town you have probably never heard of, choosing the sea life. They say you become a sailor when you hit the waters. I beg to differ! You become a sailor when the thought of uncertain winds and unchartered territories stops scaring you, when you decide to hold off your parents' inhibitions and trust your gut, your gut that's telling you to tame the wildness of the waves and yet fall in love with them.

So, it was November 2K13. I set foot aboard my first ship. To stand there was like a dream come true. All the fancy stories, the shores that people talked about, and the fear that I overcame daily to be here were about to come to life. For six years, I lived my dream. It taught me courage, patience, but most of all, it taught me how to be resilient. I came, saw, and conquered, and then like any other sailor, it was my time to leave this voyage and latch on to another.

I completed my last venture on August 2K19. I knew I wanted to step into the next chapter of my life but still wanted to sign off my beautiful dream with another feather. I wasn't going back, but irrespective, I sat for MEO CLASS II EXAMS (one of the highest-grade exams for a marine engineer). I spent my days figuring out what I wanted to do and why.? Sailing onboard ships globally and supplying sensitive and essential commodities has taught me how the world supply chain is the backbone of the consumerism that we see today and how its optimal management is imperative to business in today's world. So, it was time to put into practice what I learned watching the ocean for so long – KEEP MOVING.

I had to aim for the moon. I had to take my chances. I was confident that if I put in the hard work, I'll get it, but it's been a tough year for humanity (Welcome to Covid Era). I was prepping hard for GMAT and, like everyone fighting a mental battle. It's scary to give up on something you built for years, but it's also liberating. I took my chance. After a few months of self-assurance and a decent GMAT score later, I finally made it to one of the great learnings institutions XLRI.

Life @ XLRI has been an amazing experience. What I missed in my professional as well as in my personal life is coming true. The peer learning, the late-night discussions, long walks discussing how to excel @XL, each day we all had experienced these small chunks of learnings and sharing happiness. It has been an enriching journey getting taught by faculties and professors who have excelled in their professional world. The program is so designed that it helps students understand things about management right from scratch. When I look at myself before joining the ExPGDM program, I had this myopic view of things, but now going through this course, I can see myself being transformed and viewing things from a broader perspective.

Career Transformation Journey

The journey at XLRI has been incredible, both professionally and personally. The Flagship One-Year Program Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Management (ExPGDM) has transformed my career by opening a plethora of career fields to pick from the modern corporate world and paving the path to switch to a new domain and industry.

The ExPGDM gives the specialization in General Management, which covers the breadth of all management fields. To top this up, the cutting-edge curriculum and case-based pedagogy helped me get exposure to the latest trends in the markets, emerging career fields, and the necessary domain- specific knowledge and skills for corporates.

Before joining the program, I had a rich and diverse work experience of 70 Months with the world's largest automaker Toyota. I was working in the planning and strategy group. Post-MBA, I aspired to be in the technology and consulting domain. ExPGDM paved the right path for that. The program was fulfilling as it has given me lots of opportunities to gain from diverse cohort and industry stalwarts– leadership talks, mentorship programs and conclaves are a few programs that primed me for my next role post MBA.

I got placed at Mindtree, a technology IT firm. At Mindtree, I would be working as Business Portfolio Owner providing technology consulting to Automobile clients. This whole transition has shifted my career from core automobile to IT while retaining my past work experience expertise.

Career Transformation Journey

Studying at XLRI has been nothing less than a dream come true. Though I got offers from MBA – NMIMS, IMT Nagpur, IIFT, and a few from Australia & Canada, I was hellbent on doing it from a premier B school in India only and decided to go for XLRI GMP (ExPGDM) 2021-22 program after writing GMAT in 2020.

Despite having decent pay, I knew it was a blue pill red pill kind of a situation (referring the matrix movie) and I took a red pill to embrace a challenging, but a life-transforming journey. MBA from XLRI has been a fantastic roller-coaster ride and a complete personality transforming and self-realization journey. I got instances where I marched over the pre-existing zeniths of my limits, which was a real test of my performance and perseverance.

I felt blessed to get a chance to learn excellent skills and learnings from learned professors, deep dive into concepts, and amalgamate those well with my skills to conquer greater heights. More than learning conceptual knowledge, it was a personality polishing journey where I learned more by observing and doing, getting to know people better, and dealing with people and situations. Also, I gained new insights, fell but refocused, and re-learned new things like learning how to be self-dependent in every sphere of life – social, emotional, personal, and professional.

To conclude. Not only has an MBA from XLRI promised me an exponential career transforming growth, but also it gave me opportunities to develop myself into a better person. These few months of my life have immensely transformed me, where I steadfast many impending challenges, deadlock situations, and people, I metamorphosized myself, took crucial decisions even in hopeless situations to wreck these shackles and stones to make my fortress of success.

Career Transformation Journey

“If Opportunity doesn’t knock, Build a Door.”

- Milton Berle (Comedian)

After working for five years in the same company and exhausting all the possibilities to keep me motivated, I was trying to find new opportunities to explore and escape the mundane work. But as fate had in store, Covid destroyed all my plans and hopes. Without any visible future ahead and no other opportunities knocking, I decided to build my door. I was able to leverage the most valuable resource anyone could ever get, ‘Time’. The lockdown gave me the time for self- introspection and a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. I realised that my skills needed sharpening before I built my door, and XLRI ExPGDM gave me the right tools.

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

- Paulo Coelho (Writer)

Getting into XLRI is a dream come true for every MBA aspirant; the contemporary MBA education and academic rigour of the XLRI ExPGDM program helped broaden my horizons. The vibrant and diverse cohort of the batch gave me new perspectives on how different industries do business and the various organisational cultures. These insights and perspectives, coupled with the support of the world-class faculty and academic resources, helped me realise my dream of getting into one of the top consulting firms in the world, ‘Bain & Company’.

“Learning is a constant process of discovery – a process without end.”

- Bruce Lee (Martial Artist)

I always believe change is the only constant, and tackling these changes is only possible with continuous learning. The change which XLRI gave me is exponential, and the learnings I received are exceptional.

Career Transformation Journey

I was always good at numbers. But I never knew I could make a career out of it. After graduating from BITS Pilani, I worked extensively in the cement manufacturing industry; I grew up the ladder soon and was inducted into the strategy team where I worked with top consultants to make the plant “Ready for Tomorrow” – a digitalization initiative across the whole organization. And this point became a watershed moment in my life for different reasons.

 

Two things instantly became clear to me –  Creating value for your stakeholder is the ultimate problem any organization looks forward to solving.  Machine Learning and Data Science will literally disrupt how “every” industry works in the immediate future. And it was completely apparent in our asset-heavy industry.

When the pandemic happened, I made the best use of my time; I prepared for GMAT and finally accepted an offer from XLRI for its executive MBA program. Two months into the course, my inclination toward statistics, finance and strategy grew even more. I knew where I wanted to be now - A career in consulting, specifically in data analytics or finance. The transition seemed extremely difficult, but I put extreme effort in my MBA studies, self- learned relevant coding in data-camp, aced courses in Coursera and waited for the right opportunity.

 

And when the opportunity came in the form of Teleperformance, I immediately signed up for the offer. Now, I am sure I will help Teleperformance scale new heights along with my own career trajectory.

Career Transformation Journey

After almost 7 years of fulfilling experience in the telecommunications industry, I was looking to take the next step in my career and enhance my business acumen to complement my existing technical nous. That was my primary motivation for pursuing an Executive-PGDM at XLRI. I was able to broaden my knowledge through the programme by learning not only from the professors but also from my classmates, who came from a variety of backgrounds. The programme taught me how to look at the world and business from a broad perspective, and it led me to my new career path. During the course of my programme, I moved from one international firm to another and from being a Network Engineer to Product Manager.

The XLRI Executive-PGDM programme is the best choice for accelerating your career advancement not only because of its academic rigour, but also because of its unparalleled exposure and alumni network. This programme has given me knowledge of business operations, strategic thinking, and leadership. The XLRI Executive-PGDM programme provides an excellent foundation for your future career. With dedication and hard work, you can learn from world-class professors, appreciate the complexity and even beauty of management and leadership, and meet future business partners. The program represents a life-long partnership with XLRI and has led to priceless friendships with my classmates and alumni. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Career Transformation Journey

When I ask myself the question “What excites me?”, the answer that comes is entrepreneurship.

Starting the first year of my career with my entrepreneurial ambition, I launched ATMH (a digital platform) and worked on it for over a year. However, since income from the platform was sporadic and my understanding of how to scale a business was limited, I decided to exit from my venture and handed over the application to a local vendor. Though my startup journey was cut short, I got invaluable insights into the real world. I got a keen understanding of how to start a business, and got introduced to several aspects of business such as technology, sales, operations and marketing. More importantly, I got an idea of what areas (strategy, finance) to focus on and learn further.

Career Transformation Journey

A Scientist to Business Manager

2021, What a year it has been!

My passion for research, drove me to pursue Ph.D. in Life Sciences followed by 5+ years in R&D at India’s largest conglomerate. With the experiences at my previous organization, I was driven to convert innovations to businesses. Preparing for GMAT, Interviews and Essays with a job was challenging. When I received admission for Ex-PGDM, the flagship 1-year full-time MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur, the efforts had borne fruits only to realize more challenging times were awaiting me.

The metamorphosis from science to business and how, Ex-PGDM, the flagship 1-year full-time MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

First things, First! In my opinion, the course is nothing short of a STEM MBA abroad. Studying Finance, Marketing, Strategy, Economics, Legal & Ethics, Soft Skills (MCN, MHB) with academic rigor is no mean task and the rigor just keeps rising. The way the courses and terms were organized was key to connecting the dots and soon I could see the big picture. Case studies made me realize why XAT/GMAT/GRE/CAT is a stage-gate for a Premier B-School. These exposed me to various businesses such as confectionary, hospitals, diagnostics, information technology, electronic vehicles, solar panels, FMCG, etc. As a biologist, studying quants was a lost desire. The course with sizeable portions devoted towards quants, data analytics, MIS, production & operations kept me on my toes always. I realized the course not only imparted knowledge but also skilled me for on-the-job responsibilities.

Just two terms in the course, I participated in National Case competitions and was shortlisted for one from one of the big pharma.

With the academics, we had weekly doses of industry expert talks and quarterly conclaves, with stalwarts from diverse companies. It was an honor to re-live their business experiences in the most candid way possible. One of the outstanding features was the Professional Mentorship Program and I am truly grateful to my mentor for organizing weekly networking sessions with professionals from various industries.

From managing scientific projects and performing experiments to now speaking the business language within a span of one year is testament to why XLRI. Every place has its own essence and the time at the oldest B-School in India shall be cherished forever.