MDI Prep Team

PSP Series

[Preparation for Summer Placements]

General Questions
Instructions:

You are required to consult your mentors for improving the quality of your

answers and leverage their summer placement experience

The soft copy (PDF) of the draft document is to be mailed to
respective mentors with cc to prepteam@mandevian.com
o File naming convention : <RollNo>_<Name>_PSP-02 (Example:

15P001_Aabid Bains_PSP-02)
o Mail subject line
: <RollNo>_<Name>_PSP-02
o Deadline
: EOD, 28th July, 2015
The soft copy of the final document is to be mailed to
prepteam@mandevian.com with cc to respective mentors and
placecom@mdi.ac.in
o File naming convention : <RollNo>_<Name>_PSP-02 (Example:

15P001_Aabid Bains_PSP-02)
o Mail subject line
: <RollNo>_<Name>_PSP-02
o Deadline
: EOD, 3rd August, 2015
Hard copy of only the cover page of this doc. duly signed by both the
mentors should be submitted at the pigeon box outside Placement Office

by EOD, 3rd August, 2015

Font: Candara | Font size: 12 | Line Spacing: 1.5 | Format: Word

Document
All the questions are mandatory

Name
Roll No.

: Sidika Anand
: 15P171

Sign:
Name: Sambit Chaudhury
Mentor 1

Sign:
Name: Kriti Singh
Mentor 2

MDI Prep Team

Question 1:
What do you believe has been the most important decision that youve made
(work-related or personal) in your life so far? What were the major factors
that you took into consideration and what have been its consequences? If
you look back on it now, would youve done anything different?
One of the most important decisions I have made in my life was when I had
to make a very difficult career decision after my graduation. During campus
placement at my graduation college I was placed with Paytm which was one
of the most coveted jobs on the campus. Also after going through the Bschool selection process I secured admission into some of the premier Bschools in the country. This created a dilemma as I had to make a critical
decision which would alter the course of my career.
While I making this decision I was looking at working with one of the
emerging startups which would offer great job prospects while on the other
hand I was looking at two years of value addition at a premier B-school. The
latter would have brought about an all-round holistic development of my
personality. Hence I decided to join MDI, Gurgaon.
If I look back now I wouldnt have done anything different since life at MDI
has been a brilliant learning experience so far and I believe it shall continue
to be so.

MDI Prep Team

Question 2:
You have just completed your 300-page autobiography. Please submit page
221.
It is a bright Monday morning and I am sitting in a glass walled conference
room. A meeting is going on and I have been called in to lead the way. Its
the office of a new division my company is venturing into. After
approximately 25 years of experience in various industries in different
verticals, my hard work and efforts over the years have finally borne fruits
and I shall be heading this new division. It is a moment of great pride for me
and my family.

MDI Prep Team

Question 3:
Describe one principle in life you not only firmly believe in but also practice.
My schooling at St. Josephs Convent School inculcated in me the value of
giving back to the society which has contributed in shaping us into who we
are. I firmly believe that it is our duty to help those less fortunate and I have
practised this as much as possible. During school days we used to visit the
slums on special occasions and festivals and distribute sweets and other
items of daily use to those less fortunate. Also presently I am a volunteer
with Watt A Village, an NGO that works for rural electrification through
renewable sources of energy.

MDI Prep Team

Question 4:
Describe an instance where you failed to achieve your objective. What were
the lessons you drew from the situation?
Fresh into B-school we were assigned group tasks and for the first group
project that was assigned to us we were supposed to make a presentation on
Capital Markets. So we all coordinated on phone and through emails and
decided a portion of the presentation each one of us would be presenting.
Thus everyone read and prepared their portion of the presentation and finally
we compiled all of the prepared material into one presentation. On the day of
the presentation the teacher picked one of us who had prepared the working
of capital markets to introduce the topic. Now since we all had prepared our
portion of the presentation well and werent prepared with the portions of
other members of the group, our presentation wasnt up to the mark.
The most important lesson we drew from the situation was to coordinate
within the group and improve group dynamics and work as a team together
on any task assigned to us.
The biggest learning was that the whole is greater than the sum of
individuals.

MDI Prep Team

Question 5:
Can business and ethics be combined? If yes, then how? What would you
chose if you could chose only one of them.
Business and ethics should go hand-in-hand. Ethics shouldnt be separated
from the business as a business without ethics wouldnt be able to pass the
test of time.
If I had to choose between business and ethics I would follow the ethical path
since an organization with strong ethical values, would perform better in the
longer run and build a relationship with its suppliers, traders, employees and
consumers based on trust and understanding. Although being unethical
might fulfil short term gains of the company but eventually it will to a
companys failure.

MDI Prep Team

Question 6:
Successful leaders have a clear sense of purpose. Whats yours?
My purpose in life is to give back to the society which has given so much to
me and help me become who I am. I would like to contribute to bringing an
end to the various problems that affect our society. I believe one can
progress better when the society is progressive. And to make a society
progressive one needs to address various issues like poverty, illiteracy,
injustice towards women etc. that affect the society.

MDI Prep Team

Question 7:
Tell me something interesting about you which is not on your CV.
I am a foodie who is not fond of cooking. Ever since my childhood food has
always been close to my heart. And the region of Punjab, the land famous for
its food, has offered different varieties of food which is an absolute foodies
delight. I love exploring and experimenting with food and would like to travel
around the world exploring various cuisines.

MDI Prep Team

Question 8:
Tell

us

something

you

disliked

about

your

last

organization

(college/workplace). Could you do something to improve it?

My last organization was my alma mater NIT Jalandhar. It is one of the
premier institutions for courses in Bachelor of Technology. Although it is one
of the best there was one drawback to the institute. The institute had
recently introduced three new engineering branches in the college. Now
engineering being a practical course requires laboratory and experimental
apparatus which the college had not procured before introducing the
courses. This caused a lot of discomfort to the students as the students of
these new branches of engineering did not have proper apparatus pertaining
to their course. Although there may have been problems of paucity of funds
due to which the institute wouldnt have been able to procure the required
apparatus, but I believe that the authorities should have arranged proper
amount of funds before introducing the new courses.

MDI Prep Team

Question 9:
What motivates you the most & discourages you the most?
Motivation: I derive motivation from constructive criticism and learning
opportunities.

When

somebody

provides

me

feedback

regarding

my

performance whether negative or positive I make sure to try and incorporate

the suggestions provided to me. This motivates me to improve upon my
shortcomings and to constantly work to realize my full potential.
Discouragement: I am discouraged when working in a team, my team mates
show indifference towards their part of the task and do not perform to the
best of their potential. I believe that a team or an organization can function
well only if all the people in the organization give their best to what task has
been assigned to them.

MDI Prep Team

Question 10:
Who is your idol and why?
My aunt is my idol. She has done her MBA and after working for
approximately 20 years in a job, she quit and decided to work for herself and
currently she is running her own firm and generating jobs. I admire her for
her risk taking ability, the way she maintains a balance between her work
and family and the way she manages all her work and appointments. She
always says, When in a fix just imagine the worst case scenario and if you
are ok with it then nothing can bring you down.

MDI Prep Team

Question 11:
Why MDI? How has the ride been so far?
MDI is one of the premier B-schools of the country. It provides a holistic and
all round development of the individual. The faculty in MDI is one of the best
in the country. Along with academics, extra-curricular activities are pursued
with a lot of enthusiasm and gusto. Also being at the center of a metropolitan
city, Gurgaon, the kind of exposure the students get is an advantage to
them.
Life at MDI so far has been a bumpy ride with smooth patches in between.
The only constant here is change. There is an emphasis on holistic learning
both within and outside the classroom. The various fun and learning
activities organized by the clubs and committees bring out the best in us.
The academic rigor at MDI prepares us for the rigors of the corporate world.
And one of the most important things we have learnt here is to value our
weekends which till now were idled away.

MDI Prep Team

Question 12:
Do you think your academic results are a true reflection of your potential?
I have been fairly consistent in my academics and have been one of the top
scorers in my class. Despite this there have been subjects where I could have
performed better. Also I believe that only academic results cannot be the
true reflection of ones potential and there should be a holistic and all round
development of a person. And hence I have also participated in various
events for a more overall development of my personality.