XLRI Jamshedpur alumnus, Hari Hara Subramanian, who has spent 10+ years in HR and business leadership roles at Amazon and Mahindra has authored “Hilarious MBA Memoirs” a hilarious autobiographical satire on the life of an MBA graduate. The book is inspired by real-life incidents through childhood, college, and corporate days and through funny anecdotes offers insights on cracking XAT, struggle in MBA days and corporate journey. Presently, Hari Subramanian is based in Sheffield (U.K).
In an exclusive interview with MBAUniverse.com, Hari Subramanian shares his XAT preparation strategy, GD-PI experience, life at XLRI, Corporate journey and how the book is beneficial for the MBA graduates. Read the excerpts from the interview
Q: Which year did you crack XAT, and how did you prepare for it?
A: I cracked XAT in the year 2009. This was my second attempt. I am an Electronics engineer and I started my preparation in the third year of my engineering (2007) when I enrolled with a leading coaching centre for an 18-month preparation program. The program helped me get acquainted with the basics of quant, verbal and data interpretation/logical reasoning and the modules were introduced slowly.
I did a lot of practice using the preparatory material which was given to me. I used to practice 2 days a week. After this practice, I started taking the mock entrance examinations. This really helped me as I got an indicative idea of how percentiles work, what my strengths and weaknesses are from the 3 sections and how to plan my time. Basis the scores of my mock practice exams, I understood that Verbal Ability was my strength and Quant was my weakness. I intensified my quant practice and practiced a lot of quant problems. I would allocate more time to quant and less time to verbal during my entrance exams, so that I could clear the sectional cut-offs. In my first attempt which I took as a fresher, I got calls from some of the newer IIMs through CAT but could not clear the interview. The first attempt (where I did not clear sectional cut-offs) gave me a good idea of what to expect and I was confident that I could do better the next time around. When I started working after my graduation, I could not get as much time to practice regularly. However, I would ensure that I never missed a mock entrance exam on Sundays and would use weekends to practice. This time around, I cleared the sectional cut-offs for XAT. To summarize, reflection and working on my weakness with deliberate practice helped me crack XAT.
Q: Did you take the CAT exam? How did you fare…? How do you compare CAT and XAT?
A: In my first attempt for CAT, I couldn’t clear the sectional cut-off for quant, for the IIMs. I got a call for one of the newer IIMs but couldn’t clear the interview. The same thing happened in my second attempt. From a difficulty perspective, I found XAT tougher. In my time, CAT had a good mix of easy, moderate, and tough questions. For XAT, the ratio of easy and moderate questions was lesser. In my view, the key to clearing the cut-offs in both is to be very quick and decisive in selecting the right questions to answer. Both are extremely difficult exams but it is important to select the right questions. CAT had far more quant complexity for me while XAT’s LR/DI was tougher. There’s very little to choose in terms of difficulty level for both the exams. CAT is extremely vital in the sense that a huge number of IIMs and other top institutes like MDI etc use it. XAT gives you entry to XLRI and top institutes like SPJIMR also use it. From a candidate’s perspective, I think it is important to give equal importance to all the entrance exams from top B schools as you never know which one will click for you.
Q: What is your advice to test-takers on doing well in CAT, XAT….?
A: #1) The first step is to self-assess your strong and weak areas. Maximize your strengths. Since I knew I was confident in my verbal ability, I would attempt it last and spend lesser time compared to the other sections. I would start with DI/LR as I didn’t want my confidence to be derailed by starting with my weak area.
#2) Time management and selecting the right questions are very critical. I would skim through a question and if I came to know that I would struggle to solve it, I would not attempt it. The secret sauce in MBA entrance exams is to select the right questions to answer, play to your strengths, and not waste time on difficult questions.
#3) Regular and purposeful practice by solving a lot of practice papers/attending mock entrances will help sharpen the saw. There is no shortcut to success and a combination of hard and smart work is required. Preparing well gives you a lot of confidence. There are a lot of entrance exams from good institutes and you know that if you have prepared well, you will get through one of them. The key here is preparation and practice.
#4) I would switch off preparation 3 days before the exam and read newspapers, watch movies, go for a run or watch cricket matches on TV. I would not discuss anything about the exam with friends or family. If you are well prepared and you can distract yourself by engaging in other activities, your mind will automatically be calm. This worked for me. At the end of the day, it is just another exam that you are attempting and life is beyond an exam. Having this perspective helped me.
Q: How was your interview experience at XLRI? You have mentioned some of it in your book…
A: I got interview calls for both the Business Management (BM) and Human Resource Management (HRM) courses. I did a lot of practice mock interviews. I also reflected on where I went wrong in last year’s interviews where I had got calls from one of the newer IIMs and a few other institutes (body language, lack of confidence, being nervous) and practiced a lot of mock interviews with faculty from the coaching centre. This helped me in my interviews the next time around. The BM interview was largely focused on academics. Unfortunately, I could not answer anything related to my Electronics Engineering academic concepts in my BM interview and it was a disaster. I was done with the interview in just 3 minutes.
Luckily, the HRM interview was on general knowledge and current affairs-related topics. I used to read newspapers and watch news channels regularly, as I was curious and had a general interest. The GD topic was on the role of media in minimizing sensationalism in news reporting. I used to read up a lot about current affairs, which helped me in my interviews. I was asked questions about why I wanted to pursue HR as a specialization, and what was the definition of human capital. I was also asked a lot of follow-up questions on the GD topic including what were some of my favourite channels and why. On that day, I remember the Sri Lankan cricket team had experienced a bomb blast outside their team hotel in Lahore. It was just a few hours before my interview and my interest in following news regularly helped. I was able to clear the interview and get admitted to XLRI. As you mentioned, I have talked about my interview experience in my book as well in great detail. I really have fond memories of the interview.
Q: Overall, which admissions did you convert and why did you decide to join XLRI?
A: I converted SPJIMR (Finance specialization) and XLRI (HR specialization). I wasn’t sure about my specialization then and I consulted a few people from the industry and my coaching institute about both specializations offer in terms of career, job roles etc. I also looked at factors like alumni network, average salaries, institute rankings etc and decided to join XLRI. It was a tough choice because SPJIMR also is based in India’s financial capital Mumbai and finance has very great monetary prospects but I guess all’s well that ends well. I would not trade the 2 years at XLRI for anything else.
Q: How was your XLRI experience? What were the high points?
A: I think the MBA at XLRI was the best thing to have happened to me. We were lucky to have been taught by some of the best Professors in the country. Prof. ISF Irudyaraj, who taught us Organizational Behavior), Prof Madhukar Shukla ( Social Entrepreneurship & Cross-Cultural Management), Prof Soumendra Bagchi ( Performance Management & Appraisal), have deeply impacted me in multiple ways, due to their teaching style and personality. Prof Bagchi’s case-based analytical framework is something I still use today to solve complex problems.
The group projects, case study contests, summer internship, and live projects were extremely useful to understand various nuances at the workplace – ranging from collaboration, prioritization, workplace culture, conflict management, working under tight deadlines, etc. The social connect through engaging events and sports activities also taught us to balance work and fun, which is very essential to balance a corporate career and avoid burnout. The need to take short breaks through our various short holidays during term breaks etc. also helped me in good stead. The importance of analysis, primary and secondary research and presentation are some of the other things which my XL journey helped me adapt quickly to corporate life.
There are many cherished memories and high points, some of which I have captured in my book. The hilarious “Lord Hari” incident (which is described in great detail in one of the chapters in my book) is something that still makes me laugh. The tradition of identifying a Lord continued for a few years and then suddenly disappeared. I wonder why this hilarious annual event disappeared. We had lots of fun – Holi, Diwali, regional dinners, XL IIMC, committee events, trips, street play. I don’t think anybody in our batch would trade those two years at XL for anything else. Last but not least, I am really fortunate to have made some amazing set of friends for life, who have been with me through thick and thin, till this date.
I would definitely recommend an MBA course for those who are interested in pursuing a career in management.
Q: You worked for 5+ years at Mahindra Group. You were responsible for execution of the Group Management Cadre (GMC) program, which is Mahindra’s leadership development program for India’s top B Schools. It included organizing Mahindra War Room. For MBA students reading this, what are the key benefits of participating in such a program?
A: The Mahindra War Room is undoubtedly one of India’s biggest case study competitions, in terms of teams participating and overall student engagement. I was fortunate to have worked in a role in Group HR where our team was responsible for execution of the War Room. There are many key benefits
- Reading up the case studies makes you appreciate the kind of challenges/opportunites which CEOs are trying to solve for.
- Because Mahindra is a diverse federation of businesses, It gives an insight into unique challenges faced by multiple industries, from automotive, to aerospace, holidays, cleantech etc
- Working on real world problems by doing primary research helps you sharpen your business skills
- The feedback the shortlisted presentations receive from industry experts is extremely valuable in terms of deepening your understanding of business
- The campus finalists get a chance to interact with Mr. Anand Mahindra and the top leadership during the Grand Finale, which is a great learning experience.
- It significantly improves a student’s skill sets in the areas of presentation, research, analysis, collaboration, prioritization and multi-tasking
- Doing well in this competition is a significant boost on your CV, which you can leverage for final placements
- The winners of the Grand Finale get a Pre-Placement Interview with Mahindra Group. I have seen winners joining Mahindra Group and working on the issue they were solving as part of the War Room. One of the winners, an FMS 2013 alum, had got a PPO through the War Room and joined the agri-business, and worked on a new market entry strategy as part of the GMC program.
Q: Which are the Top (Top 10?) such Contests/Competitions today that must be on every MBA students/aspirant’s radar?
A: Depending on the industry/function which a student aspires to specialize, there are a host of competitions like Mahindra War Room, HUL Lime, ITC Interrobang, Asian Paints Canvas, Amazon ACE challenge, Loreal Brandstorm, Flipkart Wired, ABG Stratos, Mondelez Maestro, etc.
It is important to prioritize which case study competition the students want to participate in as there are a host of competitions out there and there are constraints of time and band-width. Having a diverse team with cross-functional expertise, doing extensive primary research, and having a logical presentation flow makes a key difference in getting entries shortlisted for case study competitions.
Q: At Amazon, as the Senior Human Resource Partner, you were responsible for Talent Retention. Career planning, Mentoring etc. Do you think MBAs coming out of Top B-schools lack some competencies/skills? What are they? How can they bridge the gap?
A: MBAs coming out of Top B schools need to make a very quick transition from campus to corporate. I would not say there is a lack of competencies/skills because there is a learning curve that everyone goes through and certain things can only be learnt through experience. Having said that, I think focusing on the following things can really help them better at their job
- Business communication: It will help if they are taught how to write crisp emails, how to ask for help in terms of resources, guidance, expertise etc. A lot of fresh graduates need hand-holding in this aspect, which often becomes an issue if not addressed immediately.
- Planning and preparing for the week, day and month: A lot of times, ad-hoc talks will take away time from major milestones, leading to missed opportunities to make an impact. In B schools, if they can get into an active rhythm of planning for the day, week, month, it will really make a big difference in their corporate career.
- Listening skills: Because students are taught so often to express their opinion, a lot of times, in their eagerness to make an impact in corporate meetings, they forget to listen and understand the crux of the conversation. Investing time in listening attentively and resisting the urge to speak (unless required) is a skill which will help them a lot.
- Empathy: It is important to place yourself in the other person’s shoes and walk a mile. A lot of times, a person may not respond in the workplace due to other priorities. How a student manages to navigate through such scenarios without getting pushy but at the same time achieving his/her objective is an important skill to be practiced.
- Patience, perseverance, and resilience: People who have worked in corporate (especially in Sales roles) will know the importance of patience, perseverance, and resilience as not every deliverable will be closed in a jiffy. If students can do a shadow sales stint as part of their live projects on campus, they will get an insight into how important these three traits are and will make them be in touch with corporate realities faster.
- Learning to prioritize continuously and say no when required: A lot of times, people end up working unnecessarily late and taking up more on their plate than realistically possible due to either lack of prioritization or inability to say no. Speaking to mentors in their network who are in senior roles, and observing how they navigate such scenarios will help them learn these important traits.
- Deep work: Focusing on deep work with quality instead of working on multiple activities without depth is not going to help. If students can learn the art of prioritizing and learning to do deep work, then they are setting themselves up for success. If students can keep this aspect in mind during their projects/assignments during their academic curriculum, they will become better at this when they start working.
Q: What are the main themes of your book?
A: Inspired by real-life incidents, “Hilarious MBA Memoirs” is a hilarious autobiographical satire on the life of an MBA grad from one of India’s best B schools through childhood, college, and corporate days. This rib-tickling stressbuster chronicles funny anecdotes throughout the protagonist's life right from the rote learning methodology in childhood, to the struggle in his MBA days (making a CV, fish-market group discussions, social media mishaps, summer internship fiasco, date nights gone wrong, etc.), followed by his journey as an eligible corporate bachelor struggling to find a wife through the arranged marriage route, and culminates with a heart-warming climax.
Q: How can MBA aspirants and student benefit from reading the book?
A: Through the quirky anecdotes, MBA aspirants and students will get an insight into B school life, starting from the admissions process, summer internship placements, how CV points work, the importance of presentation skills, the role of social media, and how it needs to be used responsibly etc. The book also offers an outside-in perspective of MBA and corporate life through subtle messages on the above-mentioned aspects. I am sure MBA aspirants and students will find the anecdotes extremely relatable and I hope the book will bring a smile to their faces, apart from giving them an insight into MBA life from a satirical standpoint. It is a light and easy read, which is around 130 pages.
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