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Almost all Indian graduates know the examinations CAT, IITJEE or UPSC. If you were born and brought up in India in the last 20 years or so, I am sure, you would have heard about them as well.
Just due to the unique combination of high number of applicants taking these exams and the extremely low success rate, these exams get a lot of media limelight, so much that they have become sort of celebrity status exams in India. To put it into context (approx. values), CAT is taken by 250k applicants / year with an acceptance rate of 2%, IITJEE by 1.2Mn with an acceptance rate of 1%, and UPSC by 1.1Mn applicants with an acceptance rate of 0.1%.
Such success statistics make these exams tougher to qualify than even Harvard University (acceptance rate of 4.7%) which is already considered the pinnacle of competition.
You clear one or more of these exams and you become sort of a celebrity in your locality, your school, universities etc. for a few years at least. Relatives look up to you for suggestion, you become the default mentor for your younger cousins, and everyone expects you to solve all problems, clear all exams with ease etc. etc.
I personally think the whole thing is extremely overhyped and it is creating a lot of unnecessary stress for many of the young aspirational Indian population.
Please don't get me wrong, I definitely do agree that the students who clear these exams deserve a lot of respect.
I myself have a lot of respect for the IIT and IIM graduates. Even after studying extremely hard for 2 years in my senior secondary school years (standard 11, 12), I still didn't get a seat in the IITs (approx. 9k rank and extended merit list). Similarly, even though I myself had a 97%ile score in CAT 2010, and 99%ile score in CAT 2012, I still met many inspiring students during my time in IIM Calcutta (Yr. 2013 to 2015) who were way better and faster than me in understanding complex concepts, or solving exam problems. I have nothing but true respect for their sheer brilliance.
But, coming to the other side of this equation …
Does life end if one is not able to qualify in these exams?
Are these few coveted exams, the only way to measure intelligence of the students?
Is it fair to write someone off, if he / she can't clear these exams with flying colors?
Do the remaining 98%ile and below scorer in these exams never succeed in life?
I think the answer to all these questions is a resounding "No".
I can tell you this from my experience and the experience of many other friends who made or didn't make it to IIT or IIM. Failing these exams once, twice or even every single time is not a big deal. No single exam can destroy your career, be it IITJEE, CAT, UPSC or anything else.
While clearing one or all of them will definitely boost your career, the reverse is not true.
So, having witnessed my share of success and failures with IITJEE and CAT examinations, I would like to focus today on 6 tips one can use to improve his / her career even after a so called "failure" to qualify the CAT exam.
Don't take the "CAT exam failure" too hard:
CAT is nothing but just another exam measuring very specific sections of quantitative, verbal and logical abilities. In the real world, to succeed, skills like problem solving, people management, and hard-working attitude will turn out to be way more important than being good at quant, verbal or logical questions only.
In your life, you will pass and fail many exams. Till the time you don't give up, you will always have opportunities to make your career as good as somebody from IIMs or even better.
There are many people who never made it to the IIMs and are still extremely successful. They are running companies, hiring IIM graduates and even outperforming IIM graduates in jobs.
2. Reconsider your decision to do an MBA:
MBA or IIMs are means to an end, i.e. to help you reach whatever career you want to have. But there is never just a single route to any specific career. Even if MBA is one way to achieve it, if you talk to the people who have the career you seek, you will find other routes equally beneficial or even better than the MBA route.
Even if your aim is just to earn money or have a promising career, IIMs are only one way. There are many more equally good options to get money, fame and a promising career such as:
- Already joining a big multinational firm as a graduate
- Doing your own startup, or
- Working for a startup in a challenging role directly under the founders
All these alternatives, if smartly selected, will benefit you a lot in your career later irrespective of doing an MBA or not.
3. Consider other MBA programs apart from IIMs:
If you do want an MBA for whatever reason, think about other good universities as well such as ISB, XLRI, FMS, MDI, SP Jain etc. If you make it to any of these and work hard during your MBA, you will still make it to many of the same companies and the same jobs as your friends who went to IIMs.
Apart from a few specific companies, most companies visit IIMs as well as other top universities like FMS, ISB, XLRI etc. for the same job offers.
Even if you can't make it to the same companies in on-campus placements, after a few months or a few years, you will get enough chances to switch companies and make it to your dream company and role. Good work speaks louder than IIM degrees a few years down the line. Just grow your network and ask them to refer you to roles you aim for.
MBAs in USA, Canada, Europe are many times very good and might even result in a more successful career than a career from IIMs. This is because the biggest companies of the world are still mostly from western countries and prefer applicants with additional international experience. Furthermore, international education might open up many other new opportunities and perspectives that you never thought of.
I myself did an MBA from IIM Calcutta and later on decided to do another Masters in Management from Germany as it suited my needs better.
4. Reconsider your CAT taking strategy:
If you want different results, you need to try different things. The next exam is next year so you have one year to improve your score. Utilize it fully by creating a proper plan and milestones. Do periodic reviews to adjust the plan in case the milestones are not achieved.
Even though it was just luck or a bad day, take accountability for the result and create a plan which improves your score even with a similar bad day or luck next year.
Nobody scores 100% marks. Check your weakest sections, analyze all your mock tests, figure out the easiest topics to improve on and difficult questions not worth trying.
I made an excel sheet with all my mock scores, did a proper analysis of where I was inconsistent, which topics was I making mistakes in, and which topics dd I need to solve faster. Accordingly I made a plan and started executing it and reviewing it against my goals every month or so.
5. Consider working for a social cause, non-profit or taking a gap year to travel:
You might agree or disagree, but for most people CAT, IIM, or MBA are all part of a life-long rat race to earn more money and respect from society. Earlier it was scoring good in 10th or 12th, then it was studying in IIT, later it will be something else. Sometimes to leave a rat-race, it is important to explore new perspectives.
If finances are not a problem, a social cause, non-profit, or even a gap year of travelling will give you these new perspectives on life. This will not only help you clarify what you want in life, but even help you stand out in next year's MBA interviews if you do appear for one.
After working for many different companies and a few charities as well, I can confidently say that sometimes the satisfaction and sense of purpose you get working for a social cause or non-profit is better than what you would get working for a world famous multinational corporation.
6. Enjoy the journey rather than only focusing on the exam goal:
Trust me, even if you do crack CAT, go to the best IIM and get the best job, your happiness will still be temporary. New problems will come and new rat races will begin.
With every moment, you are losing time which will never come back. Work hard but don't forget to enjoy the journey, and the small day to day moments.
Don't go crazy with parties but still take breaks, enjoy time with friends and family, and follow your hobbies.
There is a high chance that once you make it to IIMs, and enter your professional career after MBA, you will have more money and less time than today, so make the most of your current time so that you don't regret later.
Like everyone else, I do regret some of my past failures, but failing my CAT exam in 2010 never felt like a regret to me.
Looking back, it actually gave me so many new perspectives on life that if I could go back to 2010, I would still rather fail that 2010 CAT exam, than pass it ;)
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