Many MBA candidates studying for the CAT examination have a choice between leaving their jobs to focus on their studies and attempting to balance both. Leaving a job to focus on preparing for the CAT exam may suggest that a candidate must possess the essential skill of multitasking, which is highly valued for admission into prestigious institutions like IIM or other top B-schools. The CAT exam is an aptitude test, and instructors at IIMs and other top business schools say it requires little preparation. Quitting your job is not a good idea. It will undoubtedly hurt your profile.
If you decide to resign, you must be ready to confront the consequences during every job interview.
It’s natural for this question to be followed by others, such as
- You did it as part of your preparation for the CAT exam!
- Does that imply that you struggle with managing multiple tasks simultaneously?
- You suggest that all of our students with work experience had effortless jobs where they could relax. However, it is essential to note that more than half of our students have work experience, indicating various job types and difficulty levels.
During the interview process, certain institutes like IIM-A inquire about any gaps in your professional career. They even include this question in the form sent to candidates who make it to the WAT-PI round. Please explain your response.
It’s reassuring to know that questions about career gaps have been successfully tackled by past aspirants, even in IIM interviews. It should boost your confidence in your ability to handle such questions effectively.
However, it is crucial to know when to quit and strategically plan your break to engage in activities that will boost your qualifications and accomplishments, ultimately strengthening your interview presentation.
How would leaving influence your chances of being accepted into an IIM?
Now, let’s examine how leaving your job quantitatively impacts your probability of making it onto a shortlist.
It is crucial to understand that some prestigious colleges, such as IIM-B and others, place significant weight on work experience in their shortlisting process. If you’re considering these institutions, leaving your job could lead to a lower test score and a more challenging path to shortlisting than if you had remained employed. It underscores the quantitative impact of such a decision.
Let’s consider a scenario where you have two or more years of work experience, and the rest of your profile, including your X, XII, and graduation marks, is crucial. In this case, you might score slightly lower on average, around 0.5 – 0.75 percentile points, compared to someone with little to no work experience. However, it’s important to note that this applies specifically to institutes that consider work experience as a factor.
The quantitative impact of leaving a job will be minimal for individuals with more than 30-36 months of work experience. This is because the points awarded for work experience are not directly proportional to the actual amount of work experience but instead capped after a certain threshold. If you’re keen on understanding the IIM selection criteria in detail, I recommend reading the post titled ‘The IIM Selection Criteria: Will I get a call from the IIMs?’ It offers valuable insights on this topic.
Another perspective to consider is the qualitative aspect of this question, specifically how panellists will perceive you during the interview. Panellists often perceive that many MBA aspirants dislike engineering and pursue an MBA primarily for financial gain. When employers come across candidates who have left what appears to be a promising professional opportunity, they often view them unfavourably and expect them to explain.
How would quitting affect your profile regarding the roles available at top business schools?
IIMs and other top schools categorize candidates into two groups for placements: regular and lateral. Lateral placements are typically suited for individuals with considerable professional experience seeking positions higher than entry-level management roles. Please clarify the specific level of work experience you are referring to.
Variation exists among different colleges. There are various approaches to determining the duration of work experience, such as using specific numbers like 20, 22, or 24 months or considering the average work experience of the entire group. Typically, it tends to be in the range of 20-24.
Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that specific industries and companies prioritize candidates with prior work experience, making it essential for recruiters to focus on hiring lateral candidates. Which fields require previous work experience?
Operations roles typically require experience in shop-floor operations, product design, logistics, and supply chain management. For engineers in operations, it is advisable to complete at least two years of work before considering a career change.
IT consulting roles, for instance, usually require a minimum of 2 years of software experience. Recruiters in emerging industries, like e-commerce, often prefer candidates with relevant work experience, particularly in IT, Analytics, or technology. Companies like Tata Administrative Services (TAS) and the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) generally look for candidates with work experience, but they also consider freshers.
Work experience is optional for marketing roles. Marketing recruiters highly prefer freshers or individuals with relevant sales or analytics experience. This preference also applies to HR positions.
In Finance, the reputation of your college, professional certifications like CA, CFA, and FRM, and your graduation discipline carry greater weight than your work experience. If you’re a Commerce Grad from a top-tier graduation college and want to pursue a career in Finance, work experience is only necessarily required if it’s directly applicable.
Regarding Consulting roles, the brand names on your resume carry significant weight. What counts is not whether you have work experience but rather the reputation and prestige of the organization you have worked for. Freshers who have graduated from prestigious institutions like IIT and NIT and have a solid academic background will likely be shortlisted. Students from other well-known colleges with impressive academic and extracurricular accomplishments also receive consideration for shortlisting. To provide some context, it’s worth noting that approximately 30-40 per cent of students in leading business schools are recent graduates.
When is the ideal time to quit to prepare adequately for the CAT exam?
If you want to quit and dedicate 8 to 10 hours daily to preparation, you can expect to achieve it within 3 months. It ensures everything aligns appropriately; it’s important to note that your break should start by 1 August.
I may be discussing individuals already at a specific level, such as the 85 percentile. If you’re still familiar with Math, it may take longer to grasp the concepts. However, it is essential to note that these arguments overlook that you will have already done some preparation before August. While I understand your concerns and acknowledge that you better understand yourself, it’s important to note that I have a thorough understanding of the CAT. Therefore, it would be best if your break does not commence before 1 June.
As a general guideline, your break should ideally begin no more than 6 months before the CAT unless there are exceptional personal or professional circumstances. Are you currently preparing for the CAT?
Conclusion
The goal is to balance your demanding job schedule with CAT preparation. By preparing early and strategically, you can quickly clear the CAT exam. By familiarizing yourself with practical strategies, you can efficiently solve questions within a given time frame. QDS Pro offers a wide range of study materials, including notes, sample papers, previous year question papers, and video lessons, to help CAT aspirants prepare for the exam with ease and effectiveness.
