HR QuestionnairePart 1Name: Bipin Bansal AgarwalDorm: 22Room: 36Section: AMobile Number: 9971805185Mentor Name: Ankita Agarwal

Question 1Give a candid description of yourself, describing the major transition points and factors that have influenced your personal development. Give examples where ever necessary.Lifes battles dont always go to the strongest or the fastest man, but sooner or later the one who wins is the one who thinks he can!I am Bipin Bansal Agarwal. I belong to a middle class family, which has a business background. I come from Siliguri, a small town in West Bengal, located in the hearts of Darjeeling. I have done my schooling from there, in a defense school, which has had a great impact in my life and has helped me being more disciplined and organized. I am a self believer and a person who wants to be the best in whatever he does. I take time to open up with people and once I do so I make strong relations. I always try to maintain a perfect blend of fun and work in life. Apart from all this, I love playing badminton in my free time. I have also been associated with some voluntary social work. I have worked as an intern for PVR Nest spreading awareness about road safety among school children. I have also worked as a volunteer for Need a Read Foundation, in association with National Service Scheme. Generally, my contribution included guiding students of Class IX and X in the area of Mathematics and English. In the long run, I wish to be a successful business leader and to be recognized as a valuable contributor to the industry and the society. I want to be a person who strives hard for the success of his organization and makes a difference in his chosen field and who adds the value of excellence to whatever he does. I was an average student till class 8 when I scored very low in a subject for the first time. I realised that I dont have a flair for the subject but I had to prove something to myself and I worked hard to top the subject in the next term. This was when I realised my potential and made academics my priorities and since then I have never looked back! I suffered a setback when I scored much below my expectations in Class 10 board exams but I kept my self belief high and decided not to give up, rather I worked harder. I achieved my goal in my Class 12 board exams and managed to get intoone of the bestcommerce colleges in the country and this made me realise that nothing that you do is wasted. In my under graduation I got exposed to people from diverse backgrounds and learnt how to adapt to changes and became less dependent on others. I enjoyed the positions of responsibility during my school and college life. I developed some leadership qualities in me, as I have had a lot of opportunities to represent a group in the capacity of school captain, society presidents etc. I learned to lead from the front and never to expect my subordinates to do what I cannot or would not do myself. I have always believed in the saying by Mahatma Gandhi, Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is important that you do it because no one else will.

Question 2What do you think are your major strengths? How would these strengths help you in your professional life?

I am a determined person and I strive to be the best in whatever I do. Hard and smart work is my key along with a never give up attitude. I am an optimistic person. I am focused and clear about what I do and why. I give my best to any task that I take up while giving due emphasis to practical solutions over the optimal ones. I am a disciplined and an organized person. I like working in teams. I also love challenging tasks that challenge my level of intellect and make me come up with Out of the Box ideas.These strengths will help me in facing the challenges of a professional life. I will be able to take my failures positively and improve upon them till I excel. It will help me in not only maintaining my confidence during the ups and downs but also keep me in the right direction to achieve the individual and organisational goals.

Question 3Mention 3 personal improvement areas for you. Why do you think these as improvement areas?

They would be: I fail to take others opinion into consideration while taking a decision. I am reluctant in doing things until they are very important. I fail to understand others problems at times.I feel so because I, as an individual have limited experience so it is very important for me to learn from the experience of everyone around. Failing to do so will lead to my repeating some mistakes which I can avoid if I consider the opinion of the experience holders.

Question 3.aIdentify one that you have worked upon in the last one year.

I have started giving weight age to others opinions while taking any decision. During the last one year I have taken all the important decisions after consulting and taking advice from my family, friends and my seniors.

Question 3.bWhat did you do to improve yourself in this area?

I identified this area when I saw some of my relations getting affected due to this habit of mine and also how a few of my decisions could have taken better if had listened to others.I started discussing my opinion with my peers and my seniors; making them anonymously fill some suggestion forms for me and also taking advice of my parents before taking any decision.

Question 3.cDo you think you have achieved your objective? What makes you think so?

I have somewhat achieved the objective, in the sense, I now take the opinion of others into consideration before taking any decision but I still take the final call so that I can take responsibility of the future consequences.

Question 4Mention 3 most important values that you ensure to follow. Why are these values important for you?Live by your values and everything else will fall into place. Doris Mortman rightly said, Until you make peace with who you are, you will never be content with what you have. Ones core values play a huge part in how one decides to live his life. Once one starts living by his values, life shifts in the most beautiful of the ways. The three values that I stand by are:

FreedomI think this is the most important value that I stand by. Living life on my own terms is of great importance to me. I aim for financial freedom and freedom of choice. I think I should be free to choose what brings me the most joy, and that will automatically bring out the best of me. Family & FriendshipHowever poor a man is, if he has a family & friends, he is rich. I put family and friends first. Work is just a way to achieve means by which I can create a lifestyle to enjoy with the people I love and care about. SignificanceI want to be a difference maker. Whatever I do should mark along the way and create some impact on others. I want to be remembered as one who left behind tremendous value that changed peoples lives and transformed their experience.

Question 5What do you consider to be your most significant professional/academic achievements and why?There are a lot of achievements in ones life and one plans to achieve new heights everyday. I also plan to have greater achievements in my life. Till date, what I consider to be my major achievements are as follows:

1. It was during June 2009. It was a very nice set up because our school was having our annual function. The Chief Gest happened to be Mr. I.K. Tiwari, Inspector General, Northern Frontier, Border Security Force. I was called on stage along with my parents. I was honored with Amul Vidya Shree by Amul, GCMMF for being among the Top 10 students in the North Bengal Region. The Chief Guest who holds the highest position in BSF in northern frontier gave the award to me. That was a great achievement for me standing there with the IG and that feeling of pride in my parents eyes made it more special.

2. I was an active member of the Literacy Wing, National Social Service in my college. One of my major deliverables included teaching Mathematics to the students of Class IX and X who belonged to an underprivileged class of the society. There was a student, Omveer whom I used to teach every Saturday after my classes. When his board results were declared, he had scored cent percent in Mathematics. He came over to the college with his parents to thank me. The feeling that I got when Omveer and his parents thanked me for teaching him cannot be described in words and I consider this as one of my greatest achievements.

3. During my school days, when I was in Class XII, I stood up for the post of School Captain, the highest post in my school. We had proper rounds of Interviews etc. before the final election round. We all pitched ourselves in front of the students. The school captain was to be decided on the basis of both the votes by teachers, students and also the score a candidate scored during the interviews. Finally, I was elected as the School Captain and was asked to get my cabinet ready for the coming session. That moment, when I was handed over the Badge of School Captain along with the school flag was one of the greatest achievements. What made it more special was that it was the first time; a student from commerce background was going to lead and represent the school.

Question 6Which functional division(s) would you prefer and why? (Divisions include Marketing, Finance, Operations, Consulting, HR, Strategy, etc.)Finance:I have a consistently good academic background that corresponds to a job in finance, because I had an interest in finance right from the beginning. I think, it is the lifeblood of any business and is the division that is involved in taking the most important decisions in any business organization. Also, the volatile market regularly involves one in taking decisions that keep on challenging ones intellect level. I like taking such challenges. Also, finance is a field lush with rewarding career options in a wide range of industries. One great reason to pursue a career in finance is that it is narrow focus, but still allows me to explore a field that is dense with job opportunities. A position in finance allows me to work with the decision makers of outside organizations and take significant decisions myself that have an impact on the organization.OrI have a consistently good academic background that corresponds to a job in finance. This helped me land an internship with Citibank in 2015 for two months in the Global Consumer Markets Compliance Division. Though not a proper finance role, my deliverables included assessment of the controls in the credit lending process of Citibank for SMEs and MMEs, assessment of their adequacy and suggesting some alternative controls based on latest RBI circulars. It involved a lotof reading and understanding the banking jargons. This was when I realised that such work requires reading through the details which is only possible through getting your feet wet in the field. Also, what I realised was that this was something I was doing not because I had to but because I wanted to. At the end of my internship, my immediate superior and my team liked my work a lot and appraised me for the hard work I had put in. That was when I realised that this was my calling and that I wanted a career in the same industry.Investment Banking in particular: One of the main perks of an investment banker, is that the learning changes with every client project- and that is what really excites me. Be it taking over or merging with another firm, designing loans that minimize client risk or IPOs, theres a lot of first hand practical learning that is involved. Moreover, theres an opportunity to interact with a lot of important clients directly, understand their businesses, harness the power of their position, and which help build a rich network of clients in the industry. I am aware that I will be expected to perform under pressure and a great amount of responsibility will lie in my hands, but I believe that I am determined enough and have the stamina to handle the responsibility because I'm passionate- and this passion drives me forward in life. Hence, investment banking is definitely the career I want to have.

ConsultingThe consulting profession offers rich exposure to multiple industries and unparalleled variety in the nature of problems tackled, which is a perfect match with my love to challenge my intellect repeatedly and which shall develop a keen sense of business judgment. It gives me an opportunity to work with some of the most talented people in the world amounting to unmatchable peer learning and also an opportunity to apply classroom learning to the real business environment and understand the dynamics of the global economy. Also, it gives me a chance to take decisions which can considerably impact the future of the organization and the clients. Since these are the most significant drivers for me to choose a career, therefore, consulting emerges as the ideal choice.Question 7What are your long term (5-10 years) and short term (1-2 year) goals in life? [Please keep it short and crisp]My short term (1-2 year) goal is to learn as much as I can in this institute. I wish to engage myself in as many activities as possible and acquire knowledge and experience. I look forward to get a taste of the real world through my summer internship. My long term (3-5 years) goal is to secure a leading position in the organisation I work with and fulfil all my professional and personal responsibilities. I see myself assuming a decision making role and also possessing the expertise to fulfil the same.

Question 8Successful leaders have a clear sense of purpose. What is your statement of purpose? [One of the Very Important question asked by General Management Firms] I have always believed in the saying by Mahatma Gandhi, Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is important that you do it because no one else will. Right from my childhood, my father taught me that we would always face obstacles if we want to achieve a goal and I will always have only two choices in front of me, either to back out and sit in my comfort zone doing nothing, as many people do or to take it on as a challenge and seize the opportunity to be in charge of my own destiny. I always knew its wise to choose the latter.As a youngster, I would read through the biographies of business pioneers, successful sportsmen, and top leaders in big enterprises. It turned out to be very clear that almost all of them began at a very earl stage in life with a clear focus on their interest. Realizing my acumen for finance as a branch of study, I chose to get my feet wet not long after completing my Bachelors in Commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce. Winning numerous case studies and so forth further reinforced my thoughts. I went ahead to appear for CAT in 2013 and having been rejected from IIMA, I joined FMS, where my extensive efforts helped me land a summer internship with Citibank in the compliance division of Global Consumers Banking.The internship role involved reporting to the Vice President of the Compliance Division for Citibank and working on assessing the adequacy of the existing controls in the credit lending process and coming up with alternative controls. At Citibank, I realized that it takes a trained eye to read through the details of different trades and analyzing the logic and complexities of every client. It turned out to be a different world in itself, where I was working not because I had to, but because I loved it. I those two months, I learnt as much I could, right from the basics of the lending process to complex terminologies of the industry to the details in the RBI circulars etc. I had the opportunity to learn hands on detail about it and many more knowledge areas related to it. At the end of the internship, my manager and my team were very happy with the work I had done. Now that I have done it and I know I want to do this, I want to try my hands in other areas of finance. Hence, I am here to join one of the best companies in the world/nation to explore my opportunities of career.I think management is not just an activity but also a stage to learn numerous tips and tricks furthermore to create thoughts with organized structure to go about it. What's more, contemplating for a management career requires a certain determination and quality of character. Since lately, the business world has turned out to be quickly coordinated crosswise across countries and anybody with his sights set immovably on the worldwide stage ought to have a global point of view and be aware of the realities of distinctive universal markets. In that sense, I am lucky to have a diverse background academically, changing schools across states, which has presented me to distinctive landmasses, people groups and societies. Also, studying in a defense school with one of the most stringent rules and schedule has completely prepared me for the demands and difficulties exhibited by undertaking career in management at XYZ. In the long run, I wish to be a successful business manager and to be recognized as a valuable contributor to the industry and the society. I want to be a person who strives hard for the success of this organization and makes a difference in his chosen field and who adds the value of excellence to whatever he does.

Question 9Please describe your extracurricular interests in brief.My hobby is playing badminton. I have played badminton right from the school to the university level. However hectic a day has been for me, playing badminton excites me a lot at the end of the day. The thrill of playing badminton on that wood surface just gives a buzz to me.Apart from this, I love watching sitcoms during my free hours. I have recently developed this interest. In order to lighten my mood up, whenever I get some free time, I take on my laptop and sit down to watch some TV series. I think, the series like Prison Break, White Collar, Game of Thrones, and the lighter ones like Friends etc. help me not only lighten the mood up, but also in expanding the horizons of thinking from a wider perspective.Also, I love going on bike trips with my friends. I have developed this interest recently. I went on my 1st bike trip to Bhangarh from Delhi with my friends. That trip in itself taught me a lot. It was so exciting and an enriching experience, I went to 3 other bike trips after that. Every time I go on such trip, it adds value to my understanding of life, of people, and of places.Question 10Describe a situation where you initiated a new idea or approach and implemented it. How did you go about doing it?As a part of the Students union in college we had a serious problem in organizing our college fest Crossroads which is the biggest fest in Delhi University. The problem was of fake passes, which was faced every year, but no solution was thought of. Being one of the five persons who were responsible for the passes that year, I came up with the suggestion of taking advance booking for the passes but distributing it to the public only one day prior to the event. I also proposed my team to incur the cost of including a hologram in the design of the pass and keep it the final design of the pass a secret from everyone including the other members of the union. The core committee was divided on views and few members were against this idea as this would increase the cost for the union and they were also not sure as of how many passes would really be sold by the union. I somehow managed to solve the conflict and bring the team in unison. I told them that sometimes, out of the box ideas need to be implemented and taking risks is a part and parcel of life. Even if the idea fails, the next committee would learn from it what not to do.The solution worked and that year we did not face any issues regarding fake passes. Moreover our revenue from sale of passes grew by 20%.I learned that sometimes tough decisions are necessary to solve complex problems and incurring a little cost to solve a problem should not be avoided as it might actually lead to much more revenue.

Question 11Sometimes, we may find a group of people disagreeing with our beliefs/point of view. Give us an instance where you had to convince a group of people on your point of view.As a part of the Students union in college we had a serious problem in organizing our college fest Crossroads which is the biggest fest in Delhi University. The problem was of fake passes, which was faced every year, but no solution was thought of. Being one of the five persons who were responsible for the passes that year, I came up with the suggestion of taking advance booking for the passes but distributing it to the public only one day prior to the event. I also proposed my team to incur the cost of including a hologram in the design of the pass and keep it the final design of the pass a secret from everyone including the other members of the union. The core committee was divided on views and few members were against this idea as this would increase the cost for the union and they were also not sure as of how many passes would really be sold by the union. I somehow managed to solve the conflict and bring the team in unison. I told them that sometimes, out of the box ideas need to be implemented and taking risks is a part and parcel of life. Even if the idea fails, the next committee would learn from it what not to do.The solution worked and that year we did not face any issues regarding fake passes. Moreover our revenue from sale of passes grew by 20%.I learned that sometimes tough decisions are necessary to solve complex problems and there might be conflicts in the group. But, eventually if one tries to explain a valid point, the group comes to a consesnsus for the better good of the group.

Question 12Give an incident in life where you showed leadership skills.Describe an incident where you succeeded (or failed) as a leader. What did you learn from it?According to me, leadership is helping others discover their potential and possibilities for recognizing and/or addressing their issuesI am a leader who leads by examples and does not expect his followers to do anything which he himself cannot achieve.During my college-fest, I was responsible for the security checking at the entry gate. We had placed 5 students for the task and expected them to carry out the task smoothly but due to some unusually huge crowd on the very first day of the fest, the entry gate turned to a mess with people climbing on to each-other. I instantaneously decided on a few actions. First of all, I decided to separate the girls from the crowd by opening the second college gate for their entry. Secondly, I called up the nearby police station for help. In the meanwhile, I decided to close this entry gate and with the help of my team tried to contain the crowd and form them into separate lines. We were partially successful when the police arrived and handled the situation.Later we decided that from the next day we will keep a separate entry for girls and boys by keeping both the doors open from the beginning. Moreover we decided to appoint bouncers for the remaining days of the fest so that the process went through smoothly.This incident taught me about how a leader leads in difficult situations. It taught me to take decisions and thinking at the feet at times when crisis hits you and all the group members are looking at you to show them a way. It also taught me that a leader cannot afford to lose hope or panic.Question 13Describe a task/situation that you faced, which you consider as a complex problem. How did you approach the problem? What options did you generate to solve the problem? What were your key learnings from the situation? What would you do in case you were to handle a similar problem in future?

I was a part of the Hindi Sahitya Sabha in college. Being very enthusiastic about marketing back then, I stood in election for the post of marketing head of the society. Having a good reputation in college helped me in getting elected for the post but then the problem began. I had no information as to what my responsibilities actually were and what was I supposed to do. Subsequently I started doubting my own abilities and felt that I was misusing the faith that people had shown in me. As our annual society fest approached I was told that being the marketing head I should ensure some way or the other that the crowd gets attracted at our camp during the fest but was not given any road map to follow.I took the responsibility and decided that I will have to achieve the objective that was entrusted upon me. I resorted to the innovative idea of online advertising and made a video about our society and its events, and spread it through Facebook, YouTube. I also created a page on Facebook and managed to mail the cultural representatives of 20 colleges in Delhi University about the events that we had organised. Another idea that I had and implemented was appointing campus ambassadors in different colleges and awarding a certificate and goodies for the same to the ambassadors for promoting the event and inspiring the students from their colleges to participate.The result was that we secured the maximum foot-fall during the fest that year and also received an award for the same.The first learning that I took from this incident was that, Failing to plan is planning to fail. Through this experience I also learned that nothing is impossible if you are determined in life and that accepting responsibilities even in difficult situations actually show your character as a leader.

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