Unofficial Guide to the IIFT CV Form

Unofficial Guide to the IIFT CV Form Mind It!! By a few Students 5th Jan, 2011 - version 1.0

DISCLAIMER: This document does not in any way represent the views of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) or of any person(s) associated with it in any capacity whatsoever.

Unofficial Guide to the IIFT CV form General Suggestions: • • •

Get everything verified from a peer or someone else before you submit your answers. It’s always better to have a second perspective. Please stick to the word limit. Neat handwriting and clarity of thought: very important. Sometimes the way you write matters more than what you write.

A Small Tip about Your “Name” For PI, in case you have a slightly unique name, or is the name of some famous or historically known person/character, you could try to learn a couple of things about the person/meaning etc. This funda also applies to anything else that is likely to catch the panel’s eye. For example, if you’re a BMM (Advertising) grad in a primarily engineering-background pool of applicants, expect that to be a talking point (and prepare well for it, just in case ;).

Q. 12 Give details of distinction/scholarship/positions held: • •

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Have certificates/any proof ready for all that you mention, otherwise its best avoided. Remember what all you did as an event organizer/club coordinator, it sounds more convincing when you can describe your roles and work fluently, without stalling and stuttering in between. If you have done any significant project/academic research outside of your school/college curriculum, then you can mention those here, especially if you received commendations for them. Keep relevant proofs handy.

Q. 13 Extra-Curricular activities You can mention all the events in which you participated, along with those in which you attained a rank, but there is no compulsion to fill up all the 5 points. If you participated in only 3 events, just fill those and leave the rest 2 empty, it won’t be an issue.

Q. 14 Languages: Write only those languages you are well versed in (i.e. nothing at beginner level).

Q.15 Details of computer proficiency Mention the hardware and software platforms you are comfortable with (Operating systems, productivity software, etc.). Any programming languages known or the knowledge of some particular software suite is worth mentioning.

Q. 16.1 What are your broad career objectives and how does IIFT fit in these objectives? This is the one question that requires the most thinking on your part. Give this answer a lot of thought, and write only those of which you are really convinced are your objectives, because then it’s easier to convince the interview panel. Even if you are not sure about the above questions, think about it now. But not having a hard set agenda at this point in life, especially if you are a fresher, is NOT a crime. But try to convey how IIFT would be helpful in figuring that out for you. Avoid trying to sound grandiose just to impress them, because they can see through that. If you can give timeline based objectives (in 5 years’ time, in 10 years’ time etc.), its good, but be ready with an action plan then. Go through IIFT’s media section in the website, see the kind of work it does, and try to relate your interests and strengths to those. Definitely mention an interest in trade, if you have it. You can mention your interest/competence in sectors like FMCG/retail banking etc. DO NOT mention HR Management. It’s not necessary that you should put in an answer with specific chosen domain (Fin, Marketing etc.)/ sector (industry like FMCG, Banks etc.). In case you do, make sure it is logical and be ready to back it up with sound explanation on how would you achieve it using your knowledge acquired in MBA. Even in case of a general answer (not sure of a career), you need not worry, just make sure that it shows your ambitions and passion for knowledge & success. A few generalised pointers you may include are: • • • •

Work in varied domains across diverse cultures. World’s increasingly getting interdependent and therefore one must to be acquainted with the work culture prevalent in different countries. Working with peer group will inculcate team working skills. Some might wish to become entrepreneurs, wherein the E-cell at IIFT can be of help.

Q. 16.2 What do you think are your important strengths in the context of your application for admission to IIFT’s programme? There are only a few personal strengths and over a billion human beings. So, you don’t have to be unique. But that said, you can always bring out your best qualities in here. Try not to be very generic, but think hard of your strengths with some examples from your work-life/college-life, basically incidents where you got an opportunity and demonstrated your strengths. Try not to go for a long list just for the sake of listing. Try to provide tangible points, although that’s certainly not a compulsion. E.g., if you know a foreign language, it’s a strength. If you have worked with a trading house/firm, even as a software engineer, it can be moulded into a strength. If you have knowledge of analytic tools like SAS/SPSS, it’s a strength. Generalizations like, “I’m a hard-worker, focused, driven”, etc. without accompanying evidence aren’t very convincing. Being specific and accurate about your strengths would actually help you as you can leverage them during your PI. Whatever you do, DO NOT fib (in your own interest). Even if you think you are not good at looking at the big picture, may be you are a details person and have an eye for the details. You just need to identify your abilities.

Note: Although weaknesses have not been asked, but do prepare on them as well. Do not come across as a person who overlooks his weaknesses but rather who likes to improve upon them.

17.1 What are some of the latest books (one or two) (apart from textbooks) which you have read, and of them which have influenced you the most and why/how? As such there aren’t any specific books which would help you for GD/PI preparation for IIFT. Books like India Unbound, The Goal etc. are basic ones which you might find interesting. It’s not necessary that all books should be management oriented but would be advisable to mention at least one with business implications. Be thorough with the author, story – theme, related issues in world & general knowledge specific to the book. Also about the ‘influencing’ part, think of the most appealing section/theme of the book and how you could relate to it. Did it make you think of taking an action or may be change something? You can mention authors like PG Wodehouse, Oscar Wilde, any novelist for that matter. (Avoid Sidney Sheldon and the like though!). No compulsion to mention business oriented books if you haven’t read them, it won’t be seen negatively. It does not have to be the typical weighty, philosophical or marketing books just to make you look like studious. If you are into Science Fiction, you can list books in that genre. But make sure you have read these books, remember the details and can demonstrate a genuine interest in what you’ve read. One way to do that is to know a lot about the author.

17.2 Describe one/two incidents in your life that radically changed your approach/outlook to life? (100 words) Life altering incidents are few and far between. But think hard enough and you are sure to come up with a few occasions when you must have had a change of opinions or perspective/approach to your life. But please do NOT cook up an incident as interviewers are experienced enough to easily see through it. Try to be genuine. Not necessary that some incident changed the whole world for you but it might have brought a new perspective in your life or may be encouraged you to begin something new. Keep it simple. You can mention events at the workplace, or college, in which you accomplished something, and came out stronger/wiser etc. Try not to mention anything that can be construed as the development of a negative outlook. But make sure you can relate the events to relevant learnings. •

Describe the incident and state your learnings from the incident. Probably a failure from which you got to learn a lot.

17.3 Specify two/three instances where you were able to demonstrate leadership and team building skills. (150 words) (If you have work experience you may take the instance from the same). Work Ex people: You can easily draw in from your experience at work, even if you were not in much of a defined leadership position. You may mention some initiative you may have taken to improve

any aspect of the work or arranged something for colleagues, but do cite your responsibilities properly along with some reward if you got any. Work-ex people do NOT need to restrict their responses strictly to experiences at work. Non Work-ex people: You can pick out such incidences from your education life or even otherwise. It can be as simple as a community initiative you might have taken to protect the trees in the nearby park from being chopped down. Kindly don’t limit your imagination, any group event (including sports) can be included to answer this.

17.4 What do you generally do in your leisure time? (50 words) Your hobbies! Does your hobby help you develop a skill? Does it show that you have passion for something in life? If yes, then do write them. Try and mention the activity/ hobby that you actually pursue in your free time. Your answer to this question merely provides a “hook” to the interviewer to base his/her questions on. So, be thorough with the activity/topic you mention in this answer.

17.5 What do you expect to learn from your fellow participants at IIFT? (100 words) At a college of the stature of IIFT, you would be amongst a mix of people from really diverse backgrounds – professional as well as personal. This would be your chance to get the maximum benefits out of this mix of people. What would you expect/want to take away from this group – learnings, experiences, contacts, ideas? You can be generic in your answer or be specific and elaborate on that with an example. Your evaluation would be the same way. Think of the diversity of the students, as in their educational backgrounds, work experience, skill sets that they would have developed as a result of their education and profession, and how they can benefit you, both during your stay at IIFT and later. 17.6 Any other information. Please give any other information (attach a separate sheet, if necessary), which you consider relevant for the Interview Board. This is your space. Write whatever you feel IMPROVES your chances – makes yours a more interesting profile. If you want to provide more info that should differentiate your candidature, please mention here. It can be anything related to any unique experiences, aspirations, achievements, hobbies, special interests, or any social cause, whichever you did not get a chance to mention earlier but think that will add value to your application. But you should have apt knowledge on that as you might get direct questions in interview.