Interviewer: Tell us something about yourself?
Niveditha: I am from Hyderabad and currently living in Bangalore. I am a start-up enthusiast and loves to travel (even the idea of planning a trip excites me!), love to watch biopics, horror and thrillers and I have very recently realised that the fastest way I will fall asleep is listening to an audiobook! (Trying out audible). I believe in work harder and party even harder. In my free time, you will find me in a house party doing poker nights or board games marathon if I am not binge-watching on Netflix.
Interviewer: What do you feel is the best part of being a student of IIM Udaipur?
Niveditha: Since we were the first batch at IIMU, it was a clean slate when we started. It gave us a significant opportunity to interact with our faculty and together set a new path for ourselves. We also had access to some of the best faculty at IIMU.
Interviewer: What difference do you see in the present you and yourself when you had joined IIM Udaipur?
Niveditha: Earlier I used to quickly jump to solutions for the problems based on the academic concepts I am confident about and information I had handy with me. Now I look at things more holistically, discuss and debate with people to build, analyse and criticise alternate possibilities to solve the problem.
Interviewer: Can you shed some light on your current job and how IIMU prepared you for it?
Niveditha: I am currently a Product Manager in a Stealth mode start-up. The start-up is at a very early stage, and I am involved in the ideation, primary and secondary market research and in developing the beta version of the product. Before this, I worked in Fintech, Education and Transportation sectors as a Business Analyst, Product Manager, in CEO’s Office – Operations and Expansion teams. IIMU has really prepared me for this, the intense deadlines and case-based teaching which covers multiple sectors prepared me to really hustle and multitask at work.
Interviewer: What are some of your best memories of IIM Udaipur?
Niveditha: IBP in Thailand, Organizing the first Leadership Summit, Rural immersion visits, numerous parties, setting up our first in-house store (Hopyard) in the campus, hiking the mountain peaks nearby, FLU and CLU matches, getting up JIT to make it to the morning class and also getting kicked out once for being really late, Kajri visits…the list can go on! This question brought back lots of memories about college
Interviewer: If given a chance, which is that one class which was the most, fun and which you would like to attend again?
Niveditha: Operations Management 2 by Prof. Janat Shah where we did Littlefield Simulation game, Marketing by Prof. K.R. Jayasimha for the unusual case studies and Business German by Prof. Monica Desai. These classes were great fun and a good learning experience.
Interviewer: What advice would you like to give to the current students of IIM Udaipur regarding their career?
Niveditha: If you are clear about what role/sector you want to work in, you should spend some time and reach out to IIMU network – Alumni, faculty, mentor and your friends and family who are in the sector/role of your interest to understand the career path, work-life balance, opportunities later on etc. This will make you more prepared for the purpose. Also, keep yourself updated about the happenings in the industry. It is also okay If you are not sure about what kind of role you want to do post-college. Early on in your career, you can experiment to figure out what interests you. Also, do not hesitate to reach out to your dream company – write to the founders/senior management on LinkedIn, contact-us email on the website, interact during seminars etc. Companies love to hire someone who is persistent and is passionate about work (apart from good pedigree and experience of course!). This will set you apart and might land you your dream job!