How to Build Your Profile for MBA

Most of the Major B-schools have completed their entrance exam process, now every aspirant’s next focus should be on preparing for the interviews and the process ahead. The critical thing any aspirant can do during this time is to make sure they take steps to build a good profile for MBA. A carefully carved profile can make a massive difference during the interview and final placements on campus. So, one should start upgrading their profiles as early as possible, that will be the real deal.

So, what are the components of a profile? These include academic performance, work experience, academic pedigree and achievements, co-curricular and extracurricular activities, positions of responsibility, and pursuit of special interests. Each of the above parameters gives you an edge over other possible aspirants. A good profile is one in which there is a decisive edge in one or more of the parameters, which makes the aspirant unique in the eyes of the institute.

Summer placements will occur three to four months into your MBA program. It means that your resume will remain the same. So, the profile you had before applying to b-school is what you will have when applying for a summer internship.

At this point, the brand value of the college where you earned your bachelor’s degree and the firm where you worked becomes essential. In the case of freshers, it depends on the courses taken for certifications, projects, and internships done until then. Firms will receive many resumes from all b-schools, and they will make their jobs easier by providing shortlists to those with big brand names and unique points on their resumes.

How to build a profile?

Take up certification courses aligned with your career aspirations 

Depending on the field in which you want to specialize, take up required courses that can enrich your knowledge level and, at the same time, pitch yourself to potential recruiters.

Positions of responsibility

POR adds value to your resume showcasing how much work you had taken up in your under graduation, and if you have no POR in your early academic years, you will get plenty of opportunities to do it in your MBA journey. There are many committees and clubs you can be part of and actively work to ensure that you get certified for the same.

Take up social impact activities.

You can collaborate with NGOs and other non-profit organizations that play an active role in child education, healthcare, and the environment. It showcases your social responsibility and the intent of changing society at large.

Take part in case competitions, events, and cultural fest

If you are not keen on organizing, participate in events and show your skills on those platforms. The essential takeaway is that you should come across as someone who does more than go to college and come back.

Improve on public speaking skills

Public speaking improves communication skills, which can significantly impact the interview and your MBA journey.

Adith Mohan

Adith is a management student at IIM Kashipur. He is an Executive Member of The International Relations Committee. He has previously worked as Project Engineer at Wipro Technologies. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

Case Studies: A Pre-Cursor to MBA

Case analysis is to MBA what equations are to an engineer or a stethoscope to a doctor. It is the founding skill to build any analytical skill, develop thought leadership, and be a better manager and leader. The case study methodology serves as a link between theory and practice, thus, preparing students to handle complex situations in the workplace.

A case is a compilation of known facts & information and even perceptions that can matter. It is somewhere in between complete truth and fiction. It is the analysis of the situation and not just the problem which makes it a unique pedagogy.

It enables a simulation wherein the classroom becomes a Boardroom! The case method taps into all the people it brings together, and the knowledge pool is almost three-dimensional in the classroom because every person present there is the sum of their thoughts, talents, experiences, viewpoints, culture, and industry.

I confronted my first management case study during the induction process in the first year when our esteemed faculty, Vaibhav Bhamoriya Sir, took an introductory session on case- based learning. He introduced us to this vicarious method of learning and stressed upon the classic answer to the case-based question as ‘depends’, which we internalized after going through numerous case studies in every course.

Case studies discuss real-life situations that business executives have faced in the past. It helps to deal selectively and intensively with the problems in each field and hones the ability to think and reason rigorously. It is not just about proposing a solution but evaluating it, generating and assessing the alternatives, and integrating them all to re-assess.

This fun intellectual activity is also accompanied by the most dreaded 2Cs- Cold Calls! Being cold-called may give you shivers, but you will warm up to them once you develop the skill of thinking on your feet.

Just like data scientists invest 80% of their time in data cleaning itself than in generating insights, situation analysis, and identifying a clear and crisp problem statement are the most crucial task.

Even though it’s unlikely that the case method will enable us to amend the past, it will provide an exciting opportunity to step into the roles of famous historical decision-makers, to use creativity unrestrictedly in a setting where failure won’t spell the end of one’s career. You can handle complex situations in a well-defined, dynamic work environment by using the real-life data that is provided to you and your own unique combination of experience, knowledge, and brainstorming in teams. It also gives a pre-cursor to crack the prestigious corporate and B-school case study competitions and entrepreneurial ventures.

In the fast-paced, tech-driven business world, what is a success today may be a failure tomorrow and vice versa. Hence, no solution is timeless, and there isn’t a unique solution to a case, as it can be answered from different perspectives and domains.

However, in the end, you must choose a course of action. There is no correct response, but you must acknowledge the complexity of your decision. What if the individuals in that room represented a variety of professions, roles, experiences, and backgrounds? All assessing a similar situation and reaching a decision each day?

That is what the case-study-based pedagogy at IIM Kashipur trains you to do.

Saloni Singhal

Saloni is a final-year MBA candidate at IIM Kashipur. She holds majors in Statistics and likes to play with data and words! You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

IIM, Mental Health and You

As soon as I read the word “Accepted” on my IIM Kashipur portal, tears of joy rolled down my eyes. I knew I’ve taken a big step towards my goal. I called my parents at that moment and shared the news with them. The months after that went by in a jiffy, and here I was at THE Indian Institute of Management.

What are some of the big moments we anticipate? Is it our dream job, the first relationship, or a dream career? These special Eureka moments give you a sense of accomplishment. Getting into an IIM was my Eureka moment that I had been waiting to live once. I clearly remember D-Day when my screen glowed with the word ‘Accepted.’ I had tears rolling down my eyes. It might not be the goal but a dream come true. It was a chance to roll out my plans for the future. I called my parents immediately and shared the news with them. I have seen months and days passing like hours and minutes. Eventually, I was standing in front of IIM Kashipur in the real world.

The day I reached; the induction process started. We barely slept, we barely ate, and me-time, what was that? Well, it was hectic, but these were probably one of the best ten days I had experienced in my life. “Why?” you may ask. This is because, during these ten days, I knew I had developed life-lasting bonds, learnt how to manage time and acquired many more academic and non-academic skills.

It was not a happy start. I was in the induction process as soon as I entered the place. The first two weeks were very hectic. We barely slept or had our meals on time. We performed multiple tasks and solved case studies. Yes, welcome to an IIM! You know this place is worth some grind, isn’t it? Nevertheless, when I look back at those two weeks, I would say I loved every bit of it. I made some great friends, learned many things, challenged myself to the core, and could get a clear grasp of the things about to arrive.

While all this is going on, one thing that takes a backseat is your mental health. The reason can be anything, it could be that you are living away from home, a sudden shift in the schedule, or something else, but your mental health should always be your priority. Coming from someone, who has been pampered for their entire life, and has never lived away from home for more than two days, the initial months were hard.

When you are tired, exhausted, and exerted by the end of the day, how sane enough can you be to keep a check on your mental health? Slowly, your mental health takes a backseat in your priority list. The reason can be many. It could be a sudden change in your schedule, a new experience, or your first time in a new city. When it comes to someone like me who never lived away from home, it was tough to self-manage everything and get along in the new environment. At the end of the day, I felt dull and gloomy.

Now, I am no expert to talk on mental health, and you should take professional guidance if you have the need, but some things that worked for me were taking one day at a time, following a schedule, listening to music, speaking to my friends and family, and sitting in the nature while reflecting on my feelings. Thanks to the location of IIM Kashipur, you have ample spots to enjoy the beauty of nature. You will even get the opportunity to enjoy looking at mountains on a clear-sky day.

I’m neither an expert nor a scholar on mental health, but if I could ask everyone to check on one thing in life, it would be their mental health. I am not eligible to provide any expert analysis on mental health. But I believe my experiences and small changes in my habits helped me a lot to overcome these difficult days. 

When we look at the three most common causes of mental disorders, it talks about experiences from the past, continuous feelings of loss or grief, and the biological factors associated with it. Now the question arises, how do we deal with it? Something I learned during these months regarding mental health and its challenges is that we have to be grateful for what we have. We can take one day at a time, follow a schedule, listen to our favorite or newly explored music, or converse with our close ones. Most importantly, make sure we spend some time with ourselves. Thanks to the mighty Himalayas, we have numerous beautiful scenic places full of nature and natural heritage. There is no harm in gazing at a beautiful sky in solitude. Regardless of the place you are in next time, pause your work once and look at the sky when the sun sets.

People might have told you how time fixes everything but trust me, it does get better with time. If you have motivation and persistence in your efforts, things will surely get easier along the way, no matter how difficult the start has been. It isn’t the last lap you are racing on- you have many more ahead.

So, when you reach an IIM, I suggest you follow the rules of FAB4, not the cricket ones but the ones which will keep you going even on the tough days. Always be willing to learn and accept things in life. It gives you clarity and saves you unnecessary thought provocation. If you have done your best, there is no use in going back and turning the tides. Let’s wait and surf the next wave.

It is crucial to grab every opportunity, but it is not okay to misjudge yourself for the opportunities that you missed or didn’t come your way, Last but not least, never be afraid to seek help, find the right people to surround yourself with, and make sure you aren’t pushing your mental health off the cliff for any of them.

I would like to conclude by quoting Noam Shpancer who is a PhD at the Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy, who says “Mental health…is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going.”

As the journey of life continues, mental health goes hand-in-hand here at IIM and beyond. Quoting the same, Noam Shpancer, Ph.D. at the Centre for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy says, “Mental health…is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going.”

Riyashree Kukreja

Riyashree is a management student at IIM Kashipur. She is an Executive Member of The Media and Public Relations Committee. She is a Bachelor of Business Administration graduate from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. She has previously worked as Social Media Marketing Manager at Marketocrat. She enjoys maintaining an art journal and believes art is all about perspective. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

How to Prepare for IIM Entrance Interviews

The final stage of admission to the IIMs and other elite business schools is the personal interview. Despite months of preparation, no one can precisely foresee an interviewer’s questions. The personal interview aims to assess your interpersonal and communication abilities and learn about your goals and vision as an aspiring MBA candidate. This blog will walk you through some frequently-asked personal interview questions and themes in the B-school selection process.

The most important and inevitable question you require to answer is, “Tell me about yourself.” It will establish the interview’s tenor and tempo. Given that there are few situations in which you would have used your conduct research for the personal interview.

Learn as much as possible about the institution you are getting interviewed for. Delve deeper into the business you want to make a career in. By conducting a thorough study, you will maintain your confidence in this matter and be prepared to respond to any inquiries that may arise. Visit the organization’s or institute’s website and read the “About Us” section. Ask acquaintances who have attended the same school or worked for the same business what they think of the institution or company. 

Personal interviews are primarily intended for two categories of candidates: Those with job experience and those without it.

Candidates with work experience are typically questioned on topics like responsibilities within the workplace, job description relationships with peers and bosses, accomplishments, innovations, and strategies they apply at work. There can be inquiries about career advancement plans, including short- and long-term objectives, knowledge about the industry and company’s target market, and competitors. In a nutshell, ensure you are detailed with your profile, your rivals, and the firm’s history if you have worked there.

Those with little or no work experience can anticipate questions from a more comprehensive range of subjects covered in college since they are yet to use their managerial abilities in many situations. Take your UG discipline courses very seriously, as the IIM interview panel will test your knowledge of geometry, basic number theory, introductory statistics, etc. The inevitable question is why you would like to pursue an MBA when you could acquire some work experience. Questions on current events, general knowledge enquiring about your opinions, and suggestions about how to change/improve the scenario are asked. There will be questions about your interests and hobbies. Only mention your hobbies if you are confident about them. For example, if you claim that viewing movies is your pass time, you should feel at ease discussing different movie genres, well-known filmmakers, and films.

Apart from this, a few hygiene pointers that a candidate should be mindful of are:

• Be Elaborative & open to communication

An interview shouldn’t look like a one-sided interrogation; it should be smooth communication between you and the interviewer. Cite relevant examples with every answer you give & ask questions.

• Keep your essential documents handy

It’s crucial to keep your essential documents like 10th, 12th & graduation mark sheets, etc.; the interviewer might want to ask you questions. Accordingly, ensure you’re thorough with the conceptual question/concepts from your bachelor’s as sometimes interviewers tend to grill the candidate on this.

• Follow the basic Interview etiquette. 

Maintaining a formal dress code, being on time, etc., can fetch points. It would also leave a lasting impression on the interviewer. 

• Mock Personal Interviews 

It will give the best exposure to PIs for the CAT with various subjects and scenarios that will ensure you stand out during the event and ace it on D-Day.

Niharika Verma

Niharika Verma is a first-year MBA student pursuing her master’s from IIM Kashipur. She’s a self-driven, inquisitive, and optimistic person. She enjoys writing in her leisure time & actively embodies her thoughts through her blogs on the Skincare industry. She’s currently an agile part of the Cultural Committee & also one of the admission coordinators of IIM Kashipur. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

Peer Pressure and its Influence on Career Choices

It cannot be more cliched to call human beings social animals. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is true. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs puts social needs as the third basic need we aspire to fulfill. We like to be in the company of others. Often what we think and do is shaped by our interactions with the people around us.

Robert Cialdini, in his book, extensively describes a phenomenon called social proof. It says that one method for deciding what is correct is to learn what other people think is right. We regard a behavior as more correct in each situation if we see others doing it.

It serves a social purpose; people don’t have to do everything on their own – they can look to others’ experiences and suggestions. It makes life a little easier. It gives the comfort that they are not alone in doing something.

Social proof has a significant impact on one’s career choices. Often our career choices are narrowed down to the careers taken up by our peers. People who tend to confirm their decisions by their peers especially fall victim to such errors. In the short term, it reduces the burden of making a difficult decision. But the career options one would consider would be limited when looking at only her peers.

Firstly, such individuals stay less aware of the breadth of their career choices. Lack of awareness reduces the career options available to them.

Secondly, peer pressure can manifest in a slightly different form where the social comparison comes into play. Here, competition becomes the driving factor. Acting out of competitive forces, a student may try to outdo other peers by taking a more socially rewarding career choice over a personally preferred role that is less socially valued – to signal a higher social status.

Either of the two forms of peer pressure has implications in the form of sub-optimal job fit, inadequate performance, or educational/job satisfaction. It might have been the case that an individual had artistic sensibilities and could have excelled in a creative field, but he chose to become a mediocre engineer.

Another aspect to explore is the strong peer resistance or derision if an individual opts for a non-traditional career. Considering an amusing example, HR aspirants are often subject to jokes by peers opting for more ‘esteemed’ functional fields such as Finance or Consulting. Often a joke is made about ‘Rangoli making’ to be the core job of HR professionals. While not all individuals might be affected by such resistance or active discouragement, some reconsider their choices.

It becomes important then for the institutions – such as schools or colleges to encourage career choices that align best with the personality or competencies of an individual rather than his peer group. Adequate mechanisms must be implemented and readily accessible to students seeking career guidance.

Tanishq Jaiswal

Tanishq Jaiswal is a second year MBA student in IIM Kashipur. He is a travel enthusiast and an executive member of Expedition Club IIM Kashipur. He also enjoys collecting music, playing guitar and long-distance bicycling. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

How To Utilize Your Time After CAT

Now that you’re done with your CAT exam, get ready early for the events that lie ahead. Candidates now have about two and a half months to be ready for the next phase of the selection process i.e. Personal Interview Round. You should start by reading publications like The Hindu, Economics Times, etc. every day as a habit to enhance your general awareness and learn about the most recent international news in sports, politics, and the economy. Aside from reading newspapers, you can read editorials, blogs, posts, novels, and pretty much everything else you can get your hands on. Anything that can broaden your horizon of thought, teach you how to think critically and how to analyze a situation with a different lens will be helpful.

Personal interviews are something that many of us dread, but we must realize that the purpose of PIs is not to frighten us, but rather to help the panellists to learn more about us than they already know from our resumes. Our goal should be to stand out, to do that we must consider and identify things that are unique about us and express them skillfully.

Let’s look at the 4 aspects of preparation for the Personal Interview Round.

1. Profile and HRQs

Knowing yourself is the main “funda” of a personal interview. Therefore, prepare your CV thoroughly. You should be well-versed in your strengths, weaknesses, UG courses, work experience, general knowledge, your name’s origin, your favourite sport or pastime in-depth, your hometown in-depth, etc. When writing about your pastime, be cautious and provide details. Never generalize. This will prompt them to have inquiries about that specific area only and not from the other side of the spectrum. Such topics can be the subject of in-depth inquiries. One way to get ready for this set would be to frame stories around each of the significant events that have occurred in your life up till the date of the interview. Use the STAR approach i.e. Situation, Task, Action, and Result, which will assist you in structuring your responses.

2. Academics

In case you are a fresher, get prepared to answer questions from and about your UG course. Especially the practical applications, of the subjects that you have already studied. So, prepare the fundamentals thoroughly. Take out your first-year textbooks, read through all the concepts and take notes if needed, as the panellist may decide to test your knowledge of them.

3. Work Experience

Working professionals are expected to answer questions about the roles and responsibilities they undertook while working. Understand the company you have worked for: the organization’s founding year, CEO, CFO, annual profit, quarterly results, etc. When discussing your work history, make sure to highlight the difficulties you encountered and how your team overcame them. You can employ the STAR method and demonstrate how your presence benefited your company, here as well.

4. General Knowledge

Now general knowledge can be divided into 2 parts: Static GK and Current Affairs. Note that no amount of preparation can help you cover all Static GK, but reading the monthly compendium published by various websites and going over the major dates, facts, and events is a good place to start. It is best to read newspapers for current events. Another method is to follow the daily current affairs updates posted by UPSC preparation websites.

Additionally, a few analytical questions or guesstimates might also be directed at you. It doesn’t matter if your answer to the question is right or not. What matters is, how you approach the situation. These questions will assist the interviewer gauge your capacity for analysis.

Finally, keep in mind that communication is the key. While sitting for the interview, try to maintain some type of structure, and frame your replies in straightforward terms. Don’t haphazardly hop from one point to another. Practice paying close attention to what is being asked and in case something is unclear to you, make sure to ask for clarification.

Kanika Sharma

Kanika Sharma is pursuing her masters from IIM Kashipur and is currently in her first year. She is a trained classical dancer and a baking enthusiast. She is also one of the admission coordinators of IIM Kashipur and an active member of the institute’s Cultural Committee. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

Time Management : The Final Mantra

It is rightly said that strategy is essential, but the execution is everything.

With just a few hours left for CAT 2022, it is imperative to follow specific final moment tips and tricks to ace the exam. A better time management technique will help you achieve just that and efficiently execute your strategy.

A glance before attempting any section will help you get a rough idea to manage your time based on your strengths. Further, setting a time limit for each question is crucial as some tricky questions from D.I. may consume much of your time. Dividing your time based on a pre-determined strategy between different components of a section is always recommended, and try to deviate from your original method only if necessary. Focus on the questions which are easily understandable in the first phase while marking the moderate questions for your second phase.

There may come a time in the middle of the exam when you feel that your strength or the section you were hoping to score the highest has not gone as well as you had hoped for, causing unnecessary anxiety and panic. It is crucial at this time to believe in what you have done and take a minute to reorganize your thoughts by side-lining the negative thoughts by giving your undivided attention to the next section.

You can always expect something unexpected in the exam. The best advice to tackle the unexpected is to remain calm at the moment, as that moment would make the difference between you and the others writing the exam. Only those who would remain composed will be able to utilize their entire potential and give their best 

These tricks help you manage your time effectively during the exam.

Team Insite, IIM Kashipur, wishes you all the best!

Karan Chhabra

Karan Chhabra is an IIM Kashipur first-year MBA student. He is an active member of the institute’s Consulting and Strategy Club. During his free time, he loves to explore art, culture and food and is on the lookout for opportunities to create a lasting impact. He is extroverted in nature and likes to interact with new people and enjoys public speaking. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

A Contemplation on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Values

Has there been a time in your life when you felt like an outcast? Recall the chaos in your mind, the self-deprecating thoughts and the aching loneliness you endured because you were different from others. You faced disdain from people. A few words of ridicule from people you treasure was borderline anguishing. You might have tried to change yourself to fit in. Or you might be one of the unapologetically true-to-yourself people who remained unhinged. Regardless of where you fall in this spectrum, you have probably wished the disparity and inequity would disappear.

As the human mind comprehends, time moves forward. And so do you. You mostly want to grow. You want others to change for the good. You have encountered a variety of rules in the organisations you have worked for as you transitioned from your school days to your college years to your job. As your network grew, you gravitated toward those who made you feel more inclusive. Discrimination made you resentful. You knew more about the corporate world and more about laws. Prejudice against people based on their caste, gender, sex, sexual preferences, religion, race, ethnicity, language and other bases seemed very unfair. Even the smartest of individuals might have shown you such discrimination, or you might have witnessed someone else experiencing it.

Your ray of hope was the people who thought the same as you. Finer were the people who fought for the same and created rules to move towards the elimination of discrimination. You get to see youngsters in colleges banding together to raise awareness and preach the idea of equality. Several firms, old or new, have excellent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies. Fortunate women in society have Sexual Harassment laws to protect them from unsolicited events occurring in their lives. Companies are trying to ingrain better systems having fair opportunities for all and unbiased processes towards performance evaluation and appraisals. Some companies maintain inclusion by using one common language (for example, English) for better communication with internal and external stakeholders. People are motivated to speak up. Social media and other areas of the internet have numerous posts and analyses exploring the same.

But there is something that might faze you- A dire need for society to encourage more people to speak against discrimination. People are afraid of being a castaway. Some fear that their future will crumble. As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” education is awareness in this case. Thankfully, there is no scarcity of education against discrimination in cyberspace. The dilemma is how to reach people about the same. It may sound like a pipe dream, but perhaps one day, data analytics and AI will come to our aid, use the power of the internet to reach as many people as possible, and persuade them to embrace DEI beliefs.

Shambhavi Devi

Shambhavi Devi is an IIM Kashipur first-year MBA (Analytics) student. She is an active member of the institute’s Media and Public Relations Committee. She used to be a consultant. During her free time, she can be found painting and sketching at random. She enjoys writing poetry and reading on occasion. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

DIGITAL DETOX: Reclaiming the old way of life

What is the first thing that you do after waking up? Do you get a glass of water, stretch your muscles to ease the tension and soreness, meditate to calm your mind, start the day by basking in the sun, or reach out to your mobile phone?

Most of us even wake up listening to the resounding alarm on our phones. Then comes the buzzing notifications. Flipkart is having a sale; it’s your friend’s distant cousin’s birthday and messages from your friend. Oh, and there is an email from your professor, manager, and peers.

I know it is relatable for most of you. It is overwhelming to reply to all the messages, send reactions to your friend’s Instagram stories, and acknowledge all the emails you have received. People expect you to be available online round the clock, which can be tiring mentally and physically. This has resulted in a large number of people trying a digital detox.

But what is digital detoxing? What are the benefits of detoxing, and how do we practice it? Let me try to answer these questions for you so that you can consider them before deciding if digital detoxing is suitable for you or not.

Digital detoxing is a period of time for disconnecting from tech devices such as smartphones, tablets, television, computers, and social media sites. It enables a person to focus on real-life social interactions without distractions and can help release the stress brought on by continual connectivity to digital devices.

Being connected and involved in the digital world has become essential to everyone’s life. It has taken the time that we could have devoted to ourselves. Our device use has become excessive that we are addicted to it. It is adding a lot of stress to our life. The constant desire to check social media, emails, and messages is to blame for the majority of this stress. Heavy device use, especially before bedtime, can affect sleep quality and quantity. In-bed social media use increases the likelihood of insomnia and anxiety. This, in turn, affects our mental health. We might start comparing our lives to our friends, strangers, and celebrities based on the brief episodes of their lives on social media. It creates a perception that others lead a richer, more fulfilling, or thrilling life than ours. It might also trigger a fear of missing out, known as FOMO. Constant connectivity can feed this fear that you are missing the experiences that everyone else is having. This disappointment in one’s life makes people strive for more attention and recognition, and unfulfillment will lead them to severe depression or other mental health issues.

Practicing digital detox is one way to keep yourself away from all this stress and keep a check on your mental health but the real question is how we will detach ourselves from devices in an increasingly digital world. Some suggest that a proper digital detox involves complete abstinence from all digital devices for long periods of time; however, it is crucial to adapt your gadget use to your needs and way of life. It is not about having a complete separation from the digital world. It is often more about setting boundaries and ensuring that you are using your devices in a way that benefits, rather than harm, your emotional and mental health.

As the first step, you have to set realistic goals. For most of us, completely detaching from the digital world might not be possible, especially when our work or studies demand us to stay connected online. In such situations, the key is understanding your priorities and drafting a detoxing plan that works for your work schedule and life. If your job demands you to stay connected during the day, pack a time in the evening when you can turn off your devices. It will help if you define or set the timings when these digital connections are allowed to intrude into your life. Setting such boundaries can ensure that you can involve in real-world activities free of digital distractions. Another way to kickstart your digital detox is by turning off the push notifications on your phone. Instead of checking the notifications whenever it comes, you can allot a certain amount of time, around 25 minutes, to catch up with these. You can start practicing digital detox in the aforementioned ways. Further, you can incorporate a digital fast, recurrent digital abstinence, or a specific detox like restricting the use of an app or a site that consumes much of your time.

As I said, digital detoxing has no hard and fast rules; it can be whatever you want it to be and of any form. It is all about setting your priorities right. It can be difficult for some to go device-free. We ought to remember that it can be a rewarding experience that will improve your understanding of your relationship with your devices and teach you how to be more present and mindful in all other activities in your life.

Rohith Sajeev

Rohith Sajeev is a first-year MBA student at IIM Kashipur. He is an executive member of the Media and Public Relations Committee of IIM Kashipur. He worked as a freelance research analyst. He is an aspiring writer and a film enthusiast. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

Why Did You Buy It?

It’s a regular Sunday morning and you decided to clean your store room. Suddenly you come across a shirt you loved five years ago, and even though it brings back many pleasant memories, and makes you nostalgic you start to doubt your dressing sense. Why is that? Why are all your clothes black? Why has the world shifted from Facebook to Instagram?  Why do you follow that Keto diet?

Personally, when I came across the Keto diet and how so many Instagram influencers were losing weight because of it, I was intrigued. I wanted to try it out as soon as possible. Be it a diet, a person, a product or a movie. Everything can be marketed. 

One day, while I was heading to the market, I noticed how the movie RRR was being promoted. I was immediately interested in the film. It was a collaboration between PVR and the movie RRR. The poster was so simple yet so eye-catching.

Let’s think of some other scenarios, you just visited Starbucks for a cup of coffee instead of a local coffee shop. You love to see your name on the cup. The reason for writing your names on the cups is not to avoid confusion. It lets you feel heard by Starbucks, makes you feel wanted by them and you end up posting it on Social Media. Boom! You just marketed their product. That’s how brands not only make you want their product but also make you market it.

Anything can be sold with effective branding and marketing. A trash bag offered by Balenciaga for $1790 is a recent example. Are you surprised by this? Let me give you another example: a Louis Vuitton bag in the shape of an aeroplane sold for $39,000. These products are highly priced as they serve as a status symbol and satisfy their consumers’ esteem needs. These brands are not promoting or selling their products, they are selling ‘exclusivity.’

Not only that, but brands may also create a culture. With rising urbanisation and a preference for western civilisation, Archies Gallery observed that the gifting sector has got a good fillip. The business pioneered the practice of giving friendship bands to your pals on Friendship Day and exchanging cards on other occasions like birthdays and Mother’s Day. These customs have become ingrained in our lifestyle and cannot be abandoned.

So, the next time you are making a purchase ask yourself ‘Why Did You Buy It?’

Is it because you needed it, or is the brand responsible for making you feel that way?

Riyashree Kukreja

Riyashree is a management student at IIM Kashipur. She is an Executive Member of The Media and Public Relations Committee. She is a Bachelor of Business Administration graduate from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. She has previously worked as Social Media Marketing Manager at Marketocrat. She enjoys maintaining an art journal and believes art is all about perspective. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.