As a Computer Science graduate and having worked with Wipro for 8 months, Sai Vijay Kotamraju had a solid career ahead of him. But he wanted to take things to a higher level, which is why he joined Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management, Hyderabad. Today after completing his PGDM with specialization in Marketing and Operations, he finds himself on the threshold of the corporate career he desired. He has been placed with a top brand like ITC and understands that this is just the beginning.
Sai will be working with the company as a Sales Trainee and tells us how he bagged the placement. “To start with, there was the Yuva challenge where I topped a group of four. It was followed by a written test and a personal interview. Honestly it was quite a stress interview where I was asked about economics’ concepts rather than marketing and sales concepts. Thankfully mock interviews at the B School had prepared me for such challenges,” he says.
Sai reveals that throughout the interview he was aware of the fact that ITC was his dream brand to work with, but he didn’t let the pressure get to him. He points out how his PGDM has imbibed certain qualities in him that made him industry ready. “Confidence, management skills and networking are three most important things I learned during my PGDM. The institute ensured that we were getting enough practical experience to not be unnerved at any point,” he claims.
Besides industry interaction sessions and visits Sai talks of the importance of SIP that VJIM, Hyderabad got for him. “I did my SIP with Triumphant Institute of Management Education as marketing intern. I was in the core marketing team of the company working closely with the professionals and that really helped me a lot. I would like to advice my juniors to focus on the SIP experience along with all the industry exposure initiatives to boost their prospects,” he adds.
In his professional life Sai plans to apply his theoretical knowledge to gain practical exposure which can benefit both him, and his company. As he walks down his career path he misses his student days. “These were two most interesting years of my life where I enjoyed every moment to the fullest. Silly jokes, friendly bonds, sharing food and deadline stress, birthdays and fests, the hostel; I am going to miss it all,” he ends on a nostalgic note.