All MBA and Job Aspirants : Tips for Group Discussions

CAT results awaited and its the time for the MBA aspirants to start getting calls from their dream institutes (hopefully). Also, January is the favorite time for companies to come in for campus recruitments. So all you people in the final year of graduation, whether going in for MBA or Jobs, pull up your socks for the next selection process i.e. the GD or Group Discussion.

Knowledge Matters

In a Group discussion, you will typically have a group of 8-15 people. You will be given some stipulated time (say 20-30 mins) and a topic. The topic can be a General topic, a technical topic, an abstract topic or a Case study. The simple rule for being able to speak in a GD is to know and for knowing, you have to read, read and read. The more you read, the more enhanced your knowledge is, and consequently you will be equipped with more content to speak on. Now, what to read ? Read newspapers, magazines, books, blogs etc. to enhance your knowledge. (We suggest students to keep visiting this blog to keep yourself with various articles on varied topics to enhance their knowledge.)

Preparation

Apart from reading, there is another thing you need to undertake to sharpen yourself and that is Practice, Practice and more Practice. Do practise a lot of mock GDs with your friends, classmates to gain more experience and expertise. Doing it under professional guidance would be icing on the cake. By practising more, you get better and better with your communication skills.

Believe in yourself

Confidence is an essential ingredient for success, not only in GDs but every stage in life. With constant practice, confidence will automatically flow in. But you got to believe in yourself from the day one. The first person, to believe that you are the best, has to be yourself.

Mind your body language

While practising for GDs, seek lot of feedback from friends, mentors etc about your body language. Although you think, you made all the relevant points in the GD, your body language may send out negative signals to the selection panel and may negatively impact their view.

In a Nutshell

All said and done, developing your knowledge, communication skills and body language will help you, not only to get selected but for all through your professional life. So this is the right time to work hard and polish yourself so well that the world gets mesmerised with your shine. I will be more than happy to provide any further guidance if needed. You may just drop me an email to knowledgecircle@yahoo.in

All the Best !!

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MIPs : The Best Alternative to traditional FDs

Gone are the days when bank fixed deposits were the only avenues to park your hard earned savings. Today you have a plethora of investment avenues available in the market. You just need to pick up the right one to suit your investment style and risk profile.

MIPs (Monthly Income Plans) are the best alternatives to the traditional FDs. The best rate for a one year FD that you could get in the market (With Nationalised Banks) is max 7-7.5%, whereas you have a plenty of MIPs which are giving returns in excess of 9-10% in the last 5 years. Whats more is the MIP returns do not attract any tax at the hands of the investor. However, your FD interest might attract a tax of upto 30% (depending on what slab does your income fall into).

Basically it is the composition of the MIP portfolios which helps us getting better returns still keeping risk in check. A typical MIP would have a debt proportion of 80% whereas the equity portion to the extent of 20%. The high proportion of debt ensures capital protection and some portion of equity opens opportunities for higher returns.

Having a look at the table below gives a fair idea about how few MIPs have performed over last five years. Although the returns cannot be guaranteed, the market exposure provides some headroom for higher returns. Also, the tax-free nature of investments is an added advantage why MIPs can be flavor of the season.

Scheme Name NAV as on
29th Dec 09		 Lastsix months
Returns		 LastTwelve months
Returns		 LastThree Years Returns LastFive Years Returns
Reliance MIP 19.95 11.18% 22.58% 12.88% 13.73%
HDFC MIP LT Plan 20.71 9.58% 31.59% 12.27% 13.28%
HSBC MIP 18.2 9.27% 19.45% 11.33% 11.27%
Canara Robeco MIP 26.86 4.55% 28.46% 11.20% 13.99%
Principal MIP Plus 17.85 7.26% 21.70% 12.05% 10.87%
DBS Chola MIP 18.66 5.27% 12.88% 12.00% 10.09%
ICICI Prudential
Income Multiplier Fund		 17.89 5.55% 23.95% 7.65% 10.71%
           

Disclaimer : Mutual Funds Investment are subject to Market Risk. Readers are advised to consult their financial advisor and use their own judgement before making investment decisions.

Hello world!

Prof. Bajaj
Snap taken during Soft Skills training workshop for ITI Faculties

Dear Reader,

Welcome to my blogspot. Here you will find a plethora of interesting articles related to soft skills, communication skills, career development etc

Well thats not all. Periodically, you will also find good articles on investment planning, tax planning, retirement planning etc.

So thanks again for visiting my blogspot. We look forward to more visits from you.

Best Regards

Prof. Saurabh Bajaj