Working professionals look forward to MBA to enhance their expertise and skills to accelerate career growth and also to shift from one industry to another. Keeping in mind the paucity of time for CAT 2013, following points can make their preparation easier:

Get rid of the fear factor: Fear of failure in the CAT affects every MBA aspirant’s life. Remove it from your heart as this fear can lead to your downfall. As a working professional you may feel stressed out because of work pressure combined with preparations that include conceptual learning and practice work that may seem impossible to master. But you shouldn’t lose heart. Have confidence and courage; work with commitment and dedication to achieve success.

Be focused: CAT 2013 exam has two sections: Quantitative Ability and Verbal ability. Quant section also comprises of Data Interpretation while Verbal section is paired with Logical Reasoning. Speed is an important factor here as the faster one reads and selects the questions to attempt; the better will be the chances of a good score. It is, therefore, necessary to practice more and more. Grammar and maths enrich you; give more confidence, when practiced more. Make it a point to read a lot of newspapers and magazines as well. It’s the comprehension of what you have read will take you through CAT.

Do not leave your job: Leaving a job for CAT preparation is not a good idea. For one, it takes away your work experience and the much needed flow of income; necessities for someone who is about to get admission in a reputed MBA college. For coaching, there are several weekend classes and online sites that specialize in preparing an MBA aspirant for CAT. Remember, a manager is expected to be a multi-tasker by any industry so leaving your job for the preparation will only throw a bad light on your candidature and you may be questioned about it in the personal interview during the selection process. In case, you don’t make it, you may also find it difficult to return to the corporate world to find a suitable opportunity in a short time. It’s best to take leave if you want to but retain the job.

Set a time table: Prepare a time table that you can follow and utilize spare time for studies. Don’t be haphazard in studies and follow the time table systematically. Study with a fresh mind and take short breaks so that what is learnt is retained.

Systematic & meticulous study: Get the best course material in which all the topics are planned properly, all the tips as well as lots of practice tests and exercises are given. Having the right books may be expensive but it is an investment in your career so don’t compromise, it will help in saving a lot of trouble and also time.

Choose well from all available resources on the Internet; some are available for free while others may be available at a cost. There is a lot of free material and test series by educational sites/MBA Portals. And there are coaching centres that offer Webinar or recorded video lectures. Professionals looking forward to cracking the CAT but having problems with spare time and lack of classes in vicinity can attend online courses and online lectures from the comfort of home or in a class where one can interact with fellow students.

Use weekends and breaks: Give up all frivolous activities till the exam is over. If one has a two-day break, use it to join an MBA coaching institute, do self-study or take tests and analyse them on the next day. A break for an hour or half from office work could also be used for going through a word list or solving puzzles to enhance verbal and logical reasoning skills.

Mock tests: Mock tests give one an idea of one’s preparation and suggest the way forward. Now that only a few days are left for CAT 2013, one can still take a few tests. Since there are 30 questions in each section and time allotted is only 70 minutes per section, answering mock test papers help develop not just speed but also accuracy. The tests help in understanding possible mistakes that could be overcome.

Interact with MBA aspirants: Share your strategies and understand theirs. This will help you decide your tactics and strategies. The more you share, the more you learn and understand. Many a times fellow test takers provide simple solutions for seemingly mammoth problems.

Revision: Stay calm and revise as much as you can. Do not start studying new topics at the last minute, for it can cause you to panic.

- Contributed by Prin L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Research & Development

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