All the best!!!

Hello Friends,

The Campus Placements programs have started at few of the locations and some of you would have appeared for the interviews at this program. At some locations its going on while at other places it is about to start in a day or two.

There might be butterflies in your stomach. I very well understand the anxiety that all the Freshers have while facing the first job interviews of their life. Its a feeling that cant be explained in words.

Friends I hope you might have prepared well for the interviews and each one of you would be determined to crack these interviews and bag your dream jobs.

On the eve of these placements lets discuss what things you need to take care of in the placements program:

• As mentioned in my earlier blogs, do reach before time at the placements venue.

• Please do carry your file alongwith you. For the list of documents that you need to keep with you, refer my previous blog.

• Be confident and have a positive attitude about the interviews. This will help you to perform well at the interview.

• Also have enough rest on the previous day so that you can have a calm and peaceful mind during the interviews.

• Do not be over confident in your approach while appearing for Group Discussions as well as written tests. You never when you will flunk in these tests because of being over confident, which will cost you a lot in the future.

I know these interviews are going to be decisive for everyone's future. It will help you to make your future secure and also give a right direction to your career. These interviews will provide you an opportunity of fulfilling all your dreams that you would have nurtured till date.

Securing a job suddenly brings a lot of change in a person as well his lifestyle. He feels that his hard work during his student days is now rewarded. He feels that he is on the top of this world and starts getting a lot of respect from his friends, family and the society. Indeed securing a job in anywhere is a commendable achievement.

Congratulations to all those who could clear interviews and get a job today....

But amongst these success stories, no one hears the silent cries of people who could not crack the interviews. They start feeling that they are a failure and that they are good-for-nothing. People start doubting their capabilities and ultimately they start doubting the degree that they have attained.

Friends, I understand that its hard to digest failure but there's always some other chance waiting for you.

As the saying goes "The real failure is when you stop trying." Prepare hard for the next interview. Work upon the areas in which you lagged and start afresh. No one in this world can stop you from cracking the toughest interview.

Do not refuse from appearing for more interviews. Do not give up. Do not accept the fact that there is no future for you now. As the Chinese proverb goes "Failure in not falling down but refusing to get up." So even if you fail in any of the interviews do not be disheartened. There are good things going to come in the future. So please do not give up.

Remember that even if you do not get any jobs in the small centres, there is an option of appearing at the interviews in the bigger centres where you will get more number of companies. Even you also have the option of starting your own practice or consultancy. Indeed starting your practice or consultancy is a tough decision you can always excel there and earn more than the people doing job.

Even I was rejected thrice by some of the best corporates offering a very good pay during the campus placements. But then I never lost the faith in myself and today I am working with one of the best corporates in the world. So do not lose hope. Future has stored a very good plan for each one of you.

Lastly I would say it doesn't matter whether you are a ranker, first attempt passout, or a passout in subsequent attempt during the interviews. The only thing that matters is how well do you sell yourself in those 10 minutes of your interview. If your are good at impressing people with your articulation, body language and your attitude for hard work people will select you for the jobs irrespective of your performance at the exams. Agreed that some companies have a pre-conceived notion of just selecting rankers or first attempt passouts, there are very few companies who do this. In such cases only the recruiters have to suffer because not all rankers perform well at the jobs.

In case if you fail in the interviews do not lose hope and dont keep on lamenting over your failures or educational performance. Each one of you has something unique in yourself. So if you do not get a job, try to find out what are you good at and start exploiting that potential of yours.

All the best for the interviews!

May all of you get a job of your choice.

Do inform me where did you secured a job by commenting over here or mailing me on snehal.sukhadia@gmail.com or inbox me on FB.

Once again All the best!

Bbye....

Basic Preparations for Campus Interview

Hi Friends,

I hope you must be eager to appear for the Campus Placements interviews by now.


I just came across a Fresher CA who asked me a very common but a basic question. The question was what all documents should a Fresher carry with him/her during the interview.

Such common questions arise in the mind of everyone but somehow people are always afraid to ask these type of doubts.

Today lets discuss on what all things you need to carry for the Campus Placements Program.

Your basic file

 

The basic file should the following things:

• Your CV. The CV is the most important and first and foremost document that one should carry. Please go through your CV before appearing for the interview. Keep the format of CV as discussed in the earlier blogs.

• Statement of marks. Carry all the statements of the marks/marksheets of your professional examinations right from the CPT to Final Exams. Please keep the statement of marks of all the attempts you all have appeared till date.

• Rank Certificate (if applicable)

• Marksheets of all the years of graduation i.e. from FY to TY and marksheets of standard 10 and standard 12.

• Certificate of passing of IPCC examination issued by ICAI.

• Degree certificates of Bachelor's Degree, Masters Degree etc.

• If you are pursuing some other professional course alongwith CA, also carry the marksheets of the same.

• Proof that you have applied to ICAI for the Membership Number.

• Your articleship completion letter.

• Printout of the Placements form filled up on the ICAI's website.

• Your original Passport, PAN Card, Voter's ID Card and its photocopies too.

• Also take a printout of the screenshot of the companies which have shortlisted you.

 

 Some additional things you need to take with you

• Adequate no. of Passport Size Photos

• Stapler

• Gum/Fevistick

• Pen/Pencil

•  A notepad

• U-clips/Pins

Carry enough photocopies of all the above mentioned documents. To be on a safer side carry atleast 5 copies of all the documents. Get one or two sets of the documents attested by the Gazetted Officer/Chartered Accountant.

I hope this will solve all of your doubts and confusions. Start preparing the files in advance to avoid the last minute hassles.

All the best.

Bbyee...

Is it necessary to study after CA?

Hello friends,

I hope you all must be fully prepared and geared up for the ICAI Campus Placement Program. All of you would be eager to appear for the interviews and bag your dream jobs.

One peculiar thing I have been observing amongst all CAs is to pursue an extra, additional professional course alongwith CA. Many people are of the opinion that having more than one professional degree enables one to get a good job. Lets discuss whether is this a myth or a reality.

Is it necessary to study after CA?

The common courses that people normally study alongwith CA are CS, MBA, CFA, ICWA etc. These degrees sound fascinating and are equivalent to CA. They help to shape your career and make you earn good money. Having an additional degree apart from CA may increase your social status, it may increase your prestige amongst your friends and they may also increase the size of your visiting cards, but the question is ARE THEY REALLY USEFUL?

As per the human behavioral science, a normal person tries to pursue various academic/educational degrees for his self satisfaction. Its a proven thing, that more the number of degrees acting as a suffix to a person's name, the more proud that person feels. The number of degrees held by a person are directly proportional to the amount of ego that the person has.

Bachelor's Degree

Bachelor degree is the basic requirement as well as the gateway towards future career. Having one bachelor degree alongwith CA is must and everyone should pursue it. I personally believe that this is a requirement and cannot be done away with.

Masters or LLB

After completing B.Com people normally opt for M.Com, LLB or MBA. Studying M.Com while studying for CA is a waste of time. Gaining an additional degree of M.Com is never going to make a difference in your professional life. Though this degree sounds fascinating as it is a Masters degree, its just a time wasting decision that people take. Once you complete CA no one is going to look at such academic achievements.

Pursuing Law or LLB is somewhat advisable. Law helps you to gain a wide knowledge and expand your horizons. Law and CA are inter related and so this degree will be helpful to you in future at anytime. Law is going to be helpful whether you are in practice or in industry. A CA needs to look after compliances to various acts for his clients and the basic knowledge of law becomes useful at this juncture. This knowledge will also be useful to the CAs who are going to settle down in the industrial sector since there also you have to comply with various laws and regulation.

The 3 idiots: MBA, CS, ICWA

Now lets talk about 3 hot favourite degrees amongst all the CA aspirants.

1) MBA

2) CS

3) ICWA

There has been a cold war and a never ending debate going on for which one is better, CA or MBA. I dont find the reason for this debate. I dont know why there arises a comparison between these two degrees in-spite of fully different work areas and functions. There's a common belief that an additional degree of MBA, CS or ICWA will open the gates for a better job opportunity. They believe that these degrees provide an edge over the other candidates in the interviews and help them to get a good job with a higher pay. 

But people fail to understand that these degrees are not useful in any manner while procuring your future jobs. None of the interviewer gets impressed when you have these degrees alongwith the CA degree. Unless and until you study MBA from those Top 10 B-Schools its not going to help you out.

In my career I have neither seen a CA with CS, ICWA or MBA getting a preference over the other candidates in the interviews nor they getting a higher pay than others. Just think how these qualifications help you out when you actually are doing the job of a Financial advisor, MIS reporting, auditing etc.

International CFA

Recently students are crazy after International CFA. Indeed its a good course to pursue and it helps you to get a good job but this course is a strict NO for those who do not want to go in the Finance Sector after completing their CA. This qualification wont be useful to all those who are ultimately going to settle down in India.

CPA

Same is the case with CPA. Just like MBA, CA and ICWA, CPA has been a hot-favourite of all those who have a good economic background. Students study hard and invest their money to go to USA and complete CPA. But before pursuing CPA, just give a thought how much this degree is going to be useful to you in future. There was a time in when people with a combination of CA + CPA used to get a good job in India but things have changed now. Nowadays it makes no difference if you are a qualified CPA or not. I have seen 5-10 people who have passed CPA and CA both and have been rejected by some of the best corporates. CPA is not going to be useful if you are going to settle in India.

Some other courses offered by ICAI

Students also get carried away by the courses offered by ICAI. After completing CA, its been a routine for most of the students to apply for ISA/DISA. My request is to please be aware where these courses are going to be useful to you. These courses are for systems auditing. They wont be of any use if your aim is to start a practice/work in the areas of income tax or any other law. 

Pursuing ISA, CISA, Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Internal Auditors course offered by US Institutes etc is no harm unless and until you want to build up a career in those fields.

Remember at all workplaces it doesn't matter whether you are a CA, MBA, CPA, CFA etc. The only thing matters is how well your performance is. There have been instances where people who just have completed their Bachelor's have progressed tremendously in their workplaces while those having the professional degrees have consistently underperformed.

I have seen people who were just CAs and within a short span of time they have climbed the ladder, while some people who have more than 2-3 degrees have been changing jobs without any promotions.

So friends its upon you whether to study further or not. I dont stop you from studying further but please do think twice before selecting any course. Think rationally about how that course is going to help you in future and then study further so that it can be beneficial to you.

I hope this will be help you in choosing the right career path ahead.

For your feedback do comment over here or write me on snehal.sukhadia@gmail.com

Bbye...