PDP Boot Camp at Cochin

God’s Own Country, Kerala saw its first edition of the PDP Bootcamp happening on the 14th and 15th of February 2009. Call getters from across the state gathered in Cochin, the Queen of the Arabian Sea. The programme that happened in a Hotel right next to the Cochin Shipyard, commenced with the registrations at around 8 30 am on Saturday Feb 14th. Little did the students know that they were in for a rigorous two-day session from then on. All their plans to enjoy the beauty of Cochin got shattered!! But they wouldn’t complain; they had gained a lot from the exhaustive training sessions that they went through for the two days. The Introduction of the Mentors as well as the participants was followed by comprehensive Group Discussion drills; the participants had a completely new experience altogether with the exhaustive GD drills. The fun-filled Personality drills with the rope exercise ushered in new learning for the participants in terms of Collaboration, team communication and conflict resolution within a team. Lots of learning was in store with the GK sessions handled by Mr. Krishnaswamy (IIM-K). Mock Interviews followed with the help of expert panel members. The Mock Interviews were done by Mr. Biju (IIM-B), Mr. Krishnaswamy (IIM-K), Mr. Gopal (IIM-K), Mr. Ajit (CL-South) and Mr. Vinod (CL-Kerala). After the interviews and exhaustive personal feedback, the students went through the Interview drills, followed by a brief GK/Economics session by Mr. Biju (IIM-B). The session that the students were eagerly waiting for, the case study analysis happened next with the participants assimilating the nuances of Case Study analysis. After having gone through the exhaustive two-day schedule, the participants had an opportunity to learn ‘what’s in store for them’ from Mr. Biju (IIM-B) during his concluding interaction.

Testimonials:

Of Course, it was very much useful. Because they made up a step-by step procedure to make us talk in a GD. It was really Informative.

- Balaji S

Yes, the PDP Boot Camp was even more than my expectations. The refreshment exercises and different approach to GD’s made me feel good.

- Balasubramaniam H

It met my expectations in terms of increasing awareness levels of what basically you are expected to deliver in a GD and making me realize th

e importance of packaging oneself and the need of relevant elusive points that can help you fetch the deal.

- Meera Lal

The GD process was structured and they demonstrated crucial points about GD in a very proactive way.  Plus accommodation is awesome.

- Prasid S

Yes, the Boot Camp was more than i expected. I thought it would be the same like the another institute’s process, where I attended 3 GDs in 2 days. Here I attended 15 GDs in one day.

- Joseph Vincent

This boot camp has a greater edge than what I expected. I got lot of information about economy, my behavior, my strengths, weakness etc.

- SK Chakravarthi Raianala

Last PDP Boot Camp at Delhi

Testimonials:

Definitely. It was one of the best experiences I had in Career Launcher. There were many innovative exercises which made us thin out of the box. The feedback as extensive and very helpful.

- Abhishek Srivastava

Yes, interview mentoring was the most important. The GD drills really boosted my confidence.
- Anurag

As expected, it kept me on my toes and adequately focused on fundamental (of GD, BA, etc) as well as putting them into practice by various mock sessions and group discussions.
- Vasundhra Jain

The PDP Boot Camp definitely helped me a lot in identifying and streamlining my goals. The GD exercises were a lot of fun and educational.
- Rahul Negi

Yes, the PDP Boot Camp has lived up to the expectations. I expected that the interview sessions would be grilling and it turned out to be so. The faculty here is very co operative and experienced enough to bring out the best in an individual.
- Rubal Singh

It exceeded my expectations by a long way. It has assisted me in getting t know about the aspects of my own personality and how to use those tools to tackle the interview and GD which I was almost oblivious to.
- Gurbaxecesh

CL PDP Boot Camp at Hyderabad

Testimonials:

1. Helped me realize my weakness in GD. 2. Made me aware of my real strengths. 3. Has helped me structure my whole profile and connect the dots.

-Sugandh Jalan

The Boot Camp did meet my expectations. We had exposure to different session also helped to know myself better.

-Harshed

Yes. It provided us with an opportunity to interact with the peers that told us the kind of competition we would be facing. The GD PI sessions also helped a lot. After the sessions, I an clear about why an MBA! ‘which’ hadn’t been able to decide since the past 2 months.

-Parul Gupta

The PDP Boot Camp is beyond my expectation. Actually I thought it will be a workshop on simple GD-PI only. But this PDP boosted my confidence on how to talk & what to talk.

-Anil Kumar Yenigandla

Yes, the Boot Camp has given me the right direction to prepare for my GD/PI sessions. Also, I have been able to know my strengths and weaknesses through this session

-Rajat Narang

PDP boot camp has exceeded my expectations, there was lot of creativity in the activities that had happened.

-N. Deepak Kuamr

The next scheduled PDP Boot Camps shall be held at Bangalore and Delhi from 14th to 15th February. Incase you are interested, please register here.

PDP Boot Camp at Delhi

Testimonials:

The PDP Boot Camp was fun from the word go. Interaction was of the highest quality, the food was pretty good. It helped me prepare dot interviews and group discussions in a more structured manner.
-Arvind Shankar

The group discussion and case study sessions were very helpful to get at idea f what kind of competition I will face. The GK sessions too were informative.
-Sana Adhami

Yes, I cane here completely unprepared for the interview process and the one-one interview was a real eye opener on what exactly needs to be done.
-Amit Chand

It exposed the areas where I need improvements in next few days. It helped me give direction to my preparation. The mock Gds and Pis gave a lot of exercise and real simulation.
-Nitin Verma

I expected a lot of GD practice and atlest 1 PI, where I could test myself. I got all of this. Also, the interaction with other students was very good.
-Ashish Batra

The Boot Camp met my expectations thanks to the interview and GD concepts learnt during my stay.
-Ajay Kumar

The next scheduled PDP Boot Camps shall be held at Bangalore and Delhi from 14th to 15th February. Incase you are interested, please register here.

PDP Bootcamp at Bangalore

DAY 0

Assembling and pick up point for all the students was Jayanagar, but unlike the last, this time students came on time and we had 94 students assembling at the center. Started the sessions at 10.00 p.m. with Mr. Sanjay Shivnani setting the ground rules and making the students’ realize that this session is not going to be a cake walk but a serious learning by giving the agenda for the two days.

DAY 1

GD Drills and Marathon GD’s in the first half of the day, made the Over confident student to rethink about the short falls, those introvert and restrained students had lot to learn, end of the session lot of students were enthralled by the unique model of GD conduction, they were all pleased that each one of them had an opportunity to speak on every allocated topic. These GD’s were conducted by splitting the students into groups and each group had two moderators to evaluate.

After lunch we had split the group into two, while one group engrossed in rope drills (Out door), the other group was engaged in “Meet the Alumnus” session. This session was all about what? What Not!! and How? at IIM’s. This session was anchored by Prof. Ramnathan (IIM,A) and Surga (IIM, A). After tea break we had GK Session by Mr. Amit Bhatia (ISB) and Mr. Sachin (ISB) This session was extended by ½ hour because of the interactive pattern, and also students had a lot to elucidate.

Soon after the Dinner, we commenced with the most awaited session for students The Interviews; there were 8 outstanding Interview panelists.

Interview session started at 9.20 pm and went on till early morning 2.00am. Each Interview of 20-30 Mins, was followed with a 10 min feedback. There was also instances were students couldn’t cope and broke down during the grilling interview round. Our panelists had to counsel and cajole the students separately about the untoward reality ahead.

We also ensured that every interview was video graphed to enable the student to appraise their respective interviews.

The Interview panel comprised of Mr. Sanjay Shivnani (CL), Mrs. Jolly (CL – Marthahalli), Mr. Ramnathan (IIM-A), Ms. Surga(IIM-A), Sree Raman Vaidyanathan (IIM,A), Mr. Jayaram Krishnan (IIM,B) Keystone, Mr. Rajeev (IIM-A), Mr. Ashish (IIM-A), Mr. Sachin(ISB), Mr. Amit Bhatia (ISB), Mr. Sandeep(IIM – B), Mr.Akhilesh Sharma (IIM,B) Infosys, Mr. Sri Ram Senthil (IIM,K) Cyprus Semiconductor, Mrs. Sangeetha Pai (IIM-B), Mr. Prakash Prabhu (MDI), Mr. Ajit Kumar (CL – South) and Mr. Ananth Acharya (CL- Bangalore).

Day 2

Morning session started of with Interviews for the remaining students who were enthralled in the Movie “Chariots on Fire”. In each Interview session we ensured that the students were grilled on every aspect (Technical, Academic, GA etc) based questions.

At the end of the Interview round on Day 2, couple of students whose interview performance were low, required a rejuvenation session.

After lunch the sessions were followed with Interview drills conducted by Mr. Sanjya Shivnani and then followed by Case study discussion, this session was anchored by Mr. Sanjay Shivnani, Mr. Ramnathan, and Mr.Sachin.

The entire program got over by 6.20 p.m. and we all left the venue bu 7.00 p.m. after clearing doubts from the students.

The feedback given by the students was very satisfactory and they were all grateful for being at the right place at the right time.

The next scheduled PDP Boot Camps shall be held at Bangalore and Delhi from 14th to 15th February. Incase you are interested, please register here.

PDP Boot Camp at Kanpur

Young faces brimming with hope & confidence thronged the lobby with their backpacks, at Hotel Bliss, 8pm, 20th Jan with mixed feeligns of fear and excitement that competetion brings about. 58 IIM call-getters from IIT,HBTI,MNNIT,IET were there to participate in the first Boot Camp held at Kanpur from 20th Jan to 22nd Jan. The Boot Camp was speare-headed by Nitin Jindal & Arjun Wadhwa. The students were allocated rooms so that they interact with new people to help them develop their inter-personal skills. The tone was set for a lovely Boot Camp by a roof-top dinner & excellent food. Gourmet satisfaction adds to the appetite for intellectual craving so when at 10 o’clock, they were given assignments, they remained up till about 3.00am.

With a hot breakfast, the Boot Camp got started at 9.00am. The heterogeneous mix of participants which varied from Doctors to CAs added spice to the introduction session.

The GD drills wonderfully crafted by the faculty members, made the Boot Camp a success, there and then itself. Non-veg lunch with ice-cream took away the fatigue of 4hrs speaking. Gyan session was welcomed and students were
getting ready for the firing squad. Next came the Rope task, a memorable experience.

They strutted like gun-slingers, but were caged in mouse traps on simple questions like “why MBA” and “tell me something about yourself”. The feedback session by mentors that lasted from 5 pm till 2 am made it a night to remember. An excellent dinner and an impactfull movie, created a balming effect before the night. Morning started at 8am & the students appreciated the GK gyan session with Arjun. Students were pleased with the entire concept of Boot Camp where they felt like that they had evolved in all aspects of presentation, content and demeanour. They thanked the mentors, especially for removing there hesitancy in speaking and exposing them to 99.9%ile and 10 pointers. They realized that if you know yourself well, you can clear IIMs. All of them left with the feeling that “IIM is within their reach.”

Upcoming boot camps are being held at Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi on 7-8th Feb . In case you would like to attend please register here

Testimonials

The PDP Boot Camp got us exposure to all that we needed to develop in our personalities, in terms of GD, PI, Interviews etc. Most importantly, we learnt from the feedback that was given to us.

-Garima Shukla

The GD exercise was was my favourite, because it taought me that it is possible to enter the GD at any stage and have content in both favour and against the topic. Hitting the most important points through brief and to the point entries.

-Ayushi Goyal

It exceeded expectation, from lodging, to food, to quality of teachers. Everything was excellent.

-Ahmer Khan

Session on GD tips and exercises lasted for 5 hours and covered all types of topics with a variety of people as group members.

-Shailendra Singh

The Boot Camp gave me a new dimension of thinking, and most importantly, it taught me that all the answers are within you. Just search within and you will be through.

-Ekta Goel

Yes, it did meet my expectation. It gave me valuable insight into concepts of GD, PI and case studies. Also, I got to learn from my competitors, which was wonderul.

-Nikhil Singh

PDP Boot Camp at Trichy

Home for the famous Rock Fort Temple, Trichy or Tiruchirapalli saw its rocking edition of the PDP Boot camp happen on the 23^rd of January 2009. It was a One-day boot camp filled with lots of fun and at the same time, enormous learning for all the participants. We had the majority of the call-getters from the prestigious NIT – National Institute of Technology and also the famous SASTRA University.

The event started off with the participants registering for the programme from 0815 am onwards. The Introduction of the Mentors as well as the participants was followed by a brief yet comprehensive theoretical session on Group Discussions. GD Drills followed; the participants had a completely new experience altogether with the exhaustive GD drills. So did the Case Study discussions proceed with the call-getters getting mature with the all-important case analysis and discussion. The Boot camp concluded with Mock Interview drills for every student; video recorded and rich with extensive feedback.

Upcoming boot camps are being held at Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi on 7-8th Feb . In case you would like to attend please register here

Testimonials

I got an idea on how to convey ideas in short and concise statements

-Amrutanshu Mishra

The PDP Boot Camp gave me the belief that I would be able to do public speaking

-Ramesh

Greatly improved my GD/PI competency with the help of Ideation techniques – the rapid GDs were really challenging – The CL personnel are very friendly and motivating.

-Tamizhmarai

It helped me understand my weakness and provided corrective measures. The different circumstances that I got exposed to gave me a feel as to what it might be during the IIM interviews.

-R. Arun

The comments / feed back given on case study exercises were eye-opening

-Srivatsan Rajagopalan

The PDP Boot Camp exceeded my expectations and was really useful in bringing out the best in me. It also reinforced a lot of self-confidence.

-Shri Chakravarthy

The critical theory sessions that nurtured our line of thought and speech process was really good and most useful.

-RA. Madhan

PDP Boot Camp at Bangalore

Chronological description of the PDP Boot Camp at Bangalore:

Day 0

Students arrive with the casual ‘chalo dekhte hain’ mind set. Nitin’s ice breaking session gives students a wake up call that there is a serious gruelling session ahead.

Day 1

GD Drills and Marathon GD’s in the first half of the day, made even over confident students rethink about the short falls. Introvert and restrained students had a lot to learn as well. Students commented on unique model of GD conduction, they were pleased that each had an opportunity to speak on every allocated topic.

After lunch we split the group into two. While one group was engrossed in rope drills (out door), the other group was engaged in “Meet the Alumnus” session with anchors from IIM A and IIM K. Tea break was followed by GK Session.

Soon after the Dinner, The Interviews session was commenced with 6 outstanding Interview panellists from IIMs. Interview session started at 8.30pm and went on till early morning 2.00am. Each Interview of 20-30 mins, was followed by a 10 min feedback. Our panellists counselled and cajole student separately about the untoward reality ahead. Every interview was video graphed to enable the student to appraise their respective interviews.

Day 2

Morning session started with Interviews for the remaining students who were enthralled in the Movie “Chariots on Fire”. Interview session grilled on every aspect (Technical, Academic, GA etc) based questions.

At the end of the Interview round on Day 2, couple of students whose interview performance were low, required a rejuvenation session. This is were we brought in Ian Faria, (motivational speaker) who instilled vigour and enthusiasm back into the students in his 1hr session. Ian’s session was followed with Case study discussion.

When we all packed and boarded the bus, we could see smiling faces all around but the difference was a sharp contrast in the smile from that of Day 0. The session received 100% positive feedback from students.

Upcoming boot camps are being held at Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi on 7-8th Feb . In case you would like to attend please register here

Testimonials

It went beyond my expectations. I didn’t anticipate this to be that exhaustive (both, in terms of time and energy). It was very well structured and planned. The energy and knowledge of the faculty was fabulous.

-Ashish Nayak

The PDP Boot Camp exceeded my expectations. It was very well organized and structured and utilize the limited time available. Mentors were amazing and guest speakers too.

-Chaithanya V

I never expected a personal feedback at such a detailed level. The personal attention given was overwhelming.

-Sidharth Jindal

The rigorous sessions we were made to undergo were simply fabulous. It covered everything we were looking forward to.

-Shubham Maheshwari

I was expecting exposure on GD, interview sessions, and I got enough input, feedback and learning on these. That apart, there were other personality development programs which I found useful.

-Sachin Kumar

The PDP Boot Camp was a very enriching , learning experience for me. Apart from getting the feel of the actual GD.PI experience, the interactions with quality faculty were of immense value. I have emerged as a more confident person after the Boot Camp.

-Vivek Abhinav

PDP Boot Camp at Kolkata

Personality Development Program aims at unlocking the potential within each individual. If there is any program that can lay claim to coming closest to CL’s core purpose: “To enable people realize their potential and make their dreams come true”, we think it is PDP.

Personality is nothing but a sum total of the following:

1. Who you are (sum total of one’s beliefs, values, attitudes, emotions etc.) &

2. How you present yourself (one’s behavior and expression)

PDP is essentially a mirror which will help the student understand both these aspects of his personality completely. It will not only help him understand his positives and negatives, but also help him overcome his lacunae.

PDP is a very powerful programme utilizing latest developments in psychology & state of the art techniques for personality development. It makes extensive use of audiovisual media. The programme consists of eighteen sessions spread over thirty six hours of interaction. A brief summary of the major characteristics and processes involved in the program is discussed below:

1. The underlying philosophy guiding PDP is very simple. To make the students discover and understand who they are, what they lack and what they possess.

2. The program focuses extensively on the tools used by B schools to evaluate potential leaders, which are primarily group discussions, case studies, role plays and personal interviews. P

3. There are two special sessions on economic and business awareness, to help students tide over their phobia of economics, and to assist them in handling business related questions more effectively.

4. The content part of above is provided in an aesthetically appealing PDP file called the IMF (Individual Master File)

5. Locations with VSAT facility can additionally log in for special sessions on economic and business awareness.

6. For faculty support, further material is provided.

Upcoming boot camps are being held at Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi on 7-8th Feb . In case you would like to attend please register here

Testimonials

Yes, definitely. It exceeded my expectations. I never imagined such a comprehensive boot camp was possible. Case study, GD, Interviews, Drills. It left me wishing it never ended.

-Sinchan Mukherjee

Yes, In a variety of ways. It helped me emerge as a more open person and infused a new rigour in me. It gave me the tricks necessary to tackle an interview and the group discussions. I intend to work an it more and improve everyday

-Indrayan Ganguly

As per now, the change that I see in mipelf is beyond description. The PI part was in particular by exceptionally helpful.

-Varun Kumar Gupta

It was way above my expectations in terms of value addition. I now have confidence and the direction to go ahead!!

-Chanderdeep Ekka

Yes, it certainly groomed my personality This experiences was first of its kind. I came to know various aspects of GD & PI like when to enter in GD. How to go about interview.

-Prateek Garg

The GD tasks and the mock interview. The GD talks as the approach was different and refreshing. The interviews because the feedback was pertinent.

-Debasis

PDP Boot Camp at Mumbai

Career Launcher presents the Residential Personality Development Boot Camp: PDP Boot Camp.

The success of the first PDP Boot Camp, held from 15-18 Jan 2009, is unparalleled. And with IIM call getters still wanting more, we are happy to announce further more Boot Camps.

Benefits of the programme:

• Gauge the competition
• Reality Check: where do I stand
• Real time feedback from actual panelists who’ve themselves faced “The Dreaded Panelists”
• Learn with the best
• Hands on GD/PI exposure for 2 whole days….. and nights!
• Stress Test
• Identify and plug the holes in your profile
• Up your General Awareness Quotient

Upcoming boot camps are being held at Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi on 7-8th Feb . In case you would like to attend please register here

Testimonials from students:

The PDP enthused my thought process and let me drop my inhibitions. Above all, it allowed me to stitch my story together.

-Shivam Gupta

I specifically liked the feedback DVDs. Only a video can give you the best feedback where you can see yourself.

-Vipul Agrawal

During GD, everyone got the opportunity to measure their performance against other IIM call getters.

-Alok Kumar

I liked GD and rotations the most. It specifically created several situations where you could jump into a GD. Personally, I needed that.

-Ankit Rajransh

Personal Interviews were accurate with personal improvement areas. Expert analysis, no general gyan.

-Arulin Jajprea

The session exceeded my expectations in many ways. It gave me a feel of actually attending an IIM GD&PI. Lots of tips were also given which benefited me.

-Arun Warrier