Interview Reflection Report

I had an interview based on job advert I selected for my career industry. I had applied for Junior Assistant post in Nepal SBI bank. It is an entry level post for undergraduate freshers, there was no requirement of any experience. As I was facing a job interview for the first time I was quite nervous before my interview. Before going to interview I had gathered a great deal of information about the company I had chosen.

In the beginning of the interview, interviewer asked me if I had brought any documents or not, although I had an internship certificate I did not bring it to the interview which was the biggest drawback of my interview. Then I was asked to describe myself which I started with confident and told about my educational background, experience as an intern, my interest and strengths. Further, interviewer asked me about my work experience as an intern, as I had done an internship in Nepal Rastra Bank (Public Debt Department) I briefly explained her department's function, debt issuing process and named her different debt tools.

After I finished explaining about my internship experience, she asked me questions related with industry and job advert, as she instantly switched question from my internship experience to my job advert or company related question I was confused whether she was asking question from my internship experience or about company, I answered it from internship experience perspective but interviewer wanted answer from company's perspective so I apologized her for my previous answer and answered again through company's perspective.

Then I was asked to tell my two strengths and weaknesses, I was most comfortable answering my greatest strength because I have always felt that I have a great strength to learn and I am flexible to the changing situation. I was also comfortable with answering my greatest weakness because I was honest with my answer and told interviewer what I had been told by others. I also told her what I have been doing to get rid of these weaknesses.

Finally I was asked about my succession plan after I will be hired in this company which I explained by providing time frame of five years and ten years, I said her in five years I see myself at least in officer level post and in ten years maybe in managerial level post, then she counter questioned me by asking hierarchy of the company which I could not explain well so suggested me to understand the hierarchical system of the company.

Overall I was said that I was confident throughout my interview and interviewer praised me about the research I had done about the industry and seriousness I showed during my internship. I was advised to work on layout of CV and told me to improve my vocabulary. I relished the opportunity of facing a job interview for the first time in my life and felt this type of mock interview will make me industry ready after I finish my graduation.

Task 2- Autumn 2013

Introduction

Nepal SBI Bank Ltd. is a subsidiary of State Bank of India which has 55 percent of ownership and rest is held by a local partner viz. Employee Provident Fund (15%) and general public (30%). In terms of the Technical Services Agreement between SBI and the NSBL, the former provides management support to the bank through its expatriate officers including Managing Director who is also the CEO of the Bank. Central Management Committee (CENMAC) consisting of the Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Credit Officer oversee the overall banking operations in the Bank. The Bank was established in July 1993 & is now having 538 Nepalese employees working in 56 branches, 6 extension counters, 3 Regional Offices & the Corporate Office.

State Bank of India (SBl), with a 200 year history, is the largest commercial bank in India in terms of assets, deposits, profits, branches, customers and employees. The Government of India is the single largest shareholder of this Fortune 500 entity with 61.58% ownership. SBl is ranked 60th in the list of Top 1000 Banks in the world by “The Banker” in July 2012.

 

The origins of State Bank of India date back to 1806 when the Bank of Calcutta (later called the Bank of Bengal) was established. In 1921, the Bank of Bengal and two other banks (Bank of Madras and Bank of Bombay) were amalgamated to form the Imperial Bank of India. In 1955, the Reserve Bank of India acquired the controlling interests of the Imperial Bank of India and SBI was created by an act of Parliament to succeed the Imperial Bank of India.

 

The SBI group, consists of SBl and five associate banks. The group has an extensive network, with over 20000 plus branches in India and another 173 offices in 34 countries across the world. As of 31st March 2012, the group had assets worth USD 359 billion, deposits of USD 278 billion and capital & reserves in excess of USD 20.88 billion. The group commands over 22% share of the domestic Indian banking market.

 

SBl's non- banking subsidiaries / Joint ventures are market leaders in their respective areas and provide wide ranging services, which include life insurance, merchant banking, mutual funds, credit cards, factoring services, security trading and primary dealership, making the SBl Group a truly large financial supermarket and India's financial icon. SBI has arrangements with over 1500 various international / local banks to exchange financial messages through SWIFT in all business centers of the world to facilitate trade related banking business, reinforced by dedicated and highly skilled teams of professionals.

Vision and Mission

To be a state of the art, customer centric, values driven and professionally managed bank; committed to high standards of good corporate governance practices; perpetual enhancement of the wealth of all stakeholders and the society.

Over the years, we have grown larger and stronger - in terms of business, geography and resources. This has been achieved by relying on the fundamentals of customer service of top order. Our achievements have come through quality, consistency and transparency of capital base, sound liquidity, a robust risk management framework coupled with the practice of good corporate governance and above all, the tireless focus on customer satisfaction.
 
The Bank’s mission is to provide one stop solutions to all the banking needs for the customer through a highly motivated professional and efficient human resource pool. Promoting sustainable business growth by providing  High quality customer service, customer care and ensuring efficient use of Information Technology in a cost efficient manner. Meeting the expectations of all stakeholders through transparent, true and fair disclosures and responsive management, practices/principles. Strive to fulfill corporate social responsibility in Nepal with emphasis to growth in business. 

Aspiration

To be the most trusted and preferred banking utility/financial service provider in Nepal. 

Commitment

First in customer satisfaction

Blog Task 1- Autumn 2013

During my 3 months vacation I mostly travelled around country with my family and friends. Likewise, I also spend some time reading novels, finance journals and books which would help aspiring entrepreneur. I also did some research about industry of my choice and did the entire task which was assigned by the college during our vacation.

As I visited different places, it surely helped me to learn many new things. I travelled many remote places of Nepal like Rasuwa, Beni, Baglung and Jiri which helped me to understand people of those areas. It was great to observe and feel new culture, lifestyle and their social functions. Likewise, different books like the monk who sold his Ferrari and Bunch of crazy ideas which I read were very good. These books taught me how to be a successful person, formulas to be happy in life and were based on providing motivation to startup great career. Bunch of crazy ideas was all about simple ideas which can be formulated to initiate new business and was inspirational for aspiring entrepreneur.

I also researched about the industry of my choice, as we were given some task relating to our industry choice during vacation I had to do further research about the industry. I visited Nepal Rastra Banks website and went through financial reports of different banks, likewise I also did a comparative study of commercial banks.

Yes, I looked for jobs that suits my interest or from my industry choice. It was an advert released from one of the commercial bank named Commerz and Trust bank for the post of Junior Assistant.

I completed all the tasks assigned by my module teacher and sent a mail before deadline. I hope she liked my work and would give me positive feedback.

If once again I get summer vacation, I will look out for job or internship in the industry of my choice and make it a productive vacation which can help me to gain more exposure of the market.

Summer Activity: Activity 1

As I had chosen banking industry to establish my career life, I have added 2 new people from same industry into my LinkedIn network. They are Mr. Aamir Khawaja(Director at Bank of Singapore) and Mr. Ahsan Tajir (Head of Relationship Management at United Arab Bank) . After going through their profiles I found that they have immense experience and their dedication and hard work has helped them to secure high level post in their respective banks.

As both of them have rich experience and have made a great contribution in their career life I can also learn many good things and create a good career path. Although I am just a bachelor's student I think I have some competencies which are also possessed by Mr. Tajir and Mr Khawaja. As mentioned in their LinkedIn profile and endorsed as expert by many people they both have strong communication and Interpersonal skills which I can also achieve if I get to work on different companies and deal with different types of people. I had already tested my skills during an internship in Central bank of Nepal so I think it won't be hard to complete this competency. Likewise other competencies that both have had was Team player, I think I have some qualities of team player too, it can be proved by different group assignments which was assigned by college were completed within a deadline and with some creative and innovative ideas. It might take some years to reach in the level where these gentlemen's are now but I certainly posses some competencies which they also posses.

Although there were some competencies which were easy to complete but some can be very hard or impossible to complete. As Mr. Tajir is a "Certified Financial Advisor-(CFA)", I think it would require lot of practice, hard work and good knowledge about finance to get that certificate, I don't think this is impossible but it is definitely harder. Likewise both of them have good networking in the market which is also the result of being dedicated to the same industry for many years, and this might also be hard to complete.

To maintain a successful career life and be someone like these people will require lot of experience, skills and competencies and to get the job that I want I must surely work on my competencies. I am looking forward to gain knowledge about Management Information Systems which is an integral part of not only banking industry but all types of industry. Likewise, I am hoping to take some public speaking classes to improve my presentation skills and develop my public relations. I try to find and read the books which are more focused on strategic planning, entrepreneurship and managerial guidance, which will certainly give me exposure about the real life scenario.

I think the GAP analysis which I just did is really helpful for me to find my strengths and weaknesses and have given a guidance to work on my competencies to build a successful career life.

Reviewing Feedback

	Most significant feedback comments:	What these really mean: (e.g. after listening to the audio feedback and/or after discussing with other students, or after reflecting further on the work and the feedback)
Milan Rai	Thorough research and clear presentation of data.	The selected industry was clearly presented in graphs, charts and pie charts and quantitative data were up to date.
Pratap Ale	Well structured and vibrant presentation and up to date information.	Good research and up to date information provided clear visual information about the banking industry.
Obik Rai	Presentation was easy to understand and good understating about industry.	Data provided about the industry and use of analytical tools shows understanding about the banking industry.

Extent to which I agree with the feedback	Positive:	Critical:
	Things I did which attracted positive feedback:	Things I did which attracted critical feedback:
Milan Rai	Provided up to date quantitative data and represented it in graphs and charts.	Poor time management
Pratap Ale	In depth research and aware of various affairs of industry which enhanced my understanding level.	Nervousness and poor presentation skills.
Obik Rai	Good A4 summary sheet with all the contents and suits to the banking industry	Down in confidence level.

Notes about any recurring trends in the feedback I am receiving	Things I can do to build on the positive feedback in my future work:	Things I can do to address the critical feedback in my future work:
Milan Rai	Keep on the good research and work on my confidence level.	Better time management.
Pratap Ale	Be passionate about anything that I am about to do.	Work on presentation skills and speech delivery.
Obik Rai	Be updated about all the information that is prevailing in the industry.	Rehearse before presentation which can boost my confidence.

The single most important thing for me to keep doing in my future work on the basis of this feedback:

Enhance my understanding level; be passionate and confident about the respective industry which will prove my suitability.

The single most important thing for me to improve in my future work on the basis of this feedback:

Work on my presentation skills and time management skills.

A4 summary of presentation

Week 7

a) From your personal experience- what was the best presentation you have ever observed? What was it that made it so memorable? What was the presenter's demeanour like? What did it inspire you to do?

What have or can you learn from that experience?

The best presentation I have ever observed was of Mr. Suman Shakya. He gave presentation about entrepreneurship during our warm-up classes. He made that presentation memorable one because he used to link his presentation with real time scenario which would give us clear perception about what he was talking. He had an excellent communication skill, if someone was confused about anything he would try to give answer in a simplest way. He was not thorough with his presentation, he also involved us to do different interesting task so that we could concentrate more on the presentation. One thing that he said was really inspiring- "if you work in an organization you can be successful only after maybe 10 15 years but if you be an entrepreneur you may be successful within a year because entrepreneurship gives us freedom, self satisfaction and obviously good income".

After that presentation I learned how to relate things while giving presentation. I also learned how to develop my presentation skills and not kill audience with boredom. Presentation was about entrepreneurship so I learned how to be a successful entrepreneur and how to think out of the box.

b) Think of any of the feedback that you had received and critically evaluate it.

I once gave a presentation in my college about strategist job, after finishing my presentation I got feedback from lecturer, he said that my presentation was good but I kept repeating same word many times and build my vocabulary skills. As it was my first time presentation I took it in a positive way to improve my presentation skills and I have been working on my vocabulary skills by reading more novels, articles and journals, likewise I would surely not repeat same word many times again in my next presentation.