Nandini Agrawal

Are you struggling to effectively manage your time, and continue your work, hobby and passion at the same time?

Here are some tips for time management from my nascent experience:

📍Make a To-do List: Make a list of tasks that needs to be closed at the end of the day or a week. It would ensure that you do not miss out on any key tasks.

📍Prioritize tasks: Organise the tasks in order of priority, starting with the most important ones. This will help you focus on completing the most urgent tasks first and ensure that you don't waste time on less important tasks.

📍Time Boxing: Use a timer to set a specific amount of time for each task. This will help you stay focused and avoid procrastination.

📍Use smart tools: To keep yourself organised and on track, use productivity tools like calendars, task organisers, and to-do lists.

📍Focus on one thing at a time: Avoid multitasking because it can be stressful and reduce productivity to try to accomplish too many tasks at once. To ensure that you finish a task properly and efficiently, concentrate on one at a time.

📍Plan in advance: After each day, spend a few minutes making plans for the following day. This will assist you in being organized and preventing time wastage on pointless chores.

“If you don't save your time, time will not save you.”

What’s your time management strategy?

Let me know in the comments.

#licampustocareer #timemanagement #linkedinforcreators #productivity #career #job #passion #time #priorities #linkedin
#nandiniagrawal

My Cheat codes of Life:

⁃ Don’t disturb others and don’t get disturbed by others.
⁃ Don’t feel jealous, no one will snatch away the things made for you.
⁃ Don't be afraid to take the first step against all odds. You'll never know unless you try.
⁃ Don't forget to live your dreams for which you are working so hard.
- Don't ever tolerate toxicity (be it people, place or culture).

What's your code?

#life #cheatsheet

How can you improve communication with your hiring manager during an interview?

a.  Maintain a conversational tone and dialogue style throughout the interview. It shows that you are able to connect with people and are at ease conversing with strangers.
 E.g., It can be an icebreaker to include your passion in the introduction section.
 
b. Remain confident during the interview and demonstrate your ability to remain composed under trying circumstances.
E.g., When you don't know the answer, admit it and say that you can only guess at it, but it should be xx.
 
c.  When necessary, pose questions. It demonstrates how attentive you are.
For instance, when the interviewer describes the job function and what you would be doing on a daily basis, ask some pertinent questions that show your interest in the possibility.

What are some ways, in your opinion, to enhance communication during an interview?

#LICampusToCareer #recruitment #interview #nandiniagrawal #linkedinforcreators

Do you prefer working independently or in a team?
 
I was asked this question in one of my interviews and this is a tricky one!
 
Instead of simply giving a yes or no answer, I shared various scenarios and how I would approach each one, considering both independent and team-oriented work environments.
 
Also, I correlated my experiences of working in a team as well as working independently to demonstrate my adaptability.
 
One key tip is the importance of being genuine in your response. If you find yourself unsure about a particular answer, it's better to express your honest thoughts rather than trying to be overly precise and to the point.

Nowadays in the dynamic environment of changing tech, finding someone who can showcase flexibility, collaboration skills, and adaptability to different work styles is quite difficult but a need of the hour. This could be one of the reasons why there has been a shift from purely technical interviews to personality-driven interviews.
 
What are your thoughts on this?

#licampustocareer #team #interview #work #career #hiring

Money vs Education - What is more important?


“I am not getting enough motivation to complete my CA. I am already earning more than a CA’s average package by managing the fund of my father and brother. What is the point of doing CA if it doesn’t give me better monetary opportunities than a non-CA?”

-  said a CA aspirant a few days back

Honestly, I was frozen for a minute.

Nowadays, the culture of everyone earning from multiple sources has allured students toward earning money even before completing their qualifications.

While there is nothing wrong with it but not at the cost of your learning!
I made him understand that he is thinking in the short term. In future, if he wants to manage the funds of MNCs and other top-notch investors he would need to showcase his credibility. When you have completed your professional qualification, people are able to bank upon you and feel safe to deal with you.

Money and education, in my opinion, are equally significant in life and cannot be substituted for one another.
While money pays your bills, education helps you to upskill yourself constantly.

This conversation reminded me of a quote -
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” —Albert Einstein

What are your views? Let me know in the comments.

#licampustocareer #education #learning #money #students #nandiniagrawal #future

My 2024 highlight was attending a spiritual conference in August—a complete escape from day-to-day life, luxury, comfort, and living a true minimalist life.

The schedule at the conference was:
- Wake up at 4 AM for meditation followed by Yoga at 6 AM
- Come back at 8 AM for satvik (pure) breakfast, followed by sessions.
- Lunch break around 1 PM, which was again followed by sessions.
- Cultural evening at 7 PM, where people from the organization performed on themes like patriotism, diversity, and harmony.

Some things we spoke about:
- Our attention span is shrinking every day. We can’t focus on anything beyond 2 minutes (based on research shared by the speaker, which might vary online).
- Reminding yourself of your true powers. It’s so easy to forget what we’re capable of. “Jamwant” make Hanuman ji realize his true powers but unfortunately, in today’s era, we don’t have Jamwant, so you need to become your own Jamwant. Although I consider my father as my “Jamwant”.
- The power of positive self-talk. This is one way to meditate. If you say right things about yourself, they will become true one day.
- Letting go of negativity. Whether it’s people’s unpleasant behaviour, situations, or the past—holding onto it doesn’t help. Letting go doesn’t mean cutting people or things off completely; it’s about forgiving and being nice as if nothing happened. It’s hard in practice, but when you manage it, you feel so light and free. :)
Towards the end, I was asked to share my experience and how meditation has helped me so far. Sharing a part of that in this video.

This conference was a much-needed break for me—a chance to slow down and reset.

What was your highlight for 2024?

#2024 #VideoCamp2024

One year ago, on the same day 13th of December, I kick-started my career with Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

It was a mixed feeling of nervousness and excitement for new learnings and experiences, but it was a bit special as this was going to be the first time to go around and meet people after COVID.
From Mar’20 to Oct’21, I have been working WFH during my articleship and it was not a great experience working in siloes without meeting my team, friends, and clients in person.

It has been a year now but seems like it happened yesterday.
 
As a new joiner, it took me three-four months in imbibing the culture and understanding the people, working style, and technical resources/tools. I think these initial months are very crucial when you form an impression of the organization and create your impression at the same time. Thanks to all the people I met at BCG whether physically or virtually for always being helpful and helping me to settle in.

One of the most important things that I have learned during my one year at BCG is “Your network is your net worth”.

No one knows everything, no one can be an industry expert for multiple industries, and no one can be good at ideation, decking, model building, and graphics at the same time, but you can have a network of people with diverse skills and talent.
You never know if the person you meet on the flight can be your potential client or vendor. Or the person you met at an outing turns out to be in IT and you need your laptop to be fixed immediately. One can escape from a deal/arrangement but not a relation so easily!

I’ve been extremely grateful to BCG for giving me various opportunities to work across different types of projects including growth strategy, market entry, and public policies along with opportunities to network with perspicacious people.

Cheers to all of my cohort mates (Bhavya, Ziya, Teena, Sharad, Ridhi, Kriti, S. Aravind, Mansi, Bhavika, Nilay) for making this year so memorable 🌟
Looking forward to creating more memories with you all!

For more insights on my experience at BCG, do check out the video by clicking on the link in the comments section.
Thanks Kushal for capturing my 1-year journey at BCG so concisely. It was a pleasure interacting with you on your channel 😊

How has been your corporate journey so far? Do let me know in the comments section.

#career #work #experience #people

“An individual earning a 5-digit salary is happier than an individual earning a 7-digit income”.


You would have heard this statement a lot of times in social circles and on social media.

Often, we pay close attention to small mistakes when everything is going well just to maintain the current status, but when things are not great already, we are not much concerned about the results of some mistakes/wrongdoings.

This is because the more we have, the more we fear losing it.
Why does this happen?

We are all in an anxiety trap wherein we are worried about losing our materialistic things be it a job, name, fame or any asset. While it can all go in vain - like 500-rupee notes become dust on demonetization.

Detachment is the only way to keep moving and living a happier and more satisfactory life.

Detachment doesn’t mean that you own nothing it means nothing owns you :)
- Bhagwad Gita

Ironically, the things we do without the stress often yield the greatest benefits.

Are you detached? Let me know your thoughts!

#job #socialmedia #linkedin #salary #money #detached #happiness #anxiety

How can you network effectively with someone from your background/interests?

Networking is important for students as well as professionals. It helps to build valuable relationships with other professionals and peers in your field. For students, it might possibly help in getting new job opportunities, internships, mentorships, and collaborations that can help them succeed in their careers.

Here are some tips to help network better:

📍 Be genuine. It's quite easy to figure out when you're not being yourself, so it's important to be yourself when networking. Listen actively, and try to find common ground. Build a real connection for more meaningful and long-lasting relationships.

📍 Do your homework. Before attending a networking event or meeting with someone, do your research. Learn as much as you can about the person or organization you'll be speaking with. Bring business cards or other materials that showcase your skills and experience, and be ready to discuss your professional background and goals.

📍 Leverage Social Media. Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram can be powerful tools for networking. You can join industry-specific groups, and participate in intellectual discussions.

📍 Offer help. Networking is a two-way road. Once you offer help and support to others in your network, they will be more likely to return the favour.

📍 Follow-Up. After meeting someone at a networking event or connecting with them on social media, be sure to follow up with them. Send them a message or an email to thank them for their time and express your interest in staying in touch. This is a game-changer!

Networking is a skill that can't be learned overnight. Stay patient and keep working on it, you will see the wonders!

PS - This picture is from BCG training held in Malaysia wherein I interacted with global BCGers.

#licampustocareer #networking #career #personaldevelopment #nandiniagrawal #socialmedia #event

What do successful people do? As per an HBR article, here are the nine things that successful people do differently:

1.     Get specific about your goals. “Walking 2 km a day” is more powerful than walking every day.
2.     Be determined about your goals. If you’ve decided to read a book for 15 minutes every day then you do it whether you are at home or travelling somewhere.
3.     Know exactly how far you have left to go. If you don’t know how well you are doing, you can’t adjust your behaviour or your strategies accordingly.
4.     Be a realistic optimist. Set realistic targets and believe that you do it.
5.     Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won’t improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.
6.     Have grit. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don’t have the innate abilities successful people have.
7.     Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control “muscle” is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn’t get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, and try to learn a new skill.
8.     Don’t tempt fate. Don’t try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time).
9.     Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., “Don’t think about white bears!”) has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind.

Have you read any interesting articles recently, let me know in the comments.

Recently, I had the immense honour of being invited as a speaker at a TEDx event organized by IIITV in Gandhinagar. It was truly a dream come true for me, and I am still feeling overwhelmed with gratitude.

As I stood on that stage and shared my thoughts on a topic that I am genuinely passionate about, I felt like I was living in a surreal moment. The energy and enthusiasm of the audience were irresistible, and I was touched by the thoughtful questions and feedback I received after my talk.

Five years back, I watched TEDx for the first time, which blew my mind away. The concept of the event, the efforts that the speakers and the organizing team put in, everything was just awe-inspiring. And now, being invited as a speaker and sharing this post with all of you gives me goosebumps!

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Tejas Joshi and the entire IIITV team for reaching out and giving me this incredible opportunity. I couldn't have asked for a better public speaking experience!

P.S. - Will be sharing the link to video soon, stay tuned :)

#TEDx #IIITV #experience #stage #team #publicspeaking #passion #gratitude #career #progress #linkedin #proud

How should you decide whether you should go for a virtual or offline course?

I completed my entire CA journey via virtual mode and had a great experience. Sharing the levers which I considered while going for virtual recorded classes:

📍Time Saving
Attending classes virtually helps you save a lot of time that you might otherwise waste travelling or taking meal breaks during class.

📍Flexibility
Virtual classes give you the flexibility to study at any hour of the day. You can take additional classes when you have the time, or none at all if you are too busy. Virtual programs provide you with this freedom. You can also skip the things you already know and go back to any topic at any time.
 
📍Accessibility
Virtual classes make it more accessible to people who don’t have access to/ have limited access to educational resources. In fact, this was one of the prime reasons for me to go for virtual classes since there were no offline classes in my city or nearby.

📍Affordability
While taking virtual classes, since you don’t move to a new city and you don’t have to go to a coaching class, so they often cost less than traditional classes, as they eliminate expenses associated with commuting, housing, and campus facilities.

I did some math and realized I had saved the amount almost equivalent to the entire CA course fee.

📍Personalized learning:
While taking virtual classes, you learn at your own pace and in your preferred manner which can enhance your entire learning process. Overall it increases your productivity and efficiency.

What are your views? What do you think is the future of learning?

#licampustocareer #learning #skills #professional #communication #nandiniagrawal #students

The investment opportunity that you would never regret 👇


It’s YOU.

Invest your time in making you fit
Invest your time in building your knowledge
Invest your time to create your brand value
Invest your time in making yourself independent
Invest your time in understanding you

A lifestyle like unorganised schedule, frequent parties, binge watch, over socializing might give you temporary pleasure but it fades away with time.

People come and go,
Opportunities come and go,
Time changes and people change.

What remains till the end is “YOU”. You can only help yourself in hard times.

LinkedIn for Creators

#opportunity #change #investment

1000+ birds 🐤 get killed in one day!

Every year on Makar Sankrant, 1000+ birds lose their lives to this one killer (the Manja) and thousands of them get injured/are at a complete loss of wings.

Here's what you can do to prevent it:-

1. If you love flying kites, not asking you to stop but please be careful in using a soft Manja (which will not directly slit their throats).

Once, before flying kites, just think, is it worth the life of an innocent bird??

And I bet you'll love saving the life of a trapped bird more than you'd enjoy flying kites ❤️

2. Sharing a list of NGOs and people organizations in the comment section which work for animal welfare ( BIRDS, dogs, cats, and other animals) do leverage this if you find a bird trapped or any animal that needs help!

Please share it with your connections via social media or any other means and make this reach every Indian!

SMALL EFFORTS CAN LEAD TO BIG ACTIONS

Thanks for reading and sharing.

Hoping that we save a lot of innocent lives.

Thanks, Nayan Ranka for making me part of this good cause. It’s a pleasure to be a medium to spread the message.

Content Credits: Dharma Simplified and Team

#india #festival #sankrant #birds #saveanimals

YOU shape YOURSELF, YOU have created the person in the mirror!

This thought was engraved into my mind when I recently did pottery at Kumarakom.

While doing pottery 🏺you give the desired shape to the clay and mold it in a certain way with an image of an object you want to create.

Any wrong move can lead to making the wrong object and completely discarding its utility.

LIFE is also the same. While some of us know “What we would like to be”, we might not be following the right steps to reach there.

And then we say, “Situation was different”, “I didn’t get the right guidance”, “My luck is not with me” and whatnot.

While we always want to add some value every day whether at work or in our personal life, do we watch how our day-to-day activities are shaping us as a person?

If not, do take out some spend some with yourself, and think about how it’s turning out.

P.s.: These pictures were clicked at Kumarakom Lake Side Resort (Kottayam) when I was making a Diya as a takeaway memory. These 10-15 minutes were so relaxing and meditating.

If you are aware of certain pottery workshops, please do mention in the comments. Would love to attend.

LinkedIn for Creators

#pottery #life #shapethefuture

Some of the great things that happened to India and Indians in 2022:

👉 India assumed G20 Presidency on the 1st of December 2022 from Indonesia and will be convening the G20 Leaders' Summit for the first time in the country in 2023.

👉 In a historic decision, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on October 18 gave approval to the Women's Indian Premier League (IPL). BCCI approves women's IPL, the first edition to be staged in 2023.

(It was my birthday :p)

👉 In a landmark decision, the BCCI announced equal match fees for its centrally contracted female and male players in a bid to promote gender quality in the country’s most popular sport.

👉 Supreme Court decided to live-stream its proceedings of all constitution bench hearings from September 27, 2022, to enhance transparency and accessibility in its functioning.

👉 Indian women’s fours lawn bowls team created history at the Commonwealth Games 2022 where they bagged the gold medal for the first time in the sport.

👉 Perhaps India's most incredible sporting achievement in 2022 was the gold in ISSF Shooting World Championships. Excellent performance from the young shooter Rudrankksh Patil as he bagged gold on his World Championship debut in the men’s 10m air rifle event in Egypt this year.

This is a post to be grateful for good things that happened amidst all other “not-so-positive” events/things that might have happened.

If any other landmark/ historic decision has not been mentioned, please let me know in the comments!

#india #achievements #2022year #grateful

Forbes 30 under 30 💫


The dream of many professionals and entrepreneurs who are in their 20s!

Recently, I had a wonderful talk with Mr Ravish Agrawal, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Able which was nominated for the Forbes 30U30 Asia List in 2022. He finished his undergrad at IIT Kanpur in 2015, built a startup Instichoose in 2016, did a job for 2 years at Udacity and then finally built his dream startup “Able”.
Since he has always been in limelight at family functions, I have always looked upon him as a motivation.

I asked him throughout our conversation about some of the things he had learned along the way and if he had any advice for aspiring businesspeople. Sharing them hereby:

👉 Only consider yourself an entrepreneur if you want to find a solution to an issue instead of fulfilling your wish to start your own business. As a founder, you have more stakeholders to account for than simply one or two.
👉 Avoid spending too much time on planning so that you have more time for action. Just get going and keep learning.
👉 You have to be optimistic throughout. Ups and downs are part of building a robust business, so be patient and positive.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Ravish! I hope that it would be advantageous to the audience as a whole.

If you are an entrepreneur, do let us know about your journey in the comments for the benefit of everyone.

#startup #entrepreneur #forbes30under30 #linkedin #linkedinforcreators #nandiniagrawal #business

Women are in the spotlight everywhere, whether in sports or education. I read in an ET news item that Viacom18 Media Private Limited has obtained the media rights of WIPL.

Coming out with this news at a time when everyone is already anticipating WIPL, especially aspiring female cricketers, shows India's commitment to women's cricket.

Women's cricketers will benefit if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organizes the women's IPL in an impactful way. 
More and more women will start thinking about a career in cricket as a result of events like the Women's Under-19 World Cup, which is taking place for the first time.

Numerous female cricketers will step forward, including those who have previously quit the sport for one reason or another, and will get the chance they deserve to flourish, excel, and advance on the global stage.

By doing all of it, we might create a valuable environment for women's cricket, and perhaps attract top players and win more matches in the future.

What are your views on WIPL? Let me know in the comments 👇

LinkedIn for Creators LinkedIn News

#india #womencricket #ipl2023 #media #sports #women

Did you try something new recently that didn’t go well or you simply don’t know?

#lipostingchallengeindia

If you find it difficult to secure a lucrative job in private markets, it’s not the end of the world. There are options available beyond private firms that offer good workplaces. Here are some government job roles a CA can consider:

1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Grade B Exam
  - Job Role: Grade B Officers at RBI are responsible for regulating and supervising the financial system, managing government accounts, issuing currency, and ensuring economic stability
  - Preparation Time: 6-12 months
  - Focus Areas: Economics, Finance, Management, English, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning.
  - Annual Package: Around INR 15-20 lakhs

2. SEBI Grade A Exam
  - Job Role: SEBI Grade A Officers (Assistant Managers) regulate and supervise the securities market, ensure investor protection, and enforce securities laws
  - Preparation Time: 6-10 months
  - Focus Areas: Securities market, Finance, Economics, Accountancy, Legal, General Awareness, English, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning.
  - Annual Package: Around INR 13-14 lakhs

3. IRDAI Assistant Manager Exam
  - Job Role: Assistant Managers at the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) regulate and develop the insurance industry, protect policyholders' interests, and ensure the financial soundness of insurance companies
  - Preparation Time: 6-10 months
  - Focus Areas: Insurance sector knowledge, English, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, and General Awareness.
  - Annual Package: Around INR 10 lakhs

4. IBPS SO and SBI SO Exams
  - Job Role: Specialist Officers in public sector banks manage roles related to their expertise, such as credit, risk, IT, marketing, and finance, ensuring efficient banking operations and customer service
  - Preparation Time: 4-6 months
  - Focus Areas: Professional knowledge in the respective field, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning, English, and General Awareness
  - Annual Package:
    - IBPS SO: Around INR 10-12lakhs
    - SBI SO: Around INR 10-13 lakhs

5. International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Consultant Grade 1 (Finance and Accounts)
  - Job Role: Consultants at IFSCA handle financial and accounting functions, ensure compliance with financial regulations, and provide financial analysis and support
  - Qualification: Chartered Accountants with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce
  - Annual Package: Around INR 12-15 lakhs, depending on specific contract terms

One can also check exams from LIC such as LIC AAO, ADO. Public sector banks also have vacancies for financial analysts at various grades from time to time.

In addition to the package mentioned above, these government jobs offer additional benefits such as rent allowance, grocery allowance, house help allowance, and driver allowance. While these benefits may vary across different government bodies, overall, you may end up saving more as expenses are minimized.

Thanks to Shri Hari for sharing the insights.

#jobs #RBI #SEBI