Cracking the TAS Code (for a Non MBA): The GD Round: As an engineer/developer at TCS we are not exposed to jargon

from other industries. We do not know about sales concepts like channel, distributor, dealer. Even if we know the terms we do not know how they function or how we will need to know then in the TAS GD. What are the problems of a Merger and Acquisition? What is organic or inorganic growth. In essence all these are common sense and much simpler that your work at TCS but you will need to do your home work on this. If you have attended the TAS work shop, you will know that these are very simple management problems that are put in front of you. You have to discuss and resolve the problem. You could be the chairman or you could a member of the group. (Find out exactly how it will be conducted, demos of this are given in the TAS workshop) What I did: I made a list of industries and functions and general management problems that I needed to gain A Little knowledge of. A Little Because you cant start reading a book about everything at this stage. But you know enough to talk and propose solutions. My list looked like this: Mergers & Acquisitions, Organic and Inorganic Growth, Attrition, what it is and how it can be prevented, Sales its problems how can sales be increased, what trends exist in different industries, Marketing, Strategy, Finance, Budget, Cars, organizational conflicts, how they are resolved, competition, How are people conflicts resolved in a company, how can people be managed best( read HR related problems) and many many more . I am assuming you are not an MBA and have not had class room interactions on these topics so you must do this. Actually even if you have an MBA you must do this exercise, youll be quicker cause you would have everything in your Cache Memory. Once you have this list, make your notes on all, from where? The TCS library at Gurgaon was kind enough to lend me as many books as I wanted. There is a Management Section in every Library, I scanned through a few pages of every book, understood concepts, problems, noted examples. Its a time taking process, so I also engaged in phone calls with friends and relatives who are in different industries, when they spoke to me about their work, they spoke in their jargon and I observed. This round is not easy: 3 out of 9 make it. And there will be applicants from TCS or other companies who already have done their MBA and they have spoken this language for 2 years. You better be good at what you are doing there and hence so much effort! Now that you are prepared and your content is in your cache memory. Lets look at the softer aspects: 1. Look mature, dont behave like a lunatic. This means you sit up straight and confident and speak strongly, very very gracefully and only when you and a great point. 2. Work on your voice. When you speak others should stop talking, doesnt mean you should yell but a slight high tone with a deep voice only in the first word can help esp if you have a soft voice. As soon as you have their attention sit back and say the rest of your sentence calmly. You dont want to be labeled aggressive. you def wont be in then

3. Everyone likes it in the GD if you give them a chance to speak and appreciate what they are saying, my tip is dont always say good point you can do the same while he is speaking by looking at him and nodding while he is speaking this makes the discussion less noisy at the same time this makes them feel that they are being listened to by you so they want to look at you and speak, you are making them feel confident, you help them speak. Combine this with your own extremely valid points and solutions and you have a great discussion in front of you and you are the true leader of the pack. You can never be a leader if all you want to do is speak all the time. 4. Dress the Part: Men, please get rid of that flashy watch, that gelled haircut, sober & smart is the dress code: I recommend for Men: A Solid Black Suit (Not a pin stripe black, Light Grey is not powerful enough, Blue is a no), You can try dark grey with a blue shirt but I wont recommend it. I say go with a Solid Black Suit, Blue shirt, No cufflinks, very simple watch, no spikey hairstyle, no facial hair, black socks, black shoes, behave like a cultured smart and sober man. For Women: A lot of us look immature, we lack height and dont have enough grey hair, and most women at TCS dont even look very geeky as the fashion quotient at TCS is pretty high. Now for this GD: you need the men in the group to behave very maturely with you, you are the Chairman, arent you? You need sophistication you need grace. Sit up tight, so you dont look insignificant on a table filled with men (there are no more than 3 girls in a group of 9, sometimes only 1. Wear, I will again say go with a Solid Black suit with a blue or white shirt, Black and white is a striking combination and a white shirt adds light to the face. If you have short hair or a fringe please tie it into a nice French plat, it adds maturity to the face. Whatever you do, you cant look shabby, open hair is a no. Black comb of not play with your hair in the interview. A very simple and formal Sari is also a great tool to look mature. Minimum Pearl Jewelry/ Earrings. Please wear very light make-up it also adds grace and maturity to a woman. 5. Please greet your panelist as you walk in and say thank you in the end. Dont just walk in all scared and grab your chair. Please greet them well. 6. In every GD give out minimum 3 good points, if you dont speak in one out of 10, you are not making it, speak in all, but no need to speak too much, give out 3 to 5 good points. 7. Make sure you arrive at a conclusion if you cant then say, It has been a very productive/fruitful discussion and the next meeting will be held on the 7th of June, meanwhile x department should do this etc etc but close you GD well. 8. While you conclude mention things that people have said, memorize their names and use the names, X gave the idea of. And we also agree on Ys solution. 9. Practice these opening and closing lines of yours. How you will greet when you are the Chairman, how will you tell them to discuss over the topic and come out of the solution. 10. THE MAKE IT OR BREAK IT TIP: Steer the GD right: In my GD people had digressed and started discussing a relevant topic but not important for the solution of the problem given. I quickly realized this and brought them back on the topic by saying We have discussed the benefits but how about the budget, because in the coming meeting that is what we have to present to the board, this worked very well for me. So know how to get output from people. Obviously you can only do this if you are 100% present in the GD. 11. This is huge problem. Many people find it difficult to have such a long attention span. Its a long long GD and you need to be wide awake. At the risk of sounding spiritual - Practice chanting OM in the morning, it has the vibrations of the entire universe and can help you increase your focus to a large extent You will need it for this GD.