CAT: Gear up for surprises Search: The WebRediff HOME NEWS BUSINESS GET AHEAD CRICKET MOVIES SPORTS SHOPPING MATCHMAKER MOBILE RINGTONES BLOGS JOBS | CARSCareersInformation You Can UseLivingLeisureMoneyNewslettersWhat's this?Home > Get Ahead > Careers > Cracking CATGet Rediff headlines inyour inbox !Your daily predictions: CAT: Gear up for surprisesManish Malhotra | November 02, 2005It's been five years since I took CAT. Thinking about it brings back vivid memories of how I burnt the proverbial midnight oil. Based on my experience, here are some tips for CAT aspirants. A manager is known by the decisions he takes I have always maintained that cracking CAT is more about decision making, which is a crucial part of any manager's job. Whether it is about efficient utilisation of the resources under your control, or making sales pitches, or deciding the next big strategic leap for your organisation, it all comes down to effective and accurate decision making. That is why I think it is this aspect of your personality that CAT tests to the maximum. Surprise, the essence of CAT The organisers of CAT have an uncanny knack of springing a surprise every year. Either the pattern of the paper is changed, or the number of questions in a particular area are changed, or maybe a completely new structure of questions is introduced. This ensures that, more than anything else, it is good decision making that will help you to sail through. Some people have the tendency to create a pre-planned strategy for tackling the exam, and following the strategy even if the pattern of the paper changes drastically. Article Tools Email this articleTop emailed linksPrint this articleContact the editorsDiscuss this articleToday in Getahead Looking for books on • Career • Fiction• Travel • Self-help• Food & Cookinghttp://in.rediff.com/getahead/2005/n ov/02cat.htm (1 of 3)11/16/2005 6:16:05 PM Aquarius
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OME NEWS BUSINESS GET AHEAD CRICKET MOVIES SPORTS SHOPPING MATCHMAKER MOBILE RINGTONES BLOGS JOBS
areers Information You Can Use Living Leisure Money Newsletters What's this?
ome > Get Ahead > Careers > Cracking CAT
Get Rediff headlines in
your inbox ! Your dailypredictions:
CAT: Gear up for surprises
anish Malhotra | November 02, 2005
's been five years since I took CAT. Thinking about it brings back
vid memories of how I burnt the proverbial midnight oil. Based ony experience, here are some tips for CAT aspirants.
A manager is known by the decisionshe takes
I have always maintained thatcracking CAT is more about decisionmaking, which is a crucial part of any
manager's job.
Whether it is about efficient utilisation of the resources under yourontrol, or making sales pitches, or deciding the next big strategicap for your organisation, it all comes down to effective and accurateecision making.
hat is why I think it is this aspect of your personality that CAT testso the maximum.
urprise, the essence of CAT
he organisers of CAT have an uncanny knack of springing a surprisevery year. Either the pattern of the paper is changed, or the numberf questions in a particular area are changed, or maybe a completelyew structure of questions is introduced.
his ensures that, more than anything else, it is good decision makingat will help you to sail through. Some people have the tendency to
reate a pre-planned strategy for tackling the exam, and following therategy even if the pattern of the paper changes drastically.
Article Tools
Email this article
Top emailed links
Print this article
Contact the editors
Discuss this article
Today in Getahead
Looking for books
• Career
• Fiction
• Travel
• Self-help
• Food & Cooking
ttp://in.rediff.com/getahead/2005/nov/02cat.htm (1 of 3)11/16/2005 6:16:05 PM
eing rigid can, at times, be fraught with risk. It is important to beexible in your decision making and to take into account theossibility of changed circumstances. I have seen people break intoears in the examination hall because they could not find theuestions they were expecting!
hoose the right questions
won't be wrong to say the results in CAT are more a matter of
hoice rather than chance. There are a lot of questions that are meanto be speed-breakers. You end up spending more time reading and
nalysing these questions and this proves detrimental to your rhythmnd momentum.
on't forget, the marks you get are not for the amount of timeou spend reading and analysing a question; it is for answering themorrectly.
he art of decision making lies in identifying such questions andaving them alone; there is no way you are going to answer alle questions in the paper.
o, identify your weaknesses and play on your strengths.
ime allocation is crucial, so prioritise
nother important decision one has to make is about the time one willlocate to different kinds of questions. Broadly, there are four kinds ofuestions that are presented: Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension,ata Interpretation and Quantitative Aptitude.
is important to decide the percentage of time of the allotted twoours that each of these should get. If you allot more time, the all
mportant 'rhythm' will get disturbed.
have deliberately stopped short of saying one should allot time for
ections', as we normally call them in CAT.
his is what I did when I was preparing for CAT and, when I got the
aper, I saw it had three sections while I had been preparing all alongor four!
hankfully, I managed to stay calm and quickly identify whichuestions belonged to which category and maintain my timelocation.
CQs: Another dimension of decision making
he fact that most questions in CAT are MCQs or Multiple Choiceuestions further highlights the importance of decision making. Youre required to decide and choose the correct answer from the four orve options given to you.
gain, what is important is choosing the right option and not the timeat you spend 'solving' the problem at hand.
alculated guesses, for some questions, can prove to be very helpfulhen it comes to scoring quickly. However clichéd it may
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