*update*: Mohit Khullar is currently the Lead, Market Research - North America for TD Bank Financial Group, Strategic Sourcing Group.
Mohit Khullar is currently an Analyst of Strategic Outsourcing for TD Bank Financial Group.
“My job involves analyzing and reporting on the performance of outsourced programs and key operating metrics for internal use. Then I interpret results, present findings and recommend alternative solutions to decision makers. I develop forecast/analytic models for outsourcing and costs and help improve forecasting accuracy by improving assumptions and methodologies. I also assist in research by studying statistical data and predicting future trends,” says Mohit, who adds that interpersonal, analytical, multitasking, and time management skills are paramount.
“Talk to your professors — there is logic to their madness. I have received better counseling from my professors than from counselors and I have to thank them for where I am today.”
Mohit says it is important to be confident in yourself when being interviewed for a job.
“That’s the only thing that is going to be different between you and the other people. University degrees are very common nowadays and believe it or not there are plenty of people with the same qualifications and ability, but many don’t have the confidence and that’s what you need to get the job,” he says.
“Why do I think I was hired? I asked my manager this same question because I was shocked that they hired me. Her response was that they called 12 people for an interview and short-listed seven for the second interview, which was a three-hour analytical computer test. She said, ‘All of you had the degree requirements, the test scores were pretty similar, and you all knew what you were talking about, but you had the upper hand because of your personality and confidence.’”
Mohit says he got one interview for every 50 resumes that he sent out, so it is important not to get discouraged.
“Customize your cover letters and resumes to meet the need of individual job postings. If you have something in your resume or cover letter make sure you can back it up. One of my professors told me, ‘Don't market your degree, market what your degree has taught you.’ Economics is a broad area of study, from policy, stats, to finance it has endless applications, so writing ‘BA in Economics’ on a resume does not say much about your areas of interest within economics. Be specific,” he says.
“I was asked to answer questions like: What are you capable of doing? What do you enjoy doing? Why do you think you can do it better than the other thousand students that have just graduated with a similar degree? Why do you want to do it? Find out what your short term and long term goals are.”
If he could do anything differently, Mohit says he would have tried to find out what is relevant for the courses he had to take in his third and fourth years.
“I would have liked to talk to professors teaching higher level courses because they know what their curriculum requires. Higher level courses, which I enjoyed, required a significant level of mathematics, but I was not allowed to take a lot of the math courses I wanted to take because I did not meet the first year math requirement. I did not have the time to take another full level first year math course in my third year so I had to try to understand some of the mathematical concepts applied in economics,” he says.
“Talk to a counselor before choosing your courses in first year. I should have taken advice from professionals over the advice of my friends when it came to education. It’s good to have friends who give advice but its better to get professional advice, especially when it’s free. Expect unexpected delays and disappointments but never surrender to them. Be optimistic but not too optimistic."