An Interview with Jaiwanth Narayan Goswami, an Alumnus at VIT Chennai

VIT Chennai is a private institution that offers courses at the UG, PG and doctoral levels. VIT Chennai courses include B.Tech, BBA, B.Com, MCA, MBA, and M.Tech. Vellore Institute of Technology admissions are offered based on the entrance exam scores. VIT Chennai is recognised by UGC and AICTE. Careers360 brings you an exclusive interview with Jaiwanth Narayan Goswami, an alumnus at VIT Chennai. In this interview, Jaiwwanth talks about the alumnus associations and their contribution for progress and development of VIT Chennai.

Careers360: Please give us an introduction of yourself, and what is your current job title and industry?

Jaiwanth: I am Jaiwanth Narayan Goswami, and I work as a Marketing and Sales operations specialist at a company called Recruiterflow in the B2B SaaS industry.

Careers360: What factors influenced your decision to choose VIT Chennai as your alma mater?
Jaiwanth: The infrastructure, the unique programme, and the extracurricular activities that VIT was known for.

Careers360: Rate the relevance of the course you took to your current position.
Jaiwanth: I would rate it a 6/10.

Careers360: What skills or knowledge gained during your time at the institution have been most helpful in your career?
Jaiwanth: This would be the analytics aspect of the course. Data Analysis is an important skill to have in today's world.

Careers360: Do you feel your alma mater has adequately prepared you for your current career?
Jaiwanth: Yes, the experience that I earned through being the founding member of The Designers Club VITC and managing some 300 odd people in my third year helped me a lot in my career concerning people skills.
Additionally, most of the courses offered by VITC were also great. I believe a few courses that were on science could have been avoided.

Careers360: While being a student, did you attend any alumni events, and were these helpful?
Jaiwanth: There were a few, but the placement support for BBA or similar courses must be improved.

Careers360: In what ways are you contributing to the progress and development of VIT Chennai as an alumnus?
Jaiwanth: The current company, or my previous company, wanted to hire other students from VIT after I was hired, as they wanted people similar to me.
Additionally, I believe that my fast progress in my career from starting as an Intern two years ago to now working closely with the CEO, CMO, and Director of Sales in my current company to design and implement various projects and processes directly reflects their interest in hiring people similar to me.
And quite recently, I reached out to my department’s past HOD, Sujatha ma’am, to inform her about an opportunity, as I was given the task of hiring a few interns for a paid internship and eventually a PPO here at my current company.

Careers360: How do VIT Chennai alumni keep in contact, exchange insights, and work together on projects?
Jaiwanth: I am still in contact with a few people from college. My college classmate and I recently tried a start-up idea together with the help of VIT and submitted it to Y Combinator. Even though we did not get selected, I am sure we will keep trying. Parallelly, with a senior in VIT, we are also looking at a start-up idea and are in the early stages of planning.

Careers360: How do the alumni support current students at VIT Chennai? Are you involved in these activities? If yes, please give details.
Jaiwanth: Not directly, but as I have mentioned in question number 7, I am trying to help the current students when given a chance.

Careers360: As a professional, how would you advise a student to plan a career considering the changing trends in any industry?

Jaiwanth: I would suggest that a great way to get started is to join a well-funded start-up as an intern while you are in your final year of college. If the company likes your performance, they will take you in for a full-time role.
Be ready to fail at things, but keep learning and do not be afraid to take up new things; you’ll excel. In the internship, try to find what it is that you like and move into that role.

Careers360: Any advice that you would like to give students who are thinking of joining VIT Chennai for their further studies?
Jaiwanth: VIT is a great place to learn. The professors are great, the classrooms are well equipped, and the campus is beautiful. Get out of your comfort zone, meet with a lot of new people, join a club, and try to implement things that you learn in your classrooms in real life through the Clubs, and most importantly, VIT is a fun place to learn!

Disclaimer: This article has been published by Careers360 as a marketing initiative with Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai.