Pune-raised Vaishnavi Biyani has secured AIR 1 in the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) company secretary professional programme in the new syllabus pattern. While talking to FPJ she said, “I felt euphoric upon seeing the result.
The moment I saw my parents, their beaming smile made my day and I felt nothing but full of pride and a sense of achievement. I did nothing different from the rest of the other candidates but what got me to the top and separated me from the rest were a few factors that I carried throughout my journey. The excited topper disclosed her trade secrets to FPJ.
“My tips include concentrating on one's goal, motivating oneself every single time by reminding one of her or his goal and being consistent and dedicated towards it. These factors should also be considered by each aspirant in their prep journey.”
Born in Majalgaon, a town located in Beed district, her routine generally consisted of articleship which is mandatory during the CS pursuit. “My study time consumed around 10-12 hours in a day, and a few hours in the office, the remaining time was spent in relaxing and recovering”, she added. Sticking to limited resources and taking down self notes has been a crucial factor in her pursuit to the top, says Vaishnavi.
When asked about the necessity of coaching classes, “This is a subjective decision and I opted for coaching classes as it widened my horizon and helped me achieve concision during the process. I joined coaching for 7 out of 9 subjects. These nine subjects are divided into three groups, consisting of three subjects in each group.
When asked about support from her family, she said that they were the first to advise her to attempt all the groups in one go. “They told me to look at the bigger picture. Agreeing to that I began everything in December 2020. One needs to clear all the three groups together to achieve a rank. Throughout that entire phase, I also went through highs and lows but managed to be disciplined. Whenever I felt discouraged or anxious, I watched movies for recreation, before getting back to work again.”
On asking about her future, she was quick to respond, “A proper corporate job in a large company has always been my dream. Now to achieve that milestone, if I still need to work on something more, I am ready for the next challenge.”
