I quit my job to prepare for CAT'07. Mid 80%iles. Decided to take up a job after 6 months and continued my preparations. Season'08 was much better. The major problems I faced was:
1.) Convincing a prospective employer that I left for a reason and I won't leave again next year
4.) Convincing the Bschool interview panel that my decision was well thought of
2.) Convincing my family that I will not commit the same mistake of leaving my job again
3.) Convincing myself that it was all worth it.
For me, leaving the job was in some ways avoidable. But when I look back at it it was a major turning point for me. Having faced failure, the drive to succeed increased.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to how badly do you want it. It also comes down to the quality of sugarcoating that you have around your answers to questions from the panel.
I guess taking up part time work in a startup would be the best thing that you can do while preparing for the exams. You get tremendous learning, you can answer questions nicely and you also get loads of time to prepare.
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