Given below is an excerpt of the interview:
Q. When and how you started as a GMAT Trainer?
Ans. I started teaching GMAT on part-time basis since 2003, while I was in USA working for Honeywell International in Phoenix, Arizona. Initially, I began to teach SAT and GRE subsequently after taking GMAT and scoring 710 ( first time) I started teaching GMAT in India, I have started teaching GMAT since 2006 on a full-time basis -- initially as a Freelancer and in 2007, I formed a company by the name Csquare Learnings and operating under the same banner since then. Since 2006, I have trained more than 3,500 students that include in-class sessions, personal home tutoring and online students.
I have trained students with varied profiles, backgrounds and experiences. My students include likes of Neeraj Kakkar, Wharton Business School Graduate & Founder of Paper Boat to Sangeetha Lal, Ex-Vice President of Team Lease India in Bangalore to Shree Shankar Linga Gowda, Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Bangalore.
I have trained not only Indian students but many foreign students including students Deutsche Bank Manager in Maryland, MA, USA.
Q. What skills are required to become an excellent GMAT Trainer?
Ans. To become an excellent GMAT trainer, you need to know the Exam very well! One has to get under the nerve of GMAT exam; GMAT is not just about Math and English. GMAT is more about being smart and acing the ability to identify quickly which questions to do and which ones to SKIP. You just can’t stuck any where -- got to learn to move on - just like in real life.
Secondly as GMAT Trainer, one need to have extreme patience and perseverance as most of the times you are dealing with highly accomplished and responsible professionals -- normally with 5 -- 8 years experience. Teaching professionals is totally different from young college students, as professionals can be highly demanding! You need to expert to tackle them.
Finally, most of these students are married, may be have kids and whole bunch of other issues they will be dealing with. So trainers must have greater level understanding and must be able to empathize with them, yet help them plan out the things so as to get the desired result.
Q. What do you think makes you stand out from other GMAT Trainers on UrbanPro?
Ans. Well I would say, I know this EXAM like no one else. It is not that I claim myself to be Math Expert or English Expert. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t promise to make the student either Math Expert or English Expert - but I promise that student will become GMAT expert. More than a decade, I have been teaching exclusively GMAT. I not only understand the moves of the GMAT exam very well, but I know how students react to the questions. GMAT is more of psychology test then the test of Math and English. You need to know what GMAT is trying to do when it throws questions at you and quickly make a decision to do or not to do -- that’s what exactly I teach. NO LESS. NO MORE -- Just Clear and Concise.
Q. How you came across UrbanPro?
Ans. I guess through Facebook ad.
Q. What was the turning point in your career?
Ans. Turing point in my career is training Mr. Hari Marar (current President of Bangalore international Airport and Jet Airways Airport Manager then) and Mr. Srinivas Tirupati, (Assistant Commandant of Police -- CISF, Bangalore International Airport); I used to teach them in Airport Lounge in 2006. Impressed by my training, they advised me to quit my full-time job in a Multinational Software firm and start GMAT Training as full-fledged business. They were not only my students but incidentally my mentors too. They literally influenced me to change my career path and I credit all my success to them.
Q. How UrbanPro platform helped you to expand your GMAT Training classes?
Ans. UrbanPro is by far the most authentic website created to connect students and trainers directly -- not just within the city but across the country. It helped me contact the students directly and assisted prospective students to have a better understanding of what we do and how we do the GMAT Prep.
And being on the top position, gave me an excellent visibility and reach across.
Q. What percentage of your work comes from UrbanPro?
Ans. More than 50% of my work comes from UrbanPro now!! In fact, the number of students that I train on monthly basis have increased by more than 50% in last few months.
Q. One piece of advice you would like to give new Pros on UrbanPro?
Ans. Be active, and be genuine -- business will follow!
About the Trainer: Kalyan Chamarthi, is a GMAT Specialist who had assisted more than 2,500 professionals to crack the GMAT Exam successfully. Kalyan had designed, developed, and successfully implemented an amazing GMAT training program using WebEx technology. He is well-known for his to-the-point teaching methods, sharing shortcut tips to GMAT test takers and helping professionals prepare in the GMAT question formats. Kalyan is passionate about teaching and helped students get into top B-schools in the world including Wharton, Oxford, NUS, AIM and more. He completed his M.E or M.Tech from Arizona State University in 2002. He is well-versed in English, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada. Kalyan owns the Csquare Learnings, which specializes in GMAT Coaching.
