Vishal's Jobaaj Learnings Review: From Layoff to Valuations Analyst at Knowcraft Analytics

"Due to a joint venture collapsing because of the economic downturn, about 800 candidates, including myself, were let go. The company didn't even send us an official letter." — Vishal

Vishal is a B.Com graduate and ACCA candidate who was placed at State Street through his college in 2023 — and then let go, along with roughly 800 other people, when a joint venture collapsed. He joined Jobaaj Learnings' Investment Banking Program in June, completed the course and an internship, and is now a Valuations Analyst at Knowcraft Analytics in Noida.

If you are searching “is Jobaaj Learnings genuine”, “is Jobaaj real or fake” or “how do I recover from a layoff”, Vishal's account is the one to read after a job loss. He is precise about what happened, what he did next, and what he was actually asked in his interviews. He also names the one practical skill his coordinator taught him that he had never encountered before: how to cold email HR. Read it alongside the other conversations in our Interview Series and the wider feedback on the reviews page.

Who Is Vishal? B.Com, ACCA, and a Mass Layoff

Vishal — a nickname his family and friends use — is a B.Com graduate who was pursuing ACCA alongside. At the time of recording he had cleared 11 papers, with one result awaited and one paper remaining.

He was placed at State Street through his college in 2023. Then:

"Due to a joint venture collapsing because of the economic downturn, about 800 candidates, including myself, were let go. The company didn't even send us an official letter."

That last clause is worth sitting with. Not a performance issue, not a probation failure — a structural collapse that took 800 people out, handled so poorly that the paperwork never arrived. If something similar has happened to you, this is an account of what came next.

What He Did After the Layoff

1. Started ACCA. He used the period to build a qualification rather than only applying.
2. Took about a year before he came across Jobaaj Learnings.
3. Researched properly — see below.
4. Enrolled in June, completed the investment banking course and the internship.

His summary of the effect: the programme “really helped enhance my knowledge, particularly in Excel and valuations, which proved invaluable during my interviews.”

How He Checked the Programme Before Paying

Vishal's due diligence is the most thorough described in this series, and worth copying regardless of which course you are considering:

"I discovered Jobaaj through Instagram and their YouTube channel. I was impressed by their placement podcasts, so I reached out directly, attended their orientation, and got feedback from others who had worked with Jobaaj. The positive reviews helped me make the decision to join."

Four steps: watch the public content, contact them directly, attend the orientation, and — the step most people skip — talk to former students independently. A page like this one is a starting point for that research, not a substitute for it.

Is ACCA Enough for a Finance Career? His Honest Answer

Vishal gives the clearest explanation of ACCA in this series, and notably he does not oversell it:

• What it covers: UK-oriented IFRS, accounting, reporting, taxation and audit.
• Where it's recognised: over 180 countries, and especially valued in the UK, Dubai and the Gulf, Singapore and Malaysia.
• The finance content: two papers — FM at skill level and AFM at advanced level.
• The limitation, in his words: “While it's not directly related to corporate finance... ACCA helps improve skills that can help you land jobs in the reporting and audit areas, and with additional training, you can transition into finance roles like I did.”

He also mentions the social cost: “During my ACCA journey, many people questioned my decision, asking why I wasn't pursuing an MBA or MCOM.”

The Skill His Coordinator Taught Him: Cold Emailing HR

Of everything in the placement process, Vishal singles out one thing:

"She gave me valuable advice on how to professionally approach HR through cold emails, something I wasn't initially familiar with."

He describes the coordinator as professional and says she guided him from the beginning through to the offer letter. But the specific transferable skill is the cold email — a channel that nobody teaches at school or college, and that a candidate recovering from a layoff needs more than most.

The Role: Valuations Analyst at Knowcraft Analytics

Vishal works at Knowcraft Analytics in Noida. His own description of the firm:

• Services: advisory across accounting, taxation, valuation and M&A
• Also runs a small investment bank serving US and Canada-based clients
• His assessment: a well-reputed firm in the north, and a good place to start as a fresher in valuation with long-term growth potential

Interview process: an HR round followed by two technical rounds with the firm's VP.

Cross-reference worth noting: Vasu Bansal, another candidate in this Interview Series, was also hired at Knowcraft Analytics as a Valuation Analyst after the same programme. Two independently recorded conversations pointing at the same employer and role is a stronger signal than either on its own — and also a reminder that a placement pipeline concentrates around particular firms.

What He Was Actually Asked — and How to Prepare

Vishal gives specific advice grounded in his own interview:

"For those looking to get into valuation roles, they need to be clear on the basics of valuation methods, such as DCF and comparables. It's crucial to understand concepts like the cost of capital and cost of equity. Additionally, qualitative factors, such as how to select comparables for a company, are vital to grasp. In my interview, I was asked these questions, and having clear answers made all the difference."

Note the last item. Anyone can define a comparable multiple; being able to justify which companies you chose as comparables and why is the qualitative judgement the technical rounds were probing.

Pros and Cons, Based on Vishal's Account

What worked:

• Excel and valuation training that mapped directly onto his interview questions
• An internship with mentoring he singles out for thanks — specifically the patience in correcting his mistakes
• A placement coordinator who ran the process through to the offer letter
• Cold email technique he had never been taught
• A valuation seat at a reputed firm within roughly a year of a mass layoff

What his account shows honestly:

• ACCA alone wasn't enough. He says so directly — it needed additional training to convert into a finance role.
• It took about a year after the layoff before he even found the programme.
• He is a fresher in valuation, starting at a mid-sized firm rather than a bulge-bracket bank — which he presents as the sensible route, not a compromise.
• No salary is disclosed and no rating was asked for.
• He still had ACCA papers outstanding at the time of recording.

Valuation Analyst Interview Questions and Model Answers

Why ACCA after a B.Com, and how has it helped?

Model answer: To get a proper grounding in international accounting standards and financial reporting. The IFRS and financial management content gives a global perspective that a domestic commerce degree does not. It is not corporate finance training — but it builds the analytical base that made converting into a finance role possible with additional practical training.

What did your internship involve, and how did it prepare you?

Model answer: Financial models, research reports and valuation analyses on real projects and real financial data. Working with actual figures rather than teaching examples is what turned a theoretical understanding of DCF and comparables into something I could defend under questioning.

Explain DCF and comparables, and how you'd apply them.

Model answer: DCF estimates value from expected future cash flows, discounted back to present value. Comparables value a company against what the market pays for similar businesses. In practice you would analyse the financials, project the cash flows, and select a comparable set — and the part that matters most is being explicit about the assumptions and risks in both, because the answer is only as good as those.

How do you approach financial modelling, and which Excel functions matter?

Model answer: Structure first — historical data, assumptions and business drivers kept clearly separate, so anyone can see what is input and what is calculated. SUMIF, INDEX-MATCH and VLOOKUP for the data work, pivot tables and scenario analysis for the analysis, and data validation and conditional formatting so the model is hard to misuse and easy to read.

How do you handle errors in a model?

Model answer: Check the data sources and assumptions first, since most discrepancies originate there rather than in the formulas. Then break the model into components to isolate where the number goes wrong and cross-check the calculations. If it still will not resolve, ask — a second pair of eyes finds in minutes what you can miss for hours.

What skills matter most for a valuation analyst?

Model answer: Financial modelling, accounting fundamentals and Excel proficiency as the technical base. Then attention to detail and analytical judgement — valuation is a series of defensible choices, not a calculation. And communication, because the output has to be explained to a client or a senior reviewer who will challenge it.

Vishal's Advice

• Have a clear goal. His central message: “Without a goal, you can't achieve anything in life. Set a clear path and focus on building a strong foundation.”
• Get the valuation basics genuinely solid — DCF, comparables, cost of capital, cost of equity. He was asked these directly.
• Understand the qualitative side too. How you select comparables is a judgement question, and it comes up.
• Practical skills are not optional. Strong Excel plus communication and problem-solving, demonstrated in the interview rather than claimed on the CV.
• Research a course by talking to its former students, not only by reading its own material.
• Ignore the people questioning your route. He was repeatedly asked why he was not doing an MBA or M.Com.

Full Podcast Transcript

The complete conversation, unedited.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Jobaaj Learnings genuine, or is it fake?

This page documents one recorded case: Vishal, a B.Com graduate and ACCA candidate laid off from State Street along with around 800 others, who took the Investment Banking Program and became a Valuations Analyst at Knowcraft Analytics in Noida. Both employers, the role, the city and the interview structure are named on camera. No salary is disclosed. See the wider review set on the reviews page.

Is ACCA enough to get a corporate finance job?

Vishal's answer is no, on its own. ACCA covers IFRS, accounting, reporting, taxation and audit — strong for reporting and audit roles — with only two financial management papers. He says it took additional practical training to transition into finance.

How do you recover from a layoff?

Vishal's route: use the time to build a qualification, research training options properly — including talking to former students — then close the specific practical gaps, in his case Excel and valuation. It took about a year before he even found the programme.

What was the Knowcraft Analytics interview like?

An HR round followed by two technical rounds with the firm's VP. The technical questions covered DCF, comparables, cost of capital and cost of equity, and how comparables are selected.

What is cold emailing HR, and does it work?

Approaching a company's HR directly by email rather than only applying through portals. Vishal says he was not familiar with it before his placement coordinator taught him how to do it professionally, and he names it as one of the most valuable things he learned.

Should you start at a smaller firm or hold out for a big bank?

Vishal started at a mid-sized advisory firm and presents that as the sensible route — hands-on valuation experience as a fresher, at a reputed firm, with growth potential, rather than waiting for a name-brand employer.