Profile: B. Tech. , Final Year, Electronics and Communication, NIT Warangal.
CAT Percentile : 99.34
Warning : It was a true rapid-fire where I was cut after almost every sentence.
There were three panelists, two males and a female. Professor of Economics to my left (Econ), younger professor in front (Prof), Marketing professor to my right (Mark). I was the last to go in.
Econ: So, how was your day Ashish?
Me: <Told> * He starts smiling*.
Mark : How’s your life going?
Me : My life has been good lately. There is nothing to complain as such.
Prof: *Looks at my form* Everything is fine, why 7 cg in college? (Damn)
Me: Sir, it might look very less but only initially the scores were low, then they rose exponentially.
Prof: Yes, but why? (He was in no mood to leave me. He grilled a lot.)
Me: I had never been out of my hometown throughout my life, first two years were not good for me because of homesickness, so I neglected academics. Later I realised my mistake, scores have been rising consistently then.(They were not convinced though)
Econ: Which calls do you have?
Me: K, I and CAP.
Econ: So Kozhikode is your best shot.
Me: Yes, sir.
Prof : What’s your favourite subject in electronics?
Me : It’s 5G signal communication.
Prof: What’s basic difference between Jio and other service provider .
Me : <Answered>
Prof: Why MBA?
Me: <Gave prepared answer>
Now the real game starts.
Mark: So, you were the gensec of your college. Do you think in IIM, we’re going to play politics there.
Me: No Sir, I got this position through………..
Mark : <Interrupts in between> No, you are thinking that you’ll excel there through politics. And I see main reason for your academics being this.
Me : No Sir, you can look at my gradesheet. I wasn’t involved in an extra curricular activities till second year. My focus on acads and extra curricular started parallely after second year.
Econ : <Again interrupted> With two years of complete rigorous course of PGP, do you think you can afford to do mistakes and then learn in second year?
Me: No Sir, I’ve learnt from my past mistakes.
Econ : <Interrupts> No, you haven’t. I am sure you’ll repeat same there.This is an indication that you’ll not do well at Kozhikode
***And it went on for next 10 mins***
Alum: So your base is strong in Mathematics? Shall I ask some statistics and mathematics questions, will you be able to answer?
Me: (I nod) Yes sir, I should be able to.
***By now, I had realised the interview is tanked, there is no coming back. I have to say yes, that I’ll be able to answer***
Econ: *Asked 9-10 back to back questions and asked me to solve on paper. I answered correctly* ?
Mark: As I can see, you have built 4-5 apps but let me tell you one thing all these your gensecs, sports amd apps won’t work there.
Me: *Completely silent*
Mark: So Ashish, let’s solve some guesstimate.
And asked me to guess the population of Madhya Pradesh.
Me: I started solving something on paper and came up with very naive answer.
*There are 29 states in India and around 1.3 billion of population. And I gave some weights to 10 states considering them more populated (As populationis is distributed uneven across every states) And took weighted average and answered.*
He was convinced.
Econ : How did you prepare for interview?
Me : Through online channel…..
Econ : <Didn’t let me complete and interrupted> Ohh so you were not serious for the interview. You thought you could ace this interview through luck just like your cat exam.
Me : No Sir, I’ve planned it in very organised manner and…….
Econ : (Interrupted for nth times) Please don’t talk nonsense.
***At this point I simply wanted to leave. I was like please leave me. But they were in no mood. ***
Mark : So Ashish, speak on “Indian is a brand” till we don’t ask you to stop.
Me: I started and gave many examples like Sachin Tendulkar, APJ Abdul Kalam, Aryabhatta, Ramanujam and spoke up for 2 mins but they were not stopping me. I was about to go blank then Raghuram Rajan popped up in my mind and said Ofcourse India is a brand, how could we forget one who predicted 2008 recession and then they stopped me.
Econ : Tell me about Euler Totient theorem.
Me : Started answering.
Econ: Leave it. We asked this 2 days back too. You’ve asked someone.
***I was like you’ve got to be kidding man. All this while I prepared for interview to come down to this. And then I put a fake smile on my face***
Prof: I think we’re done. Do you have any questions for us?
Me: I pitched for myself. Sir, I’d just like to say one thing. I know my college academics are low and I’ve faced the brunt for that. I’ve had to work extremely hard in the last 2 years to make up for it. I made a mistake once, so I know not to make it again. I’m not going to squander an opportunity again and I’ve learnt that.
Prof : It’s irrelevant. What I gauged about you in last half an hours is that you got a good percentile by luck and then without preparing for interview you came here just to enjoy. And you’re good at only one thing i.e. politics.
Mark: Do you have any questions for us?
Me: Asked about PGP course structure.
Prof: Just google it. Are we done?
Me: Yes thank you sir.
Prof: You’ve smiled so much throughout the interview. Keep this smile always on your face.
I thanked and left.
Verdict: Selected!
IIM K was my best call after my CAT attempt.
Not so sure how the interview was, but still this is what it is.
Location – Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai
28th February
Background
10th 89.5%
12th 93.38%
Graduation 9.21 (BBA Marketing)
CAT score – 97.31%ile
WAT – Are we undermining the cost of mobile phone charges.
Totally weird and absurd topic. After looking at previous WAT topics, I was confident that this one would be an easy bet. However after the WAT was over and I asked the other fellow candidates about the topic, all of them shared different reviews and gave me a bag mixed with all the thoughts. I myself was not sure what was correct and what was not but still will say an average as I did touch upon the majority of the points to reduce the risk of not missing out anything. Will go by rating this as Average.
Personal Interview –
2nd in the panel
Both male lets call them
M1 – Fair and young
M2 – Proper South Indian. It was quite difficult for me to understand him.
I – The innocent me
Before entering, I thought that I will go with a big smile and fully energized. This is my best call. After a good SP Jain round 2, I was pumped up. Let’s make this last interview awesome. you can do it!
Enters
With a G*** P*** smile
M2- You seem to have a lot of energy today.
I – Yes sir, this is my best call and hence I must be energized.
M2 – Tell me something about how I can also have the same enthusiasm.
I – Sir before answering that, may I please know a bit about your schedule. How a normal day in your life looks like, if I may ask for the same?
M2 – I work from 9–5 and after that, I become very exhausted so as to do anything.
I – Sir, you have been continuously working for 8 straight hours and to have the same kind of enthusiasm, the first step you should be doing is to find where your interest lies. For me, while I was involved in the preparation of interviews that were scheduled this month, I used to take small breaks of 1–2 hours in between so as to properly utilize my energy throughout the day. Sometimes I get my hands on the guitar, I regularly played basketball and cricket in the evening and such small breaks didn’t cost my energy rather these activities pumped me you to continue my interview preparation. For you also, I would suggest finding an interest first and pursue it by giving all your heart to it.
M2 – Ok, So you are a business graduate. Tell me about the objectives of the business.
I – Sir,
- Profit maximization
- Wealth maximization
M2- So tell me is Oyo making profits?
I – I think yes sir as Ritesh Agrawal was named the 2nd youngest billionaire of the world.
M2 – You sure?
I – I am not sure sir but I think it is.
M2 – What about Uber?
I – I am sorry sir, I don’t know
M2 – Swiggy?
I – Its making loss sir.
M2 – Then your profit maximization theory fails here
I – Yes sir I agree with you but making a loss is something which is helping Swiggy make its customer base larger thus improving on its goodwill and market value. So, Swiggy is not looking at short term profits but long term valuation.
M2 – What else?
I – The loss-making firms are doing so because of the existence of competition in the market. The recent Zomato buying Uber Eats is something giving a tough fight to Swiggy and hence burning money is necessary to keep up the customers and improve their net worth.
M1 – Suppose there are 4 companies of steel manufacturing, each producing the same type of steel and have the same market share. Tell me how the valuation of these 4 companies will be done? Also, tell me what will drop their valuation?
I – Sir customers…interrupts
M1 – Abe kitna customer customer ( Are how much customer customer)
I – Sorry Sir, I don’t know (fault on my part, could have answered)
M1 – Which continent is yet to experience Corona Virus?
( I don’t know what is the problem with my ears. I heard recently somewhere in between)
I – Sir, Europe.
M1 – Are Abhi hi to udhar case. ( Are a case recently came there) I asked, which one is yet to experience.
I – Sorry Sir, I heard recently somewhere.
M1 – Aree aise kaise ( Are how so?) (Laughs) So which Continent?
I – Sir, Antarctica.
M1 – Ok, Which mode of transportation you took?
I – Sir, Train
M1 – How would you calculate the speed of the train?
I – Sir, I would look into the distance between the 2 platforms and the time taken to calculate the speed.
M1 – No there are no platforms, only poles.
I – Sir, then I would look into the distance between the poles.
M1 – Ok, you know there are small gaps between the railway line, why so?
I – (Falter 2) Sorry sir, I don’t know (got nervous after hearing the question as I never observed such thing. However it was a simple logic)
M1 – What is closer to India? Mauritius or Maldives?
I- Maldives, Sir
M1 – Are you sure?
I – I think so Sir. Yes sir.
M2 – What are your favorite subjects in graduation?
I – Sir, I love marketing which led me to opt for the same specialization in my final year. Also, I love Business Management, Sir.
M1 – Tell me something from Science?
I – (Here my mind was revolving around Business Management and I guess he was expecting some current affair from the science stream) Sir, we studied about F.W. Taylor in our graduation. He was the Father of Scientific Management.
M1 to M2 – Who is he?
M2 to I – Who is he?
I – Sir, during the Industrial Revolution, he put forth a theory of replacing thumb rule i.e. common sense with a scientific experiment. Also, …Interrupts
M1 – Ok, what are you passionate about?
I – Marketing, Sir
M1- Why?
I – ( Irony is my tell me something about yourself came at last. Here I mixed the Business that I did in 11th Standard and put forth my passion towards marketing)
Told the rote answer.
M2 – Ok, we are done
I – Tysm, Sirs
While taking the Exit
I – Sir, should I send the next candidate in?
Both – No, No, it’s ok. Tysm
I – Demotivated smile
The End
Death
Verdict: Straight Reject
Edit 1, Edit2 (on the suggestion)
Grilling might take place when it comes to IIM K. My only advice would be to stay calm throughout the process. The moment you show irritation that might take place due to stressed interviews, they will notice this and this will impact your future performance as well.
Another thing that my friend suggested is that these guys love geography a lot. So, a basic knowledge of a bit of the world geography would be ok I guess. You can also notice how they asked me that Maldives and Mauritius question.
Ultimately, how the interview goes, depends on your personality and skillset. Best wishes 🙂
A campus this great, who would not want to go here!!???
Interview Date: 17-02
Time: 11:30
Profile: General, Non-engineer, Female, Fresher. 89.17/91.8/72.85
CAT: 99.42%ile
Panelists: P1 & P2, both males, middle-aged.
I was admitted into the meeting 10 minutes late, and was already a bit nervous as the timings for my CAP and Kozhikode interviews were clashing. Though CAP was supposed to start by 9:30, my turn came at 11:40 and I received a call from the CAP admissions office just as I was admitted into the Kozhikode meeting. Forgot about CAP for a while as Kozhikode was a better choice for me.
As soon as I entered the meeting, my mind came to ease on seeing the smiling faces of both the panelists. They seemed very welcoming. After exchanging initial greetings, the interview started with P1.
P1: As you’re pursuing B.Com, here are three words, commerce, amerce, and mercenary. What do you think is the meaning of the root word “merce”?
(Had no idea but decided to give a logical answer) Said that I have been studying a subject called mercantile law which discusses the laws of trade and commerce, so the root word seems to be related to ” trade”. My answer wasn’t right though.
P1: Okay (nods). What is the difference between economic profit and accounting profit?
Told the definition and the difference in computation. (Was quite sure about this answer)
P1: Your definition is right but there is a special term that differentiates these both, can you name that?
Talked about implicit costs. The panelist agreed and said that’s the term I was looking for. (This was a great confidence boost)
P1: Defined benefit to cost ratio and then asked that if there are three projects with the benefit to cost ratio of each being: 0.5, 0.75, and 0.9, which one would you choose and why?
Said I’d choose the one with 0.9 ratio as it is the best option available.
P1: Fair enough. What is predatory pricing?
Didn’t know.
P1: What is preemptive pricing?
Didn’t know.
P1: Okay, I’m done. Over to my second panelist.
P2: Why didn’t you do CA, CMA or CFA? Do you plan to take it up in the future?
Explained my reasoning.
P2: Sounds fair. Have you studied statistics in your graduation?
Said yes. (Was devastated here as I was not confident about Statistics at all)
P2: Give me a practical example of standard deviation.
(The sadness switched to happiness on hearing this question because I read a very unique example about this a few days back) Told a small story, the panelist said that he loved the example. (Said to myself: “Great work on going back to your high school textbook that day!”)
P2: Now if there are 2 stocks with different standard deviations, which one would you choose to invest?
Answered that I’d choose the one with lesser SD.
P2: What if the stock with the lower standard deviation also gives lesser returns?
Said I’d still choose the one with the lesser SD because the returns would be consistent.
P2: (nods) What is the coefficient of variation?
Told.
P2: Why is it used?
Told.
P2: Do you know the formula?
Said I can’t recall it at the moment.
P2: That is not a problem at all. Do you follow current affairs?
Yes
P2: Can you tell me the states where elections are going on right now?
Told
P2: Can you tell me the current CM of Uttarakhand?
(Read an article about him just before the interview but forgot the name) Said I can’t recall, the panelist told it’s fine, no worries.
P2: Thank you, it was great interacting with you. All the best!
Said likewise, asked if I could log out and left the meeting on getting the affirmation.
It was a totally chill interview. It never seemed, even for a moment, that the panelists were trying to put me in a difficult or stressful position. I was really happy after it as it was one of my best interviews. I could not only answer most of the questions but also knew that gave some really good answers.
Verdict: Waitlist 52, Converted in 2nd list
Date – 28th Feb
Place – Mumbai, HMATC
Morning Slot. Panel 5. (1st in the panel)
Profile –
CAT – 99.78
Degree – Integrated MSc in Exploration Geophysics (IIT KGP)
X/XII/Grad – 9/8/8
work ex – 2.5 years at ONGC
Similar to my IIM C interview this one also revolved for major part was concentrated around my work ex.
Panel – M1 M2
RJ – Rajat
M1 – Tell me about yourself
RJ – Talked about my extra acads. Interrupts in between.
M1 – Do u still run?
RJ – Plays football for Ahmedabad ONGC and cycles
M1 – Y mba?
RJ – Prepared ans. Looks satisfied
M2 – Whats the point of ONGC. Y not just import oil.?
RJ – Told that ongc is in profit and that it is a PSU. Serves different purpose rather than profit making. Talked more on that line. Panel looks satisfied.
M2 – KGP platform the longest?
RJ – No Gorakhpur UP has the longest now.
M2 – Gives a gusstimate on calculating no of train coaches that can be accommodated in KGP railway platform.
RJ – Calculates. Impressed by my approach.
M2 – U did CFA? Asked few questions on portfolio
RJ – Answered half of them, was glad that I didnt mention CFA in my IIM C interview.
M2 – Difference between Risk and Uncertainty?
RJ – Beating around the bush. Says Risk can be calculated
M1 – Why do u get mining allowance. Who all can get the allowance?
RJ – Answered
M2 – what do u think should be national animal of India
RJ – Discussed that it should be something unique of India and should match the culture and economic approach India has having.
M1 – PM of Canada
RJ – Trudeau.
M1 – CM of kerala, Nagaland
RJ – not good with the names
M1 – Tell CM of few states.
RJ – Tells CM of 5/6 states
M1 – Why did you take theory of relativity in the last sem? What did u learn?
RJ – Just out of curiosity. What I learnt was that its very difficult and not my cup of tea.
Panel smiles
M2 – What all calls do you have.
RJ – K C L
M2 – Thats it. ? Surprised
RJ – Yes
Asks me to leave.
Overall a chill interview, panel did not grill me a lot. Didnt do well in the CFA and static GK part. Overall had a nice feel about it
Verdict – Converted in the first list.
Date: 08/02
Venue: Hotel Monarch Luxur, Bangalore
Profile:
10th – 93.7%
12th- 95.2%
Grad- 8.16 CGPA
CAT Score: 99.23
Work Ex: 17 months
WAT : Our progress will lead us to our extinction
Resume writing:
Q1. Mention a scenario by giving concrete example in which you developed plan to adapt to a new situation.
Q2. Mention a scnerario in which your leadership skills was challenged
PI:
I was the last person to be interviewed in my panel. The interview went on for around 20 minutes. There were two panelists, both seemed chilled out guys.
P1: So you have been waiting for a long time…
Me: Yes sir, quite a long wait.
P2: Let’s start by you telling us about yourself
Me: Sir I basically belong from Lucknow and I am currently working as a decision scientist…
P1: Decision scientist seems to be an interesting title….what do you do exactly?
Me: Sir, in Mu Sigma there is this trend of giving interesting names to rather all the jobs…eg: managers are called Apprentice Leader, people who train new joinees are called Alchemist….
P1: Alchemists …heh…so you are gold now ( both of them laughed)
I also give a faint smile although didn’t find the joke funny
P2: Coming back to what do you do
Me: Told about what decision science is all about….told them about my current project related to computer vision ( they appeared interested in the latter part)
P1: So if you have to explain how a machine sees a picture to a non technical person…how would you do it?
Me: Any image is made up by combining very small single colored squares together in a grid. These small squares are called pixels. Each of these square has it’s unique position in the grid and property like color, intensity etc. A machine would look at this grid like we might view tiles arrange on the floor. It will read one square at a time understand it’s property and do whatever is required
P1: (nodding) Ok Utkarsh so what are your hobbies
Me: Sir I do photography in my spare time…
P2: Through phone or…
Me: No sir I bought a camera from my first salary
P2: Ok, so you have a DSLR…
Me: No sir it’s a bridge camera. If you look at my salary slip you will realize I couldn’t afford a DSLR. (They both exchanged smile, I wanted them to ask difference between Bridge and DSLR but they didn’t)
P1: Ok Utkarsh, so help me understand you just go out and start shooting
Me: No sir, not exactly like that. I try to shoot whenever I can, for eg I recently went to Goa and before that Banaras….
P1: So you travel a lot?
Me: I wouldn’t say I am an avid traveller….but I travel whenever I can. Also, I am more interested in doing composite photography.
P1: What’s that?
Me: Sir, it’s like combining two or more photos to create a new one
P1: Like a collage??
Me: No sir it’s like….I tried taking a photo of sunrise at ganga ghat in Banaras but it came out rather dull because it was cloudy, so I added the beautiful sunrise I took at Goa to it to create an altogether new scenery.
P2: ( All of a sudden) who is the CM of Goa?
Me: ( I forgot his first name) Sir, Parikar I don’t remember the first name.
P2: Tell me something about the on going CBI controversy
Me: Sir the Mamta Bannerjee vs CBI one?
P2: No the other one
Me: ( I didn’t know any other controversy) Sir I am unable to recollect any other…
P2: So you don’t follow news and all..
Me: Sir I scored -0.01 in GK in IIFT so I wouldn’t say GK is my strong suit
(They both smiled by looking at each other)
P1: Achha Utkarsh, in Mu Sigma you do a pretty complicated work, how much does your company charge from your clients?
Me: Sir for the current engagement on which I am working it charges about 1 mn euros annually. For the previous engagement, which was related to sentiment analysis, it charged about 1.5 mn dollars annually….
P1: And yet you mentioned earlier about having a low pay on your payslip. Do you think it’s fair?
Me: Sir if I was an entrepreneur and was running a company like this, I would do the same. That’s how a business works, you try to gain maximum by spending minimum
P1: But still don’t you think it’s less than your industry standards
Me: Explained to them about Mu Sigma’s 3 year bond policy according to which one gets 5 lakhs as joining bonus which he has to return at if he leaves before 3 years. So if one stays 3 years in the company, overall his pay becomes equal to the industry standards
P1: So you have completed 3 years…??
Me: No sir, I have completed only 17 months
P2: Then you will be returning 5 lakhs as well as taking loan for IIM
Me: Sir, then should I assume this call is converted?
( Both of them laughed)
P2: What’s your CAT percentile Utkarsh?
Me: 99.23 sir
P2: So I think you will be having call from Lucknow
Me: Sir even I thought so, but K is my best call
P1: Tumhara address dekh k nhi bulaya hoga..( laughed again)
P2: Ok Utkarsh, we are done I guess….you wait outside for some time we will give you your form.
( They were doing this with every candidate. After the interview, they ask the candidate to wait outside and then give the profile form back)
After some wait P1 came out
P1: We forgot to talk about Lucknow and it’s biryani. You like biryani right…. Veg to nhi ho?
Me: No sir, complete non veg. Infact I am going to have biryani for dinner today.
He smiled and went back inside the room.
Result : Converted. Joining K
Date – 1st February, , 10 a.m.
Profile:
10th – 81.7%
12th – 91.17%
UG – BMS (Finance), 84.17%
Fresher
CAT Percentile – 96.57
2 Panelist, One male (age: 50+) P1; One female (age: 35–40) P2
It was an Online Personal Interview (OPI).
I joined at 9:20 a.m. Got my documents verified. Waited for 30 minutes and then got entry at 10:05 a.m. for the interview.
P1 – Hi Lakshay, Good Morning. How are you?
Me – Hi sir, I am fine. Good morning to you too. How are you?
P1 – I am fine too. So Lakshay please introduce yourself. Tell us about what you are doing currently.
Me – Gave a prepared answer. Also mentioned I love to sing in my free time.
P1 – You love singing? What do you sing?
Me – I love to sing any kind of music.
P1 – You sing music or do you sing songs? (Fucked up in the beginning only)
Me – Songs sir, Sorry. I was actually a part of the music society of SSCBS and I have also learned Classical singing.
P1 – Who is this person in your college name?
Me – (was confused about what he was talking about, so I repeated) Sir, my college is Shaheed Sukhdev College.
P1 – Yes yes, Who is Shaheed Sukhdev?
(Never expected my interview to go in this direction 🙁
Me – Sir, he was a freedom fighter who fought along with Shaheed Bhagat Singh. (Didn’t know much about him)
P1 – Okay, so. And he was hanged?
Me – Yes sir, he was hanged.
P1 – Anybody else was there in that group?
Me – Yes sir, There was another person with them. But I can’t really remember his name now. (Later searched, It was Shaheed Rajguru)
P1 – So along with Bhagat Sing and Sukhdev, there was another person. But you don’t the name.
Me – Yes Sir.
P1 – You did specialization in?
Me – Finance, sir.
P1 – So what do you like in Finance?
Me – Gave prepared answer. Also mentioned a little about stock markets.
P1 – So what have you learned about the stock market.
For the next 5 10 minutes, the discussion went on about the stock market only.
What is NSE; Fundamental vs Technical analysis; Candlestick Charts; Stock Volatility; Standard Deviation; How to make a portfolio; Stop Loss
Entering P2
P2 – How would you select stocks? Make a portfolio for me.
Me – I asked some preliminary questions. Then suggested an approach.
P2 – Okay. Where are you from? Delhi?
Me – Yes mam.
P2 – If I were to travel to Delhi and want to visit historical places, what are the 5 historical places you would suggest me to visit?
Me – (was only able to name 4; post-interview remember 3 more 🙁 )
P2 – So why is Delhi a historic place?
Me – (I honestly didn’t know the answer) I am sorry mam, But I can’t really think of any reason for Delhi to be a historic city.
P2 – Which city in India you would consider a historic city and why?
Me – Mam, I think Punjab would be a historic city.
P2 – Punjab is a city? (Fucked up again)
Me – Sorry mam, State.
P2 – Why is Punjab a historic state?
Me – Told some basic reasons like partition, Shaheed Bhagat Singh death.
P2 – Okay sir. I think we are done. Thank you.
Me – Thank you, sir. Have a nice day.
Overall, I was happy until history came into play.
Verdict – Waiting.
All the best to everyone who will be giving the interview in the coming days.
GEM 99.36 percentile ;
Date: 21.02
Venue: New Kenilworth Hotel, Kolkata
After the initial process of document verification, we were led to our panel rooms where we had our WAT and GD. 15 minutes were provided for writing an essay on “ Should India focus on Smart Cities when 30 crores of its citizens are still without electricity”. After 15 minutes , the sheets were collected by the official and we were asked to discuss on the same topic for another 15 minutes.
For those of us whose document verification was still not over were asked to go back and finish it up and for the rest of us , we were asked to wait outside the panel room. Now I had skipped breakfast that morning for the fear of not reaching the center on time and had been feeling hungry af for quite some time. I realized I have enough time before my turn arrives for PI and decided to go out and have some food. As I was having my snacks at a nearby shop, a middle-aged guy entered the shop and asked for a cigarette. I had seen him sitting among the candidates during document verification and decided to start a conversation.
Me: So, is your interview over? How was it?
Him: I’m sorry. I’m here to take the interviews. Good Luck for your interview BTW.
(Bang! My interview day begins)
I came back to my panel wishing not to face that guy again in the interview.
*waited outside the panel room for 30 minutes. I was called in. There were two guys in the panel.
Me: Good Morning
P1: Good Morning Swagato. Please take your seat.
P2: What other calls do you have?
Me: Sir, apart from IIM K, I have got calls from IIM Indore , Shillong and the new IIMs.
P2: No calls from FMS?
Me: No sir. I was not too hopeful about my performance in CAT and hence did not apply for any other B. school exclusively. I applied only for the IIMs. After the results were declared , the deadline for applying was already over by then.
P2: So why Kozhikode?
Me: Sir, I’ve done my schooling from RKM Purulia and Narendrapur. They are among the best schools in Bengal. I graduated from IIEST Shibpur, the 2nd oldest engineering college in India and among the best universities in the country. After this I want to do an MBA from an IIM which is one of the best in India and Kozhikode fits in it quite perfectly. Also , I seek a good campus which adds to the ambiance of study and I couldn’t ask for any more after seeing the beautiful lush green campus in the valley that Kozhikode has.
( This was totally opposite of what I had planned to say!)
P2: (laughing) Yes, that’s what everybody says.
Me: (Smiling) Facts can not be denied , sir.
P2. What do you do in your leisure hours?
Me: Mentioned them. Also said that I love reading books.
P2: Talk about the last book that you have read.
Me: Sir, currently I’m reading Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Talked about it.
P2: What is your favorite club? ( I had mentioned football among my interests)
Me: Manchester United
P2: Why not Chelsea? How is Manchester United better than Chelsea?
Me: Gave reasons in support of my argument.
** As I stated plainly that I hated Chelsea, his expression changed. I knew I had made a big mistake by saying so.
P2: ( took a paper and a pen) Write on this paper that you hate Manchester United and you love Chelsea.
Me: No sir. I can not do that.
P2: Why? If you write it, I shall keep it with me and will guarantee you a seat in IIM K. I shall communicate with the relevant ministry if required and I promise to get you in. Are you willing to give up on IIM K for the club you admire?
Me: Sir, If I write it then I’ll be lying to myself. And I don’t want to do that. Studying in a prestigious institute like IIM K will be a dream come true for me but I’ve been following this club since 2008 and it is my passion. I can achieve my dream by different means if I’m dedicated enough but if I compromise on my passion I won’t be able to call it as my passion ever again.
**Momentary silence.
P1: Which company do you work in?
Me: Dynamic Digital Technology. It is the R&D division of Polaris Networks.
P1: What is your role there?
Me: Explained it.
P1. What are the components found in the circuit board of a Cellphone?
Me: Told as much as I knew. The answer wasn’t satisfactory .
P1: Name two companies that manufacture the chips of mobile phones.
Me: Qualcomm is the leader in this segment in the market. Samsung can be counted as well.
P2: Give me two names for OS of mobile phones that are not very popular.
Me: ( after some thinking) Samsung had released some products featuring a new OS called “BADA” around the time of transitioning from feature phones to smartphones. They didn’t find many takers and were quickly withdrawn.
P2: Okay. Another one?
Me: Sorry sir. I can not recall any other such OS now.
P2: When Microsoft bought Nokia, couple of employees from Nokia refused to join Microsoft and decided to start their own handset-making company. Name that company.
Me: (Cluelesss) Sorry sir. I do not know the answer to your question.
P1 asked a couple of questions related to my family background and they asked if I had any questions.
Me: When it comes to the Armed Forces, they follow meritocracy in their selection procedure since security of the nation can’t be compromised. But an equally prestigious institution – the IIMs- still follow reservation policy even after all 20 of them have been given autonomy in the latest IIM bill. Does it mean the nation is ready to compromise on quality managers but not on quality defense officers.
P1 and P2 both explained their opinions and the interview was over.
Personally I am not too hopeful of any possible conversion after an interview like this. But knowing about the questions asked might help the fellow readers for having an idea of the interview nonetheless. So here it is.
Thank You. 🙂
Profile:
10th- 95 % | 12th – 97 % | Graduation- 79 % (upto 7th semester)
CAT Percentile: 99.74
GEM Fresher
Venue: IIM K Campus
Date: 26-03–18
Round 1: Written ability test for 15 minutes on the topic “the sole responsibility of companies is to make profits”. I wrote both for and against the topic, about how profitable companies provide employment opportunities to people and also about how companies have to fulfill the social responsibility that they have towards the society.
Round 2: The WAT was followed by a 15 minute GD session which went balanced and had limited interruptions from candidates. Everyone got their chance to speak. I did speak about 5–6 times stressing on topics such as CSR, employment and company growth. Both the WAT and GD were satisfactory.
Round 3: Personal Interview
I was the fifth in a panel of 8 to be called for the interview.
P1 comes out of the room and calls me in.
After I get seated, they ask me for my files.
P1: So you are still in your final year, Sachin?
Me: Yes, Sir. I’m currently pursuing Mechanical Engineering at NIT Calicut.
P1: Tell us why we should take you when compared to someone with work experience?
Me: *told about how freshers will be academically stronger as they haven’t taken a break in academics. Also told about how freshers will be unbiased while choosing a field of their liking as compared to people with work-ex. (interviewer seemed satisfied)
P2: You have reasonably good academic scores. Shall we ask some questions based on academics.
Me: Yes, Sir.
P1: OK then, tell me what is a Stirling engine?
Me:(after trying to recollect for sometime). Sir, it is an engine based on the Stirling cycle.
P1: What is the Stirling cycle?
Me: Sir, it is a thermodynamic cycle, however I do not relocate the exact processes associated with it.
P1: Ok then can you tell us about other thermodynamic cycles.
Me: I explained about Otto, Diesel and Rankine cycles.
*a few questions on these cycles, their applications which I could answer.
P2: Can you tell us what a trade war is?
*This was asked when there was a trade war brewing up between the US and China, with the US imposing taxes on steel and aluminum imports and China reciprocating the same with other products.
Me: Sir, a trade war is a scenario where countries try to destroy each other’s trade by imposing taxes on selected products in order to gain economic dominance over the other. *talked about the situation between US and China and what India should do in such tough times.
P1: Sachin, have you heard of the firm Cambridge Analytica
Me: Yes. *explained about why they were in the news and their link to Facebook and how they extracted data without user’s permissions.
P1: What all other calls do you have?
Me: IIM C, L and I
P1: Do you have any questions to ask us?
Me: No sir.
P2: That would be all then. Thank you.
Me: Thank you.
Verdict: Converted!
Profile
Class X -10 CGPA
Class XII – 95%
Graduation – 81.09 percentile
Qualification – B.Com(Hons.)
Graduate (SRCC)
Work Experience – At the time of the interview it was roughly 5–6 months (Deloitte- Audit)
Date of WAT and PI – 09/03/2020
Venue- Radisson blu, Dwarka
I was the last one to be interviewed.
WAT TOPIC – It’s been long so I don’t rem word to word but it was based on “why urban population fantasizes rural life”. or say “how correct it is to fantasize about rural life, you being an urban.’
The topic was not vague thankfully so I framed my opinions in around 1.5 pages within 20 minutes.
PI ROUND – (There were two panelists, let’s call them P1 and P2)
PI – Did you get any hints from other students from what we are asking in here?
Me – No, actually I was late, my documents were getting verified downstairs.
P1- looking at my form, hmm you stay near gurugram bakery. What’s the cheapest and pricey thing there?
I have not tried all of them, but per my guess, red velvet cake is the pricey one and cookie is the cheapest.
P1 – Cost?
around 500 and 30 bucks respectively.
P1- Do you like it?
I smiled and said yes.
P1 – What do you do in Deloitte?
I explained about my role and the work and how it revolves around financial statements and it’s accuracy.
P2 – How do you communicate with the client?
Answered
P2 – Since every client has different trial-balance formats, how do you ensure consistency in the data presented?
Answered
P1 – What do you do apart from work?
Mentioned about Yoga and sports.
P1 – Which Yoga guru do you follow?
Answered – Baba Ramdev
P1 – Do you know about Patanjali?
Answered – “Not much”, then came back home and read about him.
P1 – Which asana is your favorite and why?
Answered
P1- What in sports?
Answered- I have started playing basketball every Saturday with the Deloitte basketball team. I also mentioned that I never played basketball before joining Deloitte.
P1 – How many three-pointers?
I laughed and said “zero”.
Both P1 and P2 laughed.
then they said thank you!
Verdict – Converted.
The interview did not follow any particular line but then I think that is how interviews are supposed to be.
Thanks!
In the sea of unexpected that IIM interviews are, this experience certainly takes the cake. Definitely the most enjoyable interview I’ve ever had.
In fact, what transpired is more deserving of a football forum than Quora. Football fans will appreciate this :p
Read On…
Venue: Radisson Blu, Dwarka, New Delhi, 13 March
Background: (10/12/grad – 93/89/83), 1.5 yrs work-ex as a Management Trainee in Aspiring Minds Assessments Pvt Ltd
GD Topic : The medium of instruction in schools should be the same as mother tongue.
10 min GD. Average performance.
Interview: I was the last person to be interviewed in my panel
Interviewers: 2 males (M1 & M2) (both appeared under 40)
M1: How will you rate the students in the GD today – from best to worst?
N: I feel that every one contributed to the discussion and I would not pick anyone as best or worst
M2: We don’t want a political answer. You’ll have to make decisions after doing MBA. Make a decision now.
N: again iterated that it is not my task to judge students in the GD.
M2: We will end this interview here itself if you don’t make a decision.
N: Naturally, I did not want to incur their wrath anymore, so said that my criteria for evaluating would be whoever spoke the most and by that criteria, 2 candidates were the best
M1: So you think that whoever speaks most is the best? By that standard Arnab Goswami is the best. Where did they teach you this? In your coaching?
N: (I’m thinking this is going to be another long and hard day) Sir, the GD process was for 10 min and it is difficult to have a proper discussion in such a short period of time. So, anyone who made 3-4 valid points has done good. (Added that even I made a couple of valid points.)
M2: I think 2-3 people were utter trash. I would not give anyone in this GD more than a ‘D’ grade. What do you think?
N: Sir, I think that it is a harsh assessment and I would give ‘B’ instead
M1: Do you follow politics? Which side are you on? Left, Right or Centre?
N: (very reluctantly) Sir, I lean a bit towards the right.
M1: So, you are centre-right. Do you understand what left and right is?
N: sir, left follows socialist ideology which argues for equal distribution of resources…M2 cuts me short
M2: Left ideology is taking away from the wealthy and giving it to the poor.
N: sir, the ideology is that no one is left wanting for basic requirements, but communist ideology is the problem.
M2: You said socialist and now you are saying communist? Do you even know what the difference is?
N: sir, communism is an extreme form of socialism.
M1: Do you know about Ramkrishna Mission? Is it leftist?
N: Sir, I am only aware that Ramkrishna Mission is related to Swami Vivekanand and I don’t know much about the mission to make a comment on its ideology.
M1: Ok. What is the relationship b/w Rahul Gandhi and Mahatama Gandhi?
N: sir, they are not blood related.
M1: But they share the same surname. Why?
N: Sir, Rahul gets the surname from Indira Gandhi, and Nehru named Indira as Indira Gandhi. (I was not aware of the history of Indira’s husband Feroz Khan, and so felt very foolish after I researched it after the interview)
M1: What is the relationhip b/w Sonia and Menaka Gandhi?
N: sir,they are sisters-in-law
M2: Ok. Leave all this. Tell us about something which interests you the most?
N: Sir, I love novels, especially thrillers
M2: Who are you favorite authors?
N: Sir, Stephen king and steig Larsson.
M2: (making a mocking face) God! Of all people Stephen King! What else? (Stephen King is one those prolific writers who churn out books like pancakes, but his earlier works are quite impressive)
N: Sir, apart from thrillers, I admire the works of Ruskin Bond and R K Narayan.
M1 and M2 both: Oh! R K Narayan! Which books have you read?
N: sir, Malgudi days and Swami and Friends. Interviewers appeared impressed (at least to me). The guys were from South so naturally they must have read R K Narayan in their childhood.
M1: Do you follow any sport?
N: sir, I follow football
M1: Which team or club?
N: Sir, FC Barcelona
**the enjoyable part of the interview for me. There is a reason why IIM interviews are famous for being unexpected. Of all the things in the world, one of the interviewers turns out to be a hardcore football fan.
M2: When was the club formed?
N: sir, I don’t remember the exact year, but it was in the very early 1900s (its 1899)
M2: Name the 3 most influential people in FCB’s history.
N: Sir, Johann Cyruff, Pep Guardiola…interviewer cut me short
M2: you know nothing about FCB, you don’t know the year it was founded, you don’t know any of the real legends. You are just a glory hunter!…you have seen a few matches and call yourself a fan!
(I’m thinking who apart from Cyruff can be a bigger legend at Barcelona?..)
Then he mentions names of some legends I’ve never even heard about.
(I do feel a little embarrassed but I kept my cool and was rewarded with more FCB questions)
M2: Proceeded to shoot jersey numbers at me and asks me to identify the players?
6 – sir, I don’t remember
4- Ivan rakitic
9- Luis Saurez
M2: Who is the goalkeeper? Which country does he belong to?
N: Marc andre ter Stegen. He’s from Germany
M2: What kind of a goalkeeper is he?
N: sir, he is a ‘sweeper keeper’. A sweeper keeper comes forward from the penalty box to collect the ball instead of waiting in the goal for the ball to come to him
M2: What is tiki-taka?
N: sir, quick passing football…interviewer interjects that it is boring football…I smile and answer that it might be boring sometimes but it is nevertheless quick and effective.
M2: Asks me questions about the size of FCB’s stadium
N: Sir, 99000 something
M2: What was the annual revenue of FCB?
N: sir, I know it is one of the highest but I’m not sure of the exact figure
M2: Name some sponsors of the club.
N: Sir, Rakuten, Nike, Oppo
M2: Barcelona will play Chelsea tomorrow in the last-16 of the Champions League? Who do you think will win?
N: Sir, Barcelona have a stronger team and they should win easily
M2: Of course you are confident! Barcelona pays money to referees, why will they not win?
N: sir, this is not the case and only because of a few matches the spotlight is always on Barcelona, whereas decisions in favour of other teams are not discussed..
M2: But you paid money to win the game at Chelsea in 2008–09 season and against Real Madrid in 2010–11 season?
N: I disagree that there was any biased decision in the Madrid match. Yes, against Chelsea there were some contentious decision by the ref but such cases have happened with other teams as well. Madrid get decisions in their favour all the time(The Cule in me was pumped up at this accusation). It is the nature of football..
M2: There is one organisation which has sponsored Barcelona for a long time, which is it?
N: sir, UNICEF
M2: Do you know that FCB comes from a very sensitive region in Spain? What is that region and why was it in the news lately?
N: Sir, the region is Catalunya. Recently, the president of Catalunya declared independence from Spain.
M2: Ok, That is it from my side asks M1 if had any more questions for me. M1 declines.
The interviewers then wished me all the best and M2 hoped that my team would win the game…… which they eventually did 🙂 ……….only to lose disgracefully in the quarter finals of the Champions League at the hand of Roma
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