Howdy folks! My GI 1st round (at Mumbai, SPJIMR campus) just got over some time back, and here’s my experience in as much detail as I can remember it.
Before beginning my ‘story’ :P, to all you guys who are reading this with butterflies in you tummies before going for your interview, a word of advice : just CHILL! No, seriously, the panels are really friendly, and they really aren’t probing too much into your personal stuff, and neither are they asking random bullshit to trap us or anything. Its just a simple friendly chat and they’re just trying to know you better, that’s all.
Onto the interview process.
I was given a reporting time of 8 am. I got there by 7.30 am, which was itself late by other people’s standards. I met a guy who said he’d come at 7.00! Just take it easy guys. Be there about 5 mins before your interview time and that will suffice. They don’t take registrations until sharp 8 am, and that too just involves you showing your documents to them, which takes about a minute(no certificates or anything were checked or asked for at anytime of the interview). They also entertained us all tea and biscuits
By 9 am, all registrations were complete, and they started calling out names in groups of 6. The first group was asked to line up in front of the room, and they where immediately whisked away by some senior to another room. In about 2 mins, the next batch of 6 was called. I was part of the 3rd batch of 6.
We were ushered into a room (or dome, as they call it). The setting itself seemed rather informal. They had kept garden chairs, arranged into a semicircle, all huddled together. It gave the feeling of being in a closed knit group. There were no desks in front of us or anything, so we just had to keep our bags/folders on our knees.
The panel was facing us. 3 people on the panel. 2 women (W1 and W2). They never introduced themselves. And one guy, who was a Senior studying in Spjain (SS). They had a lot of paper strewn all over the table. I suppose it must have been stuff about us. They kept taking down notes on the papers, or referring to them off and on, during the GI.
My group consisted of the following people (5 guys, 1 gal).
#1 a female with an engg bckgnd (electronics), 8 months workex at Avaya. (Marketing)
#2 myself (male), a fresher, engg (telecom), placed at lehman bros (campus), but no workex (Marketing)
#3 a guy who quit 3 months into his commerce, took up a job, did BMS, plus has a family business (Finance, not FMB!)
#4 a guy with engg bckgnd (electronics), hails from kolkata, worked with TCS for 3.5 yrs, worked on-site as well, at US and UK (IM)
#5 a guy with a commerce bckgnd (from pune), he’d got some 2-3 scholarships, workex 2.5 yrs with tata motors 1 lakh car (Operations)
#6 a guy with engg bckgnd. 1.5 years of work-ex with HSBC software, Pune in Investment Banking domain (Finance)
Okie. So first, SS asks #1 to introduce herself to the group. It was a really short intro (name, engg colg, current work). She was asked by W1 to elaborate a bit more about the work she was doing. Then I gave my intro (name, school, colg, achievements, current plcmnt). No qns asked. #3 gave a good intro, with hobbies et al. But W1 says “we’ll get to that part later (although they never did)”. #4, #5 standard decent intros. #6 intro was again a bit short. No harm tho.
After this intro round, everyone is comfortable. And the panel’s really friendly too. Smiles exchanged. Etc. Then SS asks #1 something pertaining to the qn from the questionnaire (about some society work in colg, and how she gained from it). #1 was pretty convincing in her answer, talked abt the role she played in the society and wat she learnt from it. SS then asks me about the “strongest value stand” from the qstnaire and told me “See, you had power but still you found it difficult to convince others to take your stand. So how do u expect to do this in a real world situation, when others around you might be far more superior to you in rank?” I got what he was asking, but that wasn’t exactly the way he was supposed to understand the situation. So I clarified my stand, explained to him how I’d taken care of the mess and how competiton rules the roost and stuff. He looked satisfied. #3 was quizzed about something in his form. Then suddenly W2 asks him whether he’s aware of the FMB programe of sp jain. Some more discussion on that. #3 says he wants to be on his own, stand up on his feet etc. #4 had stated that he’s worked in US and UK. So W1 asks him “Whats the starkest contrast you find between work culture in US and UK?” #4 gives gyaan on how UK blokes play totally by the book, whereas US ppl take it a little more easily, and how in UK day-to-day updates are a must, whereas in the US how evaluations, updates are only reqd say once in 2 weeks. #5 was asked a qn by SS based on “strongest value stand” from the qstnaire. #6 is also asked a similar qn, and he manages it well.
W1 points to me, and asks me about my schooling, and whether I enjoyed it (I’ve done my schooling outside India, and I’ve come to Mumbai for engg). I told her that it was good, but that I liked engg better, cos of the independence. Immediately she looks at #6 and asks him whether I’m right in saying that I haven’t got much from schooling. #6 backs me up saying I never said schooling was bad, just that engg was better. #5 and #3 add to the “more independence, more freedom, more responsibility” point.
W2 then asks #1 about backup planning, if not sp, then wat. And something more related to her work. And why marketing. Then SS asked me about the “contributions by you or your family” and says “Why haven’t you written anything about your contribution, and why only your parents’?” So I said to him that the answer he was looking for was there in the last qn of the questionnaire (contri by you to imrove urself, or work or society). I explained my contributions and gave them some gyaan on how “giving” and “knowledge sharing” is more important than just learning stuff. W2 then asks #1 to explain y spjain. She explains. Normal stuff. Admap, top 10 ranks, DOCC, social work etc. Then I’m asked the same qn by SS. Again rephrased most of what #1 said. Added a few points of my own. Talked about the wildly helpful seniors here on pagalguy too, and how it goes to show the culture of spj blah blah. W1 asks #3 how he thinks sp will mould his career. Similar answer. #4,#5 and #6 also give their views. More or less the same answers, just worded differently. #4 was pretty clear with what he wanted to do. Linked his answer to his past backgnd. Same for #6.
W2 says “We’ll have a short group discussion now. You all know about India’s phenomenal growth. And the growth rate touching 9%. Discuss.” #1 starts off by talking about how although India is growing rapidly, that it still lacks in the agriculture domain, and she gives some facts, 60% of India employed in agri etc. #3 continues saying that he agrees with #1 and that India should invest more in agriculture, and he gave more figures 1.2%, 14% etc etc. #6 says he disagrees, and that since software and services is booming we should focus on getting the rural population to the urban side. I disagreed saying that agri is core to India, and that though we are called software professionals, we have no indigenous s/w like Windows, and that we must focus on developing tech to enhance agri. #4 supported my point. And #5 made a point on FDI and FII flows and how that would help. Overall, the GD was short. Everyone got just one chance to speak. Except #4 who just made one concluding statement. But it wasn’t like a normal conclusion to a GD. Then W2 interrupts and says “Thank you, that was good”
Then SS throws the only unexpected qn of the lot “Which animal would you like to be and why?” #1 says cat for its cleanliness, I said dog for loyalty and also explained how a dog instinctively always finds the shortest path to get to an object, so max efficiency. #3 chose an owl cos of its focus, sharpness, that it’s a nocturnal bird (W1 interrupts here and asks, “So does that mean you’re gonna sleep in class by day?”, some mild laughs follow). #4 chose a lion, king of forest etc. #5 chose an elephant, and made his point really well, about how the elephant is so huge, and unbothered b anything in its path, minds its own business, still is vegetarian and doesn’t harm other creatures etc. #6 says he wants to be a fish for its streamlined nature, and adaptability.
And then it was over! W2 says “Thank you. We are done. You may leave”. SS adds “You don’t need to get back to regn desk or anything, you can just leave the premises.”
We got out of the room(dome) and shook hands, exchanged some views on the GI, and then left. And oh yea, one guy asked an Adcom fellow when the results will declared, and they said “in 3-4 days time, on the website”
So that’s it! SPjain round 1 GI over! Overall it wasn’t too bad. A good experience for sure. May the best ones get thru!
If I can be of any other assistance, pls lemme know.
To those yet to go through the GI – JUST RELAX, and you’ll do wonders!
SPJIMR PGDBM 2007-2009 Experiences -
24-02-2007, 12:46 PM
!!). We bombarded her with questions about the institute, the interview process, Dubai/Singapore center, difference between PGDSM-MIT and IM (PGDBM) etc... and she patiently answered everything !
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