[shoot4mba]

just bck frn the intrvw .. here is how it went:

3 members in the panel, 1 lady
1.were u interviewed last time.. why were u not selected last time (i m a reapplicant)
2.how s this time different from last time .
3. questions abt work , project, my role .. why changed 3 organizations in 4.5 yrs..cross questioning on that
4. what would u bring to isb
5. why cant u continue in present role .. why mba why now.
6 .. activities in free time .. more cross questioning on that

towards the end one of the panel members said that he was still not convinced on why mba ? why not later :frown: and his vote wud still be a "no" at that point tried to convince him further .. dont think he was convinced finally asked abt my backup plan

all in all there was lot of cross questionaing .. may be i cud not convince them completely .. i cud have done much better...i think its bye bye ISB for me :icon_cry:

profile 740/4.5yrs/IT female

[siddharth1gupta]

Originally Posted by aartis

Hey Guys

Have been a silent member of this forum....but must Thank all those who shared their interview experiences.Well I had my Interview today at sheraton at 14:00 hrs, panel no.-3

My profile:
GMAT -710, Work Ex-4 years, 3years as an Air Hostess with jet,1 year as an Aviation & Personality Development trainer.Acads-Above avg,ec-Good

well my Interview .....

3 people on tha panel - 2 from Adcom and one alumni

Greetings
Mr Menon:Aarti tell us something about yourself so that we can set a note for this interview
Me:I ll talk something about which I have not mentioned in my Application. Talked about my community service endeavors..and latest Salaam baalak trust that I am a part of
Lady:So what do you do there..n wat do you teach. Tell us some names of these street children.
Me: blah blah........N Gulta Singh
Lady :smile
Mr Menon: why is your current Job paying you so less
Me : reason
Lady: why did you leave Jet
Me : Blah Blah convinced them
Alum: Plans on your venture
Me:rattled off
Alum: Cross questioned...
Me: i guess i kinda convinced them
Alum: Why Isb for an entrepreneur. Why dont you meet some VC s right away
Me: Wced n electives.......I guess convinced him
Mr menon: Current economic scenario
Me: aeeeeeeeeeeeeoooooo I hate this question...Tried telling them about the sub prime crisis....
alum: Cross questioned thrice
Mr menon: How is it effecting the Aviation Indutry
Me: thankfully had done the research this morning. All about the jet kingfisher alliance
Alum : Cross question
ME: tried to answer but dunno whether I convinced him cause Mr Menon took over
Mr menon: What about all the crew who have been laid off. What are their job prospects
Me: hospitality & Travel & tourism Industry
Mr menon: satisfied
Lady: how will you train your batchmates at ISB on soft kills?
Me:thinking....Why should I train them...but then gave some wishy washy answer. team building exercise n i shall be apart of those role plays..
She: smiled......Wonder why
Mr menon: Anything else
Me: three Questions
panel: answered.......
Thank you

All in all it lasted for about 40 mins. I have mixed feelings. But lets hope i make it......
All the best to everyone who has got the calls.
Please feel free to call me if you have any queries..
My No-09350861699

o.k. this is the first interview experience that i would have been scared of had i been in the hot seat ... specially with all that "why isb and not VC" and "tell us something about yourself" thing.... wish you best of luck ...

[overlord]

Originally Posted by shoot4mba

just bck frn the intrvw .. here is how it went:

3 members in the panel, 1 lady
1.were u interviewed last time.. why were u not selected last time (i m a reapplicant)
2.how s this time different from last time .
3. questions abt work , project, my role .. why changed 3 organizations in 4.5 yrs..cross questioning on that
4. what would u bring to isb
5. why cant u continue in present role .. why mba why now.
6 .. activities in free time .. more cross questioning on that

towards the end one of the panel members said that he was still not convinced on why mba ? why not later :frown: and his vote wud still be a "no" at that point tried to convince him further .. dont think he was convinced finally asked abt my backup plan

all in all there was lot of cross questionaing .. may be i cud not convince them completely .. i cud have done much better...i think its bye bye ISB for me :icon_cry:

profile 740/4.5yrs/IT female

Dont give up too soon....i'm sure quite a few of the applicants might have been nervous and i'm sure in hindsight we all feel we cld have done better....so relax and hope for the best....could you also mention ur essay topic???

[shoot4mba]

essay topic was "fake" .. .. infact i handed it over to 1 of the helping staff there after the interview .. guess its just a formality.. i dont think they even read it

[ankit.garg]

Originally Posted by theapprentice

Here are the Qs asked to me during the interview
Q You are a re-applicant. When did you reapply?
Q What was the feedback received?
Q What have you done to improve your communication skills?
Q Tell us something about your first job experience? What were u doing
Q From your work experiences give us an example of a problem you faced in a team situation and what you did to resolve it

Analytical Case study- I have a machine which produces fake paintings. Each one painting costs 10L. Estimate the market size of such paintings.

Q You have any questions for us?

From the other guy who didn’t get a chance to speak till now
Q Post ISB goals

Q Specific companies in strategy consulting you want to target

Q Do you have a plan B?


The 100 word essay was on FABULOUS

Cheers
@!

Hi,
Thanks for posting your experience it is very helpful. About the case question, why fake painting was painting in a way related to what you do or your activities. Just trying to understand the rationale behind such case question, what if someone has no idea about the art market.

Ankit

[nimit.arora]

Hi Guys!

I had my interview today at 2 pm by panel 3:

My Profile: GMAT 710/2+ yrs of exp in IT consulting/ Engg. (IIT), good acads/ good extra curriculars

I don't remember the names of the people in the panel, there was one gentleman (Mr. X) and a lady (probably alumni, Ms. Y)

Mr. X: We have gone through your application and essays, but we couldn't find why you want to do an MBA? Could you please explain that giving a brief account of your career path till now
Me: Started with why I joined consulting and came to my goal of starting a venture of my own in Z field (technical). told them the reason why I chose this field. I also told them that I would be targeting the rural segment.
Mr. X: Have you done any ground work on this field?
Me: Yes, I have. Told them about the current status and the potential of the field.
Mr. X: What challenges do you see in the progress of this field?
Me: Highlighted some 3 challenges supported with certain facts (numbers, percentages). There was cross-questioning in between. I could provide facts and answers to each except one question in which I accepted that I don't know the answer. (I guess they were testing how passionate I was for this field and how much of a ground work have I done)
Lady: ok, you said that XYZ (some numbers I mentioned earlier). Looking at Pan India (say rural, Urban- tier 1, tier 2, tier 3 cities), what would be your approach? Can you highlight some gaps in the current scenario?
Me: Ask for two minutes to pen down my approach. Could hardly pen down my approach when Mr. X asked me to reply. Talked about % population of each area, their requirements in field Z and then the gaps). It was not a satisfactory answer but they looked a bit convinced.
Lady: Ok, u said this this this.. How do you plan to approach your customers? are you going to go directly to the customers or through some other channel.
Me: My focus was on rural segment, so I told them that every village has a gram panchayat, it's a committee of 5 people who look after the administration of the village. I would be first approaching the gram panchayat, would explain them how this is going to benefit them and why do they need this. (Lady just nodded and said ok). (Final after 20 min, the field Z discussion ended.)
Mr. X: You're from a consulting background, you must have led some teams. what were the difficulties you faced while leading the teams. Give us specific examples. (A bouncer, I thought this would have been covered in my recos and they wouldn't ask me this)
Me: I think I screwed up here, went into unnecessary details in explaining the challenge rather than focusing on how I tackled it. (The lady was patient to listen to me, but Mr. X was not, he was (or acted) sleeping). In the end, I just gave one example of a team lead difficulty I faced.
Lady: You have strong extra curriculars. Would you sing a song for us? (I had mentioned that I am good at singing and was actively involved in school/college competitions)
Me: Yes, Definitely I would. What kind of a song would you like to hear?
Lady and Mr. X: Any song of your choice.
Me: Sang a ghazal.
Mr. X: Thank you Nimit, do you have any questions to ask?
Me: asked them 2 questions and got the answers.

Overall, I have a mixed feeling. I was great at some things, but screwed up at some others. Will wait for the results.

Tips to the people preparing for I/V toms
1. Look for gaps in your application (I had not mentioned anywhere about why I wanted to do an MBA in my essays, that's why they asked me this question and I had kind of expected it: so I dug deep into the field Z I wanted to go in). Look for things that are unique in your application, your extra curriculars, some venture you started. They are gonna ask you details on what strikes to them, what initiates their curiousity to know more about it.
2. I feel that you can actually set the tone for your interview by answering the first few questions in such a way that you direct them into asking questions that you want them to ask. It's easier said than done but helps you take control of the situation.
3. Be calm and be yourself. Provide solid examples or facts while explaining anything.
4. The general questions (why mba? why isb? goals? leadership, team skills examples?) will be asked if you haven't reflected these in your application. So, go through your application and ask yourself have I reflected these in my application or not. If not then prepare these questions for sure.
5. You still have time, go through your application, make a list of gaps (low acads, changes in jobs, not answering the basic why mba type questions) or unique things (industry, experience, EC) in your application and prepare accordingly.

Btw, the word I got was 'FAKE'. I had written in my app that I write poetry, so I wrote a poem related to 'Fake'. This was a way to differentiate myself as well as to support what I had written in the app.

Hope this helps.
All the best guys.

[nimit.arora]

Just wanted to share the profiles of people who had come for the interviews.
- There was a girl with 2 yrs of work ex in HR (with a low GMAT of 640)
- One girl with IT background (2+ yrs exp probably)
- An IITD grad with 3 yrs exp in Intellectual Property Rights In Oil & Natural Gas
- This was the most shocking of all. A senior inspector from Delhi police (with a work ex of 13 yrs). He wanted to open his detective agency.

ISB surely looks for diversity.

[MeraNumberAyega]

Originally Posted by shoot4mba

essay topic was "fake" .. .. infact i handed it over to 1 of the helping staff there after the interview .. guess its just a formality.. i dont think they even read it

I inquired at the reception about where i was supposed to submit the essay, and they told me I had to hand it over to the panel.

The Panel never asked for it, but thankfully, after the pleasantries were over, I remembered to hand it over to them. They scanned it with a customary glance.

My 2 cents :

The ISB admission process has been designed by McKinsey, and I'm sure that this wouldn't be a totally futile exercise. I'm sure they wouldn't penalize a candidate on not submitting it/not doing too well on the small essay, but I think that a candidate can probably use it to his/her advantage, and can steer the first question to his strong point using the essay..

[MeraNumberAyega]

Originally Posted by nimit.arora

Hi Guys!

I had my interview today at 2 pm by panel 3:

My Profile: GMAT 710/2+ yrs of exp in IT consulting/ Engg. (IIT), good acads/ good extra curriculars

I don't remember the names of the people in the panel, there was one gentleman (Mr. X) and a lady (probably alumni, Ms. Y)

Mr. X: We have gone through your application and essays, but we couldn't find why you want to do an MBA? Could you please explain that giving a brief account of your career path till now
Me: Started with why I joined consulting and came to my goal of starting a venture of my own in Z field (technical). told them the reason why I chose this field. I also told them that I would be targeting the rural segment.
Mr. X: Have you done any ground work on this field?
Me: Yes, I have. Told them about the current status and the potential of the field.
Mr. X: What challenges do you see in the progress of this field?
Me: Highlighted some 3 challenges supported with certain facts (numbers, percentages). There was cross-questioning in between. I could provide facts and answers to each except one question in which I accepted that I don't know the answer. (I guess they were testing how passionate I was for this field and how much of a ground work have I done)
Lady: ok, you said that XYZ (some numbers I mentioned earlier). Looking at Pan India (say rural, Urban- tier 1, tier 2, tier 3 cities), what would be your approach? Can you highlight some gaps in the current scenario?
Me: Ask for two minutes to pen down my approach. Could hardly pen down my approach when Mr. X asked me to reply. Talked about % population of each area, their requirements in field Z and then the gaps). It was not a satisfactory answer but they looked a bit convinced.
Lady: Ok, u said this this this.. How do you plan to approach your customers? are you going to go directly to the customers or through some other channel.
Me: My focus was on rural segment, so I told them that every village has a gram panchayat, it's a committee of 5 people who look after the administration of the village. I would be first approaching the gram panchayat, would explain them how this is going to benefit them and why do they need this. (Lady just nodded and said ok). (Final after 20 min, the field Z discussion ended.)
Mr. X: You're from a consulting background, you must have led some teams. what were the difficulties you faced while leading the teams. Give us specific examples. (A bouncer, I thought this would have been covered in my recos and they wouldn't ask me this)
Me: I think I screwed up here, went into unnecessary details in explaining the challenge rather than focusing on how I tackled it. (The lady was patient to listen to me, but Mr. X was not, he was (or acted) sleeping). In the end, I just gave one example of a team lead difficulty I faced.
Lady: You have strong extra curriculars. Would you sing a song for us? (I had mentioned that I am good at singing and was actively involved in school/college competitions)
Me: Yes, Definitely I would. What kind of a song would you like to hear?
Lady and Mr. X: Any song of your choice.
Me: Sang a ghazal.
Mr. X: Thank you Nimit, do you have any questions to ask?
Me: asked them 2 questions and got the answers.

Overall, I have a mixed feeling. I was great at some things, but screwed up at some others. Will wait for the results.

Tips to the people preparing for I/V toms
1. Look for gaps in your application (I had not mentioned anywhere about why I wanted to do an MBA in my essays, that's why they asked me this question and I had kind of expected it: so I dug deep into the field Z I wanted to go in). Look for things that are unique in your application, your extra curriculars, some venture you started. They are gonna ask you details on what strikes to them, what initiates their curiousity to know more about it.
2. I feel that you can actually set the tone for your interview by answering the first few questions in such a way that you direct them into asking questions that you want them to ask. It's easier said than done but helps you take control of the situation.
3. Be calm and be yourself. Provide solid examples or facts while explaining anything.
4. The general questions (why mba? why isb? goals? leadership, team skills examples?) will be asked if you haven't reflected these in your application. So, go through your application and ask yourself have I reflected these in my application or not. If not then prepare these questions for sure.
5. You still have time, go through your application, make a list of gaps (low acads, changes in jobs, not answering the basic why mba type questions) or unique things (industry, experience, EC) in your application and prepare accordingly.

Btw, the word I got was 'FAKE'. I had written in my app that I write poetry, so I wrote a poem related to 'Fake'. This was a way to differentiate myself as well as to support what I had written in the app.

Hope this helps.
All the best guys.

The more I read other's interview experiences, the more I feel that I'm not gonna make the cut .. :baaa:

You seem to be all set for ISB dude.. Well done

[noelatwork]

Originally Posted by tihaiya2

Hi pl tell me the procedure to find about the fee back on rejection of your application.I have learnt that ISB gives u feedback so that u can improve on and reapply later.:frown:

@tihaiya2

You got a 'reject' email? You are from Delhi or Mumbai?
I am trying to figure out whether 'reject' mails are actually sent for Mumbai candidates.

If not, then the speculation of waiting list is absurd! I doubt this coz there are quite number of ppl out here from Mumbai who havnt heard from ISB... I being one of them!!:frown:

Cheers
NoeL