Ask Arindam@Career Launcher - How to ace GD-PI stage of various b-schools!

[Expert@CL]

You realise that you do not have a fantastic academic record to talk about. This is a drawback which many aspirants suffer from. The way to work around this and present yourself in a positive light is to draw the interviewer's attention to other aspects of your personality and other achievements in your life which can help offset (or may be even justify) why you were not able to perform very well in your academics. Think about your extra-curricular activities which you can boast of. You could even be someone who has been so involved in family matters (and contributed meaningfully there) that it left you little time to devote to studies. If you are able to present your case in a meaningful way you would be able to offset an academic drawback even in good colleges

[Expert@CL]

You realise that you do not have a fabulous academic record to talk about. This is a disadvantage you need to work around at the interview. Try to draw the interviewer's attention to other aspects of your life and personality. If there is some achievement in your extracurricular activities make sure you highlight them. You could even talk about constraints (maybe family issues where you contributed meaningfully) which may have hindered you from giving the best to your studies. Remember to present a plausible case to your interviewers that offsets (or even justifies) your not-so-brilliant academic record.

[Expert@CL]

Originally Posted by optimist1983

helo arindam sir,

sir i am a doctor and have applied for all the institutes and expecting call from evry college, 2-3 iims,schmrd,sibm,nmims...

problem i am facing is that i hav shown work exp of 9 months as a medical representative in a pharmaceutical company in my profile in evry collge but infct i dnt hav any work exp.i just knw a bit abt this being a doctor.an u tell me what all sort of ques they wil ask,what all shud i do to grasp better abt this field so that m able to justify my work exp?

I think it makes little sense in trying to project yourself as having the experience of a medical repesentative when you are aqctually a doctor. Most experienced interviewers will see through such attempts and it will not show you up in a poor light. My adive to you is to clarify that you are a doctor at the interview stage and then justify why as a doctor you want to to do an MBA. There can be various replies. Even running a hospital requires managerial skills which you can talk about.

[Expert@CL]

It is always better to show that you have been doing something side-by-side with preparing for CAT for the past one year. Think back and see if there is something menaingul you cna talk about. If there is nothing then you have to highlight that preparing for CAT was so important to you (especially because of last year's disappointment ) that you decided to concentrate on it to the exclusion of everything else. Your case will be stronger if you have a decent CAT score to show

[Expert@CL]

Originally Posted by shreyash_d

Hello Arindam,

My Profile as follows
10th std : 84.4 %
12th std :69.3 %
B.E - 60.1 % in E &TC

Expected CAT Score : 92 ( 35- QA, 37- DI, 20 - VA)

My Work -Ex is as follows
21 months in Tech Mahindra as a Performance Analyst (Networking related job).
16 months in Family Business related to Auto Parts Job work

I want to pursue my M.B.A in Operations. What will be the weightage given to in my interview ? Networking , Telecom (my academic qualification) or manufacturing industry (family business)..which one vil b given a higher weightage as per u.

What r the questions that can crop up related to family business ?

Thanks,
Shreyash.

The interviewers are going to examine every phase of your working life and give due importance to it. You have to show how your experience with Mahindra has helped you look at a career in operations management. You also have to explain your shift to the family business very well because chances are that you will be asked why. Please talk meaningfully about your experience in running the family business and project it as an exciting entrepreneurial phase in your career.

[Expert@CL]

Good question. Most interviewers are aware of this and will ask questions accordingly. If you are someone with a good academic record in chem engg. be ready to face questions related to your area. However if you are more comfortable talking about your tech-related experience then try to steer the interview in that direction. Please remember that in that case you should be able to exhibit good mastery over your work area and highlight important projects you may have worked on.

[sanjay_The_One]

Sir,
Sir I m Sanjay.I gt a CAT score Of 89.95 %le.Have applied for TAPMI,K.J.Soumaya, n BIM,Trichy. Some of my faculty membrs say dat i stand a gud chance of fethin a call. Bt my problem is dat i hav very poor acads. Do u feel dat evn if i do well in GD, dey will sumhw dump me during d interview.I m workin a lot on GDs.Bt i m vry scared abt PI(one on one, that 2 stress interview). So kindly help me, n also plz tell wat r dey likely to ask ppl with poor acads who do manage to gt a call.
Thank U.

[shuvabrata6883]

Hi Arindam,

Thanks a lot for the discussions posted above. Let me introduce myself first. I am Shuvabrata Nandi, 2005 pass-out from IIT Kharagpur.

My brief profile is given below:

STD X - 93.5%
STD XII - 88.7%
B.Tech(H) - 8.80 (GPA)

CAT %ile - 99.93
QA - 99.90
DI - 98.34
VA - 98.93
Calls from All 6 IIMs

Currently working with ICICI Prudential Life as Manager - Business Intelligence & Strategy. Prior to this, i was with Larsen & Toubro in a Strategy and New Business role.

I am a little concerned about where to start my preparation from. Should i join any of the coaching institute's GD / PI classes? How do i prepare for PI questions like "Why MBA" , "Why Now" and stuff. Any web resource / other forum except PG?

Do tell me what kinda questions should i expect in PI?

regards,
Shuvabrata

[Rajkul.Fulzele]

Originally Posted by pace7

Hi Sir

My acads are :
10th : 80
12th : 84.2
B.E.( Comp. Sc.): 83.1

I worked in private sector for an year as an IT professional and then shifted to SAIL as Junior Manager in IT. I am expecting questions to justify my decision but still not confident about the answer. Since moving to Steel industry from IT( my core area) is not a frequently trodden path,I'd like some suggestion about how to approach it. For me it was the managerial position and responsibilities that had an edge over working for an MNC as a s/w engineer.

Guess i aint alone here jumping from IT to steel sector....
though my exposure is more into logistics...nothing to do with my qualification as such...
BE Computers from PICT
Jr.Mgr. (Mktg. - Warehousing) at SAIL currently
Calls from IIFT + IIM A C L I K

[Rajkul.Fulzele]

I have a varied background here
Done my BE in computer Science from pune university
been workin in steel sector for past 2 years
Logistics of iron and steel material.....
My job profile has no relation with my engg. qualifications anymore...
what would be panel's focus for my interview...?
do i need to dig up my technical qualification stuff...?
what else would i need to ponder upon...?
10th 81%
12th 82%
BE 56%
have also lost a year during engg.....but had cleared the subject in reval,
but had not taken provisional admission....
how do i portray the lost year...?

Calls IIFT + IIM A C L I K

Would be obliged if you could clearmy doubts...