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

[s.shah.cal]

HI Arindam,

Can you please help me out here??
My background is

Btech 82%
Cls 12 88%
cls 10 92%

Call from iimi and iimk

My query is if teh interviewer asks me about some topin of GK and i am unaware of it how sghould i go about saying a polite no and second of all can you give me some inputs on the type of questions asked in this interview

And if the ques is What is the most sad moment of your life then what should be my reply

[Expert@CL]

Originally Posted by 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...

If you have been working for 2 yrs, you are still relatively fresh and should be ready to answer queries related to acads anyway. However if you are not comfortable enough in your subject area it is best to steer the discussion towards what you are doing on the job. Also be ready to the irregularities in your academic track record in a smart manner. If there are achievements you have secured in your working career be sure to highlight them to the panel

[Expert@CL]

Originally Posted by 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.

My assessment also would be that you are likely to get a call from at least some of the institutes you are targeting. It is likely that different weightages would be given to your academic record as well as performance in GDs. Also interviewers may choose to question you on your poor acads specifically to put you under pressure.

The important thing is to keep your cool. You cannot change poor acads at this stage so you have to defend them as much as you can. Wilting under pressure will not help you. So you have to field these questions with poise and not get stressed. Try to find a plausible reason why your acads went wrong and try to talk positively about the lesson you have derived from that experience. Always try to highlight your other achievements (Extracurricular activities,etc.) to balance out this uncomfortable part of your record.

[Expert@CL]

Originally Posted by 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

You do seem to have a lot going for you (good CAT percentile, academic background, good working experience). However it is good to not be complacent and be prepared to face tough questions in any area. For a B-school interview panel your work experience area (B.Intelligence & Strategy) could be very relevant and they may quiz you a lot on that. Hope you are brushing up well on your general knowledge and knowledge of current affairs because they may try to trip you here even if you are fielding questions related to your areas of strength well. The answer to whether you should join a coaching institute for GD/PI coaching can at best be subjective. It is always good to go through simulated group discussions and mock interviews (which institutes provide) and have an experience of what they can be like before you go in for the real thing. That is always better than reading up resources on the net. They also prepare you for these standard questions like 'Why MBA', etc. However it is up to you finally to craft an intelligent and honest response to these kind of questions. Do some research on your own about B-schools, the areas you may want to specialize in and the career prospects in such areas to answer a question like 'Why MBA?'. Try to tie-in the relevance of your current work experience also to field a question like 'Why now?'. If you ahve 2/3 years of experience 'Why now?' is not a very probable question.

[vinz007]

am an engg fresher

10th - 80%
12th - 81%
engg - 9.38 cgpa

CAT'07 - 96.36%ile overall
XAT'07 - 97.58%ile overall

Calls just from SCMHRD n SIBM till now..

have applied for MDI, IMT, NITIE, SPJain, XIM-B

kindly guide me as how to prepare for my GD/PI ...does brushing up my engg knowledge help?

[absolutely lost]

Sir,

I completed my grad in Tourism and took up job in one of the most well known travel agency and worked only for 2 weeks and left it because the profile offered didnt interest me. Soon after i joined another start-up Travel Agency with the intention of learning more and worked for 1 month but again it was very unsatisfactory n i even felt ill so left the job and start preparing for CAT from mid september....

Cat Score 2007- 90.50%
Cat SCORE 2006- 91.87%

GRADUATION- 73% RANKED 2ND
XII- 78%
X- 74%

**LOADS OF INTRA- SCHOOL XTRA CURRICULARS WITH AND WITHOUT CERTIFICATES.

Q1--I want to know How should i justify switching jobs and my activities in past 1 yr??

Q2--Is it considered a DROP ?? (bz i only have offer letters but no certificate of working).

Q3--I'm mainly TARGETING MICA....So what special preparation is required for MICA ??? As i've already appeared for MICAT last yr. but couldnt convert it so want to be totally prepared this year.

Q4--As Im not very clear about my career goals in terms of specialisation at MICA ... I would like to know how should i justify it and relate it to my graduation background(tourism) and XII(Science)???

Thanking you in advance

[kool_kapil]

sir ,

i have
10th - 77%
12th - 75%
BE - 56%

how should i explain my low BE % ? last year too i faced this problem and felt this was the reason for me not making it even though i had a good GD.

the truth is mechanical engg was never my field , i also took it lightly was was involved in extra curicular. i made a mistake for which i have suffered.

also i am working in hardcore maintenance filed , so how do i justify my desire for MBA particularly in marketing?

but how should i explain in a positve way?
i have 1,5 yr work ex as of now, am i supposed to remember all my BE subjects?

[crimsonbay]

sir,
i am currently in my 3rd yr of engg plannin 2 giv cat 08.....what exactly are iims expectin as extra curriculars?...i seem to be not having any great extra curriculars til now...will this be a critical factor in deciding the admission??

[suneel328]

sir,goodevening my name is suneelkumar.i wrote jmet and i got calls for gd and pi from all iits.give me tips to crack gd and pi.also suggest me any books for gd.i have completed my b.tech in 2006

[Expert@CL]

Originally Posted by kool_kapil

sir ,

i have
10th - 77%
12th - 75%
BE - 56%

how should i explain my low BE % ? last year too i faced this problem and felt this was the reason for me not making it even though i had a good GD.

the truth is mechanical engg was never my field , i also took it lightly was was involved in extra curicular. i made a mistake for which i have suffered.

also i am working in hardcore maintenance filed , so how do i justify my desire for MBA particularly in marketing?

but how should i explain in a positve way?
i have 1,5 yr work ex as of now, am i supposed to remember all my BE subjects?

It is always the most difficult to defend poor acads and for most B-school interviews that is often a deciding factor in rejecting a candidate who is otherwise smart and presentable. One way of defending poor acads is to show loads of relevant extracurricular activites. if you show your active involvement in important on-campus events and projects which bring out abilities such as organization, leadership and team-handling skills, they work in your favour. Try to see if there is anything significant in this area you can talk about and try to drive the disucssion in that direction. Also since you have been working for 1.5 years now, try to highlight major achievements in your working life. You could talk about important projects worked on and awards and recognition received. But do expect to be queried on acads. if there are one or two areas where you are good, brush up your reading on these areas and request the interviewer to quiz you on those areas of acads.

You can talk about your interest in marketing even if you are working in the maintenance field. First ask yourself if you think you are cut out for a future marketing career. Do some background reading on what marketing involves so that you can make more informed answers. Also a marketing person typically has an outgoing personality along with good data-crunching skills and a creative bent. See if you fit that kind of a profile. If you have organized important events in your college try to mention them as well.