I had my WAT/PI today. I remember a few of the questions. Hope it helps :)****
WAT topic– Companies prefer students with a broad based education. How can universities reduce the gap between curricula and what industries require? 300 words and 30 minutes (There was also the word humanities somewhere in there.)
PI- It was truly a very testing interview. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I don’t think you should worry about that as it started pretty bad for me.
Interviewer- I, Me- M
I1- (Before I could get comfortable on the seat) So what company did you get placed in.
M- Blah. (A semiconductor company)
I1- OK so what are the recent processors they have made. What’s the difference?
M- (I wanted to bury myself. Told stuff which I’m sure wasn’t what the interviewer wanted to hear. And then it was a downward spiral.)
I1- Processor, processor…
M- (Bright smile but irrelevant answers)
I1- OK now I’m going to ask you about computer networks. Do you like it?
M- (Cringe) I don’t like it much Sir but please go ahead.
And the questions he asked-
- Why do IP addresses start with 192…
- What’s a subnet mask?
- What are the types of IP classes?
And some more along the same lines.
And then when it was I2 I took an audible sigh of relief. ?
I2- Why MBA? You already have a good job.
M- Tackled it smoothly.
I2- So you always lived in BLore. Tell me about where the legislative assemblies convene.
M- (I swear you could have heard crickets in the background. He could have been speaking in French *sigh*) Umm…I don’t know Sir.
I2- Ok who is the Chief Secretary?
M- (This part is really funny. Belongs in the Blonde jokes category. *Oh Earth eat me up*) So my answer was- Ok what post do you mean Sir?
I2- *laughing* There is only one Chief Secretary for state.
M- I was like what about Sasikala? Isn’t she some kind of secretary?
I2- *laughing some more, probably wiped tears* No no…(Explained the difference.)
He asked a few personal questions. But my nerves at that point was tightly strung. Then it was I3. My entire body was itching to get out of the place.
I3 started with a few personal questions. And later asked me-
- What is e?
- Draw the e^x curve.
- Where is it used?
- What can you intuitively glean from it?
- Write relation between e, i and pi.
This was something I could answer. (Finally)
And then somewhere in between he asked me if I wanted some coffee. I said no thank you. I’m not sure if it even counts, as there were only three cups for the three interviewers.
I also answered in the negative when he asked me if I had any questions. I had prepared one but my spirit was looking the other way.
And the climax-
I3- What other IIM calls have you got?
M- Told him.
I3, I2 and I1- Best of luck for your next interview. (And that my dear folks is THE END.)
Gave a big smile and left. Overall I felt like I wasn’t prepared enough though the questions were bordering on common-sense. Another thing is that they never allowed me to divert the interview towards my stronghold. Which was sad but I really hope this helps you gals and guys prepare better. ?
***Conditions apply-
Everything mentioned above has been condensed.