Hey puys, The day has almost arrived for few and will be coming our way in a few more days…And as the second round of the admission process commences on 20th March for IIM B, I am starting this thread for all of us to share our experiences an…
Hey puys,
The day has almost arrived for few and will be coming our way in a few more days...And as the second round of the admission process commences on 20th March for IIM B, I am starting this thread for all of us to share our experiences and carry out discussions on the process....
@ all
Pls dont post anythin irrelevant out here..Post only ur GD/PI experience..
For other queries go to the link below:
http://www.pagalguy.com/discussions/2008iim-bangalore-gd-pi-call-getters-profile-queries-25027702
@moderators
Pls make this thread sticky till the results are out......
The day has almost arrived for few and will be coming our way in a few more days...And as the second round of the admission process commences on 20th March for IIM B, I am starting this thread for all of us to share our experiences and carry out discussions on the process....
@ all
Pls dont post anythin irrelevant out here..Post only ur GD/PI experience..
For other queries go to the link below:
http://www.pagalguy.com/discussions/2008iim-bangalore-gd-pi-call-getters-profile-queries-25027702
@moderators
Pls make this thread sticky till the results are out......
All the best to everyone for their B interviews and please do post in your experinces.It would be good if we can use an earlier format.
For the benefit of everyone concerned, please keep the format like this:
PROFILE:
Acads:
X
XII
Undergrad Major - GPA/%age
Work-Ex:
NIL/Sector - Number of Years
CAT %ile:
DI
Quant
Verbal
Aggregate
Any other special thing abt u:
GD:
Topic:
Number of Ppl present
Time:
Brief Snapshot of Discussion:
Other Salient Details: As whether summary was asked to be written or not, Time given, and other stuff.
PI:
Panel Members Intro:
Questions:
MISC.
Any other relevant detail.
@ mods..
pls make this thread sticky as its creating a lot of probs........
@ others..
all d best for ur gd/pi..n dont forget to post ur experience here after its over..
thanks.....
Please make one of the threads sticky
very well, so I am the first one to post an experience here! 
Here's my profile:
OA Percentile - 99.90
Class X - 87.2%
Class XII - 90.6%
Undergrad - B.E. from P.E.C. Chandigarh in Electronics & Electrical Communication (2006 passout) - 66.85%
Workex - 20+ months in IT Services @ Noida
Interview @ IHC , New Delhi - 20/3 - 1400 hours
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The process goes like this:
GD: 10 minutes to read a case + 20 minutes to discuss in which one of the member has to summarise the discussion (member has to be chosen by the group) + 10 minutes to fill a form which comprises of summary of the discussion, most influential person from 20th century in your opinion and why, lastly your career goals and where does PGP from IIMB fits in?
My case was about a ban by the Union Health Ministry on scenes in movies which depict smoking and therefore, the movie fraternity was pissed off at this... there were questions that why not go ahead and curb the tobacco production...
we had to discuss whether the ban was right or not? and Should tobacco production be curbed?
Now, 20 minutes is simply awesome! no one was bothered whether he/she will get a chance to speak or make a contribution...It was a good discussion discussing how the ban limited the creative freedom of the moviemaker and a blanket ban was not desired...then we discussed that curbing the tobacco production is also not feasible as the govt. has vested interests in it...farmers, corporates all angles were brought in...and awareness in the society and making film fraternity as an ally in the fight against tobacco were seen as possible solutions...
My performance:
started the GD and introduced the case...a few points here n there...then introduced the tobacco industry wala aspect...raised a few questions...and when around 17-18 minutes had passed kinda summarised the discussion and asked the group to come up with more suggestions to implement the solution...
on more thing...there was one guy out of us 9 who didnt speak even a word...towards the end, I asked the group to take his inputs....the group responded well and even the guy made one decent point...I don't know how it works with the GD protocol but I went with my gut feel...
decent performance I would say!
PI:
I was the first one!
P1: Old Lady Prof
P2: Young Male Prof
P1 had my application form with her!
P2: So Sumit, how would a friend describe you?
Me: described and used the word - peacemaker (how signifcant was this, you'll get to know!)
P2 then aksed questions on how would you go about resolving a conflict between two friends...I specifically mentioned that I am normally quite objective in my opinions and then I was all blah blah about getting to the root cause, hearing people out, providing them with a vent to let out what was bothering them and understanding each other's perspectives...
P1 then asked me to explain my job profile which I did decently
P2: Tell me one creative work that you have done in your job.
Me: told about the logo competition that I won and it was selected to be used as the logo of our project...
P2: Do you know what IIMBs logo means?
Me: recalled that It says 'Tejasvina Vadhi Tamastu' and told them thatit was also a part of my prayer at Kendiya Vidyalaya...and as far as I remember, it means - "take me from this darkness to enlightenment"...don't know the exact meaning though!
P2: nodded. (so I thought I was close to the exact meaning.)
P1: noted that I had mentioned about two awards for team work during my workex...gave a few situations and asked me how would I go about resolving/managing them...
Me: built upon the 'objective' quality of mine and gave relevant examples from my extra-currics and work-ex...
this discussion revolved a lot about understanding people...so P2 then tells me about People Quotient and asks me how should I judge your PQ?
Me: I tell him that a group activity would be perfect for it...and that would give you good insight to how i perceive others and how am i recieved by them...
P2 nodded...
then P2 mentioned that We agree with your idea of conflict resolution at micro level...but what do you think of how US goes about taking decisions in Nuclear power nd energy sector wrt other countries?
Me: I said that in earlier cases I was assigned with the role of achieving the task..on the other hand, no body has assigned US that role...brought up UN and how it should be the right medium for such decisions...
P2: but then reality is different!
Me: agreed and then substantiated how UN can be more assertive and should have done something when US went against its wishes and attacked Iraq...
P2: Do you believe in majority?
Me: Yes, sir.
P2: then what about the minority rights?
Me: Explained that decision-making bodies are in existence because of this...related the quality of 'being objective' to this and said that even if 80% agree to harm the rest 20%, it's not right...
P2: but that is majority by numbers...what about when u vote nd stuff?
Me: I didnt get the difference but explained taking Ganguly's example...that 95% junta would have said that he would not come back in the team but he did and scored good runs in both formats of the game! so, majority based o baseless reasons or emotions should not matter...the majority should have good reasons to back itself!
nd then Thanks You's & Good Byes!
-------------------------------------------------
very feel-good...I was totally myself in making those hypothetical decisions in there...rest I could relate their questions to my experiences...so overall very satisfied with the whole process!
I am done with my interviews...
time to unwind and parteeeee! :drinking::drinking:
Good wishes to all of you for the interviews and then the converts!
April 11th---The countdown has begun!
P.S: Tejasvi Navadhitamastu means - May our Knowledge become brilliant!
UPDATE :
was waitlisted 35 on May 1...and today, on May 22nd 2008, I have made it through!!!
that makes it 5 converts out of my 6 calls...joining IIMB!!! :clap:
Here's my profile:
OA Percentile - 99.90
Class X - 87.2%
Class XII - 90.6%
Undergrad - B.E. from P.E.C. Chandigarh in Electronics & Electrical Communication (2006 passout) - 66.85%
Workex - 20+ months in IT Services @ Noida
Interview @ IHC , New Delhi - 20/3 - 1400 hours
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The process goes like this:
GD: 10 minutes to read a case + 20 minutes to discuss in which one of the member has to summarise the discussion (member has to be chosen by the group) + 10 minutes to fill a form which comprises of summary of the discussion, most influential person from 20th century in your opinion and why, lastly your career goals and where does PGP from IIMB fits in?
My case was about a ban by the Union Health Ministry on scenes in movies which depict smoking and therefore, the movie fraternity was pissed off at this... there were questions that why not go ahead and curb the tobacco production...
we had to discuss whether the ban was right or not? and Should tobacco production be curbed?
Now, 20 minutes is simply awesome! no one was bothered whether he/she will get a chance to speak or make a contribution...It was a good discussion discussing how the ban limited the creative freedom of the moviemaker and a blanket ban was not desired...then we discussed that curbing the tobacco production is also not feasible as the govt. has vested interests in it...farmers, corporates all angles were brought in...and awareness in the society and making film fraternity as an ally in the fight against tobacco were seen as possible solutions...
My performance:
started the GD and introduced the case...a few points here n there...then introduced the tobacco industry wala aspect...raised a few questions...and when around 17-18 minutes had passed kinda summarised the discussion and asked the group to come up with more suggestions to implement the solution...
on more thing...there was one guy out of us 9 who didnt speak even a word...towards the end, I asked the group to take his inputs....the group responded well and even the guy made one decent point...I don't know how it works with the GD protocol but I went with my gut feel...
decent performance I would say!
PI:
I was the first one!
P1: Old Lady Prof
P2: Young Male Prof
P1 had my application form with her!
P2: So Sumit, how would a friend describe you?
Me: described and used the word - peacemaker (how signifcant was this, you'll get to know!)
P2 then aksed questions on how would you go about resolving a conflict between two friends...I specifically mentioned that I am normally quite objective in my opinions and then I was all blah blah about getting to the root cause, hearing people out, providing them with a vent to let out what was bothering them and understanding each other's perspectives...
P1 then asked me to explain my job profile which I did decently
P2: Tell me one creative work that you have done in your job.
Me: told about the logo competition that I won and it was selected to be used as the logo of our project...
P2: Do you know what IIMBs logo means?
Me: recalled that It says 'Tejasvina Vadhi Tamastu' and told them thatit was also a part of my prayer at Kendiya Vidyalaya...and as far as I remember, it means - "take me from this darkness to enlightenment"...don't know the exact meaning though!
P2: nodded. (so I thought I was close to the exact meaning.)
P1: noted that I had mentioned about two awards for team work during my workex...gave a few situations and asked me how would I go about resolving/managing them...
Me: built upon the 'objective' quality of mine and gave relevant examples from my extra-currics and work-ex...
this discussion revolved a lot about understanding people...so P2 then tells me about People Quotient and asks me how should I judge your PQ?
Me: I tell him that a group activity would be perfect for it...and that would give you good insight to how i perceive others and how am i recieved by them...
P2 nodded...
then P2 mentioned that We agree with your idea of conflict resolution at micro level...but what do you think of how US goes about taking decisions in Nuclear power nd energy sector wrt other countries?
Me: I said that in earlier cases I was assigned with the role of achieving the task..on the other hand, no body has assigned US that role...brought up UN and how it should be the right medium for such decisions...
P2: but then reality is different!
Me: agreed and then substantiated how UN can be more assertive and should have done something when US went against its wishes and attacked Iraq...
P2: Do you believe in majority?
Me: Yes, sir.
P2: then what about the minority rights?
Me: Explained that decision-making bodies are in existence because of this...related the quality of 'being objective' to this and said that even if 80% agree to harm the rest 20%, it's not right...
P2: but that is majority by numbers...what about when u vote nd stuff?
Me: I didnt get the difference but explained taking Ganguly's example...that 95% junta would have said that he would not come back in the team but he did and scored good runs in both formats of the game! so, majority based o baseless reasons or emotions should not matter...the majority should have good reasons to back itself!
nd then Thanks You's & Good Byes!
-------------------------------------------------
very feel-good...I was totally myself in making those hypothetical decisions in there...rest I could relate their questions to my experiences...so overall very satisfied with the whole process!
I am done with my interviews...
time to unwind and parteeeee! :drinking::drinking:
Good wishes to all of you for the interviews and then the converts!
April 11th---The countdown has begun!
P.S: Tejasvi Navadhitamastu means - May our Knowledge become brilliant!
UPDATE :
was waitlisted 35 on May 1...and today, on May 22nd 2008, I have made it through!!!
that makes it 5 converts out of my 6 calls...joining IIMB!!! :clap:
IAYF,
How did u guys decide on the person, who will summarize the gd?..kindly clarify....thanks
very well, so I am the first one to post an experience here!I think you did superbly and should be taken in. My best wishes dude.......U rocked
Here's my profile:
OA Percentile - 99.90
Class X - 87.2%
Class XII - 90.6%
Undergrad - B.E. from P.E.C. Chandigarh in Electronics & Electrical Communication (2006 passout) - 66.85%
Workex - 20+ months in IT Services @ Noida
Interview @ IHC , New Delhi - 20/3 - 1400 hours
--
IAYF,
Please clarify what was the appox word limit for the 3 questions on the form? (10 mins seem a bit less)
Well regarding the summary part -- around 17 minutes had gone by and I suggested that we should kinda put things together...so took the initiative and explained what we had discussed...there was no decision per se by the group but the group responded well to my initiative and then we moved on!
Regarding the form:
Page 1 had fields where we had to put in our name nd stuff and then the summary
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In our slot all the three groups had the same form...no clue about the morning one though...
hope this helps!
Regarding the form:
Page 1 had fields where we had to put in our name nd stuff and then the summary
- for the summary the space was close to 15 lines in a box...so word limit could be around 15*8 = 120.
- for the question on influential personality from 20th century: blank space where I guess one can put in around 6-7 lines.
- for the career goals and why IIMB's PGP: blank space- rest of the A4
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In our slot all the three groups had the same form...no clue about the morning one though...
hope this helps!
Hey IAYF u werent asked abt anything abt ur GD contribution (maybe like why u aske dthat guy or sth like that)?? As I feel with that performance in GD (start, summary n getting a guy to speak) u were pretty good there.
hey IAYF..
i think u did quite a nice job out there.. all da best dude.. :-)
nd btw were da other two grps also given da same case nd da q(most influential person of 20th century)..?
nd any banglore guys... plz post ur experience...:sad:
Hi,
Had my GD.PI today
2PM @ IIMB..
CAT 99.74, B Tech Chem Engg IT BHU 8.36
GD was on a case of ban on smoking in movies. 10 mins to read the case, 20 mins to discuss, 15 mins to summarize and answer 2 qstns about most influential ppl in 20th century n about career goal n how IIMB fits into it..
I started discussion, my performance was average.. summarized it well though..
Was first to go for interview.. arnd 25 mins of intrvw mostly on my work ex ( i work in SAP).. will just give brief about the qstns as may not be relevant for many..
P1. What u work on SAP, Success rate of ERP.. What is the platform, Very elaborate discussion on NetWeaver, ABAP, What is R3, R2 R1.. How to implement ERP.. what are the phases in implementation.. more discussion on implementation.. Compare with Oracle, NetWeaver and Fusion.. Ur band in SAP.. SAP's acquisition of Business object.. loads of other question and i think i fared well there.. From Chem engg to SAP, why? Why MBA
P2. Why MBA not convinced.. in spare time what u do.. what u read that influenced u most.. what is suare in square cut.. what u will bring to PGP.. everyone here is experienced, what xtra u wud bring in.. thanks qny qstn.. i asked somethng, got convincing answer..
overall a gud experience.. keeping my fingers crossed..
gud luck to u all..
Ya looking for more experiences !
Interview on 20th March, 9 AM at Delhi
PROFILE:
Acads:
X - 78
XII - 80.8
Undergrad Major - 67.04 from NSIT
Work-Ex: 9 months in Evalueserve
CAT %ile:
DI - 99.74
Quant - 99.98
Verbal - 99.47
Aggregate - 99.99
GD:
Topic: Case study on a pharmaceutical company not publishing warning of diabetes on a medicine for scizhophrenia.
Number of Ppl present: i think 10
Time and other details have already been mentioned
PI:
mine was the first IIMB interview in the entire country this year ;)
Panel Members Intro:
One guy who was too young to be a prof. name: Sourav Mukherjee, prof of organizational behavior. very cool
another guy who was prof of finance. cant remeber the name.
Experience:
just before the GD started, i went up to the cool prof and told him that i forgotten my folder containing marksheets and certificates at home
but he said its not a problem and i can show the cerrtificates if im selected and i join IIMB.
alright, on to the interview now.
Q:so you had IIM Indore last year. Why did you not join? Did you want only IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore or Calcutta?
A: (i was shocked as to how they knew that. because i hadn't showed them my resume yet) that was partly the reason. but a bigger reason was that i did not want to do an MBA last year. said some things to justify.
Q: now you think you are ready to do an MBA? dont give us a defensive answer. just take us through your thought process.
A: i told them that i have worked for some time and understand the corporate culture better than last year. i am more mature and some more things (dunno if they were convinced or not but moved on)
Q: 67 percent in college? why? dint study?
A: sir there are a few reasons why my percentage is low but i'l give you the biggest. i used to write very short and terse answers.
Q: but that should be a plus point in engineering.
A: you would think so. but surprisingly it is not.
Q: (here is the weirdest part) rishabh we know you are a bright student. we wont be asking you maths, which we might ask some of your friends outside. all we want to know is why you want to do an MBA.
A: i introduced entrepreneurship. MBA would give me knowledge, help me with finances and so on. 10 years down the line i want my own company.
Q: but most of the entrepreneurs we know are not MBAs. why do you need an MBA degree.
A: cant remember what i said but i fought valiantly
Q: you dont need an MBA. if you keep working in your company you'll grow, gain experience, earn money and still be in a position to do so.
A: again i had no convincing answers.
Q: what is the one quality that differentiates entrepreneurs from a successful CEO.
A: i said drive, they countered. i said hunger for power, they said go into politics or IAS. whatever i said, they countered.
Q: what do you really want to do in life?
A: short term consulting. gain experience and pick an industry to specialize in. then go for my company in that sector.
Q: have you analysed yourself whether you are fit to be an entrepreneur? what is it that you want through your company?
A: i dont know whether i am fit to be one or not. all i know is i want my own company because i want to generate employment.
Q: (mocking smiles) you must have thought of something.
A: not sure but one option i have in mind is retail chain backed by food production.
Q: so you know a lot about retail sector. tell us something about indian retail scene.
A: nascenmt stage but growing. organized retail very less.
Q: tell me about the regulatory scenario.
A: i only know that not more than 49 percent of FDI is allowed in retail sector.
Q: that means?
A: foreign retailers such as walmart and carrefour have to tie up with indian companies to open stores here.
Q: what is Metro doing?
A: they have a cash and carry model in which 100 percent FDI is allowed.
Q: what is cash and carry model?
A: i dont know.
Q: ok you can go. and best of luck for your career :crazyeye:
the order could be little wrong and i might have missed some things.
it was not the usual QnA session and one very cool discussion that you could have taken place anywhere. they ripped me apart but this was the only PI i really enjoyed being a part of. my only hope is that they would have liked me for the totally honest answers i gave.
i felt they took my interview in a pre-decided sort of manner. either they wanted to take me and were just looking to confirm a few thing or they did not want me and were looking for something extraordinary and did not find it. else the interview would not have revolved around only one thing.
let me know what you guys think.
later i went in and showed them my certis and marksheets. the cool prof said, "just show me the fake ones". i said none in this file sir. we also had around 2 mins of discussion over how IIMB compares percentage scores and CGPAs as i feel they consider an 8.0 CGPA at par with an 80 percent which is grossly unfair.
PROFILE:
Acads:
X - 78
XII - 80.8
Undergrad Major - 67.04 from NSIT
Work-Ex: 9 months in Evalueserve
CAT %ile:
DI - 99.74
Quant - 99.98
Verbal - 99.47
Aggregate - 99.99
GD:
Topic: Case study on a pharmaceutical company not publishing warning of diabetes on a medicine for scizhophrenia.
Number of Ppl present: i think 10
Time and other details have already been mentioned
PI:
mine was the first IIMB interview in the entire country this year ;)
Panel Members Intro:
One guy who was too young to be a prof. name: Sourav Mukherjee, prof of organizational behavior. very cool
another guy who was prof of finance. cant remeber the name.
Experience:
just before the GD started, i went up to the cool prof and told him that i forgotten my folder containing marksheets and certificates at home
but he said its not a problem and i can show the cerrtificates if im selected and i join IIMB.
alright, on to the interview now.
Q:so you had IIM Indore last year. Why did you not join? Did you want only IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore or Calcutta?
A: (i was shocked as to how they knew that. because i hadn't showed them my resume yet) that was partly the reason. but a bigger reason was that i did not want to do an MBA last year. said some things to justify.
Q: now you think you are ready to do an MBA? dont give us a defensive answer. just take us through your thought process.
A: i told them that i have worked for some time and understand the corporate culture better than last year. i am more mature and some more things (dunno if they were convinced or not but moved on)
Q: 67 percent in college? why? dint study?
A: sir there are a few reasons why my percentage is low but i'l give you the biggest. i used to write very short and terse answers.
Q: but that should be a plus point in engineering.
A: you would think so. but surprisingly it is not.
Q: (here is the weirdest part) rishabh we know you are a bright student. we wont be asking you maths, which we might ask some of your friends outside. all we want to know is why you want to do an MBA.
A: i introduced entrepreneurship. MBA would give me knowledge, help me with finances and so on. 10 years down the line i want my own company.
Q: but most of the entrepreneurs we know are not MBAs. why do you need an MBA degree.
A: cant remember what i said but i fought valiantly
Q: you dont need an MBA. if you keep working in your company you'll grow, gain experience, earn money and still be in a position to do so.
A: again i had no convincing answers.
Q: what is the one quality that differentiates entrepreneurs from a successful CEO.
A: i said drive, they countered. i said hunger for power, they said go into politics or IAS. whatever i said, they countered.
Q: what do you really want to do in life?
A: short term consulting. gain experience and pick an industry to specialize in. then go for my company in that sector.
Q: have you analysed yourself whether you are fit to be an entrepreneur? what is it that you want through your company?
A: i dont know whether i am fit to be one or not. all i know is i want my own company because i want to generate employment.
Q: (mocking smiles) you must have thought of something.
A: not sure but one option i have in mind is retail chain backed by food production.
Q: so you know a lot about retail sector. tell us something about indian retail scene.
A: nascenmt stage but growing. organized retail very less.
Q: tell me about the regulatory scenario.
A: i only know that not more than 49 percent of FDI is allowed in retail sector.
Q: that means?
A: foreign retailers such as walmart and carrefour have to tie up with indian companies to open stores here.
Q: what is Metro doing?
A: they have a cash and carry model in which 100 percent FDI is allowed.
Q: what is cash and carry model?
A: i dont know.
Q: ok you can go. and best of luck for your career :crazyeye:
the order could be little wrong and i might have missed some things.
it was not the usual QnA session and one very cool discussion that you could have taken place anywhere. they ripped me apart but this was the only PI i really enjoyed being a part of. my only hope is that they would have liked me for the totally honest answers i gave.
i felt they took my interview in a pre-decided sort of manner. either they wanted to take me and were just looking to confirm a few thing or they did not want me and were looking for something extraordinary and did not find it. else the interview would not have revolved around only one thing.
let me know what you guys think.
later i went in and showed them my certis and marksheets. the cool prof said, "just show me the fake ones". i said none in this file sir. we also had around 2 mins of discussion over how IIMB compares percentage scores and CGPAs as i feel they consider an 8.0 CGPA at par with an 80 percent which is grossly unfair.
Hi..
MY FIRST POST ON PAGALGUY...
Had my gd/pi yesterday at 2:00pm in New delhi(Habitat centre)..
PROFILE:
Acads:
X - 89.0%
XII - 90.2%
Undergrad Major - 8.46 GPA, NIT Bhopal, Electronics and Comunication Engg. passed in May'07.
Work-Ex:
Presently working in Capgemini, Pune (work-ex 4 months)
CAT %ile:
DI 96.67%ile
Quant 98.89%ile
Verbal 99.30%ile
Aggregate 99.72 %ile
Calls: A,B,C,L,I,K,S..
Any other special thing abt u: Always among the rankers throughout my school and college, silver certificate in national cyber Olympiad and bronze medal in all India maths talent test..
GD:
It was a case study based on some recent study which concluded that tobacco consuming scenes should be banned in films and WHO is supporting this but film fraternity is against it and Mr. Mahesh Bhatt also opposed this. we had to discuss on whether govt. should ban the overall tobacco industry or they should just ban the smoking scenes in films.
Number of Ppl present : 9
Brief Snapshot of Discussion:
We were given 10 mins. to go thru this case and think on this... Seemed to be a very long time... Everybody was seating ideal by the end of this 10mins.
Then we had a discussion for next 20 mins. was a nice one... One of the best i have seen, waise bhi 20 mins is a very long time and the panel members have warned of not making it fish market in the beginning only and this too very strictly.. This also made a lot of impact on discussion..
Finally after 20 mins, we were asked to write the summary of the discussion and 2 other questions.. 1st was on most influential personality in ur opinion in 20th century and 2nd was on ur career plans and how IIM-B suits into ur career growth... Had to write very fast to complete it. Somehow i managed it nut handwriting... (even i can't understand):sad::sad:
PI:
Panel Members Intro:
P1: A senior professor on operations management.
P2: Director of PGPM program of IIM-B
Questions:
P1: Asked about my surname's spelling (Agrawal), Does diff. spellings have any different meanings...
( Had a 2-3 mins discussion on this, just a general kind of discussion)
P1: Wat would u like to discuss.. ur work-ex or Ur engineering??
Me: anything sir..:sad:
P1: Be specific..
Me: i would like to discuss both sir.
P1: Ok, we will start with ur work-ex.
(Had a long discussion on my job profile, wat i am doing, wat have i have learned during past 4 months... )
P2 was going thru my certificates...
As I'm working in financial sector on credit cards processing. So they started the discussion on how credit cards work..
Me: Again discussed on this.. explained with a suitable example.
(They were satisfied...):-P
P2: If I purchase a good for Rs.100 and pay back this money back to
bank in time. Then wats the bank getting out of this??
Me: Explained that its the defaulters that the banks are looking for and not
the right payers... (They were happy and then started the discussion
on this only...):p
P2 asked then insurance companies are also working like this only... But
they are looking for healthy people who'll just pay the premium and not
unhealthy people and ill ones...wats the logical difference between the
two industries.
Me: explained them (they seemed satisfied) :angel:
P1: wat the credit card industry is working on, isn't it unethical?? as they want people to default more... This is opposite to Your case study that u discussed(tobacco one)
Me: again a lot of discussion on this and somehow they seemed satisfied..
P2 leaves in between.. maybe he got a call on his mobile but not sure..
Kahi pak to nahi gaye the...(Kash aisa na ho...)
Now p1 alone...
P1: Ok.. Now sth about ur engg.. wat did u studied.. ur fav. subjects??:sad:
Me: Communication esp. mobile comm.. All my b.tech projects were on comm. only and my industrial training was on this only.. :lookroun::lookroun:
P1: ok, why we generally lose the signal in between while travelling...
Me: talked of hand-Off and the hexagonal cells...
P1: Why hexagonal in shape??
Me: explained them about area being covered max. in smallest shape.
P1: Asked me to proof it mathematically..
Me: sir, I can try.. but not sure..:idea:
P1: ok, no probs.. leave it...
(Then again we had a discussion on handoff and why it happens, increasing the no. of base towers and geography of the place affecting signal strength... was a ood discussion.. Enjoyed a lot)
P1: Ok, now come back to gd... wat was the core issue of that gd. think for a min and then phrase it exactly..
Me: started explaining him..( He stopped me in middle and said to phrase out exactly taking my time...):lookroun:
P2 is back..:snipersm:
Me: Reduction in no. of people taking tobacco..
:
P1 was happy and said good...
Finally they said me to leave...
while i was just about to stand, they asked whether i have submitted my B.Tech degree.. i said i have only provisional with ,e and will be getting my degree in april... They said ok.. and finally it was over..:p
tell me... How was it?? ur comments... i was satisfied.. waise they didn't grilled me on anything.. were always ready to listen my answers.. it was a cool interview.
Now, finally all interviews over.. time to enjoy and back to some office work(sochenge!!)
Hi..
MY FIRST POST ON PAGALGUY...
Had my gd/pi yesterday at 2:00pm in New delhi(Habitat centre)..
PROFILE:
Acads:
X - 89.0%
XII - 90.2%
Undergrad Major - 8.46 GPA, NIT Bhopal, Electronics and Comunication Engg. passed in May'07.
Work-Ex:
Presently working in Capgemini, Pune (work-ex 4 months)
CAT %ile:
DI 96.67%ile
Quant 98.89%ile
Verbal 99.30%ile
Aggregate 99.72 %ile
Calls: A,B,C,L,I,K,S..
Any other special thing abt u: Always among the rankers throughout my school and college, silver certificate in national cyber Olympiad and bronze medal in all India maths talent test..
GD:
It was a case study based on some recent study which concluded that tobacco consuming scenes should be banned in films and WHO is supporting this but film fraternity is against it and Mr. Mahesh Bhatt also opposed this. we had to discuss on whether govt. should ban the overall tobacco industry or they should just ban the smoking scenes in films.
Number of Ppl present : 9
Brief Snapshot of Discussion:
We were given 10 mins. to go thru this case and think on this... Seemed to be a very long time... Everybody was seating ideal by the end of this 10mins.
Then we had a discussion for next 20 mins. was a nice one... One of the best i have seen, waise bhi 20 mins is a very long time and the panel members have warned of not making it fish market in the beginning only and this too very strictly.. This also made a lot of impact on discussion..
Finally after 20 mins, we were asked to write the summary of the discussion and 2 other questions.. 1st was on most influential personality in ur opinion in 20th century and 2nd was on ur career plans and how IIM-B suits into ur career growth... Had to write very fast to complete it. Somehow i managed it nut handwriting... (even i can't understand):sad::sad:
PI:
Panel Members Intro:
P1: A senior professor on operations management.
P2: Director of PGPM program of IIM-B
Questions:
P1: Asked about my surname's spelling (Agrawal), Does diff. spellings have any different meanings...
( Had a 2-3 mins discussion on this, just a general kind of discussion)
P1: Wat would u like to discuss.. ur work-ex or Ur engineering??
Me: anything sir..:sad:
P1: Be specific..
Me: i would like to discuss both sir.
P1: Ok, we will start with ur work-ex.
(Had a long discussion on my job profile, wat i am doing, wat have i have learned during past 4 months... )
P2 was going thru my certificates...
As I'm working in financial sector on credit cards processing. So they started the discussion on how credit cards work..
Me: Again discussed on this.. explained with a suitable example.
(They were satisfied...):-P
P2: If I purchase a good for Rs.100 and pay back this money back to
bank in time. Then wats the bank getting out of this??
Me: Explained that its the defaulters that the banks are looking for and not
the right payers... (They were happy and then started the discussion
on this only...):p
P2 asked then insurance companies are also working like this only... But
they are looking for healthy people who'll just pay the premium and not
unhealthy people and ill ones...wats the logical difference between the
two industries.
Me: explained them (they seemed satisfied) :angel:
P1: wat the credit card industry is working on, isn't it unethical?? as they want people to default more... This is opposite to Your case study that u discussed(tobacco one)
Me: again a lot of discussion on this and somehow they seemed satisfied..
P2 leaves in between.. maybe he got a call on his mobile but not sure..
Kahi pak to nahi gaye the...(Kash aisa na ho...)
Now p1 alone...
P1: Ok.. Now sth about ur engg.. wat did u studied.. ur fav. subjects??:sad:
Me: Communication esp. mobile comm.. All my b.tech projects were on comm. only and my industrial training was on this only.. :lookroun::lookroun:
P1: ok, why we generally lose the signal in between while travelling...
Me: talked of hand-Off and the hexagonal cells...
P1: Why hexagonal in shape??
Me: explained them about area being covered max. in smallest shape.
P1: Asked me to proof it mathematically..
Me: sir, I can try.. but not sure..:idea:
P1: ok, no probs.. leave it...
(Then again we had a discussion on handoff and why it happens, increasing the no. of base towers and geography of the place affecting signal strength... was a ood discussion.. Enjoyed a lot)
P1: Ok, now come back to gd... wat was the core issue of that gd. think for a min and then phrase it exactly..
Me: started explaining him..( He stopped me in middle and said to phrase out exactly taking my time...):lookroun:
P2 is back..:snipersm:
Me: Reduction in no. of people taking tobacco..:
P1 was happy and said good...
Finally they said me to leave...
while i was just about to stand, they asked whether i have submitted my B.Tech degree.. i said i have only provisional with ,e and will be getting my degree in april... They said ok.. and finally it was over..:p
tell me... How was it?? ur comments... i was satisfied.. waise they didn't grilled me on anything.. were always ready to listen my answers.. it was a cool interview.
Now, finally all interviews over.. time to enjoy and back to some office work(sochenge!!)
Q:so you had IIM Indore last year. Why did you not join? Did you want only IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore or Calcutta?
A: (i was shocked as to how they knew that. because i hadn't showed them me resume yet) that was partly the reason. but a bigger reason was that i did not want to do an MBA last year. said some things to justify.
.
How come they Know this any IDEA??????????
IIMB@ 2 pm
GD topic was "to ban smoking in films or tobacco itself?
what do you think?"
GD started off well, and the following points were discussed.
1. It is not only cigarettes but there are other tobacco based
products such as beedis that cause problems.
2. ppl will get affected watching their fav hero smoking on
screen. At tender age, they might start smoking to follow
their idols.
3. Some points about reaction from film fraternity.
4. Was there any affect on ladies as well?(it was mentioned
about gender hormone changes ..something like that)
5. Tobacco has some uses such as, it is used as preservative
for something..(can't remember)
6. Measures taken by govt, such as pictorial warnings etc.
7. Paan wala should be responsible enf to give it to above 18 ppl:
(no clue how it is going to happen)
8. Cannot ban tobacco as it generates lot of revenue and employs
many people.
My GD perf was ok ok. Made 4-5 interventions and i hope i told some
valid points such as,
- there is no concrete proof abt no of ppl getting affected due to
Smoking in movies.
- Role played by media in sensationalizing bollywood etc.
- Everybody was supporting the ban of smoking in films the i raise
a point, then why not ban smoking itself?
- Somebody gave a point that tobacco creates lot of employment.
- I added to that saying revenue generated is too big. so, it is difficult
to ban tobacco.
- One point i could think of later is, if tobacco is banned,
then illegal local products will come up(something like cheap liquor
when liquor was banned in some states). That would be a bigger
mess to monitor.
I felt that GD went fine for first 10 - 15 minutes. Later,
we ran out of points and no new points were being added and
we couldn't conclude in 20 min.
Now comes interview part,
I was some where in the last to be interviewed, I was trying to get in
touch with people from the morning as how the interviews were happening.
General feed back I got was, not many questions asked from work ex., No btp related questions, (unless you are in their final year).
I went in,
p1 - older prof. He looked into my certificates.
p2 - (i think relatively young) he asked me most of the questions.
p2 -why sachin tendulkar? we were asked abt most influential personality in 20th century?
(it was a question they asked at the end of GD, to write about the
most influential person in 20th century and career plans and how
PGP at IIMB will help you ....etc..)
me - I know it is not exactly 20th century, but i grew up watching him.
Mentioned about some positive points and how i got inspired. It is not about
Cricket. But, the passion with which he progressed etc
(I should have given an industrialist name or something
like that, as it would be inline with MBA stuff.)
p2 - what is your discipline? Why shift from xxx Engg to IT?
me There was mostly research work in my field. I thought that there are good opportunities with IT when i came out of college. Also talked about the corporate exposure i get etc..
p2 - you did weight lifting eh?
me - I did it in my Engg. But, had to stop it due to knee injury.( don't know how relevant
this is)
p2- whats happening in your company now?
Me - Explained about the recession in US and how my company is trying all the ways to reduce costs.
p1 - how many members in your team?
me - explained about the product and the work we do as a team.
and the no. of ppl in my team.
p2 - why MBA?
- to add value to my existing profile and skill set etc...
p1 - why MBA at IIM, you can do a correspondence course while doing your job?
- study at iim with competitive peer will help me learn better etc..
don't know whether they were satisfied or not. They didnt ask me about it again. So, i assume they were satisfied.
p1 - what are your hobbies?
I occasionally read books and i like to watch debates on tv.
p2 - tell me abt a social issue(debate) you watched on tv?
me (couldn't recollect one that moment.)
p2 - what is your native?
me - told
p2 - what is the current problem there?
me - naxalism.
p2 - tell me abt it.
m2 - I said that the ideology with which they started was reasonable. But, it has become a power game. everybody wants their own piece in the system.
They have so many groups within themselves. If they have common goal, they should have fought together.
p2 - (looked satisfied) so, better of the two evils .(referring to democratic system I guess.
me - yes. the system we follow is the best that is possible.
p2- They(naxals) have almost killed a CM(chandrababu). They know that they will loose public support.
me - I dont think they will loose support from public. it is not about CM or PM(i said this 😞 ... did it look arrogant?) Problem is there at gross root level, it is the ppl who got affected due to bureaucracy and corrupt officials look toward to naxalism and the ppl already in there are helping.
p2- what are your passions?
me - (the only thing i knew was hero honda passion plus )
I took the opportunity to highlight my achievements. Explained that the work I do, I put lot of enthusiasm etc...
Told abt my btp journal paper, my summer internship at high funda place and some workplace achievements .i got some award and etc..
p1 and p2 looked at each other and said ok thats it.
As you might have seen, it is gen HR interview with nothing different or difficult was asked. no math, no work ex related no project related.
I couldn't think of any reason that they should take me, though I felt that I did decent GD/PI.
Also, it is possible that the panel might think that the GD was bad and they asked HR questions to everybody and scrapped whole group itself? (Little extreme but that could be possible)
thats it guys. This is my first experience post in pagal guy. I have waited for 2 years to write a post like this. I am happy about it. Lets see whether the fight will end here or not. (IIMB was my only call).
Ready Reckoner :
(A short of all my interview questions for easy scrolling later)
Work ex -> What are you currently doing?
Work ex/General -> If you love your job so much , why MBA?
General -> So you have Leadership skills . Explain.
General -> MBA does not cater to people who want to be Entrepreneurs , why come here?
Hobbies -> What are they?
Hobbies -> Strategy Games -> Are they a substitute for Management education?
Hobbies -> Strategy Games -> What did you learn from them?
Trivia/Acad -> Computer sci. -> How did the words 'bug' and 'debugging' come into usage?
The Pledge:
Acads:
X : 88%
XII : 88%
Undergrad Major - GPA/%age : 80%
Work-Ex:
IT Sector/Insurance (Cognizant) = 0.75 (9 months)
CAT %ile:
DI : 94.51
Quant : 94.35
Verbal : 99.89
Aggregate : 99.57
Any other special thing abt u: I'm me ;)
The Turn:
Location : IIMB
Date : 20th March
Slot : 2 P.M
Topic: The same tobacco case study mentioned above
Number of Ppl present : 9
Introduction of the Profs followed by a brief description of the process
10 min to read the caselet. You have to jot down points only on that paper
They will give the signal to start - do not jump the gun. (This happened in my panel when a guy started off and they told him to stop)
20 min for the actual discussion
10 min to write the summary on a separate sheet of paper. You also have to answer these 2 questions in those 10 min
a) Who do you think is the most influentual person in the 20th Century. Why?
b) What are your career aspirations. How does a PGP from IIMB fit into it?
My own GD was a bit of a fish market. Lots of simultaneous talk. Not much of structure. We kept revisiting the same 'Should smoking scenes be banned in films?' instead of progressing to the second 'Should it be banned altogether?'.
People did not give time for the other person to finish their points so no brownie points for the group for a healthy discussion. The group on the whole was for banning. I took the opposite stance and made 2 contributions there
a) The argument can then be extended to scenes which depict crimes against women in the movies. Next we'll have to ban that too. So where will you draw the line?
b) About U.S banning alcohol in the mid 20th century and how it did not curb alcohol consumption but only started a black market. (Cut off before i could say Mafia but not a big deal)
Overall i wouldn't say i was the most heard but i did not contribute to the market too. Once i realized it was a fish market, i started jotting down everyone's points - This helped me write a good summary. This also helped my speed in writing the summary so i think jotting down points will help you a lot.
The Prestige:
Panel Members Intro:
Prof. Jishnu Hazra (Production and Operations Management)
Dr. Mathew J Manimala (Organisational Behavior & Human Resource Management)
Questions:
MM (Smiling): So, Siddharth , you are already working in Cognizant?
Me : Yes Sir
MM : So what do you do there?
Me : One line explanation of what i do
MM : Do you work in a team?
Me : Yes . I'm in a 6 member team
MM : Are you the leader?
Me : No. But once the Team Leader assigns us the work , i become the de facto leader of the group.
MM : Why do you become de facto leader?
Me : Because i show the most inclination towards doing all that work - talking to the TL - assigning work for others and collating it and giving it back
MM : So you have leadership skills?
Me : Yes sir i do
MM : What makes you say so?
Me : Well I get along with everyone in the team. I get my point across to everyone in simple terms. I also ask everyone for their inputs. Nobody complains
MM : So what happens when someone doesn't finish their quota of their work?
Me : They'd have to talk directly to the TL. Since i divide work equally, everyone should finish their part. I will defend the person if he/she had genuine problems though.
MM : So you like what you do?
Me : Yup
MM : So why do you want to MBA?
Me : My dream is to start my own venture few years down the line. I'll be a lot more happier doing that
MM : But we do not cater to entrepreneurs here ...
Me : You mean you cater to a career in management?
MM : Yes
Me : Well yes. I view an career in management as something where i can gain knowledge for the future
JH : Well why don't you quit right now and start ?
Me : Well Sir , i essentially have a choice between 2 schools here. The School of MBA and the School of hard knocks. I choose the former
MM : Do you know of any entrepreneurs who did their MBA before starting out?
Me : Well , Shiv Nadar was a management trainee in DCM before starting out
JH : Ah , but was he an MBA?
Me : Management trainee but not sure whether he completed MBA.
JH : Why not continue in Cognizant itself?
Me : I'll learn more if i complete an MBA and then do a few of Management related work ex for my future plans than if i stay here
JH : Ok now you are making assumptions. 5 years in Cognizant would do you a world of good. People start off in management selling door to door , interacting with customers. That is best
Me : But i essentially view MBA as a shortcut to the years to doing the technical aspects. Its better for me to be in a middle management post earlier and spend more time before starting out
JH : Ah . How would you like it if youre PM didn't know any coding and suddenly does an MBA and comes there? Would you like working under him?
Me : As long he/she is a good manager , i would have no problems with working under him.
JH : Ok - what if you get stuck technically?
Me: That falls under the scope of the TL. He should be the one taking care of our technical doubts.
JH : From your perspective you mean..
Me : (Smiling) Yes . From my perspective, i've seen the type pf work which my own PMs do. They need to have a high level perspective and understanding i.e like a customer wants this insurance product. I do not think Oracle or Java knowledge is a must here
MM : So what did you do in your free time during college?
Me : Well Sir , we used to play cricket. And i play computer game and strategy games like Monopoly,Diplomacy
MM : Hmm..
Me : After joinging work , the cricket part of it i could no longer continue. But i still stay in touch with the strategy games hobby. (I said this because i didn't want to be quizzed on cricket!! )
MM : So they say Strategy games are a good substitute for Management education?
Me : (Smiling) Well i wouldn't call it a substitute. But i've learnt a lot of things from these games which will surely help me in the future.
MM : Such as?
Me : Well take the game of monopoly - you deal with others to get what you want - you understand a lot of the human character.
MM : Oh. Tell us the main learning you got
Me : I've learnt that playing the short term percentages don't work. I'm rather willing to sacrifice my position in the short term to gain a long term advantage to build up my reputation as a fair trader.
MM : So 'Trust is the basis of all collaboration'
Me : Absolutely Sir
MM : (Smiling) On whose authority?
Me : (Smiling) From my own learning Sir. Could i explain with an example?
MM : Go ahead
Me : I play a game called diplomacy where players control different countries. The only way to advance in the game is to form alliances with other players. After that , you could also backstab a particular ally to gain some of his territories. How i played the game was , in the first few games i played , i never used to backstab or attack another ally. This way i built up my cred and leveraged my status as a trust able ally in the long run.
JH : So backstab later when everyone believes you ..
Me : No no - never back stab - form alliances where everyone believes you and win
JH : But backstabing would be so profitable for you ..
Me : Yes it would - but only in the short run - When i backstab the next time players would be wary of trading with me so it would only hurt me in the long run
(Both of them look at each other)
JH : Ok , you are a Comp. Sci graduate ..
Me : Yes Sir
JH : Tell me how the words 'Bug' and 'Debugging' came into usage. The story behind it..
Me : It started way back when they had the computers with vaccum tubes. They were testing out a program when they noticed it didn't work. When they pulled out a control board, they saw that an actual bug was stuck there. When he reported it in the log , he wrote 'program didn't work because of' and stuck the actual bug there. Thats how the entire parlance of bug and debugging came into the picture
JH : So an actual bug was there and thats how it came into use?
Me :
MM : So do you have any questions for us?
Me : No Sir
MM : Ok then . Thank you
Me : Thank you Sir
Me (Towards JH) : Thank you Sir
My call on my experience:
The GD could have gone better but i guess i did the best i could in the chaotic atmosphere there.
The interview went very well but it was very short compared to the others before me. (i was last but one). I had it for ten minutes while everyone else had it for 20 min. But there was no part where i could have improved upon on the interview so i'm happy about that performance.
However i'm not keeping my hopes up as a lot of people in my group came out with very happy faces and i've already been advised that B interviews are feel good and a B reject is generally very hard to take since everyone thinks they've done well.
My advice to the ones who are yet to complete GD/PI in 2008:
i) Be fast in writing the summary. Taking points helps but make sure it doesn't detract from your gd performance.
ii) I'm not sure but i think the second question 'Career aspirations' is to check for consistency and a few lines should suffice there. The first if probably an ice breaker so that you have something else to talk about. So concentrate on your summary as it constitutes 5 marks. Then come to these questions.
iii) Be clear. A few people who had come that day were actually dreading the question 'Why MBA?' - If you are not clear on this , you can never convince the panel here.
iv) Finally , Be confident and keep smiling - Have fun
Result:
Updated on May 1st 2008. Reject. Did not make the Wait list too.
(P.S You really really have to watch movies more if you can't understand the titles to my post 😃 )
(A short of all my interview questions for easy scrolling later)
Work ex -> What are you currently doing?
Work ex/General -> If you love your job so much , why MBA?
General -> So you have Leadership skills . Explain.
General -> MBA does not cater to people who want to be Entrepreneurs , why come here?
Hobbies -> What are they?
Hobbies -> Strategy Games -> Are they a substitute for Management education?
Hobbies -> Strategy Games -> What did you learn from them?
Trivia/Acad -> Computer sci. -> How did the words 'bug' and 'debugging' come into usage?
The Pledge:
Acads:
X : 88%
XII : 88%
Undergrad Major - GPA/%age : 80%
Work-Ex:
IT Sector/Insurance (Cognizant) = 0.75 (9 months)
CAT %ile:
DI : 94.51
Quant : 94.35
Verbal : 99.89
Aggregate : 99.57
Any other special thing abt u: I'm me ;)
The Turn:
Location : IIMB
Date : 20th March
Slot : 2 P.M
Topic: The same tobacco case study mentioned above
Number of Ppl present : 9
Introduction of the Profs followed by a brief description of the process
10 min to read the caselet. You have to jot down points only on that paper
They will give the signal to start - do not jump the gun. (This happened in my panel when a guy started off and they told him to stop)
20 min for the actual discussion
10 min to write the summary on a separate sheet of paper. You also have to answer these 2 questions in those 10 min
a) Who do you think is the most influentual person in the 20th Century. Why?
b) What are your career aspirations. How does a PGP from IIMB fit into it?
My own GD was a bit of a fish market. Lots of simultaneous talk. Not much of structure. We kept revisiting the same 'Should smoking scenes be banned in films?' instead of progressing to the second 'Should it be banned altogether?'.
People did not give time for the other person to finish their points so no brownie points for the group for a healthy discussion. The group on the whole was for banning. I took the opposite stance and made 2 contributions there
a) The argument can then be extended to scenes which depict crimes against women in the movies. Next we'll have to ban that too. So where will you draw the line?
b) About U.S banning alcohol in the mid 20th century and how it did not curb alcohol consumption but only started a black market. (Cut off before i could say Mafia but not a big deal)
Overall i wouldn't say i was the most heard but i did not contribute to the market too. Once i realized it was a fish market, i started jotting down everyone's points - This helped me write a good summary. This also helped my speed in writing the summary so i think jotting down points will help you a lot.
The Prestige:
Panel Members Intro:
Prof. Jishnu Hazra (Production and Operations Management)
Dr. Mathew J Manimala (Organisational Behavior & Human Resource Management)
Questions:
MM (Smiling): So, Siddharth , you are already working in Cognizant?
Me : Yes Sir
MM : So what do you do there?
Me : One line explanation of what i do
MM : Do you work in a team?
Me : Yes . I'm in a 6 member team
MM : Are you the leader?
Me : No. But once the Team Leader assigns us the work , i become the de facto leader of the group.
MM : Why do you become de facto leader?
Me : Because i show the most inclination towards doing all that work - talking to the TL - assigning work for others and collating it and giving it back
MM : So you have leadership skills?
Me : Yes sir i do
MM : What makes you say so?
Me : Well I get along with everyone in the team. I get my point across to everyone in simple terms. I also ask everyone for their inputs. Nobody complains
MM : So what happens when someone doesn't finish their quota of their work?
Me : They'd have to talk directly to the TL. Since i divide work equally, everyone should finish their part. I will defend the person if he/she had genuine problems though.
MM : So you like what you do?
Me : Yup
MM : So why do you want to MBA?
Me : My dream is to start my own venture few years down the line. I'll be a lot more happier doing that
MM : But we do not cater to entrepreneurs here ...
Me : You mean you cater to a career in management?
MM : Yes
Me : Well yes. I view an career in management as something where i can gain knowledge for the future
JH : Well why don't you quit right now and start ?
Me : Well Sir , i essentially have a choice between 2 schools here. The School of MBA and the School of hard knocks. I choose the former
MM : Do you know of any entrepreneurs who did their MBA before starting out?
Me : Well , Shiv Nadar was a management trainee in DCM before starting out
JH : Ah , but was he an MBA?
Me : Management trainee but not sure whether he completed MBA.
JH : Why not continue in Cognizant itself?
Me : I'll learn more if i complete an MBA and then do a few of Management related work ex for my future plans than if i stay here
JH : Ok now you are making assumptions. 5 years in Cognizant would do you a world of good. People start off in management selling door to door , interacting with customers. That is best
Me : But i essentially view MBA as a shortcut to the years to doing the technical aspects. Its better for me to be in a middle management post earlier and spend more time before starting out
JH : Ah . How would you like it if youre PM didn't know any coding and suddenly does an MBA and comes there? Would you like working under him?
Me : As long he/she is a good manager , i would have no problems with working under him.
JH : Ok - what if you get stuck technically?
Me: That falls under the scope of the TL. He should be the one taking care of our technical doubts.
JH : From your perspective you mean..
Me : (Smiling) Yes . From my perspective, i've seen the type pf work which my own PMs do. They need to have a high level perspective and understanding i.e like a customer wants this insurance product. I do not think Oracle or Java knowledge is a must here
MM : So what did you do in your free time during college?
Me : Well Sir , we used to play cricket. And i play computer game and strategy games like Monopoly,Diplomacy
MM : Hmm..
Me : After joinging work , the cricket part of it i could no longer continue. But i still stay in touch with the strategy games hobby. (I said this because i didn't want to be quizzed on cricket!! )
MM : So they say Strategy games are a good substitute for Management education?
Me : (Smiling) Well i wouldn't call it a substitute. But i've learnt a lot of things from these games which will surely help me in the future.
MM : Such as?
Me : Well take the game of monopoly - you deal with others to get what you want - you understand a lot of the human character.
MM : Oh. Tell us the main learning you got
Me : I've learnt that playing the short term percentages don't work. I'm rather willing to sacrifice my position in the short term to gain a long term advantage to build up my reputation as a fair trader.
MM : So 'Trust is the basis of all collaboration'
Me : Absolutely Sir
MM : (Smiling) On whose authority?
Me : (Smiling) From my own learning Sir. Could i explain with an example?
MM : Go ahead
Me : I play a game called diplomacy where players control different countries. The only way to advance in the game is to form alliances with other players. After that , you could also backstab a particular ally to gain some of his territories. How i played the game was , in the first few games i played , i never used to backstab or attack another ally. This way i built up my cred and leveraged my status as a trust able ally in the long run.
JH : So backstab later when everyone believes you ..
Me : No no - never back stab - form alliances where everyone believes you and win
JH : But backstabing would be so profitable for you ..
Me : Yes it would - but only in the short run - When i backstab the next time players would be wary of trading with me so it would only hurt me in the long run
(Both of them look at each other)
JH : Ok , you are a Comp. Sci graduate ..
Me : Yes Sir
JH : Tell me how the words 'Bug' and 'Debugging' came into usage. The story behind it..
Me : It started way back when they had the computers with vaccum tubes. They were testing out a program when they noticed it didn't work. When they pulled out a control board, they saw that an actual bug was stuck there. When he reported it in the log , he wrote 'program didn't work because of' and stuck the actual bug there. Thats how the entire parlance of bug and debugging came into the picture
JH : So an actual bug was there and thats how it came into use?
Me :
MM : So do you have any questions for us?
Me : No Sir
MM : Ok then . Thank you
Me : Thank you Sir
Me (Towards JH) : Thank you Sir
My call on my experience:
The GD could have gone better but i guess i did the best i could in the chaotic atmosphere there.
The interview went very well but it was very short compared to the others before me. (i was last but one). I had it for ten minutes while everyone else had it for 20 min. But there was no part where i could have improved upon on the interview so i'm happy about that performance.
However i'm not keeping my hopes up as a lot of people in my group came out with very happy faces and i've already been advised that B interviews are feel good and a B reject is generally very hard to take since everyone thinks they've done well.
My advice to the ones who are yet to complete GD/PI in 2008:
i) Be fast in writing the summary. Taking points helps but make sure it doesn't detract from your gd performance.
ii) I'm not sure but i think the second question 'Career aspirations' is to check for consistency and a few lines should suffice there. The first if probably an ice breaker so that you have something else to talk about. So concentrate on your summary as it constitutes 5 marks. Then come to these questions.
iii) Be clear. A few people who had come that day were actually dreading the question 'Why MBA?' - If you are not clear on this , you can never convince the panel here.
iv) Finally , Be confident and keep smiling - Have fun
Result:
Updated on May 1st 2008. Reject. Did not make the Wait list too.
(P.S You really really have to watch movies more if you can't understand the titles to my post 😃 )