Crash course on
Indian IT - My interview experience at IIMB
Date: 28 Sept 2014
Time: 9 00 AM slot
Profile: Indian IT Male J - 9 yrs of exp
I managed to reach IIMB at 8 and assumed I would be the first to reach. Nope, there were a few others already in the room where we were to be seated.
At 8 30, 2 people from adcom walked in and started document verifications.
At 9 AM we were handed over the essay topic and a sheet of paper to write our essays on. The topic for the day was something like "Healthcare in India is facing a few challenges, like unavailability of quality doctors and increasing cost of healthcare instruments. How do you propose to solve the issues faced?". The answer sheet has space for rough work and a space for actual essay. We were given 10 mins for rough work and 20 more for actual essay - or at least that was the guideline provided. Interestingly, there was an instruction that said 'be creative in case one does not have a good understanding of the essay topic'. I think that throws some light on the intent of the essay round. I am not sure if I was high on caffeine or if I was enthused by the opportunity to write something after 9 years, I ended up using all of space provided for rough work and actual note. And in the end I had this pain in my hand, a result of not using a pen for a long long time. And boy was I creative. I talked about Mangalyaan (in the context of low cost approach to product development), Right to healthcare act and so on as solutions.
Coffee, cookies and gossips followed.
There were two panels, with 3 members each - 2 professors and 1 alumnus. And there were 9 candidates each assigned to each panel. I was on Panel 2 - the 8th candidate in that group.
And the painful wait started. We kept ourselves occupied, at first checking how much time each of us spent in the room, later discussing about our area of work, and towards the end about random topics such as Oktoberfest.
At around 12 10, I was called into the room. There were 3 people across the table. The first one (P1) was a tall professor, who I later learnt as a Professor in Economics and Social Sciences. The second one (P2) was a calm professor, who is from Finance domain. The third one was the alumni(A1) did most of the talking, and I assume is from a Tier 1 IT MNC.
As I walked in, I checked how they were, took permission to keep my document folder on the table and to take a seat. They were very polite and checked if I wanted some snacks since I have been waiting for some time. I chose not to, since I was snacking on the cookies outside till that timeJ.
With pleasantries out of the way, and as one would expect, we started with the first question.
A1: Tell me something about yourself
Me: Started with a tagline I had come up with which essentially described me in 3 words
Then moved to my professional side. Ended with personal side. Did not include hobbies
P1 was staring at me all along while P2 was totally not interested. I guess he was checking his email or timesofindia.
A1: Ok, Why MBA?
Me: Started by saying 'Before I answer that let me explain my long term and short term goals'. Shared what I want to achieve in 10 years timeframe and in the short term what companies and roles I target. I also weaved in Why MBA into this response. I also happened to mention my last company as a potential place I want to work. I now work for an IT MNC and before that I was working for IT Indian company
P1, P2 repeat the stares and email checking.
A1: Would you say you are more inclined towards the first company or the second one
Me: I gave the merits of both companies. Then added that I would like to work for the first company as I intend to bring some changes to the way the company operates
A1: Tell me about the overall strategy of both the companies and what they are doing to be successful
Me: Explained the strategies of both companies, in terms of what customer base they target, recent changes in the companies, etc.
A1: What is TCS revenue?
Me: Told him that
A1: How do you think they will perform in this FY?
Me: I said 15% topline growth. He looked doubtful. I explained my rationale
A1: Some more questions about why some companies strategies are not successful
Me: Gave lots of industry examples including Infy, HCL, CTS, ...
A1: Why are Indian IT companies not investing in non-linear revenue sources?
Me: Answered - around what more revenue from services deals, etc.
P1: In Delhi, what are the issues faced at Electricity distribution end, especially around AAP coming to power (I am from Utilities industry group)
Me: Gave some details, on before and after AAP
P1: What are the measures that can be put in place to tackle power issues in India?
Me: Gave a lecture
P1: What are the issues faced by BESCOM? How do we solve them?
Me: Gave a detailed response around solving supply and demand side issues
P2 - Still checking emails, with occasional stares and smiles
A1: We are done, do you have any questions?
Me: Yup, I have loads
A1: Mindful of time, let's keep it at 2
Me: Ok, then let me ask one .Asked a question - a 2 min discussion around the same
Me: Thank you! Can I shake hands with you please?
Shook hands, got their names
Me: Thank you for your time. See you!
The whole interview lasted around 20-25 mins
Key Takeaways
1. It is very important to remain calm
2. Keep a numeric count of points to cover against some key questions. For example, I had 4 points on why EPGP. So if that question was asked, I can easily list those points and elaborate on each. It also makes one look well prepared and makes the response easier to remember under stress
3. Even though some of the questions were worded like a googly, once we get the intent or meaning of the question, it is easier to tackle. For example, if the question is something like "looks like you regret the decision of moving to the new company" can be interpreted as "tell me the highlights of your earlier organization and the new organization"
4. There will be some opportunities to divert questions and steer the interview in the direction you want to take it. Grab those opportunities
5. Enjoy the whole process
Now the wait begins!