From personal experience, they are just looking for the way you approach the problem and at the same time how much common sense you can use. You don't necessarily need to know the % of population below 10 (it maybe say 7.5%) but obviously you cant take a percentage say 40%!
So essentially, start off by defining who the users of the product are, then work your way up. for example, for pencils- it has to be both kids and engineering students. But then they aren't the only users. Even adults use pencils but not as much as kids do. So you need to factor this in as well. And kids are going to keep breaking/losing pencils, so each one will have 2 or 3 pencils at a time. Just assume logically.
Again for the German example, you can start off by assuming Germany has a population of 60 million. ( it could be 70 million for all I know but I know Europe doesn't have densely populated countries) Assume average family size of say 3. That makes 20 million families. And then work your way from there. Make sure you ask them, what type of model you need to consider (Really expensive, mid range, lower end etc) and proportionally consider the number of families who could own such cars. And I am taking into consideration that Germany is pretty well off.
I hope this makes sense. If my approach is wrong, please somebody correct me!
Take simple numbers like 5, 10, 20 which you can easily multiply and divide. Also, at each stage ask the panel questions (if you have any doubts) and most importantly explain your assumptions to the panel.
P.S.: i am quoting all this from pure research and talking to students who have been there done that!
Thanks for th reply...here I infer that we can safely assume "reasonable" figures to start off with. That was what even I was thinking of. Thanks for pouring in ur thoughs
I had my interview on the 31st Oct 9:00 am IST. It was a telephonic interview as I am currently based in the US. The interview was completely different from what I had expected and the fact that it was 20 mins after the SF bay area experienced an earthquake made matters worse for me! I dialed in at the scheduled time (8:30 pm Oct 30th) and there were Hema & Kannan waiting for the call. I was asked to speak about a topic for a minute and it did not go well. I managed to blabber something for less than half a minute but managed to bring in the earthquake factor. The panel offered to re-schedule the interview but I declined as I wanted to get done with it. The interview then started off with questions on my hobbies & interests. Participating in discussions on Hindu philosophy is one of my interests and this prompted a lively discussion on the link (or the lack thereof) between philosophy and MBA. The focus then shifted to my post MBA plans - I talked about the long term and short term goals. I then asked why I do not want to pursue a career in Engineering. Just when Hema started asking my opinion on the Indo-US alliance the line got disconnected. When I called back, I was asked if I had any questions for the panel. The interview lasted for a total of 25 minutes and I must say that it was a good experience. At no point did I feel that I was being cornered. To me the surprise element was that I was not asked the typical market share, work responsibilities sort of questions. Although the earthquake knocked my wits out, I warmed up fairly well after the first 5 minutes. However I did not ask for a feedback and am not sure what to make out of the interview. The panel answered my questions satisfactorily though. I think, for applicants with substantial WE the interview will be based on how the candidate has tried to project herself/himself. If one has stressed on ed. qualifications or skills picked up at work expect the interview to be geared towards that. It really pays to have a mock interview. Hope this helps!
Had my interview @ ISB Campus today. A pleasant experience like all, no grilling or cornering ! a. My life journey so far. b. My leadership experience (Quite a bit of discussion), with a hypothetical managerial decision situation. c. My team work failure example. d. Why MBA, and short term goal discussion.
Overall 30 mins, panel was cool, accepting !
Lets see what happens now, keeping fingers crossed !
Though a late entrant to this forum, My profile: GMAT - 700 Work Ex - 4 yrs in FMCG Acads - Good (finance professional)
Hv the interview in Mumbai on 15th... and just searching the web for various insights... the forum has been very useful and hope will get a few more interview experience b4 its time for my interview...
Hi! I had interview @ ISB hyderabad on 5th Nov. It lasted for approx. 15-20 minutes. The questions were as expected. Why MBA at this juncture ( I have 12 years experience), what r good things and bad things in your company, nuclear deal is good or bad for india, what is your career goal, what use you made of your M Tech, some thing about artificial intelligence, any question ? I asked two questions. It was pleasant inteview with no cross questioning except on nuclear deal. I am satisfied. Let us hope for the best on 15th december.
Did the panel read the 100 word essay at that time? did they ask you some questions from it? wat do u thnk is the purpose of this 100 word essay?
--Aditi
Guys - here you go...
Interviewed today in Delhi.
Given a word to write about.... can be different for different people. Used 100 words approx.
Panel of 3, very pleasent. Asked question about my current role My previous jobs, learning in the jobs About Industry My understanding of Leadership What I do outside work... elaboration Any thing outstanding about me... that I would want to mention...
Hi All, I had my interview on the 12th of November. It was a telephonic interview. Lasted for about 20-25 min. Like most others, it was not a stress interview. The panel had 2 members: Hema from adcom and Joseph, an alum These are the questions:
1. Started with a talk for a min on "curiosity" 2. why do I do so many different things? (Had mentioned in hobbies) 3. About telecom domain and spectrum issue in India (i am from telecom background) 4. Few questions on family business- issues faced and how I tackled them. (I help my dad with it on weekends) 5. A question in French!! (In my hobbies again) Luckily, I understood what she said and answered it 6. Post ISB goals..
Then they asked if i had a question.. I asked a couple of them. All in all a very pleasant experience.. Looks like most of the interviews are like this, so dunno what exactly is the adcom looking for and how will the final selection be done. Keeping my fingers crossed for the 15th now!!
I interviewed after the first round. Interview was really chill, a bit of grilling about where my last job fit into my overall career progression.
Everything was about my essays. I was asked about a couple of hobbies that I mentioned, about my goals essay, and they grilled me a bit on my knowledge of the family business though I had joined it only a week before the interview.
But NO CLUE how it went. It was that sort of an itnerview.
My profile in brief: 750/2+/returning to family business after 6 years in the US
Had my telephone interview yesterday. Very pleasant experience and more of a conversation than an interrogation.
Asked me about my background, my company, current financial crisis(sub prime), some stuff on my application, my current job profile etc.
BTW the topic they asked me to speak on at the onset was the most random topic they could have ever thought of! I could string together 2-3 sentences! I didn't do too well in that.
Don't think I'll make it given the intense competition but let's see.
Hi all, I am an applicant in R2. Waiting for interview shortlists.Had certain queries. Woul dbe glad if someone could answer them: 1) Is there any place or source from where i could know of their interview schdule city wise. I remember having seen it somewhere but am forgetting the source now. 2) Is there anybody with a family business/entrepreneur profile here on this profile. I am engineer 670 GMAT. I would request people to share more interviews with us so that we could learn.
Hi all, I am an applicant in R2. Waiting for interview shortlists.Had certain queries. Woul dbe glad if someone could answer them: 1) Is there any place or source from where i could know of their interview schdule city wise. I remember having seen it somewhere but am forgetting the source now. 2) Is there anybody with a family business/entrepreneur profile here on this profile. I am engineer 670 GMAT. I would request people to share more interviews with us so that we could learn.
Regards
1. i think its just there on the ISB- Application Page (the page where you log in, you have the dates - it is a pop-up window for Cycle 1 and Cycle 2)
2. But do go through all the pages, I am sure you will find somebody here. But yes, interviews are going to be primarily based on your essays.
- Started with my hobbies - Moved onto a discussion about internet doom and my opinions on it - Discussion of my post MBA goals - Why MBA? - What would you do if dont get thru an MBA this year? How would you still achieve your goals? - What one quality of mine should they give me an admission for? - Some other questions which I dont remember L - Questions for us?
By then I thought the interview was over, but was thrown another question just as I was on my way out It was about my assessment of the interview..Thought I answered that well. J Now awaiting the results.
Hi all, I am an applicant in R2. Waiting for interview shortlists.Had certain queries. Woul dbe glad if someone could answer them: 1) Is there any place or source from where i could know of their interview schdule city wise. I remember having seen it somewhere but am forgetting the source now. 2) Is there anybody with a family business/entrepreneur profile here on this profile. I am engineer 670 GMAT. I would request people to share more interviews with us so that we could learn.
I do have a entrepreneurial bg and a GMAT score of 680 !! had my SB interview in Oct !
Cheers
Hi Rahul, Glad to know sombody from a similar profile. Can you please share your experience of an interview. I have a family business that i had been taking care of for the past 3 years. I am based in Delhi. I can also reach you on your mobile if its not too inconvenient.
Has ISB finished with R1 interviews or they are still going on. When are the results supposed to come out for R1.
