Before I start, I’d like to introduce myself and throw in some disclaimers while I’m at it. I have been there where you are: sitting in a PI for a B School and wondering what questions the panel will throw my way, wondering if there are some t…
Before I start, I'd like to introduce myself and throw in some disclaimers while I'm at it.
I have been there where you are: sitting in a PI for a B School and wondering what questions the panel will throw my way, wondering if there are some things I shouldn't have mentioned on my application, wondering whether the right attitude to take is the 'I'm-A-Respectful-Attentive-and-Modest-Interviewee' one or a more brazen, confident approach that might impress interviewers, or something in between. A few times, I have also been at the other end as an interviewer: Watching interviewees squirm in their chairs and get nervous and tongue tied for no reason! and wanting to reassure them that I know how it feels :-)
Basis some of these interviews and their outcomes, I'd like to share are a few tips.
Here are the disclaimers, though: No one has THE perfect formula to crack a PI. No one can predict how your interviewer or panel will be like or what their mood that day is. You can certainly make the best of your chance, though.
This part will deal with how to answer questions related to you: Describe yourself / What are your strengths and weaknesses / What are your hobbies / What kind of a person are you / How would your friends describe you, etc.
We all know the 'Describe Yourself' question that seems redundant - given they know half your life story from your application! Why do panels ask such questions, we wonder.
On the other hand, consider the poor panel: hundreds of similar sounding applications - the first way they seek to differentiate is by seeing how well you can present your life story. Ensure that you reply confidently and with a pleasant smile. Remember, NO ONE knows YOUR life story better than you! Why would you not be confident???
To start with, summarize your reply into a 2-3 minute answer. Here is a sample (only a sample, you can follow your own script). It may run to more than 3 minutes, but I have made it long on purpose because some of you may not use some parts of it -not everything may be relevant to everyone. Once you have made your introduction, practise it 5-6 times front of the mirror or before your friends - and best of all, with some total strangers so that it feels like a real interview. Don't 'MUG' it up - nothing is worse than forgetting some of it and going blank in the interview. Just keep the 5-6 key 'areas' you will take about - childhood / schooling / graduation / interests / strengths and weaknesses - in mind.
-----------
SAMPLE INTRODUCTION
* I was born and raised in the cosmopolitan city of Mumbai in Maharashtra. Growing up, I have interacted with all kinds of people and I believe this of interaction expands my thinking. My mother is a homemaker and my father is a bank officer. I would describe my parents as honest, intelligent and hard working people and I like to hope that I have inherited these qualities from them.
* All through school, I was an enthusiastic student and scored well / fairly well in my school exams. The subjects I found most interesting was (NAME OF SUBJECT) because... Taking a science example: I am a curious person by nature and I found experiments a great way to discover an effect or prove a law by myself.
* I pursued / am pursuing a degree in (NAME OF COURSE) because ...
Taking a commerce example: I found accounting to be a fascinating subject and balancing a sheet leaves me with a sense of satisfaction. At the same time, I wanted to pursue something at the undergraduate stage that leaves me some room to make a specific choice later, so I picked a B Com, and I am surprised how much I enjoyed it!
* I also have a love of sports / arts and my sport / art of choice is (NAME OF ART) ... Example: My favourite art is music. I am passionate classical vocalist and have learnt music for the past 7 years. I enjoy singing because it can be a versatile art: you can sing to an audience for applause and also sing to yourself at moments when you want quite communion with God. I have won a few prizes, and the one that is most special to me is (NAME OF PRIZE), because since I was eight years old, I have followed this particular competition and have always wanted to win it, so it was like a dream come true.
* I would describe myself as a intelligent, friendly and enthusiastic person with a sense of humour. My strengths are:
- I am a balanced person and generally don't lose my head in a crisis.
- I can get along with most kinds of people, and I think this is because I have a genuine interest in their life and story and their view points.
- Finally, I am hard working and very committed, so once I take something up, I generally see it through till the end and ensure that I have done a good job.
* Two development areas that I am working on:
- I sometimes find it difficult to focus on more than one or two things at a time, because of my complete involvement in whatever I do.
- I also find it difficult sometimes to take sides in a discussion or argument unless I feel very passionate about the subject - because usually, like I said, I enjoy the different points of view that different people bring to the table, and so I tend to agree with many points of view about an issue.
That is a brief introduction to 'me'. If there is anything else you would like to know in particular, I'd love to answer in detail.
----------
GENERAL DO's and DON'Ts:
1. Starting Trouble: Do not start with "Myself Arjun / Archita" for example. "Myself" followed by the name is NOT a correct way to begin an introduction. "My name is" OR "I am / I'm" are both correct and sound a lot better!
2. Add Something Extra: Try not to mention something already there in your application e.g. your course of study or your marks WITHOUT adding some extra information that is not present there. For e.g. if you say you chose to study civil engineering, add a sentence about why you chose it. In many cases, you may have chosen your course because you got an admission there, or may be you didn't honestly have a strong reason. That's okay - but with some smartness, you can build a link between your nature and the choice - e.g. childhood upwards, you may have had a liking for construction, design, order and method. You may have always paid attention to how something is structured - taking things apart to build them back together - use this somewhere in your general introduction also, so that you can link back to it when asked to justify why you studied it.
3. Development Area or Strength?: You will often find that your weakness or 'development area' as it is better to call it - is a flip side of a strength you already have. E.g. you may stand up for your friends in a public fight and passionately argue for a cause you love always - in the process you may lose your temper even when you don't mean to. This development area of 'controlling your temper' is a flip side of being a 'passionate person in whatever you do.' ---> Build a link: mention being passionate about whatever you do as a strength, so that you can say "as a flip side to being very involved and passionate about my interests, I sometimes defend them to the point that I lose my temper. I am working on this, and I think learning to control my temper is helping me understand myself better: because when I pause to ask myself if I should cool down, I tend to think and reflect more, and this is critical in every situation." This way, your development area sounds less 'bad' and more 'reflective and character building'.
4. Alternate Phrases and Words: Try and use the phrase "Development area" instead of "weakness". Try also to use the words "Interest or passion" instead of just "hobby" unless the panel specifically asks for hobbies - it makes you sound more interesting.
5. Colour Yourself Out: Ask yourself what you would want to know about the candidate if you were on a panel. You would want to get a 'flavour' or 'colour' of what this person is like. What are his strengths? Does he sound confident? Out of so many candidates, will he make good use of an opportunity to study at this institute? Every line of your answer should be geared to influence the interviewer to understand you better.
6. Body Language: In talking about yourself, make eye contact without staring, look at each interviewer in turn, lean forward slightly and use your hands minimally to make a point or two. Break and pause between talking about two different aspects of your personality. Listen intently when the interviewer asks you a question and nod slightly to show you have understood. Ask for a moment to gather your thoughts, and then start to answer in a medium pace. Clear your throat before you go into the hall, so that the poor panel is not sitting and listening to you cough your throat clear in front of them! :-)
7. Interrupted!: Just when you are knee deep in your well prepared answer, an interviewer may interrupt you - several times during the interview. Be prepared for this! Don't look shocked or anxious. Panels like to see how well you can resume an answer or express a point of view even after they cut in in the middle. Say gracefully, "Sure, let me answer that." and focus on what they are now asking you without looking ruffled.
Remember: YOU are the subject you know best. Since the describe yourself question comes right at the beginning of an interview, this question is a great way to impress the panel right at the start. All the best!
P.S. Some specific questions have reached me - how to justify if I have a gap of one year while preparing for MBA exams, etc. I will take them up in the next part. Please feel free to ask any questions.
P.S. Some specific questions have reached me - how to justify if I have a gap of one year while preparing for MBA exams, etc. I will take them up in the next part. Please feel free to ask any questions.
WOW...............!!!
WOW...............!!!
@ramaaramesh i am preparing for bank interview and i have gap of 3 yrs during my grad and this interview.......... please help how to deal with this..........
Well written!
nicely crafted..
awesome post!!
could you suggest what all is a must to be covered and what can be left out in case we are asked to describe ourselves in brief?
what are the expectations when they emphasize on brief? a 1-1.5 min intro?
Hi all - glad you found it useful. @is4 I will take up your query / type of query in the next installment which should come up in the next day or two. @shank_x I would say 1 minute for a brief intro, with a small back up of 1 more minute prepared in case they ask you to continue. If they ask you to speak even beyond that, I would suggest smiling and asking them if there is anything specific they want to know, as you don't want to run on about yourself. What must be covered: Brief childhood and upbringing (city / parents) + one line about schooling and college + one line about hobbies + two lines on how you would describe yourself i.e. strengths and developmental areas.
Navigating a PI - Part 2 - How do I answer some of these questions?
Once you have introduced yourself, interviewers will start testing you on various things - general knowledge queries, subject specific areas and your take on issues of current interest, to name a few. But what irks many interviewees is being asked questions on some aspects of their own past e.g. not-so-stellar exam performances, or a gap in work ex or study before they clear a major MBA entrance exam. In this part, let's take a look at these questions - and see how to convert a potential googly of a question into an opportunity to influence the panel.
* I have been a good student throughout with a gap of one major exam (Class X / Class XII / one semester or year), how do I justify this to the panel?
'One bad exam or year' has been the undoing of some students in an interview, often needlessly so. In my limited experience, answering a panel honestly on this count and saying you slipped up may not be a bad idea! Remember that you are human and so is the panel - we all have our slip ups. Usually a great student performs badly in a one off case because
a. you grew lazy
b. you became complacent and overconfident
c. you were unwell or had an accident
Here is how you can handle this:
If a or b - "As you have noticed, I did not perform well in (Class XII / semester / year). Rather than cook up an excuse, I would prefer to be honest with you. I was a good student prior to that as you may notice but I believe I grew lazy / overconfident in this year / exam. It was a lesson well learnt! The poor / average results were a wake up call to me and I resolved that year that I would never let something like laziness come in the way of achieving what I think I am capable of OR I would assess each year and exam as a fresh grounds to prove myself, rather than let overconfidence ruin my performance. It was a lesson to me never to be complacent and I think that lesson extends to every aspect of life! - relationships, studies, sports, anywhere that I am called on to play an important part."
If c - I guess you can more or less answer this for yourself. A tip: sound regretful that the accident or illness robbed you of the opportunity to perform well rather than over-playing the pity card. Provide the salient facts about the illness and move on to state that you wish you had been able to excel, but that you gave it your best shot in the circumstances.
* Are you kidding? I was never a great student, more or less average! I only started taking exams seriously with the MBA entrance exams. How do I justify this to a hawk-eyed panel?
Again, honesty may be the key to cracking this, unless you are the kind who is smart enough to get away with it! Here is a sample answer:
"My marks are in front of you and I don't think I can claim I have done brilliantly in school (and college). To be honest, I think I did not take academics seriously while in school. Like most schoolgoers, I contented myself with playing and hanging out with friends or playing my favourite sport. (IF you were excellent at a sport or art, this is a good time to plug that and mention your achievements.) However, I did not focus much on academics beyond getting a basic grade.
However, I guess the best and worst of us have a wake up call that tells us we are wasting time! My wake up call was my college exams / these MBA entrance exams when I sat up and decided to prove myself to the world - but more importantly I think I wanted to prove to myself that I am capable of so much more! It does not take hard work, determination and focus to hang out with friends and chill in life, but you need all that to crack a tough exam like the (CAT / XAT / NMAT / SNAP / whatever else you have cracked in order to land this interview! ) I decided to stop looking back and started to study in right earnest, burning the 'proverbial midnight oil'... and was able to perform well in this exam and sit in front of you today. I don't know if I will crack this interview, but in the process of getting here, I have learnt so much about myself. I have a new respect for myself and from now on I know I will only give each thing my best shot."
That was an honest answer... and if you think about it, I'm sure it is true for many of you! Often, a great performance in an MBA entrance will make us realize how much hard work and commitment we are capable of, and will turn around our lives. :-)
* I have a gap of 12-18 months when I was preparing for the (MBA entrance exam) and now I have to explain this to a panel! How do I do that?
A lot of aspirants have this problem. There are two situations I usually come across and I am putting down my version of a reply for each:
- Case A : You have finished a degree and taken a break to clear MBA entrance exams perhaps after 1 previous attempt.
- Case B : You have resigned from a job and with a year's gap you have cracked an MBA entrance.
- Case A - "Yes, I have taken a break from continuing my studies, in order to focus on clearing the MBA entrance exams. I would call it 'investing a year' actually because it has paid me rich rewards by helping me crack the MBA exams. I think it would have compromised my effort if I did too many things at once, so I preferred to focus on giving the MBA exams and coaching exclusively for them. I don't think I regret the 'lost year' because I don't consider it a 'lost year', but more a 'gained opportunity'. Taking up a job just for a year or starting a PG I would not be able to complete did not make sense to me, when my aim was really to do an MBA. Hence I invested the year in giving the MBA exam my focused, best shot."
- Case B - Use some elements from above. In case you were unhappy about your job or unsatisfied with your current role, add this: "It did not make sense to be going in to do a 9 to 5 job when my heart was not in it. It was difficult decision to stop earning and become a student again in the prep phase, but it prepared me for 2 years of a student MBA life, and well - I guess I had to sacrifice some things (earning power in this case) in order to give my undivided attention to the thing that mattered most - cracking (exam) and gaining admission into (wherever)."
An important tip: IF you are just 2-3 months into the phase above (resigned / taking a year off to study for an MBA entrance, PLEASE consider doing something part time - a foreign language course, teaching school or college kids at a local corporation school, doing a financial course certification or something similar - this works both ways: a. gives you some added credentials on your CV and b. helps explain a long gap. Most importantly c. you may discover a new interest in something you never expected! :-)
I hope this second installment is useful. Do you have any questions that you think might be difficult to explain to a tricky panel? Send them here (on this thread preferably with an @ to me) and let's see if I can put together a reply for you.
Good luck!
@ramaaramesh Amazing post ma`am thanks.
My very low acads:
10th: 82%
12th: 75% (i got 94 in computers in which i did my bachelors in)
Grad: Btech(CSE) 62.48%
1st year: 60.5
2nd year: 61.15
3rd year: 63.55
4th year: 62.8
consistently low performance. :(
What would be the best way to defend myself ? (given i was into a network marketing business for about a year ..in my 2nd year)
I`m expecting calls from newer IIMs... very imp for me to do well in PI !
My very low acads:
10th: 82%
12th: 75% (i got 94 in computers in which i did my bachelors in)
Grad: Btech(CSE) 62.48%
1st year: 60.5
2nd year: 61.15
3rd year: 63.55
4th year: 62.8
consistently low performance. :(
What would be the best way to defend myself ? (given i was into a network marketing business for about a year ..in my 2nd year)
I`m expecting calls from newer IIMs... very imp for me to do well in PI !
Really helpful, this thread
The way you've described each scenario, is simply awesome.
I found some great ideas from here..
Thanks 
Last year, I had a PI at SIBM Pune.
They asked me a question which I think I couldn't answer well.
At that time, I had been working for just 4 months. So they asked me, that would it be good to betray and leave the company when the company had put in so much of faith in me while recruiting?
Any suggestions in this scenario???
A scenario i would like you to take up:
People from Engg background like mine and specifically from Computer Sc going into MBA and that Also into Finance. I gave one interview last time and tried to explain to the panel my love for economics and finance but they ridiculed it. Though they said i had good knowledge on both but said i had no clear aim
Hello people.
@reymyst619 I've already answered your type of scenario in Case B in Part II above.
@Gryphon Very interesting scenario and one which is likely to come up again. A lot of young graduates leave a company in the 0-6 months period and companies are well aware that this possibility may occur. Usually they leave either for a job that pays better or (as in your case) to study further. Try this logic:
While you regret having to leave, it is clear to you that the job or career you had started 4 months ago is not what you want to do in life, and therefore how well would you be able to perform when your heart is not in it? It is actually in the company's best interest to let go of you when they know this is not what you love doing, rather than stick on and invest more and more in you while you become steadily disillusioned with the job. Cutting off one's losses at the right time is critical for growth, both as a company and as an individual - and by leaving just 4 months into a job which was the not the right fit for you, you are actually being honest with both yourself and the company. I'm sure they would prefer to replace you with someone who is passionate and enthusiastic and invests the same kind of interest in that job that you are investing in doing an MBA!
P.S. I would think a company that does not factor this sort of undergraduate attrition into its plans is not doing its job so well, but ideally don't mention this to the panel. ;-)
@Brooklyn Another very likely scenario and unfortunately all too common. You have two ways of playing this.
The first way: is to say that you enjoyed CS Engg i.e. you enjoyed it as an academic subject (for the joy of studying) but you don't think you would enjoy applying it and working lifelong with it as a career as much as you would enjoy Finance and Economics. Therefore, you can say you KNEW even when you started studying CS engineering that you were studying it for the love of it, not for the practical aspect of working. If the panel sounds disbelieving (and they well might!) introduce this idea: why cannot a person be passionate about more than one field of study? You were interested in both - finance and cs. Now there were two things you could do : study CS Engg first and Finance next or the other way around. The first is practical (like you have) and the second is impossible! You didn't want to sacrifice your time exploring either, so you preferred to do what you did. Now, demonstrate your knowledge of Fin and Eco and say you spent the four years brushing up on Finance and Economics alongside because you knew that eventually this is what you wanted to do for a post-graduation. IF they still sound skeptical wrap up by saying that you sometimes find panels a little disbelieving, but you are personally convinced that a person can have more than one interest and pursue each: it is called the 'Renaissance model' - people of that time were usually doing 3-4 things at a time. prime example: Leonardo da Vinci: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. If a panel had tried to insist that he should have just ONE prime interest and focus on it, how much the world would have lost out on!
The second way: is to say you disliked CS Engg and discovered it too late. Around 2nd / 3rd year you discovered an interest in Finance and Economics and began avidly studying up on both.
Choose how you want to play it. Good luck!
Please keep sending in your scenarios. All the best to you all!
@ramaaramesh i have a slightly different scenario related to acads.
I have 85 in 10th, 75 in 12th and 73 in my b.tech. However, my 3rd and 4th year marks are better with around 75 and 78.
I also had three offers in my campus recruitments.
I have around 31 months of experience and got star performer in my company as well as good ratings.
So, how should i tackle the dip in acads qs?
i liked this part of your answer
"However, I guess the best and worst of us have a wake up call that tells us we are wasting time! My wake up call was my college exams / these MBA entrance exams when I sat up and decided to prove myself to the world - but more importantly I think I wanted to prove to myself that I am capable of so much more! It does not take hard work, determination and focus to hang out with friends and chill in life, but you need all that to crack a tough exam like the (CAT / XAT / NMAT / SNAP / whatever else you have cracked in order to land this interview! ) I decided to stop looking back and started to study in right earnest, burning the 'proverbial midnight oil'... and was able to perform well in this exam and sit in front of you today. I don't know if I will crack this interview, but in the process of getting here, I have learnt so much about myself. I have a new respect for myself and from now on I know I will only give each thing my best shot."
Help me out by building up around this i guess.....
thanks in advance.
I also had same problem.. why finance after engineering (Computer Science)?
I read your response on the thread and i liked the first scenario you gave. But my situation is that i was good at academics during my graduation. So how will i say that i understood CS was not my area.
This is my profile
10th: 85.46%
12th: 88.83%
BE: 86%
Currently working at TCS as a code developer. (Work Ex: 4 months)
A person who was good at engineering and then wants to go for finance. This is my scenario.
Plz help.
Thanks in advance.