[OFFICIAL 2013-2015] SPJIMR Group Interview Experiences

Kindly share your Group Interview experiences here. This thread caters to the experiences faced by applicants during Group Interviews 1 and 2 of SPJIMR Admissions Process for PGDM 2013-2015. The general process is as follows 1) Regi…

Kindly share your Group Interview experiences here.

This thread caters to the experiences faced by applicants during Group Interviews 1 and 2 of SPJIMR Admissions Process for PGDM 2013-2015.

The general process is as follows

1) Registration
2) Psychometric tests
3) GI-1
4) GI-2

Applicants may or may not share their profile. Though guidelines for posting experiences is not recommended but Interview place and time should be mentioned.

Last year's thread: http://www.pagalguy.com/forums/cat-and-related-bschools/official-2012-2014-spjimr-group-interview-experiences-t-78203/p-3244060?page=1

@swagatamt2

Will the next slot booking time open only after 4th FEB?

Puys, please share your GI experience...

Venue: Mumbai, 12pm,21st Jan

Specialization : Operations

Experience

Reached quite early for the interview . Its better to be early than late. Submitted all the photocopies required as given in mail, some guys hadn't bring copy of their Id's, which is also required.

Psychometric test is conducted about half an hour be4 interview. Time limit 15 mins. so no time to make up your answers. just write what comes in your mind first as that would be easy to recall if asked a justification of your point later at any stage.

GI1: 5 member group for the interview, 2 ops, 1IM, 1 Marketing 1 finance. It was a general interview, starting with a 1 minute intro. Don't brag too much. 1 minute means 1 minute. Then followup questions on that. The gist of this interview was to gauge your thinking as in Why are you pursuing MBA and why this particular stream etc. etc. So anybody clear in those ideas won't face too many trouble. Finally 3 of us 1 IM , 2 OPs were selected.

GI2: 6 member group. 2 IM, 4 OPs . The main idea of this interview looked like to test your value system. It was a chilled interview although they were quick to ask for any justification on anything that comes from your mouth , So speak carefully. Spontaneous questions similar to those asked in psychometric were asked, like how do you tell if someone is lying etc. etc. It ended with quite a lengthy , introspective discussion on the Delhi Case.

All in all great experince. Had an interesting interaction with Kiterunner and Swagatamt2 also. Even had my lunch in mess of SP jain . all the best to others...

Bhaio, puys, What Happened !!!

Today is 23rd, 3 days...and still only one post
Thanx to @Achillessss ...

Or there is some other thread...

profile based call (marketing)


CAT 94.29 p-ile
XAT 99.45 p-ile
10th 91.67 % (ICSE)
12th 92.8 % (CBSE)
Civil Engg. SPCE Mumbai 72.32 % (first class)
Worked at Shapoorji Pallonji Engineering & Construction for 1.5 years



registration- pretty easy and fast. arrange your photocopies in the prescribed order and avoid last minute hassles. be sure to bring a photo id with u. and please don't forget to bring a PEN. trust me you look like a jackass without one on such occasions.



Psychometric test: - 15 minutes. 30 questions and 6 traits to be defended. just be in the flow and even 15 minutes are enough. be true to yourself.



GI I: - 8 people in my slot split in 2 groups. mine had one girl (Finance), one guy (IM) and another guy (marketing), and myself. we were expecting to introduce ourselves but were questioned about the campus first. people act crazy and start relating a normal campus to their dreams to study SPJIMR. this is not acceptable to the panel it seems. just say what you liked/disliked about the campus. don't go on to link it with your dreams to study there. you can always do that when you finally make it.

then we introduced ourselves. make it short and crisp. the marketing aspirant had a terrific profile to introduce but went on for more than 3 minutes. 1 minute means 1 minute. DO NOT OVERSTEP. also, don't repeat stuff that's anyways mentioned on your profile sheet.

next, all of us were asked to advertise our city to the other 3 and ask them to visit it. again, STICK TO THE TIME LIMIT. that is the mantra. don't force them to prompt. it looks bad. and it is bad. this is supposedly to test your advertising skiils, but i think it is to test your listening skills. please don't commit the mistake of not being attentive to the others.

then we talked about globalisation and its effects on indian culture (an informal GD kinda thing). we were asked for methods to advertise the sari in USA. the marketing guy here again went on to talk about innovation and trendifying (??) and hybrids and all that. that is too much to bear, unless you're hearing from Philip Kotler.

"why is R&D; not the in-thing in India?" was the next issue. again, an informal GD kinda thing.

morals of the story: 1. do not overstep your brief. talk simple and straight. you're not a manager yet. you're still an aspirant. don't brag stuff you know about. it may not be required. 2. stick to the time limit. 3. listen to what the others are saying and pay attention to it. they're just as important to the panel as you are. so no good ignoring them.

finally, i was the ONLY one to make it to round 2.



GI II: - again 4 candidates (1 girl and 1 guy marketing and 1 guy finance). two panelists. both senior male profs (both lords of marketing discipline). they welcomed us with warmth and asked about our day thus far.

NOTHING WAS ASKED FROM THE PSYCHOMETRIC TEST. all of us were asked to point one good thing and 2 bad things out (about the campus). when that was over, the discussion was taken to another issue- morals/values in business. do you think insider info is bad? is using it immoral? you may take any stand, but be sure to defend when questioned sternly. one of the profs tried mocking me when i said it is immoral (which i think is just to test your conviction), but the other 3 echoed my stand. be polite yet firm. i quoted an eg. of an immoral act from the Mahabharat and this entailed another discussion.

next, we were to emulate municipal commissioners of our cities and were asked to suggest solutions to improve the public transport system vis a vis the private transport. first of all, be clear about the question being put before you. it may be foolish to confirm the question, but it is even more foolish to answer one which has not been asked. so be sure what you're answering. all of us gave varied answers and i think the purpose was to just tap on the candidate's thinking.

all in all, a better and less stressed experience than GI I.

morals of the story: - same as that for GI I. plus be doubly sure about what is being asked.



awaiting results..very little hope though...

i was in 12 pm slot on 23rd Jan..all the best to everyone...

profile based call (marketing)
CAT 97.59 p-ile
10th 90.23 % (SSC)
12th 90.83 % (SSC)
B Tech Pharma 71.75 %
Working at United Phosphorus Ltd for 1.5 years

GI I:
5 people (1 Finance, 1 IM, 3 Marketing)
All of us were asked to introduce ourselves. 1 guy had a great profile. He was questioned at length. I was the last student there. I was asked very few questions.

They asked us a question 'You are the manager of a company that has recently got a deal from the government. To finalize it, the person in government asks you to pay a bribe. Describe briefly how you intend to proceed.'

We were then asked if we had read any books relating to the area of specialization. We were asked questions on the basis of the books we had read.

Then we talked about why MBA and why the chosen specialization.

4 of us made it to the next round

Just stay cool. Try reading some books before you go for the interview

GI II:
5 people (2 finance, 1 IM, 2 marketing)

Smile when you enter. Apparently i didn't and was asked if i am a very serious person. And then they went on to say that a good marketing guy would never be serious.

I come from a reputed engineering college known for its research. So they said i am wasting resources by enrolling for an MBA instead of pursuing a career in research. Was thankfully able to justify this and they seemed satisfied.

Describe yourself in one sentence was the next question. Just be sure you can explain why you said you possess x,y,z qualities.

What motivates you as a person? It can be a person or something more abstract.

And then a couple more questions that i cant recollect.

In a nutshell, I really enjoyed the process. It was not stressful at all. It was very well managed by the AdComm. Just a nice informal discussion with the panel.


Profile Based Call (Marketing)

Date: 22nd January 2013
Time Slot: 10:00 AM
Profile:
CAT 98.94 p-ile
XAT 99.77 p-ile
10th 95.84 % (Karnataka State Board)
12th 94.67 % (Tamil Nadu State Board)
B Tech (Mechanical) NITK Surathkal - 83.80 %
Working at Tata Motors for 1.5 years

Registration:
My slot was as 10 o clock, I reached by 9 and had breakfast at SP Jain canteen itself. Registration was smooth. I guess it's better to arrange your photocopies in order of 10th, 12th, College, and work experience well in advance. Also, as already mentioned you will need photocopies of your ID proof and your call letter too.

Psychometric Test:
15 min, and not a second more than that. Make sure you dont think too much and in the process miss out answering questions.

GI 1:
There were 6 of us in the group. 1 Finance, 1 Operations, 1 IM, and 3 Marketing. I was in the same group as @yshali1989, who has posted her experience above.

As she already said, the first question was to introduce ourselves. They said 2 to 3 min, but they stopped and questioned at will during the introduction. A lot of questions were offshoots of whatever we said in our introduction. "Why MBA, why " was a standard question.

There was an ethical question on whether we would give a small bribe to ensure that our order was accepted by the government. It was supposed to be a small GD, but all of us took the obvious view, and it was over quickly.

The last two questions were tricky. First one was, "If there are only 2 seats left at SP Jain, and you are already selected, select one other person from this group", and "If there are exactly 5 seats, and one person has to be rejected, select one person from this group whom you will reject". Those were tough ones.

Results of GI 1 came in about 15 min and 5 of us had made it to GI 2.

GI 2:
There were 7 of us, 5 of us who had been through GI 1, and 2 others from another group that had made it to GI 1. There were 2 Finance, 1 IM, and 3 Marketing and 1 I dont remember.

First question was to introduce ourselves. They wanted info like where we did our 10th/12th/college, where we work and what we do there, 2 things about us as a person and why MBA/, all this in ONE min. And this Prof was pretty strict unlike the first round where the time limit wasn't adhered to. Other questions included:

What motivates you as a person?

How important is Fate in your life? and how important is God/Prayer?

I stressed on my hobbies in my 1 min intro, but they hardly asked me anything related to it. I felt that I dint get too much of a chance to speak during GI 2, and this will go against me. I just kept looking at the panel and smiling, hoping that they will ask something, but they just smiled back!

So I guess the important thing is to use certain "bait" words in the intro that will really interest the panel, and make them ask you more questions.

Overall a good fun experience. Hoping for the best

I hope this was helpful, All the best!

@kaushik60 said:
Profile Based Call (Marketing)
Date: 22nd January 2013
Time Slot: 10:00 AM
Profile:

So I guess the important thing is to use certain "bait" words in the intro that will really interest the panel, and make them ask you more questions.

Overall a good fun experience. Hoping for the best

I hope this was helpful, All the best!

Dude.. I was the IM guy... Emotionally Rational LOL :).. and dont worry you did very well in the second round.. All the best...
@thespellbinder Haha thanks man
Let's hope for the best!
Profile Based Call (IM)
Date: 22nd January 2013
Time Slot: 12:00 PM
Profile:CAT 94.09 p-ile
10th 89.6 % (CBSE)
12th 84.2 % (CBSE)
B Tech Computer Science 83.4 %
Work Ex 2.5yrs

GI 1(4people 2IM 1OM 1Finance)

no INtro it just started with asking randomly from which college then to me i was asked y mba then to fin guy why fin then all of us were asked about our work ex and to tell our roles. 1 guy from Finance he was fresher as in he still hadn't got the call from his company so was questioned on that. Then 1 IM guy was working in Microsoft so again about his role and hobbies. What were the dream companies that came to his college.Then to me they asked who is your ideal in IM and why.Then they asked CAT percentile to everyone..
After that they asked to the Op Girl why should they select her out of 4 ppl here and then the same question to me.
That's all . It was for about half an hour..

I didn't make it to GI 2. Only 1 girl in Op made it to GI 2 from our group.
Hope it helps. All the best.

Thank you for sharing, all of you. It is surprising to see only 11 entries here though. Can anyone who got a call for Finance share their experience?

Hi All,
Apologize for the my late post. Just got some time this weekend.
So here we go.

a. First Interview of Season
b. First date of S.P.J.I.M.R. @21 Jan
c. First Slot @10AM

Profile looks like this(I.M.):

X,XII &Graduation;(S.G.S.I.T.S., Indore) = 80+
Work Exp.=(18+, Tier I MNC)
CAT%tile= 90+

Ambiance- @8.30AM:

First time in my life I witnessed cool breeze that too in Mumbai. Amazing atmosphere at SPJIMR. I was very happy to see the college logo (generally used to see only on internet). I reached at 8.15 AM(reporting time was 9.AM). I asked on reception about today's interview and receptionist happily replied and told me to wait in the waiting room.

As I was way ahead of time, I thought this is the nice time to see college. God knows who all will come here again. I first went to canteen, saw DOCC office, roaming here and there at campus.

Every where it was very neat and clean. It was greenery all around( it just reminded me of my hobby). At last while coming to the waiting room I just scanned newspaper headlines(coz sometimes in interview they use to ask) and to my surprise film fareaward were announced last night. I just mugged up the Best Actor, Actress, Film and Best Director's name.

Announcement @9.00AM
Brief Snapshot:
1. Document collection process was very streamlined.
2. All ADCOM people were working hard to make things smooth and they were very-very cooperative.
3. I experienced that ADCOM people were happy on our visit it might be because they also went through the same process last year. It was just amazing experience.

Psychometric Test @9.45 AM)
15 minutes personality evaluation test.
General question which probably have no wrong answer. The only think is that you need to justify that why you eventually went for that option.

Experienced+ Advice:
Be quick :Be honest and Don't scrub the paper as for some answers you need to justify why?

Group Interview- 1 (@10.15 AM)
Total Interviewee: 6 (1 IM, 1 M, 4 F)
Interviewer: (3 panelist- 1 Alumnus (50+), 1 Lady Professor (45+) and one more (55+))
Time: Around 45minutes.
Questions:
1. Tell me something about yourself that is not mentioned in this profile sheet?
2. Tell me why you want to do MBA?
3. Tell me why you want to do MBA in this specialization?
4. Tell me why you chose only SPJIMR for your MBA?
5. You went for other colleges also? OK Tell me which other colleges you applied for?
6. You didn't get call from any IIM. So you think your score is that poor ?
7. Don't you think you should go for Executive MBA?
8. OK tell me why you want to leave such a good job+ high salaried job (I think they assumed) and want to come here?

These are some of the common questions which were asked. Apart from that following are some people specific questions.
1. Why Marketing, if you are from XYZ engineering?
2. Any Marketing company or Famous personality you know from Marketing Area?
3. From GMAT where you have applied?
4. What happened at ISB interview?
5. Didn't you perform well there?

Experienced+ Advice:
Prepare for these general questions and their most probable cross questions.
Completely frozen from nervousness + AC. 15minutes down the line. ADCOM announced that we 6 people(same 6) have to go for Group Interview 2.

Group Interview 2 (@11.15 AM)
Total Time: around 45min
Total Interviewee: Same 6
Interviewer: (2 Bigwig panellists, I think one among them was Director) Named: Panel X

Brief Snapshot:
1. Completely different from first one.
2. Seeking crispy answers of not more than one sentence.
3. Scenario based reasoning.

Questions:
1. Tell me something about yourself (very briefly) in such a manner that it should highlight following things:
a. Your Passion
b. What you will do if you were made free from all the roles and responsibilities you have.
2. Why this is your passion and how it will help you in your forthcoming life?
3. Do you think by pursuing this passion you would be doing justice with your specialization?
4. Instance where you have compromised with your ethics and if not then why not?
Scenario Based:
1. Suppose you got selected in our institute. Now tell me only one quality which you will look in your roommate. Why you looked for only that quality.
2. Do you believe in Destiny or not?( I said destiny can't decide )

Experienced+ Advice:
Every answer is correct provided you justify that logically or relate it to something which in turn has rational behind it.

At the end of the day no one can predict how it was. Now it is only the destiny which will decide .

Best Regards
@sandhya275 said:
HiIs there any [articular dress code to be followed for girls??Saree/Salwar/Western formals... any of these ok or would it be better to stick to western formals?
use your own discretion
@smvt
hey thanks for sharing your exp.
can you plz tel me wht ans did dat ops gal gave..?? y should they select her ovr othrs.

Guys can anyone say regarding the dress code?

@venkatvit169 said:
Guys can anyone say regarding the dress code?
Formals... Blazer is optional..
@rnkjhr
A direct question about other calls must have really put you in an awkward position.
Did u get defensive over it or proudly advertised the fact that you have other calls and effusively praised the other institutes in the respective discipline they dole out degrees in?
Just want to gain perspective on how one should convey oneself under such situation and still come out as a good guy!