Round - 2 2008-09 Mumbai Interview Experience - 1

Th following is the interview experience of a male candidate on 17-01-2007 (Round - 2) at Mumbai.

Profile:

GMAT: 750/5.0,

Education: IIT, Delhi 2004 passout,

Experince: in manufacturing.

The interview panel consisted of two members, one washema from adcom, the other was some guy probably in his mid 50s. I can safely say that he was some hi-figuy coz he knew the MDs of both the companies i haveworked for.

These are some of the questions that were asked:

1. what do you think chemical engg means? ( i am achemical engg.)
2. i was then asked what does 5S mean (something thati had mentioned in my application)
3. Now comes the exiting part, he asked me about oneof the achievements i had mentioned in my application.i spoke for some 5 mins after which the man says: "uhave spoken for 5 mins and yet i have not heardanything that i wanted to hear". i was taken aback. then he rephrased his question.. i started harpingagain about some of the things that i had done on theshopfloor. finally he said that i was not structuringmy answers well and these sort of answers help nobodyin a group.
4. then he asked about my post isb plans. i said iwanted a role in general management. he told me that iwas too young for a GM role so there will be nocompanies offering me that sort of a role. he evenmentioned that u can even think of becoming the PM ofIndia but the reality is that u cant.
5. then he asked me how would i improve theproductivity of my plant. i gave some crappy answersbut clearly he was not satisfied.
6. then the lady chipped in and asked me to rate myself on my people's skills.
7. "ques for us" as usual

His Advice: don't bluff, keep itshort and simple and be thorough in ur application. u can also try and work on ur spontaneity rather than too much preparation.

Round - 1 2008-09 Mumbai Interview Experience - 2

The following is teh interview experience of a male candidate on 17th of November, 2007 at Mumbai for a duration of about 15 minutes.

Profile:

GMAT: 760

Work Exp.: 7 years of IT experience with over 5 years of Project Management experience

Extra Curricular: 8 years of Social Work experience

Essay Topic: Orchestra.

All they asked me was about my job, my short-term and long-term persectives and how doing an MBA fits into those plans. All the other questions were based on my responses to these 4 questions.The interview was far from pleasant but I wouldn't term the behaviour of the panel as aggressive either. They were scrutinizing very carefully every answer and trying very hard to find chinks and weaknesses in my responses. I got an opportunity to ask them questions and asked them a couple of questions. This was the easiest part of the interview.

Round-1 2008-09 Mumbai Interview Experience - 1

The following is the interview experience of male candidate on Novemebr 16, 2007 at Mumbai.

The panel consisted of two members. The essay was on 'Sunset' - 100 words - I think I rambled on about beautiful colours, romanticism, melancholy, hope, and god know what else.

The interview was very casual - unfortunately - I don't think it went very well for me. They started with my profile - I'll just briefly mention it here - as my interview was mostly about my profile.

1) Did my architecture from Chandigarh - its one of the oldest andbest colleges for architecture

2) Did a masters in Building Engineering and Management from SPA,Delhi - again one of the best

3) Joined Cushman & Wakefield in their project management division -worked there for 2 years

4) Started my own business in project management and have been workingon my own for the past one and a half years.

1. First question was why - after such a good progression - working greatin the company - you left all of a sudden to start your own business. I mentioned that I was working on a project and the client asked me if I could provide them with project management service - I discussedthis with a colleague and we decided to go into business togetherservicing the client.
2. He then asked why I wanted to leave my business which was juststarting for and MBA. I mentioned that till date I have been pluggingin holes in my education - after architecture I realised that actualconstruction was something I hardly knew about so I joined construction management and now after working for more than a year inmy own firm I realised that I needed to learn more about finance and HR.
3. Next they asked about my essays - specially the second one - simplestuff - nothing major.
4. Then they came back to my business and how I though ISB would help meout. I mentioned that even after getting such a good start and workingfor one of the largest merchant bankers in the world - I was unable to really expand my business and even after one and half years I'm still stuck with the single client.
5. He asked me what areas I though I neededto improve and I mentioned finance and HR - as resourcing was one ofthe major problems I've been facing - and I really do not know how toexpand.
6. Then they asked me if I would like to major in finance - and Ireplied yes - alongwith entrepreneurship.
7. They asked me if after oneyear I would get an offer from a big real estate firm or a finance firm - would I take up that offer. I mentioned that as of now my intention was to come back and expand my business - however you never know what can happen in a year.
8. Then things started going bad - he asked how specifically I felt that an MBA would help me in resourcing as well as generating money toexpand the firm. I was confused at first - and then mentioned that if I understand more about finance and HR - study other cases such as mine I'm sure I would be able to run a better business. Didn't seem to go down too well with them. He worded the same question a bit differently and asked me that at the start of your business - when you're not sure of the finance - you're planning to spend 18-20 lakhs in a course - which would result in huge EMIs once you come out - add to that business expenses - how would this help out your business. I knew I was dead - but nevertheless I smiled and mentioned that I felt this 18-20 lakhs was an investment in myself and I knew that I would do well after an MBA.
9. Then they asked me if I had missed out something in my application or hasn't come up in my interview. I mentioned that I'm not sure if its important - but while filling my application - I missed out the factthat I love to read. Reading is such an integral part of my life -that it didn't seem important. Only after reading my application later- did I realise this.
10. Then they asked me about any recent book I hadread - so I mentioned 'The Count of Monte Cristo'.
11. Then it was the standard dialogue of whether I wanted to ask them anything. By now I felt that I had already bumbled enough - so I said no and said goodbyes to both of them.