as I see it

[Note : The sequence of events mentioned may not be cent per cent accurate and the questions discussed are all Memory-Based :P]

Probably the first post where I will bnot blabber much and just give in the details of my interview experience at SPJIMR.

The process started with the verification of documents - HSC and SSC marksheets, Graduation score, CAT and XAT Admit Cards. A group of 6 (in some cases it was 7) was formed and was sent for the first round of interview. The group formation was random with candidates from different streams (M, F, O and IM).

I was a bit nervous and tensed but the panel (2 members) asked us to sit and then introduce d themselves and somehow I managed to relax and was qute comfortable. We were asked to introduce ourselves and the questions thereafter were mainly related to what one said in his/her introduction or related to some keywords that catch one's eye when the profile sheet is scanned through.

The first question for me was 'How is Gujarat (I study in Gujarat) different from Delhi or Mumbai ?'

This was followed by my take on the current Chief Minister of Gujarat.

We were then asked about our views on the change in consumer behaviour from 90s to now. E.g. given was that in recent past many people fly because of low cost airlines so there has been a drastic change in the Aviation Industry.

It was mentioned beforehand that "This is not a GD and everyone would be given a chance to speak."

Next question for me was "Why did you choose Marketing ?". One of the other candidates was asked the same question and he said he found it very interesting on which he was asked what subjects does he expect to be taught at SPJIMR and did he do any research on Marketing, since he found it interesting.

Another candidate was asked to relate her stream of graduation to the present job profile and to the stream opted for pursuing MBA.

Two other questions that everyone was asked were

* Did you take any coaching for MBA entrance and the interview process ?
Everyone replied honestly and named the coaching centres.

* If you were in our seat then which 3 of the 6 would you select ? (NO reasons were allowed to be given)

The first round then ended and the names of the candidates who move on to the next round were announced. Four out of six in our group made it to the next round (there was no elimination thereafter on that day) which was a 7-minute Behaviour Test. There were 24 rows containing 4 adjectives each. We were supposed to mark 'M' against the adjective that described us most and 'L' against the one that described us least in each of the rows.

E.g.      gentle      humble     presuasive      original

The options were quite close and each row had some or the other adjective that was close to one mentioned earlier and there was a very high probability that you may contradict yourself on one point or the other.

Next was a second round of interview and this time I like others had different group members (not the same as in Round 1) but even this time they were all from different streams.

The panel this time had 3 members and one of the members was a first year student studying at SPJIMR.

Tension on the faces of the candidates could be clearly seen but periodic jokes and light laughter spells made the atmosphere comfortable.

We were told that only 1 out of the 6 would be selected.

This round was similar to the first as it began with the introduction of the candidates (we were given exactly 60 seconds to do so, extra time taken was just mentioned but we were not forced to cut short or interrupted in between).

Again questions were related to whatever was said in the introduction. I was asked who was my favourite footballer to which I replied C.Ronaldo. Why is he my favourite was the next question. I somewhere mentioned the tricks he does on field and so was asked how is it that he is able to perform them and not a majority of other footballers ?

Another question that I was asked was "Is blogging good or bad ?" (I mentioned that I like blogging in my introduction).

I would like to mention a few questions that were thrown at the other candidates.

* Defend yourself when I say you are serious and boring.
* Defend yourself when I say you are careless.
* Describe the SDLC of the project you mentioned you are working on.
* What is |x| if x>0 ?(for a candidate who said loved maths)
* What is |x| if x<0 ?(Incorrect response to the previous question lead to this)
An incorrect response again lead to the question been thrown open to other candidates.

Two of the candidates who said they liked Maths were given an Arithmetic Series each and were asked to find the next term. They tried hard and came up with a solution as well but to everyone's surprise the series didn't have any logic except the fact that the terms given to them were the PERCENTAGE MARKS obtained by them at school and college.

Like in the first round we got a topic "After the recent fluctuaion in the SENSEX it is said that the growth in economy will be hampered and that our growth is not ___ some 9.3% ___ (I don't remember the exact figures).

We were asked to repeat after the panel "This is not a GD"

Everyone gave there views on the topic.

Before leaving we were asked if this was what we expected the interview will be like. I was asked if this would go up on my blog ?

After this second round of interview we took a 55 minutes psychometric test which had 3 sections. The first (30 minutes time) had questions like

* Values dear to me _____
* I like _____
* I dislike _____
* I don't trust people who _____
* Factors that have hampered my progress are _____
* Good human beings are good citizens because _____
* In case of an emergency I will _____
* If I am in a difficulty _____
* My friends listen to me because _____
* My frineds enjoy my company because _____
* My hobbies are _____
* My weakness _____
* I respect people who are _____
* My role model (hero) _____
* I dont like people who _____
* For my development I need _____
* If I am given a difficult task to complete _____
* Honesty, courage and *something* in a person is appreciated by his/her colleagues because _____
* I want to achieve _____
* I respect my seniors who are _____


The second section (15 minutes) was " Self Appraisal" and had questions like

* What do my elders think of me ?
* What do my colloeagues think of me ?
* What do my seniors think about me ?
* What do I think about myself ?
* What will I do about my shotcomings (weaknesses) ?
* How committed am I towards my goals and how do I plan to achieve them ?

In the last section we were supposd to give our personal details like

* Name
* Father's name
* Percentage marks in 10th, 12th, Graduation, etc.
* Academic Achievements
* Extra-curricular Activities
* Games/Sports and the level to which one has represented the team (class, school, college, university), the period when it was done
* Anything else we would like to tell about ourselves.

Phew !! I guess its the longest post on my blog. Anywayz the entire process was good, I enjoyed it. It was not at all like I had imagined and was nervous about. Lets see what happens, I am waiting for the results. Fingers Crossed !!