CAT 2006: GD PI Experiences of Devinder

I feel its one thing to score well in the exam. It’s quite another to get selected into a college. The second round of selection
process includes group discussions, case studies, extempore, group tasks, personal interviews, group interviews, essay
writing etc. depending on the college. It’s when you appear for the second round that you realize how tough the competition
really is.
To prepare for this would again be a different experience. Again Endeavor will make you work really hard. And you should.
Follow what they tell you. We were made to work on presentations, read a lot of magazines, books and material to groom us.
Even if you have a dozen calls, please don’t think you will be able to convert it. I have had a friend who had 7 calls and was
not able to convert any of them.
On the other hand we had people who had just one call and converted it. But for that you need to put in lots of effort. We
certainly did. On Sundays we had panel GDs. So all in all it’s a grind. But may be you can look at it as giving your best shot
because this is going to make your career. Hence, no use being complacent. Go for it. And get into your dream institute

Here’s some gyan on G.D/P.I. most of which I learned from the faculty and some from my experience.

 Develop sound knowledge base: Read newspapers (For God’s Sake, don’t count Ahmedabad Times in it!), business
magazines, non-fiction books on business leaders, etc. I made the mistake of reading only after my exams were over.
I would have been a lot better if I had kept in touch throughout the year. Something that I consider of prime
importance is the editorial of the newspapers, esp. Economic Times. It is very helpful. And yes, for GCET people, if
you are good at G.K. then those are cash marks. It gives you lots of confidence and its fun because you get marks
without spending time on it. And that we are on the topic of knowledge, if your interview happens to be on the date of
a festival or any such important day, please make sure you know the history or significance of the day. We had our
star last year, Aniruddh who got calls from 5 IIM’s. His IIM-Kozhikode interview was to be held on 14 th February and
sure enough, he read about the history of Valentine’s Day. Though it’s a different matter that he was not asked about
it in the interview. But the day on which his IIM-Ahmedabad interview was to be held, happened to be Shivaratri. And
he forgot tot read about it. and surprise surprise, he was asked about the significance of the festival in the interview!
On the same lines, do prepare about holi, dhulleti etc. because they will be around the time your interviews happen.
Another important question will be about the city to which you belong. For best information on that, read the
telephone directory and search the city on wikipedia.org. (I did both of them, but here was only 1 problem. I read it
after all my interviews were over!)
 Please market yourself: This was one other mistake that I made. During the interview in SIBM they asked me, in
which countries did I play the tennis tournaments? I said that I played in US and the European tour in which I toured 4
countries. The positive answer would have been one in which I would have given and stressed the names of all the
countries that I travelled to. No use being modest there. Its best to assume that the interviewer does not know
anything about you. I made the same mistake for NMIMS interview. So at every opportunity you have to show that
you are a deserving candidate by highlighting your strengths and achievements. Also have and show the passion that
you really want to get into the college. That was another one of my weakness. I would be kind of relaxed and just be
calm about it. It’s always nice to be enthusiastic about it.
 Channel your nervousness and excitement into positive energy : I have seen almost all the participants very excited
and eager to know what the panelists ask and how did their preceding fellow’s interview go? I don’t know how it
helps. Even if it helps, it’s only marginal. Obviously the panel members are smart enough not to ask you the same
question. If you are well prepared, there’s nothing that can trouble you. So why take the unnecessary trouble? Just
relax and give your best.
 Forms: Well there will be a variety of forms that you will have to fill up. Some of them will be descriptive. First thing to
do would be to buy the form early. Take adequate time for filling up the form. Some forms require you to think a lot
before filling them. Like FMS asks you to write the statement of purpose and send it to them. It’s extremely stressful
to be worrying about whether you will be able to send the form on time or not. Save yourself from the stress. There
will be lots of stressful moments in the interviews, I can assure you of that!
Also when you are filling up a descriptive form, please take out a blank copy and try to fill it in with a pencil so that
everything fits in perfectly. Then do the same in the form. Make sure its neat and clean. The form is the first
impression that you would be making on the interviewer. Make sure that the first impression is a good one.
Once you have filled up the form, it is advisable to take out a photocopy of every form. It’s useful in case there is any
problem of your form not having reached the destination. You will have the form number too which you would have to
quote for further communication. So keep it handy.
 Score well in the written test: Well this is obvious isn’t it? To get a call, you need to score well. Well there are quite a
few institutes that give lot of weight age to written score. Like, NIRMA admission basis is 70% CAT score and the rest
30% to work-ex, GD and PI. UBS gives 85% weight age to CAT score. While NMIMS adds the GD/PI and work-ex
marks to the written score. Hence if your score is great, you boost your chances of getting through.
GD/PI EXPERIENCES

I have tried to recollect all the questions that were asked in my interviews. I hope it will give you a fair idea of how an interview
can be like. I would just like to clarify certain things about what I have written. I may have forgotten to mention certain
questions, which I can’t recall. Also the wordings might not be precise. But they convey the same implications. Also at some
places the order of questions might be jumbled, though I have tried my best to recall it and present it as it happened.
At the same time by reading the detailed account, don’t form an idea that such and such institute will ask you only these kinds
of questions. Agreed they all have a certain style of conducting the process and certain things that they stress on and will quiz
you on, but every interview is different. There are different panels in each institute and even in the same panel the types of
questions differ. So don’t expect anything. Just be fully prepared.

Just a few other things to take note off. I always entered the interview with files that contained newspaper clippings and
certificates of my extra-curricular achievements (tennis) and co-curricular achievements. I wanted to make sure that they know
about it. And I wanted them to talk about tennis. As you will see, that did not always happen!

I will give you a brief introduction of myself so that it gives a clear idea as to I was asked the questions that I was. I am a
B.Com graduate (2005) from HL College of commerce. I have also played tennis at international level.
Here,
 Denotes the questions asked by the panelists and
 Denotes my response/my narration of what I felt/said.

GCET

G.D.

10 participants, 3 panel members. Semi-circle arrangement. We had to introduce ourselves first. Everyone was given 1 minute
to state their opinion/point of view on the topic and then it was open for discussion.
TOPIC: Population explosion: is it helpful or harmful?

There were two friends of mine in the GD. One of them took the topic out of context. I didn’t stop him because he was a friend.
(I guess it hurt everyone’s chances.) And immediately the panelists ended the GD. (It hardly lasted 3-4 minutes). They asked
at random 2 or 3 people to speak who hadn’t spoken. When they were about to end, I remembered CM sir’s advice and just
told the panelist that I would like to add a point there and just put some statistics, which I was aware of. It helped.

INTERVIEW

3 panelists. All different from the GD. I enter with my files. They don’t even notice it.

 So you have done your B.Com. Can you tell me what is inventory?
 What is dead stock?
 What are current assets?
 Do you know how many Indian companies are there in the Fortune 500 list?
 Can you name them? Which is the highest ranked company?
 Can you name a person from your religion that is at the highest post in India?
 I answer its Manmohan Singh.
 Do you think he is the highest office holder in India?
 I get confused now.
 Seeing me confused, the other panelist asks me: who is the first citizen of India?
 I answer it’s the President.
 Now can you tell me is there anyone from your religion who has been at the highest post?
 I said I am not sure. They are laughing now and having fun because I said Manmohan Singh. I tell them that I heard
the question as who “is” holding the post, hence I answered Manmohan Singh.
 They tell me that do you think we were not aware of the question we asked.
 I smiled and did not say anything further.
(This is all I can recollect. There might have been 2-3 other questions.)
SIBM-PUNE

We first entered the hall. We were supposed to hand over copies of 10 th and 12th mark sheets. I forgot to bring copies of 12th
mark sheet. I kind of panicked a bit. They arranged to get it photo copied. The students managed the whole selection process.
It was really very well done. They showed us a presentation of SIBM- it was really very inspiring. And then the process began.
ESSAY
We were given 10 minutes to write the essay. They specified that length was not important, but content was. The topic was:
What is supreme in a democracy: judiciary or parliament.
Then we were taken to the waiting room to keep our bags there. Then we headed straight for our case study. We were advised
by the group-in-charge not to make it a fish market and if you do make it a fish market, then one panel member will interrupt.
Don’t let that happen, he said. Well, that’s exactly what happened!

CASE STUDY

15 participants. Rectangular arrangement. 2 panel members. There was a lot of distance between the 2 sides. The
figure below shows the arrangement.

the case was kind of difficult. Too easy in the beginning, but no one could think differently. It was a complete fish market. The
panelist interrupted and started discussing the case with us. We were to be given 15-20 minutes to discuss the case. We were
stopped in about 7 minutes.
Then we were taken to have some snacks and everyone of our group got a chance to meet others and we began to relax.
Then we proceeded to the waiting room. We had a student as a group in charge. He/she would talk to us about their
experience in SIBM and would guide us as to how to go about the rest of the process.

INTERVIEW
Again the students were talking to us and making us feel relaxed. They were a few who had faced the same panel the
previous year and told us as to what kind of questions they were asked.
I was called for my interview. I entered with my 3 files and kept it on their desk. 3 panelists.
 What do these files contain? (1 browses through my file and kind of highlights my achievements)
 So you think you are an Eklavya? (I had received the Eklavya award and hence this question. I was taken aback with this
surprising question.)
 Which all countries have you played tournaments?
 How have you managed to score well in spite of playing tennis?
 We already know you have achieved a lot in your tennis field. What are your USPs other than tennis?
 Why do you want to do an MBA?
 I tell them that I plan to open a tennis academy.
 The panelist gets very excited and loud and says, “We don’t teach anything of that sort in an MBA. An MBA wont help
you.”
 I say that it would help me learn the basic skills of business and that will help me in running it professionally.
 No but in MBA we teach only how to sell a product. I am telling you to reconsider your decision. Otherwise, doctors would
do an MBA to run their hospitals efficiently.
 I talk to them about their college encouraging entrepreneurship. And I gave them a few real life examples of people
who have done MBA and become entrepreneurs.
 No but in your field, there is physical exertion and life-risk. I don’t think an MBA will help you.
 I said I will think about it. I also said that I may just work in the corporate or may be join dad in the business. (Big
blunder!!)
 Thank you. May God bless you.
Here they were just trying to check how strong I was in following my dream. Well I was strong, but I couldn’t quite convince the
panelist. And I was more concerned with not offending the panelist. Not a good choice. I could have done both.

GROUP TASK
Again 15 participants. We were given a task of passing a medium sized football without using the arms and the ball should not
touch the ground at any moment. The balls would have to be passed from the 1 st person to the 2nd and so on till the 15 th and
back. 7 people will have to be blindfolded. We had to stay inside a circle drawn and were given 3 minutes to discuss how we
were going to do it and who are the people who were going to be blindfolded. If we went out of the circle, then we were
disqualified. And after 3 minutes, we had to start. There were instructions written on the board, which our group completely
ignored-which was a mistake. Also the girls were in saris, which made our task very difficult.
I decided that I would be blindfolded. When the task started, I sat down (that was our strategy, to sit and pass the ball into the
lap), and I just touched the circle and I was disqualified. A few people from our group were left and they finished the task. The
time taken was 3 minutes 42 seconds. The lowest time registered by any group was 11 seconds!
When the task was going on, the panelist came near me and whispered in my ears that if I wanted to lead the group, I
shouldn’t have been blindfolded.
After the task, we were asked to line up and were asked questions related to the process. I was asked: what would you and
your team have done differently?
So overall, after the process I felt that I could have done better in almost all things. Result: I was not selected.

SCMHRD-PUNE

GROUP PROCESS

2 panelists. 9 participants. Semi circle arrangement. There was two parts of the group process. In the first one we were shown
a short video clipping. We were to discuss all possible interpretations of the same and then decide on a caption for it. We were
given 20 minutes.
It went off smoothly. Everyone got a chance to speak and contribute.

Then we had a case study. We were given 2-3 minutes to study the case and then discuss the case. Again that went off well.
Though we had to be a bit more aggressive to get a chance to speak.

INTERVIEW
SCMHRD has an elimination process. They eliminate some candidates after the group process. In our group, 4 out of 9 got
selected. In some groups as high as 5 out f 7 were selected. In others the whole group was eliminated.
As per the scheduled interview, I was taken to the same panel that was there for GD. They sent me back for the reason that
the interviewers do not need to have any opinion about any candidate before the interview starts. So I was assigned to a
different panel.
2 panelists.
 Please keep all that you have brought aside. We will see it when the time comes. We will be talking for 20-25 minutes.
Just answer the questions honestly and you can relax. (He introduces himself and the other panel member. Both were ex-
defense personnel. One was from the Army and the other one from the Air Force.)
 Which field do you want to do your specialization in?
 I answer Marketing and HR.
 Why?
 Which company would you like to work for?
 Is there any magazine that you read regularly? Which was the last magazine that you read?
 Do you read newspapers regularly?
 Ok so you come from Gujarat, tell me what do you feel about the various communal riots that keep happening there?
 What are your views on secularism as it followed in India?
 If military training/practice were given to the employees or students, would it help? How?
 What are your views on India’s progress?
 What are the changes that you would like to the Indian political scenario?
 Then they read the form and see my files and ask me: do you still play tennis?
 Why did you stop?
 Why do you think India lags behind in sports? We have such a huge population and so few sporting heroes.
 Why don’t you open a tennis academy yourselves and train the kids? You have experience and knowledge. Why don’t you
do something to help them? (Notice the stark difference. At SIBM, they were trying to dissuade me from opening an
academy. Here they themselves suggest that I should open the academy.)
 I answer that it is exactly what I want to do.
 But you didn’t tell us this when we asked you before why do you want to do an MBA.
 I replied that that was not the precise question they had asked.
 But if you are very sure, why don’t you take up sports management course and follow your dreams? (This was a very
good question. But I knew my reasons well and I was very honest with them.)
 What kind of an academy would you set up?
 How will it be different from other academies?
 How do you plan to change the system of coaching?
 So you want to do what Nandan Bal (Indian Davis Cup coach) is doing here in Pune, is it?
 Ok tell me once again. Do you read any books-business related?
 I tell them I have been reading the book by Akio Morita. Its about Sony corporation.
 What’s the name of the book?
 I forgot the name of the book.!!(I also forgot that I had read quite a few other books and that I could easily have said
that reading is my hobby. But I was kind of scarred/hesitant to admit it. It shouldn’t have been so. I should have
confidently told them that these are the books that I have read. )
 Take care of your injuries. Thank you.
That was all. It was a very comprehensive interview. I felt good. I made mistakes in the reading part. Otherwise it went off well.

ESSAY
All those who appeared for the interview were also to write an essay. There were two parts of the essay: 1- why do you want to
do an MBA?
2- where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
While writing the essay, I felt I was writing all that I had already discussed in the interview.
Result: Positive. I was selected.

NMIMS
NMIMS conducted a Computer based test (CBT). It was an aptitude test conducted at various computer centers in various
cities, Ahmedabad being one. Ditto for GD/PI, as Ahmedabad was one of the centers. NMIMS people are hell bent on paper
work. Everything will have to be attested and they will ask for the same documents 3-4 times if you manage to convert your
call.

GROUP DISCUSSION

We were allotted groups. Our group consisted of 13 wannabe MBA’s out of which 4 of us were from Endeavor. Some of us got
pretty excited. So plans were made as to how we could take charge of the proceedings and help each other. I was supposed
to be the statistical head and throw figures and how the rest were going to build on it. (I got the honour of being a statistical
head because I had prepared and worked on a presentation at Endeavor titled India: in statistics. That helped me a lot in
developing my knowledge and like you will learn if you have facts and figures, it creates a very strong impression on the panel
members and the group.) But hold on, there was something else in store for all of us.
There were 2 panelists and a semi-circular arrangement.
We were given 2 topics: we were given 2 minutes to discuss which of the topics we should select as a group. Our topics were:
 India Shining: is it a myth or a reality?
 (I don’t remember the exact topic. It had something to do with rural areas and villages.)
We selected the former one. We were given 3 minutes to prepare and then we had to start discussing. The allotted time was
20 minutes. In short, 3 minutes before all hell broke lose!!
For the next 20 minutes, I got to speak only once. Considering I knew so much about the topic, it wasn’t such a great feeling.
May be I was just meek and couldn’t force the issue. The rest of us from Endeavor spoke about 3-4 times on an average. It
was what you call a real fish market. May be something more than that, if such a thing exists! There was this girl between me
and the other endeavor student, Sagar (who by the way, converted the call). This girl when she got a chance to speak spoke
at the absolute top of her voice. We needed earplugs! And then when the panelist said that only 5 minutes were remaining,
she said lets conclude the GD and then herself went on to add new points on her own.
At the end, the panelist asked a few people to speak whom she felt didn’t speak at all (there were 2 of them) and whom she
felt could have added something. I wasn’t one of them. But I felt later that I should have taken the chance and asked her to
allow me to state my views. I should have. Hope that all those who read this will have the courage to do so. At the same time, I
do hope that you all don’t get into such a position!
One more thing that strikes me is that such things happen when everyone is so familiar with the topic. It hardly happens
when the topic is tough or a little unfamiliar. I don’t want to suggest anything, but I guess it’s worth a thought. Especially when
you have the choice of selecting a topic!

INTERVIEW
Now that I recall, I think I lost a bit of confidence before the interview began. I knew I needed to do a lot better in the GD for
having a good chance to be selected. I hadn’t done so.
I had to wait for hours before my interview began. There was a person from SVKM’s (the trust that manages NMIMS) who
took my informal interview. He asked quite a few questions.
For the real interview, there were 2 panel members. They had made us write a biographical sketch. The students appearing
before told me that they were asking everything from the biographical sketch. They have thoroughly read it. So I walked in with
this assumption that they know everything about me from the biographical sketch.
When I entered, one of the panel members was sitting to the side of the table and not behind it. And he stayed in the same
position throughout the interview! It made establishing eye-contact tough for me. If this interview had lasted long, I would have
suffered from neck ache!
They ignore my files completely.
 You have had a lot of achievements in tennis. Are you a contemporary of Sania Mirza?
 I blush, smile and proudly say: Yes! We used to play tournaments together.
 How did you manage your studies and tennis together?
 Why do you want to do an MBA?
 I don’t understand: how will it help you run a tennis academy?
 Ok so you have been born and brought up in Ahmedabad. Tell us about Ahmedabad.
 I tell them about the top ranked institutions, like IIM, MICA. I also include PRL and ISRO in it.
 Are PRL and ISRO educational institutes?
 See we all know about the educational institutes. What else can you tell me?
 Ok think we are tourists. What will you tell us about the city and about the people?
 I answer that people in Gujarat are peace loving.
 Peace-loving. No way! How can you call them peace loving after Gujarat has witnessed so many riots.
 I say I remember only 1 major riot.
 Which year did it take place?
 May be you stay so insulated that you are not aware of what is happening in the city.
 Why didn’t you continue playing tennis?
 Tell me something, do you think that Dennis Lillee has done his MBA for starting a coaching academy. Why do you want
to do it?
 What does your father do? Why don’t you join your father’s business?
 Tell me one creative idea that you would give your father to run his shop better?
 I said I can’t think of anything else except that may be he should increase the investment in the business.
 That’s not creativity. You are saying that instead of spending Rs.100; spend Rs.500. that is not creative. Think and tell me
something innovative.
 While I was thinking for a few seconds, the panelist was trying to control his laughter. He couldn’t!
 Are you into reading?
 In MBA it is very important that you have a reading habit. All that I see in you are rings and rings of passion for tennis.
How do we know that you will read a lot once you get into the college?
 I answer that I have always enjoyed studying.
 Everyone who studies in Xavier’s Loyola says the same thing. How do you convince us that you will work hard?
 It was here that I should have told them about my academic achievements. I thought they might have already read it.
Hence missed out on an opportunity to convince them of my capabilities.
I felt kind of frustrated after the interview. I hadn’t gone according to plans. I couldn’t convert this call.
SP JAIN-MUMBAI

Just before the S.P.Jain interview I converted SCMHRD. So I felt good. I had got a call for Finance. So had to be prepared. I
don’t know why I chose finance.( SP Jain always asks you to tell them which field so you want to specialize in. and they give
call and conduct interviews on that basis. I didn’t know that before getting the call!)
Anyways, according to me, the interview went off really well. I was very enthusiastic and positive in the whole interview. It was
a group interview. 3 panels..6 students who chose diverse electives like marketing, operations, information’s etc. We are
asked questions in turn. We have to listen to others answers as well.
• My first question was: in the form u have mentioned, “vision”, if u don’t mind, can you please share your vision.
 And I explained them.
• what can be the unintended consequences of such a dream.
 I did not understand the question. He repeated it again. And then he told me if I get a job worth 10-12 lakhs.
I said it wouldn’t deter me. This was the first round of questions
Then for the second round of questions, I was asked, tell me something about Gujarat. The people there. .. and I
answered that people of Gujarat are fun-loving. He asked: who is more fun loving: a sardar or a Gujarati!! And again
got back to them and told them about the entrepreneurship spirit of Gujarati’s. And then he said that Gujaratis don’t
study a lot. They just do business. And I told them about the various educational institutions in Ahmedabad. And they
said, do u think there are more no. of Gujaratis’ in those institutes or outsiders. And I answered that the trend of
studying before doing business is also catching up like Gujarat’s people going abroad to study. And then he asked
about what kind of people would your tennis academy cater to. And about where will I get the land for my project.
Why do you want to set up your academy only in Ahmedabad? What if Vijay Amritraj offers you to take over his
academy in Chennai? I answered no. he said that you are prejudiced. And then I was asked,” what will you do if you
fail in this venture of a tennis academy? Have you thought about it.” And another question was” what if I suggested
you do Marketing which would rather help you more in your business.” Name any one company of Ahmedabad that
you admire and why?
It was not very stressful. I felt very positive and full of energy. The atmosphere was relaxed. I did not clear this interview. This
was the 1st round. We get called for the second round of interviews, which is again a group interview, but with people taking up
the same specialization i.e. for e.g. only finance people in the interview.

NIRMA UNIVERSITY-AHMEDABAD
2 panel members. Semi-circular arrangement around the conference table.12 participants.

GD
Group discussion Topic: Opening up of education to the private sector will improve the quality of education in India.
Please state your views on the argument for a minute. Then you will be given 10 minutes for discussion and then
again you will be given a minute to clarify your stand whether you still believe in the argument and conclude.
The GD went off fine. We all got chance to speak. But he had to be a bit aggressive. As usual there were one or two
spoilsports. But we did ok as a group.

NIRMA INTERVIEW
3 Panel members. 2 of them were there for the G.D. as well. And the senior most panel member says, please keep those files
aside. We don’t want to see it!! I keep it aside. And then one of the 3 panel member ask:
 What are these files about?
 I answer that its about my tennis achievements and I tell them a bit about my achievements.
 Ok so you play tennis? What is a tennis elbow? (nice question, huh!!)
 What kind of game do you play? Do you serve and volley etc.?
 I say I play a baseline game. I don’t go to the volleys a lot.
 But do you think its good to play a defensive game. Tell me one player who plays like you and has won a lot of
tournaments?
 You finished your graduation in 2005. What were you doing in the two years?
 So your dad is a businessman. Where is his shop and what kind of a shop is it?
 Where are you originally from?
 Name any five Sikh gurus?
 Why was the Sikh religion formed?
 What’s the name of the 9th Sikh guru?
 I make a mistake here and he gives me a hint for the correct answer.
(Throughout the interview, there was hardly an occasion when I was allowed to finish my answer. There would be a
next question before I finish my answer. Not exactly stressful, because the questions were interesting.)
 Do you know of a Sikh player who plays for England?
  I answer “Monty Panesar”
 Ok who is he? Is he a batsman, bowler, what?
 I answer he is a left arm off-spinner.
 Ok so you follow cricket as well. What’s a “doosra”?
 You have studied in HL. Which: morning or noon?
 How would you manage the education because education is an expense?
 (Before I answer, he says) if you were the Finance minister, what would be the steps you would take check inflation?
 I answer I will take care of the supply side measures.
 Supply side measures of what? Why?
 What is stagflation?
 Is inflation good or bad for the economy? In what ways?
 What is the role of inflation in providing employment?
 You think you will be able to cope up with the schedule when you come here? We make people study for 14-18 hours.
Sometimes they don’t even get to sleep?

I could answer all the questions quite well except the stagflation and the employment one. Felt good about the
interview. Result was positive too.

MDI-HR

Group Process

We were given instructions printed on a piece of paper saying that you are a creative person and there is a person who has
relied on your creative talents in the past and launched some products which have been quite successful. He now again wants
to do the same. Given to you are samples of the articles. His inventory is worth 50 lakhs.
The products you design should be marketable. The products will be rated in usefulness of purpose, beauty etc.
The things given to us individually were: 1 quantity of each: eraser, match-box, pencil, cello tape, plain paper, a lace, a roll of
thread, an index card with a hole, a clip,
We were given 10 minutes to discuss the number of categories under which we would be able to make the products: 10+
excellent, 6-9 good etc…. and the number of products that we could all make:18+ excellent, 14-17 good etc.. We had to report
our estimate to the panel of 2 before we started.
Then we were given 20 minutes to make those products.

The result: we told them we would be making 15 products. We made 23. we acted well in the group. But I felt that we should
have done more creative thinking. The group was very happy with the effort. Hence I couldn’t be sad about it!

M.D.I.-H.R. INTERVIEW
Again 2 panel members. same as the one’s in Group process. One Sir and one madam.

 There are two parts of the question. Please understand them carefully and then answer. Why do you want to do an M.B.A
in human resources? And why do you want to do it from M.D.I.?
 I mentioned about the book that I had read” maverick” by Ricardo Semler. I had mentioned about the qualities that I
possess, i.e. calm and sensitive nature. I said that MDI is works with the philosophy of “change leaders and thought
masters”
 Where have you heard about this philosophy?
 I said I read it in the prospectus and the web site.
 Why should you believe what we have written in the prospectus and web site? We can write and print anything.
 You mentioned about the qualities. You used many adjectives to describe about yourself. Do you think that those are the
qualities that you require for being an HR manager?
 Can you name any manager that possesses the qualities that you talk about? Have you heard Mukesh Ambani or any
other CEO tell that he is calm and sensitive? How does it really help?
 Whats your motto in life?
 I am stumped. I answer vaguely. And she kind of rubs it in. And I try to escape from it.
 Name any two HR Managers from India.
 I mentioned Mohandas Pai (INFOSYS.) I again told her about Ricardo Semler even though he is from Brazil.
 What really impresses you about Ricardo?
 It’s the way he has made his company so democratic.
 So you think there is autocratic type of management in the companies in India. Name any two organizations in India that
are democratic?
 I tell them about the parliament.
 What do you mean it’s democratic? Just like a tree has leaves coming. So the parliament is democratic.
 I had till then shut off from whatever the old man was saying. He was constantly asking such irrelevant questions. I
didn’t listen to this question properly and hence answered,”it is democratic, sir”. I could have answered better if I had
just listened to him.
 Today its said that there is no such thing as motivation (she quotes some author’s name which I haven’t heard who says
there’s nothing lie motivation and its obsolete. I had stressed on motivation in my first answer and about the qualities I
possess). What do you think is motivation? Why is it needed? What motivates people?
 What motivates you?
 I answer” to motivate others”. (And by God, she makes a face as if she is going to scold me!! Scary!)
 Have you read about Maverick at work and other books in the series? Have you read Ulrich’s?
 I answer hesitatingly that I have heard his name.
 Say no if you haven’t read it.
 What kinds of course are you interested in studying? Say like training and development.
 I say training and development and merger and acquisitions (it was mentioned in the prospectus)
 So have you followed the deals that have taken place? Which ones? Tell me 3 master-strokes that Ratan Tata took to
acquire Corus.?

So this was a real stress interview. Both the panelists were trying to pull me down. Maine unka kya bigada tha!!
Result: waiting list no. 132. I got the feeling that I did my best. But they were not impressed.

UBS-CHANDIGARH

In UBS there is lots of paper work. So for the first hour they checked the mark sheets and all the other certificates. I had
applied for sports quota. They called me for interview in the general quota.

It was a case study. 19 students present-1 absent(thank God for that.). 6 panel members. Please don’t pinch yourself. It’s not
a bad dream, it’s true. Seating arrangement was a semi-circle. The panel told us that please don’t turn it into a fish market. We
were given 5 minutes to study and analyze the case. The case given to us was tough. Hence it didn’t turn into a fish market. I
think I did well in the case.

Interview

For the interview too, 6 panel members, same as the case study. They were seated in 3 sofas. One on the right, one in front
and one on the left. One panel member was talking on the mobile phone.
 What have you brought along with you? (Referring to the files)
 In which countries have you played tournaments?
 Why did you not apply for sports quota?
 I said I did apply but you gave me a call for the general quota on merit.
 He asks the other panelist to see whether I have ticked the Sports quota category or not.
 What are the other calls that I have got.
 I couldn’t think of anything else so said that through cat I have Nirma and UBS. (I couldn’t say MDI-HR because I had
not applied for HR in UBS.) and I have SIBM and SCMHRD.
 Which would you select if you get selected for them?
 I said I have already secured admission in SCMHRD. I have already paid the fees. Even then I am here and I am
talking to a few people and knowing about your institute.
 He (the panelist who was asking these questions) walks out of the room. The other panelist reads about my graduation
results. Then the other panelist asks: what is a break-even point.
 Give me a practical example of how the break-even point is useful. Explain with an illustration.
 Why isn’t tennis in India progressing? We have hardly any tennis champions.
 Why do we need to play sports? It’s just a waste of time. What good does it do?
 Ok, you have many achievements in tennis. But I haven’t seen you on T.V?
 All your achievements are in the year 1999-2000. Why is it so?
 The panelist who walked out of the room comes back in and asks: How much fees will get you get back when you cancel
the admission of SCHMRD?
 I replied that by the time your results would be out I would not get any of it.
 And he ended the interview.