Table of Contents

What This Book Is About ................................................................................ 3

Personal Interview ......................................................................................... 4
So What Does the PI Test? .......................................................................... 4
Marketing yourself ........................................................................................ 6
Body Language for the Interview ................................................................... 7
Generally Asked Questions ............................................................................ 8

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 What This Book Is About
Group Discussions (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI) are standard selection tools for admission into
good business schools in India. While your academic record, work experience (if any) and scores in
the entrance test qualify you for an interview call, your final selection depends largely on your
performance in the ‘last Smile.’

The admissions process of some business schools requires that the MBA applicant attends a
mandatory interview. These mandatory interviews are usually conducted as in person ones.
Interview is means to test your personality. Any efforts to put on an act would kill your chances. So
be honest and put your best foot forward.

This book is a collection of PI tips given by experts which is not only confined to the aspirants who
are planning to take a go at MBA admission and would like to know where the process of cracking a
tough entrance exam eventually leads to but would also be interesting read to the current students
who can use these pointers for placement purpose also.

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 Personal Interview
The heat of the B-school admission process does not end with clearing the most competitive
entrance exams such as CAT, XAT, CMAT and SNAP. You will have to face the final frontier-the
Personal Interview (PI). Although many students successfully clear the exams and get the GD-PI calls,
many fail to perform well in the interview room. Literally anything under the sun could be asked.
What they attempt to gauge in an interview is whether you fit the bill for an ideal student they are
seeking. Are you humble, can you withstand pressure, do you take stress well, can you be polite yet
disagree, do you know when not to pick a battle, and these are some of the traits they seek to
assess.
The personal interview could last from ten minutes to an hour or more, and a typical interview panel
consists of two to four members. Some of the older IIMs usually draft some of their alumni into an
interview panel, in addition to at least two professors.
To perform well, it is essential that you understand the What, Why and How of the personal
interview round.
So What Does the PI Test?
Personal Interview aims at understanding and knowing the candidate better. It is an opportunity to
market yourself as the most suitable candidate who deserves that admit card into the reputed B-
school. The views expressed by the candidate in the application form will be put to test. You will be
asked about your academic background and the accuracy of existing knowledge may also be put to
test. Remember, it is not just the knowledge gained from books that will be questioned. B-schools
are looking for candidates who are also well-aware of the world.
What are the key areas you should concentrate on?
Knowledge:
MBA programs are demanding and need you to have adequate knowledge related to the field. You
should do your research on the specialization you are interested in. Do not forget to research on the
institute as the most common question asked is Why MBA? Why MBA in this institution? The panel
wants to know how you will cope with the demands of the program, how their program will benefit
you and how you will contribute to the institution in return. Also be prepared to answer what your
other areas of interest include. Extra-curricular activities also play an important role.
Clarity of goals:
Personal interview is a chance you get to emphasize on your goals. You will have to have clarity of
your goals to answer the questions such as Why MBA? How does in fit your career goals? What are
your plans after MBA? The panel is looking for the inner motivations of the candidate. Since there
are no right answers to these questions, it demands introspection. Honest self-assessment may help
you answer these questions convincingly.
Communication skills:
This is the key to success. Personal interview is all about communicating your ideas, goals and
motives to the panel who is listening to you to know you better. Learn to speak clearly and be
professional. Have confidence in what you say and answer to the point. Listen to what is being said
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and do not be afraid to give yourself some time to understand it well before you answer. Do not try
answering when you have no clue and accept the things you do not know. The panel you will be
addressing is experienced and will be easily ticked off with tactics used to impress.
The oft-asked question by aspirants with regard to the personal interview is, "What is typically asked
in the interview?"
This, of course, has direct implications on how to prepare for the interviews .The only short answer
we can think of, after numerous discussions with a variety of Indian business school interviewers, is
"Anything under the sun!" The questions can range from your graduate-level core subjects and high
school mathematics to your hobbies, politics, economy and general awareness on social issues. This
must sound very daunting to you, as this would make preparing for these interviews almost
impossible. However, I would say this makes life a lot easier for you. Here is why with the
mushrooming of coaching institutes and their burgeoning revenues, tremendous effort goes into
finding out the various questions asked in the interviews every year. In fact, candidates are even
paid to remember the questions asked of them and report them to the coaching institutes.

After collating a bank of questions, the coaching institutes proceed to prepare 'appropriate' (canned
or ready-made) answers and coach the candidates enrolled with them. An example of one such
question would be, "Why do you want to do an MBA?", and most candidates have a ready answer to
give. Herein lies the problem. Most business school professors, intelligent as they are, hate to hear
such stereotyped, routine, 'canned' answers, recited almost parrot-like by many of the candidates.
So, the panellists keep changing their questions every year, and more importantly, they are looking
for some original answers. They are looking for candidates with originality, candidates with
genuineness, candidates who can 'think' on their own, not recite someone else's answers or ideas.
This is not to say one should disregard the various question banks that you might have with you.
Rather, this is to emphasise your own 'thinking' and original answers from your end. Thinking,
however, is hard work and requires you to constantly ruminate and mull over many possible
questions and your appropriate answers. (Compiled from Various sources)

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 Marketing yourself
A list of key parameters that you are evaluated upon according to Vinayak Kudva, head IMS are:

1. Introduction: The opening part of the student-panel interaction, which requires the ability
to handle the vastness implicit in an open-ended question. Your ability to prioritise and lead
the panel is tested.

2. Education: The challenge here is to demonstrate wholesome learning, with a mix of both
academic and extra-curricular activities. Academic learning is validated in terms of basics
and relevance of graduation, comfort level with reference to core/favourite subjects and
projects and industrial training. The focus is on evaluating an empirical connects with the
graduation stream and an ability to apply theory to practice. Extra-curricular activities are
measured on a dual scale – versatility and achievement. While it helps to showcase learning
from a range of activities, a certified performance in them is indicative of your passion to
excel.

3. Current affairs: Key events in the political, economic, business and socio-cultural sectors
need to be appreciated, with an ability to form opinions on contemporary issues.

4. Career planning: The “marketing challenge” here is to evaluate your time-bound plan and
the relevance of an MBA. While answering questions on short and long-term goals, it is
advisable to uphold a clear and logical pitch and to strike a balance between ambition and
pragmatism. For example, starting your own venture is indicative of an entrepreneurial
streak, but needs to be backed by an authentic business plan. Similarly, becoming the CEO of
a company is wonderfully inspirational, but requires an elaborate detailing of a well-defined
career path. Focus on career advancement and mention responsibility profiles, rather than
job designations.

5. Personality-based questions: The focus should be on demonstrating examples showcasing

your strengths, having a remedial plan for overcoming weaknesses and demonstrating
learning from people/situations.

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 Body Language for the Interview
Excited about the interview call? You brush up your domain knowledge, read up on the company,
browse for current affairs as well as some important statistics and are ready to impress the panel.
But are you ready? Are your non-verbal communication skills speaking positively of you? Yes, the
panel is scrutinizing your body language. You might be saying all the right things, but if your body
language speaks otherwise, your chances may not be too positive. Therefore, it is equally important
for you to improve your body language.

So what are few pointers you should keep in mind?

 Remember, you are assessed from the time you walk into the interview room. Avoid adjusting
your clothes and hair while walking in. Tidy up before you walk in.
 Greet everyone and make eye contact with each panel member.
 When you extend a handshake, do so with your palm facing upwards. This indicates honesty and
sincerity.
 Take your seat only when you are offered to sit. Sit comfortably and avoid leaning backwards as t
indicates arrogance and boredom. At the same time leaning forward may indicate nervousness.
Sit with both feet on the ground and do not cross your legs.
 Take control of your gestures. Do not nod your head too many times. This indicates that you are
desperate to agree with the panel. Avoid looking down as it signals judgmental and negative
attitude.
 Maintaining eye contact is shows confidence. Hold eye contact for at least 10 seconds before
you look at another panel member. But do not stare as it can be intimidating.
 Crossing your arms indicate defensiveness or closed mind. Keep your hands on your lap or knees,
but do not grip them tightly as is indicates you are tense.
 Scratching your neck, rubbing your nose or eyes indicates that you don’t believe in what you are
saying.
 Once the interview is over, do not let go of your composure. Collect your belongings calmly,
shake hands with the leading panel member if not with everyone else and leave with a smile. A
confident goodbye is equally important to improve the impression.

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 Generally Asked Questions
Here we present few questions, which most interviewers tend to ask.

1. Introduce yourself

This is the best question you can get. Do not repeat your name, place, degree etc. Explain briefly the
kind of individual that you are. Lead the interviewers to your strengths, domains which interest you,
any unique feature in your life that you want them to notice, etc. Prepare it in three parts, which are
self-contained so that you can stop when you notice slight discontent. Under any circumstance do
not answer beyond three minutes for any question.

2. Why MBA?

This is a googly. Be honest. Do not say you want to serve the society. Also don’t just say I want to
make tonnes of money. Tell them about how an MBA would help you achieve what you want out of
life. Service and money must be part of your answer. Rehearse this well and ideally link it in some
way to what you have in your CV currently.

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 “If asked why
MBA, be honest.
Tell them how MBA
would help you
achieve what you
want out of life”

3. Sell me this pen/eraser (it could be anything that catches the fancy of the interviewer)

It’s just like that famous example of selling comb to a bald person. The focus is not on the material
or your pitch. It is about how you handle the situation. Are you stressed? Do you take it as a
challenge? Try and do a good job. Try to be humorous, only if you can carry it. Do not get unduly
worried if your joke falls flat. And take only a few minutes to sell.

4. What are your hobbies?

It is a soft question. Handle it well. Do not give monosyllable answers. If reading books is your hobby,
explain it. Tell about a recent book you have read. Be prepared to mention a few authors you like. If
you have read a classic, do mention it and highlight its significance.

5. What is the worst book you ever read?

Here be careful. Don’t hate a book because of any politically incorrect reason like caste, religion,
disability etc. Speak about language, plot, presentation, theme etc. And if an interviewer has a
contrary opinion, do not engage in an argument. Politely concede that he or she might have a point.
You aren’t there to win a debate but to get admitted.

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6. What are your strengths?

Prepare well for this question. If “hard work’ is your strength, be prepared to site examples of such
hard work. State the past achievements because of your diligence and also mention others who
identify such a trait in you. This could be your previous boss or your teacher/mentor. If some person
in authority has mentioned about an event that brings out the trait, do cite that incident. Do not
ever mention strength as a weakness. When you say, “Perfection is my weakness,” it sounds really
hackneyed and rehearsed. Avoid such a scenario.

7. Walk me through your résumé in less than 30 seconds.

Just highlight your most important achievement. Elaborate just this. Do not attempt to do a story,
which is not needed here. The interviewer will definitely stop you if you give a long-winded answer.
Here you must finish your answer in two sentences maximum and wait for the interviewer to take
the conversation further.

8. If your parents were talking about you right now, what do you think they would say is your
most annoying trait?

Again be parsimonious about truth. Your weakness must be endearing, but non-threatening in a
professional way. Identify a trait like fawning over kids, pampering children overtly, fussing over
elders, which do not have an impact on your professional life.

9. Why should I take you?

Never say, because I am the best. Do enumerate a range of qualities and string of achievements. Do
say you will add value to your peers and to your school. If the school has a known faculty, do say that
it is your dream to be taught by him or her. But do ensure that the teacher is in a domain where you
have established interest previously in the interview.

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10. What is Pareto hypothesis (or any such subject question)?

Answer only if you know. Do not guess or beat around the bush. The interview is not a means to test
your knowledge. So if you don’t know, say it straight. It’s the best option. There are students who
have been admitted even after saying ‘Sorry, I don’t know’, five times straight in interviews.

Success in the interview cannot be achieved with inadequate preparation. At the same time it is not
something that is impossible to achieve. It depends on how well you know yourself, your goals and
how serious and dedicated you are about achieving them. So do some soul searching and you will be
ready.

A candidate reaches the interview stage only if he/she has scored high in the written test, making it
already clear that he/she is quite sharp. The panellists now want to understand through the
interview process, given the limited time they have, what kind of a person the candidate actually is.
Is he or she a warm, witty, smart, alert, curious, mature, thinking person whom they would like to
have in their school, or is he/she a boring, uninteresting person? Has he/ she followed a mechanical,
learning-by-rote method to reach here, or has he/ she demonstrated genuine interest/ passion in
some of the core subjects or hobbies or other activities pursued so far? Does he/ she possess an
original, thinking mind, or does he/ she find it difficult to stand without the crutches of training
provided by some coaching institute? These are some of the issues interviewers from good business
schools are typically concerned with. To cut a long story short, what would be my final advice to
you? It does not matter if you forget a long list of prepared questions and answers, if you forget to
carry a pencil, pen, and eraser and so on - but please do not forget to carry your brains and wits with
you and put them to use.

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