IIM Bangalore PGP 2016-18 Interview Experience

I will be joining IIM Bangalore for PGP 2016-18 this June and cannot wait for the dream place. A few of my friends wanted to know about my interview experience, so here it goes. I was sure after CAT results that I would not get a good call this year. After the B call, I prepared as well as I could.  After the B interview, I could not answer a few questions as satisfactorily as others and became apprehensive of a conversion. But somehow ARKS sir was sure I will make it after he heard my interview, and he was right, as always!

WAT Topic –

We have recently seen a student committing suicide that has brought to light the injustice that prevails in the education system. Suggest some measures to make the education system more justified (it was a long topic, this was the gist).
10 mins to think, you can note down points on the front side of the sheet, this side is not evaluated. 15mins to write one side of A4, lines are pre-drawn and space is enough for around 200 words. No extra sheet was given, time was more than sufficient for everyone.
The WAT was taken inside the interview room, all 12 candidates of my panel were seated, the interview panel of 2 professors and 1 alumnus (2004-06 batch, we overheard him) conducted the WAT. The topic in all panels was the same, but were held in different rooms, there were 4 panels.

Interview -

I was called inside by one of the two professors call him P2.
The alum asked me to take a seat, let’s call him A.
Professor 1 seemed to be frown faced since the beginning.

A – Okay, so introduce yourself
PM (that’s me) – My name is Palak, which literally means eyelashes but its contextually used in terms of swiftness or agility.
P1 – What is your name? You pronounce it Palak or Paalak?
PM- Sir, its Palak, generally mispronounced as Paalak.
P2 – I am sorry I pronounced it as Paalak while calling you in

PM – No issues sir! (With a smile)
P1 – Anyhow, continue

PM – so sir as I was saying, I have epitomized my name by being a part of various activities in both school and at college. Currently I am in my final year of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at NIT Nagpur

 P1 – Yeah you are all prepared for this question, aren’t you?
PM – No sir, I am just stating a few things in order (with a smile)
A – that’s a good thing na, if shes prepared (he is smiling too)
P2 – Yeah continue
PM – My interest in management stems from my diverse interactions. I was selected by Japan govt and MHRD India for JENESYS – An international youth exchange program to visit japan for 10 days. I have also represented India at HPAIR – A conference at Harvard University.

silence, I think they were expecting I would say something else, but I wanted to keep the intro short because they had a 600 word SOP of mine already and I did not want to repeat things.

P1 – Okay so you went to Harvard, the soldiers field?
PM – I beg your pardon? You mean academically “the soldiers field?” (I implied metaphorically)
P2 – No, no soldiers field, soldiers field
PM – Sorry Sir I am not aware
P2 – Okay never mind. Why Japan is called the land of the rising sun?
PM – Sir, it lies on the eastern end of the world, when I was there, we could see the sun rising pretty early at 3am
P2 – So I would go to Norway there the sun would rise even earlier right?
PM – Sir, I am aware of only this reason

(Ans is with respect to china, in the ancient times Japan was the eastern most end, I did not know this detail, so I told him I don’t know)

A – tell me something beyond this (pointing at my SOP on his laptop) (expected Q)
PM – Sir, I always keep looking for newer things to learn beyond the stipulated curriculum, and when I get interested in it, I pursue it. When I have decent amount of knowledge about it, I make sure I make the process of discovery and knowledge easier for people around me

A- Okay, give me an example (here I knew I am driving the PI)
PM – I pursued over 7 internships during my undergrad at VNIT and then this year  I published a mini journal on internships, with the VNIT Alumni Association that is helping them in their annual internship drive.
A – Who is it for?

PM – Sir, it is only for engineering undergraduates. It is free for VNITians, and charged at Rs 50 per copy for outside VNIT, the funds accumulated would go to Prayaas – a social club of VNIT.

A – okay, what does the journal include?

PM – sir, it talks about why are internships important, how do you choose the internship perfect for you, how do you apply, types of internships and a few internship experiences. It has a flow chart which the reader can walk through to reach at the intern that is fit for him.

A – what are types of intern?

PM – sir it depends on the basis of classification. Depending on location – on site, off site or distance, on nature of work – technical, management, on basis of returns- stipend included or freelancing. Depending on which factor is the most important to them, people can choose their intern.

A – when is the right time to do an internship?

PM – sir, this is a key question that the journal caters to. People generally do internships in summer or winter vacations, but I feel there is no right time. Whenever you think you are willing to work, you can do an intern. Like when I finished my 1^st year, I was told that no internships are offered to 1^st year students because you haven’t had any learning about core topics. So I did an internship at Times of India for content writing. Then in my 2^nd year, I pursued a 6 months distance internship at IIM Ahmedabad, when my curriculum was going on.

A – Distance intern? Whats that?

PM – In distance intern you can work from home and stay in touch with your intern guide over email, calls etc. so you need not be present at the location of internship.

A – and how did you get this intern?

PM – I saw on LinkedIn (it was FB :P) that one of my seniors in college had pursued an internship at IIM A and I contacted him for details. He asked me to e-mail my resume and request to all professors who work in areas I am interested in. the email Ids were present on the website. So Prof Sanjeev Tripathi, assistant professor in Marketing, replied with his acceptance to allow me to work under him as a distance intern. He assigned me the work of creating case studies, researching the strategies of sports leagues in India as that was the time when IPL was really catching the trend 2013 beginning. So we researched on other leagues like IBL (Indian Badminton League), Hockey India League and Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon

A – So which league was the best out of these 3?

PM – sir, we cant compare because they were for different sports and also SCMM had a slight edge because it had been running for 10 years when IBL and HIL was launched. But still, cant compare

A – but still on any basis?

PM – on basis of marketing strategies I would say HIL was the best because their campaign was really exhaustive and immensely successful. From December 2012, with 500 odd likes on their official FB Page, in February 2013 they went to around 3 lakhs (I had this data). IBL on the other hand saw a change of dates and there were issues with the organizing. They changed the rules of the game (A is surprised, so I take the opportunity to explain).
They introduced a 1 minute break at 7 and 14 in the game of 21 points whereas the BWF (Badminton world federation) has a single break at 11. For state level players like us, this change is manageable, but international players have their flow and speed broken and it affects the game. (I wanted to reinstate that I play at State level myself, he acknowledged it very well). Also the Indonesian govt wanted a confirmation that all its players would be sold, only then would they participate, the BAI (Badminton Asso of India) was unable to commit. Then they had fixed the price of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa, the top ranking doubles players at 50,000$ each, but that was later reduced to 25,000$ as they were not sold. This was another issue. On the other hand the HIL was really well organized.

A – Okay, so what was special about HIL?

PM – they demarcated their campaign content depending on nature of social media. So they used FB for facts and history of Hockey, Twitter for live updates, Youtube for advertisements etc. They advertised the league during very famous world cup and football matches and had good ambassadors like Kapil Dev, Shoaib Akhtar, Akshay Kumar, Navjot Singh Sidhu. They created state wise ambassadors so the masses could identify with them for example M S Dhoni campaigned for the Ranchi team. The state level federations were sufficiently involved, which wasn’t the case of IBL or SCMM.

P2 – But only this cannot help you conclude that HIL was the best amongst the three right?

PM – Yes sir that is why I said on basis of marketing strategies HIL performed better

(I realized he might not be listening because he said okay okay)

P1 – Okay in your SOP you have written – Corporate behavior and social responsibility (I had mentioned this in my learning from HPAIR). What do these terms mean?

PM – Sir, my panel at HPAIR was Corporate Leadership so….

P1 – Just answer my question (unexpected interjection by him, I did not realize he wanted to start grilling so I was at ease)

PM – The young leaders of today would be holding responsible leadership positions in the near future so corporate behavior talks about how should they behave when a lot of responsibility lies upon them.

P1 – So it is not about the behavior of a company?

PM – Sir, my panel and discussions were about how young leaders must be groomed for corporate behavior and an individual’s behavior, not the company’s.

P1 – Okay. And social responsibility?

PM – Sir, social responsibility talks about how a company can contribute to the betterment of the society.

P1 – What does it include?

PM – Sir, like Nike had launched a campaign for grooming athletes, once it had launched its running shoes.

P1 – Don’t give me examples, tell me what it means

PM – Sir it means the company allocates some % of its profits to contribute to the society

P1 – Why should a company do it?

PM – Sir it is like a good will gesture on behalf of the company

P1 – My company is for profit making not social work. Why should I do it?

PM – Yes sir its voluntary but generally companies, on reaching a particular level of development allocate some % of their profits for the society

P1 – What is this level of development?

PM – Sir depends on the vision of the company

P1 – Okay so why should the company do it?

PM – Sir, the inputs that a company uses – the people, the resources, the energy is derived from the society. So this is a way of giving back to the society from which it derives its inputs.

P1 – You are repeating yourself. Who does the company make profit for?

PM – for itself, its employees and contributes to the GDP

P1 – So why should it allocate anything for CSR?

PM – Sir, it’s a good will gesture

P1 – Are you connected to HUL or Tata motors in any way?

PM – No sir

P1 – Then why should they do CSR for you? They pay taxes, wages to the employees, they can have employee benefit program, why for you?

PM – sir I am a part of the same society as them that is all I can think of right now.

P1 – okay. There is another line that you have written – “While choosing a material for a typical application, we must optimize on properties and compromise on a few, less-important properties” what does this mean?

PM – sir, my undergraduate majors is Metallurgical and Materials engineering so…

P1 – I know I can understand that this line is related to your majors. What does this mean?

PM – Sir it means that I have imbibed the habit of making informed decisions and look at the perfect balance of factors. Like some properties cant co-exist like hardness and ductility.

P1 – What is the context here?

PM – Sir it has taught me to look at all possible perspectives before taking any decision, even those angles which could be generally ignored.

P1 – Give me an example from the conversation we had till now

PM – (with a gentle smile) Sir like you asked me about the CSR, I was considering all stakeholders – the employees, senior management, owners etc and also from local to national level.

P1 – Okay

A – You have talked about women leadership. Why is it important?

PM – Sir, my perspective is not about gender representation. But I believe women representation would bring diverse skill sets to the workplace.

A – Give me an example

PM – Talked about Anne Mulcahy, the Ex CEO of Xerox Inc. and how she avoided a bankruptcy and ended with saying that in many countries including India Xerox is still used synonymously as photocopy

P2 – But that was achieved before Mulcahy became the CEO (I realized it was a risk greater than I expected so had to cover up)

PM – Yes sir, but what I mean is we “still” use it because she evaded a possible bankruptcy. (saved!)

(P2 smiled)

A – okay who is Marissa Mayer?

PM – I beg your pardon?

A – Marissa Mayer, which company is she the CEO of?

PM – Sir I remember reading about her but cannot recollect right now

A – So you know just one CEO and you have written women leadership in the SOP?

PM – no sir, I know a couple of them. I elaborated on the story of my role model.

A – okay name them

PM – named 4 fortune 500 CEOs and 4 from India

A – Okay. I asked about Marissa Mayer because she recently had a child and is back in office after a maternity leave of only 2 months compared to leaves ranging from 6months to a year in India and other countries. What do you think about it?

PM – Yes, I am aware that the USA has lesser extent of maternity leave. In addition, Mark Zuckerberg recently spoke about allowing paternity leave as well. In the case of Marissa Mayer I think her decision reflects a balance. We cannot overstep certain natural boundaries. If she has to build her family and expand it, the onus lies on her. At the same time she realizes that she has a lot of responsibility and the company needs her so I think this case reflects the balance on family welfare and work responsibilities.

A – Okay

P2 – What is the status of women in Japan?

PM – Sir I did not find any discrimination in the work place or in the home sphere during my stay

P2 – No in business, politics etc? What have you observed?

PM – Sir, I am not aware of the details of politics but in the business sphere I believe the roles are allotted in sync with the skills. Like the company that was organizing my international youth exchange had decent, rather 90% of women. They were responsible for getting us from Delhi to Tokyo.

P2 – How would you rank Japan and Sri Lanka in status of women?

PM – Sir, as per my observations and interactions in Japan, I would rank Japan above SL

P2 – Okay last question. How can you differentiate between a natural and artificial diamond

PM – sir the natural diamond has a typical sparkle (I did not take time to think)

P2 – So does an artificial one. I am telling you that you can differentiate visually

PM – Sir, visually in a short span of time we cannot. Over a longer span the artificial one loses its sparkle.

P1 – no tell me scientifically

PM – sir we can look at its microstructure and bonding (I was answering him very briefly)

P2 – Bonding would be same a diamond is a diamond

PM – No sir we have a machine called XRD in which we observe a section of the sample. An output graph of intensity vs wavelength is obtained that has various intensity peaks at characteristic wavelengths. This graph can be compared with the encyclopedia of natural diamond.

P2 – okay do you have any questions for us?

PM – No sir I think I am good

A – Okay I think we are done. It was nice meeting you Palak

PM – thank you sir thank you for your time

(I got up took 2 steps away from my chair towards the door and then P1 says)

P1 – Palak you have used this word quotidian in your SOP. What does it mean?

PM – sir it means regular or usual

P1 - okay

(1 sec pause)

PM – with a smile, sir any more questions?

All 3 burst out laughing

A – no no you are free to go

PM – Thank you sir good day

After the PI the alumnus came out of the room for visiting the loo, gave me a wide smile and said All the best :D

A little personal note (as always)

I knew that CSR is an indirect method of marketing, I did not mention because I did not want to get close to unethical measures or any controversy. But my mentor later said it’s a fact so could have been used. I regretted not knowing about Marissa Mayer because my mentor, ARKS Sir goes without saying,  had told me to read about her 3 days ago after my IIM Kozhikode PI, and I just read the fortune 500, Yahoo wasn’t one of them then.

I never expected a call from B in the first place. I was dazed for 3 days when I got one. There are just two things that I think helped me convert B-

    1)    ARKS Sir. Nothing needs to be said here

I have no clue how he knew about Marissa Mayer and kept me calm all through this time, despite being miles away as B was the most crucial one!

    2)    My presence of mind in the last 10 seconds of – sir any more questions? :D

I know I have given just 4 interviews, but I have this theory that if you make sure that they remember you at least by face at the end of that day, or have a healthy little giggle due to you, you are in! That is what happened in all 4 interviews. Other 2 experiences to be up soon J

ARKS Sir, I have run out of words to thank you. I mean it!