Personal Interview Experience

Compendium

Published in 2020: This document is a collection of the interview experiences of current and
previous students. The opinions provided here are those of individual students and not of the
college. It’s advice from your potential seniors! ~JokaJoka
Note:
Kindly note that the interview experiences listed below are the experiences of people with
diverse backgrounds. The aim of this document is to provide you with a basic understanding
of how chaotic yet predictable an interview can be. Most questions will be somehow related
to you, your background, what you have studied in the past, something related to your job or
some recent happening in the news. That sounds like everything but they don’t expect you to
know everything, they just want you to have a basic awareness of the things you are involved
in. That being said, just go through the experiences listed below. Each point corresponds to
the experience of different students. I have decided not to include student details unless
necessary, so most experiences don’t reflect questions verbatim and also because many
experiences give a generic view of the interview.

1.

CAT Percentile: 99.63

College: COEP
Degree: B.Tech IT
Work Ex: 21 Months – Barclays

1) General Knowledge - Data Protection, Facebook Crisis

2) Personal questions
3) Hobbies

2.

CAT Percentile: 99.67

College: BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus
Degree: B.E (Hons.) Electronics and Instrumentation
Work Ex: 24 Months – Fractal Analytics

I was the second candidate in my panel. Entered the room confidently and with a smile. The
panel consisted of 1 female professor ( sitting in the centre ) and 2 male professors ( 1 young
professor to my left and the elder professor to my right ).

I was asked what my interests were ( the young male professor asked while reading my
hobbies ). I told him about music and my taste in music ( he then asked me to differentiate
between various genres which I had mentioned in my form ). I talked about the instrumental
arrangements and the themes of the lyrics in writing such songs.

The female professor ( who interacted with me the most ) then asked me why they should
select me ( I am not remembering this too well, it was not the question she asked, probably ).
I told them about certain good qualities I had, and how I align with the values a student at
IIM C must possess. I also said that I believed in the panel's esteemed judgment and would
try my best to convince them that I am fit for IIM C. She was nonplussed ( might be the deal-
breaker for me ) and suddenly changed the topic to how I got into BITS Pilani Hyderabad
Campus ( the exam, marks I scored, cut-off system etc. )

The female professor asked me about the work I did at Fractal. I explained confidently and
was cross-questioned on the forecasting practices. I also mentioned about the initiatives I
took at work regarding automation and developing a product.

The senior-most professor asked me, " Raahul, do you think you are good at Maths?". I was
taken aback a bit, but immediately gained composure and said, " Sir, I scored 100 marks in
board exams and scored high in QA section of CAT as well, which is the sole reason of me
sitting here in front of you. So yes sir, I would like to believe I am good at Maths". I said so
confidently and with a smile, and thought to myself that I was going to be asked very difficult
questions soon. But the professor merely smiled and nodded.

I had mentioned in my form about being an "impactful decision-maker", so was asked by the
female professor to explain the same. I was asked whether a hierarchical or a flat
organization was better. I gave the example of my organization, and adding how each person
at each hierarchy level with his knowledge, added value to the final delivery going to the
client engagement. This was not too great an answer, but the panellist seemed convinced with
it. I had mentioned that I believed in sequential progress, and hence was asked to take up a
stand regarding the same.

The female panellist then asked me who would win the elections by a majority. I conveyed
my thoughts and also talked a bit about the budget and how it will take time to see progress
being made, if implemented well.

The 3 panellists looked at each other, nodded and asked me to leave.

That was it. The most important interview of my life till now, lasted for 15 minutes. I may
have left out some questions in the description above( I left the room with my knees jittery, I
was happy it didn't happen during the interview ).

3.

CAT Percentile: 99.45

College: National Institute of Technology Karnataka Surathkal
Degree: Computer Science Engineering
Work Ex: 11 Months – Royal Bank of Scotland

Started with the introduction

I mentioned by cse degree and spoke a few things abt my work exp, and mentioned my home
state as Telangana

Rest of my revolved around the above topics

MIS Prof on the panel immediately started asking CS related questions few questions on top
of my head
Data structures
Stack, Queue and linked list
Real life examples using them
Rough algorithm to reverse a linked list

Then panelist 2 asked a few questions abt my work

It was related to trade finance and opening accounts for clients so next question was what are
the differences between kyc norms in India and uk
Then asked abt mergers in Indian banking industry

Then they asked me about my hobbies and travelling, asked me what all places I have visited
so far, spoke about my stint in University cricket and tennis team.

Panelist 2 brought back my home state and asked me why did Telangana and Andhra split
and cross questioned about different cultures and diversity in india. Then about the special
status issue which was going on in AP.

4.

College: IIT Kharagpur

Degree: B.Tech + M.Tech (Chemical Engineering)
Work Ex: 10 Months – PWC

Duration: 30 mins

Started with the introduction. Then about my wok at PWC which led to a discussion on
Machine Learning and Data Analytics which was mentioned by me as a course taken in
college. It was slightly technical but much of Mathematics involved.

After this, they asked me about recent movies that I had watched where I mentioned URI and
Manikarnika. I was asked to compare both the movies which was better according to me. As I
mentioned URI, I was then asked to compare it with Border.

After the discussion on movies, they went to ask a few questions on Hockey as I played it in
my college.

As I was not asked any Mathematics question but in general they were asking few questions
on Maths from previous candidates, I asked them wouldn't they like to ask few questions
from Maths which they replied in negative and asked me to leave.

At IIM A interview I was asked a lot of questions on Economics and the budget and a few
from Machine Learning.

At IIM K it was more of General Knowledge and core chemical engineering.

5.

College: NSIT
Degree: ECE

Panel had Prof. Krishanu Rakshit, 'nuff said. You'll see why when you come here.

He went through my profile sheet and certificates, didn't bring up engineering or quant at all.
Started with basic HR; why MBA and hobbies. We spoke about Rick and Morty and
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for a bit. I waxed eloquent about Douglas Adams, or so I
think.
Why consulting, basic shit. Interview was on 18/02/2019, so he brought up India and
Pakistan and the LOC tussle from a consultant's perspective. I tried doing a stakeholder
analysis but it was a stress interview at that point and I basically knew nothing but I was
speaking some shit and I think he was laughing at me. Not too bad though, ended on a good
note.

Parting question to everyone on the panel: "Tell me something about Joka, other than the
alumni and the stellar placements"

6.

CAT Percentile: 99.88

College: National institute of Technology, Warangal
Degree: B.Tech Computer Science

1) Asked about my startup

2) Why an MBA.
3) Reasons to leave startup.
4) Bayes theorem
5) Hobbies
6) Asked about Sqay Martial Arts in very detail (I was national Silver Medalist)
7) How Martial Arts was related to religious belief?
8) My learnings from Engineering
9) A recent book that I had read.
10) Learning from my startup
11) Front view, Top view of Idli, bottle.
12) 1 basic question of probability.
13) Proof of Pythagoras theorem.
14) Ethical dilemma I had faced.

7.

CAT Percentile: 99.84

College: St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata
Degree: B.Sc (Economics)

Three Panelist. 1 Female, 2 Male

M- Tell us something different about you.

A- (I started by saying) I was born and brought up in Kolkata…(Had plan to add to it, but
was interrupted)

M- What is so special about Kolkata

A- Kolkata has its own charm. When any 2 people meet, whether known or unknown, there is
a sense of connectivity, which isn’t there in other cities. Here people aren’t in a race but
actually live
Yes, that’s called adda. Kolkata is full adda and no productivity
Have you ever inspired anyone? How?
Tell about a specific person
Why were you bullied
Where would you like to specialise in?
Why? Just Because you are from Eco?
You cleared L1 in CFA?
What did you do after your graduation?

What do you do in your leisure time

What is the unique thing about the way you play TT
That’s the St. Lawrence style, even I am from St. Lawrence
Tell me physics involved in Roller Skating
You physics na? Atleast you had till 10, use those concepts and talk
What makes you start and stop a spin on roller skates
Explain in terms of Physics
(Tried to explain multiple times, at the end said, “Sir, I am really getting confused I am not
sure what it can be. And we shared a laugh)

Are you over confident or confident?

A-Right now I am confident, but at times I have been over confident.

Which is more important

A- Obviously confident

What do you think we think of you right now?

A- (Gave a thought for some time) Ma’am I have shown myself as a fun loving and happy
person who always enjoys in whatever situation I am. That’s what I think you might be
thinking of me.

Where do you see yourself 5 years later

A- Talked about seeing myself in the corporate world. Said I want to try out Priate Equity, if
that works out well, will stick to it. And definitely as a proud alum of IIMC.

Tell something about demonetisation.

Did we ask you about your other calls?
What other calls do you have?
Which one would you choose? Why?
( said about confusing state, slipped out saying, beggars aren’t choosers, I guess could have
avoided but shared a laugh, told I had a talk with my seniors and friends in both the colleges,
both said about the pros and cons, asked me to explain the same. Talked about how A is
consistently the best college but has often seen people running behind profiles whereas C has
people who may not have very good profile in terms of Graduation score but here they are
judged on their calibre.)
You have everything good. Then toh you would go to A definitely
(I said I will wait for the calls to come in)
Don’t try to be politically correct, you have a biasness towards A?
A- Yes, that may seem so because one of my closest friends who is in A has already told
everyone there that I am coming there. And that makes me really excited as well. Talking to
him I also feel I am a part of A. But before taking a final decision I will go into a deeper
comparison first.

Okay, Thank you.

Overall the interview went well. Shared a couple of laugh. The panelist were very friendly.
The Interview went on for around 30 mins.

8.

1) Brief introduction
2) Cross question on what I said about Kathak
(Since I mentioned it in my intro as a hobby)
3) Why low grades?
(My CG : 6.90)
(Further questions on where you stand among the class)
4) Why Agri and food?
(Said that my coaching class teacher suggested it)
5) Why are school buses yellow?
6) Why is the cap of a bottle round?
7) Do you know basic high school maths?
8) What are mutually exclusive events? Examples?
9) What are dependent and independent events? Examples?
10) Are you hungry?
(Because the examples I gave were those of food items)
(Was also asked to solve a probability question, answering which, they said that I am
really stupid and do not know anything at all)
11) What newspaper do you read?
(Told : The Hindu)
12) Why the Hindu?
(Told : Because seniors suggested it)
13) What does your father do?
14) Do you have Gujarati newspapers at home?Why do you not read Gujarati
newspapers?
(Since I am from Gujarat)
15) Why do you not have a perspective of your own? Why do you always follow what
your superiors say?
(Based on my responses of Q-4 and Q-12)
16) Have you heard about AI?
17) Do you think AI will reduce jobs?
18) What is the history of junagadh (just after independence)?
(Since Junagadh is my home town)

9.

Starting with introduction and what is convex set.

1.Asked if i have any particular company setup in my mind which i want to join after MBA, i
said i want to setup a business on my own. He asked on what basis and that u can do that
right now also. He asked what type of business..

2.Do you really know what meaning of an MBA, i said i can transform myself into a
complete man, start networking with people and all.
3. What will you choose in MBA, i said i haven't decided yet and i will decide it once i do
first year and upon were my interest lies i can think of that, still they were like something or
the other you have thought right, i said Operations management because i am doing industrial
engineering and i have some inclination towards it.

4. What did you learn in operation reasearch and manufacturing system design, then asked
me what all topics did i learn in those. I said optimization of equations and EOQ, dynamic lot
sizing etc.

5.Asked me draw graph of EOQ model and explain those. I drew and derived the
equation.then asked me point out the reorder point. I wasn't sure but i explained.

6.Has telangana bifurcation helped you?

7.What are other interests? Documentary movies. Asked me which documentary movie
recently won in oscars, told.

8.Why are documentary movies not much famous and shouldn't we make more
documentaries. Told a bit.

9.Why not divide into smaller states. I said adminstration problem can up. And told me how
will you optimize what should be the size of the state. Told a bit.

10.

IIMB Interview Experience

Venue: IIMB
11/02/2019
Slot: 1 PM
Panel: 2

3 Panelists, 1 Female Professor(F), 1 Male Professor(M), 1 Alumnus(A)

Let's call me S.

F: So, you have worked only for 7 months. Why this sudden interest in doing MBA?
S: Told about organising committees in college and courses in Management.
F: Everyone from your college says the same thing. That's not enough to create interest in
MBA. What else do you have? And what is management?
S: Told about Company Business and how I find that fascinating.
F: Which aspect of management interests you the most?
S: Finance
M: Tell me what's so special about you so that we should take you and not the others. Your
CV is good, but so are others'.
S: Explained how we were put in a new team after the training above other employees since
they thought we were competent enough.
M: Those were your technical skills right?
S: Yes Sir, but those were the job requirements at that point of time. I'll implement my
managerial skills as well as and when required.
M: What is the news about IL&FS?
S: Just knew what it stands for and answered.
M: That's fine. State some important financial events in the recent past that interested you.
S: Interim Budget
M: Tell 3 important facets of Interim Budget.
S: Started giving them bullet points.
M: That's already there in the newspaper. Explain your point of view and how you think will
it affect our economy.
F: Also, tell how it would affect you.
S: Told about how the increment in taxation slab will encourage people to spend more and
the economy will be consumption driven. Told how it'll lead to more cash flow and GDP
growth. Also, explained how I will be affected.
F: Does Politics interest you? Do you have an ideology of yourself?
S: I follow Politics in general ma'am. I don't have an ideology of mine.
F: What's your opinion on AADHAAR? What are its pros and cons?
S: Explained. Talked about privacy issues, but said the pros are more.
A: During the training period, they must have given an overview of the company and its
structure. Explain that.
S: Explained.
A: Where is your company located?
S: Told.
A: What's the name of the building?
S: Told.
A: Have you ever been to the food court nearby?
S: Said yes.
A: Which food do you like more?
S: Told.
The other 2 panelists started laughing at this question.
A: I'm good. To the other panelists, do you have any more question?
F and M: No, we're good.
F: Thank you and all the best!
S: Said thank you and left.

11.

1. Are you the only child?

2. Is your brother younger or older?
3. What is he doing?
4. Why doesn't he pursue mtech and PhD?
5. What is warp and weft? (From my academic background, textile)
6. Which has more strength? Warp or weft?
7. Strength of wool, linen, cotton and silk fibre?
8. How will you tackle wrinkles in cotton?
9. Where have you done your training and what have you done there?
10. Draw the curve of normal distribution probability density function?
11. Range of random variable in normal distribution?
12. What is uniform distribution?
13. I play a game with you, I toss a coin, if heads come I will give you a dollar, if tails come,
you will give me a dollar. What is the expected value of payoff after tossing the coin 100
times?
14. What is the expected value of payoff after 101st toss?
15. Median Cat percentile? Mode?
16. Equator passes through which places in India?
17. Which place in India is nearest to equator?
18. Tell me the country immediate to the east of Japan
19. Low grades, how come?
20. Explain your health issues? How are you now? Are you still on medication?
21. Why MBA?
22. If not MBA, what is your plan B?

12.

IIMC Interview Experience

Venue: Hotel Monarch Luxur, Bangalore
16/03/2019
Slot: 8 AM
Panel: 2

3 Male Panelists (M1, M2, M3)

I'm S.

M1- What brings you here today?

S: Told the interview and IIMC.
M1: Why IIMC?
S: Answered.
M2: What would you choose if you convert A, B and C?
S: Said don't have a B call. Will choose C over B.
M1: But, Bangalore weather is good right?
S: Used to hot climate in Trichy.
M1: (laughing) I'll give you a situation and come to a conclusion by thinking of different
scenarios. There is a company which made less profit this year. What could be the reasons?
You can ask me yes/no questions.
Discussion went in that direction for sometime.
M1: What did you study in graduation?
S: Electrical and Electronics.
M1: Did you enjoy it?
S: Yes Sir. The Electronics part more so.
M1: What was your favourite subject?
S: Digital Electronics.
M1: What's an XOR gate?
S: Answered.
M1: Draw the output table. What's the probability of getting 1 as output.
S: Wrote and answered it correctly.
M2 was nodding in approval the whole time.
M2: What work do you do in Fidelity?
S: Told.
M2: What's your monthly CTC?
S: Told.
M2: And howmuch do you get in hand?
S: Told.
M2: What do you do with all that amount?
S: Talked about tax saving investment in FD for 5 years(under 80C) and rest is there in the
account.
M2: You work in an investments company, but put money in FD. Isn't that crazy? Why didn't
you invest in mutual funds?
S: Said that didn't since I thought the work duration will be less.
M2:(laughing) That's the perfect answer.
M1: Snigdha, what do you bring to IIMC?
S: My competency and talent.
M2: What other talents do you have?
S: Sir, I paint and sketch.
M1: Can you sketch one of us?
S: Yes Sir. I also have a doodling book if you want to check that?
M1: No, that's fine.
The topic got changed and I didn't have to sketch.
M1: What do you think about Brexit?
S: Told.
M1:(from my answer) So, you believe in one market?
S: Yes Sir.
A bit of discussion in that front. He sort of liked what I said.
M3 misunderstood the kind of automation I do in the company and hence, asked if I used
ML. M1 and M2 told him what it actually is.
M1: Do you know about ITEL?
S: A little bit Sir.
M1: What's the different between events and incidents?
S: Told about incidents. Didn't know what events were.
M1 explained about events.
M1: Do you have any question for us? Are you happy that you didn't have to sketch?
S: No, Sir. I would love to sketch.
M1: That's wonderful. (Indicating the other 2 panelists) They are professors and they're
worried that you might start doodling in their classes.
Everyone laughed. They wished me luck. I said thank you and left.

13.

IIML Interview Experience

Venue: Hotel Monarch Luxur, Bangalore
Slot: 1PM
Panel: 3

2 Male Panelists (M1, M2)

I'm S.

M1: Introduce yourself.

S: Started and was interrupted at a few places and asked to sign
M2: What does your name mean?
S: Told.
M2: Do you identify yourself as a calm person as your name says?
S: Said in affirmative.
M1: Why are there D's in your graduation marksheet?
S: Told due to some personal reason.
(M1 didn't ask anything about it after that)
M2: But why do you want to get into stress doing an MBA? There'll be a lot of pressure. You
said you're a calm person.
S: I said I try to remain calm despite the situation.
Some grilling followed.
M2: You're in Fidelity. You must be drawing a good amount. (Asked M1 how much it is and
he answered as they had our personal data form) What's the business of Fidelity?
S: Told.
M2: What are mutual funds?
S: Explained.
M2: You are in a financial firm. You must be following business news and economy.
Tell me what changes were brought about in taxes.
S: Told.
M2: Are you sure?
S: Yes Sir.
M2: Is that 5 lakhs you talked about inclusive of the 1.5 lakhs invested in 80C?
S: No Sir.
M2: Are you filing your IT returns on your own?
S: Haven't done it yet. I have worked only for 7 months.
M2: (to M1) What's her percentile in Quant?
M1: Told.
M1: In your SOP, you've written about switching from a technological role to a managerial
role. What's the difference between the 2?
S: Explained something citing examples from my company.
He didn't seem convinced with any answer.
M1: Give me 3 reasons why women cannot be as good managers as men.
S: I don't see any reason why they cannot be.
M1: No. You have to answer this. If you don't, I'll give you a straight zero.
He created a bit of a stress and then modified the question.
M1: Tell me why people think that women cannot be good managers.
S: Told.
M1: You were about to give up there. I had to extract the answer from you.
S: I misunderstood the question, sir.
M1: Now, the die has been cast. Give me 3 names of women leaders who have made it big.
S: Told.
M2: Do you have any question for us, Snigdha?
S: I talked about earlier how the grad marks in some semesters weren't as good, but told I
have improved ever since.
M2: That's fine. You're doing good now and that's a good thing.
They offered me toffees and wished me luck.
Said thank you and left.

14.

IIMK Interview Experience

Venue: Hotel Monarch Luxur, Bangalore
Date: 26/02/2019
Slot: 1PM
Panel: 3
2 Male Panelists (M1, M2)
I'm S.

M1: Introduce yourself.

M2 interrupted in between to ask me where I'm from Odisha.
S: Berhampur.
M2: What's it famous for?
S: Silk City. Famous for its silk(pato) saree.
M2: Is it still there?
S: Yes.
M2: You had excellent grades until 12th and then NITT happened. Why did grades drop
down? You didn't expect this question in the starting, did you?
S: Told about the transition. And said how I had improved again.
M1: What did your parents say when they saw this?
S: Told.
M2: What does your mother do?
S: Told.
M2: None of it matters now. It's fine. What do you know about India? What do you follow?
S: Business, History, Economics etc.
M2: When did East India company come to India? In which century?
S: Told
M2: Who came first?
S: Told
M2: When did Vasco De Gama land and where?
S: Didn't know when. Also, I said Goa. (:P)
They joked about it a bit.
M1: Where is Calicut?
S: Told. It's the older name of Kozhikode.
M1: Are you sure?
S: Yes Sir.
M2: What passes through India? Tropic of Cancer or Capricorn or Equator?
S: Told.
M2: No tropic of Capricorn?
S: No Sir. It's below the equator.
M2: And which hemisphere are we in?
S: Northern Hemisphere.
M2: Howmany seats does Loksabha have?
S: 545, but said that I had read somewhere the maximum capacity is 552.
M2: Where do the extra 7 seats come from?
S: I don't know Sir.
M2: Which house is Loksabha. It's the upper house right?
S: No Sir. It's the lower house.
M2: And which is the upper house?
S: Rajyasabha
M2: Why is it called so?
S: Didn't know.
M1: What is your hobby?
S: Painting and sketching.
M1: What do you paint?
S: Sceneries and abstract things.
M1: What colour do you use?
S: Oil Pastel
M1: Where do you paint?
S: On A3 Paper Sir.
M2: Do you do canvas painting?
S: I have not.
M2: Do you have any picture right now?
S: I don't have them now.
M2: That's fine. That's it from our side. Do you have any question?
S: Why is Rajyasabha know as the upper house?
M2: Because it is the house of thinkers. People from various fields are nominated.
They wished me luck. I was about to leave when M2 called me back and asked if his answer
was logical enough. I said yes.
M2: See. Logic always prevails.
I said thank you and left.
The whole interview was like a lite conversation.

15.

My PI went on for around 15 minutes. They asked me about my career goals, my views on
Brexit, Pros and Cons of Brexit, recent news about Boeing 737 and how will I choose
between IIM X,Y,Z if I get offers from all the three. We also had a brief discussing over my
interest in Product Management and why am I interested in it. I was also asked to give some
instances were I showed my innovativeness to solve a problem. They also asked me 4-5
questions about stock markets but it was only because I told them that I am interested in
trading. I would say you can ace the interview if you are very clear about yourself and can
keep your calm during the interview. Best Luck!

16.

1. You are from an IIT. Don't you think every engineer is going for management? Should the
subsidy in IITs be removed?
2. What should be solution to the problem of engineer deficit?
Discussion on above two questions.

3.Are south Indians feeling discriminated in India?

4. Do you know about Shivsena?
5. Is Hyderabad safer than Mumbai in these terms?
6. What should we do to make women feel safer?
Discussion on women safety.

End of Interview.
Duration - 15 mins

Mostly discussion on these topics. No acads no maths.

17.
3 Panelists
P1 (Prof Vidyanand Jha)
P2 (Alumnus maybe?)
P3 (Prof Tanika Chakraborty)
P1:
What would be the weight of your certificate folder?
If you have to point out one certificate that helps your application what would it be?
Mentioned there are 2 close ones but P1 told me to choose one
Asked me if i generally spoke so fast and why?
*A small exchange of ideas on what are pros and cons of it*
Back to the previous question
Isn't using an alumni network a form of nepotism?
*A discussion follows*
I'm not convinced what was the other achievement? And why?
*Seemed convinced but you can never tell*
P2:
You mentioned Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and Football in your Hobbies. What is the
Single most Important thing according to in FPL for you?
What has Solskjær done differently at United that the team performances changed
drastically?
Don't tell me tell P1 and P3 and they don't know football tell them the MANAGEMENT side.
*Convincingly answered these 3*
P1 finds a paper hidden at the end of my file that had my research on IIM C as I was
answering P2's last Question and I naturally had a OH SHIT reaction on my face. Everybody
laughed and said how my expression was priceless and there should've been a camera etc
P1:
*Apologized for looking outside the certificate zone*
So you wanted to take the interview in a particular direction?
Don't you think you're manipulative?
Does this undo your strategy?
*Answered with what I could come up with*
P2:
I see you wrote about Mrinali (an alumnus partner at McKinsey & Company) in that paper of
yours. Why? And where did you find it?
Wouldn't Indra Nooyi be a better example?
*Answered*
P1:
Why does a Woman achieving something a collective effort under WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT and a man doing the same called his brilliance?
*Answered satisfactorily*
What is the problem with labour in India?
*changed question before I started to get into the answer*
What is the name of the caste you belong to? (NC OBC) Where do they live? How many are
there?
How do you get your name (Kavi)? What is the history behind it?
Thank you we're done

18.
SP Jain Interview Experience
Mumbai
Engineer, Female, no work ex

SP interview experience :
1st round :
6 of us, (1 operation, 1 IM and 4 Finance), and a panel of 3
(I particularly remember the questions asked to me or all of us)
1. Tell us your name, the field in which you graduated and the institute name, the
specialization you have selected.
2. Each one of us where given 6-8 minutes one by one and were asked questions related to
the field we have worked and the specialization selected. They asked me the basic terms of
Finance and examples of assets and liabilities.
3. All of us were asked questions about our graduation branch. They asked me about the
relation ,if any, that can be established between electrical engineering and finance. Then they
asked me about laplace and fourier transform and gave me mathematical question related to
logarithms to solve it.

2nd round:
4 of us and a panel of 2 (one male and other female)
1. Whether life is fair or unfair in terms of the students who where eliminated in group
interview round 1?
2. Talk about the one quality that you would not want in your roommate and also one such
quality of yours which will not be liked by your roommate in hostel here.
3. Are you an ambitious person or a satisfied one?
4. Do you believe in God? and further related discussion according to our response
5. What is the price of sugar, any one quality of rice other than basmati rice, ingredients in
idli making.
6. What is one thing in life for which you have regrets about?
Then they asked if we have any questions for the panel

19.

Work experience related as business analyst-tools used etc

Had work experience as Digital Marketer too,so asked questions on how does bidding works
and what are dynamic search ads.
Acad Questions -
Favourite subject (asked for 2 of them)
Explain stress-strain diagram
How does C content varies properties of Iron
Karat of gold to be used in diamond rings and rings holding other stones.
Why does mobile phones these days having glass backside.
Which is more scatch prone glass or metal?

Extra activities- was governor of dramatics society in colg

Favourite theatre actor
About Girish Karnad
General Awareness -
Recent news ,after 3-4 headlines deep dived into how will India be impacted after being
removed from GSP of US.
Overall very balanced interview and questions were being asked on whatever you say as your
strengths or mention it during the process

20.

I was last in the panel.So was asked about review of the panel by others.
What do you do at work?
How is corporate culture different from start up(since I have worked in both of them)
Few follow-up questions
What would you want to choose between corporate and startup
If you are a CEO of the company,what qualities do you expect in the employees.
As a CEO,if you have one man and a woman with equal qualifications, attitude etc who
would you select?
Why?
If now the male is a bit more talented then who would you select?
Why?
Would you agree to SEBI's regulation of having at least one board member as woman?
More discussion on how to improve women's participation in the work force and at what
level should the focus of the government be.

Overall- No stress at all.Felt like they were trying to understand my though process and was
more of a discussion.

21.

WAT: According to the latest census, there has been an increase in migration in India. What
are the potential problems that may be faced by the residents and the migrants?

PI:
2 Panelists.
P1 - '81 batch of IIMC.
P2 - Late 40s.

P1: Hello. Please enter. Sai Raa... How should I pronounce your name? Where are you from?
S: <Answered, told him I'm from Tamil Nadu>
P1: *Pulls out a Tamil sentence*. I was in Trichy for 6 years.
S: <I speak back in Tamil> <Tell him I'm delighted at such a pleasant coincidence>
P1: I really like Tamilians. It's a very nice place, Trichy. Have you been there? <Looks at the
Data Form> Oh! You studied at NIT Trichy! How was your experience? I was a prof at IIM
Trichy.
S: Oh, that's great sir. I've been to IIM Trichy multiple times.
P1: Of course you have, it's in the same campus. How do you think they're doing now?
S: They're doing well sir. They're ranked among the top 2 New IIMs and they moved out
recently to a campus of their own.
P2: Yes, I've heard good things about the college.
P1: So, Raghev, Tell us more about yourself.
S: <Answered>
P1: What does your father do?
S: <I tell him and also mention that he's from IIMC>
P2: <Said they didn't know him, but then began a barrage of questions about my father>
S: <Answered>
P1: So, his field is mostly finance?
S: Yes sir.
P1: There's a dearth of good instrumentation and control engineers in India, and it's scope is
so vast. Why do you want to leave it and do an MBA?
S: <Told them about my interest in management, and backed it up by talking about my
managerial internships, and told them about how when I was working in the industry in core
field, I was more interested in how changes were being driven, than what I was entitled to do
in the plant>
P1: Can you elaborate?
S: <Told them about my real life example>
P1: <convinced> You seem to have really high grades all through your life. How did you
manage this and your extra curriculars?
S: <Told them about my time management skills, and willingness to always indulge in
activities other than studying>
P2: So, it says something about working on a research paper. What did you do?
S: < gave them my method of description, this was followed by some grilling about my
project>
P1: So, you've worked on this at IIMA. Would you choose them over us?
S: Told them I would be choosing C over A because the name has been talked about
throughout my childhood, told them about how this is a very important goal for me, and also
spoke about C's unique aspects.
< P2 offers food which I respectfully decline>
P1: Yes yes, but Finance Lab is only one segment of our finance courses. We offer more.
What is your field of interest?
S: Told them I hadn't identified one yet, and I'm open to experience.
P2: Your father's interest and achievements in Finance hasn't influenced you?
S: Told them about how I've read about it, but haven't been exposed to it and so, would want
to learn more before identifying my field.
P2: Marketing or finance. Pick one of them for yourself. It'll fit.
P1: Would you join IIM Trichy over us? Closer to your hometown.
S: I spoke about how I wouldn't do that as C is a much more reputed school which I help me
build my career better. Also spoke about how travelling to another state would help me gain
exposure to new cultures, just like my current stint in Gujarat.
P1: Alright, you can go. All the very best for your interviews.
S: Thank you, sir. <I grab my certificates and leave>

The panel was very chill to most of the candidates.

22.

There were 3 panelists: P1, P2, P3

PI: So you are from HBTI, quite an old engineer college. When was it established? Name
some other old engineer colleges in India which were doing good before the IITs came into
existence?
P2: Which stream are you from? Draw the waveform for V = 10sin200t. Why haven't you
considered negative t? What is the time when voltage becomes zero( while pointing at the
graph)? What is the frequency of this signal? What is rectification? Draw the rectified output
for this waveform? What is low pass filter? Draw the voltage waveform across an inductor in
an RLC circuit with input as the voltage given above.
P1: Now we'll give you a topic on which you'll have to speak for 90secs and before that you'll
be given 1 min to think.Topic is : Naturally beautiful place that I have visited. Since you like
to paint, how can someone understand abstract art? Name few abstract art painter who have
made an impact in the world.
P3: Do you follow politics? Which state are you from? Who is the current CM? Name five
CMs from your state apart from Akhilesh Yadav and Yogi Adityanath. Name some newly
formed states. Capital of Telangana? Surrounding states of Telangana? Surrounding states of
Kerala? Three cities of Kerala apart from Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin.

23.

What do you do at work?

Project related questions.
Why did you switch jobs
Why is there a decrement of enrollment into management studies internationally but
increment in India
Why are you not thinking of pursuing MBA from foreign universities
Why in India people are so obsessed with engineering and then management.
Explain Brexit.When did the referendrum take place.why is it taking so long to exit
Who is Lokpal
What is integration.Application in your work.integration of e^x.Why is it the same value.

24.

Panel: Two professors (stern but amicable P1, super-amicable P2), One alum (amicable Al)
Al: [Offers water, asks about my odd dual degree]
Me: [Explains, highlighting that the specialisation had been scrapped years ago by college,
and
also that I was dropping my M.Tech]
P1: So why did you take a break for CAT instead of taking a job? It is possible to get a full
time
job with a pending degree.
Me: [Explains how a lot of factors including recovery from long term mental illness weighed
in
favour of focussing on CAT instead of juggling a job along with everything else]
P1: In that case, shouldn’t you be producing a medical certificate to us? Workload in IIMC is
humongous, this might be a problem.
Me: [Explains how bipolar is like regular illnesses, and how I have learned to overcome it
and
control episodes well enough to function regularly]
P2: Well, it’s great you are fine. And [at P1] I’ve suffered from similar illnesses in the past
too.
The recovery phase is truly like any other illness - it fades out of your life. So there’s really
no
need to produce any certificate, I feel.
P1: Alright then. So why PGDM at IIM Calcutta?
Me: Unfortunately for me, I discovered during the course of my B.Tech that Aerospace Engg
-
or engineering itself, for that matter - wasn’t really my thing. Dabbling in extracurriculars
and
other stuff around culturals in college made me discover I had a penchant for managing
teams, running events etc. Starting a new cultural club in the college also did proffer to me
something that I was interested in a professional way - which essentially was Marketing &
Sales. Also, in the long run, I would like to start my own company in the Music industry
because music is the one thing that’s constantly given me meaning in life, and I’d be the
happiest person on the planet if I could keep close to those roots.
P1: To start your event management company, one doesn’t really need an MBA. So why do
you want to waste 2 years on this?
Me: [Explains how there is a lot of knowledge apart from a general aptitude that I’m lacking
in, and what better place to learn than a top IIM]
Al: And why not become a full time musician?
Me: I don’t have the kind of background or education in music that would make me anything
more than semi-professional, as a performer. Besides, I do have other skills and interests I
want to explore too. I would like to bring together both of them at some point.
P2: That sounds very nice. But you mentioned you didn’t like engg - why?
Me: Well, it was more about aerospace, to be honest. I found it to be dry and full of mind
numbing differential equations that I could not stand.
P2: You do know that IIM Calcutta programmes are very quant intensive right? Will you
cope
with that?
Me: Yes, and that does excite me to be honest. I’ve always loved math. It is just engineering
math that I was averse to.
Al: [Points at XII board marks] Yeah he is right. He should be fine [Laughter]
P1: Do you read the news?
Me: It’s a habit that I only developed recently. And when it comes to articles and reports that
are relevant from an MBA standpoint, I’m still developing the habit.
P1: [Disapprovingly] But this is something that’s very important. You need to be constantly
up
to date.
Me: I definitely agree. But since I only started getting familiar with things like fin terms, and
hence, I’m finding it difficult to comprehend at the moment. But I’m sure I’ll be well versed
with it in no time.
P1: Alright, but do remember what I said because this is crucial.
Me: Ok sir, will do.
Al: You are from aerospace, but why have you done these biotechnology, design and ocean
engg courses?
Me: Since I realised I was absolutely not interested in aerospace, I just did the minimal
number
of core courses and electives in aerospace engineering, and exploited the freedom afforded
for students to do electives in other departments just to learn some interesting things
instead of dragging myself through more aerospace courses which aren’t really adding
anything to me.
Al: [Indicates at UG marks transcript] Alright. Which course from which semester do you
want
me to ask questions from?
Me: [Sheepish hesitation for a few seconds] Well, sir, as you can see, I’ve not done
particularly
well in any semester. So you can go ahead and pick any course you want.
3 of ‘em: [Laugh and proceed to drop the topic of UG courses]
P2: So what other interview calls do you have?
Me: I had my A interview a couple of weeks ago.
P1: So if you get calls from both A and C, which one will you pick?
Me: I’m not trying to flatter you, but 100% C.
3 of ‘em: [Laugh] Explain.
Me: [Jargon about C academic schedule being more flexible, and how I’d be worse off
competitively in A because of my UG disasterclass academics, and that friends from A, B
and C
advised me that C would be my best bet]
P1: Al here is an alum, and he will tell you it is the same everywhere!
Me: [Jargon about more cultural activity in C, North-East music scene]
P2: Just assume it is the same everywhere.
Me: In that case, I’ll pick C solely for the reason that you provided us with refreshments and
coffee and tea and everything, whereas A gave us just the basic courtesy of water.
3 of ‘em: [Laugh heartily (phew)]
Result: No toffee

25.

Three Panelist. 1 Female, 2 Male

M- Tell us something different about you.

A- (I started by saying) I was born and brought up in Kolkata…(Had plan to add to it, but
was interrupted)

M- What is so special about Kolkata

A- Kolkata has its own charm. When any 2 people meet, whether known or unknown, there is
a sense of connectivity, which isn’t there in other cities. Here people aren’t in a race but
actually live
Yes, that’s called adda. Kolkata is full adda and no productivity
Have you ever inspired anyone? How?
Tell about a specific person
Why were you bullied

Where would you like to specialise in?

Why? Just Because you are from Eco?
You cleared L1 in CFA?
What did you do after your graduation?

What do you do in your leisure time

What is the unique thing about the way you play TT
That’s the St. Lawrence style, even I am from St. Lawrence
Tell me physics involved in Roller Skating
You know physics na? Atleast you had till 10, use those concepts and talk
What makes you start and stop a spin on roller skates
Explain in terms of Physics
(Tried to explain multiple times, at the end said, “Sir, I am really getting confused I am not
sure what it can be. And we shared a laugh)
Are you over confident or confident?
A-Right now I am confident, but at times I have been over confident.

Which is more important

A- Obviously confident

What do you think we think of you right now?

A- (Gave a thought for some time) Ma’am I have shown myself as a fun loving and happy
person who always enjoys in whatever situation I am. That’s what I think you might be
thinking of me.

Where do you see yourself 5 years later

A- Talked about seeing myself in the corporate world. Said I want to try out Priate Equity, if
that works out well, will stick to it. And definitely as a proud alum of IIMC.

Tell something about demonetisation.

Did we ask you about your other calls?
What other calls do you have?
Which one would you choose? Why?
( said about confusing state, slipped out saying, beggars aren’t choosers, I guess could have
avoided but shared a laugh, told I had a talk with my seniors and friends in both the colleges,
both said about the pros and cons, asked me to explain the same. Talked about how A is
consistently the best college but has often seen people running behind profiles whereas C has
people who may not have very good profile in terms of Graduation score but here they are
judged on their calibre.)
You have everything good. Then toh you would go to A definitely
(I said I will wait for the calls to come in)
Don’t try to be politically correct, you have a biasness towards A?
A- Yes, that may seem so because one of my closest friends who is in A has already told
everyone there that I am coming there. And that makes me really excited as well. Talking to
him I also feel I am a part of A. But before taking a final decision I will go into a deeper
comparison first.

Okay, Thank you.

Overall the interview went well. Shared a couple of laugh. The panelist were very friendly.
The Interview went on for around 30 mins.

26.

1) Why low cgpa?

2) Basic differentiation, matrix, integration, graph
3) Special facts about Calicut
4) Work Ex related - Education Sector Politics
5) Why BJP will/ will not come into power in kerala?

27.

1) It was more on the decisions I have taken in life.

2) What would I do, If I had to invest 100 Cr.
 3) Tell me one business that you will do, if you had all the resources.

28.

1) Tell me about yourself

2) Question on hobbies
3) Some basic economics like repo rate reverse repo rate etc, and definitely why mba.

29.

1) Why MBA (obviously)

2) Business model of Narayan Hridayalaya.
3) When is 2+2 greater than 4?

30.

It was more like a Casual discussion. Mentioned photography as a hobby in the application
form. Discussion started with that.
1. It went something like "how would you organise a photography competition, what are
the parameters that you'd use to decide the winner?"
2. Then started talking about the project in my last company
3. Why did you leave the last job?
4. Current affairs (PNB- Nirav modi scam)

31.

1) Tell me about yourself

2) Questions on hobbies and achievements
3) Questions related to job

32.

1) About Industry and company knowledge in work experience ( Market cap, business
revenue and volume)
2) Awareness on recent events happened in hometown and place if work ( political,
problems).

33.

It was very peaceful. Started with tell me about yourself. I told why I chose a project
(M.Tech) in coding which led me a job as a Software Engineer. Follow up questions on my
project and then my work experience. Most questions on M.Tech project (I felt like they
wanted to test how far I was thorough with my project, went for like 10 min). What else I did
in college apart from academics? Why MBA? I said I was interested in Product Management.
Follow up questions on why ProdMan? what do you know about it? I worked in a Financial
services company, so Prof. Sudhir Jaiswal asked questions about the Balance sheet, income
statement. I said I don't know those terms. Later he asked about Provident Fund? How Govt
makes money from it. No grilling here. I didn't answer most of the Fin Questions. Overall
Interview lasted for 20 min. everything on my profile and my clarity over why MBA. No GK
or Math questions were asked.
34.

Short Interview - 10 minutes

1) Meaning of my name and the places I visited during my graduation.
2) Who was Sir M Visvesvaraya and what were his works/projects?
3) Why MBA (family background- first generation Business family)?
4) Do you really need to do an MBA to run a business?
5) You can run a business without doing an MBA, then why MBA?
6) CAT %ile?
7) From Hobbies: Teaching and Cricket(No Questions). Teaching: What about a career
in Teaching? Not interested in making a career in Teaching, Just pursued it as an
interest as I was good at academics in graduation. Academics rank?
8) Question about the program related to teaching in IIM-C? Do you know about the
mandatory rule for MBBS students to serve for a time period in a rural area to become
a certified practitioner? Should it be there? Yes.
9) Will you be alright if you are asked to mandatory work in the rural area to get your
MBA Degree/PGDM?

35.

1) Asked me about Satyam Scam, Banking crisis (NPA)

2) Why IIM Calcutta?

36.

I was 9th in my panel and everyone who had come out before me was telling that they were
not asked any technical questions which was not at all IIM C- like. In fact other panels in the
same slot were asking a lot of math questions to the candidates. I went in with the mindset to
somehow turn the interview to the technical which was my stronghold. The interview was a
very friendly one. I remember them greeting me with a very pleasant comment. 2 profs and 1
alumnus. One of the profs had taught in IIM Trichy while I was studying in NIT Trichy and
the IIM used to operate inside the NIT campus. As soon as I mentioned NIT Trichy in my
introduction, he stopped me. We both had a small chit chat about the campus and some of the
professors there for 2 minutes. Continued with my intro after this. Deliberately stopped at my
work experience and interest for finance so as to direct the interview into that angle. But they
completely ignored this and chose to pick up Kerala from my intro (*facepalm*). The
interview went completely based on Kerala for the next 15 minutes (I'm from Kerala)
1) Why is Kerala called the God's own country?
Me: I was able to give a good answer here. Something about Parashuram, the
incarnation of Vishnu and him creating Kerala by throwing an axe into the Arabian
sea(Still not sure if this is the actual reason why it is called God's own country. The
key was that I sounded confident). They liked this answer.
2) Why are so many political killings happening in kerala even though it has the highest
literacy rate among all the states in India?
A2: Spoke about how there was a dearth of quality higher education institutes in the
state and how this led to a large number of youth staying unemployed and how
political parties were exploiting them(threw some facts here and there). Had a good 5-
7 minutes discussion on this with a lot of cross questioning involved. Luckily I had
data to support my claims there.
 3) So you are an ECE engineer. Tell me what is the difference between 3G,4G and 5G?
A3:( If there was one BTech question which I had wanted them to ask me, it would
have been this. Had expected this question getting thrown at me) Answered with
100% confidence. Can't remember if there were any other questions. But I remember
being skeptical about getting selected because the entire interview was very generic.
They didn't ask me anything technical (maths or about my fin work ex which IIM C
usually does). I was actually a little disappointed that I couldn't turn it to the technical
side. But, as it turns out, things don't always need to go as per the plan for them to
turn out good. Converted in the first list.

37.

It was a stress interview. 1. Integral of xlogx 2. Integral of x^2logx 3. Why finance? 4. Why
not CFA then? 5. My hobbies 5 6. Places I have travelled to. Asked many random questions
about all the destinations I have been to. There were 3 in the panel. The panel kept objecting
to whatever I said. Kept saying that my answers were wrong even when they were right.
They were making fun of me and kept laughing. In the end said that I didn’t know anything
about my topics of interest and asked me to leave.

38.

Friendly interview. Casual conversation starter about how stressed I am at that point in time
and then, a smooth flow from there on. In the end, I was asked to solve two math problem.
One was on functions & graphs and the other was on probability.

39.
What are you doing right now?
Since you are interested in public policy, tell me a policy of the past which is not good but
still is present.
Name any recent policy and tell whether it was good or bad.
Aren’t those recent ones?
Expand IPC,CrPC
Expand LPG.
You are talking like a common man.
You said you are interested in public policy.
You should know more.
Anyone who reads first three pages of a newspaper knows it.
How did that policy impact GDP?
What is current GDP?
What was the GDP in previous regime?
So, why did the GDP fall?
How did drop in crude oil price affect the global economy?
Was there anything to do with the estimation?
You appear confused, doing this and that. Investment cost for 2 years. Less returns if you
work for government later.
What does your father do?
How much savings do you have?
Why don’t you prepare for Civils this time again?
Tell me about this journal publication of yours.
Do you know linguistics?
What is phoneme?
How do you write Hyderabad in phonetics?
Why is cat called a cat?
Why is table called a table?
What is root-word derivation called?

40.

We were all divided in groups of 10. I was the last in my group. My interview lasted around
25 minutes. They must have gone through my file because the first question they asked was
about my interest (which was in the history of the cold war) like what was the pitch of the
USSR and the US
Why did the US win the cold war?
What was India's policy at the time? etc.
Then they came to current affairs ie What is India's current policy?
After they asked a controversial question about my opinion on the 6 strategy that BJP should
take to expand in a state like Kerala or West Bengal?
After that they asked questions about my work ex.

41.

They tend to ask anything under the sun. My interview was mainly about my hobbies and
interests. They also asked me about my motivation to do an MBA, and some questions
related to work experience, but the majority interview was focused about the hobbies that I
had mentioned, and to what extent I had pursued them.

42.

Not a very relaxing one. Kind of stressed. Questions asked in the following order:
1. Place? Course? College?
2. (based on my work experience maybe) GE wants to launch a product in city X, while it
already has a product in a different city. What data will you analyse before starting a new
launch? ~ question repeated 3 times
3. (Started hitting me with Statistics) a. Regression Model b. Step Function in real life c.
Correlation and Co-Variance ~ What? Difference? d. Plot risk and return graph e. What is
trade off?
4. Why MBA?
5. (Based on the answers filled in the form) what is PnL account? Revenue, expenses in
business. what is infrastructure cost?

Answers: 1. Told
2. Mistakes ~ ignored/didn't hear that product is available in another city TWICE (Question
was repeated TWICE) ~ Weak background analysis, could have been better.
3. Statistics ~ Wasn't prepared. Made stuff up to the best of my knowledge and gave
explanation on why I think so.
4. Had prepared this. Brought in my managers, who were alums of IIM A & C, and explained
how better & efficient they were in solving problems, while I still struggle to choose the best
solution out of the insights I generate. (Cross Questioned - tackled somehow) MBA gives you
an edge to start your career. (Cross questioned on why the hurry, you'll eventually reach there
- dodged again)
5. Answered all properly.

43.

1. you have worked for 3 years, what are 3 things you should do in a corporate culture? 3
things which you should not do?
2. so you know computer, there is monitor, there is a pointer which can be controlled by
mouse ( i was smiling at the dumbness and he did notice it). It can be dragged down , and
disappears but it doesn't disappear on upper side. Why?
3. tell me about the difference between interpolation and regression
4. did you read the newspaper today?
5. do you know anything about put options and call options?

44.

I was the last one in batch to have my interview done. It lasted for around 10 mins. Had three
members in the panel. Work ex : 6 months @ American Express

1. Tell us about yourself. Answered the usual, talked about my college groups, work ex and
hobbies. Indicated interest in case study competitions.
2. Was asked about the kind of work I did in my college group and was quizzed about that in
detail.
3. I had mentioned accreditation in my previous answer and the interview moved on to need
for accreditation and IIMC's triple accreditation.
4. Panel member verified my answer by googling it, at least that I felt.
5. Interview moved onto my work experience.
6. Explained in layman terms the kind of work I did, modelling work and impact of my work.
7. Was asked about my views on GDPR : general data protection regulation.
8. Asked about my stance on Aadhaar, I took a balanced view.
9. Was asked a simple probability problem.
10. Asked me about my other calls and cat percentile.

45.

Panel of 3 members (Lot of questions are specific to my workex)

Q1. Introduce yourself

Q2. What do you do at ZS (Mentioned I work in Incentive Compensation)
Q3. How are the inventive plans set
Q4. How do you decide which plans to use for the products
Q5. Few more questions on work ex
Q6. What is a cantilever
Q7. Give an example of cantilever
Q8. How come Howrah bridge is a cantilever
Q9. Why did they not make it a suspension bridge or a beam bridge
Q10. What is RCC?
Q11. Which are better Brick buildings or RCC?
Q12. Why do leakages happen?
Q13. Which type of building would be better to have so that there would be no leakages?
Q14. What are the draw backs of using rank based plans for compensation ( again from work
ex)
Q15. Why have your grades dropped after 12th?
Q16. Apart from incentives what are the ways to motivate an employee?
Q17. Suppose there is a new cardio vascular drug, there are 5000 doctors from this specialty,
how would you target the doctors?
Q18. Why would they buy a new drug, what confidence do they have?
Q19. What are your hobbies?
Q20. What books have you read?
Q21. Anything about management that you have learned from the books?
Q 22. Again on rank based plans, what will be the impact of rank based plans on the 8 bottom
performers? Total duration: Around 20 mins

46.

I was asked mostly personal and work experience related questions. There were 3
interviewers and it was a very friendly interview. Some of the questions that I recollect

1. Why do you look so stressed? Are you going through any family problems?
2. Why do you want to pursue MBA?
3. Tell us about your work? (detailed discussion about 5-10 minutes)
4. A guesstimate: How many cricket balls can you fit into an A-320?
5. Hobbies and other extra-curricular achievements.

47.

It was a stress interview. Here's the link for the complete transcript: https://qr.ae/TUnHKQ

48.

Tell us about yourself

Why MBA
Difference between cash cycle and operating cycle
Difference between ABS and MBS
Mosaic Theory
Du point Analysis
Algorithm trading
Careers in IB
Future of Test Cricket
Work experience in details

49.

Work ex 19 months in Adobe Second last in panel, 2 females and one male

P1 - (as soon as I sat down) describe yourself in two adjectives

Me - humble, and ready to learn if ready to learn is an adjective
P1 - is it?
Me - well ma'am, an adjective is used to describe the qualities of a noun, and me being a
noun, that makes it an adjective phrase
P1 - (smiled)
P2 (the male) started reading out my profile loud
P3 - So Varun, you are a self taught guitarist? You took no classes?
Me - Yes ma'am. I taught myself how to play the guitar and the piano all by myself.
P3 - And what fantasy novels do you read? GOT?
Me - No ma'am, I'm a big Harry Potter fan.
P1 - In what house would you be in if you were at Hogwarts?
Me - Gryffindor for sure ma'am.
P1 - You seem very sure of that .
Me - (half smiling) I gave a test on pottermore ma'am 9 (All three smiled back)
P3 - so what qualities does a Gryffindor have Me - chivalry and the nature to help others
P1 - But these aren't the qualities you described when I asked about you in the beginning
Me - well ma'am I attribute all these qualities to myself.
P3 - laughing, you say that you have so many qualities. That's not very humble
Me - justified it by saying, a humble can be a person with all these qualities. But they act
humble in various instances, like when they are learning in a class, or working with a peer
group(gave an example for the latter)
P1 - OK varun, did you read today's news
Me - no ma'am
P1 - yesterday's?
Me - yes I did
P1 - what happened in the south?
Me - I don't recall having read anything about that ma'am
P1 - In the northeast?
Me - The Tripura elections ma'am. They were discussed
P1 - anything else?
Me - nothing I remember ma'am
P2 - varun, give me the differentiation of x! (I tried, he suddenly asked me draw it's graph.. I
drew a continuous curve... Is it continuous?.... I realised not... It's discrete)
Me - it's discrete sir... A value of y for all positive integer values of x... It won't be
differentiable since at each point it can have multiple slopes. (P1 and P2 nodded seeming
satisfied)
P3 - what's your favorite band
Me - lamb of God
P3 - why?
Me - it helped me get through a tough time in my life
P1 - who are the competitors of Adobe
Me - (told and discussed)
P1 - Varun tell me about a fantasy novel you read after 2016
Me - Sophie's world by jostein gaarder
P1 - how did you like it?
Me - it really asked me significant questions about who I am. I was able to ponder on what I
want to do in my life
P3 - And what is it you wanna do?
Me - I want to learn as much as I can. I think I can do this by being in a position of
responsibility where I need to add value to things . Because to add value to something you
need to add value to yourself
P3 - Can't you do that in Adobe?
Me - I can, but there are various domains of the business that I don't know about ... (Gave the
example of my director who takes strategic decisions for the firm)
P3 - how old is your director and how old are you?
Me - 42 and 25
P3 - then you'll be able to learn all this by that time
Me - (tried to justify my stand by giving examples of people who had grown quicker than my
director via the MBA route... But she kept giving counter arguments)
P3 - chalo... I'm all done... Anyone wants to ask anything else 10
P1 - (takes out The Economist from somewhere) tell me something about what the cover
story could be saying Me -(the cover story was data in medicine... I had ample data on that
and spoke continuously for a straight two minutes)...
P1 - hmm... OK varun... I think we are done.. thank you

50.

The interviewer tried to begin the interview like a stress interview by mocking me twice but I
remained calm and gave a few witty responses. Moved on to ask a few questions about
Mumbai (my hometown) followed by questions related to finance. (I had mentioned winning
a Finance Quiz).

Questions were - What is EBITDA, Depriciation, Ammortization.

A small case was given about depreciation, which I could partially answer but the prof didn't
expect me to solve it at all. This was followed by questions around Nirav Modi case and then
Satyam Case. Finally a stats prof asked me to rate myself on Math and asked me questions
that could be answered by Fermats large & little theorem. I didn't know about it.

51.

There were three panelists. I was the 4th one to be interviewed. One of the panelists came to
call me in. As soon as I entered, I found that the other two panelists were discussing the
interview of the last candidate, and scoresheet was lying on the table. I thought that I should
stand a bit away from the table. From behind, the other panelist was telling loudly to other
panelists, “Guys, Aseem has arrived. :P” They didn’t listen to him 2-3 times. When that
panelist reached the table, he waved fervently in front of them and said: “Guys, Aseem has
arrived.” They hurriedly covered the scoresheet. :P

P2 – Aseem, tell me about yourself? Restrict your answer to your family background,
educational background, work experience, hobbies. Me: Answered. (Forgot to tell about my
elder brother, he is currently studying in IIMC only). P2 – Do you have any siblings? Me –
(Realising my mistake) Told I have an elder brother; he is currently studying in IIMC only.
P2 – What is his name? How is he doing in IIMC? Me – Told and said he is going fine in
IIMC. P2 – So, you might have got feedback about IIMC from him. What did he tell you
about IIMC? Me – Told P3 – Since you mentioned Stock markets as your interest. Do you
invest/trade in Stock Market? Me – Yes ( Here comes my favourite topic of discussion :D )
P3 – What was the closing value of Sensex yesterday? Me – Told that I checked the value at
12 pm yesterday (Told the value). I don’t know the closing value. P3 – What approach do
you use to select stocks to invest? Me – Top-down approach and Bottom-up approach. P3 –
Explain Top-down approach. Me – Explained (Quite confident about this) . P3 – Why are
stocks overvalued now? Me – Told that stocks had gone high in speculation. Investors are
speculating high economic growth in the future. (Forgot to tell about a massive influx of
money in equity market due to demonetization) P1 – If you are so much into the stock
market, you could have made a career in this. Don’t you think you have wasted four years of
your engineering and a seat in IIT? Me – (My mind: Please don't ask me that :p ) Told that I
consider stock markets as a 12 source of passive income and never considered it as a career
option. Also told how I got interested in stock markets. P1 – But whatever you have learned
in your engineering will be a waste as from IIMC you will probably go to some IB, PE or
consulting firm? I want an honest answer, don’t answer me on the grounds of logical skills,
analytical skills, etc. :P Me - Told that I have talked to my seniors from IIT Ropar who post
MBA are working in jobs where they are using their technical skills backed with
management skills and I wish to do the same as well. And things once learned will be used in
one way or other in the future. P3 – Do Indian markets follow global market trends? Me –
Sometimes. P3 – Which company has the highest market capitalization in India and what is
it? Me – ( My mind singing: I know it, I know it :P) Sir, Reliance Industries has the highest
market capitalization in India. It overtook TCS recently in market capitalization. Told how
we could calculate the market capitalization. P1 – What about at Global level? Me – I know
recently Amazon took over Microsoft to become the third highest valued company in the
world. I think at 1st position, it will either be Apple or Google. P1 – There is a course by the
name “Algorithms in Ancient India” which you did in your B.Tech. It sounds like an exciting
course. What was this course about? What did you learn from this course? Me – Told that a
visiting faculty from IISER Mohali taught this course. It was about various sutras and all of
ancient India which were used to solve mathematical problems. But I did not like the course
much, so I audited the course. P2 – Can you remember any sutra from that course? (Before I
could answer, another panelist said with a sarcastic smile, he audited that course, he won’t be
knowing it) P1 – So we will ask a mathematics question now. Draw the pdf and distribution
function for normal distribution. Me – First wrote the equation of normal distribution and
drew the graph. Struggled a bit with pdf of the distribution but completed it. P2 – So what
does the value of these two functions at a specific value on x-axis signifies? Me – Told what
pdf is for a continuous function and the value it specifies. 13 P2 – Any natural event where
this distribution is observed? Me – Marks distribution of a class in an exam. P2 – If the
number of students is 2-3 then also it will be normal distribution? Me – No Sir, for a large
number of students. P2 – Then give a more practical example. Me – Distribution of the
population of a city. P2 – (in shocking tone) Distribution of the population of a city? Me –
(Realizing the blunder) Distribution of height of the population of a city. Also, the birds,
when they fly in a group, make a Gaussian shape, the reason being less air drag. ( 2 days
before my interview, I attended a lecture of a Professor from IIT Roorkee at my workplace
and he told this thing) P3 – I have not heard of this. This way you can also say that airplanes
are like Gaussian shape from the front due to less air drag. :P Me – Maybe. (Giving a weird
smile) P3 – By the way, I forgot to ask what other calls you have? Me – I have calls from all
the IIMs. P2 – So what are your plans? Going to join your elder brother or somewhere else?
Me – told since I am a bit inclined towards finance, I will most probably join C. But I think I
will be able to take a much-calculated decision after getting the results from all IIMs and
after discussing with my elder brother, seniors and batchmates ( at different IIMs). P3 –
(returning my file) Aseem, all the best for your future. Please take a toffee. (Picked an eclairs
:P).

Super relaxed, basic personal hygiene questions & graduation subjects. Personal
achievements and work experience. Questions on economics & HR/motivation (as I was team
leader)
 There were a few questions regarding my hobby of reading, which was followed by a few
ethical dilemma questions. There was a question on Permutations and Combinations, where I
was asked to derive a formula. It was a pretty chilled interview, with a few jokes cracked in
between by the interviewers among themselves

52.

Three panellists all males. All of them were in the 40s. Let's call them P1, P2 and P3 P1:
Asked me whether AC’s temperature is fine and told me that he needs to send some urgent
message and he is listening to what I am saying. Please tell me about yourself. Me: Told
about my native place which is in Vidarbha, my workex and interest in music. P1: So you are
a vocalist. Have you taken any formal training? Me: Answered. P3: What about drums? Have
you taken any training for that? Me: Answered. P3: So you have been working with the same
organisation for 3 years. Tell us about it. Me: Told about how we started from scratch in
development and now reaching the number of 100. Targets given for funding. P2: Who were
your investors? Me: Told. P3: What is this app you are recently working on? Me: Told about
an app, my role as a project manager and customer being Chinese. P1: Oh Chinese person
outsourcing to Indians. That's great. How did you manage that? Me: Answered. Told about
70-year-old and Chinese customer- a very deadly combination to which they were laughing
and asked about funny incidents. P1: What difference did you feel being a developer and a
project manager? Me: Answered. P3: Is it a fixed bid or t&m based? Me: Answered. P2: We
have been listening to a lot about SaaS these days. What is it? Me: Answered. 15 P1: You are
from Vidarbha. What are your thoughts on separate Vidarbha? Me: Told about various
scenarios how it will affect people and business. Also told about various new projects in
Nagpur one of them being the land allocation to Patanjali. P1: Do you know any controversy
related to land allocation to Patanjali? Me: Could not remember this. P1: Any history related
to Vidarbha? Me: Told about separation from Madhya Pradesh. P1: Which stream will you
choose for MBA? Me: Told Marketing and Sales. P1: Why? Me: Told about various pre-sales
activities done in my organisations and other things related to marketing. P1: We are done
with the interview. Do you have any questions related to IIMC? Me: Asked about marketing
clubs in IIMC. Overall very nice panel and too chill interview.