MBAUniverse.com now presents Q&A with MBA students who are studying at Prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and other premier B-schools. The institutes include IIM Bangalore, IIM Indore, IIM Lucknow, SJMSOM of IIT B and others.
MBA Aspirant, this Q&A series will give you the idea of how IIMs and other premier B-schools conduct GD/PI rounds, what they tests in GD/PI rounds and student's advice to MBA aspirants.
Read below the Q&A with Krishna, the student of Post Graduate Programme in Management of IIM Bangalore.
Q&A with Krishna, IIM Bangalore
What does your institute call/term the personal interaction and assessment rounds, and when and where were they held last your?
I study at IIM Bangalore. The GD/PI process for me was held at the campus here, since I lived in Bangalore.
What was the 'format' of these rounds when you took them last year?
Essentially there is a GD with 8-10 people in one panel. There is a very simple topic given on which the aspirants are expected to discuss their views. There are two faculty members assessing performance. This is not an elimination round.
Then there is a PI round. Each candidate is interviewed by the same two faculty members. It has duration of 30-60 mins. I had a 45 minute interview on everything I had done prior to coming here. After the GD is over the candidate can leave the campus.
According to you, what do the personal interaction and assessment rounds aim to assess/ test in the MBA applicants?
The GD is a round where the assessors are looking at the aspirants ability to discuss objectively with the rest of the group. Dominance and docility are both disadvantageous. A good balance is needed to sail through the GD process. The weightage is high and the aspirant needs to crack this round.
The PI is more about the aspirant's ability to put a nice story about why he wants to do an MBA, his/her objectives in life, prior experience etc. A smile on the face surely helps.
According to you, how should MBA aspirants 'prepare' for these rounds? What is your advice?
For the GDs it is better that the aspirants take a few mock sessions just to know the dos and don'ts. Good reading habits help in making objective points. Business newspapers like mint are a good source.
For the PI, again, reading 2 months of Mint should really help! Reading up on the SOP and being convinced about why the MBA is key. Talking with confidence is a necessity. It is better not to make motherhood statements in the interview. People with work experience should know to put the business perspective of their job forward.
Click below to read the MBAUniverse.com Special series of articles by leading MBA test prep companies experts on GD/PI.
MBAUniverse.com Special: How to excel in final frontier – the GD round
http://www.mbauniverse.com/admission_2009_coverage.php?id=1739
