GD PI WAT 2014: How to ace the Personal Interview round? Get Toppers tips & Expert Advice

Immediately after the declaration of CAT/XAT results, the Institutes have been short listing the candidates and sending the calls for PI, the second admission round. Personal Interview round is the key to success in securing final admission to the desired institute as all the B schools award maximum weightage to this round. MBA Universe.com has brought forward the experiences of past CAT toppers who were the winners in PI and were able to convert their call to top rated B schools. 

1. Anusha Subramanian scored 99.80 percentile in CAT and is a student of IIM Bangalore. She did B Tech from National Institute of Technology Surathkal, Karnataka. After graduating in 2009, she worked with Oracle as a software developer for around three years. She received PI call from IIMA, B and C and attended all the three. 

Interview at IIM C was mostly about current events, a few questions on mathematics, logic puzzles and some generic questions about future plans. IIM A grilled her on a wide range of topics ranging from work, recent happenings in the software industry and academics. IIM B asked the questions based on the statement of purpose, submitted earlier. She was quizzed in great detail about specific points in her SOP regarding her work experience and future plans.

Anusha is of the view ‘there are no shortcuts to success. Stick to your preparation strategy. Remember to take breaks regularly to rejuvenate you and keep the momentum going’
2. Apurv Jain, CAT 2012 topper, got admission to FMS Delhi. For PI round, he prepared for the questions pertaining to his work experience, little bit about his engineering and most importantly the personal questions related to strengths, weakness, etc. He faced the questions on what he had done in his life so far. Apart from this questions on current issues also made a presence in PI.

Apurv shares his preparation strategy, in his words ‘I think habit of reading newspaper intuitively helped me gain command over the language apart from increasing my knowledge about the current happenings around the world.’

3. Ratika Mittal who scored 97.21 percentile in CAT, is a B Tech (electrical engineering) from the Punjab Engineering College University of Technology, Chandigarh. She is a fresher. She is studying at IIM Udaipur although was offered admission by IIM Shillong, Trichy and Raipur also.

Her PI experience was entirely new and different. In PI, she was asked questions even from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata besides the usual ones on current affairs and general knowledge. She was questioned on ethical issues, her extra- curricular activity, hobbies and interests. Ratika shares her preparation strategy that ‘coaching does help. Those preparing on their own should solve problems regularly keeping a check on time.’

4. Siddhant Gupta, who scored 98.67 percentile in CAT, is a student of IIM Raipur. He did his graduation from the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal and had worked with HEG Ltd for a year before joining the MBA. He was offered final admission by MDI, IIM Trichy, IIM Kashipur, apart from IIM Raipur.

He had his PI round in Delhi. He was asked to speak on any topic from current affairs during the interview. He chose to talk on KFA bailout, explained the problem and was asked for possible solutions. He suggested some solutions and a few cross questions were fired. As he is a chemical engineer, he was asked a few questions on chemistry. Towards the end, he was grilled on “Which IIM will you choose if you happen to get multiple converts”.

He linked it to the question related to the meaning of name and the panel was impressed with the answer.  He favours that ‘an aspirant has to be disciplined in managing time and careful about the course structure and changes brought into the format. Stay connected with seniors, newspapers & magazines and other sources of information.’

5. Parag Poddar is a 99.65 CAT percentiler and is studying at IIM Indore. He did his graduation in electronics & telecommunication engineering from the Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU), Shibpur, in 2012. He plans to own a start-up venture which will cater to the needs of the society.

Parag was questioned thoroughly on academics since he was fresher.  Panelists checked every aspect of his personality through questions on general awareness and his background. In his view ‘the interview was a great learning experience and helped me gauge myself better and identify areas of improvement.’

Click here to score high marks in GD PI WAT at Top B school for Admission 2014: http://www.mbauniverse.com/gd_pi_preparation/gd_preparation.php

GD PI WAT 2014: Expert Advice on Personal Interview

The weightage to PI in final admission round is maximum and in a few institutes, it is more than the scored CAT percentile. Prof S.K. Agarwal, Expert and mentor, emphasizes on the importance of this round and advises to avoid any laxity in its preparation as it might take away your chances of converting the call to your dream B school. You may find thousands of shortlisted candidates with a very good percentile who couldn’t convert the call to the desired management institute since they didn’t take the interview round very seriously. 

GD PI WAT 2014: Key Tips

Be presentable

Personal Interview round may last from 10 to 20 minutes depending on your way of presentation. If you think that you may make wild guesses or simply answer like-Oh well,  I suppose…..;  I want to say….; I think…..;  although the fact is that you know nothing about the subject, you are wasting the time of panellists as well as of yours. 

Simple questions are tricky

Answers to simple questions like ‘tell about yourself’; ‘tell about your family’; ‘tell about your city’ have far reaching effects and  give an opportunity to the aspirant to establish himself before the penetrating questions which would arise out of the answers he is making.  Broad and generic type questions are asked to know about attitude.

Also Read:

10 important Personal Interview tips for MBA Admission 2014

Personal Interview: Model questions & answers for MBA Admission 2014

Examine the following answers –

Q.1 Tell us about yourself –

Ans. (Not good one) Sir I am xyz, I have studied so much, I have one/two siblings;  my father’s name is this, my mother’s is that and blah..blah.  Why are you telling all this?  It is already there in your filled up form. 
Better answer will be to say –

‘Apart from the details in the form submitted, I am a quick learner and learn from mistakes. I believe in human values and have a sharp and clear vision of life. I am confident enough that the various levels of learning that I have had till now and will have in this Institute will help me to bring out the finest of me which will enhance my competence, aptitude and skills.’  This will give a better impression as well as save the time.

Q.2 – Tell us about your family-

Ans. (Not appropriate) Naming all the family members; your forefathers; their occupation in detail; appreciation of one of the parents and not appreciating the other.  All this will call for further volley of questions and you will be in trouble.
Better will be to say (model answer)–

‘I come from a simple middle class family. My father is an accountant with a private firm and my mother is teacher. I have a younger brother studying in first year (Mechanical) at IIT Delhi. I have consistently been a good student although never topped the school or college. While doing honours in Economics I have been actively associated with an organization dedicated for elimination of social inequality in education.’  This is a model answer given by a candidate. Similarly candidates may place whatever the facts are but in brief.

Q.3- Tell us about some great personality of your city

 Ans. If you know some great personality of your city and about his/her noble deeds, tell the panel else do not try to bluff the interviewers. Instead say politely that you do not know much about him/them except... (say whatever you know) If you know nothing please admit that too.  Be straight.  It is however expected that you should be aware well about the city and personalities who have made or are making contribution for some noble cause.

Q.4- What made you decide to pursue your MBA from this Institute.

 Ans. (Not well prepared) Sir, I find the building and appearance of this institute quite appealing. There are no restrictions of time, dress code and other activities. Besides it is in the posh locality where good market and malls are situated. I can enjoy here.  I want to be a free bird, so I opted for this one. This answer will definitely end the interview round instantly.Appropriate answer will be –

Sir, the Institute has a good reputation and is one of the top B-schools of India with all the opportunities to excel in learning. A few of my seniors who happen to be the alumni of this Institute also guided me to join this Institute. The specialization in Foreign Trade which is rated as one of the best offered courses by this Institute will definitely help me to convert my dream into a reality. I have taken the decision after a careful thought. I am sure I will have a great time to enhance my knowledge and skills in this Institute.

Q.5- Are you feeling nervous?   

Ans. (hiding the facts despite perspiration and trying to be a tall talk) No sir, there is nothing to feel nervous. You are all human being as I am not nor you can do any harm to me, so why should I feel nervous. I am very much confident.  This answer is not going to do any good to you.
Appropriate answer should be –

Yes sir, since it is the first time I was getting a little apprehensive. But entering the room I am feeling better and am al right now’ If you feel the environment is extra warm you can convey ‘I am sweating as it is rather warm over here.’

To know Right answers to various Personal Interview Question for Admission 2014, Click Here

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