MBA Personal Interview round: Common and deciding factor to all IIMs Admission and other top MBA colleges

Add Review

MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
January 15, 2015
MBA Personal interview round in all the top rated B schools apart from IIMs conduct to assess how the future managers express their views and opinions
Candidates need two important key skills-first is the good communication skill to communicate what he or she wants to convey and second the quality of taking the interviewers in the domain of his knowledge

Not only IIMs but all the top rated B schools apart from IIMs conduct Personal Interview round to assess how the future managers express their views and opinions on various topics and questions related to different walks of life. The short PI round prior to final admission offer by these top B schools is so important that despite scoring a high percentile in CAT 2014 and XAT 2015, even a slight deviation and laxity in preparation for PI round can throw you out of the admission race 2015 in the IIMs, FMS, XLRI, SPJIMR, MDI, IMT, IMI and other highly ranked B schools.

 

Post CAT 2014 result, declared on Dec 27, 2014, so far January 2015 has been and will be full of the shortlists declared by many IIMs for PI round. While IIM Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Lucknow have already declared their shortlist of candidates for PI round, IIM Bangalore, Indore, Kozhikode, Shillong  and 6 newer IIMs are going to declare their respective shortlists very shortly. In the month of February 2015 the Personal Interview round will begin not only at the IIMs but also at other highly ranked B schools also.   

 

XLRI will also declare the XAT 2015 result on Jan 25, 2015 followed by short lists of candidates seeking admission prospects in XLRI and other associated B schools. Immediately after the declaration of these results, the Institutes will shortlist the candidates to be called for second admission round based on their percentile. Prof. S.K. Agarwal, mentor and expert in this area shares importance and key skills required to get through the final selection round of admission.

 

Be alert through out

 

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 not about the subject, you are wasting the time of panellists as well as of yours.

 

They will be able to judge you by the manner you enter and reach them; the way you stand up and sit down before them.  Only five minutes are enough to arrive at the decision; rest is the part of efforts they are making to take you out of your wrecking nerves.

 

Think before you answer

 

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 the candidate’s attitude.

 

Examine the following answers –

 

Q.1 Tell us about yourself –
Ans. (Not appropriate) 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, 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 recommended) 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 AnsI 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 been a consistently 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 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 alright now’ If you feel the environment is extra warm you can convey ‘ I am sweating as it is rather warm over here.’

 

Remember: PI has more weight age
Number of institutes have substituted Group Discussion by Writing Ability Test but none of the institutes have gone as far as eliminating interview round from its final selection process. It could be Personal Interview or Group Interview. However, in both the cases candidates need two important key skills –first is the good communication skill to communicate what he or she wants to convey and second the quality of taking the interviewers in the domain of his knowledge.

 

This round is so important that any laxity in its preparation 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. 

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on MBA admission PI round 2015.