Re: B-school MBA Interview debriefs
Posted: November 25th, 2013, 4:06 pm
IIM Bangalore for IIMB EPGP Interview Experience
Hi
I recently had an interview with IIM Bangalore for EPGP- the 1 year fully residential program (in case you don't know about this, please read about the difference between Executive MBA & MBA for executives first)
The interview happened via Skype early in the morning (although I still bunked office for half a day), but before I get on with the details, my profile (please note that a profile is what you can write on paper, we all are much more than that as individuals- and that shows in the essay & interviews)
Work ex- 6.5 years in Retail
4 yrs International Work ex (all in Middle East- UAE/KSA/Kuwait)
Graduation- National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)
GMAT-750
Contrary to the general feedback on interviews this year, my interview was totally stress free. In fact, at one point of time during the interview I thought that either they have already selected me and this is just a formality or they are just not interested in my profile. But I digress, so here goes.
1. What is your current role? (Answered)
2. How do your measure productivity in your job? (Answered)
3. In your essay you have mentioned about Bangalore being a great location for your target industry/job- Clarify. (HQ's of various companies, easy to network blah blah)
4. Are you ok with making a move from Dubai to Bangalore? (I applied to IIMB- of course!)
5. Your wife works- is she ok to leave her job? (I was like- are you giving me an admission letter now?)
6. Any questions for us? (Asked a couple, but most info is available online or with alums & current students- something I had already gathered)
That's it. Really. The interview left me surprised. No stress. No 'Why MBA?'. No 'Why IIM-B?' And the interview lasted just 15-20 min, insted of the usual 30-40 min. However, I came out of the interview very positive and confident that I had made it.
There are few general tips that everyone should follow-
1. Differentiate (Mother of all cliches)- Find something unique in yourself. Why should the school hire YOU instead of someone with exact same credentials on paper?
2. Clarity (another cliche)- Why do you want to study? Why now? And why a particular school? Now admission consultant can give you this clarity. I feel that contrary to popular belief the reasons can even be shallow (as shallow as just money) but you have to be DAMN convinced about this and be able to convince the ADCOM through your essays & interview. I was very clear about all this and this reflected in my essay. So much so that the ADCOM did not feel the need to ask me all this in the interview.
3. CHILL & have FUN!- MBA is not the be all end all to success in our lives. If you want to grow, you can do that anyhow as long as there is a strong will. And if you want to earn money, then there are several ways if you are enterprising enough. Most importantly have fun throughout the application process. Imagine your essays are giving you one chance in life to write something that is 100% guaranteed to get readership (and a smart one at that). Do you have any idea how many people strive to write books/articles and fail to find any readership?
Result- Admitted (Duh!)
P.S.- I did not apply to any other school as my requirements were very specific, and only IIM B seemed to fulfill that.
Hi
I recently had an interview with IIM Bangalore for EPGP- the 1 year fully residential program (in case you don't know about this, please read about the difference between Executive MBA & MBA for executives first)
The interview happened via Skype early in the morning (although I still bunked office for half a day), but before I get on with the details, my profile (please note that a profile is what you can write on paper, we all are much more than that as individuals- and that shows in the essay & interviews)
Work ex- 6.5 years in Retail
4 yrs International Work ex (all in Middle East- UAE/KSA/Kuwait)
Graduation- National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)
GMAT-750
Contrary to the general feedback on interviews this year, my interview was totally stress free. In fact, at one point of time during the interview I thought that either they have already selected me and this is just a formality or they are just not interested in my profile. But I digress, so here goes.
1. What is your current role? (Answered)
2. How do your measure productivity in your job? (Answered)
3. In your essay you have mentioned about Bangalore being a great location for your target industry/job- Clarify. (HQ's of various companies, easy to network blah blah)
4. Are you ok with making a move from Dubai to Bangalore? (I applied to IIMB- of course!)
5. Your wife works- is she ok to leave her job? (I was like- are you giving me an admission letter now?)
6. Any questions for us? (Asked a couple, but most info is available online or with alums & current students- something I had already gathered)
That's it. Really. The interview left me surprised. No stress. No 'Why MBA?'. No 'Why IIM-B?' And the interview lasted just 15-20 min, insted of the usual 30-40 min. However, I came out of the interview very positive and confident that I had made it.
There are few general tips that everyone should follow-
1. Differentiate (Mother of all cliches)- Find something unique in yourself. Why should the school hire YOU instead of someone with exact same credentials on paper?
2. Clarity (another cliche)- Why do you want to study? Why now? And why a particular school? Now admission consultant can give you this clarity. I feel that contrary to popular belief the reasons can even be shallow (as shallow as just money) but you have to be DAMN convinced about this and be able to convince the ADCOM through your essays & interview. I was very clear about all this and this reflected in my essay. So much so that the ADCOM did not feel the need to ask me all this in the interview.
3. CHILL & have FUN!- MBA is not the be all end all to success in our lives. If you want to grow, you can do that anyhow as long as there is a strong will. And if you want to earn money, then there are several ways if you are enterprising enough. Most importantly have fun throughout the application process. Imagine your essays are giving you one chance in life to write something that is 100% guaranteed to get readership (and a smart one at that). Do you have any idea how many people strive to write books/articles and fail to find any readership?
Result- Admitted (Duh!)
P.S.- I did not apply to any other school as my requirements were very specific, and only IIM B seemed to fulfill that.