India's Best Business Schools- Interview (Dr Githa Heggde)

Getting Admission Call From A Premier School

Dr Githa Heggde - Research and International  Affairs, IFIM, Bangalore

While the common entrance exam scores such as CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, work experience and academic excellence are considered mainly to shortlist the students applying to premier business schools, the actual selection happens with particular process of each institute. The standard mechanism across such B-schools for selection is group discussion (GD) followed by personal interview (PI). Most of the candidates fail to swing the GD and PI to their benefit. It thus becomes imperative for the candidate to have a sound preparation on these last mile processes which are most crucial in getting that admission call by top Institutions.

Preparing for GD and PI

As a pre-preparation, the candidate first and foremost has to be clear about the career path he/she intends to pursue which is in line with the personality, profile and passion, and should spend adequate time on reading up current affairs and specifically have adequate knowledge and inputs on the specific area of interest. The candidate must train to articulate well by structuring the information on a topic and logically presenting it. He/ she must prepare to tackle the GD and PI by getting into how and why of topics that matter socially and in a business scenario. He/she must go through a mock GD or PI with a group of friends and mentors. The areas one has to be wellversed with and be prepared are: 

- Undergraduate studies and extra-curricular contribution and activities 
- Mathematics and logic 
- General awareness, current affairs and world view - Positive attitude and willingness to learn 
- How to apply knowledge for desired outcome.

Focus should be on how own strength and individual capability can be expressed and highlighted during the GD and PI process. The panel is ideally looking for the right attitude and talent that can be honed into a managerial competency.

Excelling in GD

Group discussion is all about the ability to handle a team – and a totally unknown set of contemporaries at that. The confidence to create an impact in such a situation is the first step to make an inroad.

Initiating a group discussion necessarily with at least a few relevant information and not just for the sake of opening the discussion will always help. Listening and taking the team along with periodic inputs that can be built upon will give an edge. One has to be able to exhibit critical and analytical thinking in this forum. Taking time to organize the thoughts on the given topic and not digressing out of anxiety is essential. One needs to speak up and not keep mum in a group discussion as the scores will be on communication, information, logical reasoning, etc. that can be evaluated only if the candidate participates. Don’t also make the mistake of repeating points, which is not the characteristic of a team player.Besides, you will be wasting the precious time that another participant could have used effectively.

While excellent communication skills are critical to a manager, the panel is looking for articulation that is understood by the group and quality of the content. Being assertive and not aggressive is one important aspect that has to be projected. The panel is looking for candidates who excel in analytical skills, capability to make decision and not a fence-sitter and the ability to handle stress.

To view list of Top 100 B-Schools - Click Here

Personal Interview

This stage is extremely vital for the candidate where he can steer the process to his own benefit. PI aims at knowing the aspirant better. Here is an opportunity to market oneself and prove the fit for a reputed institution. While normal practice is to put the candidate at ease by asking about the background and ambitions, one should not take the process lightly and be fully conscious and aware of how the interviewers are gauging and evaluating. The PI can be conducted by corporate executives along with the faculty of the institute.

The impression is created right from the time a candidate walks into the interview room, therefore,pleasing personality and grooming has to be taken care of. Casual attitude will have a negative impact.

What will be evaluated here is the clarity of goals set for oneself and the intentions of pursuing the goals. The knowledge, the extent of germane information one has, inner motivation, attitude of the candidate and how it is communicated will be tested. An honest self-assessment as a preparation for interview will help to respond to the questions at the interview. 

The interview generally revolves around

- Why MBA 
- One’s strengths and weaknesses 
- Why that particular institute - Past performance, experiences and achievements 
- Knowledge and skills that exhibits certain passion and goal.
- World view.

A smart candidate will steer and swing the interview on to his strengths, rather than being maneuvered by the interviewers.