Slot- Afternoon
Profile:
- GEM, 2 years of work Ex
- 91.20/94.40/9.03
CAT Percentile – 98.89
WAT Topic- Is intelligence hereditary?
(Time limit: 20 mins)
This was my last interview of the season and I had already gone through around 5-6 interviews and had converted SPJIMR by then, so I was not that nervous for L’s interview.
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Interview Experience
I was the first one to go in my panel
2 panellists (Interviewer 1 male and Interviewer 2 female)
I greeted the panellists and they asked me to sit down.
P1 asked me to show my 10th, 12th and graduation mark sheets to verify my documents even though it was verified at the time of document verification.
Interviewer 1: So you have great academics in college and you are from MNNIT. That must be some achievement.
Me: (Smiling inside for the positive start of the interview) Yes sir, I was among the top 5 of my batch.
Interviewer 2: Looking at my pre-interview form. You have mentioned work experience till Jul’18 in the form, did you leave your job?
Me: Told them about were supposed to write work ex till Jul’18 in the form and I am still working in my current company.
Interviewer 2: So, what is your designation now, are you still a trainee? You have mentioned Graduate Engineer Trainee here?
Me: No sir, I am a Senior Manager now, explained to them how Tata Motors went for an Organizational Effectiveness and Restructuring exercise with the help of Accenture Strategy in early 2017 to reduce the number of managerial positions from 14 to 5.
Interviewer 2: So, how much do you get per month?
Me: Told.
Interviewer 2: *Smiling* The designation and the salary don’t match though.
Me: I replied smiling back, yes but it’s just not about salary. Even my manager who has 12-15 years of work experience is also Senior Manager now. The salary will increase at its own pace, it is just that designations have been changed because of the OE exercise to create a linear workforce and align with the company’s turnaround plan.
Interviewer 1: Tata Motors share price has been the biggest gainer in the market today, what do you think are the reasons and what is the current share price?
Me: Had been following company’s stock since late and told them about the actual price and also how much it has gained since morning.
Interviewer 1: Why do you think the mergers have not been successful in the automotive industry?
Me: Answered contradicting the statement made and told about various collaborations and mergers that have been successful. Gave an example of Toyota Kirloskar in India. Told them about the recent news of Toyota and Suzuki to collaborate and share models. And concluded with saying that in the near future with the automotive industry facing a paradigm shift in terms of technology with electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, etc. we can expect more and more manufacturers coming together to lower their developmental costs and achieve economies of scale.
Interviewer 1: What is the name of CEO of Nissan and the controversy related to him.
Me: Told (Though, could not recall Carlos Ghosn’s first name at that time)
Interviewer 2: What do you think the recent buzz around electric vehicle technology in India and around the world?
Me: Discussed Tesla, Government of India’s FAME 1 and FAME 2 schemes, Automotive Plan and Tata Motors’ plan with electric cars.
Interviewer 2: (Interrupted) Which of coal and petrol is more polluting? How are electric vehicles creating less polluting then, if they are powered by electricity generated in thermal power plants?
Me: Undoubtedly coal is more polluting but we cannot wait till we shift 100% to renewable energy, to develop the electric vehicle ecosystem. We cannot switch to electric vehicles in a short span of 2-3 years. As per Government of India’s plan, it is till 2030 that we aim to sell only electric cars so by then our power generation through renewables will also increase. Share of renewables in India’s electricity generation is about 15-20 % and it is at an increasing trend. So, both things have to go in tandem.
Interviewer 1: Okay, what all management subjects did you study at your college?
Me: Sir, I studied Managing International Business, International Financial Management, and Managerial Economics.
Interviewer 2: So, what are the things a firm should keep in mind before entering an international market?
Me: Told on the lines of PESTEL analysis (She was not convinced though).
Interviewer 2: Do you know about Porter’s Five Forces?
Me: I had studied it somewhere but could not recall it at that moment. Ended up saying 5 Ps of marketing to get a discontented look from the panel.
Interviewer 1: So, you are a production engineer, do you know what is production function?
Me: No Sir.
Interviewer 1: Looking at P2, do you have any more questions for him?
Interviewer 2: No.
Interviewer 1: Okay then.
Me: (Not wanting to end the interview on the negative note) Sir, I have one question in my mind, if I may ask?
Both - Yes
Me: Can the PGP students be a part of a live project with professors?
Then P1 explained to me about how there is a provision in the curriculum and then there was some discussion on some of the live projects that students are currently working on.
Me: Thank you, sir, thank you, ma’am, have a nice day.
When I came out, a guy told me I was in there for about 35-40 mins, though it did not feel like that.
Verdict- Converted!
P.S- I might have missed some of the questions but tried to recall the most of it.
Advice to future aspirants - You are not supposed to know everything the panel asks and it is okay to accept that you don’t know something. Just try to be calm during the interview and keep a smile on the face.
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This article was originally written by Ujjwal Deep Agarwal.
"An engineer by heart and a manager by choice, Ujjwal will be living out his dream to pursue his MBA from IIM Lucknow in the 2019-21 batch. Ujjwal did his graduation in Mechanical Engineering from NIT Allahabad and is currently working at Tata Motors. An auto enthusiast and an avid cricket follower, he lives by the motto of Never Back Down."
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