How To Crack Your IIM-I Interviews | Tips And Experiences Shared By Current IIM-I Students

Profile: 

X: 93.1% (CBSE 10 CGPA) | XII: 90.4% (CBSE) | BTech CGPA: 6.83 (Chemical Engineering, NITC) | Work Experience: 21 months

WAT-PI Experience:

Location: Bangalore

WAT Topic: Can corruption be eliminated in India?

PI Experience:

There were 3 panellists including one person with industry experience. It started with a “Tell me about yourself” followed by questions on upbringing and my place of origin based on which they asked guesstimates involving the population of my hometown. This was followed by questions regarding my work experience including responsibilities, problems faced, managerial aspects, about the company and other divisions in the company. The person sitting in the middle, meanwhile was going through my grade cards and signalled the others to stop. He then proceeded to ask questions from every subject semester by semester. This went on for 20 minutes and I couldn’t answer majority of the questions. They first asked what I studied in that subject and then would proceed to ask follow-up in-depth questions. The interview finally ended with 2 factual questions regarding the budget.

Tips:

1. If you don’t know something, admit it and move on with a “I cannot recall” or “I don’t know”.
2. Exaggerating is fine. Lying is not. The panellists on the other side are smarter than you.
3. Their job is to fluster you and put you under pressure. Keep that in mind, be mentally prepared, keep a smile on your face and appear calm on the outside.
4. Look for weaknesses in your profile and prepare accordingly. They will target those. In my case, I knew it was my UG acads, hence I prepared a lot on that.
5. Try to guide the conversation with your “Tell me about yourself” with something unique or extraordinary.
6. Even if you have 3 years of work experience, prepare your UG academics. Indore is notorious for this.
7. Prepare academics, work experience, Indian economy and current affairs and basic knowledge about your home state and city.
8. You aren’t expected to answer every question. Don’t worry. They are more concerned about how well you can handle pressure.

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Ritvika Agarwal

Profile:

X: 10 CGPA (95%) (CBSE) | XII: 95.6% (CBSE) | B.Com.(Hons): 8.973 CGPA (85.24%) | Work Experience: None

Location: Delhi

PI experience - Questions were asked in the following format -

• The interview started with the ever famous question of “Introduce yourself”.
•  After this, the panellists picked up the questions related to my hobby of Kathak dance. So, questions like “Name some famous Kathak exponents”, “Explain the difference between the three gharanas” were asked.
• How a creative person like yourself, would benefit from an MBA?
• How are preference shares redeemed?
• Which account is used for the redemption of preference shares?
• When is a deferred tax account created?
• What is the GST taxation system? What are your views?
• Give two pros and cons of the GST taxation system.
• What is the cascading effect in tax estimation?
• What is the equation of a circle?
• Who was the fourth prime minister of India and which party did he belong to?
• Which movie won the Golden Globe for best movie?
• Who wrote the book ‘Born Free’?

For the extempore, I was asked to describe a painting hung on the wall of the interview room.

Tips:

• Be calm, composed and confident. Try to maintain a smile throughout.
• If you do not know an answer, honestly accept the same.
• Politely ask for time to answer a question you are unsure about.
• Expect further questions on any aspect you use in your introduction.
• Have in-depth knowledge about your hobbies.

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Harshitha P.:

Profile:

X (CBSE 2012) 95.00 | XII (CBSE 2014) 90.00 | B.Tech. (Civil Engg.) VIT 9.23 | Work experience: None

WAT PI Experience:

Date: 17th March 2018
Venue: Hotel Vivanta by Taj, Hyderabad
Slot: Morning

WAT:

Is English a threat to local languages? Explain your views and opinions clearly (300 words, 30 minutes)

INTERVIEW:

Three male panellists A, B and C

I was second in my panel. The document verification, WAT and snacks break happened right on time. Each interview lasted for about 15-20 minutes.

B: Tell us something about yourself.

Me: *Gave the well-prepared answer which touched upon academics, extra-curricular activities, achievements and hobbies. *

A: Harshitha, so you are a civil engineer, tell us something about Green Buildings. You have 30 seconds to prepare and 1 minute to speak about it.

Me: Defined Green Buildings and talked about how such designs are gaining popularity in the current context of environmental sustainability.

A: Did you learn about Green Buildings in Engineering or did you read up on your own.

Me: *Told how I had taken up an elective course on Architecture and Design in Engineering*

*Some more discussion on Green Buildings*

B: Why do you want to pursue an MBA?

Me: *Again, gave the prepared answer. This was my 8^th interview and I had the answers well-rehearsed for commonly asked questions. Could answer in a flow. *

C: *Going through my file- I had included pictures of some of my paintings in the portfolio. *  So, are these your paintings? Since when have you been painting? What mediums do you work with?

Me: *Told them who and what inspired me to take up painting as a hobby. Also told them I conduct art and craft classes for students. Some conversation about that. *

B: You said you are also a classical dancer (I had stated that in the “Tell me about yourself” answer). What dance did you learn?

Me: *Told I trained in Bharatanatyam for over eleven years*

C: Bharatanatyam originated in which state?

Me: Tamil Nadu

B: What dance form is popular in Punjab

Me: Bhangra and Gidda

B: Gujarat

Me: Garba/ Dandiya

B: Kerala?

Me: Mohiniattam and Kathakali

*Few more states and their dance forms that I could answer easily*

A: Draw a sin-log graph on this paper

Me: *Blanked out a little. The panellist provided a hint and I could complete the graph. *

A: So, do you have any of your dance videos on YouTube?

Me: There are a few videos from group performance in college, no videos of Bharatanatyam recital.

A: I think you should upload more often

Me: Sure sir.

A: It was amazing talking to you Harshitha. All the best.

Me: *Thanked all of them and left*