The process started from pre-placement talk which was conducted by the HR and Sales department personnel. This session was of around 1 hour which included the video interview by their CEO. All of them answered most of our queries regarding the role offered and the growth trajectory in the company.
Now starts the most interesting part - The Group Discussion and Interview process.
The author of this article prefers to be anonymous. If you wish to share your interview experience or your story anonymously, please get in touch with us at nidhi.malkan@insideiim.com
Group Discussion Process:
All the shortlisted students were split in the group of 10. We all had a compendious range of different topics from technical to abstract ones.
My group was given a topic on the latest technology – Implementation of machine learning and artificial intelligence in real life scenario. We all were applying jargon in our discussions about the latest technological advancements.
Some people were getting more aggressive and not giving chance to others to speak up.
TIP: Never be a GD killer by resorting to aggressive bullying. You might end up pissing off the recruiters. Coming from practical experience across batches in the premier B-Schools of the country.
Due to the presence of such “GD killers”, I didn’t get an adequate amount of time to speak in the starting. However, later on, when the chance presented itself, I grabbed it and made it count. I talked about my real-time experience to implement the solution and the future aspects of machine learning algorithms (I have a strong coding background and relevant work experience).
The verdict of Group Discussion: All of the dominating students (read hyper-aggressive ruffian GD killers) were eliminated. I sailed through to the Interview round.
Interview Process:
This was a group interview. All of the 7 finalists were sitting together around a roundtable. The interviewer asked us all to give a brief introduction about ourselves.
After this introduction round, he gave us a popular kindergarten story to narrate in a creative manner.
Every one of us was ultimately driving towards the motivational aspect of the story but I moulded the flow in a comic way and then led the discussion towards the new morale of the story.
TIP: Differentiate yourself, wherever you can. People usually appreciate differentiation and loathe the cliche.
We were subsequently given a mathematical equation pertaining to power of a number. We had to interpret it in such a manner that it depicts the value of our life. I interpreted that as a ‘never quitting and keep pushing’ type of a scenario to attain the desired heights in life. The interviewer seemed to be satisfied.
Then he picked up a pencil and asked a technological solution to increase the sales. Other group members suggested e-commerce solution, supply chain management strategy, automation implementation etc.
I took some time to think, defined target customer base and devised the VR (Virtual Reality) solution accordingly. He cut me short on that point. I thought he has directly rejected me for the solution and I told myself - ‘Better luck next time’. He listened to others’ responses on this problem and immediately left the room.
The verdict of Interview Process: Converted.
Key Takeaways:
- A good leader is one who not only knows how to firmly put up his or her point, but also listens and analyses the good points of his peers and subordinates. Be a good listener, value others’ opinion and don’t be a bully.
- Creativity in suggesting the solutions to the clients is of utmost importance in the Sales domain. So be as much as creative and practical in providing sustainable solutions to the clients.
- One point which differentiated this process from others is that in some interviews, you have to speak about your competencies, but here they gave us problems to show our competencies by solving the problems stated as quickly as possible. Make the Best use of such opportunities.
The above interview experience took place in one of the Most Premier B-Schools of the Country, but details of the candidate, firm and the Institute cannot be disclosed.
The author of this article prefers to be anonymous. If you wish to share your interview experience or your story anonymously, please get in touch with us at nidhi.malkan@insideiim.com
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