Hi Friends,
After a long wait for around four years I could go to attend few of my dream colleges' GD/PI calls.. This year sure of doing an MBA I filled most of the colleges where I would have taken the admission and luckily got good number of opportunities in the form of GD/PI. Few of those experiences , I have shared here and will update other experiences soon. Hope, it would be interesting to read and learn..
XIMB
The story of XIMB was all about dreams, aspirations, honesty,
grilling, poise, patience and perseverance.Venue: ISI, Lodhi Road, Neew DelhiSlot: 11 AMGroup: 7/8 MembersGD: 2 min to think, 7-8 min to discuss, WAT 5 min.GD Topic: “A ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
I was not first or second to
contribute but I made strong points one of such points was ‘You walk, there is
a risk, you travel, there is a risk, you breathe risk is still there. But not
taking risk is the biggest risk.’ Quoted some examples of Alexander the Great,
Chanakya, Shivaji. Put forward the point of calculated risk and to wait till
storm in the sea poises. Overall decent in 7 min time :DPI: Went for 12-13 min.Three panelists. Two young dudes,
who were comedy king and one uncle Sam, some tragedy type but very
knowledgeable. P1, P2, P3 respectively.P1: Why very low marks in grads?Ank: Sir, I contributed to other
fields in parallel. P1 What kind? Ank: Sir, I launched a monthly magazine
‘LITC’. P2: Can you tell me how it was? Ank: Sir, if you allow can I present
few issues here. P2: Sure!(I let him feel the touch, I
started selling) We discussed the business model.P2: Do you know the girl on the
front page of your magazineAnkit: No Sir. P1 then how did you
print her. Ankit: Sir, it was on internet. P2: So, you can print like this?Ankit: Sir, no. There is a website
which sells pictures. There are few pictures which have been used so many times
that they make them free. I took it from there. :D (Shot!!)P3: Very Good!They also discussed about you are
an ECE Engg, joined Media, thn IT and thn back to media… I justified this..P1: OK, Tell me how microwave oven
works. (the way I replied could be
analyzed that he did not dare to ask another technical question :P )P3 (Daddy): Why MBA?Ankit: I want to learn…..x P3 :
don’t tell me the mugged up answers. I need your reason to do an MBA!Ank: Sir, the magazine in front of
you, worked really well in Meerut. But when I tried to replicate it, I could
not do that. So, I want to develop a business system which could be replicated.
And only an MBA can take me that way.P3: So, what are your future plans,
ankit?Ankit: I discussed my b-plan in
detail, related to rural management and marketing.P3: It is a beautiful plan. I don’t
think you need any MBA. Believe me, you are awesome and you really don’t need
any MBA.Ank: Sir, as I told you replication
is the reason. If I could do that, I would have done it long back in 2007.P3: But, you can earn millions in
these two yearsAnk: It’s not about money, sir.P3: If it is not about money than
either you are a fool or a liar.Ank: I firmly believe, if I create
value to the society money will follow me. I do not want to work for money, I
want money to work for me. And if money would matter to me, I would not have
left IT where money is supreme.P3: Very Good. I like the spirit.P2: CAT Score? XAT Score? Why so
low XAT Score? (Smiling)Ank: (broke the series of smiles and Grinned) I
really don’t know sir, how it happened :DP1: What other calls you have from
CAT?Ank: Fore, IMT G. P1: You did not
fill MDI and you preferred XIMB? Why?Ankit: Sir, I am after XIMB for
last 2 years. I could not attend the call in 2010 and see; the destiny finally
took me in front of you again. It was written, sir.P1: Did you fill RM? Ank: No, sir.
P1: And you filled PGDM and HRM. What is your pref?Ankit: I am comfortable to either.
I believe both add value to the organization.Panel: OK, ankit. It was nice
meeting you. You may leave now.Ankit: Thank you sirs. Same here.
Thanks for your time. IMISlept at 2:30 at night and woke up at 6. Reached IMI at 9
and they started with the ppt part. They said that you have reached here and
CAT score will not have any value from now on, you all are equal here. I
immediately asked ‘Sir, if such is the case, then why you asked us to fill our
CAT score on the IMI form’ As expected I got a void answer.Then they started with an Essay: ‘Global Warming is an
inevitable consequence of Economic Development’ 20 minutes. I would say my
attempt had a good start and a perfect blend of data and opinion with a
streamlined flow. :satisfied:Next was a 15minute Psychometric Test followed by document
verification.Then came the role of perseverance. It took another 5-6
hours to get in front of panel (being #13 with an avg PI time of 25-30 min and
1 hour lunch break). It started headache, Mudit, student co-ordinator of the
day was very helpful and arranged coffee and disprin, thanks man!!PI: There were two people 1- Dr Himadri (Dean, Academics) 2-
A lady faculty. They asked approximately everything. Timings: around 25 minutes.H: So, you have to wait for so long.Me: It’s ok sir. You were doing a very important task and
future of many aspirants like me depends upon this only. I believe this was
worth investing.H: He started with my 1st job, and then he came
to discuss my life and project at Infy. Unexpectedly, he knew much about
Business Intelligence. He asked many questions on it. Then we switched to my
present job, discussed approximately everything on it. Then he asked me to speak about my band Tatva
(later I come to know it was an extempore: P, I spoke well: D).He asked the capital of Manipur, I don’t know why I said
Agartala, he immediately asked and Tripura?Me: Sir, its Agartala. Arunachal Pradesh Itanagar, Nagaland
Kohima, Assam Dispur and I told him all other capital-state of NE.H: So, you did not know only Manipur!Me: Co-incidence, sir. :DH: What is Euro Crisis.Me: I started explaining. But was not much comfortable and I
honestly said, sir I mugged it up.H: So, what you have not mugged up.Me: Sir, you can discuss WTO, Iran, Middle East, History of
India, China etc.H: Tell me no. of constituency in Meerut? Who was last
selected from Meerut? What are your projections?Me: (Took little time for second question) but explained the
projections on the basis of past and demographics.H: What about UP Polls?Me: (I watched TV in the afternoon, so new how SP was
heading and spoke well, SP was leading by then by 198 seats)H: So, how SP will make it to 202+? Will it take help from
congress?Me: I don’t think so. This is a small gap and could be
filled by neutral candidates.H: Will Ajit Singh support him?Me: As per past record Ajit Singh can support because state
politics has importance. But, congress has played a good game and made him an
aviation minister. May be this was meant for this day, only :DL: What are recent trends in advertising?Me: I discussed about internet, direct marketing by FB,
google ads etc.L: As you know advertising is an unethical field. Even you
people insert your newspaper in TOI, HT and people think that your newspaper is
a part of these newspapers. So what is your take on it?Me: Madam, we have no where mentioned that we are part of
them. Even, we explicitly said that they are our competitors. And we pay the hawkers for insertion. Even,
if it would be anywhere unethical, then these newspapers would have sued us in
court.L: What is this OMET?Me: I discussed about the principle of ‘Divide and Conquer’.
How this idea came into my mind. What we are doing these days on it? What are
our future plans.L: You have mentioned that networking sometimes turned to be
negative for you, how?Me: Mam, I spend more than desired time on it which I think
I should work on.L: What other social networking sites you visit.Me: Mam, Orkut is an old story now. I sometimes visit Linkedin.L: How many friends you have on both?Me: Linkedin 300 around. FB 1750+.L: 1750? Where do you heard about IMI?Me: I told her two sources.I could not answer the following questions: Governor of UP,
Commerce Minister. but I replied to who was and is Telecom Minister, HRD,
Governor of RBI, President of Mauritius.--over--
DSE (MHROD/MIB)
Mar 7,
2012. 11 am slotIt
started with a very casual form filling and document verification session. Then
we were a group of 9 people queued for a GD.It
started with a round of introduction of each member.Topic: ‘Foreign aid is dangerous drugs that can be
stimulate in small dozes but become fatally addicted in larger dozes.’It took
more than 2 minutes to write and understand what topic is. Somebody started
with FDI, FII and the discussion went on. We also discussed about Greece and
Euro Crisis. But the discussion was more focused towards FDI/FII rather on
foreign aids which I believe was a blunder. It was a fish market and I also
shouted like a dog as others were doing :P.PI:
Started after lunch break. Went for around 9 min. There were three people in
the panel: a lady, and to other
professors. P1 –
Please have a seat and tell me about yourself.Ank:
blablabla ‘LITC’P1 –
What is LITC all about?Ank:
explained.P1: so,
is it working now. Ank: No, Sir.P1: So,
it is ‘Dead in the city’? : )Ank: Creative
name sir!P1: What
do you mean by business?Ank: It
is a system built for creating values.P1: I am
here and creating value. Am I into business?Ank:
Sir, you are employed. Business is a function which ideally should not be human
dependent but system dependent.L1:
Which course MIB/MHROD?Ank:
Sir, I am comfortable with either. But if you ask about my preference, as I
have inclination towards marketing so I will prefer MIB.L1: But
both the courses are different and require different traits.Ank: It’s
about flexibility. Both could be learned and are required for a business to
grow.P1: What
is HR?Ank:
Sir, human resource….P1: But
how can you call human a resource?Ank:
Sir, anything which is used to get a desired output is a resource. So, are the
humans. And as I have worked with Infosys, even their client and our managers
use to call us resources. Human is the only resource ….. 'Human is the only resource which, if
motivated and appreciated, can give more than its 100%. I understand people's
emotion and my past experience while working in team says that I can do well as
a HR. Though my marketing exposure and experience says that I have inclination
towards itP1: So,
you are not employed now?Ank: I
work with blablabla..P2: In
stock market on what factors does stocks price can go lower.Ank: 1- Sir, if a business system is not working as
per the their expectations stock price may go down.2- Even
due to govt policies and other external factors e.g. Decisions regarding FDI in Retail witnessed change in stocks
prices of Retail Players like Pantaloons, Vishal MM etc.P1: Do
you invest?Ank: No,
Sir (lie ;) )P1: I
advice you do not go into it.Ank: OK.L1 again
asked the preference and I repeated the answer.
Nirma WAT/PI Expereince
Mar 19, 2012, DelhiSlept late, woke up ultra-late.. subah aawaaz suni.. tum
gaye nahi? I thought, it’s already 9 or 10. I even checked the result of IRMA
in the morning (ki aa gaya hoga to nahi jaunga :P )But Twas 7. Reporting time
was 8:45 and it takes 90 minutes (min) to reach to the venue. To add, I did not
have either the print out of the form or passport size photograph. Could not
find my clothes even (LoL) but somehow I managed to leave home by 7:45. On my way,
metro got stuck for 15 minutes and added flavors to the delay.So, reached venue at 9:20., when they have already started
the WAT at 9. Came to know there are 5-6 more people who came late, sigh of
relief and they finally allowed us to take WAT (Remember I still don’t have
photographs or form).WAT, Essay (500 words) Topic: Globalization, a necessary
evil.So, after this I rushed for the print out and photograph
part. PI number was 7, so managed that.
PI Panel 3, 3 panelist (Tom = Work Ex Question Bank, Dick = ‘bhadhe ka
tattu type’ (aisa lag raha tha pan wala bitha diya he), Harry = seems to be a
Prof at Nirma and a very sensible and genuine person)T: (asked about my first co., then Infy and thn latest co.)D: (he asked software development cycle, kind of C*** puzzle
like how as a client I will choose your IT Co. I gave several answers but he
got satisfied with Quality. He asked how we check this I said CMM, 6-Sigma, He
started grilling on this. Then He started talking about in how many ways can
you do advertisement on FB, told him)H: Asked about my band, what a rock is, types of guitars,
guitar’s mechanism and technology (I described everything well) Then he asked
few more question which I don’t remember and said thank you.Me: Sir, we had really good conversation in last 10 minutes.
If you allow me I would like to show you few of my works which I did as an
entrepreneur.H: Sure, we would love to.Me: Thank you sir, I think touch speaks a different
language.H: You are right. It is doing actually. You know this is the
best part in last 12 minutes.D: (in Hindi) ye tumhari he? Bahut professional lag rahi he.H: He is a printer of
that magazine ( and I knew that this Harry was a prof at MICA :D just recalled
that)Me: Sir, I am a professional.T: (in Hindi) itne ads kaha se le aaye bhai?Me (in Hindi) Sir, marketing ki he.. sales team bahut strong
banai thi.T: Ye ad kitne ka he?Me: Sir, barter he.H: It’s good, why don’t you join our entrepreneurship and
family business?Me: Sir, I have long
term plan for entrepreneurship. I want industrial exposure as a manager for few
more years, after my MBA.H: Our course is eligible for people who have family
business.Me: Sir, I am a first generation entrepreneur, so, I think I
won’t be eligible to that course.H: By the way, Can I take this magazine as I think we should
show our management the potential aspirants coming to NIRMA. But but but, that
does not mean that you will consider yourself as selected.Me: I am open for any decision you make, sir.H: What other calls you have?(told)D: Which calls will you prefer, if you get all convertedMe: Sir, it’s too premature to judge. I should not count my
chicken before they hatch.D: Take 20, 30, 60 seconds to think and reply.Me: I will join TISS Sir.H: So, you want to do in HR?Me: Sir, I think HR or Marketing both serves an organization
and I am comfortable to learn either.H: OK, Ankit. Thank you. It was pleasure meeting you.Me: Same here sir, thanks for your time.
IIT M
IIT M, Mar 9, 2012, 8 am slot, at IIT D, New Delhi.Most of us would not deny the fact that we have tried hard
to clear JEE to get into IITs. Today morning, I visited IIT D campus after a
very long time. Was sleepy but zephyr was speaking to me. I had wonderful
feeling of going to visit an IIT for a final round of selection.It was the first day for GT PI process for IIT M and the
people out there were more excited than we were. Wonderful people (prof (around
5-6 in number and students), full of smiles and energy.They divided the whole group into two parts and further into
sub-groups of 6 each. We went for PI round first. I was really sleepy as slept
hardly for 4 hours this stolen my energy to speak, aggressively. But this
worked :D as Tamil people are really simple and peace loving. So, this added to
my personality and I presented myself as a calm and cool fellow. ;) All people
in my group were grilled on technical questions, as I said, I was lucky.
Nothing technical (technical ki wajah se darra hua tha thodha)PIDuration: 11-12 minutes (wrt average PI time of 20 minutes)Panel: 2 people one lady and other Prof Ganesh LSL: Tell me something about you and your family which is not
mentioned in the form. Tell something so that we can know you more.Me: Ma’am I am Ankit Dikshit. Blessed with God’s Gift in the
form of a different structure of my hand.
I consider it as gift because due to this I am blessed and talented
person. I would never be able to play guitar in my life with this zeal as
putting my fingers of left hand on guitar was not possible and hence I thought
differently and started strumming it with the left hand. Now, it’s been 10-12
years with the instrument and I am still in love with it. (I also told her
about my family and how we were brought up and what I culture except the
surname family has injected into me and how I am following them and ended this
answer with.) We are the happy and peaceful people.L: You have done exceptionally well in your 10th
and 12th but graduation marks is not that good.Me: (I gave reason of relative score, my involvement in
extracurricular activity. The wrong thing which I said was ‘ I tried to
balance’ and she asked what do mean by balancing? Are you sure you were able to
manage the balance. I said no ma’m I was always inclined towards managing
things and hence I kept myself busy in the field which keeps me busy and happy
and I added) Madam, but I promise you, if you give me chance to study at DOMS
IIT M then I will keep my academics strongest as management is something which
steals my interest.PGLS: Why you want to do an MBA? And what you expect to
learn from MBA?Me: I gave him the reason f doing business and how business
can be expanded by using an MBA exposure. I also gave many points on learning.PGLS: But you can go for some entrepreneurship programme.Me: Sir, I have inclination towards management and want to
learn, as much as I can, from all other management streams. I also want some
exposure before starting my own venture 3-4 years down the line. So, MBA (General)
will be my preference.PGLS: (Asked me about
my magazine LITC and about my current work experience and job responsibilities
and then we discussed about my event handling capabilities and then we come to
the band part)PGLS: So, what you band plays?Me: We were an Indi-Rock band.PGLS: Do you play
songs in Hindi?Me: Sir, Music in itself is a language. So, we are audience
dependent. Most of our performances were Hindi oriented, though. PGLS: Do you play Western as well?Me: Yes, sir, We have played bands like Greenday, Linkin
Park, Bon Jovi, Nirvana, GnR etc..L: Do you know or
heard about Prof Ganesh on internet or somewhere? (Prof smiling and denying
(may be he had some gut feeling that isko kaise pata hoga)Me: Mam, I have never heard about him. But, I am sure he has
a strong music background. (both laughed and I could see spark in Prof’s eyes)PGLS: (Looking towards his fellow prof..) OK Ankit Thank
you.Me: Sir, I you would allow me I would like to bring in front
of you the works I have done in print media.PGLS: On sure, my pleasure.(I put LITC on their desks)Me: (While these fellows were going through my magazines I
started describing my b-plan which is related to micro media and social
entrepreneurship and I also said.. ) Sir, I believe that touch could be better
felt than words. And hence I put this in front of you. I am a dedicated person
and willingly interested to learn from you in IIT-M and if you give me a
chance, I assure you, I won’t let you down.PGLS: It’s a wonderful work my friend. Thank you.Me: Thanks for your time and patience sir, mam.GT Topic: ‘You are a member of a team of senior executives
of n FMCG co. Your company is facing major attrition problem and most of the
people are leaving in their first year of joining. It is a difficult time for
the company and you are required to maintain profitability of the co with lower
attrition rate. Discuss how you can get twice amount of money as compare to
their salary from each employee where each of them has undergone for a
mandatory training of 3 months.’6 people, 15 minutes of cool discussion. No fish market
(topic hi aisa tha).I took it more as a role play rather taking it just a case
study.A wonderful start and put more points and behaved liked the
CEOs of billion $ companies do.Over all IIT-M was a wonderful experience. Happy!Ooops.. I forgot to add the major part.. Prof asked me..
suppose you are performing live and a person from crowd comes and get on stage
and kiss you hard on your mouth. I spoke something..Prof.. The person is done
with it in front of thousands of people.. What will be your very next response.
Me: Sir, I will behave how rock stars behave. I will smile and hold the mic and
will say 'This is people's love for me which take you here right next to me.'
Prof smiled and said what if the person is a girl. Me: Sir, I knew that you are
going to ask this ( :D ) Sir, I will behave in the similar manner. They are my
fans and like doctors, engineers and others fans also don't have genders. Prof-
Very good. You know this has happened with me. And I behaved somehow what you
said!
IIT Kgp, VGSOM
IIT Kgp, 2:15 PM Slot, at IIFT, New Delhi.Ppt, GD & PI in that order.The feeling while attending the last call of the season
could be related to the feelings of Alexander the Great before conquering his
last territory (though he would not have been known that it’s his last, but I
was lucky to know and feel that). Woke up
at 12 and reached there at 2:30. Without suit, just in simple formals, I entered
the hall in between the ppt and settled and participated well in the
questionnaire. Most of the questions were related to entrepreneurship cell etc.GD: The most ‘faadu’
GD Topic/Case Study. Twas on 3D Printing and after a 10 sec pin drop silence on
of the guy dared to start on it. I showed a :thumbs up: sign to him. It was a
good discussion.5 minutes to think, 12-15 min to speak, 5 minutes to write
the summary of the discussion.PI:Interesting one! The person before me was inside for 25
minutes. They kept me inside for just 4-5
minutes! :OTwo Prof 1- Prof G(G), Prof C ( C ), Me (A)C welcomed me on door and asked me to get inside. I kept
standing until they asked me to sit. JG- Sit down Ankit.G- Ankit, what are your calls and arrange them as per your
preferences.A - (This was always the last question, how could it be the
first :O, anyways) Sir, IIT Kgp, XIMB, IMT G, TISS, IRMA in that order. I got
final calls from IMT & IRMA.G- So, why IIT Kgp at
the top?Me- Sir, because it gives me freedom for General Management
& we have a robust entrepreneurship cell in the campus.G- why not IMT G thn?Me- It stands nowhere in front of the brand IIT.G- You left Infosys and joined a Micro Advertising Firm! You
know few years back I have also left Tata Technologies and my office was also
in front of your office. And even I can recognize your face, I have seen you
loitering in Lemon Tree.Me- May be sir, I was a regular visitor there.G- You know why I became a professor and left Tata? Because
money is not everything and peace is what I wanted.Me- And sir satisfaction!G- Yes of course! And you know very few men have audacity to
leave that job and world. I can see myself in you. Very Good! Ankit, the
profile you have is excellent and believe me during any admission season, this
happens very rare to see the profile like yours. I am ready to take you, just
answer my only question, why you scored so less in graduation? Padhai Nahi Ki
Thi?Me- Sir, padhai ki thi. But, I engaged myself in extracurricular activities.G- You have not even scored I-Division!Me- Sir, as per my
university norm 60+ means I division.G- (To Prof C and me) Please check his certificates.I opened the file and Living in the City’s copy was atop,
inside.C (the only word he spoke after checking each and every
certificate, newspaper cuttings etc) Very Good, Ankit.G- Is it the same magazine you wrote about?Me- Yes SirG- (he asked for the copy)Me- Sir, I understand that I my grads marks do not reflect
my inclination towards technical subject. But, I assure you that if you give me
a chance I will remain in the toppers club of VJSOM.G- You guarantee this?Me- Yes sir. 100% Guarantee. A chance, I deserve.G- We, at IIT are very much concern for academics. You know
I understand that you should do well in your extracurricular but not by keeping
your acads on stake. OK, I am giving you a chance. I am clicking your picture
in my mind and be careful that once you enter into IIT Kgp, you should take
care of everything with acads as prominent. OK, What if you could not made to
that guarantee word?Me- Sir, you can kick my ass out of VJSOM, whenever you
like.G (he laughed)Me- Sir, I have
proved that whatever interests me, I can do well. Take examples of my 10th,
12th or CAT %ile.G- Yes, CAT %ile of 96.9 speaks your bloody passion.Me- And sir, management is something I have dreamed for and
I am living for. And hence I am sure I will do my best in it.G- You need not to explain your interest in management. You
profile, personality speak what management mean to you. And I can see the spark
for it in your eyes.G- Are you sure you will join IIT Kgp and it is your first
preference?Me- Yes sir, absolutely.G- Start packing your begs and welcome to VJSOM. You can
leave now and don’t speak to the fellows waiting outside for your narration.Me- Yes sir, sure sir. Thank you sir . Thanks for your time.
congrats :) :) :)
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