Six days of madness - part 1

Day 1 : 23 March, 2010
Call: IIM-Calcutta

This was it. All the weeks of preparation.....scouring the net for any little piece of information I could get my hands on that may help me with my interviews....asking people for any engineering notes they may have lying around....payoff time had arrived. As I stepped out of the cab in front of the Institute of Hotel Management in Dadar, and looked at all the other candidates streaming into the campus in their suits and what not, the enormity of the situation began to engulf me. I walked into the waiting area.....candidates engrossed in reading The Economic Times, others discussing the latest repo rate hikes......wow.....I began to wonder, what am I even doing here?! How did all this happen?!! I soon found myself in a conversation with some of my fellow aspirants......a couple of 100 %ilers, 99.98, 99.95.....intimidating, what? They'd already gotten into GD mode and were discussing the way calls had been meted out randomly by the IIMs...

Onto the actual GD then.....topic: "It's more important to make an impact than to be true to oneself". Typical topic for an MBA aspirant.....on came the monologues about ethics, values, business norms....even Mahatma Gandhi and the Gita found their way in there somewhere. I chipped in with some decent points.....cited the example of the movie Rann....was satisfied with the overall GD and my contribution as well. Then came 20 of the most torturous minutes of my life: the PI.

3 panelists P1, P2, P3....and Me, the unfortunate victim...

P1: So, Arvind, what are you currently doing?
Me: Describe work....maybe got a bit too technical in the process..
P1: Arvind, do u honestly expect us to understand everything u just said??
Me: Sorry sir.....tried to simplify the description...
P2: So what are these logs? (Mentioned our job involves monitoring and review of Unix logs..)
Me: Explained
P1: Have you heard of PL-SQL?
Me: Yes, sir, but don't know much about it
P1: But u just mentioned you work involves databases (I did actually, mistake!)
Me: (Damn you, Ari..watch what u say!) Yes we do work on some databases but at a very superficial level....not proper DBMS as such...
P1: Ok, do you know anything about event-driven programming?
Me: (whaa?!) Sorry sir, not really into the programming side
P2: But would you like to get into programming if you were given the choice of shifting from your current proj?
Me: Depends on the job profile.....would see if it would fit my interests....blah blah...
P2: So then tell me what's the difference between a programmer's role and your role?
Me: Blabbered some gyan...mentioned creativity, higher expectations, deadlines etc.
P2: So you wouldn't mind a programmer's role then?
Me: If the profile is right for me, then no, I wouldn't mind.......but at this moment, that's not the path I wish to follow....I'd like to move towards a management role (pheww...thank God i got that in!)
P2: Hmm ok......so you mentioned something about core values during the GD.....what are your core values?
Me: Told somethin about integrity...
P2: Integrity....that's a powerful word.....care to elaborate?
Me: Gave an example from work which in my opinion demonstrated integrity on my part..
P2: That's not integrity....that's just being helpful to your colleagues...
Me: attempted to justify...
P2: What exactly according to you is integrity??
Me: Told about believing and abiding by a set of values...
P2: But you just said your value is integrity....
Me: (freak, now what) Fumbled....basically went around in circles...P3 points that out....thankfully they decide to move on...
P1: So what other calls have u got?
Me: Told...L,A,K
P1: Ok so between A and C, u'd choose?
Me: (tried diplomatic approach) well i'd love to be faced with that choice....both are extremely good.....i'd probably have to interact with a few more students and alumni before making a decision...
P1: No, you need to make a decision now....which are u going to choose?
Me: (ok, now try the honest, upfront approach) Sir, as it stands, honestly, I'd mostly choose IIMA.....
P1: Why?
Me: Said some stuff about peers, student culture etc.
P1: Well, from what I've heard, somehow the companies seem to give the better packages to IIMC students.....why do u think that happens?
Me: Sir, package is secondary....what's important is the overall learning experience...blah blah..
P1: No I'm just stating a fact.....I just want to know from your side why u think that happens....what are these companies looking for in students?
Me: Blah about domain knowledge, experience etc.
P1: Do they need only academic knowledge or overall skills as well?
Me: Knowledge specific to job profile is important but significant emphasis on all-round skills...
P1: So if these companies recruit the best students....and IIMC has the best packages and placement figures....isn't IIMC the best B-school?
Me: (oh man, trapped!) Again take the "placement is only one aspect....overall experience" route....and again thankfully they changed topic...
P1: Watched the match yesterday?
Me: Yes, sir
P1: So u didn't prepare for this interview then?
Me: I made sure I completed my preparation before the match
P2: Oh, good, you're completely prepared then?
Me: (Sheepishly) To the best of my abilities, sir
P3: How did you prepare anyway?
Me: Mentioned PG, previous experiences, went through my work details, acads etc.
P3: Great, so you're pretty much prepared for everything.....but what if I ask you something you haven't prepared?
Me: (smiled) I'll give it my best shot, Sir
P3: OK.....give this your best shot....what is India's foreign policy towards Uzbekistan?
Me: I'm sorry, sir, not really aware...
P3: Fine.....what about towards Pakistan?
Me: mentioned Indo-Pak relation fundas..
P3: No, no, you're just talking about the political aspect of it.....i want foreign policy...
Me: (wtf?!!) tried to connect the two....
P3: Foreign policy is something different.....do u know what exactly our foreign policy for Pakistan is?
Me: (no use beating around the bush again) Afraid not, sir...

That was it......they thanked me, I thanked them....I walked out in a daze. I was quite like a deer caught in the headlights there.....couldn't have asked for a worse start to the round of interviews. The panelists set a trap out, and I nicely obliged them by falling right into it. Lesson learnt: watch what you say!! IIMK coming up next....and I know things can only get better from here on in...