IIM Lucknow Student's Tips To Crack The IIM Interview Process

Imagine a scenario- You have your IIM interview scheduled and during the process, the candidate before you comes crying out of the interview room. All the people in the waiting room are looking at the candidate and asking about her experience. After 10 minutes, you are the next one in the room. How do you react to it?

To answer this, I have been there. On the day of my dream attempt!! IIM Lucknow interview process, 2019.

For those you have read my last few articles must have come across two words that I emphasized on the most - BELIEF and CONFIDENCE. This article will mostly be on the Dos and Don'ts of the process.

The interview day is going to be hectic and mentally exhausting. So, it is important that you get proper sleep the night before. Some of you might be nervous, some excited and some probably just too sleepy (like me :P) the night before and that is a normal thing. I always believed in the reason for me to be appearing for the process - it was bound to happen. After two not so amazing and one half-hearted success, it was supposed to happen this time. This has been the driver for my preparation for the interview process.

For some processes like IIM A, IIM B, IIM C, and IIM K, PIs are followed by WAT while IIM L and IIM S conduct GDs prior to PIs. All the details on the preparation have been shared by me.

---

---

Group Discussions

---

---

GDs can be on topics you are familiar with or topics you might have no idea on. For topics you know about, it is important to give your thoughts a proper structure. Always carry a notebook and a pen with you and when given the time to frame your points, prefer giving your thought process a framework.

• Start by clarifying the terminologies in the topic. This will give others a basic idea of what the topic is all about.
• Give the topic a basic framework. For e.g.: 'Are GDs good criteria to judge a candidate'. You could probably break this into three headers: 'What are the metrics that GDs test on', 'Relevance of these metrics to the candidates' and 'Where all are GDs important'. This can be approached from multiple ways and will give the GD a good start.

For topics you are not aware of, wait for someone to clarify the topic. Let the group discussion open and build your understanding of it on the inputs that others give. Avoid reiterating the same points and bring in a new perspective.

CONDUCT is very important in a GD. Do not cut others while they give their points and try complimenting theirs. Look for coherence between points when you take forward somebody else's point. Wait for the right moment to make an entry and while speaking maintain eye contact with the entire group. Avoid one-one discussions. They seem a bit personal. Be assertive by modulating your voice and restrained use of hand gestures.

Contrary to the belief that GD is about using flamboyant words to showcase your verbal skills, it is more of an amalgamation of basic communication skills backed by content and skillful ideas.

---

---

Written Ability Test

---

---

Similar to GD, WAT also is more about structuring your thoughts. Additionally, your style of writing and other hygiene factors like legibility, cutting, etc. will be the evaluation criteria. Content holds the highest weight. Since most of the WAT topics are opinion based, do mention your take on the topic. Take a stand and follow through with it. Mention both pros and cons and analyze the topic weighing in the multiple parameters associated with it. Mention facts and figures to make the essay more descriptive. You can be a little off on the figures but if you are not certain of the information, do not make it up. Quote nuances wherever possible to show your awareness on the topic.

---

---

Personal Interview

---

---

GD/WAT would probably be 40% of your day's effort and PI, the rest. Interviews are a game of patience and confidence.

I have been on the extremities when it comes to the waiting game. From being called in as the first candidate to interview to waiting for two hours to be interviewed at the last.

Some of you will be in a similar situation but do make the most of it. Talk to people around you and get to know about them. You might be asked in the room- 'So. How has your day been? Pretty long and boring right?'. Don't fall into the trap of saying 'No' and not quoting anything. This is where your peer interactions are useful. Talk to the interviewer through your day and what you got to know about others. Being a peoples person is an important skill to have. Once you enter the room, you will be tested on multiple aspects: work-ex, academics, projects, internships, interests, general awareness, etc. If it is a normal interview then the questions asked will be broad and in case of stress interview, they will go in the depth. In any case, staying composed and maintaining a positive body language is important. Through this, the panel is trying to gauge your knowledge and how you communicate the same. Maintain eye contact with the panel and don't look into the infinity (which a lot of us tend to do while thinking).

An important thing that a lot of the candidates miss out on is giving the little details that act as possible hooks for the interviewer. For e.g.: Rather than mentioning my home city as Hyderabad, I'd say 'I come from the city of pearls, 'Hyderabad''. And in saying so, I have given the interviewer a hook to ask me about Hyderabad. Similarly for your work-ex, focus a lot more where you actually did anything substantial and quote it using the STARK (already defined in my last article) framework. This will make them ask about the challenges you faced during your work. Such leads are important to drive the interview in your favor.

Keep the interview as conversational and genuine as possible. It is a means to know you and not grade you. For those of you, who are wondering why I mentioned BELIEF and CONFIDENCE at the start. The answer is simple. Those who have been through the process, already know what I mean. For the first-timers, I am hopeful that while reading this you were able to realize your reason for attempting CAT and getting a call. For the rest, it's probably time to start preparing and believing that you were cut (though a unique fabric in yourself) for an MBA and then read this article again. I hope that my ideology will help you get through the process and would have helped you get clarity on your goal.

PS: Please feel free to give your inputs in the comments. That would motivate me to write a lot more for you guys.
:)