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I still remember coming out of the exam hall and telling my father that I won’t be able to do MBA as my CAT paper did not go well. He kept quiet and said nothing. When the official answer key came out, I checked mine and then I was convinced that now I am definitely not going to make to the IIMs for sure and I dropped my dream of doing an MBA. I had already made up my mind that this was my last CAT exam and if failed I would look for another job. So, I started preparing for job interviews.
When the CAT result came out, I checked my result only to see whether my CAT 2020 percentile was greater or less than the CAT 2019 percentile (which was 87 percentile). When I saw the result, it was 95.28! I couldn’t believe it! Though it was not a good percentile for a General Engineer Male but it was decent enough to get into a good B-school. I thanked God and waited for the interview calls to pour in.
The interview calls I had:
I started my Interview preparation from 25th January onwards after I got calls from IIMs and SPJIMR. I knew nothing about how to crack the interviews. I got a lot of help from my friends and seniors who were already studying in top b-schools, about how to start my interview preparation. They told me many things which kickstarted my interview preparation journey. A very good friend of mine took 1 hr mock interview every day during the month of February which boosted my confidence.
Then I started facing the interviews. SPJIMR, I was rejected in the 1st round itself, also as it was my first interview (1st week of February) with minimum preparation, I was not confident at all during the interview. IIM Rohtak and CAP Interview went well. Then IIM Lucknow PGP SM interview went very well as compared to the previous 3 interviews. They asked me questions related to sustainability and then my work experience. Then DMS IIT Delhi did not go well as I got stuck when Interviewer asked me questions from Electrical engineering. VGSoM IIT Kharagpur was one of the most comprehensive interviews I have faced, they asked me questions about my native place, my hobby, Electrical Engineering, national anthem, etc. IIM Amritsar interview went well, but not very good as that time I was suffering from fever (COVID 19) and lastly, it was IIM Kozhikode which was a real disaster. Overall, it was a very good experience and I would remember this for long. After giving those interviews I can conclude that the interviewers just want to know about how you think and your positive mindset towards answering their questions while having the knowledge of current events.
When the results started to pour in, I was waitlisted in DMS IIT Delhi and VGSoM IIT Kharagpur and the waitlist was really long. When the CAP results came, I was selected in all the New IIMs (which I did not want to join) except Udaipur which rejected me straight forward. IIM Kozhikode PGP- Finance also rejected me. When all the doors seem to be closing in then came the 2nd waitlist result of IIM Lucknow PGP in Sustainable Management wherein I got SELECTED!
I have always heard that there is nothing like a Failure, there are always Successes and Learnings. Having faced so many MBA interviews, I have learnt many things. Patience was one of the key learnings. And remember never ever lose HOPE!