As a B-school aspirant, appearing for a Personal Interview is one of the most nerve-wracking things, even when you have years of professional experience. Mostly, interviews are extremely unpredictable, and you never know what will happen. You don’t know what the expectations of the interviewer are, and any amount of preparation will never reduce the nervousness.
My interview for DMSIE, IIT(ISM) Dhanbad was conducted in the 3rd week of March. By that time, I was well versed in appearing for online interviews, as by that time, I sat for about 5- 6 interviews for various B-Schools. Two questions I prepared thoroughly and had the answers for at the tip of my tongue were “Tell me something about yourself” and “Why MBA?”. Any answer that you provide to these questions may set up the tone for your interview. Another thing is I read newspapers regularly (it was a chore) and was aware of the events that have happened in the year
the interviews were conducted.
As someone who had a work experience of more than 2 years at that time, it was easy for me to answer questions related to that, and often, the questions were always asked about my work experience. For freshers, it is highly recommended to be thorough about the basic concepts from your undergraduate subjects. However, you may encounter a question for which you don’t have any answer, which can put you in an awkward position. In such situations, I recommend being upfront about your lack of knowledge and letting them know that you’ll refer to it later once the interview is over. This shows that you’re open to learning.
At the end, the interview is conducted by B-schools to gauge the candidate's capability to learn and grow within the institute. You can also use these interviews as an opportunity to learn more about the B-School that you have applied for, and always feel free to ask questions to the interviewer related to the B-School that you’re applying for.
All the best for your B-School admission process!
By
Suvrath Hegde
DMSIE, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad