Venue: IBS Hyderabad (26th February 2016)
Interview for IBS Mumbai
Profile: Xth : 70%; XIIth : 57.85% ; Grad : 6.69; Work experience of 9 months at Softvan Pvt. Ltd, Ahmedabad; CMAT: 90.00
Extra-curricular: District level photography runner-up; associated with two NGO’s – Make a difference and Help-Portrait; Internship at Star Network for Channel V Nokia Fest 2012 during my bachelor's.
GD Topic: Has Modi government been able to successfully electrify villages?
PI Duration: 20-25 minutes
Prologue: After completing the GD, we were sent in a batch of 10 for the PI. I was the 10th one in the lot. This was enough to raise my anxiety. Except the one interview conducted before me, the rest eight interviews almost took 5-10 minutes to complete. As candidates, we have a perception in our minds that if an interview takes longer than 10 minutes, then there are strong chances of the candidate being either straightaway reject or a straightaway accept (no second thoughts are given by the panellist on the candidate)
As soon as the 9th candidate in the queue comes out after 15 minutes (with a pale look on her face), I rise up from the chair gathering some courage to fight my anxiety, straighten my tie , unbutton my blazer and open the door.
There were 2 professors: P1 (in his early 50’s), P2 (lady professor, in her late 30’s)
P2 looks at P1 and both greet me with a smile. I ask their permission to take the seat and they chuckled and asked me to not be so formal.
Me: *opening my file*
P2: *with a smile* Oh Please, we don’t need it! Relax! Just have a conversation with us.
P1: *looking at my application form photo and comparing it with my current look* Vinay, why aren’t you sporting a beard anymore?
Me: Sir, it’s an interview and the least I could do was to appear at my best apart from the fact that my mother likes to see me clean shaved.
P1: But it looks like that you shaved 2 days back?
Me: Sir, I had to travel to Hyderabad and my flight was early morning from Ahmedabad, so I shaved in advance.
P1: *laughing* Relax, we aren’t like the regular panellists. We won’t grill you! Be your own self!
P2: So Vinay, walk us through your life, tell us something about yourself.
Me: I walked them through my schooling and my achievements during schooling, my graduation and the internship with star network during my graduation, about my work experience and about my passion – photography.
P1: You seem to have many diverse experiences. Am I to assume that you can’t remain focused on a particular aspect?
Me: *with a smile* Sir, diversity is the need of the hour. Different experiences enhance a person’s thinking abilities makes one grow intellectually. Intellectual growth leads to overall growth.
P2: That’s something we would buy, but your grades don’t seem to be consistent. You’ve had sharp highs and sharp lows.
Me: *a bit tensed* Ma’am, there’s no argument about the highs and lows, it’s a part of almost everyone’s journey. This journey has made me the person I’m today and am sure of the fact that it’ll shape me further too.
P1: *seeming convinced* Tell us about your internship with Star Network. What is this Channel V Nokia fest about? What was your responsibility as a campus manager?
Me: I explained them about my roles and responsibilities, how I marketed the event on a campus level and how successful I was at it.
P2: You seem passionate about photography and as you mentioned previously you’ve won an award in a competition, so can you relate the concept of branding/selling/marketing with photography?
Me: Of course I can ma’am! Photography is primarily about communication. As someone rightly quoted; you don’t capture a photograph, you make one. When you make a photograph, you communicate your perspective through it. Few people might end up liking what you show through your photographs and the rest might not. At the end, it’s all about perspective. To make people like your work you alter the perspective to match theirs and similarly selling/branding/marketing is carried out, prime example being advertisements.
P2: *with a convinced look* that’s quite an analogy! I’m done from my side. *looks at P1* any questions Sir?
P1: I’m done too. Thank you, Vinay! Have a great day!
The End
Verdict: Currently a PGPM student; recently completed the 1st Year
Chosen Specialisation: - Marketing