IIM A, B, C and L, I, K are most people’s dream b-schools. With so much competition and tough selection criteria, getting shortlisted for BLACKI institutes is no mean feat. But if you are in the race to get into these b-schools anyway, you need to make sure that your interview prep is en pointe. These are some WAT/GD-PI that rounds that you don’t want to go to unprepared or underprepared. So what are the best strategies to crack these interviews? Learn from the interview experiences of current or previous students as to what strategies you can use to crack your WAT-GD-PI rounds for BLACKI institutes!
Check out these stories to figure out how you too can successfully crack IIM A, B, C, L, I, K interviews:
IIM Bangalore Interview Experience - Amol M. Aranake
“Interviewer: Why MBA?
Me: Ma’am owing to my CA I already have substantial knowledge in the field of Finance. I wish to build on it and also acquire knowledge in the other functional areas of a business such as marketing, operations, HR, etc. and gain a holistic understanding of business processes in order to effectively lead businesses someday.”
- Amol Aranke, IIM B, shares his interview experience. Check it out.
Cracking The IIM Bangalore Interview - A Unique Story | IIM Bangalore Interview Experience 2019
“The WAT topic for our panel was - Is it required to privatise the agricultural sector in India? I was very familiar with the topic as I had been reading the newspaper regularly and there were a lot of discussions happening regarding the problems faced by Indian farmers. The best part is that I was aware of the statistics related to the topic ( percentage of farmers in the workforce, GDP of the agriculture sector etc.)”
- Akshay, IIM B, PGP 19-21, shares his interview experience. Do check out how he got into IIM B!
IIM Lucknow Interview Experience || CAT Percentile - 99.97%ile - Rishab Baid
“Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself.
Me: Started with the 2-minute intro that I had prepared, ranging from academic qualifications to extracurriculars, to being born in a joint family, to other interests in life. I had given them a few pointers around which I wanted my interview to revolve.”
- Read Rishabh Baid’s interview experience at IIM Lucknow and figure out how you too can get into IIM L.
IIM Lucknow Interview Experience | PGP & PGP-ABM
“WAT Topic: Is greed necessary for success?
After close to 15mins of post-WAT waiting, I was called inside the interview room. The interviewers were a panel of two mid-aged gentlemen. Later it turned out that one of them was the PGP-Chairman of IIM Lucknow and the other was HOD ABM. So, the interview began on an unconventional note for me. Unlike my other interviews, the interviewers asked me for my folder of documents which I used to carry in every interview but was never asked for it before. I handed my folder to the interviewers and while they were glancing at my credentials, I kept beaming all along.”
- Check out this mechanical engineer’s interview experience of cracking IIM L.
The Most Comprehensive IIM Interview Experience - Ganesh Mahidhar, IIM Ahmedabad
Check out how Ganesh Mahidhar, X- 10CGPA, XII-95.3, B.Tech, Mechanical Engineering (Hons), IIT Hyderabad- 86.2%, cracked IIM A.
IIM Ahmedabad Interview Experience - 2018
“Technology impacts how children think and feel. They tend to think superficially and lose creativity. The ones who spend too much time online tend to lose focus. So they should be kept away from technology till they are 12 years old. We had to take a stand for or against it and explain.”
Check out this interview experience with IIM A.
IIM Calcutta Interview Experience - 2018
“Before I begin, let me just add that this was the most important interview for me, personally. I have always had a thing for IIM-C since I started preparing for CAT. I don’t know why, but I never dreamed of making it to IIM-A, but Joka. And after the gruelling interview of IIM-A, which would be a miracle if I convert it, I really felt the pressure today(in A, I was much calmer). So it was a do or die for me, in a way-this being my only other call among the Holy Trinity. Amazingly, I got the same sequence number and was interviewed in the same room as was in A. :v”
- Check out Eshan’s IIM C interview experience.
Niteen Bali's IIM Calcutta Interview Experience
“My IIMC interview was around the end. Having read a novel late at night, I was sleepy and had dozed off when I was called in. I had a below-average profile. Decent grades, no major acad achievements. No work ex. A bit of sports. But I remained calm and composed and kept a smile most of the time of the interview. It was like sending a message that it’s not just me who needs IIMC, but the need is both ways.”
- Read Niteen Bali’s IIM C interview experience here.
IIM Kozhikode Interview Experience | How To Crack IIM Interviews
After cracking CAT, one of the most stressful parts of getting into an IIM is the WAT-PI round. Every year, thousands of IIM aspirants go through this rigorous shortlisting process to make it to any one of India's top management institutes. One such aspirant was Akshaykumar Sirsalewala, a Chartered Accountant who managed to crack his IIM Kozhikode interview and joined the institute's PGP 2018-2020 batch.
Check out a re-enactment of Akshay's interview experience that can help you understand what an IIM interview is really like.
IIM Kozhikode WAT-Resume-PI Experience 2019
Nilay Jaiswal has detailed out his IIM Kozhikode interview experience to help you. Check out Nilay Jayswal’s IIM K interview experience. By the way, it was so thorough that we went ahead and created a reenacted video out it!
IIM Indore Interview Experience | How To Crack IIM Interviews
Rupakshi Soni is a current PGP student at IIM Indore. She is an engineer and her interview consisted of mostly technical questions. Her ability to answer those questions and provide explanations wherever needed got her a ticket to her dream b-school.
How To Crack IIM Interview - Kriti Jindal, IIM Indore PGP Participant
“The questions revolved around academics and general knowledge. Having done engineering in IT, I was expected to answer questions such as: What is object-oriented programming? What do you know about big data? Where do you see its usage?”
- Read Kriti Jindal’s IIM Indore interview experience
Shubham's IIM Lucknow Interview Experience
Shubham's advice for you: "There were some questions about current affairs based on the then-upcoming elections of 2019. Most of them were regarding the constituency in which I stayed. So have a decent knowledge about the current happenings in your constituency, who is the current MP and MLA. Also, be updated with the major happenings going around the country and the world.
The major part of the interview is likely to be driven by your likes and interests and your previous educational background. So brush up the major points and the interview shall go smoothly."
Read the entire interview experience
here.
Here’s hoping that these interview experiences help you prepare for your own personal b-school interviews!