Snigdha's IIM Lucknow Interview Experience | Tips By IIM-L Students To Crack Your Interviews Part 3

With the CAT done and dusted, the only hurdle that lies in front of MBA aspirants is the WAT GD-PI processes. And what better than to learn from the experience of those who have already made their way through the same hurdles. Here we are in Part 3 of this series, where we share the WAT-PI experience of Snigdha Swarupa Dalai in her admission process for IIM Lucknow. (Here are the references for Part1 and Part2 of this series)

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Candidate: Snigdha Swarupa Dalai Candidate Profile: Xth: 96.7% (State Board) XIIth: 89.7% (State Board) Undergrad: 81.2% (Engineer) WAT-PI Location: Bangalore WAT Topic: Will the advent of shorter entertainment-focused formats of cricket such as T20 degrade the value of the sport?

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IIM Lucknow Interview Experience:

Panel: 2 Male Panelists: M1, M2
Snigdha: S

M1: Introduce yourself.
S: Started and was interrupted at a few places and asked to sign.

M2: What does your name mean?
S: Soft and Calm.

M2: Do you identify yourself as a calm person as your name says?
S: Gave an affirmative response.

M1: Why are there D's in your graduation mark sheet?
S: Told due to some personal reasons.
(M1 didn't ask anything about it after that)

M2: But why do you want to get into stress doing an MBA? There'll be a lot of pressure. You said you're a calm person.
S: I said I try to remain calm despite the situation.
Some grilling followed. I was able to justify myself.

M2: You're in Fidelity. You must be drawing a good amount. (Asked M1 how much it is and he answered as they had our personal data form) What's the business of Fidelity?
S: Explained about the portfolio investment business that Fidelity is into.

M2: What are mutual funds?
S: Talked about how mutual funds work and how they're better or worse than other investment opportunities.

M2: You are in a financial firm. You must be following business news and the economy.
Tell me what changes were brought about in taxes.

S: Talked about the tax slab changes in the budget report and how the minimum amount that would be made tax free had been increased.

M2: Are you sure?
S: Yes Sir.

M2: Is that 5 lakhs you talked about inclusive of the 1.5 lakhs invested in 80C?
S: No Sir.

M2: Are you filing your IT returns on your own?
S: Haven't done it yet. I have worked only for 7 months.

M2: (to M1) What's her percentile in Quant?
M1: Told.

M1: In your SOP, you've written about switching from a technological role to a managerial role. What's the difference between the 2?
S: I tried to define the two in a conventional way that we usually know or read about the above 2 roles. Explained it by citing examples from my company. He didn't seem convinced with the answer.

This question took quite a bit of time. He asked about the company's VP and if he was a technology person. He in fact was a commerce graduate but was heading a technology department. Hence a few follow up questions about "how do managers become good managers" followed.

M1: Give me 3 reasons why women cannot be as good managers as men.
S: I don't see any reason why they cannot be.

M1: No. You have to answer this. If you don't, I'll give you a straight zero.
He created a bit of stress and then modified the question.

M1: Tell me why people think that women cannot be good managers.
S: Talked about stereotypes that prevail in society and how women are expected to take care of the family more than men. Also talked about safety issues in the country.

M1: You were about to give up there. I had to extract the answer from you.
S: I misunderstood the question, sir.

M1: Now, the die has been cast. Give me 3 names of women leaders who have made it big.
S: Arundhati Bhattacharya, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Indira Nooyi

M2: Do you have any questions for us, Snigdha?
S: I talked about earlier how the grad marks in some semesters weren't as good but told I have improved ever since.
M2: That's fine. You're doing good now and that's a good thing.
They offered me toffees and wished me luck.
I said thank you and left.

Verdict: Converted.

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About the Author:-

Snigdha Swarupa Dalai is currently pursuing her MBA from IIM Lucknow 2019-21 batch. She will be interning with GSK in Corporate Finance in Summers. She completed her B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from NIT Trichy in 2018 and post that worked in Fidelity Investments for close to a year. At IIM Lucknow, she was a part of the media team of Manfest-Varchasva, the annual fest of IIM Lucknow. She is a passionate artist, lazy writer and enjoys colorful skies and occasional reading.