XL interview? Oh my sweet summer child! I vividly remember the day. Back then I was a young, fair, short heighted fellow who had failed terribly to grasp the CAT’s neck but as a slapdash stroke of lady luck, was awarded an XL call, my only call of the season. The venue was St. Xavier’s Mumbai although my memory fails to serve the exact date (circa Feb 2013) to me.
Given the Catholic affiliation of the institute, the “event” resonated with the papal conclave of the Vatican. I briefly escaped to the GD lounge which catapulted my heart beat and the cortisols to outer space. Nonetheless, I plopped down on a chair with a theatrical sigh and staring each and every kid who was there trying to be as cool as ice.
Poof. The professors announced the theme of the discussion and it was “
Should government reduce subsidy in agriculture?”, an aptly and thoughtfully chosen subject with the budget season ruling supreme. I was staring at a blank canvas trying to fill my barren cerebral landscape to procreate something to speak. Terms like Kisan, GDP, DBT, FCI etc. bloomed across my cornea filling it like a mosaic. I recoiled and sucked my breath and jotted down some pointers in the five minuter that we were granted to shape our thoughts. The discussion commenced. The participants looked like a million bucks and represented all kinds of personalities, from ill-mannered brutes though low-key, grey workhorses of Putin type, egregious charming dudes who would pass off as Oxbridge graduates , good cops, bad cops and the like. Yet, there was something they almost all shared : a developed ability to actively listen (about four kids out of the 12 managed a convert) which is remarkably scarce and a cool elegance to possess while on this planet.
I loitered around the corridor like a seagull patrolling a beach at sunset as I was the last one to be interviewed. Finally I was invited before I succumbed to the violent trembling walk outside.
Faintly, I enumerate the questions asked:
1. Where do you stay?
2. Tell me the name by which your undergraduate campus was known as?
3. Why are manholes round?
4. Tell me about the industries in your belt (suburban Calcutta)
5. What do you think is the future of Jute industry?
6. Which industry has replaced Jute?
7. Three most important things you have imbibed out of your engineering major?
8. What is a SEZ?
9. Name some SEZs and their advantages and disadvantages?
10. Are you superstitious?
11. Three reasons we should select you with a straight caveat not to answer in clichés like commitment, hard working etc.
12. One reason we should not select you
There is no sage advice on Why XLRI? It is a tricky question until one is fortunate (like me) to have only one call and that too from XLRI. What I believe is the answer should be coherent with enough instances to show that the thought has something unique which others lack. The uniqueness is a godsend for the HR people but for BM it can be something like an interest in music (Bodhi Tree), Sports (XL IIMC rivalry; this works only if it is a reject from IIM C), some marquee recruiters which land only at XL, a strong case for ethics, a family legacy / connection, justification of a reject from IIM ABC on account of poor academics.
You will be in awe of this place once you land here. The paws of this giant will stand twice as tall as you stand. Always. Structures like this simply do not exist anywhere else.
Your last chance of redemption: XL!