MBA Interview Experience Of Rank 2 Holder - IIM Kozhikode Selection Process 2019

In Mohit's words: Thursday, March 14, 2019: Exactly 20 days after I choking my way through IIM Ahmedabad’s interview, I knew this would be my last chance for a seat at one of the old IIMs. Troubled throughout the night, either due to excitement or kept awake by the demons of my past, this was a make-it or break-it situation. Soon enough, I got ready and took the hour-long journey from NOIDA to the prescribed venue – Hotel Radisson Blu in Dwarka. To pass the time and compose myself I flipped between several podcasts.

I arrived about a half-hour early and was guided towards the process by the kind receptionists at the hotel. Luckily, I was one of the first to arrive and was able to get my documents verified quickly. Soon enough the hall filled up quickly and I saw a few well-known faces (not teachers – but a few friends I’d picked up along the interview processes. For some reason all the schools – private or public called the same people in the same sequence given that they had passed the regulatory filters). We sat together spouting out nonsense but making everyone comfortable. As the clock struck 1 – we were assigned to various groups and made to sit for the “WAT” and “Resume Writing” sessions. The WAT topic if I remember correctly was “The need for Deurbanization in Modern India” – a simple enough topic (A simple but crucial tip to crack the process is to always align yourself with the values of the Organization and express these through your answers. The fact is that everyone there at that time is equally talented and the interviewers know that. What separates you is your attitude and how well you fit in the culture). Following the WAT, we were straight away given a separate sheet for the Resume Writing test – this turned out to be very different from what I had prepared for – only a couple of HR questions (luckily, these were something I’d written a ton of while filling in a number of forms and was able to answer them quite easily).

Finally, we were to be given our interview slots (1-10 allotted randomly) and sent for the interview process. Alas! I was awarded the all beloved number 10 – probably one of the 2 worst slots with the other being the 1st. You never want to begin the experience or keep on waiting as the time passed by excruciatingly slowly. But there had been some initial delay and every one documents hadn’t been processed. So, many members of our group didn’t go along with us. The first interview process probably went on for about 20-odd minutes and we spent the time outside either preparing to talking to each other to calm our nerves. In the meantime, realizing I was going to be waiting here for a couple of hours, I made myself comfortable. When the first person was done with the process, the interviewer came out and called out the second person name – who was still getting his document verified, the same happened with the third person in line and thus the professor decided to choose one of us randomly. And who else would he choose but the only person with his coat off. Caught off guard, I quickly wore my coat and followed him inside the room where I was greeted by another jolly-looking professor. As I sat down, I quickly realized that I had forgotten to keep my phone outside – a big NO-NO! in the process. Knowing the consequences, I quickly told the interviewers about the phone and that I was supposed to be last in the process and had completely forgotten about it when I was called in abruptly.  They told me to put the phone outside and come back in quickly. Now, I do not know if my honesty in that situation earned me cherry points, but the moment I got up from the chair I was pretty much like – Shit! You had to open up your mouth Mohit and now you’ve drastically dropped your chances – which probably was the best thing that happened all day to me. Now that I had screwed-up, I wasn’t under pressure anymore – which let me loosen up and be myself.

Following this was probably the best interview I’ve ever had. The interview started with the few basic questions such as tell me about yourself, Why MBA? etc. and slowly moved on towards my family business where I had been working for the past year and a half. The questions ranged from asking specifics to my broad understanding of the business as well as a small situation-based case. There were also a few questions on politics (given the election time) to see how well I kept up with current affairs. (Another tip is to always at the very least learn the names and leaders of the ruling parties in the home state of the school as well as of the neighbouring states along with any disputes the state government might be involved in – I had similar questions in my interviews at MDI and IIFT). – Throughout the process I ensured that I was relaxed, kept a smile on my face and always kept eye-contact while answering to the point and not “gassing around” (gas = globally accepted shit. Each college has its acronym for the same and “gas” belongs to IIMK).

By the time it ended, I knew I had done good and would get in 100%. Little did I realize that I would be ranked 2nd amongst 485 students who secured admission in IIM Kozhikode.