The Journey to a B-school is one that tests your patience, analytical skills and management skills well before you actually board the bus. As it is late January and most of the candidates shall be facing the next hurdle of GD, WAT and PI, in this article I will like to share my experience as I had prepared for this phase.
First of all, it is important to realise that getting a good percentile in CAT is a battle not even half won. This realisation helps you put in more efforts as you prepare further. Second, this phase as interpreted by many candidates is a non-technical phase and doesn’t need much preparation. In my view, this is a wrong concept. Preparation of GD, PI and WAT is highly methodological in nature.
Let’s come to preparation techniques. If you have not loved reading newspaper and getting yourself acquainted with happenings around, it’s high time you gear up and read newspapers daily. However, you could be selective in your reading. Also, make a perspective for any general issue you read. Do note down facts and figures. Mentioning them in WAT, GD or PI will really enhance the quality of your answer.
Next up, for the preparation of Personal Interview divide your preparation into blocks. List down questions in each block and write answers for each. The typical block headings could be; Self, Background, Academics, Hobbies, Career Plan, Why MBA/Management, WorkExperience, Institute etc. Dividing your preparation into these blocks will help you structurally prepare for the expected questions from each area. For WAT preparation, I suggest you pick up a relevant topic from any newspaper article or other sources and write for 15 minutes. That is sufficient. 20+ self-written articles would automatically improve your writing skills. For GD preparation you could look up Youtube videos, also sit with a competitive group and do group discussion every day.
I hope this article gives you some insight on your preparations and help you reach the last mile. All the best and see you soon at IIM!
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