My name is Tushar Sahu and I was shortlisted by SJMSOM for its MBA program in second week of February. We were informed that there will be 2 slots in a day and the slots for the personal interview will be informed to us soon.
My interview at SJMSOM, IIT Bombay was on 5th May, 2022. We got to know about the whole interview process approx.15 days prior the interview date. It was something distinctive than usual B-School interviews.
We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face. This was the shinning moment for me the interview for SJMSOM. Initially we were given a presentation at the reporting time to highlight the achievements and positive factors of SJMSOM. Everything was occurred on gather platform in which we have our avatars with designated places for document verification and interview room. There were 15 students in each panel and everyone was assigned a number between 1-15. The interview started with number 1 and document verification started from number 15. I was assigned number 7, so I was contemplating and asking people about the interviews. Each interview was approximately between 15-20 minutes. When my interview came (My number was 7), I was led through the rooms into the waiting room and eventually into the interview room, where I was greeted by a student in SJMSOM and the previous candidate who gave the interview. The candidate shared his experience while the current student at SJMSOM helped us calm down and talk through before sending me to the panel. The panel was friendly, welcoming and wanted to know about me. They asked me about my introduction and they wanted to know about my experience in the consulting industry. They asked me about my work ex and the questions related to the projects I have done in the past 2 years. They wanted to know how I handled multiple associates, and what was the major challenges in Work from Home. After feeling satisfied from the answers provided, they wanted to check my knowledge of my UG and they asked me about buoyancy, Isothermal process in Thermodynamics, difference between the mass of 1kg of Cotton vs 1 kg of steel and if we feel any difference if we measure weight under water. They asked me about if my mechanical engineering was used in the work experience and why I didn’t decide to pursue work in core industry given my knowledge. They then asked me about the Russia-Ukraine war situation and how long do I think it would go for along with the similar wars happened before. They also asked me about the military use of US in the recent years. They thanked me for my time and asked me if I had any question regarding the institute. I asked for their permission to exit and they asked me who is the External Affair minister of India and after my response they let me go.
I had my personal Interview at SJMSOM, on 2 March 2022. I got the morning slot (8 am to 1 pm). I was excited about the interview as it was one of my best calls and I was looking forward to giving it my best shot. Most of the B- School Interview processes happened online this year as well due to covid, yet SJMSOM- IIT Bombay, found a creative and fun way to conduct the interview process. It was on the Gather Platform. Gather is a virtual meeting platform where one can have meetings, I personally felt it was more natural. You can wander around in the virtual space, chat with your peers, and have meetings. I was using the gathering platform for the first time, but I have to mention it was the most fun way I ever attended a meeting. Kudos to the admission team of SJMSOM for informing the students well in advance about this new platform for the interview process and making a video on how to use the platform in order to make the most out of it.
My Profile: 9 Months work ex – Boldrocchi India Pvt Ltd, 8.0 CGPA Mechanical Engineering B. Tech, 90.6% 12th and 10 CGPA 10Th
The PI call was released in Mid-February, it included all the basic required details from group links, support email-ids, Interview mode and tentative dates all under single mail so details were easy to trace.
The overall selection and the interview process at IIT Bombay was one of the best managed out of the institutes I had applied for. The selection mail, which arrives close to 15 days prior to the interview, is quite detailed and answers all the queries that an aspirant would have. There is an official PI kit which provides us with enough reading material about the domains a candidate would be interested in. In addition, you are also assigned a “PI buddy” whom you can contact about any additional query about the interviews and gain valuable knowledge from the current students at the institute.
