Interview Experience At IIT B - SJMSOM | Shivam Verma
Background: Engineer (Electronics and Communication)
Background: Engineer (Electronics and Communication)
I would like to share my complete MBA application experience with SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. Firstly, some details about me: I'm a GEM with 2 years of work experience and a 99.5%ile in CAT 2020. Now back to the topic at hand, the last date to apply was 31st January 2021. On 17th February, I received a mail intimating that I had been selected for personal interview. On 22nd February, I received a mail with my slot details. On the next day, I was assigned a buddy to whom I was free to ask any queries regarding interview, admission and any other general questions about SJMSOM. The buddy assignment mail also had a list of documents that we had to upload by 28th February. All candidates were also added to a telegram group with the Admissions team so that we would all get timely updates and are able to resolve any queries quickly.
After getting qualfied in CAT exam, I got an interview call from SJMSOM, IIT Bombay.My interview was scheduled on 5th March, 2021 in the afternoon slot.The interview was scheduled online due to the pandemic and it was quite an experience overall.The whole process was conducted in a very smooth manner and the seniors were very supportive and helpful.The unique thing about the interview was that it was on a gather platform which was a very good experience and also fun at the same time.After having some basic instructions on the gather platform, The documentation process was started and one by one students were verified with their documents.It was also very smoothly conducted and along with we were given the timings for our personal interviews.I was the last person to be interviewed in our group which means my interview could happen around 5 pm in the evening.But in between there was a power cut in our locality and my laptop was running out of battery.I,therefore,requested the admission committee members to allow me to appear for the interview early and they made their best efforts and ensured I appear for the same in the next 15 minutes.I really want to thank them for this kind gesture.And hence my interview started at around 2:30 pm. There were 3 panel members, all male and they were were kind.The first question which I was asked was from my undergrad stream of Civil Engineering followed up by 3-4 more questions from the same domain.Then some budget related questions were asked along with a mix of some current affair questions of which I answered most of them.Some basic HR related questions were asked like Why Mba.And within 15-20 minutes, my interview was over.All in all, it was a nice experience to appear for personal interview of one of the top b schools of the country and I had a good time while appearing for the same.
The selection process for this year’s batch has been the first of its kind (we all know why!). All the colleges made attempts to conquer the challenges of conducting online interviews seamlessly. The admissions team at SJMSOM made use of an online platform (Gather) which consisted of a 2-D map, letting you walk around and talk to the other people around you. I used to believe that the waiting period before online interviews is tiring and/or boring because more often than not, the candidate has to sit ideally in front of a computer screen displaying: “Please wait, the panelists will let you in soon”. This was not the case with SJMSOM as all the candidates and the volunteers were present on the virtual platform, it did not feel as if I was giving an interview online. The admissions team was super supportive and patient in dealing with the candidates. It was the closest one could get to experience an offline in-person interview. For me, this was the best part of the entire process.
My Interview experience with SJMSOM , IITB (2021)
Today, I would like to share my interview experience at SJMSOM, IIT Bombay for the session 2021-23. After applying at SJMSOM, I received a mail regarding my online interview with the application ID, timing, online platform(it was Google meet) and some instructions. It was scheduled on 7th of March in slot 2. We were already informed about the Gather platform which was specially made for the admission process. The software was created keeping in mind to give an actual interview experience at SJMSOM, but virtually.
In the context of CAT and other management tests conducted in India, it is for a small percentage of aspirants that their journey culminates to an interview with a top B-School of the country. It was at 23:13 PM on 17th Feb, 2021 that this dream came true for me! I had received the interview call for SJMSOM, IIT Bombay and my interview was scheduled in the morning slot on 03rd March, 2021. WAT was scrapped and the interview process was to be held virtually, all attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.