I had calls from some new IIMs, NMIMS Mumbai (core MBA & HR), SCMHRD, IMI Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad, VGSOM IIT Kharagpur, XIMB etc. I have briefly shared the kind of questions asked during my IIM Nagpur interview, which will give aspirants clarity on how diverse profile helped me drive the interviews as per my desire.
IIM Nagpur Experience:
Kenilworth hotel, Kolkata was the venue, indeed a beautiful one with free coffee and cookies at service. There were two panellists present for the WAT PI. One of them was from IIM Ahmedabad (P1) and the second one was a marketing professor (P2) from IIM Nagpur. And the first question wasn’t ‘Tell me about yourself’.
P1: ‘Tell me about your roles with the start-ups and why did they close down.’
From the work experience viewpoint, I drove things the way I wanted to. It gave me a lot of edge over more than 90% competitors with a non-business/non-management work experience and my answers fell in sync with ‘WHY MBA.’ It’s said that if you want something by heart, the entire universe conspires to fulfil your most beloved aspirations. As I was answering the first question, P2, engrossed in his laptop, showed something to P1. And then he looked at me, smiled and asked
P2: ‘I googled, saw pictures of your readers, books, events, media coverage, this is fascinating but then why should I select you? We are not looking for people with an inclination in a creative field.’
This question gave me the opportunity to talk about diversity and who better than an IIM Ahmedabad panellist to understand the importance of a diverse profile.
P2: You will have an IIM degree, and later you will be into writing, some three-four others have done, right? Durjoy, Ravinder, in fact, all of them have a great network with IIM graduates.
And yes I gave an honest reply. Never bluff or lie in an interview, be honest, it pays well.
P1: So why not writing for full time?
P2: You have sold 15k+ copies, and an MBA would help you in understanding the business better so that you can work on your marketing, anyone else you know for whom this has worked?
Both questions in my bag! No better response than what Amish Tripathy did in marketing Shiva Trilogy. The questions and interview flowed exactly the way I wanted to. Next 30 minutes I talked about GST’s impact in publishing, the future of the start-up ecosystem in India and much more about the business side of books. IIM Nagpur converted. NMIMS Mumbai converted, followed by SCMHRD, IMT, and IMI. All of them were on similar lines. At IMI they gave me an extempore topic on 'Publishing industry’s contribution to GDP'.
Key Takeaway for aspirants: Always take your extracurricular sincerely, they will help you drive interviews and keep adding diversity to your profile, not just for a B-School interview but for life.
The story doesn’t end here. Even for my summer internship interviews at IIM Nagpur, it worked again. At last but not the least, I would say don’t ignore Valentine’s week. Had I ignored it I wouldn’t have explored the real diversity that covered my weak points and gave me my best weapons. Had I ignored her Valentine’s day wish, I wouldn’t have had writing and start-ups in my kitty.
All the best!
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Comments
Ruchika Gupta
Really a nice one
13 Feb 2019, 10.04 PM
Ankita Parekh
A diverse profile really gives you an added advantage. Nice work Priyank. Waiting for your new book now and more articles on InsideIIM
13 Feb 2019, 10.11 PM
Panvi Sharma
Very insightful and a great piece to read. Laughter with relevant content.
13 Feb 2019, 10.36 PM
Kapil Awasthi
Good write up with a perfect story build up and then talking about B school interview. Similar to what I felt at DMS IIT Delhi as well
13 Feb 2019, 10.44 PM
Ankit Sharma
Exploring new places since 1993, a lost poet and a singer awaiting his big break!!
Very well written bro
14 Feb 2019, 12.13 AM