The MBA journey is a rollercoaster ride for everyone, balancing work and exam preparation easier said than done. Being a GEM candidate from VIT Vellore with two years of IT experience, and next to nothing for extracurriculars, I was realistic from the beginning that I'll be competing in the most cutthroat bracket of aspirants. I will focus on the GDPI aspect only in this article as the core story.
Even though I had a good track record of academics, I did not hold any positions of responsibilities in college, neither was I an outstanding overachiever with racks of awards and accolades. My only strength was my consistent performance, and determination to get into a business school. In short, all I had was a clear vision for why I needed an MBA after a stint in the corporate world.
When the XAT results were out, at 98.07 percentile, I had an interview call for the BM program of XLRI. However, seeing the previous batch profile, and no extracurriculars in my resume, I knew that the GDPI has to go extraordinarily well for me to have a decent chance. Having gone through the CAP process interview, which was very academic intensive, despite being a candidate with work experience, I had decided to focus on the same before the XL interview.
The D-Day
Even though this was my best call, and I had already messed up, I couldn't manage to get a suit on time for the interview, since shops had closed in Mumbai due to the lockdown. There I was worrying about a hundred different things, in retrospect, I would suggest even though it shouldn't be the concern, You should get a full formal attire for your interviews. There will be a thousand thoughts running in your mind already, "having to worry about your attire, should not be one of them.
Group Discussion and Academic Writing
The GD commenced, with the topic "Overseas listing of Indian Companies". This topic had nothing to do with my current job or my past education. But all the hours spent researching current affairs for the PI, I had a lot to talk about on this topic, that research which felt of no use during the previous interviews, was now reaping huge rewards. For the academic writing part, I decided to write down the key points that people had a consensus on during the discussion being as articulate as possible. I added my opinions in a much more elaborate manner for the conclusion.
Personal Interview
Quite satisfied with my performance in the GD round, there was still the PI to go through. Candidates before me would return and mention how they had been quizzed on the points they put forward during the GD round. However, when I entered, the situation had taken a 180-degree turn. Right from the beginning, the panel did not seem concerned about my GD points, academics. Instead, the interview assumed a state where I had to explain and discuss the reasons behind the recent split between my current employer BlackRock and their former Indian partner DSP. We also discussed western companies forming profit-seeking partnerships in India and then leaving instead of growing the market. All of these were topics of a scale that I hadn't pondered over before. I came up with answers from economics articles and news citing reasons that made sense to the best of my knowledge.
After a while, the interview turned to my geography knowledge. My education and job caused me to live across different parts of India. I was asked questions regarding state boundaries, culture at different places and what made them unique.
Then, the first-panel member dropped out and the other panel member who had been quiet till now took over in a different direction. We debated the advantages and disadvantages of an MNC and a national company from a CEO's perspective. I answered to the best of my knowledge from news articles and youtube videos. Yes! I had no background in management, and the panel was well aware of it. In short, the PI process is like the hot seat on a game show. You should prepare for everything, but be ready to explore solutions to even questions you hadn't expected.
Finally, after two months of waiting, the results had arrived, and there it was, an admit to XLRI BM after what had been a very nerve-wracking admission process.
Learnings
- Know yourself, facts and information about where you've been.
- If you have workex, prepare not only to explain your job but also your company as an organization and the affairs surrounding it.
- It's okay to say you don't know, but always attempt every question and ask for more information, it will help drive the conversation.
- Be calm, there is no need to hurry, think before you speak.
So, after all this, I felt the need to share it to assure any aspirants out there, who might be conscious due to the lack of CV points on their resume, that it will be fine. Remember, there is a defined admission process, have faith in it. Have confidence in yourself and be clear in your goals and most certainly expect everything, interviews by their very nature are ambiguous. Be ready to go out of your comfort zone and most importantly think before you answer. But if you do say something wrong, there is no shame in admitting it. The interviewers are experienced and understand your situation probably better than think. So keep working hard and hope for the best!!
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