Due to the current pandemic situation almost all the management colleges had to restrict their interview phase of admission, online. While most of the colleges simply conducted video call interviews, a few of them stood out with their process. Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay took a step in different direction to make the entire interview process not only innovative but also interactive and fun.
The entire process was conducted on Gather platform, which allowed students to create their own avatar and explore like in a video game. The virtual platform had an auditorium, panel rooms and verification rooms. This interactive and innovative process not only stood apart from the usual video call interviews but also the platform allowed the aspirants to chat with one another. This helped in managing the pressure before the interviews. The group mentors made the process more fun. They gave tips before interviews and chatted with the aspirants to lighten the mood. All the queries regarding the process and college were addressed promptly.
For verification process, the candidates were taken one-by-one to the verification room. After the virtual verification, candidates again went back to their assigned groups in auditorium. Later, the mentors guided the candidates to their interview room.
The interview process was also hassle-free. The interview panelists were friendly. During the interview process, I had some internet connection problems, which made me inaudible to panelists. The panelists were, however, considerate towards the issue, and allowed me to take few minutes to fix it. The questions asked during the interview revolved around myself, academics, work experience and hobbies. I had a great interaction with the panelists for about 20 minutes.
After the interview when I returned to the auditorium, I again had a great conversation with the group mentor regarding the life at SJMSOM and online learning experience in the past one year. He addressed all my queries honestly and clearly. We were also informed that we were free to roam around the platform and interact with other aspirants once our process got over.
