SJMSOM Interview Experience

Candidate Profile -

Male
Mechanical Engineer(2020)
CAT - 99.38%
Work Ex - 8 Months
X, XII, Grad - 96, 75.69, 66.20
Initial Impressions and Assumptions
My Interview experience at SJMSOM, IIT Bombay was one of the most unique interview experiences amongst all the interviews I had given over the years. Back in early 2020, I was fortunate enough to go through some physical offline interviews, given the amount of perspective it gave me when I talked to people from different cities who had came for the interview and the panelists, in a plush, beautiful hotel either in Mumbai or Delhi. In 2022, due to all colleges switching to the online mode of interview, I knew I would be able to give more interviews as I wouldn’t need to travel but the experience wouldn’t be as enriching as I wouldn’t get the chance to talk to the seniors or other aspirants. This went on for interviews of all other colleges, but SJMSOM changed that perception for me by conducting the interview on Gather platform.

Interview Experience on Gather
We were instructed that the interview would take place over Gather platform to give of a typical physical interview where you get to interact with people at the venue. Gather is like a 2d Metaverse where virtual spaces are created where virtual characters(candidates) reside and perform tasks. It a more immersive way of having an online meeting. On Gather we(our avatars) were taken to appropriate rooms by the coordinators. All the documents were verified and then we were escorted to our interview rooms.

Experience with the Panelists
Before I entered the zoom channel, I interacted with one of the seniors at SJMSOM and she helped me calm down by having a casual conversation and answering some of my queries.

There were three people on the panel, An Operations professor from SJMSOM(P1), A Mechanical Engineering Professor from IIT Bombay(P2) and an IIT Bombay Alumni(P3). P1 started out by asking me to introduce myself and then pointing towards my interest in football he asked me a couple of football related questions, which I answered confidently and made a couple of smart guesses for which I was complimented.

Moving forward he started asking me about the Koradi Thermal Power Plant which is near my place. I answered majority of questions but could not answer a couple of questions around the boiler and the turbine. P2 then started asking about turbines and its application on an airplane, I tried to guess which turned out to be partly correct. I was further asked about jet engines which I answered confidently. P3 then concluded the interview by asking me what I want to after my MBA and how will MBA help me in achieving that. I answered the question confidently as I had that clarity and the panel seemed convinced as well.

Overall the interview went well and I converted SJMSOM in the first waiting list itself :)