Some advice
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Rahul Chaudhary
Jan 31, 2008, 1:34:23 PM1/31/08
to IITR to IIM
I was going thru the posts on IITR to IIM 2007 group and I came across
this piece by Lohia. Found it useful and am sharing it here.
1> Lying in an interview -> be sure about what you say. The panel that
would be sitting across the table is smart enough to look through most
of the fabricated stuff.
2> Hobbies -> IIM interviews do look for students with passion.
Knowing
about your hobbies is just a reflection of how passionate you are
regarding things that you do. Besides it is also a great topic to talk
about especially if someone is uncomfortable talking about acads. Be
careful while describing your hobby. If a quizzer doesn't want to be
questioned on tamil mythology it will be better if he puts in his
hobby
as quizzing in "rock music", "Indian politics", etc. rather than just
quizzing. The same goes for people who want to put up reading as your
hobby. Make sure u specify the kind of books / authors / topics that
you
like to read.
3> Acads -> Please do not ignore this. Most of the interviews would
have
a component of acads however big or small. Putting forward a strong
academic knowledge again reflects that you know what you have done.
Final Yr. Students make sure you know about your B.T.P. I was asked
question on B.T.P. in 3 of my interviews.
4> Organization -> In case you have work-ex be sure about your
organization. Where it is headed, what were the recent highlights,
what
is your role in the organization, who is the CEO of your organization
(most of the people walk into the interview unaware of this). The same
applies to Final Yr. students w.r.t. the organization that they did
their internship in though freshers may not be quizzed too much on
it.
5> Personals -> its one aspect that people conveniently ignore. It's
true that a lot of it needs to be answered impromptu (so that it
doesn't
sound made up in the first place) but its a good idea to reflect on
your
life and jot down certain things that might be a little difficult to
think in an interview environment.
a) At least 3 strengths and weaknesses (make sure you have
ample
justification for your weaknesses as well and they aren't a total give
away or contradicting with what you might have called your strength
earlier in the course of your interview
b) Ethical situations where you have stood up for the right
and
where you might have succumbed to the situation
c) Tell me about yourself -> on of the most important
questions
where the interviewer looks for hints on how to take the interview
forward. It can decide the course of your interview in the next 10-15
minutes.
d) Blah Blah...might post some of these FAQs on personals
soon.
6> Current Affairs -> Unless you have put quizzing as a hobby, no one
is
going to ask you details of any news item that occupies a damp corner
of
the newspaper but make sure you are well informed about the major
happenings at least from now onwards. It will definitely be a good
idea
to read up some of the major issues / incidents of the past to prevent
being caught off guard.
7> Know your resume -> be sure you know each point on your resume. Be
prepared to speak for at least 3 minutes on each of the topics.
8> Avoid yes/no answers. It's a criminal offence to not lead the
interview. Make sure you give direction to the interview with your
answers. Usually your answer will lead to the next question. Try to
talk
more about how/why in your achievements rather than just what it was.
9> Know your strong areas and weak ones. Develop at least 3 topics on
which you can take the whole interview forward. Try to steer the
interview towards your stronger areas by dropping hints in the answers
that you give.
10> Always keep in mind that a interview is meant so that the panel
can
select you. They wouldn't have wasted their time on interviewing you
if
you weren't good enough to be selected. They are now looking for a
reason to select you. Most of the panels will be friendly. Even if
they
are not, they are just trying to test your patience and ability to
withstand pressure. Make sure you walk into the interview with this
spirit.
Have reached a decent number so I'll stop my gyan session for now.
Mail
back on the group for any clarifications.
Regards,
Rohit Lohia
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Ph: +91-99866-48830
this piece by Lohia. Found it useful and am sharing it here.
1> Lying in an interview -> be sure about what you say. The panel that
would be sitting across the table is smart enough to look through most
of the fabricated stuff.
2> Hobbies -> IIM interviews do look for students with passion.
Knowing
about your hobbies is just a reflection of how passionate you are
regarding things that you do. Besides it is also a great topic to talk
about especially if someone is uncomfortable talking about acads. Be
careful while describing your hobby. If a quizzer doesn't want to be
questioned on tamil mythology it will be better if he puts in his
hobby
as quizzing in "rock music", "Indian politics", etc. rather than just
quizzing. The same goes for people who want to put up reading as your
hobby. Make sure u specify the kind of books / authors / topics that
you
like to read.
3> Acads -> Please do not ignore this. Most of the interviews would
have
a component of acads however big or small. Putting forward a strong
academic knowledge again reflects that you know what you have done.
Final Yr. Students make sure you know about your B.T.P. I was asked
question on B.T.P. in 3 of my interviews.
4> Organization -> In case you have work-ex be sure about your
organization. Where it is headed, what were the recent highlights,
what
is your role in the organization, who is the CEO of your organization
(most of the people walk into the interview unaware of this). The same
applies to Final Yr. students w.r.t. the organization that they did
their internship in though freshers may not be quizzed too much on
it.
5> Personals -> its one aspect that people conveniently ignore. It's
true that a lot of it needs to be answered impromptu (so that it
doesn't
sound made up in the first place) but its a good idea to reflect on
your
life and jot down certain things that might be a little difficult to
think in an interview environment.
a) At least 3 strengths and weaknesses (make sure you have
ample
justification for your weaknesses as well and they aren't a total give
away or contradicting with what you might have called your strength
earlier in the course of your interview
b) Ethical situations where you have stood up for the right
and
where you might have succumbed to the situation
c) Tell me about yourself -> on of the most important
questions
where the interviewer looks for hints on how to take the interview
forward. It can decide the course of your interview in the next 10-15
minutes.
d) Blah Blah...might post some of these FAQs on personals
soon.
6> Current Affairs -> Unless you have put quizzing as a hobby, no one
is
going to ask you details of any news item that occupies a damp corner
of
the newspaper but make sure you are well informed about the major
happenings at least from now onwards. It will definitely be a good
idea
to read up some of the major issues / incidents of the past to prevent
being caught off guard.
7> Know your resume -> be sure you know each point on your resume. Be
prepared to speak for at least 3 minutes on each of the topics.
8> Avoid yes/no answers. It's a criminal offence to not lead the
interview. Make sure you give direction to the interview with your
answers. Usually your answer will lead to the next question. Try to
talk
more about how/why in your achievements rather than just what it was.
9> Know your strong areas and weak ones. Develop at least 3 topics on
which you can take the whole interview forward. Try to steer the
interview towards your stronger areas by dropping hints in the answers
that you give.
10> Always keep in mind that a interview is meant so that the panel
can
select you. They wouldn't have wasted their time on interviewing you
if
you weren't good enough to be selected. They are now looking for a
reason to select you. Most of the panels will be friendly. Even if
they
are not, they are just trying to test your patience and ability to
withstand pressure. Make sure you walk into the interview with this
spirit.
Have reached a decent number so I'll stop my gyan session for now.
back on the group for any clarifications.
Regards,
Rohit Lohia
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Ph: +91-99866-48830
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