2 panelists, both very polite. P1 Started of with why MBA - halfway through my answer he interrupted and countered with 'can you validate the skills you claim to have'. While I was validating P1 countered a couple of times, trying to pressurize a bit. Next P2 asked about an incident of conflict that I have faced within my team. Few counter arguments here regarding explaining my role in the situation. Thereafter asked about my target industry, why supply chain. Finally my target role and target company. Altogether, a conversational interview, less stressful than IIMA. I felt it was a relatively short interview-15 mins.

Short Interview - two panelists. Started with tell us about yourself, why MBA, short term and long term goals. Also asked what you are expecting from this course. Asked about the difficulties faced by the industry I work in and the steps taken for resolution; dug deeper into the responses I gave. Asked me if I read newspaper, I said yes. Asked me about the biggest news in present times. Asked if I had any questions.

The interview started 1 hour late. Two profs, P1 - smiling with greying hair, P2 - reserved and younger. P1: Where shall we start? Me: up to you sir, P1: no, tell me. Me: Okay, I will introduce myself, my name is... P1: we know that, tell me about your hobbies... so you are into creativity? some conversation on it and he asked me to frame a short story on how a dish could have gotten it's name. After that he moved to my views on my industry situation in 3 sentenses. As I was telling him, he said it's just two, where is the third. He handed it over to P2. He asked me some technical questions on accounting, I tried to answer but floundered as I had a different concept in my mind while answering. He moved on and gave me a probability question, I tried to answer but could not. I gave him some answer and probed on how and why; I tried explaining but I knew I was wrong. Finally P1 joined back and asked me my post MBA salary expectation, told them my estimate for breakeven and they disagreed. I said my aim in doing MBA is not about the immediate benefit, though salaries are important, the learning will stay with me for a lifetime and some cross-questioning and answers later they asked me if I had any questions for them. The interview was done in about 20-25 mins. They were not aggressive but definitely put doubts into my mind. Keep calm and think before answering is what I can suggest.

Got over interview. Why MBA, Why IIMB, several cross questions on the profile and on the extra curriculars and achievements in application. Finally a guesstimate question.

Hi got over with my interview . Lasted for 25 mins. few basic questions on my current role, why mba , on my company. I also felt that the panelists were in a hurry and the interview ended abruptly

Quite relaxed interview. Panelist 1 - Started with intro part and then pivoted to why MBA. On my standard answer, he started laughing and asked me to give other reasons. Don’t know whether I was able to convince him. Panelist 2 - Asked a lot of cross questions on work profile and a specific business strategy. Ended with "All the best". Don’t know what they were looking for. I felt that they had already decided the candidates and it was just a formality.

IIMB (R2) Briefing: Background: IBM| 7yrs work exp| GMAT 700 WAT: Something about recent inter-state migrant crises. Considering socio-economic diversity of India, discuss the about pros and cons of pan-national citizenship identity (can’t recall exactly) Scheduled time:12pm, started 20 mins early and lasted 20 min. Questions asked: My educational background, my work in IBM, difference between IT services and IT products, what I did in UK, some history about IBM, any Qs for us Questions NOT asked: WAT topic, strengths and weakness, why IIMB-EPGP Overall it was relaxed. THey tried to counter some of the points but I think I was able to defend. I tried to explain some topic but couldn’t. The prof mentioned better admit to not knowing since one can’t be jack of all trades. Lasted for only 15min. Compared to IIMA interview, it was less stressful and there were moments when we were just conversing. He also mentioned about a book which I had not read (he expected people from IBM to read that book)

My IIM B interview was purely technical one. Like not one typical MBA questions. 12.30 pm slot. Started 20 mins late. Went till 1.15pm. One professor asked about mechanical engineering related basics. He went till actual physics. And after 15 mins , the other professor took over. Gave a problem to solve. Ended the interview abruptly. They did ask me if I had any questions. But again the answers from panel seemed like they are in a hurry.

2 panelists, both very polite. P1 Started of with why MBA - halfway through my answer he interrupted and countered with ’can you validate the skills you claim to have’. While I was validating P1 countered a couple of times, trying to pressurize a bit. Next P2 asked about an incident of conflict that I have faced within my team. Few counter arguments here regarding explaining my role in the situation. Thereafter asked about my target industry, why supply chain. Finally my target role and target company. Altogether, a conversational interview, less stressful than IIMA. I felt it was a relatively short interview-15 mins. Don’t know what to make of it. All the best to those with interviews coming up.

2 people in the pannel.. very polite and positive .. Started with give your Introduction.. They stopped me when I mentioned my long term goal..lots of management l, strategy and business questions around this. Then I mentioned my short term goal.. and again lots of stress test around this.. Extracurricular questions.. what are my plans..

There were two professors, a lady(P1) and a gentleman(P2). P1 read my profile and asked me about my writing hobbie. Some questions and discussions about it. Then she went to my first job, why I left - some discussion on how the appeals work and all. She was interested in the ethical conflict that resulted in my departure, then to the next n present job. I explained my work n what we do - we even organize one of their events. She smiled and asked if their documentation is in place. You are a CA then why do MBA? Answered. Then it went to the economy. She wanted my views on the global economy, India. Some stats, I did mug up so was easy. Technical recession and what it was. Liquidity and stuff, I gave some answers on how liquidity by itself won't help n we need to revive consumption. P2 took over and was like what would you do if you were finance minister. I answered: I am not sure sir. I don't have a clear idea. You are a CA, you are perfectly qualified to answer. Started on LTA scheme, rural employment guarantee, more income in people hands, trends, consumer confidence. Some cross-questioning, cornering but I felt it went well. P2 cut me off saying: it will be a bigger discussion and we can't have it now. So, let's say where do you want to get placed if you were to make it IIM Bangalore? I said e-commerce. He asked any company. I replied no sir, but I like that field and it has good growth potential. Done in about 15 mins.

My Round 2 interview got preponed from 5:30 PM to 2:00 PM but I was asked if they could prepone it so it was okay. Interviewed by 2 Profs. Total time ~ 20 mins. All Qs were profile related. There were 5 parts of the interview: 1. Electrical engineering related Qs (my undergrad) and how it helps in my job. 2. Work related Qs and how do you manage things. 3. Why MBA? 4. Do you plan to remain in the same sector post MBA? 5. Qs for us? Lots of cross questioning and comments but they were smiling and laughing almost all the time. Eg- calculus is 11th, 12th not Engineering; do you think central govt employees are that savvy to understand these pension related technical things? Are you calling us central govt employees less financially literate?; Your job is so important and powerful so why would you want to leave?; You have remained in this sector and don't know much about other sectors that's why you are saying that you want to work in this sector; You are an adult, you can take your own decisions why do you want our opinion (on my Q for them - how to maximize/optimize learning given academics, extra currics and just 1 year for all that). But the Prof did give a good tip - ultimately concepts will be learned in a class, and through exams so that has to be academic. At one point, the main Prof just stood up and went somewhere. I had to ask the other one if I should continue. So it felt like a stress interview but they were quite chill and smiled and laughed all the while. Overall it was a fun experience, and despite questioning, and commenting a lot, they made it comfortable. General tips: Be prepared for anything and just remain confident while answering. A sense of humour helps to laugh and smile, and that takes the stress away.

Two interviewers (P1 and P2) P1: Tell us about your everyday job. What you do? Interrupted midway and asked do you have juniors. Do they report to you? P1: Tell us about a project of yours. P1: You mentioned a lot about IIM B in your SOP. Have you actually got in touch with anyone, alumni or student? P1: What is unique about Ganga in Banaras? Think geography-wise. P2: Shared his screen to ask inference on a graph of cumulative probability distribution. P2: What is the male:female ratio at your current workplace? P2: What do you think about the oil market future now that Trump has lost. Will it impact your industry? P1: How do you optimise your product performance (work-related)? P1: Any questions? Overall, ~15 mins interview and they seemed to be in a hurry. No questions from my SOP. I was interrupted on a few questions but never felt like a stress interview. Not sure what to make of the experience.

Start time: 1155 Hrs, End Time: 1216 Hrs Panel: 2 Professors Experience: I had a small hiccup even before the interview happened. The Adcom has instructed to be online @ 1145 Hrs; however, I lost broadband connectivity at the exact time. I was trying to set up the connection using a mobile hotspot when I got a call from the Admission team to come online as the panel was waiting to start the interview. I acknowledged and went online immediately. I joined the virtual room and exchanged greetings with the profs. The profs immediately explained me the Extempore process. I got the topic: "Should organisations increase House Rent Allowance (HRA) for the employees working from home? - For or Against". I choose to stick with the topic and got a minute or so to shape my thoughts. When Prof-1 asked me if I am ready, I confirmed and stated my stand. Meanwhile, I forgot to switch my MIC back on, so I was interrupted by Prof-1. Realising my mistake, I apologised for it and then started my argument. Firstly, I mentioned the effect of the pandemic that forced everyone to adopt this WFH culture and said to adapt to this setting employees have to meet specific requirements at their home. Although some companies are providing extra equipment and set up for the same, Companies should increase HRA to support the transition and help to maintain the cost of services. At this point, Prof-2 stepped in stating that if companies are providing the incentives, then why increase HRA? I tried to explain by saying that such incentives are sufficient to purchase those services. Imagine someone who lives at the outskirts of a city. At times even I, who lives in the heart of the town, faces issues with internet connectivity as it happened just before the interview. He/she might not even have those facilities available for purchase. So, the only solution would be relocating to a place where he/she can get those facilities. In this process, one eventually increases his/her cost of living and thus should be compensated. Secondly, I also presented a point from the company's perspective. If a company shows such an initiative, then it can prove to its employees that the company is not pushing technology on employees. Instead, the company want the employees to grow with the new culture and incorporates a safer approach to achieve maximum productivity. At this point, Prof-1 threw a counter-question. He stated that I am only considering pandemic time. What are my views on WFH post-pandemic? I was sort of ready with this, and I stated my belief that the WFH culture is here to stay even after the pandemic. Immediately, Prof-1 countered saying that how I am so sure as many companies, who initially were of the view that WFH is right, are now saying that the productivity of the employees has gone down. They want to switch back to the original method of working from offices. He also mentioned that he observes that employees tend to get distracted at home by family and are bound to get involved in household activities/matter. Here, I supported my argument by citing the example of my sister. I explained how my sister has been doing WFH since lockdown and how we, the family members, understand and co-operates with her requirements. At times she also faces issues, but it is up to the family members to realise her job responsibilities and support her by giving her space. Regarding productivity, I argued that in the light of the information provided by yourself that this very culture of realising the challenges and supporting employees in overcoming those need to be integrated into the company culture as well. The company should train its managers in methods of evaluating the productivity of an employee. Maybe rather than considering the no. of hours spent on the screen to assess the productivity of an employee, they might look at some other techniques which consider the total output. Here again, I supported the argument by telling how my sister got a promotion while doing WFH. The prof-1 then asked me if I consider that doing an engineering design project by a group of employees would be fast-paced if every participant is at one location physically rather than at remote areas? I stated that since I am not an engineer, I can only say from my little experience in designing a project from early years in my graduation that technology plays a vital role in mitigating these issues. Since past many years, technology has made significant advances and will continue to do so in future. We only need to be welcoming to adapt to such innovations and incorporate them into our work profiles to create a better virtual environment to address such issues. At this point, Prof-2 ended the topic by saying that I have made some good points and then shifted to profile-based questions. However, to my surprise, they only asked two questions with no counter questions. He started by stating my current rank and further designations and why I suddenly want to give up all of that (I can be a captain in 3-4 years - the ultimate rank on a ship)? I started off saying how it's not about giving up on something but about what I want in life. I had a well-thought answer to this. I also incorporated my love for Amazon services and the reason, my expertise in my current profession, my ultimate desire that included short- and long-term goals. I explained how my current job has acted as a catalyst towards the MBA decision, and that I intend to give back to society. After this came the last question from prof-2 when he asked what if I couldn't get the desired role in the supply chain at Amazon? I replied, saying that I am not constraining myself to a specific position or company. Here, Prof-2 again interjected and asked again if I have some other companies in mind. I took the name of few and also added that I am open to operations role in other industries as well. I can utilise my transferable skills such as planning, management, leadership, etc., to get a role in that domain. At this, Prof-1 concluded saying that I am looking at the supply chain, logistics and operations as overall options, and I acknowledged the same. After this, they said that they have enough from me, and we concluded the session with final greetings. I was a little taken aback here at such an abrupt end, but I left the room, informed the organiser and left the Zoom meeting. Overview: It was the smoothest interview session I could expect. No stress talks at all. I never felt any pressure and panel and other staff were very cordial. To be honest, I could not have guessed the result, and it came as a surprise to me just after five days. Suggestions: Honestly, I am no expert at MBA interviews or other professional interviews. I can only say that being honest and upfront is the key. State what you believe in with a clear mindset, be ready to face counter questions and do so with grace. Don't try to prove your knowledge as the panel is far more knowledgeable than us. Don't hesitate if you are not comfortable with the extempore topic, ask for the different one. Even if the second one doesn't go your way, don't sweat. They are just testing our skill at logical reasoning and presentation of an idea. Try to relate the topic to some of the real-life experiences, if possible. It gives credibility to your beliefs. In the end, be yourself and relish the achievement of making to that room. Here, I would like to thank GMAT Club, who was a great source of information and guidance throughout my MBA journey so far since 2017. I thank @BB, @Nikhil and other moderators and also my friends and sister who helped me shape my presentations.

My interview was on 7th November 2020. There were two professors- P1 -the senior person and P2 was comparatively younger. Me- Good Afternoon Sirs P1,P2- Good afternoon Shivna P1- So tell us about yourself Me- (Answered) I am a CA in practice. I have 6 years of post qualification experience in Auditing , Taxation, Insolvency litigation, etc. My skills are legal research, auditing,etc P2- So you have been in the legal field as well Me- Yes( No more questions from P2 on profile ) P1- But why an MBA Me- Answered with example why I lack the managerial perspective and why as an advisor on compliance aspects I have not been able to develop the same (No further questions) In all, the questions on my profile did not last longer than 5 minutes P1- So we now move to the extempore(Explains the process) Your topic is -"In India, education should be free at all levels and should be subsidized as Government policies " After 1 minute I started presenting my points. Me- Free education up to the age of 14 is a Fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of India. I believe that the same should be extended to High school and the first degree post high school. Focus should be on providing high quality education and relevant skills which makes the student ready for the workforce. Post Bachelors , need based scholarship for meritorious students, but those who can pay for masters should pay as once a free undergrad degree already equips you with relevant skills for the workforce, the masters than becomes an additional specific requirement . P1 and P2 countered me at every step. I was presented with statistics both in favour and against of whatever I said. I manage to concede where I was uninformed and again adapted my points . P1- Do you know any country which follows the model that you have illustrated. Me- Gave an example of an MBA degree from Copenhagen Business School which was chargeable for all , not only non-EU and non Scandinavian residents. Explained why MBA degree was to be paid in spite of free education provided by Nordic countries P2- You come from Gujarat. How different is Gujarat Board from CBSE/ICSE? Me- Answered with my opinion. P1- Is Gujarat doing well in education parameters Me- Answered with an honest opinion, gave a disclaimer that I was not aware of steps. (My extempore lasted for 22 minutes ) P2- You have strong extra curriculars. What have you learnt from the same ? Me- Answered about my two main hobbies- marathon running and trekking P1- What was the last Himalayan trek you did ?Which companies conduct such activities ? Are you a solo trekker Me- Answered (Extra curriculars lasted 6-7 minutes ) Interview ends Result- Admitted My key takeaways- have an honest discussion with the professors. I was expecting that I would be grilled on my work experience as a professional, but I got no questions on the same. If , like me, you have a long extempore try and back up your stance with a sound reasoning!

Interviewed over Zoom, scheduled for 4 PM, started at 4:20. Panel - 2 Profs., One older (driver of most questions), 1 younger (observer and few questions towards the end) Q1: Please enlighten us as to who you are, where you are right now, and what are you up to these days. A: Fairly standard, was prepared for this. Answered and deliberately dropped a few phrases to steer the interview in the direction I wanted it to take. Q2: Tell me about this last company where you have worked, what does it do? What is your role exactly? A: Fairly standard question, was prepared, answered for a minute. Q3: Question about whom exactly does my product benefit and how? A: Wasn't prepared but could articulate my views well. They seemed convinced. At this point, the profs. decided to take up the extempore. My topic was "Should traditional newspapers move away from the print based model to a digital one?" I think I lucked out here. I read a lot of digital news and can talk about it for hours. I took the stand Yes, they should, and backed it with data and examples (like that of NYT). They made a lot of counterpoints, but I could hold my ground and in the end, though they didn't agree with everything I said, they seemed satisfied with my response overall. Back to questions- Q4: Why PGPX? A: Couldn't be more prepared, talked about my past experience and future goals. Q5: But why Product Management (my post MBA goal)? A: Talked about how I'm a people person with high empathy, and technology is my core skill. Combine the two and Prod. Man. is the best-suited career goal for me. They seemed satisfied. Q6: You want to be a tech entrepreneur eventually and are working on your idea even now, so why not just try to startup now itself? A: Answered how I need knowledge as well as people from different business functions to complement my tech skills to be able to do that effectively. PGPX will provide both. Q7: What do you do apart from work? A: Travel & Photography Q8: Why these specific interests? A: Damn, wasn't expecting this line of questioning. Answered honestly. Q9: Where was the last place you traveled to? What did you learn? A: Fresh memory, answered. Q10: Tell us about the local tribe of the place and their beliefs. A: Wasn't prepared but was aware, answered. Some general wrapup convo. and then close. I had a few questions prepared but they didn't give me the opportunity to ask. Total time: ~25 mins. I was nervous before the start of the interview but overall it was a kind of conversation where I felt increasingly relaxed as the interview went on. The profs. made me feel comfortable and let me finish my sentences mostly (except during the extempore but that's expected). Tip: Maintain a smile. Be confident about your profile, know what you bring to the table, and exactly why you want to go through this program. Take well-calculated stands and defend your stand resolutely even when countered by the profs.

Interviewed by 2 Profs today. Interview was delayed by 1 hour. Extempore: 10-15 mins (1 minute to gather my thoughts and then had to start) 1. Had to speak for or against: "Business education degree doesn't matter to grow in the corporate ladder". I spoke against it and gave my reasons with caveats. 2. Follow up Qs: Why would an engineer or a coder need business education ever? They can work on an OS or some technical product and grow. Defended it by providing a normal career progression of a tech professional and that I've seem my alumns transitioning eventually. Plus even in one's own tech venture, once the scale of things increases diff aspects related to finance, marketing, coordination with Govt and regulators emerge and one would need knowledge about these aspects and would need to hire people who deal with this stuff and to manage these people and teams, formal education would help. Rest of the interview: around 15 mins 1. Tell me about yourself: tried to show my personality, my career progression, hobbies, and current role 2. Specific work experience related Qs: what are the factors that you take into consideration to manage and oversee investment of public money, is there a gap between regulators and industry, why insurance penetration/coverage is poor in India - tried to present balanced answers and core reasons along with solutions 3. General Qs: what would you focus on specifically during the studies here - tried linking my goals here 4. Qs for the Profs: Had 2 Qs in mind - what about the International Immersion in COVID times (Profs said its uncertain and asked me to check with PGPX office), and asked about IIM-A's bid to make UP a 1 trillion economy (Profs said they have produced many great managers, and providing consulting is their fundamental right :D, and the graduates will also help in this venture, more info cannot be provided he said). Overall feel: Calm, pleasant conversation, not a stress interview, didn't feel "grilled" Advice: Be confident in whatever you say, try keeping the answers crisp and simple and stop whenever you realize you've been rambling (I was stopped once), and hope for the best!

Scheduled slot: 15:30 Panel - 7 The interview was advanced by 15 minutes (Informed by call) and went on for 30 minutes Background: 7+ years of work experience in software development. Started with extempore for about 10-15 min Topic: shortage of food grains in India can be solved only by improving storage facilities. I took this topic and presented my view. Surprisingly I was not interrupted while speaking and could complete my whole argument. Cross questioning happened. Later, based on this discussion and final agreed outcome, was asked to provide my position on the impact of FDI (via companies like Walmart that bring good supply chain management) on the Indian economy. Then my work experience - All companies that I have worked with. What's the best thing about my current employer. Then deep dive into my projects and extra-curricular activities I had given my GMAT in 2017 so asked why took so long time to apply after that. Finally was asked if my extra curriculars are so good (I am a national level actor) why not take those up as a career and why MBA? What were my post-MBA goals? Would I want to stick to my industry or would I want to shift? Since I have been in the software industry, what is my stance on WhiteHat Jr? Is it right to get children as young as 6-7 years old into coding? They had read my complete profile including, resume, essays, and application form So I would advise everyone appearing for these interviews to know in and out of your complete profile.

Interviewed by 2 Profs today. Interview was delayed by 1 hour. Extempore: 10-15 mins (1 minute to gather my thoughts and then had to start) 1. Had to speak for or against: "Business education degree doesn't matter to grow in the corporate ladder". I spoke against it and gave my reasons with caveats. 2. Follow up Qs: Why would an engineer or a coder need business education ever? They can work on an OS or some technical product and grow. Defended it by providing a normal career progression of a tech professional and that I've seem my alumns transitioning eventually. Plus even in one's own tech venture, once the scale of things increases diff aspects related to finance, marketing, coordination with Govt and regulators emerge and one would need knowledge about these aspects and would need to hire people who deal with this stuff and to manage these people and teams, formal education would help. Rest of the interview: around 15 mins 1. Tell me about yourself: tried to show my personality, my career progression, hobbies, and current role 2. Specific work experience related Qs: what are the factors that you take into consideration to manage and oversee investment of public money, is there a gap between regulators and industry, why insurance penetration/coverage is poor in India - tried to present balanced answers and core reasons along with solutions 3. General Qs: what would you focus on specifically during the studies here - tried linking my goals here 4. Qs for the Profs: Had 2 Qs in mind - what about the International Immersion in COVID times (Profs said its uncertain and asked me to check with PGPX office), and asked about IIM-A's bid to make UP a 1 trillion economy (Profs said they have produced many great managers, and providing consulting is their fundamental right , and the graduates will also help in this venture, more info cannot be provided he said). Overall feel: Calm, pleasant conversation, not a stress interview, didn't feel "grilled" Advice: Be confident in whatever you say, try keeping the answers crisp and simple and stop whenever you realize you've been rambling (I was stopped once), and hope for the best! *Fin*

Time 5:00 pm. started 10 mins after. around 25 mins. Extempore - democracy give rise to demogauge hence it is not good (not the exact wording but this is what it meant, was a long sentence). many arguments cross questions about the topic. then why mba and why iim a and over.