IIM Bangalore Hub

Sharing my recent interview experience (unfortunately didn’t convert) in hopes of receiving constructive feedback. The interaction was detailed and covered both technical and non-technical areas. Here's how it went: The interview began with greetings from both sides. P1 (Professor 1): Going through my SOP – “So you’ve worked as a trainer, then at Company 1, and now at Company 2. What does your current company do?” Me: Gave a brief about the company. P1: “Where does major revenue come from?” Me: Explained that revenue comes mainly from engineering services (EPC) and IT services for global clients. P1: “You worked at Company 1 (wind energy). What’s the current wind power capacity in India? Which states are most active?” Me: Answered with installation capacity and mentioned states like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, etc. Then question on cost comparison, which i answered: • Rates for wind: ₹3–5/unit • Solar: ₹2–4/unit • I wasn’t sure about thermal rates. P2: “Which is cheaper, wind or thermal?” Me: After thinking, I said thermal. This led to a counter-question: “If thermal is cheaper, why is India pushing renewables?” I responded that ~85% of India’s current energy mix is from coal and oil, and for self-reliance and sustainability, renewables are the way forward. Also added that non-renewables may deplete in near future to which P1, P2 went on to ask when exactly in near future? I mentioned it could take 100 years. P1: “If it’s 100 years away, why worry now?” I replied that transition takes time, so planning early is essential. This ended the technical section. Then came lighter topics. P1: “Any hobbies?” Me: I mentioned volunteering and playing chess. P1 chuckled: “Everyone follows chess now because of Gukesh.” I smiled, but noted that the volunteering bit was skipped entirely. P1: Asked my opinion on the recent chess world championship controversy, where some legends said the event lacked competition and the winner shouldn’t be called champion. I replied that while some games had blunders, others were competitive. Even if Carlsen and Kasparov opted out, the championship followed an official process so the winner deserves the title. P1 (follow-up): “If ICC hosted a World Cup with Mongolia and Kenya, and they won, should they be world champions?” I said that if stronger teams (India, Australia, etc.) chose not to participate, and the event followed process, the winner is valid given the context. P2 the asked how Gukesh got to challenge for the title. Me: Said I wasn’t entirely sure, but I think he qualified based on wins in key tournaments (Candidates/World Cup). P2: “Do you know who won the Candidates?” Me: Said I wasn’t sure guessed maybe Praggnanandhaa, though I thought Gukesh also participated. They nodded and said I was good to go. Reflection: While I felt the technical answers were okay, I realize I could have: • Been clearer on facts like the Candidates winner. • Handled energy cost questions more analytically (not just cost but policy/environmental factors). • Tried to steer back to volunteering when it was skipped. • Paused and clarified before responding under pressure. Open to any feedback.

Due to cyclone my interview got changed to online zoom. After WAT, Interview started with 2 extremely cool professors. 1) Intro and my professional journey 2) Conflicts faced in workplace and how I resolved it 2.1) Cross question on my answer to above : Is AI boon ? Won't it remove workforce and jobs? 3) Screen was shared and I was asked a puzzle. It was on a game played by 2 persons and how the money was split b/w them in every rounds. I was asked to analyze it and give the final outcome of this game: after looking at the numbers, I almost gave the answer which convinced them 4) Screen was shared and I was shown Flight Radar map and route of Air India from DEL to San Francisco . I was asked why the airline was following a curved path and a path from north pole 5) Why I didn't go for TAS ? 6) I was asked why I want to join IIM B, apart from the fact that it's a great B School? 7) Any Questions for Us Ended with a Congratulatory Notification when I started my car engine after a fine day at work and rejoiced with my Boss in the middle of road for this wonderful achievement. All GMAT prep, All Interview Prep and Essays/Applications was done my me, with help taken from my close friends. Can DM me for details.

My interview was around 25 minutes. It was centred around my work experience along with our company's competitors, how do we compete with them. Lastly, the general questions of why MBA and post MBA goals.

My panel had two professors P1 and P2 and an alum A1. P1 ushered me into the room and the interview began on a high energy note. I had mentioned in my SOP that I've dabbled in stand-up comedy. They were very interested to find what I've done. P2: How do you go about preparing your material? Explained my process and the observations I used. P2: What's your best work? Told them about a script I'd written taking inspiration from the White House Correspondents' Association Annual Dinner and rewriting it for the India Parliament at the time. P2: Who are the comedians you look upto? Told them my top two comedians and my reasons. Worked in how I they inspired me to write Bangalore specific jokes. P1: Tell me some Bangalore specific jokes. Told them two and they had poker faces. My heart sank a little. P2: Moving on, you have mentioned industries like education and healthcare in your SOP. Do you think such companies come for placements? Told them that they currently do not. However, added that through my research, attending the open house, and talking to alums I've seen that the placements are largely student-driven. Added that these are my preferred industries, not necessity. P2: What impact can you create in the healthcare industry as a PM? I started rambling a little and told more process-oriented stuff than product oriented stuff. P2 seemed to get irritated. P2: Do you think these are process impacts or product impacts? I corrected myself and tied my answer to how a product could improve the said processes. P2: What can be an example of a product in healthcare that you'd like to build? I answered and tied to my own experience of getting admitted to multiple hospitals. P1 took over and asked questions about my sector, which was surprising because I was expecting questions more specific to my country. P1: With all the new online ed-tech courses and universities popping up, do you think traditional schools like our still hold importance? I chose to not take sides in this answer. I told that both can co-exist because India has a vast population and each of them have different needs. Solidified the answers with personal experiences. P1: Which age segment in the education space would you consider to be the most lucrative? Answered and gave reasons. Worked in a personal story into the answer. A1: I want to understand that you've mentioned both content and product roles in your application. What exactly do you do? Answered how I started by building content but slowly progressed to contributing at the product level too. And since this wasn't formal, wanted to pursue and MBA to formalise it. Panel: Any questions for us? I asked two questions - one related to preparing for a certain course and the second related to campus life. Overall, the interview was very pleasant and lasted for a little over 30 minutes. Not a stress interview at all. Would advise to keep your answers short and interesting because P2 seemed to get frustrated a bit when I was going off-topic. Be true and answer genuinely and make the answers as personal as possible. Also, be confident and don't let a low or an unexpected moment take you down. I struggled a bit during my post MBA goals part of the interview. Yet, i kept smiling and answered the rest of the questions. That could've played a significant role too in my selection.

P1: Old prof started with what is SoC design engineer. What is SoC? Explained. Are you individual contributor ? No. I explained I am a functional lead role not a inline manager. Asked do I do appraisal? I said no...then started about initiatives. Jumped to what I initiatives I have bought. Laughed about it and pressured me. Prof asked about schemes for India's semiconductor manufacturing. Why intel doesn't have logo in phones? Explained about the ingredient branding done here. Intel doesn't Operate in mobile market. Alumni asked about intel monopoly. I corrected him about market figures. Intel is 6th in market share. Explained about tsmc. Explained him what we are doing to bring back leadership prodcuts. Explained the historu of intel about apple/challenges from Japan. Explained the history of semiconductor industry growth. How japan/China benefited from globalisation. Then finally he asked why epgp? I said learning/transformation/Chetan subramanian/collaboration between epgp/Pgp/pgpem students P3: asked do you a economist has spoken about sc policies. I answered it was raghuram rajan. Asked my opinion about it. I said I don't agree with it. Then done coz they didn't have much time left. Didn't prompt me to ask any questions