IIM Calcutta Hub

"My panel had three professors P1 and P2 (Lady Professor) and P3. After the greetings, P1 began with his questions. P2: How was your morning and tell me something about yourself P1: After passing out from MBAEx program where do u see yourself. Gave the reply to the positions where i can take business decision P1: Routine explanations , Are u not taking any Business Decisions? Explained P1: What is the difference between NGO & Social Entreprise ? Answered P1: Name some good NGO's ? Answered P1 said he is done with their questions. P2 took over. P2: Asked about the details of the projects handalled and how u can reduce the impact on the Environment? Answered. P2: Asked the brief about the work profile? Answered. P3: What is the difference between the course when it was started and now? Could not answered it to the detail, but answered it partially P3: If selected, what are the electives u might be interested? I answered some of them. P3: What do u mean by Normal Distribution? Not able to answer. P3: What do u mean by Probability and Conditional Probability. Answered the definition but gave wrong example. Panel: Any questions for us? I asked One question - one related to one of the centre and how can i contribute if selected. They answered comprehensively. Since i was 1st candidate to go for interview but my interview lasted for about 20 minutes. It was just the discussion, no personal questions, no HR questions & not a stress interview at all. Very conversational. Final verdict : Admitted

Panel of 3(2 alumni, other one I am not sure)M1,F1 & M2 M1 first asked me to sign a declaration form. M1- Tell me about project life cycle -Tell me what's the most critical point(one) in your project according to you. - What's project financing? Who generally finances the project? (got trapped due to absence of mind) -Who is your idol? (said Ratan Tata) -What do you like abt him? _What has he done for Healthcare? -Who is the present chairman of TCS -who is the ex chairman of TCS? -Who is the chairman of Wipro? -Where do you see yourself in 3 years? -Why consulting? Isn't it some fancy thing? (Prev 3 candidates said consulting) F1-Tell me some challenges in your industry you solved and the challenges you couldn't solve where MBA will help you. M2 -Difference between L1 bid & reverse auction(couldn't answer) -Why isn't your GMAT score in the 700s? -Comment on VK Pandian's new role as 5T chairman of Odisha(current affair based related to native place. Answered) -Comment on Supreme Court's decision to award compensation benefit to Nano's project delay (I Could not answer ) PI over My advice for IIM-C would be to go through current affairs in detail(especially business ones related to your industry) .I heard from from some candidates that lot of questions on current affairs related to politics were also asked. And of course,you need to know about your industry and work-ex thoroughly

My panel had two professors P1 and P2 and an alum A1. After the usual pleasantries, P1 began with their questions. P1 seemed disinterested throughout and this was with everyone who interviewed with this panel. P1: Why does your parent company have a different market name and different registration name? Answered that this is done for various reasons and that multiple companies do it. P1: What is the problem that your company is facing with the auditors at the moment? Explained P1: How would you have solved this accounting problem? Answered P1 said they were done with their questions. A1 and P2 took over. A1: What are some of the products you've worked on? Answered and told them that the latest product I worked on was an after-school product for early learners. A1: Why did it shut down? Gave them the reasons and added my pitch that I understand products don't work in isolation but require multiple facets of a business to make it successful in the long run. That's why I need an MBA. Gave them examples of such incidents which I saw. A1: What would you have done to improve the product? Asked them for a few seconds to think. Post that gave an answer on the lines of pivoting model to B2B, reducing input costs, and changing the positioning of the product. P2: You mentioned you want to take courses W and X by Prof Y and Prof Z in you SOP. But they are no longer with the institute. What would you do? I asked them if those course are still being offered. They said yes. Told them that whoever the school would've selected to teach the course must've been thoroughly vetted. P2: You mention Product Management as your post MBA field. IIMC is not really known for its PM placements. How do you think you'll upskill yourself? I answered by stating facts from my research - PM Clubs, PM events etc. P2: The things you mentioned are mostly done by the students in the two-year program. I ensured him that I'd do my best to particpate and drive those clubs and events. Panel: Any questions for us? I asked two questions - one related to curriculum and one related to campus life. They answered comprehensively. My interview lasted for about 25 minutes. Not a stress interview at all. Very conversational. P1 remained disinterested throughout. It felt like a tactic though. My personal energy was a little on the lower side that day since I had a fever for the past two days. All this notwithstanding, I think the two key reasons for my rejection are - IIMC prefers candidates with 9+ years of experience and from more traditional domains like Finance, BFSI, and IT. It places candidates too in the more traditional domains. So I might not have been a good fit for the program.

You work @intel? What you do? Prof wasn't knowing about chip design so he moved to current affairs of the industry Do you know about arm? Tell me a news about this company? It is going to go IPO in us stock exchange Who owns arm? What it does? Policies of india in semiconductor? Vedanta Foxconn breakup why? Design ecosystem in India and its strength and weakness Moore laws impact on business? It's slowing down so what is intel doing? Why mba ? Companies? Long term goals? Why not semiconductor companies directly after mba? Questions for us? Asked and they answered patiently Conversational interview. Simple to the point 20ish mins

My panel had 3 members - 2 faculty members and one alum. Questions - 1) Y MBA? 2) Post-MBA goals? 3) Wexp related questions 4) Myntra - Jabong merger (as I mentioned E-comm as my post-MBA goal) 5) Any questions for us? Tip - General Awareness is important for IIM interviews! So please read newspapers!

Hi all, Here is my Interview experience for IIM Calcutta PGPEX. Only suggestion for future aspirants from my side is to be positive, believe in yourself and whatever you are saying back it up with data points and never go back from your standpoint under pressure. My interview location was the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta campus at Joka. I had the morning 8 AM slot on Day-1 of interviews and was the third person to be interviewed. Profile: Work Experience: 10 Years in IT industry Function: Senior Consultant (Team Lead) at Capgemini Education: B.Tech, Computer science GMAT: 700, (Verbal: 39, Quants: 46) Interview Experience: Duration: 25 minutes P1: Professor-male P2: Professor-female I was asked to go into the room by a co-ordinator. I entered a long room and noticed a chair and walked towards it. On one side the panellists were sitting and I greeted ‘Good Morning’ to each of them. They also greeted me and asked me to sit. Here are the questions asked by them. How you reached the venue? After knowing that I came by Uber cab next question was why Uber? Why not Ola? Compare between Uber and Ola from customer perspective. If you are hired as consultant for a third app cab company who are starting their operations in India, what will be your strategy to beat them? Going by your strategy by what time you can expect to break even? I said 2 years. Then they said that Ola and Uber could not achieve that even in 5 years and you are expecting to achieve that in 2 years. I said with proper planning and execution it is achievable. Why don't you like Capgemini? I said no I do like working in Capgemini. Then why are you here for interview? I explained then that even after completing my course I am ready to go back to my current employer if there is an offer. Then few standard questions as given below. Why MBA? Why IIM C? Tell us about your weakness? Tell us about one scenario where you have provided innovative solution? What are your short term and long term goals? Final Result: Converted.

Interview Experience: My interview was scheduled on 11th Nov’17 in the India Habitat Center. I reached early at the venue to get a chance to talk to other candidates. I found many brilliant people with excellent profiles. Quite a significant number of candidates were from PSUs. Pre - Interview Process - All the document were verified very thoroughly. Hats off to the lady who did the job meticulously throughout the day :-D I was sixth in line for the interview and had ample of time to network with other candidates. Interview Begins… My interview panel had 2 professors; 1 Female(P1) and 1 Male (P2) I was called in by P2, after usual greetings, P1 took the charge and the interview started on a very casual note. P1: Delhi weather is really terrible nowadays, what is the reason for this. Me : Told her about the construction, 1cr+ vehicles in Delhi, crop burning in the neighboring states as the reason. P1 : What can be the solution for this . Me : It’s a collectective responsibility that needs to be shared equally by center, states and citizens. Gave some examples as well. After this chit chat, the real interview began - P1 : You have travelled a lot in your career. Can you tell us about it Me : Told her about the all my jobs and locations in brief. Also, emphasized what I learn from each job and place. P1 : What is your reason for shifting from Company 1 to Company 2? Me : Told her that the new role was my dram role at that point of my career. P1 : Then Why you shifted from Company 2 to Company 3. Me : Even though the company provided me my dream role but I didn’t find any motivation as the learning opportunity was not there. I justified what I said with the evidence from my resume. P1 was really very smart interviewer, she verified each and every word of mine with my resume and achievements and moved to other question only after getting satisfied. P1: What do you think the current situation in IT is? What should people do to save their jobs. Me : Told her about the current situation - the declining margins, protectionism etc. Told her that the only way out is to Reinvent yourself. P1: What are digital technologies? ME: Told her P1 : What is your favorite? Me : Blockchain. Explained her about it in detail. P1 : When you like technology then why MBA? Me : Told the reasons clearly, and the situation that inspired me. P1: Which companies are you targeting for IT consulting? Me : Told her. Finally, P2 got a chance to speak :-) P2 : Why IIMC? Me : Told him about the ROI - which is best among top colleges, the focus of curriculum on numbers amongst other reasons. P2 was satisfied and again went on silent mode. P1 took over again. P1 : How did you prepare for interviews? Me : Told her, how my wife helped me. P1 : Why she is not doing MBA? Me : Told her that we have 2 year old daughter, so, its difficult for her to manage studies and child. P1 told that many womem did their MBA. Its difficult but they can do it. I told her that Once I am done, I will try to change her mind as well. P1: What is your opinion on #METOO? Me - I told her that Women has all the right to name and shame people who harassed them. Some cross questioning on this. But she was satisfy with my answers. P1 : What is your Risk Management as you have wife and 2 year old daughter? Me : Since I have 2 year old daughter, I know what I am going to leave behind. This will inspire me to work hard and even harder. Both P1 and P2 were in awe. P1 : Any question for us? Me : asked about the placement stats for IT consulting companies P1: Thank you. It was really one of the best interview of my life. I found both the Professors really smart and polite. I got a good feeling after the interview and started dreaming of IIMC. Fortunately, this dream became a reality on 25th Nov’17, when I received the much awaited email of Admission Offer. And Now, I am eagerly waiting for 24th April'18, which will be my FIRST day in my DREAM college. Few Tips - 1) Be 200% clear about Why MBA? This question can come in various forms and you should be ready to tackle it. 2) Know your Resume thoroughly. Have reasons for each job change. 3) Be Honest. Professors are very smart they will catch if you cook stories.

Interview Experience: My interview was scheduled on 11th Nov’17 in the India Habitat Center. I reached early at the venue to get a chance to talk to other candidates. I found many brilliant people with excellent profiles. Quite a significant number of candidates were from PSUs. Pre - Interview Process - All the document were verified very thoroughly. Hats off to the lady who did the job meticulously throughout the day :-D I was sixth in line for the interview and had ample of time to network with other candidates. Interview Begins… My interview panel had 2 professors; 1 Female(P1) and 1 Male (P2) I was called in by P2, after usual greetings, P1 took the charge and the interview started on a very casual note. P1: Delhi weather is really terrible nowadays, what is the reason for this. Me : Told her about the construction, 1cr+ vehicles in Delhi, crop burning in the neighboring states as the reason. P1 : What can be the solution for this . Me : It’s a collectective responsibility that needs to be shared equally by center, states and citizens. Gave some examples as well. After this chit chat, the real interview began - P1 : You have travelled a lot in your career. Can you tell us about it Me : Told her about the all my jobs and locations in brief. Also, emphasized what I learn from each job and place. P1 : What is your reason for shifting from Company 1 to Company 2? Me : Told her that the new role was my dram role at that point of my career. P1 : Then Why you shifted from Company 2 to Company 3. Me : Even though the company provided me my dream role but I didn’t find any motivation as the learning opportunity was not there. I justified what I said with the evidence from my resume. P1 was really very smart interviewer, she verified each and every word of mine with my resume and achievements and moved to other question only after getting satisfied. P1: What do you think the current situation in IT is? What should people do to save their jobs. Me : Told her about the current situation - the declining margins, protectionism etc. Told her that the only way out is to Reinvent yourself. P1: What are digital technologies? ME: Told her P1 : What is your favorite? Me : Blockchain. Explained her about it in detail. P1 : When you like technology then why MBA? Me : Told the reasons clearly, and the situation that inspired me. P1: Which companies are you targeting for IT consulting? Me : Told her. Finally, P2 got a chance to speak :-) P2 : Why IIMC? Me : Told him about the ROI - which is best among top colleges, the focus of curriculum on numbers amongst other reasons. P2 was satisfied and again went on silent mode. P1 took over again. P1 : How did you prepare for interviews? Me : Told her, how my wife helped me. P1 : Why she is not doing MBA? Me : Told her that we have 2 year old daughter, so, its difficult for her to manage studies and child. P1 told that many womem did their MBA. Its difficult but they can do it. I told her that Once I am done, I will try to change her mind as well. P1: What is your opinion on #METOO? Me - I told her that Women has all the right to name and shame people who harassed them. Some cross questioning on this. But she was satisfy with my answers. P1 : What is your Risk Management as you have wife and 2 year old daughter? Me : Since I have 2 year old daughter, I know what I am going to leave behind. This will inspire me to work hard and even harder. Both P1 and P2 were in awe. P1 : Any question for us? Me : asked about the placement stats for IT consulting companies P1: Thank you. It was really one of the best interview of my life. I found both the Professors really smart and polite. I got a good feeling after the interview and started dreaming of IIMC. Fortunately, this dream became a reality on 25th Nov’17, when I received the much awaited email of Admission Offer. And Now, I am eagerly waiting for 24th April'18, which will be my FIRST day in my DREAM college. Few Tips - 1) Be 200% clear about Why MBA? This question can come in various forms and you should be ready to tackle it. 2) Know your Resume thoroughly. Have reasons for each job change. 3) Be Honest. Professors are very smart they will catch if you cook stories.