santiagopanics
This post is about my profile and interview debrief. I interviewed on 18th August (R2) and received an early admit offer on 8th September. Profile: 6 years of work-ex in the ed-tech industry. Involves both content and product development. Academic scores: 88% (10th), 77%(12th), 66% (graduation, B.Tech) Interview Debrief SP Jain has group interview and 2 rounds, the first of which is eliminative. My interview was completely online. On the day of the interview, I joined the link provided and kept my Aadhar Card and passport ready for verification. I was made to wait in a waiting room alongside a pool of shortlisted applicants. Speaking to other applicants was encouraged. Dress code was business formal. Suit and tie were not mandatory. I found out that in my pool, there were two other applicants who were from the same organisation as mine. The entire pool consisted of a healthy mix of professionals from diverse backgrounds. Post our verification, we were sent into different rooms where our panels were already waiting for us. My panel had two panelists - P1 and P2, both professors in SPJIMR. There were three shortlisted applicants - A1 (me), A2, and (A3). One of the applicants A2 was from the same organisation as mine. I don’t know if this grouping was done on purpose. The interview started with both P1 and P2 briefly introducing themselves. They asked us if we would like to tell about ourselves. I sensed a silence among other applicants and grabbed the opportunity to introduce myself. Followed by A2 and A3. Then began the round of tailored questions. The first set of questions were very targeted to each applicant. The panelists took our name and asked the questions. P1 to me: What product do you work on? Me: Answered P1 to me: What is going wrong with your organisation? Me: Gave my views in three bullet points. P1 to me: What would you do to improve this situation? Me: Again, gave an answer with three bullet points. No cross-questioning happened and they allowed me to finish my answers. This lasted for 7-8 minutes. They then moved to A2 who also had an engineering masters’ degree from a very reputed institution. P1 to A2: What were the key things you learnt in your masters’ degree and how is it relevant to an MBA? P1 to A2: Tell me some interesting research going on in your masters’ institution. P2 to A2: How has AI impacted your work? P2 to A2: Do you think teachers will be required 10 years later as the AI advances? A2 biffed up the answer and I wanted to take it. I think they saw it in my eyes and asked if I wanted to answer it. I answered that question and as soon as I got to a specific key point, they told me to stop and asked A2 to answer from there. After this they moved to A3 who was patiently listening to us and waiting for his turn. P2 thanked him for waiting and then began asking him questions related to his background, Operations and Supply Chain in a big e-retail company. P2 to A3: Explain the supply chain process of your organisation. A3 answered P2 to A3: Now that ONDC is gaining momentum, how will it affect your organisation? A3 biffed up here and they again sensed I wanted to answer. So they asked me if I wanted to answer. I gave due recognition to A3’s answer and built on it. P2 to A3: How did COVID impact the supply chain process of your organisation? A3 answered P1 to A3: What is your opinion about the 10 minute delivery apps? Do you think they’ll eat into your org’s buisness? A3’s answer was vague. They were done and asked if we had any questions. I asked if I could take the last question thrown to A3. They allowed me and I gave my view points. Post this, we were moved to the same waiting room with other applicants. They told us to stay in the same room for 30 minutes till the R1 results came. People discussed about their interview experience and eventually most of us turned off our cameras and waited. R1 results were announced and I moved to R2 which were to be held a few hours later on the same day. Same process was followed for R2 too. This time I was moved to a panel with two new professors - P1 and P2. There were four applicants this time - A1 (me), A2, A3, A4. After introductions, P2 asked each one of us to describe ourselves in 1 sentence. And it shouldn’t be related to our details in the application or resume. The answers to this were quite fun. Some people broke the rule of 1 sentence max and P2 pointed this out and asked them to answer again. Then P1 began by giving us a scenario - say you graduate from PGPM and now you are looking for a partner on a matrimonial site. What will be the list of qualities that you will - a) put about yourself b) put about your potential partner. This was a fun question and everyone laughed while answering. P2 was just observing us. I went second and answered about the qualities. Most answers were pretty generic and politically-correct which was pointed out jokingly by P2. Then, P1 asked us if marriage is a risk or a danger. Then P2 took over. They gave us a scenario about a manager in a construction company who doesn’t want to be deployed to a foreign country but wants to stay in the Mumbai headquarters. What will you do to convince him? Once each of us were done, P2 kept adding layers and nuances to the question. Again, a variety of answers flowed. The interview was over post this. We were sent to the waiting room, where adcom members told us to wait for results. Overall, the interview was very unique and fun. There was no stress test. Panelists were calm and made sure we felt comfortable too. R1 had questions around your work ex and related information about the industry. So reading up on those could help. R2 was situation specific to gauge your thinking process as a manager. What seemed to work for me is taking a balanced approach in answering every question. Do not take extremes, until you strongly believe in them and can justify them. Listen to the answers of others very actively and try to add onto them if you can. Do not interrupt a speaker. Ask permission to answer and then speak. Try to quote or build on someone else’s answers. For example, in R2 I didn’t think of a point to P2’s answer which A3 gave. When my turn came again, I quoted A3’s answer and said I would do the same. That’s my advice folks! Don’t stress a lot. Be calm and composed. The panelists just want to get to know you better and your awareness about your work and industry. All the best to everyone interviewing!
Great interview .. Happy you made it .. do you mind sharing your GMAT score?
08 Sep 2023, 01:17
