How I converted IIFT GD-PI call: 99.99 %iler Daniel Sinha shares his experience

Daniel Sinha cracked IIFT 2020 exam with 99.99 percentile. Here, he shares his WAT/GD-PI experience at IIFT Delhi.

Daniel Sinha, a BTech CSE graduate from IIIT Jabalpur, feels that cool headedness and awareness is the key to crack personal interviews of top B-Schools. Daniel scored 99.99 percentile in IIFT 2020 exam and was shortlisted for the Essay Writing, Group Discussion and Personal Interview round.  

Daniel, who hails from Udaipur, had appeared for CAT 2019 as well and received interview calls from MDI Gurgaon, IIM Shillong and baby IIMs. He shared his WAT/GD-PI experience at IIFT Delhi which he has now joined to pursue MBA in International Business. Read on.

Date & place of interview: February 20, 2020 IIFT Delhi

IIFT WAT/Essay Writing

Topic: Is disruptive innovation sustainable?

Summary of what I wrote: Going by the conventional head-body-conclusion structure, I first drew a brief background of the topic - described what I understand from innovation and then jumped on to disruptive innovation.

In the body section, I emphasized on the further details of the topic and laid stress on how it has been the driver of human progress over all these years. I cited examples from the industry and business to back my points. Further, to keep my write up comprehensive I also mentioned the other side of the story and assessed how sustainability with inclusive growth can be achieved in terms of economic and environmental sustainability in today’s time.

In the conclusion, I briefly touched upon the above discussed points and put forward my views on whether disruptive innovation is sustainable and how all the stakeholders can work for achieving that sustainability.        

All in all it was an organized, clear and well structured write up. I could have of course included a few more points but the WAT section was reasonably good on the whole given the limited time available.

IIFT GD Experience

Topic:  Which is better? Being famous or being important

There were 18 candidates in one panel. Each candidate was given one minute to speak and after that the floor was open for discussion.

I felt that with my past knowledge and some current affairs updates, I had some decent points to put forward my views. I began by saying that in today’s age of social media being famous is not that difficult. I mentioned examples of both the aspects - people who achieve fame without doing anything substantial and people who do great work but are often not recognized for their efforts. The different kinds of examples that I gave were quite relevant and convincing and they added great depth to my arguments. I ended up by saying that one should try to do things that are important and do some good to the society rather than running after fame.

In the open discussion, I made two-three entries and made a few good points that further opened up the discussion. The GD did not thankfully turn into a fish market in our case. I was highly satisfied by my GD performance and also the performance of the group as a whole.    

IIFT Personal Interview Experience

There were three panelists - one male and two females. I began to introduce myself and as it happens in most cases there was first a brief discussion about my uncommon name.  I then mentioned my education and background details from where the discussion went towards my current work experience. They asked me in detail about the work I do and the project I am currently involved in. It is here that the inevitable ‘Why MBA’ question came up. I gave a detailed answer discussing all the activities that I had been involved in college and how they enhanced my leadership and managerial traits.

I also elaborated on my present experience of working in a corporate team and how I felt I could be a great asset as a team leader in the organizational set up. I ended up by clearly stating that while I was satisfied with the job I was doing I strongly believed that I could excel as a manager in the future and that a leadership responsibility would bring the best out of me. I also touched upon the point of being important as an MBA and achieving greatness as discussed in the GD as I realized that one of the panel members was also our moderator in GD. The panelists seemed to be convinced with my points and articulation of the answer.

They then asked me about my hobbies and interests. I had mentioned blogging as one of my activities in the CV. One of the panelists asked me about the areas and topics on which I write to which I answered politics since I have interest and good knowledge of it.

As a follow up question, they asked me a politician who has inspired me in the recent times and any three of his traits that I think I possess. I mentioned the three traits and confidently said that I possessed these traits as well. At the same time I was humble enough to accept that I am still learning and trying to further imbibe these qualities. I also provided valid justifications for supporting the politician and put forward examples to show my knowledge of current events. There was also a small discussion about the style of working of the politician and whether I completely agree with his model of governance. They then asked a basic question about the sources of income of a state government. They asked me to name any three important manufacturing industries in Delhi which were Delhi’s major source of income. The panelists seemed to be satisfied with my responses. Personally, I would rate my PI as a fairly good one.

What I learnt from the experience

I was not asked much about Economics and International Business but many of the interviewees in my panel were being asked such questions. In IIFT Interview, you need to be particularly well prepared with Economic terms, Economic policies and growth indicators. Also, be ready to face questions related to international trade, foreign organizations, global events and India’s foreign policies and trade relations.

To sum up, all I can say is that cool headedness and awareness is the key to success in such interview processes. It is very important to be who you are and to not be pretentious since they are smart enough to catch you if you try to do so. While the panelists often try to grill you, it should be understood that they are just trying to test whether you can handle difficult situations well. Be polite, courteous and clear. Be confident and have a smile on your face. Just remember that they are there to select candidates and not to reject them. So just be composed and smart and you would certainly get through.

My best wishes to all the future aspirants.                  

Status: IIFT Delhi Converted

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