MBA admission 2014: Crack the PI – Things to keep in mind for Interview

By Piyush Beriwala

The most important question as many would have told you is - WHY MBA? WHY this B-school? Prepare a solid answer to this question linking it with whatever you have done in your life till now. They look for the clarity of your goals in life and how well you have been planning things. Here are some tips to help you prepare.

Preparations Tips:

• For people with Work-ex it is very important, to be well read about the industry they work in, latest happening in the industry, about the clients they worked for (although you can quote the confidentiality clause to avoid questions on the client), competitors, etc. Know about your company very well.
• For freshers’, it is very important to be crystal clear about the projects and internships (if any). Be prepared to be asked all kind of questions on the same
• Irrespective of your work-ex, one should be prepared for basic questions on the graduation level education. For people interested in Operations with Mechanical Engineering background, be prepared for lot of questions on academics
• Know about the city and state you belong from very well, you can expect some questions from the same as interviewers try and gauge your social awareness at times
• Be clear about your hobbies and interest and prepare to have in depth insights on them. It shows your commitment towards things
• In short, prepare everything that appears in your CV/Form very well

Things to Be Kept In Mind during the Personal Interview

• Try and be objective in your approach. Answer questions in bullet points instead of long misleading statements. You get very limited time for an interview so make proper use of it by answering to the point
• Drive the interview towards your strengths and those things that you want them to hear about you. It is something you need to practise. Make a note of your strengths and try and link things to them. Make the interviewer ask questions that lead to your strengths. The way you answer questions play an important role in achieving it
• Body language is of utmost importance

1. You should look confident at all times
2. Sit straight with a smile on your face
3. Don't place anything(including your hands) on the table, it belongs to the interview panellist
4. Maintain eye contact with the panellists at all times
5. Answer all questions confidently and don't hesitate to say 'I don't know' to things you don't know

• Remember that interview is a selection process so they are not looking to reject you, they are looking to select you. Try and bring to the table, what makes you different and what value you can add to the interview
• Be handy with all the relevant documents. Though in all possibility they won't be asking for it but it is better to be prepared
• Don't be under any kind of stress. Take the interview as an interaction and behave naturally in front of them
• Choose your words carefully. You can even use some jargon to answer certain questions and then drive the interviewers to question you on the same. For example, in some of my answers I used to use the phrase 'Opportunity cost of doing MBA' which drove the interviewer to ask me questions on Economics, which is my strength area. Something like this can be used to drive your interview in a subtle way.

About the author:

Piyush Beriwala is a PGPM student at MDI Gurgaon. The tips shared are from his personal experience.