Hitchhiker’s Guide to cracking the WIMWI — Section II
Do check out the Section I of the Guide before moving ahead.
My new year’s vacation was destined not to be a relaxed one as a two-week sprint for the interview prep started. I had received a profile-based Interview call from the S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research(SPJIMR), Mumbai’s PGDM program for specialization in Information Management. This was my only chance at an MBA with a good B-School in India without getting pitted against the ferocious CAT again. Therefore, I left no stone unturned in preparing for the Interview.
The first thing I did was hire a personalized GDPI mentor as I really had zero experience of giving MBA interviews and as per the IIM interview experiences that were shared by Shreyas and Tejas, those were no child’s play. I handed the steering wheel of my prep to the hands of my mentor. He helped me craft the answers to a few vital questions like Why MBA? Short-term and Long-term career goals, and Why SPJIMR? He also suggested ample other topics and questions I should be prepared for.
I was heavily crunched on time and the crafted answers were too complex to be assimilated, simply because they weren’t mine. My mentor was adamant that I delivered the way he had written the answers for them to make sense and leave a lasting impression on the Interviewers. Hence, I began cramming the answers. The more answers I crammed, the more I had to keep revising them in my head, and the more pressure I felt.
I performed miserably in the mock interviews that my mentor organized over Skype. I would stutter, and stammer, give inadequate answers to the questions I didn’t prepare for, and was extremely nervous throughout the interview.
There were four major reasons why I was so pathetic in the interview room:
1) I perceived this interview as the only messiah that could save me from the ordeal of another CAT attempt. Hence, I tried to prepare for as many probable questions as possible. I wished to take no chances with this interview. Naturally, I became an easy target of the fear of the unknown.
2) I was under tremendous pressure to make no mistakes with the answers I had prepared for, which was precisely becoming the reason why I was faltering.
3) Cramming up too many answers, many of which were not even my own, had made me forgetful and anxious.
4) The same question in the Interview could be asked in multiple ways. The essence of the answer remains the same but the delivery needs to be adjusted accordingly. Now, the thing with crammed answers is, that they are very difficult to mold on the fly during the interview. Attempting such a manoeuver affects the natural flair and gives you away to the interviewers, who are veterans in psychoanalyzing you.
(I will deep dive into the MBA Interview Prep at a later section of this guide)
The D-Day arrived and I found myself in the Bhavan’s campus, Mumbai waiting in the auditorium to finish up the formalities. SPJIMR’s interview process is unique in the sense that they conduct Group Interviews(GI) instead of Personal Interviews(PI). This means that there would be an additional 5–7 candidates with you in the interview room, facing the same panel. You are supposed to speak whenever the question is directed at you. You’re also needed to be paying attention to what others are saying, as, in all probability, you could be asked the same question and expected to come up with an original answer.
The Writing Assessment Test(WAT) along with a Psychometric Test was conducted following which I was called for the interview, along with 5 others. Needless to say, I was nervous but the presence of other candidates in the room was actually comforting. There were two interviewers in the panel, both pretty chilled out and soft-spoken. They lightened up the tense atmosphere of the room with some small-talk.
The interview commenced with a round of formal introductions, which I volunteered to start. This was followed by a discussion around work experience, career goals, and the typical ‘Why MBA’ that the panel began asking in reverse order. The candidates were from diverse backgrounds. Someone worked in a Data Analytics role, another was already at a General Manager position in his company, yet another candidate worked as an engineer in the BARC. Even the interviewers sounded quite knowledgeable in all these domains.
All the candidates were being extensively cross-questioned on their motives for doing an MBA. Anticipating the same, I began rehearsing the Why MBA answer in my head. I was bracing for impact as the panel turned their gaze towards me, at last.
To my surprise, there was no question about Why MBA. I was asked a simple question, “Do you feel the education you had in college helps you in your current job?”. This seemed like a normal question and I answered it, by quoting an example from work. And just like that, the interview ended. No cross-questioning, and absolutely nothing from the archive of questions I had been preparing for the last two weeks.
My interview experience was in stark contrast with what everyone else would have had in the same panel. Obviously, I was disappointed. Either the panel was overly confident about me, or they didn’t like me one bit. It became clear that it wasn’t the latter case as I was called in for the second round of the GI, which was the final stage in the interview process.
The GI2 panel also consisted of two professors, but they were at the HOD level. A total of 7 candidates appeared before them. This round was a discussion around a few current affairs topics and our responses to the psychometric test. Despite all the efforts by the panel to keep the interview organized, it soon turned into a Group Discussion, and subsequently, into a petty fish market. The loudmouths intended to take control by interrupting others and paraphrasing the already communicated points whereas the poets saw the interview as a golden opportunity to exhibit their artistic philosophies. Being a natural introvert, I struggled for speaking space but eventually managed to grab some.
The interview process ended and I flew back to Bangalore. Keeping in mind my decent profile and relevant work experience, as well as the absence of any red flags in my interviews, I was pretty confident I would get through.
I had been living my regular Bangalore life for the next two months, waiting for the results and mentally preparing myself to resign from my job. Unfortunately, my relationship with Sharanya began sailing on a tempestuous sea during that time, and ultimately, by the mid of March 2020, it wrecked down.
The break-up had made me an emotional mess. I was perpetually somber and nothing seemed to cheer me up. The only thing that could rekindle my spirits was an acceptance into S.P. Jain and hence, I was desperately looking forward to it.
I was helping a colleague solve a technical issue at work when I received an email from SPJIMR that the results are out. At once, I retired into a vacant meeting room, chanted God’s name, and entered my credentials on the institute portal.
Moment of Truth!
“We regret to inform you that your candidature has not been selected.”
Tip#4 — MBA interviews and admissions are completely random in nature. Banking on a single prospect can often become disappointing. Always keep alternatives/backups if you don’t wish to repeat another year.
I was devastated, absolutely heartbroken. I let my exceedingly optimistic expectations overpower me, and eventually, hurt me. Samuarth was the first to know. He tried to console me with logical reasoning, but it was futile as I had already succumbed nine fathoms deep into emotional distress. I came home and informed my parents about it, which made them excruciatingly upset. I couldn’t sleep that night, trying to hold back tears and thinking about the future of my career.
That was a really tough phase of my life when everything seemed to be going south, be it on my personal or professional front.
I received a call from Shreyas the very next day. He was about to conclude his tenure at IIM Bangalore and hence, wanted to give me a tour of the college while he was still on campus. Samuarth and I took off of work early that evening and after battling the traffic congestion for about a couple of hours, finally reached the campus of IIMB.
Shreyas met us outside the campus along with his batchmate Priyank and sneaked us in through the back gate. As tour guides, they showed us around the renowned stone-walled Institute where the ‘3 Idiots’ was filmed. The lush green campus of IIM Bangalore seemed like a different world in itself. I could see students walking around in pajamas and chatting around the food joints, holding bags and books in their hands. I began recollecting my undergrad days at IIT Patna.
Shreyas wanted us to have the Chilli Chicken which was made in the mess that day, but unfortunately, we got late and the mess had closed. We had some quick bites at a restaurant on the campus and Shreyas went ahead to get some snacks packed for the night. While we waited for Shreyas, I began chatting with Priyank. He was a graduate from IIT Bombay, a truly humble and soft-spoken guy, exactly like Shreyas, Samuarth, and myself. Naturally, we started bonding almost instantly.
“Bro, you seem like a person who should really go for an MBA. You would be a perfect fit here in IIMB,” said Priyank as we began to head towards the hostel. There was nothing else I would have wanted at that time. IIMB had always been ‘The Place to B’ for me.
As expected, Shreyas’ room was an inhabitable grotto, something I would just refrain from drawing imagery of. We retired into Priyank’s room, which was pretty tidy, all set to receive guests. Priyank had set chairs and bean bags in the balcony where we got ourselves seated. We cackled as we talked about our college lives while enjoying music, refreshments, and the cool night breeze.
“So, I didn’t make it into S.P. Jain. Got the results yesterday.”
“What? Are you being serious?”
I affirmed in a melancholic tone. Shreyas and I were strolling around the campus at around 1 AM.
“Man, that’s really sad. I know you worked really hard for it,” assuaged Shreyas.
(brief pause)
“I never told this to you, as you were hell-bent on getting into S.P. Jain, but I never really wanted you to go there. It is undoubtedly a very good college, but just hear me out on this.”
I frowned upon hearing this. Shreyas continued, “To date, I have met just two guys who I think have the pertinent mindset to become an effective CEO of an enterprise. One of them belongs to my batch in IIMB, and trust me, we have prodigious people in my batch. And Gupta, the other one is you. Let me draw a simple comparison with cricket and explain it to you.”
Although I had never been a fan of cricket, I earnestly listened to Shreyas.
“Steve Smith used to be the captain of the Australian Cricket Team. An ingenious person, really smart and talented. He came in as a bowler and very soon, switched to being a batsman. Hence, he had a tremendous learning capacity. But he faltered when it came to the emotional quotient. Poor code of ethics and anger management issues were some of his major shortcomings, due to which he received a temporary ban from cricket. Now, when looking for a replacement, the Australian Cricket Board chose Tim Paine as the new captain. Neither the smartest nor the most talented of the lot, but when evaluating him on his soft skills and righteousness, he passed with flying colours. He would never falter anywhere, be it on the field, in the boardroom, or in a press release. He had an excellent image of a trustworthy individual admired by the public. That is how a CEO should be, and that is exactly how your personality is, Gupta.”
I was flabbergasted hearing those praiseworthy words coming from a person, whom I so deeply admire and follow in my life. Shreyas noticed the expression of amazement clear on my face.
“That’s right buddy, I’m not making this up. I truly feel this from the bottom of my heart. You deserve to be the captain, and therefore you should be aiming for nothing but the best! You already have a sterling profile. All you need to do is prepare better for the CAT. Don’t think about what’s gone, you were not even destined for that. I know for sure, that bigger things await you. So stop sulking now, and start preparing without wasting any more of your precious time. You can do it!”
“Thanks, Shreyas. That means a lot to me,” I replied with utmost sincerity.
“Cut this boring crap now and tell me about your Goa trip,” chuckled Shreyas.
Tip #5 — Always aim at least a little higher than your expectations. The choice of your B-School should depend on your calling and not on the fear of repeating another year.
Shreyas had reignited the flame of hope inside me that was almost extinguished. His pep talk was a clarion call for my conscience to pick up arms and get back into the battlefield once again.
Do share this guide with your MBA enthusiast friends too! The next section of Hitchhiker’s Guide to cracking the WIMWI delves deep into the CAT prep and it’s gonna be legendary!! Drop in your thoughts about this guide in the comments section. Keep clapping and Keep Following :-)
