After having attended the 4 must-attend weddings and a must-attend house-warming ceremony [That was the reason i had given my manager to take PTOs for IIFT, SPJIMR nd the 3 IIMs] in a span of 3 weeks, I relaxed a long break between the A and K interviews.
The interview forms of all the IIMs more or less have the same questions. The only quirk about K being they wanted all their answers in bullet-points. An extreme case of 'dare-to-be-different' or 'move-away-from-the-herd' attitude. Did not change the answers much though. 4 sentences of a paragraph became 4 paragraphs or rather bullet-points.
One more in the afternoon, the sleepiest part of my day. I usually used to carry my tie to the venue and put it on there. So i went inside the Men's rest room and found another guy adjusting his tie. I tried my best but could not put the button. I asked him to help and he started. He looked a little mid aged and i got scared if this guy was one of the faculty. I and K have very young faculty. Shit!. But he turned out to be another guy for the interview. Phew!.
We were led into a room with a huge( it was very very huge ) oval table. 10 of the 12 people had turned out and there was 1 girl amongst the 10. The table was so big that it was really impossible to listen for one guy on one end to the person at the other end.
There was a very old professor(OP), the head of admissions at IIMK and another very young professor(YP) who we heard was tormenting the previous batches with his quant arrows.
OP:"We will first have a group discussion on a case for 15 minutes. When i say stop at the end of 15 minutes, please stop immediately. Then we will have interviews in the same order."
He then handed us a copy of the case each .
It was about the literacy problems in India. Lack of resources, teaching personnel etc.
After we were told to start, there was a surprise lull for sometime. I finally jumped in and started the discussion. It was an interesting and peaceful discussion. Use of IT infrastructure to give distance learning avoiding the faculty to go there. Making a 3 month teaching program compulsory for all people before graduating. Mid-day meals schemes. And a lot of other interesting solutions were discussed.
I was 6th in the order and so it was going to be a long wait. The first girl's interview went for almost 40 minutes. The rest four had not less than 30 minutes of interviews. Everybody had the same sullen face when they returned.
"Too many quant questions..."
After the third guy had returned we figured that a certain question was asked to all of them . The rest of the people tried solving it outside and we gave up. The guys who were waiting were all chatting very freely. I was sitting on a chair and the rest were huddled around me. OP had noticed it everytime he had come out to call out someone to come over for interview.
I finally went in. OP was going through my interview form and YP my file. There was deafening silence for the first minutes with both of them going through. It had never been this way before.
Actually after the 5th guy had done his interview, a peon had sneaked in and kept refreshments for the professors.
I was looking this side and that side while the professors were reading the respective things. YP looked at me thorugh this thick-framed glasses and slid the plate of refreshments towards me
"Go ahead.. have it!"
VC:"No sir!.. Thats fine!"
YP:"No no!.. its vegetarian.. please eat!"
I was very surprised at the vegetarian comment. I went ahead and took one. It looked very yummy and how many get to eat in an IIM interview anyways!?.
I bit half of it and the bliss was interrupted by thoughts that took me back some days to the 2 day GD/PI workshop conducted by TIME. The director of TIME Mumbai franchise was addressing us about potential traps in interviews.
"They offer you something to eat and then while you are eating they ask you a question. You will not be able to answer while you are chewing the food and you get stressed"
Shit!. Why why why. why did i have to take it?.I just gobbled the rest of it and downed it through my throat without chewing.
YP kept the file on the table and
"So what does it mean when they say you have 99 percentile?"
VC:"Sir , it means 1% of the students who took the exam are ahead of me"
YP:"Not really, it means 99% of student who took the exam are behind you"
VC:"[pause].. ok sir!"
YP:"F(X) = |X+5| + |X+8| + |X+11| X varies from minus-infinity to infinity.. tell me the maximum and minimum values of the function"
VC(instantly):"Maximum value is infinity!"
YP:"Ok... and minimum?"
VC:"sir, can i use this paper[in front of him] and my pen?"
YP:"Sure"
I drew a graph and found out the value.
VC:"Sir, minimum value is 6"
YP:"Ok one last question... you have a 3 by 3 grid and numbers 1,2,3. All 3 numbers have to be there once in every row and column. How many ways there are to fill the grid?"
I used the same paper to draw the grid and..
VC:"Sir, its 12"
YP:"12 is right. Now explain to me how did you arrive at it."
I explained to him and then he gave a nod of approval to OP.
OP:"So why MBA?"
VC:Tape recorder on.
OP:"Those guys outside you were chatting with.. are they from your college?" [with a very serious look]
VC:"No sir!.. I have not even met them before and i don't know them also"
OP:"Ok... tell me about inflation"
I explained to him about it connecting one thing to another logically.
He used the same variables and proved the exact opposite logically. That was simply brilliant. I just stared at the paper dumbfounded.
Both the professors laughed and then..
OP:No No!.. you are right. There are some more variables that we both ignored. Its ok!"
OP:"So you are a University ranker.."
VC:"Yes sir!"
OP:"Why didn't you play basketball professionally?.Why did not you pursue it?"
VC:"Sir balancing both academics and basketball became quite strenuous. Eventually one had to be sidelined and basketball it was."
They had some kind of sheet which had all the interviewee details.He looks at it.
OP:"Oh!.. you have all calls!!??"
VC:"Yes sir!"
OP:"Ok.. " and nods the head which signals the end of the interview.
I come out. 10 minutes it had been since i had gone in and the 4 guys are in a state of shock to see me out so early.
Back in house, i opened my mail to find an admit from State University of New York, Stony Brook.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
NITIE Mumbai
My friend at NITIE was not very sure if i had to attend this one by traveling all the way to Mumbai. But i wanted to attend every single interview just to keep all the cards when needed later.
"When will the IIFT results be out?"
"Should be out anytime. It does not matter. I am coming tonight. Will be there at 12 30 AM. Stay awake."
"OK"
I was overjoyed at the thought of boarding an airplane for the second time.
The letter had told us to be their in the auditorium by 8 AM for registration.
"Go late man!... Its ok.. nobody comes so early" said my friend.
I went at 8 30 to find an auditorium filled to the brim and students standing along the aisles also with the students doing a presentation on courses, placements etc on a big screen. A slick slide presentation filled with graphic imagery, macro media flash apps and sync sound.
Large number of guys had turned out. The beautiful greenery of the campus was the only saving grace in the hot humid weather of Mumbai. Our tight formal clothing was not helping the situation either.
20 groups of 12 were scheduled for the day and i was in group 8. There was a formal verification of all the certificates by a group of faculty after which we were made to wait outside a room where a group was having its GD.
Then we went in. We occupied a semi circle of chairs in the same order. Across a very long table sat a panel of 7 faculty members( by far the largest and i was sure nobody would exceed that).11 boys and a girl who was at the center of semi circle.
There was a box at the center of semicircle with 12 notepads and sharp pencils.
A Lady at the center of the panel told us to take a pad and pencil each.
"We will give you a topic. You will be given 3 minutes to think and prepare your notes. Then you will discuss for 18 minutes. And one of you will summarize the discussion at the end of 18 minutes for 2 minutes"
She then held a board in front of us which had a paper stuck on it with a line
"Is Indian IT Industry truly world class?"
3 minutes of silence followed and the go ahead was given.
12 Software engineers and a topic like this. I guess i don't have to say anything. The girl single handedly outvoiced all 11 boys and was in firm control of the discussion. I was very sure she would make it to the final list.
I was 10 in the order. So i just went to the waiting room where all others were there and removed my tie and sat below a fan.
At around 1 PM one of the co-ordinators called out for my name and i went and sat outside the interview room. There was one other guy sitting who was scheduled before me.After they were done with that guy the co-ordinator said to me that the panel had decided to break for lunch and he advised me i do the same.
An interview after lunch is dangerous. High possibility of getting burps!. I went to the mess. The food was heavenly but i resisted over eating and came back and occupied my seat again.
I was wondering what will be the state of panel after having lunch. They would already be bored by listening to lame reasons for doing MBAs and crap.
Anyways i was called in. There were 2 old professors (OP1, OP2) and one young prof(YP1) sitting .
VC:"Good afternoon!"
OP1(smiles):"Please take your seat"
My seat was 3 meters away from the panel table. The farthest i had been till now.
OP2:"Please introduce yourself"
VC:Tape recorder on
OP2:"Sainik school? .. good!.. What are you doing here?"
VC:"Sir, i failed to convince my parents to let me go. I am the only son and unfortunately Kargil war happened and they were anxious"[I carefully worded my answer putting the blame on myself(failed to convince). Well nobody was to be blamed anyways]
OP2:"I understand. Thats fine."
OP2:"What you think are the required qualities for a good manager?"
VC:"Good Leader.Should be outgoing , high-spirited gregarious and extrovert"
OP2:"What do you think you will gain by studying here? whats different here?"
VC:"It wont be a 'you-talk-i-listen' which has been happening till now. More of a practical, case-based approach with hands-on experience of real problems, simulations of corporate environment providing an ideal spring board to try out ideas"
OP2:"What subjects do you think we teach here?"
VC:"Sir Basics of Finance, HR, Marketing. Accounting etc"
OP2 nods to YP1. At this time one more young professor YP2 joined the panel.
YP1:"So you come from belgaum. Tell us about the problem"
VC:"Sir both Karnataka and Maharashtra want the district to be a part of them. The state reorganization act of 1953 had originally made it part of Karnataka. As recent as early 90s when the congress government instituted Mahajan committee to look into the matter and even they declared it as part of karnataka. But majority of the district speaks marathi and thats one major reason why Maharashtra feels that belgaum should be a part of them. But then Sholapur district in Maharashtra has majority of population speaking kannada. Both the states had almost agreed on an exchange pact. While Sholapur is a major textile hub and contributes a lot economically, belgaum has nothing of that sort to offer. Even the lands are infertile and not much water also is available."
YP1:"Which state you think it should be part of?"
VC:"Sir, frankly as long as it is part of India, i don't really care which state it belongs to."
All the professors burst out laughing at this comment of mine.
VC:"Sir, on a more serious note, i would be really happy if any of the states could address basic problems of the region like Infrastructure, Literacy and Employment. That state would be the rightful owner of the district"
YP1 nods to OP2 and
OP2:"Tell us about what you work on"
VC:Tape recorder on.
OP2 nods to YP2
YP2:"No.. i guess we are fine.. its ok.. you can leave."
I thanked them and came out. 7 minutes flat was what i was in for. A 2-way airplane journey for a fish market and a 7 minute interview!.
I returned to my friends room in the hostel complex. Switched on my cell. I had a message.
"Congrats dude!.... Treat us!"
I immediately caught hold of my friend's laptop and logged onto IIFT site. Could not log in for a while. Results had been declared for sure. Finally the page loaded and a link was put up on the main page. There were two links one each for New Delhi and Kolkata campuses. Clicked on the Delhi Link, my heart raced hard and then came back the moment i saw my name. It was a such a relief. I was sure that i would be doing an MBA no matter what now!.
Had to rush to the airport. So changed quickly and caught an auto. As i waited at the airport i saw the huge TV screens flashing "BREAKING NEWS"
Some IIMA grad had landed a crore-package. Pictures of the red walls of IIMA, the stone building of IIMB and SIMB pune were being flickered. Almost every soul watched with their mouth agape at the screens. Gave me goosebumps. Trust me you have to experience it to feel it!.
"When will the IIFT results be out?"
"Should be out anytime. It does not matter. I am coming tonight. Will be there at 12 30 AM. Stay awake."
"OK"
I was overjoyed at the thought of boarding an airplane for the second time.
The letter had told us to be their in the auditorium by 8 AM for registration.
"Go late man!... Its ok.. nobody comes so early" said my friend.
I went at 8 30 to find an auditorium filled to the brim and students standing along the aisles also with the students doing a presentation on courses, placements etc on a big screen. A slick slide presentation filled with graphic imagery, macro media flash apps and sync sound.
Large number of guys had turned out. The beautiful greenery of the campus was the only saving grace in the hot humid weather of Mumbai. Our tight formal clothing was not helping the situation either.
20 groups of 12 were scheduled for the day and i was in group 8. There was a formal verification of all the certificates by a group of faculty after which we were made to wait outside a room where a group was having its GD.
Then we went in. We occupied a semi circle of chairs in the same order. Across a very long table sat a panel of 7 faculty members( by far the largest and i was sure nobody would exceed that).11 boys and a girl who was at the center of semi circle.
There was a box at the center of semicircle with 12 notepads and sharp pencils.
A Lady at the center of the panel told us to take a pad and pencil each.
"We will give you a topic. You will be given 3 minutes to think and prepare your notes. Then you will discuss for 18 minutes. And one of you will summarize the discussion at the end of 18 minutes for 2 minutes"
She then held a board in front of us which had a paper stuck on it with a line
"Is Indian IT Industry truly world class?"
3 minutes of silence followed and the go ahead was given.
12 Software engineers and a topic like this. I guess i don't have to say anything. The girl single handedly outvoiced all 11 boys and was in firm control of the discussion. I was very sure she would make it to the final list.
I was 10 in the order. So i just went to the waiting room where all others were there and removed my tie and sat below a fan.
At around 1 PM one of the co-ordinators called out for my name and i went and sat outside the interview room. There was one other guy sitting who was scheduled before me.After they were done with that guy the co-ordinator said to me that the panel had decided to break for lunch and he advised me i do the same.
An interview after lunch is dangerous. High possibility of getting burps!. I went to the mess. The food was heavenly but i resisted over eating and came back and occupied my seat again.
I was wondering what will be the state of panel after having lunch. They would already be bored by listening to lame reasons for doing MBAs and crap.
Anyways i was called in. There were 2 old professors (OP1, OP2) and one young prof(YP1) sitting .
VC:"Good afternoon!"
OP1(smiles):"Please take your seat"
My seat was 3 meters away from the panel table. The farthest i had been till now.
OP2:"Please introduce yourself"
VC:Tape recorder on
OP2:"Sainik school? .. good!.. What are you doing here?"
VC:"Sir, i failed to convince my parents to let me go. I am the only son and unfortunately Kargil war happened and they were anxious"[I carefully worded my answer putting the blame on myself(failed to convince). Well nobody was to be blamed anyways]
OP2:"I understand. Thats fine."
OP2:"What you think are the required qualities for a good manager?"
VC:"Good Leader.Should be outgoing , high-spirited gregarious and extrovert"
OP2:"What do you think you will gain by studying here? whats different here?"
VC:"It wont be a 'you-talk-i-listen' which has been happening till now. More of a practical, case-based approach with hands-on experience of real problems, simulations of corporate environment providing an ideal spring board to try out ideas"
OP2:"What subjects do you think we teach here?"
VC:"Sir Basics of Finance, HR, Marketing. Accounting etc"
OP2 nods to YP1. At this time one more young professor YP2 joined the panel.
YP1:"So you come from belgaum. Tell us about the problem"
VC:"Sir both Karnataka and Maharashtra want the district to be a part of them. The state reorganization act of 1953 had originally made it part of Karnataka. As recent as early 90s when the congress government instituted Mahajan committee to look into the matter and even they declared it as part of karnataka. But majority of the district speaks marathi and thats one major reason why Maharashtra feels that belgaum should be a part of them. But then Sholapur district in Maharashtra has majority of population speaking kannada. Both the states had almost agreed on an exchange pact. While Sholapur is a major textile hub and contributes a lot economically, belgaum has nothing of that sort to offer. Even the lands are infertile and not much water also is available."
YP1:"Which state you think it should be part of?"
VC:"Sir, frankly as long as it is part of India, i don't really care which state it belongs to."
All the professors burst out laughing at this comment of mine.
VC:"Sir, on a more serious note, i would be really happy if any of the states could address basic problems of the region like Infrastructure, Literacy and Employment. That state would be the rightful owner of the district"
YP1 nods to OP2 and
OP2:"Tell us about what you work on"
VC:Tape recorder on.
OP2 nods to YP2
YP2:"No.. i guess we are fine.. its ok.. you can leave."
I thanked them and came out. 7 minutes flat was what i was in for. A 2-way airplane journey for a fish market and a 7 minute interview!.
I returned to my friends room in the hostel complex. Switched on my cell. I had a message.
"Congrats dude!.... Treat us!"
I immediately caught hold of my friend's laptop and logged onto IIFT site. Could not log in for a while. Results had been declared for sure. Finally the page loaded and a link was put up on the main page. There were two links one each for New Delhi and Kolkata campuses. Clicked on the Delhi Link, my heart raced hard and then came back the moment i saw my name. It was a such a relief. I was sure that i would be doing an MBA no matter what now!.
Had to rush to the airport. So changed quickly and caught an auto. As i waited at the airport i saw the huge TV screens flashing "BREAKING NEWS"
Some IIMA grad had landed a crore-package. Pictures of the red walls of IIMA, the stone building of IIMB and SIMB pune were being flickered. Almost every soul watched with their mouth agape at the screens. Gave me goosebumps. Trust me you have to experience it to feel it!.
MDI Gurgaon
My first one in the morning. A college which heavily preferred people with high CAT percentiles.I had a chat with a guy at NITIE who was done with his MDI interview. He had told me that they had a chat on which cafe is good to take your girl to in chennai.
I went to the venue. We were again divided into 4 groups of 12 each. All were present. 2 in my group were my juniors from my college. I was relaxed after my IIFT admit and lacked the usual fire and anxiety.
We walked into the room. It was the same room were i had my IIMI Interview and i was also made to sit in the same place by a middle aged professor(MAP) while an young professor(YP) sat on the chair behind him.Fond memories of IIMI were haunting me!.
MAP:"We will have a discussion for 15 minutes on a topic that i will tell you. after that we will have interviews in random order[again like IIMI!. sigh!]"
MAP:"The topic is BPOs- boon or bane for Indian society?" and he repeated it.
As he told to start, surprisingly there was a lull and then i again jumped in and spoke for 2 minutes. As soon i had finished 5 guys jumped in and a true blue fish market ensued.
"First let me define what a BPO is..." said one...
"We don't need to define a BPO..." said another cutting him.
I did not speak for the rest of the GD. Everybody spoke nobody heard. After about 10 minutes we heard a big thud produced by the thumping of MAP's hand onto the table.
MAP:"Enough!... leave now!"
I was sure entire group would be chucked out.
5 guys went before me and all were sent out in less than 10 minutes. I was 6th to be called.
MAP:"Please give YP the form and me your testimonials[he meant file]"
MAP:"Is this RVCE ...RV college?"
VC:"Yes sir!"[Felt good!]
MAP:"Whats CE then?"
VC:"Sir, College of Engineering!"
MAP:"So whats ASCII?"
VC:"American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Its a way of representing alphabets and numerals and special characters in binary code"
MAP:"Whats parity bit?"
VC:"Sir its a spare bit and usually has special meanings in different cases. Most of the times a presence of 1 shows that there are odd number of 1s in the rest of bits. sometimes its used for error checking. sometimes to introduce redundancy etc"
MAP:"Whats a Von Neumann Machine?"
VC:"Sir , it was a concept computer which was built on the stored program concept. Where a set of instructions defined what a set of hardware could do"
MAP:"What do you know about subprime crisis?"
VC:Told in detail
MAP:"You talked something about the coupling effect in GD, so you think Indian and US economies are coupled?"
VC:"Sir, its a globalised world and all economies are coupled. US and Indian are coupled to a higher degree"
MAP:"Who is India's biggest trade partner?"
VC(thought for a while):"Sir, China!"
Clean bowled!. They smiled. I smiled.
MAP:"Tell me what you work on?"
VC:Tape recorder on.
MAP nods to YP and he takes over..
YP(smiles):"So vishwachetan... what does your name mean?"
Finally!.Before my interviews started i had expected this to be a regular question in all interviews!.
VC(smile):"Sir..[pause].. role model for the world!"
YP:"Whats your percentile?"
VC:"XX.XX"
YP:"All calls?"
VC:"yes sir!"
YP:"Tell me about this go-green initiative"
VC:The mug thing. Told him.
MAP and YP look at each other and nod.
MAP:"Any questions for us?"
VC:"No sir!"
MAP:Alright then!. thank you!"
VC:Thank you sir!"
I went to the venue. We were again divided into 4 groups of 12 each. All were present. 2 in my group were my juniors from my college. I was relaxed after my IIFT admit and lacked the usual fire and anxiety.
We walked into the room. It was the same room were i had my IIMI Interview and i was also made to sit in the same place by a middle aged professor(MAP) while an young professor(YP) sat on the chair behind him.Fond memories of IIMI were haunting me!.
MAP:"We will have a discussion for 15 minutes on a topic that i will tell you. after that we will have interviews in random order[again like IIMI!. sigh!]"
MAP:"The topic is BPOs- boon or bane for Indian society?" and he repeated it.
As he told to start, surprisingly there was a lull and then i again jumped in and spoke for 2 minutes. As soon i had finished 5 guys jumped in and a true blue fish market ensued.
"First let me define what a BPO is..." said one...
"We don't need to define a BPO..." said another cutting him.
I did not speak for the rest of the GD. Everybody spoke nobody heard. After about 10 minutes we heard a big thud produced by the thumping of MAP's hand onto the table.
MAP:"Enough!... leave now!"
I was sure entire group would be chucked out.
5 guys went before me and all were sent out in less than 10 minutes. I was 6th to be called.
MAP:"Please give YP the form and me your testimonials[he meant file]"
MAP:"Is this RVCE ...RV college?"
VC:"Yes sir!"[Felt good!]
MAP:"Whats CE then?"
VC:"Sir, College of Engineering!"
MAP:"So whats ASCII?"
VC:"American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Its a way of representing alphabets and numerals and special characters in binary code"
MAP:"Whats parity bit?"
VC:"Sir its a spare bit and usually has special meanings in different cases. Most of the times a presence of 1 shows that there are odd number of 1s in the rest of bits. sometimes its used for error checking. sometimes to introduce redundancy etc"
MAP:"Whats a Von Neumann Machine?"
VC:"Sir , it was a concept computer which was built on the stored program concept. Where a set of instructions defined what a set of hardware could do"
MAP:"What do you know about subprime crisis?"
VC:Told in detail
MAP:"You talked something about the coupling effect in GD, so you think Indian and US economies are coupled?"
VC:"Sir, its a globalised world and all economies are coupled. US and Indian are coupled to a higher degree"
MAP:"Who is India's biggest trade partner?"
VC(thought for a while):"Sir, China!"
Clean bowled!. They smiled. I smiled.
MAP:"Tell me what you work on?"
VC:Tape recorder on.
MAP nods to YP and he takes over..
YP(smiles):"So vishwachetan... what does your name mean?"
Finally!.Before my interviews started i had expected this to be a regular question in all interviews!.
VC(smile):"Sir..[pause].. role model for the world!"
YP:"Whats your percentile?"
VC:"XX.XX"
YP:"All calls?"
VC:"yes sir!"
YP:"Tell me about this go-green initiative"
VC:The mug thing. Told him.
MAP and YP look at each other and nod.
MAP:"Any questions for us?"
VC:"No sir!"
MAP:Alright then!. thank you!"
VC:Thank you sir!"
IIM Calcutta
Its not known as the hedonistic capital of IIMs for any reason. IIMC defines pleasure and they know how to mix it with business.
The day before the interview i was on gtalk and
"fucker!.. when will your college announce results?"
"Announced already.. and you have made it...."
"Where is the fuckin link?.. i don't see any link on the home page. What bullshit website man!"
NITIE was also a hit.2 on 2.
The interview was in the morning and i was again unable to catch sleep the night before.
My head was pounding by the time i reached venue. In the waiting room there were two staff from IIMC checking all your certificates and putting a "verified" seal.
We were divided into groups of 10 each and my group entered a room which had a panel of four proffessors, a middle aged professor(MAP), a bald professor(BP), a old professor(OP) and an young professor(YP).
After we had taken our seats along the 3 sides of rows of chairs in U-shape while the panel across a table completed the rectangleYP got up , came in the centre and
YP:"We will now have a business case discussion for 15 minutes and then each one of you will be told to summarise the discussion in random order for 1 minute each"
And then handed over a copy of the case to each one of us.
It was case about a mechanical engineering automation firm which was finding it difficult to recruit talent beacuse it coould not match the lucrative offers of the IT industry.
It was a good and peaceful discussion. Various solutions were given.
The first guy's interview went on for about 30 minutes. Then i was called in..
MAP:"So you were opposing your own industry?"
VC:"Sir, i was just being objective about the situation. I was expected to solve a problem and thats what i did"
YP now opens my interview form and reads it loud for the rest of the panel
"vishwachetan is another software engineer in another software company. He is another guy who has 19 months experience"
Then handed over the interview form to OP.
OP:"So you did come out with a lot of solutions in the discussion. You were trying to help your rival sectors."
VC:"Its good for the economy to have a mix of sectors doing well. If the whole economy id dependent on software then it way become troublesome in times like these"
OP:"What do you think is the GDP contribution of software sector?"
I mistook it for the biggest contributor towards GDP, while he was asking the number.
VC:"Service sector.."
OP(angry):"First listen to the question properly"
VC:"I am sorry sir i don't know"
YP:"whats the percentage of software developed in India in that total exports of software sector"
VC(smile):"I dont know sir"
OP then opens the file and
OP:"Tell me about this go-green initiative"
VC:Told in detail.
BP:"Have you done cost/benefit analysis of this?"
I messed up big time here. They were asking something while i got a little emotional about my stuff and started defending it. It just went haywire.
YP:"but how is this a hobby?. you just initiated it"
VC:"Sir i do spend my free time on it"[Lied point blank]
By now they were pretty distraught with my answers.
MAP:"So you have written so many things here. What you actually wanted to do?"
VC:Basically retold the same thing as in the form.
MAP:"You don't know what you want to do. If a fresher was saying this i would have been fine but such answers from a guy with close to two years experience?"
This interview was done and had reached a bitter stalemate.
BP:"Do you have stock options?"
VC:"Yes sir"
BP:"What was the highest and lowest prices in the previous year?"
Told him.
BP:"The highest and lowest ever?"
Told him those numbers also.
OP:"ok.. we will stop here."
I got up and left.
Was pretty distraught at the way things went after an awesome GD. Cal was gone.
The day before the interview i was on gtalk and
"fucker!.. when will your college announce results?"
"Announced already.. and you have made it...."
"Where is the fuckin link?.. i don't see any link on the home page. What bullshit website man!"
NITIE was also a hit.2 on 2.
The interview was in the morning and i was again unable to catch sleep the night before.
My head was pounding by the time i reached venue. In the waiting room there were two staff from IIMC checking all your certificates and putting a "verified" seal.
We were divided into groups of 10 each and my group entered a room which had a panel of four proffessors, a middle aged professor(MAP), a bald professor(BP), a old professor(OP) and an young professor(YP).
After we had taken our seats along the 3 sides of rows of chairs in U-shape while the panel across a table completed the rectangleYP got up , came in the centre and
YP:"We will now have a business case discussion for 15 minutes and then each one of you will be told to summarise the discussion in random order for 1 minute each"
And then handed over a copy of the case to each one of us.
It was case about a mechanical engineering automation firm which was finding it difficult to recruit talent beacuse it coould not match the lucrative offers of the IT industry.
It was a good and peaceful discussion. Various solutions were given.
The first guy's interview went on for about 30 minutes. Then i was called in..
MAP:"So you were opposing your own industry?"
VC:"Sir, i was just being objective about the situation. I was expected to solve a problem and thats what i did"
YP now opens my interview form and reads it loud for the rest of the panel
"vishwachetan is another software engineer in another software company. He is another guy who has 19 months experience"
Then handed over the interview form to OP.
OP:"So you did come out with a lot of solutions in the discussion. You were trying to help your rival sectors."
VC:"Its good for the economy to have a mix of sectors doing well. If the whole economy id dependent on software then it way become troublesome in times like these"
OP:"What do you think is the GDP contribution of software sector?"
I mistook it for the biggest contributor towards GDP, while he was asking the number.
VC:"Service sector.."
OP(angry):"First listen to the question properly"
VC:"I am sorry sir i don't know"
YP:"whats the percentage of software developed in India in that total exports of software sector"
VC(smile):"I dont know sir"
OP then opens the file and
OP:"Tell me about this go-green initiative"
VC:Told in detail.
BP:"Have you done cost/benefit analysis of this?"
I messed up big time here. They were asking something while i got a little emotional about my stuff and started defending it. It just went haywire.
YP:"but how is this a hobby?. you just initiated it"
VC:"Sir i do spend my free time on it"[Lied point blank]
By now they were pretty distraught with my answers.
MAP:"So you have written so many things here. What you actually wanted to do?"
VC:Basically retold the same thing as in the form.
MAP:"You don't know what you want to do. If a fresher was saying this i would have been fine but such answers from a guy with close to two years experience?"
This interview was done and had reached a bitter stalemate.
BP:"Do you have stock options?"
VC:"Yes sir"
BP:"What was the highest and lowest prices in the previous year?"
Told him.
BP:"The highest and lowest ever?"
Told him those numbers also.
OP:"ok.. we will stop here."
I got up and left.
Was pretty distraught at the way things went after an awesome GD. Cal was gone.
IIM Bangalore
The last one was like almost ages apart from its predecessors. All i did was sleep in that time. To my utter surprise, Cornell University gave me an admit and my joy knew no bounds.
The momentum was gone and even the usual ritual of filling up the interview form was also not there as it was done and sent beforehand. I was fed up of looking at the GATE book before every interview and didn't even touch it.
Another one in the morning.B has the least weightage for GD/PI amongst all B-schools. Most of it is already over even before you have spoken a word. Nevertheless you have to do the dance.
I could sense a wave of relief amongst all students as it was to be the last one for everybody. There were few very anxious people. I was sure most of them would be lone B-callers, the most dreaded lot. Because this being their only call they come all guns blazing while you are bored of the whole thing.
We are divided into groups of 12. And i was the first in my group!. The panel had a gentleman professor(GP) and a lady professor(LP).
LP made us sit in a room with a big round table in order. The two faculty occupied two chairs kept diametrically opposite in the corners of the room.
It was to be another case discussion. A Lady, who is a performer and a go-getter has been sent by her employer(auditing firm) to set up their branch in India. she is expected to get it up and running as soon as possible. While she does that here, she faces lot of bureaucratic hurdles and the process starts getting delayed. A Man approaches and offers help. He tells her he knows the way works get done in India which usually involve 'gifts' etc. And that she hire him as a consultant and he will get the work done for her.And we[people in GD] were supposed to tell what she should do?.
Classic business vs ethics case. IIMB just LOVE ethical issues.
GD started and we had a discussion. As usual utopian solutions were being thrown around. No bribing etc etc.
After the GD we were given a sheet of paper to write the summary in "free-flowing-english" and answers to 2 questions
1.Who do you think is the most influential person of the 20th century and why?
2.How does PGP at IIMB fit into your career plans?
Question no 2 was already asked in the interview form. Again?. Oh just wait.
Then i was called in for the interview.
LP:"Lets start with your introduction"
VC:Tape recorder on
LP:"And when did you feel that you needed an MBA?"
[third time!]
VC:Tape recorder on. Different tape though.
LP:"Tell me about what you work on"
VC:Tape recorder on. third tape.
GP:"How has [employer] been successful?.Did you know that at one point they were the most valued company in the world?"
VC:"Yes sir, They were fortunate that an Internet boom happened when they were at their peak. They have made some very successful acquisitions and continue to innovate"
GP:"But do you also know that they don't show liabilities of the companies they have minority stake in and thereby show good balance sheets?
VC(innocently):"Sir, i dont know such minute details and i have no idea about any of this"
GP:"No no.. thats fine!"
LP:"So.. you write poetry.. do you have any that i can see?"
VC:"Sure Ma'am!.." and opened my file and gave her.
She looked at 'If-i-ever' and 'Warrior'.
LP:"Sir... this boy is a romantic tragedy hero!" and they share a laugh.
GP:"So why steve jobs?"
Told about his initial achievements. And then how he got fired and made a dramatic re-entry. Inspirational story. blah and more blah.
GP:"whats your opinion on hogenakkal issue. should karnataka give water?"
VC:"Since Karnataka had given a NOC to the construction, i think they should stick to it. And also i believe that its for drinking water, so they should let it be constructed. Who knows TN may show a goodwill gesture for Karnataka in future"
GP:"whats your mother tongue?"
VC:"Kannada sir"
GP:"Very surprised to hear such opinions from a person of this state!"
GP:"And what about belgaum?"
VC:"Sir i think whichever state addresses the problems of the region - unemployment, infrastructure, literacy has the right to claim it. Even successive karnataka governments have not done anything over there"
LP took a look at her watch and nodded to GP.
GP:"Ok.. Thank you!"
I smiled and left.
Results were to be announced in a week and i had to make a visit to Tirupati. LOL!.
The momentum was gone and even the usual ritual of filling up the interview form was also not there as it was done and sent beforehand. I was fed up of looking at the GATE book before every interview and didn't even touch it.
Another one in the morning.B has the least weightage for GD/PI amongst all B-schools. Most of it is already over even before you have spoken a word. Nevertheless you have to do the dance.
I could sense a wave of relief amongst all students as it was to be the last one for everybody. There were few very anxious people. I was sure most of them would be lone B-callers, the most dreaded lot. Because this being their only call they come all guns blazing while you are bored of the whole thing.
We are divided into groups of 12. And i was the first in my group!. The panel had a gentleman professor(GP) and a lady professor(LP).
LP made us sit in a room with a big round table in order. The two faculty occupied two chairs kept diametrically opposite in the corners of the room.
It was to be another case discussion. A Lady, who is a performer and a go-getter has been sent by her employer(auditing firm) to set up their branch in India. she is expected to get it up and running as soon as possible. While she does that here, she faces lot of bureaucratic hurdles and the process starts getting delayed. A Man approaches and offers help. He tells her he knows the way works get done in India which usually involve 'gifts' etc. And that she hire him as a consultant and he will get the work done for her.And we[people in GD] were supposed to tell what she should do?.
Classic business vs ethics case. IIMB just LOVE ethical issues.
GD started and we had a discussion. As usual utopian solutions were being thrown around. No bribing etc etc.
After the GD we were given a sheet of paper to write the summary in "free-flowing-english" and answers to 2 questions
1.Who do you think is the most influential person of the 20th century and why?
2.How does PGP at IIMB fit into your career plans?
Question no 2 was already asked in the interview form. Again?. Oh just wait.
Then i was called in for the interview.
LP:"Lets start with your introduction"
VC:Tape recorder on
LP:"And when did you feel that you needed an MBA?"
[third time!]
VC:Tape recorder on. Different tape though.
LP:"Tell me about what you work on"
VC:Tape recorder on. third tape.
GP:"How has [employer] been successful?.Did you know that at one point they were the most valued company in the world?"
VC:"Yes sir, They were fortunate that an Internet boom happened when they were at their peak. They have made some very successful acquisitions and continue to innovate"
GP:"But do you also know that they don't show liabilities of the companies they have minority stake in and thereby show good balance sheets?
VC(innocently):"Sir, i dont know such minute details and i have no idea about any of this"
GP:"No no.. thats fine!"
LP:"So.. you write poetry.. do you have any that i can see?"
VC:"Sure Ma'am!.." and opened my file and gave her.
She looked at 'If-i-ever' and 'Warrior'.
LP:"Sir... this boy is a romantic tragedy hero!" and they share a laugh.
GP:"So why steve jobs?"
Told about his initial achievements. And then how he got fired and made a dramatic re-entry. Inspirational story. blah and more blah.
GP:"whats your opinion on hogenakkal issue. should karnataka give water?"
VC:"Since Karnataka had given a NOC to the construction, i think they should stick to it. And also i believe that its for drinking water, so they should let it be constructed. Who knows TN may show a goodwill gesture for Karnataka in future"
GP:"whats your mother tongue?"
VC:"Kannada sir"
GP:"Very surprised to hear such opinions from a person of this state!"
GP:"And what about belgaum?"
VC:"Sir i think whichever state addresses the problems of the region - unemployment, infrastructure, literacy has the right to claim it. Even successive karnataka governments have not done anything over there"
LP took a look at her watch and nodded to GP.
GP:"Ok.. Thank you!"
I smiled and left.
Results were to be announced in a week and i had to make a visit to Tirupati. LOL!.
Madness followed by 'May'hem
24 hours to the judgment day. In an act of brilliant timing, the accuracy of which could even put the NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock at Colorado to shame, The supreme court delivers a landmark judgment that basically called for all central government aided institutes to implement 27% OBC quota.
Almost the next instant, all IIMs put a note on their webpages delaying the release of results indefinitely. The results of IIMs hold so much importance that the second tier colleges usually put the last date of payment of fees after the results are announced so that people can make decisions. The third tier B-schools are dependent on the deadlines of the 2 tier ones. Continue the previous statement in a for-loop for as long as you like with values for 'n' and 'n-1'. So it was like toppling the top card of a tower of cards and watch the rest collapse.
SP Jain announced its results and i had made it to the finance stream.3 on 3
There was a general feeling that the results would get announced the coming week. What we came to know the coming week was that all the directors of IIMs had decided to meet the next week and then decide over the course of action. I am pretty sure a 1000 keyboards were shattered that day in frustration.
MDI announces its results that week and i had made it. 4 on 4. 300 confirmed calls and 1100 waitlist for 240 seats!.Barring 50 odd people anyone who attended MDI interview had atleast a waitlist.
The next few days threw a lot of questions. First being the creamy layer rider that the SC had put. Barring A and C, nobody had information on parents's income.Even A and C could not take that information as basis for awarding a seat.
So many theories were being thrown around. People could not fathom the fact that IIMs did not even make any protest against the dilution of entry standards into these elite institutes. Rumors of they having exchanged a deal for buying government's silence over fee hikes at these institutes also came. The government's desperation at implementing this year was to get mileage in the elections to which i somehow have a feeling SC succumbed to.You cant explain such brilliant timings in a country where the backlog of court cases goes back to decades.
I finally decided to secure the backup options. So mailed Cornell about my affirmation to their admit. It was MDI vs SPJain over here. Decided to go with SPJain after consultations with people in the field.
The situation over the next few days was a 'cricket world cup final - champions league final F1 race roger vs rafa tennis match ' nervousness all packed in one. Almost every student waiting for the results became a investigative journalist himself. The aajtak 'Breaking-news" types. Even if somebody sneezed at the IIMs it was being reported. More than a 1000 fone calls a day to each of the IIMs
Finally the news sites flashed quotations from central government officials that they have sent the directives to the institutes. But the same was not acknowledged by IIMs. In this day of electronic-speeds our government used the postal service to convey their directive. The 5 rupee stamp one.
Finally phone calls to IIMs started giving some positive hopes. There was a change in the tone. They didn't bang the phone down after the call finished.Even they were as frustrated as us over this issue.
The madness finally ended. May 1. 'May'hem.
The order in which the institutes released their results was exactly reverse of the order i had my interviews.
At sharp 12 o clock in the night B put up a pdf on its website of the people who had made it to the hallowed institute. Unfortunately i was waitlisted. The number of people who had multiple converts also was given and there was high probability of me converting it, but still i was distraught. I didn't sleep the whole night.
At around 8 in the morning C released its list
"Your name does not appear in the selected and waitlisted lists" was all it had to say when i typed in the registration number and date of birth.
At around 10, K put a link on their webpage. It asked for your registration number, date of birth and asked to type the sequence of characters that appeared in a box below [usually done to prevent spam attacks]
"Sorry, You have been rejected"
I could not believe my eyes!. I came and lay down on my bed. I was just dumbfounded at what was happening. Slowly , the uselessness of it all started dawning on me. I recalled the TIME director's words
"I have seen cases where people with six calls could not convert one"
A friend of mine called. I didn't want to take the call but i still took. He had encouraging words to say.
Another friend who had made it to B called. I apprised him of the situation. He was just not ready to accept that i got rejected by K. He told me to wait and that he would call me back.
It so happened that the K guys had still not uploaded their results and it was showing a reject for everyone. Our own over-enthusiasm gave us the medicine.
A little while , around 12 pm, i checked again and i had made it. Ufffff!. what a relief. Finally i will be studying in an IIM.
I had not eaten anything since morning. I changed and went to have my lunch with my roomie.
Came back and logged again. 'A' had announced their list.
I just entered by registration number, date of birth in the boxes and waited. So many things crossed my mind. Will it be the closest ever i will come to the most revered institute of India or will it be further. My roomie was watching TV.
I decided to go for it and pressed enter. A white screen and then
"Congratulations!!.You have been selected for admission into XXXXXXX"
I could not believe my eyes!.I rechecked it 20 times [i am not exaggerating] and in different browsers[sometimes even they fool around.Well most of the times actually].I closed the door. It was a very emotional moment and i was in tears. I just stood and kept looking at the ceiling and crying.
At around 4 pm L released their list and i had made it. No nasty surprises.
The fun part was that of I. From 4 to 6 pm. I saw their web page change everytime i refreshed their page. Some part of the page would disappear and then reappear and then change their places. Sometimes the 'result' link would be visible but you cant click it. If clickable it gave some error. PHP errors. Connection timeouts. MySql maximum connections done. I learnt of more Database errors in those 2 hours then i had learnt in my entire engineering.
Finally it was up and i had made it!. surprise surprise!.
Days later the B waitlist also got converted.9 on 10.University of Minnesotta, Twin city also felt i deserved to study there.
Almost the next instant, all IIMs put a note on their webpages delaying the release of results indefinitely. The results of IIMs hold so much importance that the second tier colleges usually put the last date of payment of fees after the results are announced so that people can make decisions. The third tier B-schools are dependent on the deadlines of the 2 tier ones. Continue the previous statement in a for-loop for as long as you like with values for 'n' and 'n-1'. So it was like toppling the top card of a tower of cards and watch the rest collapse.
SP Jain announced its results and i had made it to the finance stream.3 on 3
There was a general feeling that the results would get announced the coming week. What we came to know the coming week was that all the directors of IIMs had decided to meet the next week and then decide over the course of action. I am pretty sure a 1000 keyboards were shattered that day in frustration.
MDI announces its results that week and i had made it. 4 on 4. 300 confirmed calls and 1100 waitlist for 240 seats!.Barring 50 odd people anyone who attended MDI interview had atleast a waitlist.
The next few days threw a lot of questions. First being the creamy layer rider that the SC had put. Barring A and C, nobody had information on parents's income.Even A and C could not take that information as basis for awarding a seat.
So many theories were being thrown around. People could not fathom the fact that IIMs did not even make any protest against the dilution of entry standards into these elite institutes. Rumors of they having exchanged a deal for buying government's silence over fee hikes at these institutes also came. The government's desperation at implementing this year was to get mileage in the elections to which i somehow have a feeling SC succumbed to.You cant explain such brilliant timings in a country where the backlog of court cases goes back to decades.
I finally decided to secure the backup options. So mailed Cornell about my affirmation to their admit. It was MDI vs SPJain over here. Decided to go with SPJain after consultations with people in the field.
The situation over the next few days was a 'cricket world cup final - champions league final F1 race roger vs rafa tennis match ' nervousness all packed in one. Almost every student waiting for the results became a investigative journalist himself. The aajtak 'Breaking-news" types. Even if somebody sneezed at the IIMs it was being reported. More than a 1000 fone calls a day to each of the IIMs
Finally the news sites flashed quotations from central government officials that they have sent the directives to the institutes. But the same was not acknowledged by IIMs. In this day of electronic-speeds our government used the postal service to convey their directive. The 5 rupee stamp one.
Finally phone calls to IIMs started giving some positive hopes. There was a change in the tone. They didn't bang the phone down after the call finished.Even they were as frustrated as us over this issue.
The madness finally ended. May 1. 'May'hem.
The order in which the institutes released their results was exactly reverse of the order i had my interviews.
At sharp 12 o clock in the night B put up a pdf on its website of the people who had made it to the hallowed institute. Unfortunately i was waitlisted. The number of people who had multiple converts also was given and there was high probability of me converting it, but still i was distraught. I didn't sleep the whole night.
At around 8 in the morning C released its list
"Your name does not appear in the selected and waitlisted lists" was all it had to say when i typed in the registration number and date of birth.
At around 10, K put a link on their webpage. It asked for your registration number, date of birth and asked to type the sequence of characters that appeared in a box below [usually done to prevent spam attacks]
"Sorry, You have been rejected"
I could not believe my eyes!. I came and lay down on my bed. I was just dumbfounded at what was happening. Slowly , the uselessness of it all started dawning on me. I recalled the TIME director's words
"I have seen cases where people with six calls could not convert one"
A friend of mine called. I didn't want to take the call but i still took. He had encouraging words to say.
Another friend who had made it to B called. I apprised him of the situation. He was just not ready to accept that i got rejected by K. He told me to wait and that he would call me back.
It so happened that the K guys had still not uploaded their results and it was showing a reject for everyone. Our own over-enthusiasm gave us the medicine.
A little while , around 12 pm, i checked again and i had made it. Ufffff!. what a relief. Finally i will be studying in an IIM.
I had not eaten anything since morning. I changed and went to have my lunch with my roomie.
Came back and logged again. 'A' had announced their list.
I just entered by registration number, date of birth in the boxes and waited. So many things crossed my mind. Will it be the closest ever i will come to the most revered institute of India or will it be further. My roomie was watching TV.
I decided to go for it and pressed enter. A white screen and then
"Congratulations!!.You have been selected for admission into XXXXXXX"
I could not believe my eyes!.I rechecked it 20 times [i am not exaggerating] and in different browsers[sometimes even they fool around.Well most of the times actually].I closed the door. It was a very emotional moment and i was in tears. I just stood and kept looking at the ceiling and crying.
At around 4 pm L released their list and i had made it. No nasty surprises.
The fun part was that of I. From 4 to 6 pm. I saw their web page change everytime i refreshed their page. Some part of the page would disappear and then reappear and then change their places. Sometimes the 'result' link would be visible but you cant click it. If clickable it gave some error. PHP errors. Connection timeouts. MySql maximum connections done. I learnt of more Database errors in those 2 hours then i had learnt in my entire engineering.
Finally it was up and i had made it!. surprise surprise!.
Days later the B waitlist also got converted.9 on 10.University of Minnesotta, Twin city also felt i deserved to study there.
The Epilogue
The day before CAT if someone would have offered DOSS a seat at SP Jain or NITIE or other place in exchange for him not giving CAT , he would have happily grabbed the offer.
It has been a journey of a lifetime. Hope , fate and destiny.The feeling is yet to sink in. surreal and nice.
People ask DOSS the number of hours he studied. what coaching he took? What did he do different? He didnt go to any classes[when people teach him.. it becomes a lullaby]. He atleast feels he didnt do anything abnormal. He is clueless like always and thats the truth.
If there is anything to be realized in the whole journey, its that there are forces beyond your own control that are also in play.
A friend-cum-colleague of mine asked me the other day
"giving CAT this time?"
"Lets see!".. i said.
Weird looks DOSS receives when people come to know of the stuff that has happened with him. The weirdness increases when they talk to him and find out he is just another normal guy.
"How the fuck!!??"
"A Ridiculous run of luck"
"Oh dont give all this crap..."
DOSS shrugs and walks off smiling.
It has been a journey of a lifetime. Hope , fate and destiny.The feeling is yet to sink in. surreal and nice.
People ask DOSS the number of hours he studied. what coaching he took? What did he do different? He didnt go to any classes[when people teach him.. it becomes a lullaby]. He atleast feels he didnt do anything abnormal. He is clueless like always and thats the truth.
If there is anything to be realized in the whole journey, its that there are forces beyond your own control that are also in play.
A friend-cum-colleague of mine asked me the other day
"giving CAT this time?"
"Lets see!".. i said.
Weird looks DOSS receives when people come to know of the stuff that has happened with him. The weirdness increases when they talk to him and find out he is just another normal guy.
"How the fuck!!??"
"A Ridiculous run of luck"
"Oh dont give all this crap..."
DOSS shrugs and walks off smiling.
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