IIM Shillong PGPEX 2018-19 Interview Experience In Kolkata

At the outset let me state that IIM Shillong interview was my first ever management institute interview of my career. In fact, it had been 10 years since I had been to any job interviews too. Hence there was that element of anxiety yet there was the feeling of excitement and curiosity of interacting with IIM panel. With that state of my mind, the morning of 2nd July 2018 was spent on arranging all the documents needed to be shown to the panel and the travel to the venue was utilized for some meditative moments including brushing up the basics like why MBA, why IIMS, why PGPEX course, about myself etc. It is always helpful to call or consult near and dear ones especially parents to get their viewpoints and perspectives for these questions. Once I reached the venue of the Hotel Oberoi Kolkata at 1 pm, I met nearly 12 more candidates. We got a chance to interact with 2 profs who later happened to be from the interview panel. The process was kick-started by WAT Round where we had to write a 1 pager about “Monday” followed by a GD based on a case study which was roughly about what a recently posted employee should appraise his senior in a review meeting after failing to deliver on certain objectives due to several issues. After these rounds, we were asked to wait for our PI turn. This itself acted as an icebreaker and made us interact more freely among us and in general have a relaxed time. The interview felt like cordial discussions. Questions are always picked up from whatever we answer, so it is advised to keep answers short and crisp. I was asked the reason for leaving my current high remuneration job for an MBA, scope for a sabbatical, why MBA, why specifically executive MBA course etc. I was asked few sector based questions too involving competitor firms and how my firm stands out in its competitiveness. Based on my certain responses I was even asked the difference between Manager & Leader and Vision & Mission statements. Be prepared for any recent one-month current affair related questions like they asked me about Nipah outbreak. All in all the interview experience was smooth and felt good. - Purnachandran Nair PGPEx ’18-‘19 (MBIC) IIM Shillong