The first and the foremost thing one should do if he is appearing for an interview is to find an answer to the above question. The reason this question is important because it gives you the chance to lead the interview and monitor the direction of the interview to a large extent. Most of the time the question follows according to the answer given in the first question and discussion continues. We sometimes do get edgy to answer this very basic question. Though we are aware of our self but still can’t really express in the professional manner or sometimes get bewildered as to where should I start from since we know so much about ourselves. So what should we do..??
Just relax and feel confident, after all you have cleared a few tough rounds of Aptitude test and GD and may be extempore as well. Just continue the good work by updating and preparing yourself for the final hurdle i.e., the Personal Interview.
So how to handle the open ended questions such as this..??
Here one should prepare himself and speak something which is not there in the resume and create an impression by talking about your hobbies and extra curricular activities.
Let us understand a few tips and tricks for removing the final stone to enter that MBA gate.
Be yourself and prepare accordingly, find out what are your strengths, is it in the field of academics, sports or any other field. Build a proper answer for your strengths to convince the interviewer that you really possess that skill.
The focus of B-school interviews is to judge you as a person and your professional aptitude. So take an interview as a conversation and not a question answer session. Questions could be from your hobbies, may be from your experiences both professional and personal. Have a basic and bit of advance domain knowledge about your background.
Getting rejected is the last thing you would want as this stage so do your Homework.
Have a well thought out answers for all general questions and yes that includes “Tell me something about your self.”
Don’t get carried away..!!
Take every question very intelligently and if possible make sure to point out your skills. Always have something to say for yourself and don’t speak all your achievements at one go. After you have said what you have to say - don't venture any further. Don't drone. You just might say something foolish. Sometimes interviewers don't interrupt in order to give the candidate the impression that he has not spoken enough. This is just a stress/error inducing tactic. Don't fall for it. If the pause gets too awkward for your liking, just add something like, "Is there something specific that you would like to know about me".
So go out there ‘DIFFERENTIATE’ and ‘SELL YOURSELF’.
Showing posts with label Admission simplified. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Admission simplified. Show all posts
Tricky hurdles..!!
So you started feeling confident about your preparation for the entrance test and see your seat fixed at a premier institute, since you have worked hard towards solving those out of box questions. Wait my dear think again, are you really prepared for some tricky hurdles. I call them tricky because it seems to be easy to get over these hurdles after you clear the aptitude round but actually statistics prove that many fail to clear these hurdles. It’s important that we give time to prepare for the same. Let’s be confident enough to crack these hurdles. So what are these hurdles actually, let us understand it one by one. The very first one is Group discussion, which is followed by a Personal Interview and in some cases an Extempore also. We will understand these terms and prepare accordingly.
Why do we actually go through a GD…??
If we go by the exact meaning a group discussion is something which is discussed about in a group. Now the group may be of any size from as small as 3 people to as big as 20 people. GD is conducted to know about various attributes of an individual which are not known if he is not in a group. So a GD is a test of group skills, social skills, leadership skills, listening skills, interpersonal skills, situation handling skills, soft skills, articulation skills etc. In general a topic is decided by the instructor and 2 to 3 minutes are given to put your thoughts together after which the discussion starts. Now the time limit is between 15 to 30 minutes in general which may vary. So it’s important to speak out your thoughts in a short, crisp, and clear manner.
Depending upon the structure a GD can be divided into 3 segments:
Plain Vanilla GD
Most often you will find yourself in a plain vanilla GD where a topic is decided by the instructor, consensus is not required, a leader is also not chosen, and topics are more of general knowledge where no technical gyan is required.
Complicated GD
Here things are quite opposite to the plain vanilla GD, the group is asked to decide on the topic, leader is chosen, group dynamics are to be taken care of by the leader and yes a consensus is to be reached after a discussion.
Specialised GD
The reason I call it a specialised GD because it puts you into some sort of a situation where a solution or role is to be played. Though the situation and character is briefed but the play is to be designed by the group. This is interesting but also requires a lot of skills to handle and pull it off well. Situations can vary from wide range right from business situations to historic situations.
Now that we are clear about how a GD can be conducted, let’s focus on some of the important points to remember:
Content is the key. It shows the level of preparation, your understanding about a topic and how you present in a logical manner substantiating with examples.
Take control of your behavioural skills, be assertive in what ever your stand may be but don’t be too aggressive.
Focus on articulation which refers to clarity of thoughts, fundamental knowledge of English, and your body language.
Leadership is the fundamental skill which is required from a budding manager so go along with the group, manage the conflicts within the group and try and gather attention of the group.
Innovation in your thought process will lead to attention from the bosses which really work as an X factor for you. So try to be innovative by giving a topic a new meaning which is in relation to the context.
Do a PEST Analysis of a GD
By Pest analysis I mean gather points from Political, Economic, Social, Technological domains. This would give you a very strong position and would raise you above average since you would touch most of the aspects a topic can have. When you go through your points use your body language to your advantage. Say if you use your hands to count the points on your fingers, group members would feel that you are very structured in your approach and have lot of content, so they will not mess around with you.
The Brahma – stra of GD
Now that you have got all the fundamental knowledge of a GD, lets be aware of certain out of the box tricks to handle the situation when you are totally lost in a GD. Work on your short story telling skill which could be a situation or a simple story, but remember to make a story in the context of the topic. This would let you speak for longer duration and catch the attention of the group. A lot depends on the skill of your story telling. So polish your brahma-stra well and use it when you struggle to gather points.
What NOT to do in a GD ??
It is as important to know what is to be done in a GD. One should be aware of certain points which can act as a deterrent in the selection process.
Slang language is BIG no even words like yaar, buddy is to be avoided. Use Friend it’s cool.
Don’t pepper your language with an accent. Be yourself.
Try to avoid fillers such as hmm, like, aaa, etc.
Don’t stress too much on your language Forget Al Pacino and Naseeruddin Shah.
Don’t interrupt or finish a sentence for an interviewer. Let the interviewer do it.
No negative words for any member in a group.
Finally, I would say don’t get too apprehensive about a GD. Prepare yourself and crack it, simple as that. So start having opinions for every situation you are put into. All d best…..!!
Why do we actually go through a GD…??
If we go by the exact meaning a group discussion is something which is discussed about in a group. Now the group may be of any size from as small as 3 people to as big as 20 people. GD is conducted to know about various attributes of an individual which are not known if he is not in a group. So a GD is a test of group skills, social skills, leadership skills, listening skills, interpersonal skills, situation handling skills, soft skills, articulation skills etc. In general a topic is decided by the instructor and 2 to 3 minutes are given to put your thoughts together after which the discussion starts. Now the time limit is between 15 to 30 minutes in general which may vary. So it’s important to speak out your thoughts in a short, crisp, and clear manner.
Depending upon the structure a GD can be divided into 3 segments:
Plain Vanilla GD
Most often you will find yourself in a plain vanilla GD where a topic is decided by the instructor, consensus is not required, a leader is also not chosen, and topics are more of general knowledge where no technical gyan is required.
Complicated GD
Here things are quite opposite to the plain vanilla GD, the group is asked to decide on the topic, leader is chosen, group dynamics are to be taken care of by the leader and yes a consensus is to be reached after a discussion.
Specialised GD
The reason I call it a specialised GD because it puts you into some sort of a situation where a solution or role is to be played. Though the situation and character is briefed but the play is to be designed by the group. This is interesting but also requires a lot of skills to handle and pull it off well. Situations can vary from wide range right from business situations to historic situations.
Now that we are clear about how a GD can be conducted, let’s focus on some of the important points to remember:
Content is the key. It shows the level of preparation, your understanding about a topic and how you present in a logical manner substantiating with examples.
Take control of your behavioural skills, be assertive in what ever your stand may be but don’t be too aggressive.
Focus on articulation which refers to clarity of thoughts, fundamental knowledge of English, and your body language.
Leadership is the fundamental skill which is required from a budding manager so go along with the group, manage the conflicts within the group and try and gather attention of the group.
Innovation in your thought process will lead to attention from the bosses which really work as an X factor for you. So try to be innovative by giving a topic a new meaning which is in relation to the context.
Do a PEST Analysis of a GD
By Pest analysis I mean gather points from Political, Economic, Social, Technological domains. This would give you a very strong position and would raise you above average since you would touch most of the aspects a topic can have. When you go through your points use your body language to your advantage. Say if you use your hands to count the points on your fingers, group members would feel that you are very structured in your approach and have lot of content, so they will not mess around with you.
The Brahma – stra of GD
Now that you have got all the fundamental knowledge of a GD, lets be aware of certain out of the box tricks to handle the situation when you are totally lost in a GD. Work on your short story telling skill which could be a situation or a simple story, but remember to make a story in the context of the topic. This would let you speak for longer duration and catch the attention of the group. A lot depends on the skill of your story telling. So polish your brahma-stra well and use it when you struggle to gather points.
What NOT to do in a GD ??
It is as important to know what is to be done in a GD. One should be aware of certain points which can act as a deterrent in the selection process.
Slang language is BIG no even words like yaar, buddy is to be avoided. Use Friend it’s cool.
Don’t pepper your language with an accent. Be yourself.
Try to avoid fillers such as hmm, like, aaa, etc.
Don’t stress too much on your language Forget Al Pacino and Naseeruddin Shah.
Don’t interrupt or finish a sentence for an interviewer. Let the interviewer do it.
No negative words for any member in a group.
Finally, I would say don’t get too apprehensive about a GD. Prepare yourself and crack it, simple as that. So start having opinions for every situation you are put into. All d best…..!!
Play warm up games before the BIG Game…..!!
Every aspirant who aspires for an MBA knows a bit of CAT and other important entrants but is that knowledge of the entrants good enough. Why not actually play some warm up games so as to get the feel of what we are actually headed towards. So let us consider in detail the different parameters on which we are going to be tested. So as we have planned to take more than one entrant we would evaluate the levels at which we make it to the best.
First a few important points…!
There are certain areas which are common to all entrant tests.
a) Quants : This section will test your quantitative ability. Questions would be from the diverse field of mathematics i.e. covering Arithmetic, Geometry, Menstruation, Algebra, Trigonometry, Co-ordinate Geometry and some higher maths as well.
b) Verbal Ability: Through this your English would be tested which includes Grammar, Sentence Correction, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension & Verbal Analogies etc.
c) Data Interpretation: This section would test your analytical ability and questions would be in the form of Analysis of Data. Usually data is in form of tables, charts, graphs and you would be required to study them and answer the related questions
d) Logical reasoning: Here your logical capabilities would be tested. You would be asked to solve complex puzzles; something like Sudoku can help you prepare for this section.
Some entrant tests also test on general awareness and essay writing so it’s better not to avoid these sections:
General Awareness: Questions pertaining to current/past issues (national & global), economics, general knowledge etc.
Essay writing: XLRI do have a essay writing test where you would be asked to write on a topic which can be from politics, economics, general awareness etc.
Well, now that we know about the Aptitude test let us get familiar with some of the important MBA entrant tests.
1) CAT (Common Admission Test) – Accepted by all the IIMs. CAT scores are also accepted by some other institutes apart from IIMs. Some of the premier institutes which accept CAT scores are MDI Gurgaoan, IMT Gaziabad.
2) XAT (Xavier Admission Test)- Accepted by some highly ranked institutes – XLRI, XIMB, GIM Goa, LIBA, XIME and some other B schools.
3) SNAP for admission in Symbiosis, some good institutes are SIBM, SMHRD
4) JMET – Joint management entrance test- PGP in Management offered by IITs
5) FMS Entrance Test for admission in FMS, Delhi
6) IIFT Entrance Test for Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
First a few important points…!
There are certain areas which are common to all entrant tests.
a) Quants : This section will test your quantitative ability. Questions would be from the diverse field of mathematics i.e. covering Arithmetic, Geometry, Menstruation, Algebra, Trigonometry, Co-ordinate Geometry and some higher maths as well.
b) Verbal Ability: Through this your English would be tested which includes Grammar, Sentence Correction, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension & Verbal Analogies etc.
c) Data Interpretation: This section would test your analytical ability and questions would be in the form of Analysis of Data. Usually data is in form of tables, charts, graphs and you would be required to study them and answer the related questions
d) Logical reasoning: Here your logical capabilities would be tested. You would be asked to solve complex puzzles; something like Sudoku can help you prepare for this section.
Some entrant tests also test on general awareness and essay writing so it’s better not to avoid these sections:
General Awareness: Questions pertaining to current/past issues (national & global), economics, general knowledge etc.
Essay writing: XLRI do have a essay writing test where you would be asked to write on a topic which can be from politics, economics, general awareness etc.
Well, now that we know about the Aptitude test let us get familiar with some of the important MBA entrant tests.
1) CAT (Common Admission Test) – Accepted by all the IIMs. CAT scores are also accepted by some other institutes apart from IIMs. Some of the premier institutes which accept CAT scores are MDI Gurgaoan, IMT Gaziabad.
2) XAT (Xavier Admission Test)- Accepted by some highly ranked institutes – XLRI, XIMB, GIM Goa, LIBA, XIME and some other B schools.
3) SNAP for admission in Symbiosis, some good institutes are SIBM, SMHRD
4) JMET – Joint management entrance test- PGP in Management offered by IITs
5) FMS Entrance Test for admission in FMS, Delhi
6) IIFT Entrance Test for Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
So what next...??
So what next after the decision to take CAT is final….??
Now that you have made the decision to take the CAT, you will be surrounded with all the hype, tension and curiosity of the D- day. A lot of expectations and suggestions would come in your way. In all of this one had to do a lot of planning and research before the D- Day. One of the important decisions is of finalising the institutes. Now if one doesn’t get a call from IIMs then there are a host of other institutes which are also exceptionally good and have a proven tract record. So it is important to make it a point to apply to those institutes aswell if you think that there is a chance of below 98. Even if you score above 98 percentile then also there might be a chance wherein you fail to make it to the IIMs.
So how would you go about deciding on the institutes….???
Get on to the websites which make rankings of institutes on the basis of the academic excellence, course structure, placements and infrastructure. Many Business magazines also come up with rankings. Various CAT coaching institutes also have rankings which are quite genuine and if you are in one of those coaching institute its better that you also consult with them in finalising the institutes.
Again, one of the important decisions is also finalizing on the specialisation that you would opt in your MBA programme. This is important because it would put you in a better position to choose the institutes. There are a lot of institutes which are really good in specific specialisations. IFMR is a good example which is into Finance and Research.
At this point one also should make it a point that if things don’t go as one anticipates it to then what should one do. Should he join any institute which is heavily advertised and marketed about placements or should he wait for another year and give it a shot next year. Now you can join an institute which is not among the top rankings but the problem these institutes face is placing all the students with a good profile and package. Having said that these institutes will also give chances where you will get good profile and package but those chances would be very limited, so one thing should be very clear that is to do well during the curriculum and capitalise on the placement week. Now let us consider another option which is to wait and deliver in the next year. Next year decision can also prove to be a very good decision. This decision would differ from individual to individual as it would be easier for a guy who already has a Job and can continue with it, for them it would be a wise decision to wait and do well in the next year. By doing this they would build on the experience which would have a healthy weight on the resume. For people who are not in a job for them it would be a tough call to wait. So what they can do is find a Job which would suit their profile and continue the preparation work simultaneously and if the job market is not that suitable for them then take up the less ranked institute and do well in the campus.
Having done all the thinking, research, analysis and discussion one need to take the decision which suits him or her best. Every individual is a different individual and born to do different things. All d best……
Now that you have made the decision to take the CAT, you will be surrounded with all the hype, tension and curiosity of the D- day. A lot of expectations and suggestions would come in your way. In all of this one had to do a lot of planning and research before the D- Day. One of the important decisions is of finalising the institutes. Now if one doesn’t get a call from IIMs then there are a host of other institutes which are also exceptionally good and have a proven tract record. So it is important to make it a point to apply to those institutes aswell if you think that there is a chance of below 98. Even if you score above 98 percentile then also there might be a chance wherein you fail to make it to the IIMs.
So how would you go about deciding on the institutes….???
Get on to the websites which make rankings of institutes on the basis of the academic excellence, course structure, placements and infrastructure. Many Business magazines also come up with rankings. Various CAT coaching institutes also have rankings which are quite genuine and if you are in one of those coaching institute its better that you also consult with them in finalising the institutes.
Again, one of the important decisions is also finalizing on the specialisation that you would opt in your MBA programme. This is important because it would put you in a better position to choose the institutes. There are a lot of institutes which are really good in specific specialisations. IFMR is a good example which is into Finance and Research.
At this point one also should make it a point that if things don’t go as one anticipates it to then what should one do. Should he join any institute which is heavily advertised and marketed about placements or should he wait for another year and give it a shot next year. Now you can join an institute which is not among the top rankings but the problem these institutes face is placing all the students with a good profile and package. Having said that these institutes will also give chances where you will get good profile and package but those chances would be very limited, so one thing should be very clear that is to do well during the curriculum and capitalise on the placement week. Now let us consider another option which is to wait and deliver in the next year. Next year decision can also prove to be a very good decision. This decision would differ from individual to individual as it would be easier for a guy who already has a Job and can continue with it, for them it would be a wise decision to wait and do well in the next year. By doing this they would build on the experience which would have a healthy weight on the resume. For people who are not in a job for them it would be a tough call to wait. So what they can do is find a Job which would suit their profile and continue the preparation work simultaneously and if the job market is not that suitable for them then take up the less ranked institute and do well in the campus.
Having done all the thinking, research, analysis and discussion one need to take the decision which suits him or her best. Every individual is a different individual and born to do different things. All d best……
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