Venue – Hyderabad campus
As I reached the venue 2 hours early, I went for a short walk around the campus and came back to the admission office, where the interviews were going on. The coordinator gave a one word essay topic, which was supposed to be finished before going to the interview.
Panel – There were three gentlemen in the panel – all alums from Co’06 and before.
Duration – Interview lasted for 25 minutes.
Though it’s yet another exercise for the panelists, I knew it was very important for me to grasp the given opportunity.
*** Start of the Interview ***
Icebreaker: Discussion started off on a lighter note with one of the panelists asking me about travel itinerary and whether I have ever come to Hyderabad before and ever visited ISB.
Main Conversation: Then, they picked up a specific technical aspect of Car (as I was from automotive industry) and started grilling on it – Pondered over its basics for a while till they get convinced. I stuck to the basics while they tried to puzzle me.
In one of my answer, I circled around the point before getting to it, as they probed me heavily to explain the meaning. In retrospect, I realize that it’s a process of getting to know me in a professional and personal manner.
When discussing about a point from my job responsibilities, one interviewer asked about the justification of the investment on one of the points that I mentioned in the application. While trying to explain the same I initially quoted a wrong number (doing on the spot calculation) and quickly corrected it myself before them pointing it out. I thought it flowed.
They touched upon my involvement with NGOs (volunteering) and its related work responsibilities.
Then the discussion delved into ‘Why ISB and now?’ (Most important One)
My reply was something on these lines: I foresee ISB as an ideal place for learning to realize my aspirations, because I believe my future is going to be in manufacturing sector and I believe ISB focus on improving manufacturing ecosystem in the country is inline with my goals and will better equip me concentrating in areas of Operations & Manufacturing Management.
Turning point: Follow-up question was on ‘Why manufacturing?’ I convinced the panelists with actual facts from Indian economy, recent government policies, shift in global manufacturing landscape, etc.
Towards the end of interview, I asked a specific query about MIGM after the panelists asked me for questions, if any. With smiles all around, interview came to an end and I felt that I made a good impression.
*** End of Interview ***