Its amazing how you can remember something despite the huge time gap between the events... I was supposed to write about my interviews as and when they were done but superstitions prohibited me from doing this... I wondered how could I conclude these interview excerpts until I know the definitive result... So, after I got my results I started to write about my interviews... I thought this effort would not be as comprehensive as compared to writing about the interviews immediately after they happened but I was surprised with the outcome...
When I started writing about them, I was actually reliving those experiences... If I believed in time machines then I would have thought that there is one in my house... Coz, it had transported me back to that place and time when I was taking the interview...
I am not sure if this experience helps anyone but just writing about them gave this 3 year journey a perfect end... A perfect result where I was in the b-school I always preferred... A perfect example of how never-say-die attitude works for anyone and everyone... And finally a perfect feeling in my heart...
So, brace yourselves gentlemen - this dudette is all set to rock IIM Bangalore :)))))))))
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Pit Stop 3 - IIM Lucknow Interview (Part 5)
This blog should actually be called - "What not to do in the interview..." coz this penultimate interview in reality and the last blog of this interview series was the worst interview ever... This one was on 3rd March @ 10:00 am @ Dadar... Reaching there was no problem since I had already been there for the Bangalore interview... However, the scenes from the past haunted me (IIM B interview experiences) when I realised that this interview is also in the same room as the first one... A little scared (superstitions took over the practical mind) and completely feeling inferior (just before the GD/PI I met people with 100 percentile and 99.97 percentile which cause dmy 99.63 to look puny..) I entered the GD... The topic did not allay my fears... It was "The first myth of Management is that it exists..."... Ok, this was not only a weird topic but the people around me were so loud that this weird market turned into a fish market... Fish Market - When everyone screams and makes themselves heard but heart-of-heart know they are talking crap.... So, basically it transforms to who can make bull shit heard more in the people who are talking the same... And it did not help that the group consisted of 11 people...
Spoke something - its my nature to not keep quiet; if there is crap discussed I discussed the same, if not i let him be... Came out of the class with a completely frustrated feeling... Have you experienced that feeling when you are completely dissatisfied when you indulge in a colossal waste of time argument... Yup! thats what the feeling was outside room, after the Lucknow GD... I was 10th in the group and since the interviews were in order, I had a looooooooong wait ahead of me... But to my great surprise, every interview lasted maximum of 15 minutes and in about 1.5 hours it was my turn for the interview... I was happy that finally my turn came and I was happy... But little did I know - 'happy' was last thing that I should have felt for the kind of interview that I had...
I - Good Afternoon, so Sharmili - do you know that there is a movie of your name?
M - Yes sir!
I - who are the actors?
M - Shashi Kapoor and Rakhee
I - who is the director?
M - I dont know
I - Producer?
M - I dont know...
I - would you agree that the word 'sharmili' is used in many songs
M - yes sir!
I - so sing 3 songs with word 'sharmili' except for 'o meri sharmili'
M (well I know hajar songs - great ones, good ones and crappy ones... But suddenly I blanked out... I couldnt recollect any) ummmm...
I (waited for exactly 20 seconds and went ahead) - Ok, leave that... Sharmili I see that you have not made good use of your abilities
M - I am not sure y are you saying this.. I do not understand...
I - well you go 90 in tenth, 93 in 12th... But only 73 in engineering... You did not use being in VJTI to your advantage..
M - Sir! I have been in top 5 when I scored 90, top 5 when I scored 93 and also top 5 in engineering... So, I believe that I have utilised my potential...
I - I see you have done business french... What is it?
M - explained..
I - ok, tell me what would you say for, "I want to do business with you in French"
M (French is very confusing but I had an A grade... I was not best but this I should have got it) - Je voudrait vais business avec vous... Sir, I do not remember what is business in French... (Btw, this sentence was completely wrong... This roughly translated means I wish to go business with you... :(((...)
I - So, what is the conversion rate between rupees and francs?
M - Dont know
I - Rupees and dollars?
M - 43.95 (full to guess kiya..)
I - are you sure or just bluffing?
M - sure (I wish he had not read the paper... Later on found out it was 44.90.. I was close I thot.. Did he buy it was my next thought)
I - Infosys is taking a big loan from world bank - what is it regarding?
M (I had read that infosys is looking for an acquisition in Australia.. So, figured it would be for that purpose) Told this reason...
I - oh, so world bank gives loan to infy???
M (wanted to hit myself so badly...) Oh no sir, World bank gives loan to central banks of the countries - not individual companies...
I - Hmmm... So, who is the chief commissioner of india?
M - dont know
I - who is the deputy then?
M (thinking if I dont know this one, would I know the deputy duh!!!) - Dont know...
I - take a guess
M - Renuka Chowdhary (who I realised in few seconds after saying was Women's welfare minister...)
I - Thats wrong... But if you took her name.. tell me 3 women CEOs of the world...
M (gettting excited coz this would be first question I would answer correctly and he broke my thoughts by continuing the sentence...)
I - tell me 3 women CEOs of the world except - Indra Nooyi of Pepsico and Kiran Majumdar Shaw of Biocon...
M (laughing outwards, cursing inwards) - Sir, you took the names of all the ones I knew :(((((
I - Ok, tell me any one...
M (still couldnt answer..)
I - Which was your favourtie subject in Engg?
M (I had prepared this one..) - Logic Circuits...
I (interviewer confused... he did not expect this answer...) - Ok, Ill ask you a maths question... Gave me a 2 X 3 matrix and asked me to find the determinant...
M (now I knew, I couldn't find the determinant.. It was not possible but I could not tell the reason why... So, I tried to use my brains... (extra shanugiri is what I did in short... Thinking aloud...) Well, I cannot find the determinant.. So, I would mutiply this matrix with an identity matrix (since A*I = A) and convert it to 3 X 3 matrix...
I (an amused look on his face...) - What are you doing??? You know you are not close to giving me an answer, right...
M (completely exasperated..) - Sir, I know I can solve but there is something thats not correct... But, I cant tell you what...
I - what is the requirement for finding the determinant?
M - It should be 3 X 3 or more...
I - Right, it should be a square matrix...
M (Oh, ya.. thats what it is called... I knew it but did not know how to say it... what a rubbish thing to do...)
M - trying to still smile despite a disastrous interview...
I - ok, Sharmili you can go now... Please send the next person in...
Learnings from this Interview -
1. Know everything about your name - and if you are one of the unlucky ones like me who have a movie with the name - then God bless you!!
2. DONT show your extra smartness by thinking out of the box when its not required...
3. Smiling and laughing with the interviewer doesnt help... If you suck, you still do... The only thing that can get you out is knowing stuff
4. Stress Interview (thats what everyone told me my Lucknow interview was) doesnt work out if you dont get stressed (which was also something that everyone told me - people who have stress interviews are tested to check if they retain composure under stress)... You still need to know everything they ask...
Needless to say, you guys must have guessed by now - I did not make it through the Lucknow interview...
Spoke something - its my nature to not keep quiet; if there is crap discussed I discussed the same, if not i let him be... Came out of the class with a completely frustrated feeling... Have you experienced that feeling when you are completely dissatisfied when you indulge in a colossal waste of time argument... Yup! thats what the feeling was outside room, after the Lucknow GD... I was 10th in the group and since the interviews were in order, I had a looooooooong wait ahead of me... But to my great surprise, every interview lasted maximum of 15 minutes and in about 1.5 hours it was my turn for the interview... I was happy that finally my turn came and I was happy... But little did I know - 'happy' was last thing that I should have felt for the kind of interview that I had...
I - Good Afternoon, so Sharmili - do you know that there is a movie of your name?
M - Yes sir!
I - who are the actors?
M - Shashi Kapoor and Rakhee
I - who is the director?
M - I dont know
I - Producer?
M - I dont know...
I - would you agree that the word 'sharmili' is used in many songs
M - yes sir!
I - so sing 3 songs with word 'sharmili' except for 'o meri sharmili'
M (well I know hajar songs - great ones, good ones and crappy ones... But suddenly I blanked out... I couldnt recollect any) ummmm...
I (waited for exactly 20 seconds and went ahead) - Ok, leave that... Sharmili I see that you have not made good use of your abilities
M - I am not sure y are you saying this.. I do not understand...
I - well you go 90 in tenth, 93 in 12th... But only 73 in engineering... You did not use being in VJTI to your advantage..
M - Sir! I have been in top 5 when I scored 90, top 5 when I scored 93 and also top 5 in engineering... So, I believe that I have utilised my potential...
I - I see you have done business french... What is it?
M - explained..
I - ok, tell me what would you say for, "I want to do business with you in French"
M (French is very confusing but I had an A grade... I was not best but this I should have got it) - Je voudrait vais business avec vous... Sir, I do not remember what is business in French... (Btw, this sentence was completely wrong... This roughly translated means I wish to go business with you... :(((...)
I - So, what is the conversion rate between rupees and francs?
M - Dont know
I - Rupees and dollars?
M - 43.95 (full to guess kiya..)
I - are you sure or just bluffing?
M - sure (I wish he had not read the paper... Later on found out it was 44.90.. I was close I thot.. Did he buy it was my next thought)
I - Infosys is taking a big loan from world bank - what is it regarding?
M (I had read that infosys is looking for an acquisition in Australia.. So, figured it would be for that purpose) Told this reason...
I - oh, so world bank gives loan to infy???
M (wanted to hit myself so badly...) Oh no sir, World bank gives loan to central banks of the countries - not individual companies...
I - Hmmm... So, who is the chief commissioner of india?
M - dont know
I - who is the deputy then?
M (thinking if I dont know this one, would I know the deputy duh!!!) - Dont know...
I - take a guess
M - Renuka Chowdhary (who I realised in few seconds after saying was Women's welfare minister...)
I - Thats wrong... But if you took her name.. tell me 3 women CEOs of the world...
M (gettting excited coz this would be first question I would answer correctly and he broke my thoughts by continuing the sentence...)
I - tell me 3 women CEOs of the world except - Indra Nooyi of Pepsico and Kiran Majumdar Shaw of Biocon...
M (laughing outwards, cursing inwards) - Sir, you took the names of all the ones I knew :(((((
I - Ok, tell me any one...
M (still couldnt answer..)
I - Which was your favourtie subject in Engg?
M (I had prepared this one..) - Logic Circuits...
I (interviewer confused... he did not expect this answer...) - Ok, Ill ask you a maths question... Gave me a 2 X 3 matrix and asked me to find the determinant...
M (now I knew, I couldn't find the determinant.. It was not possible but I could not tell the reason why... So, I tried to use my brains... (extra shanugiri is what I did in short... Thinking aloud...) Well, I cannot find the determinant.. So, I would mutiply this matrix with an identity matrix (since A*I = A) and convert it to 3 X 3 matrix...
I (an amused look on his face...) - What are you doing??? You know you are not close to giving me an answer, right...
M (completely exasperated..) - Sir, I know I can solve but there is something thats not correct... But, I cant tell you what...
I - what is the requirement for finding the determinant?
M - It should be 3 X 3 or more...
I - Right, it should be a square matrix...
M (Oh, ya.. thats what it is called... I knew it but did not know how to say it... what a rubbish thing to do...)
M - trying to still smile despite a disastrous interview...
I - ok, Sharmili you can go now... Please send the next person in...
Learnings from this Interview -
1. Know everything about your name - and if you are one of the unlucky ones like me who have a movie with the name - then God bless you!!
2. DONT show your extra smartness by thinking out of the box when its not required...
3. Smiling and laughing with the interviewer doesnt help... If you suck, you still do... The only thing that can get you out is knowing stuff
4. Stress Interview (thats what everyone told me my Lucknow interview was) doesnt work out if you dont get stressed (which was also something that everyone told me - people who have stress interviews are tested to check if they retain composure under stress)... You still need to know everything they ask...
Needless to say, you guys must have guessed by now - I did not make it through the Lucknow interview...
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Pit Stop 2 - SP Jain Interview (Part 4)
SP Jain generally has a group interview.. No GD so this was good... But they have 2 group interviews... Every year they had it on the same day but this year they had it on 2 different days... One was 24th Feb @ SP Jain and the other was 24th Mar @ SP Jain again... The first one was 8 am in the morning (which I feared that I would sleep during the interview - never a morning person).. the second one was at 9:30 am (which is still decent).. What made this entire process difficult was that there were 20 seats (for the course I had applied) and around 250 - 300 calls given out for the first round...
First one - Sleep me reported dot at 8... thanks to the Virar fast which got me to Andheri in 12 minutes else I would have been late... Document cheking... I did not have my score card... Man!!! this is the second consecutive time I do not have necessary documentation... Went to the students who are arranging this and asked them if the admit card would do... They agreed.. Phew!!! That was close... I was in the first group to be called... I had 3 marketing, 2 finance, 1 operations and me (doing IM) in the group... We entered... Again a smile on my face... I was first in the group when we sat in a semicircular arrangement... So, the first question... Tell me about yourself...
M (happy that finally this question which I had prepared around 7 versions for was asked) - told
Everyone also answered...
Now, the questions were asked to one person and then passed... So, there might be no connection in both the questions...
I - Ok, sharmili - tell me your most significant achievement in work?
M - told
I - What was the failure that you had faced and what were the learnings?
M - told (actually these were from the form we filled and were asked by the student @ SP Jain)
I - Sharmili you read right... Tell me 2 things you would do to increase speed of reading?
M - First you dont read out aloud... read in the mind... Second - increase the span of your eyes... This is a long term approach but works...
I - So, your hobbies include poetry... Can we hear one of them?
M (well I know she wants to check if I am bluffing but how the hell do I remember a poetry? - Made up a poetry on the spot... ) This poem was written after the bomb blasts that recently happened in Mumbai local trains... Its about a suicide bomber...
I am sitting in a train thats about to blast
Seconds away nothing will remain - not even its cast
There is happiness, chatter and laughter around
In a few moments - there would be no sound...
(Now, I am no Wordsworth... Cannot make more than 4 lines on the spot... But the madam seemed satisfied)
I - There is a project with no process in place... You have to put a process in place... How would you go about it?
M (Giving global gyaan) - I would analyse the pain areas... Then the reasons for the pain areas (gave some examples from personal experience) Use some already existing process and customise it if possible... But if not, I'll discuss the process to be started in detail with the team members and then unanimously implement one process...
That's it... The first interview was done and it was better than IIM B, I thought... I made it through the first round
_________________________________________________________
The second round started with me taking a panga with a senior student... My interview scheduled at 9:30 did not start even at 12:00... I went to him and I said if this frustration makes my interview go bad then its your neck on the line (not that could actually happen but said it anyway)... So, finally around 12:30 my interview started and this time a group of 4 people - all from IM - went for the interview... Now this interview was more of a discussion... The professor would give a topic and would ask all the 4 of us to speak...
I - Dont you think IT is so hyped up... I mean people do not have basic necessities and all you guys do is keep talking about IT as if its a biiiiiiiig thing... IT has not helped the actual India...
M - I do not agree sir... An instance where IT has impacted and helped the masses is how banks now work... IT has automated most processes, opening an account is easier, loans are made more accessible to people which in turn helps to provide for the basic necessities you just mentioned...
I (grilled others on this and asked a new question) - What are your views on child labour?
M (before me - this other person on my panel said that youth in the city is not as aware of this as those in towns/villages.. somebody else said that this problem can never be eradicated..) (Speaking when my turn came) I disagree with both the views mentioned... I hail form a city but I work from an NGO who works on educating under privileged children... We also conduct vocational training where we help their parents get jobs thus reducing the need to getting financial help from their children... and even if this is on a small scale now, continued efforts in this direction will help address the problem of child labour...
I - Pick a political issue all over the world...
M (everyone selected one thing or the other.. I selected India-Pak tensions)
I - what is the real problem?
M - The problem stems from the Kashmir issue primarily... Emotional baggage prevents a good decision making process... Some more gyaan on this topic...
I - What do you think of all these TV Serials that have come up... What kind of effect do they have on the people?
M - They have reduced the time families have togehter... They have reduced the playing time for kids who chose to watch TV over playing... etc...
I - Tell us about your family
M - Told
I - What is your idea of God?
M - It is a force for me which makes me believe that once I put in every effort from my side then the result would be taken care of by him... It is a belief that good things will happen to me coz I am a good person...
I - You are in a church and this one person is smoking while the sermon is on... What would be your take on this situation?
M (before me people said something like he has a freedom of expression so he can smoke but he shud realise that he is disrespecting the father... Someone else said if I am there for the sermon I would pay attention to it despite the disturbance!!) - (I again disagreed with both of them)... I said that he should not be doing that since he is not only disrespecting the father but also invading other people's space by disturbing them by smoking... So, if he intends to attend the sermon he shud put out the cigarette else should go out smoke, finish it and then come to attend the sermon...
That was it... They thanked us and we left... Felt a little better after the interview but later realised 90% of the junta had similar interviews and with 20 in 400 seats chance - I did not know how should I categorise my interview...
But, I got through so I guess what I did was acceptable...
The final pit stop... the next blog...
First one - Sleep me reported dot at 8... thanks to the Virar fast which got me to Andheri in 12 minutes else I would have been late... Document cheking... I did not have my score card... Man!!! this is the second consecutive time I do not have necessary documentation... Went to the students who are arranging this and asked them if the admit card would do... They agreed.. Phew!!! That was close... I was in the first group to be called... I had 3 marketing, 2 finance, 1 operations and me (doing IM) in the group... We entered... Again a smile on my face... I was first in the group when we sat in a semicircular arrangement... So, the first question... Tell me about yourself...
M (happy that finally this question which I had prepared around 7 versions for was asked) - told
Everyone also answered...
Now, the questions were asked to one person and then passed... So, there might be no connection in both the questions...
I - Ok, sharmili - tell me your most significant achievement in work?
M - told
I - What was the failure that you had faced and what were the learnings?
M - told (actually these were from the form we filled and were asked by the student @ SP Jain)
I - Sharmili you read right... Tell me 2 things you would do to increase speed of reading?
M - First you dont read out aloud... read in the mind... Second - increase the span of your eyes... This is a long term approach but works...
I - So, your hobbies include poetry... Can we hear one of them?
M (well I know she wants to check if I am bluffing but how the hell do I remember a poetry? - Made up a poetry on the spot... ) This poem was written after the bomb blasts that recently happened in Mumbai local trains... Its about a suicide bomber...
I am sitting in a train thats about to blast
Seconds away nothing will remain - not even its cast
There is happiness, chatter and laughter around
In a few moments - there would be no sound...
(Now, I am no Wordsworth... Cannot make more than 4 lines on the spot... But the madam seemed satisfied)
I - There is a project with no process in place... You have to put a process in place... How would you go about it?
M (Giving global gyaan) - I would analyse the pain areas... Then the reasons for the pain areas (gave some examples from personal experience) Use some already existing process and customise it if possible... But if not, I'll discuss the process to be started in detail with the team members and then unanimously implement one process...
That's it... The first interview was done and it was better than IIM B, I thought... I made it through the first round
_________________________________________________________
The second round started with me taking a panga with a senior student... My interview scheduled at 9:30 did not start even at 12:00... I went to him and I said if this frustration makes my interview go bad then its your neck on the line (not that could actually happen but said it anyway)... So, finally around 12:30 my interview started and this time a group of 4 people - all from IM - went for the interview... Now this interview was more of a discussion... The professor would give a topic and would ask all the 4 of us to speak...
I - Dont you think IT is so hyped up... I mean people do not have basic necessities and all you guys do is keep talking about IT as if its a biiiiiiiig thing... IT has not helped the actual India...
M - I do not agree sir... An instance where IT has impacted and helped the masses is how banks now work... IT has automated most processes, opening an account is easier, loans are made more accessible to people which in turn helps to provide for the basic necessities you just mentioned...
I (grilled others on this and asked a new question) - What are your views on child labour?
M (before me - this other person on my panel said that youth in the city is not as aware of this as those in towns/villages.. somebody else said that this problem can never be eradicated..) (Speaking when my turn came) I disagree with both the views mentioned... I hail form a city but I work from an NGO who works on educating under privileged children... We also conduct vocational training where we help their parents get jobs thus reducing the need to getting financial help from their children... and even if this is on a small scale now, continued efforts in this direction will help address the problem of child labour...
I - Pick a political issue all over the world...
M (everyone selected one thing or the other.. I selected India-Pak tensions)
I - what is the real problem?
M - The problem stems from the Kashmir issue primarily... Emotional baggage prevents a good decision making process... Some more gyaan on this topic...
I - What do you think of all these TV Serials that have come up... What kind of effect do they have on the people?
M - They have reduced the time families have togehter... They have reduced the playing time for kids who chose to watch TV over playing... etc...
I - Tell us about your family
M - Told
I - What is your idea of God?
M - It is a force for me which makes me believe that once I put in every effort from my side then the result would be taken care of by him... It is a belief that good things will happen to me coz I am a good person...
I - You are in a church and this one person is smoking while the sermon is on... What would be your take on this situation?
M (before me people said something like he has a freedom of expression so he can smoke but he shud realise that he is disrespecting the father... Someone else said if I am there for the sermon I would pay attention to it despite the disturbance!!) - (I again disagreed with both of them)... I said that he should not be doing that since he is not only disrespecting the father but also invading other people's space by disturbing them by smoking... So, if he intends to attend the sermon he shud put out the cigarette else should go out smoke, finish it and then come to attend the sermon...
That was it... They thanked us and we left... Felt a little better after the interview but later realised 90% of the junta had similar interviews and with 20 in 400 seats chance - I did not know how should I categorise my interview...
But, I got through so I guess what I did was acceptable...
The final pit stop... the next blog...
Pit Stop 1 - IIM B Interview 14th Feb 2007 (Part 3)
What a date to have the interview :)))))) And I do not mean it in a positive way... The first drawback... In our company we have something like a leave planner where we update our leaves... So, to my luck - 2 people from the team took leave on Valentine's day... The next unfortunate thing was - it was me and another guy from the team... Oh man!!! The team had a gala time bantering, badgering and teasing the hell out of us!!! If any of you guys thought that people in big IT offices act all mature and professional then you think wrong... These guys had a field time when both of us applied for those leaves on V-day...
Anyway, moving on - I thought the first thing in the interview would be why is Valentine Day celebrated? What is your idea of celebrating this day? What do you think about Shiv sena's reactions to this day etc... Well, Wikipedia and google were very handy and all these answers were done... Then why I would select IIM B, other typical MBA questions, Infosys news (which I kept feeling appeared often as if media knew it was my interview coming up so I be max occupied), some current issues etc...
Went to the interview (scheduled at 9:00 am at Dadar) decked up in a nice salwar kameez and looking my formal best :) After reaching there, read up stock prices of Infy, Sensex closures, Headlines etc... The group was called - case study was about to begin... Said the penultimate prayer and went in... The case study was about some people going to South Pole for an expedition - basically showing the different styles of leadership... Now, this discussion in the 17th century and we were asked to give advice to the next indian leader going there... My entire prep (in the first 2 min was with this assumption) and we were all set for the discussion... Just as it started - one guy assumed that this advice is present day and he pointed out a gamut of devices that can be used... And the whole group discussed that... Shit!!! I have no points - panic set in... Ordinarily, I can get groups' attention - I could have said we can look at it from this POV - but some mental block just debilitated me... I did not say anything... I was pretending to listen intently (coz we had to write the summary individually later) but racking my brain for a new point... 15 minutes passed and I realised that I have had a not so good GD... Tried to maximise in the written summary and wrote all points (MoM writing during telecons helped me here)
We came out (I was fourth to be interviewed) and I was trembling... Was it coz the AC intensity was high or was it coz of my performance in the GD - I do not know... But next hour or so went in calming myself... Read up all the papers present there... People came out and everyone pounced on them to ask what kind of questions were asked.. RG giri (a very IIM B concept - not helping or rather misleading your competitors) started here itself - coz they were very vague... Did not give proper questions... My turn came in - prayers again and I went in... A nice smile on my face...
Prof to me (looking through my documents) - "You have not got your degree certificate..."
Smile went away - color drained off my face...
What crap!! (in my mind) - Oh, is it (to the prof).. "Actually I checked the list and this was not specifically mentioned... I am sorry"... Prof - "Dont be sorry, just make sure your certificate copy reaches the institute asap..."
Ok, so tell me - What is the optimisation that you hav done in your project?
M (ok this is my turf :)...) - Some gyaan about reduction in time of delivery...
I - explain in detail
M - did that....
I - why management now - after 2.5 years at Infosys...
M (again happy that he asked something I had prepared) - Global gyaan on how betterment of profile, better opportunities etc..
I - So, how many of the founders of Infosys are managers?
M (first time cursing my company founders for not doing an MBA) - I said none...
I - Oh, there you go - it is not needed...
M - I said it was not that competitive then... It is very competitive now and this gives me an edge...
I - Oh, is it.. So, do u imply that in this generation NRN and others would not be as successful
M (getting defensive) - No! I did not intend to doubt their acumen...
I - Ok, let it go Sharmili!! So, if this is so important then why doesnt Infosys start a Mgmt Institute?
M - Coz it is a S/W IT company... the requirement is more for SW and not the managers...
I - Do you know Infosys is recruting people aggressively?
M - Yes, we just had a batch of 2000 people join Mysore DC (this was total fart...)
I - So, just as they have a prog where 4 years of engg is condensed into 4 months, they can have 2 yrs of mgmt condensed into 2 months and produce managers itself... Why wudnt they do that?
M - mgmt is a genralist stream.. The only reason they could condense this training coz it is stream specific... They only teach one stream and not the entire engg syllabus... But his cannot happen in mgmt...
I - Rubbish - Why would a HR guy need financial knowledge?
M - Coz he needs the knowledge of balance sheet to know how much he can spend on HR policies...
I - Ok, Marketing guy - why would he need Finance gyaan?
M - Same reason... He would need to know how much can he spend on his campaigns...
I - Just let it be Sharmili - you are not going anywhere with this... Ok, now tell me how has being in Infosys helped you evolve...
M - I have got the technical knowledge as a trainee, a testers knowledge in my first project (how I need to be thorough etc), and team skills as a team lead...
I - give examples?
M - gave
I - ok! tell me one thing... If you work for more than required hours in IT industry would you do a better job?
M - More hours need not mean good work... But if utilised properly it would translate to more work YES!
I - Ok, so when you hear that India is a services country... Her manufacturing sector is weak - then why do we not use this policy and help our manufacturing sector grow?
M - It does not only depend on the Labour factor... Utilisation of machines, demand of H/W etc all influence and hence we cannot use this model...
I - Ok, leave that too... Tell me, what is the advice you would give Nandan Nilekani to improve infosys?
M - I have seen that the rate at which people in company are growing - infrastructure is not... So, this results in many disappointments and hence reduced motivation levels.. At no point do I say stop recruiting but this skewed ratio of development needs to be addressed
I - What infrastructure is needed? Computers are getting smaller... (then he himself says) May be the people are gettting bigger... (laughs.. me join in too)
M - second reason is that if resource alignment... It is not addressed properly and hence it affects motivation levels again which results in bad work... Like freshers are in large number but trained on platforms differnt from the ones they are working on... Middle level management is extremely in low numbers etc.
I - Dont you think adhering to values is an issue?
M - I do not see that... I, myself, follow the company ethos with rigor...
I - Ok, tell me who would follow more rules? Senior Mgmt or Juniors?
M - Senior Mgmt..
I - Then dont you think this should be answered?
M - But this stems from dissatisfaction and that is due to reasons above...
I - But still you should enforce values... So, Sharmili you are into Social Service...
M (getting happy coz he again entered my domain... it was like a lalllu ball which I would toss for a sixer) - Yes
I - Tell me the names of 2 social reformers from Maharashtra
M (in my mind) - What??? Social reformers??? Names.. Names... (to the prof) Please give me a minute... I should be able tosay something..
M - Baba Amte (thanks to the tenth standard lesson... I remebered)
I - Good, so what does he do??
M (completely blank now... I remebered the lesson, its name, his name but no hint about what he did... Took a random guess) - He cleans (Man, what a lame answer...)
I - Cleans what???
M (thinking - arre wah, my guess was right... he does clean) - Streets - He cleans streets (crossing fingers)
I - No, No... I think you are mixing him with someone else... Ok, what about the second one...
M (gave up) - I really dont remember now...
I - Does the name Anna Hazare ring any bell???
M (well I did hear about him) - I have heard about him..
I - good, tell me what he does now?
M (arre, yeh mujhe mera kaam chhodke kya pooch raha hai?) - No clue sir...
I - ok, does <> (i dont remeber what he said - but it was some drive name that Anna Hazare has started) ring any bells?
M - No (my faking had gone too far... couldnt risk this now)
I - Ok, last question Sharmili... How badly do you want IIM B?
M (should I give a smart answer, a witty reply, an earnest reply??? think think think.. couldnt come up with anything funny or witty so just said) VERY BADLY sir...
I - thanks Sharmili, please sned the next one in...
And I came out... people pounced on me too... No presence of mind questions, no silly questions, no current affairs questions... Plain simple - they wanted to know me...
Did I give them a satisfying answer to their query? Did they think I was capable? Frankly, then I did not think so... All, I could remember were the mistakes I did and how I could have answered this better...
But I guess I did give them something concrete... Coz I converted the call... :)
Anyway, moving on - I thought the first thing in the interview would be why is Valentine Day celebrated? What is your idea of celebrating this day? What do you think about Shiv sena's reactions to this day etc... Well, Wikipedia and google were very handy and all these answers were done... Then why I would select IIM B, other typical MBA questions, Infosys news (which I kept feeling appeared often as if media knew it was my interview coming up so I be max occupied), some current issues etc...
Went to the interview (scheduled at 9:00 am at Dadar) decked up in a nice salwar kameez and looking my formal best :) After reaching there, read up stock prices of Infy, Sensex closures, Headlines etc... The group was called - case study was about to begin... Said the penultimate prayer and went in... The case study was about some people going to South Pole for an expedition - basically showing the different styles of leadership... Now, this discussion in the 17th century and we were asked to give advice to the next indian leader going there... My entire prep (in the first 2 min was with this assumption) and we were all set for the discussion... Just as it started - one guy assumed that this advice is present day and he pointed out a gamut of devices that can be used... And the whole group discussed that... Shit!!! I have no points - panic set in... Ordinarily, I can get groups' attention - I could have said we can look at it from this POV - but some mental block just debilitated me... I did not say anything... I was pretending to listen intently (coz we had to write the summary individually later) but racking my brain for a new point... 15 minutes passed and I realised that I have had a not so good GD... Tried to maximise in the written summary and wrote all points (MoM writing during telecons helped me here)
We came out (I was fourth to be interviewed) and I was trembling... Was it coz the AC intensity was high or was it coz of my performance in the GD - I do not know... But next hour or so went in calming myself... Read up all the papers present there... People came out and everyone pounced on them to ask what kind of questions were asked.. RG giri (a very IIM B concept - not helping or rather misleading your competitors) started here itself - coz they were very vague... Did not give proper questions... My turn came in - prayers again and I went in... A nice smile on my face...
Prof to me (looking through my documents) - "You have not got your degree certificate..."
Smile went away - color drained off my face...
What crap!! (in my mind) - Oh, is it (to the prof).. "Actually I checked the list and this was not specifically mentioned... I am sorry"... Prof - "Dont be sorry, just make sure your certificate copy reaches the institute asap..."
Ok, so tell me - What is the optimisation that you hav done in your project?
M (ok this is my turf :)...) - Some gyaan about reduction in time of delivery...
I - explain in detail
M - did that....
I - why management now - after 2.5 years at Infosys...
M (again happy that he asked something I had prepared) - Global gyaan on how betterment of profile, better opportunities etc..
I - So, how many of the founders of Infosys are managers?
M (first time cursing my company founders for not doing an MBA) - I said none...
I - Oh, there you go - it is not needed...
M - I said it was not that competitive then... It is very competitive now and this gives me an edge...
I - Oh, is it.. So, do u imply that in this generation NRN and others would not be as successful
M (getting defensive) - No! I did not intend to doubt their acumen...
I - Ok, let it go Sharmili!! So, if this is so important then why doesnt Infosys start a Mgmt Institute?
M - Coz it is a S/W IT company... the requirement is more for SW and not the managers...
I - Do you know Infosys is recruting people aggressively?
M - Yes, we just had a batch of 2000 people join Mysore DC (this was total fart...)
I - So, just as they have a prog where 4 years of engg is condensed into 4 months, they can have 2 yrs of mgmt condensed into 2 months and produce managers itself... Why wudnt they do that?
M - mgmt is a genralist stream.. The only reason they could condense this training coz it is stream specific... They only teach one stream and not the entire engg syllabus... But his cannot happen in mgmt...
I - Rubbish - Why would a HR guy need financial knowledge?
M - Coz he needs the knowledge of balance sheet to know how much he can spend on HR policies...
I - Ok, Marketing guy - why would he need Finance gyaan?
M - Same reason... He would need to know how much can he spend on his campaigns...
I - Just let it be Sharmili - you are not going anywhere with this... Ok, now tell me how has being in Infosys helped you evolve...
M - I have got the technical knowledge as a trainee, a testers knowledge in my first project (how I need to be thorough etc), and team skills as a team lead...
I - give examples?
M - gave
I - ok! tell me one thing... If you work for more than required hours in IT industry would you do a better job?
M - More hours need not mean good work... But if utilised properly it would translate to more work YES!
I - Ok, so when you hear that India is a services country... Her manufacturing sector is weak - then why do we not use this policy and help our manufacturing sector grow?
M - It does not only depend on the Labour factor... Utilisation of machines, demand of H/W etc all influence and hence we cannot use this model...
I - Ok, leave that too... Tell me, what is the advice you would give Nandan Nilekani to improve infosys?
M - I have seen that the rate at which people in company are growing - infrastructure is not... So, this results in many disappointments and hence reduced motivation levels.. At no point do I say stop recruiting but this skewed ratio of development needs to be addressed
I - What infrastructure is needed? Computers are getting smaller... (then he himself says) May be the people are gettting bigger... (laughs.. me join in too)
M - second reason is that if resource alignment... It is not addressed properly and hence it affects motivation levels again which results in bad work... Like freshers are in large number but trained on platforms differnt from the ones they are working on... Middle level management is extremely in low numbers etc.
I - Dont you think adhering to values is an issue?
M - I do not see that... I, myself, follow the company ethos with rigor...
I - Ok, tell me who would follow more rules? Senior Mgmt or Juniors?
M - Senior Mgmt..
I - Then dont you think this should be answered?
M - But this stems from dissatisfaction and that is due to reasons above...
I - But still you should enforce values... So, Sharmili you are into Social Service...
M (getting happy coz he again entered my domain... it was like a lalllu ball which I would toss for a sixer) - Yes
I - Tell me the names of 2 social reformers from Maharashtra
M (in my mind) - What??? Social reformers??? Names.. Names... (to the prof) Please give me a minute... I should be able tosay something..
M - Baba Amte (thanks to the tenth standard lesson... I remebered)
I - Good, so what does he do??
M (completely blank now... I remebered the lesson, its name, his name but no hint about what he did... Took a random guess) - He cleans (Man, what a lame answer...)
I - Cleans what???
M (thinking - arre wah, my guess was right... he does clean) - Streets - He cleans streets (crossing fingers)
I - No, No... I think you are mixing him with someone else... Ok, what about the second one...
M (gave up) - I really dont remember now...
I - Does the name Anna Hazare ring any bell???
M (well I did hear about him) - I have heard about him..
I - good, tell me what he does now?
M (arre, yeh mujhe mera kaam chhodke kya pooch raha hai?) - No clue sir...
I - ok, does <> (i dont remeber what he said - but it was some drive name that Anna Hazare has started) ring any bells?
M - No (my faking had gone too far... couldnt risk this now)
I - Ok, last question Sharmili... How badly do you want IIM B?
M (should I give a smart answer, a witty reply, an earnest reply??? think think think.. couldnt come up with anything funny or witty so just said) VERY BADLY sir...
I - thanks Sharmili, please sned the next one in...
And I came out... people pounced on me too... No presence of mind questions, no silly questions, no current affairs questions... Plain simple - they wanted to know me...
Did I give them a satisfying answer to their query? Did they think I was capable? Frankly, then I did not think so... All, I could remember were the mistakes I did and how I could have answered this better...
But I guess I did give them something concrete... Coz I converted the call... :)
Qualifying Rounds - (Part 2)
This section is the preparation for the actual interview... I had a series of mock interviews... The experience proved only one thing... That I am a very contradictory person - based on the answers I gave in the interviews... In one mock interview I was boring and in the other I was interesting... In one I was extremely clear about my career path in others I was silly and had no clue where my life was heading to... Given below are some excerpts from my interviews (of course the interesting ones - mainly where I acted silly)
Interviewer (hereon referred to as I) - So, Sharmili who is the vice president of India?
Me (hereon referred to as M) - Bhairao Singh Shekhavat(BSS)...
I - Sharmili, its late BSS...
M (gasping) - Oh!!! I did not know...
I - So, sharmili who is the VP of India???
M (confidently this time) - Late BSS...
Interviewer couldn't ROTFLOL (roll on the floor laughing out loud) otherwise he would have... All he said was Sharmili since when are ghosts presiding on important chairs...
__________________________________________________
I - What is your favorite subject?
M - Maths
I - ok, tell me the remainder when you divide -17 by 3
M - remainder is -2
I - So, sharmili if this is the state of affairs in your fav subject then I wonder what it would be in the non-fav ones...
This came from the person who got a 98.50 percentile in Maths... Just for the benefit of those who are strongly on my side and think answer is correct - then no it isn't... Answer is 1... Remainder is defined as the first positive number after you divide which is less than divisor... So, 3 * -6 = -18 which gives remainder 1 for -17...
_________________________________________________________
I - what is the average annual income of an Indian?
M - 2500 USD (guessed)
I - well, if that were the case sharmili - we would not be called a developing country
Later on I found out it is 2500 Rupees = 350 USD... There is a limit to faking man!!!
______________________________________________________________
Of course there were management interview specific questions like - Why do you want management? How would you describe yourself? etc... I am not writing about them coz I knew those and I could crack them decently and would not be interesting reads....
There was others like where I was asked my idol, my role model, basketball dimensions (how will this make me a better manager??), conversion of inch to centimeter(yes, because at some point in time every manager needs to use this), how many steps I took before coming to the room (do you not realise that when a manager goes for any presentation the first question is how many steps did he climb...), how will I manage my personal and professional life after marriage(I wonder why only girls are always asked this question??? I mean, dont guys marry too??? What makes them better at managing personal and professional life??? Is it a fact or just assumed since we are a male dominated society??), mention all the stations between Virar and Borivli - in order (I want to tell them that if I really become a manager - 99% I would not be in that area and even if I am placed there then I would use a car ;)....) etc....
First set of questions - a sensible and an intelligent person should not answer the way I did... Wonder why my brain just blocked sensible responses and gave out completely dumb answers...
Second set of questions - no longer an indicator coz most of the students prepare this so well that you cannot make out who is being genuine and true and who is fake and rehearsed...
Third set of questions - I know it is for checking the presence of mind or how do they candidates react to stressful situations... I agree it is important for a manager but I still dont think this is a good way to check... Atleast I was flabbergasted to suddenly move from Indian economy to what is the dimension of the basketball court... And clearly this showed in the confidence levels with which I answered this question...
The learnings from every interview were - I am terrible, I have low confidence levels, I cannot lie - since my eyes reveal it, I need to work on my current affairs, I need to work on academic subjects, I speak in a roundabout manner etc... This evaluation, in a way, helped me since I did not become complacent - I kept working on my answers, working on my foibles...
But I keep wondering is would I be better prepared for the interview if I had one good post interview evaluation???
The actuals coming up in the next blog....
Interviewer (hereon referred to as I) - So, Sharmili who is the vice president of India?
Me (hereon referred to as M) - Bhairao Singh Shekhavat(BSS)...
I - Sharmili, its late BSS...
M (gasping) - Oh!!! I did not know...
I - So, sharmili who is the VP of India???
M (confidently this time) - Late BSS...
Interviewer couldn't ROTFLOL (roll on the floor laughing out loud) otherwise he would have... All he said was Sharmili since when are ghosts presiding on important chairs...
__________________________________________________
I - What is your favorite subject?
M - Maths
I - ok, tell me the remainder when you divide -17 by 3
M - remainder is -2
I - So, sharmili if this is the state of affairs in your fav subject then I wonder what it would be in the non-fav ones...
This came from the person who got a 98.50 percentile in Maths... Just for the benefit of those who are strongly on my side and think answer is correct - then no it isn't... Answer is 1... Remainder is defined as the first positive number after you divide which is less than divisor... So, 3 * -6 = -18 which gives remainder 1 for -17...
_________________________________________________________
I - what is the average annual income of an Indian?
M - 2500 USD (guessed)
I - well, if that were the case sharmili - we would not be called a developing country
Later on I found out it is 2500 Rupees = 350 USD... There is a limit to faking man!!!
______________________________________________________________
Of course there were management interview specific questions like - Why do you want management? How would you describe yourself? etc... I am not writing about them coz I knew those and I could crack them decently and would not be interesting reads....
There was others like where I was asked my idol, my role model, basketball dimensions (how will this make me a better manager??), conversion of inch to centimeter(yes, because at some point in time every manager needs to use this), how many steps I took before coming to the room (do you not realise that when a manager goes for any presentation the first question is how many steps did he climb...), how will I manage my personal and professional life after marriage(I wonder why only girls are always asked this question??? I mean, dont guys marry too??? What makes them better at managing personal and professional life??? Is it a fact or just assumed since we are a male dominated society??), mention all the stations between Virar and Borivli - in order (I want to tell them that if I really become a manager - 99% I would not be in that area and even if I am placed there then I would use a car ;)....) etc....
First set of questions - a sensible and an intelligent person should not answer the way I did... Wonder why my brain just blocked sensible responses and gave out completely dumb answers...
Second set of questions - no longer an indicator coz most of the students prepare this so well that you cannot make out who is being genuine and true and who is fake and rehearsed...
Third set of questions - I know it is for checking the presence of mind or how do they candidates react to stressful situations... I agree it is important for a manager but I still dont think this is a good way to check... Atleast I was flabbergasted to suddenly move from Indian economy to what is the dimension of the basketball court... And clearly this showed in the confidence levels with which I answered this question...
The learnings from every interview were - I am terrible, I have low confidence levels, I cannot lie - since my eyes reveal it, I need to work on my current affairs, I need to work on academic subjects, I speak in a roundabout manner etc... This evaluation, in a way, helped me since I did not become complacent - I kept working on my answers, working on my foibles...
But I keep wondering is would I be better prepared for the interview if I had one good post interview evaluation???
The actuals coming up in the next blog....
Race that began a loooong time ago!! (Part 1)
This statement is not to suggest that Narayan Kartikeyan has competition in F1 race!!! But the race that I mention is the 'rat-race' that I was a part of for good three years of my life... Some magazine mentioned that by 2020 one in every 5 people would be an MBA or would have taken the exam for MBA...
I have contributed to these statistics for quite some time now... I have taken b-school exams for different institutes... Sometimes did not clear the exam, sometimes cleared the exam but not the interview, sometimes both... I had decided that this year was going to be the last year I take this exam - CAT... I have been trying to bell the CAT; but for some strange reason - it kept going further away from me - like a mirage... So, finally I decided that my perseverance (which is my strength) needs a check and practicality (displayed very rarely) should get priority...
Thus, geared up for the exam - one last time... Always thought that 10th maths and basic english could never be so difficult... And it came as a surprise to me when I actually needed 3 attempts to clear this exams despite toiling hard... I have first hand experience which prove that 10th and 12th boards were easy... And with time my intelligence should have grown making it even easier to crack this exam that was based on this syllabus... But, it just did not happen...
So, finally D-day arrived and I took the test... Every year, I checked my score - analysed - referenced - cross referenced... The scoreboard showed the following:
Year 1 - 99.32 percentile - two calls - not converted
Year 2 - 96 percentile - less said about it the better...
So, this year no analysis was done... Frankly did not even understand how the paper was... And did not make an effort too... Call it superstition or whatever... Finally, one unexpected day the results were out... The updated scoreboard had one more entry
Year 3 - 99.63 percentile - 3 calls... Fate still to be decided...
What was different, what clicked, what worked??? Now after the results, I can answer this - as an afterthought... But definitely not after the exams...
Thereafter prepared for interviews... For that section read on the next blog...
I have contributed to these statistics for quite some time now... I have taken b-school exams for different institutes... Sometimes did not clear the exam, sometimes cleared the exam but not the interview, sometimes both... I had decided that this year was going to be the last year I take this exam - CAT... I have been trying to bell the CAT; but for some strange reason - it kept going further away from me - like a mirage... So, finally I decided that my perseverance (which is my strength) needs a check and practicality (displayed very rarely) should get priority...
Thus, geared up for the exam - one last time... Always thought that 10th maths and basic english could never be so difficult... And it came as a surprise to me when I actually needed 3 attempts to clear this exams despite toiling hard... I have first hand experience which prove that 10th and 12th boards were easy... And with time my intelligence should have grown making it even easier to crack this exam that was based on this syllabus... But, it just did not happen...
So, finally D-day arrived and I took the test... Every year, I checked my score - analysed - referenced - cross referenced... The scoreboard showed the following:
Year 1 - 99.32 percentile - two calls - not converted
Year 2 - 96 percentile - less said about it the better...
So, this year no analysis was done... Frankly did not even understand how the paper was... And did not make an effort too... Call it superstition or whatever... Finally, one unexpected day the results were out... The updated scoreboard had one more entry
Year 3 - 99.63 percentile - 3 calls... Fate still to be decided...
What was different, what clicked, what worked??? Now after the results, I can answer this - as an afterthought... But definitely not after the exams...
Thereafter prepared for interviews... For that section read on the next blog...
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