19th Feb 2011 ,9 a.m is when the entire process of selection to India's 7th I.I.M. was going to begin and it started not much later. Prior to this I had made myself comfortable by interacting with other interviewees.
At about 5 minutes past 9:00 , 8 people, including myself ,were called into a room to kick start the selection process with a case based G.D. We were all given a case study and were allowed 10 minutes to read the subject and make a draft of our interpretation of the case study and possible solutions in English - to be composed of continuous sentences and sequenced paragraphs. We were then given 15 minutes to analyze the case from various perspectives and reach a consensus. The G.D. was pretty active and there were quite a few good points made by fellow participants. I thought I performed rather well after having initiated the discussion.
We were then asked to wait outside the room and were told that we would be called in for the interview in the same sequence in which we were seated. I was No.3 in the sequence so after about a 45- minute wait I was called in. I went in rather confidently to the room were a 3-member interview panel was waiting. Written below in conversational style is an account of what transpired in the next 15-20 minutes :
I have referred to the interviewers as I1,I2 and I3 and myself as Kunal (obviously) :
[I handover my resume, document and certificates to the panel]
I2: Kunal ,please be seated
[I sat down]
I3: So how many years on work experience do you have?
Kunal: I joined Goldman in June 2009. I have about 20 months of work experience till date
I1: Tell us about yourself, Kunal
[I started answering that question in reverse chronological order,starting with where I work,my achievements at work place, my achievements in college and then in school. But in all the enthusiasm, I forgot to mention why I wanted to do an MBA:(]
I1:What do you do in your spare time, when you are not working?
Kunal: I like writing my blogs and compering is something that I am good that. I have compered
in several valedictory functions and in the Indian Independence day celebrations at workplace in New York.In college i used to play billiards ,basketball and TT (Though there was not so much TT :))
I1: So you are from Orissa, correct? What's happening in your state these days?
Kunal:Recently the collector of Orissa's Malkangiri district was abducted by the Maoists and the government is in negotiation with the Maoists to have him released
I1: Where, in Orissa, is Maoism prevalent ?
Kunal: It is mostly prevalent in the south western and western part of the state, which are densely forested and where government schemes have not made inroads . In districts like Kalahandi and Malkangiri.
I1:Who do you hold responsible for this menace?
Kunal : Part of the responsibility lies with the people who took up Maoism, as violence is no way to solve any issue. The other half of the blame lies with the government as they have done little to lessen the sense on alienation which these people from non-developed areas have felt
I1: And what else is going on?
Kunal: There is the POSCO deal which recently got environmental clearance from the Environment minister Jairam Ramesh and which currently is being met with widespread opposition from the local-ites
I3: Do you support the deal?
Kunal: Yes I do. This is the largest proposed FDI in India. It is meant to change the face of Orissa by providing employment to a lot of people, and by not allowing this to go ahead we will not be sending the correct signals to investors abroad.
I1: But then why is there so much opposition?
Kunal: The government's track record w.r.t rehabilitation has not been horrible (Gosh! I should not have used that word) which is why people have little faith that any good will come out of this. I think the responsibility is now with the govt., who have to allot the displaced people land around the facilities and give them a chance to benefit from the development. They should be allowed to work in these facilities.This will give them a chance to grow.
[I was asked a few more questions with the panel firmly putting forth their views firmly in favor of the victims and I reciting pro-development slogans]
I3:About your response to the ethical dilemma question. Lets say you are going abroad and you need the Driver's license ASAP, would you still not take a bride?
[For the question on ethical dilemma, I had stated how I did not bribe on my way to securing a driving license. I had preferred to wait 2 months and go the whole nice yards to procure the license legitimately]
Kunal: I still would not bribe.I would take the license in the foreign country or wait till I come back again and apply for the license again.
I3:You did not get my question. You won't get a license abroad and you absolutely must have the license in a short time:
Kunal: It is a question about integrity . I still will not bribe. [My tone was morally upright]
I2: Kunal. Signal compression,Statistical Communication,Number theory,ADSP, Spread spectrum- these are subjects from the final year of you college. Do you remember any of these?
[Phew! where did that come from? I was kind of hoping I don't get asked on these but then there it was]
Kunal: Well, not as well as I would have a couple of years ago, but I do remember them
I2: What did you study in number theory?
Kunal: There are a set of numbers and then there is another set say prime numbers. Number theory deals with figuring what the quotient and remainder is when when one set divides another
I3: A whole semester went in you figuring out which number divides which?
Kunal:No. I meant, there were other things but divisibility was central to the course.
I3: Tell us a few theorems.
[Oh dear God! Where was I gonna get that from? Luckily I could think of a divisibility theorem which I had used during CAT preparations and then there was the ever-so-dependable 'Fermat's last theorem']
I2: What did you study you study in statistical communication?
[I did not particularly like that subject]
Kunal: It is not a subject I was great at but it is a subject that deals with random signals
I3: What is a random signal?
[I tried answering that question using fundamental signal theory - an answer which I am sure would have left the purists in electronics embarrassed. The gentlemen on the other side did not seem fully convinced ,either]
I2: How would you convert a digital signal to an analog signal?
Kunal: There are ADC and DAC's available to make such conversions ...
I2: Can you draw me the circuit diagram of one??
[I was handed a sheet of paper and a pen.Various configurations of capacitors and resistors came to my mind.Could not think as to which combination would come to my rescue. By the grace of God almighty , I remembered a basic configuration and the professor nodded in agreement. Thank goodness !!]
I1: Thanks Kunal. That should be it.
Kunal: Thank you. It was a pleasure.
I2,I3: Thank you.
The G.D seemed to have gone through better than the interview. Would give myself a 50 per cent chance of making it through, though :)
At about 5 minutes past 9:00 , 8 people, including myself ,were called into a room to kick start the selection process with a case based G.D. We were all given a case study and were allowed 10 minutes to read the subject and make a draft of our interpretation of the case study and possible solutions in English - to be composed of continuous sentences and sequenced paragraphs. We were then given 15 minutes to analyze the case from various perspectives and reach a consensus. The G.D. was pretty active and there were quite a few good points made by fellow participants. I thought I performed rather well after having initiated the discussion.
We were then asked to wait outside the room and were told that we would be called in for the interview in the same sequence in which we were seated. I was No.3 in the sequence so after about a 45- minute wait I was called in. I went in rather confidently to the room were a 3-member interview panel was waiting. Written below in conversational style is an account of what transpired in the next 15-20 minutes :
I have referred to the interviewers as I1,I2 and I3 and myself as Kunal (obviously) :
[I handover my resume, document and certificates to the panel]
I2: Kunal ,please be seated
[I sat down]
I3: So how many years on work experience do you have?
Kunal: I joined Goldman in June 2009. I have about 20 months of work experience till date
I1: Tell us about yourself, Kunal
[I started answering that question in reverse chronological order,starting with where I work,my achievements at work place, my achievements in college and then in school. But in all the enthusiasm, I forgot to mention why I wanted to do an MBA:(]
I1:What do you do in your spare time, when you are not working?
Kunal: I like writing my blogs and compering is something that I am good that. I have compered
in several valedictory functions and in the Indian Independence day celebrations at workplace in New York.In college i used to play billiards ,basketball and TT (Though there was not so much TT :))
I1: So you are from Orissa, correct? What's happening in your state these days?
Kunal:Recently the collector of Orissa's Malkangiri district was abducted by the Maoists and the government is in negotiation with the Maoists to have him released
I1: Where, in Orissa, is Maoism prevalent ?
Kunal: It is mostly prevalent in the south western and western part of the state, which are densely forested and where government schemes have not made inroads . In districts like Kalahandi and Malkangiri.
I1:Who do you hold responsible for this menace?
Kunal : Part of the responsibility lies with the people who took up Maoism, as violence is no way to solve any issue. The other half of the blame lies with the government as they have done little to lessen the sense on alienation which these people from non-developed areas have felt
I1: And what else is going on?
Kunal: There is the POSCO deal which recently got environmental clearance from the Environment minister Jairam Ramesh and which currently is being met with widespread opposition from the local-ites
I3: Do you support the deal?
Kunal: Yes I do. This is the largest proposed FDI in India. It is meant to change the face of Orissa by providing employment to a lot of people, and by not allowing this to go ahead we will not be sending the correct signals to investors abroad.
I1: But then why is there so much opposition?
Kunal: The government's track record w.r.t rehabilitation has not been horrible (Gosh! I should not have used that word) which is why people have little faith that any good will come out of this. I think the responsibility is now with the govt., who have to allot the displaced people land around the facilities and give them a chance to benefit from the development. They should be allowed to work in these facilities.This will give them a chance to grow.
[I was asked a few more questions with the panel firmly putting forth their views firmly in favor of the victims and I reciting pro-development slogans]
I3:About your response to the ethical dilemma question. Lets say you are going abroad and you need the Driver's license ASAP, would you still not take a bride?
[For the question on ethical dilemma, I had stated how I did not bribe on my way to securing a driving license. I had preferred to wait 2 months and go the whole nice yards to procure the license legitimately]
Kunal: I still would not bribe.I would take the license in the foreign country or wait till I come back again and apply for the license again.
I3:You did not get my question. You won't get a license abroad and you absolutely must have the license in a short time:
Kunal: It is a question about integrity . I still will not bribe. [My tone was morally upright]
I2: Kunal. Signal compression,Statistical Communication,Number theory,ADSP, Spread spectrum- these are subjects from the final year of you college. Do you remember any of these?
[Phew! where did that come from? I was kind of hoping I don't get asked on these but then there it was]
Kunal: Well, not as well as I would have a couple of years ago, but I do remember them
I2: What did you study in number theory?
Kunal: There are a set of numbers and then there is another set say prime numbers. Number theory deals with figuring what the quotient and remainder is when when one set divides another
I3: A whole semester went in you figuring out which number divides which?
Kunal:No. I meant, there were other things but divisibility was central to the course.
I3: Tell us a few theorems.
[Oh dear God! Where was I gonna get that from? Luckily I could think of a divisibility theorem which I had used during CAT preparations and then there was the ever-so-dependable 'Fermat's last theorem']
I2: What did you study you study in statistical communication?
[I did not particularly like that subject]
Kunal: It is not a subject I was great at but it is a subject that deals with random signals
I3: What is a random signal?
[I tried answering that question using fundamental signal theory - an answer which I am sure would have left the purists in electronics embarrassed. The gentlemen on the other side did not seem fully convinced ,either]
I2: How would you convert a digital signal to an analog signal?
Kunal: There are ADC and DAC's available to make such conversions ...
I2: Can you draw me the circuit diagram of one??
[I was handed a sheet of paper and a pen.Various configurations of capacitors and resistors came to my mind.Could not think as to which combination would come to my rescue. By the grace of God almighty , I remembered a basic configuration and the professor nodded in agreement. Thank goodness !!]
I1: Thanks Kunal. That should be it.
Kunal: Thank you. It was a pleasure.
I2,I3: Thank you.
The G.D seemed to have gone through better than the interview. Would give myself a 50 per cent chance of making it through, though :)
14 comments:
hey, u r 4m which clg in orissa and ur percentile??
ma gdpi z on 14th April...Are they verifying all the certis??
btw, I guess u have made it...Keep Fingers crossed though....:)
I did my engineering in NIT Calicut.
Yes they will have a look at all certificates and also do take your CAT admit card to the center though it is no mentioned in the e-mail. Good luck !!
On the lighter side, was the dilemma about you taking a bride oops bribe or giving one? (ref your qs posted)
:D
Still...
Thanx a lot man...post was really illuminating
Ya! haha!! Bribe indeed :) Typo. ill have i corrected.
lol, for conversion from digital to analog...u told them that there are ADCs to do so ???????????????
Hey!
I was in the other group Kunal, but I remember interacting with you. Your interview seems to have gone really well,all the best!!
Smriti.
good luck bhai :)
Hi kunal...I believe u fared well in both GD and interview.I wish u all the best n hope u get selected..
My gdpi is on 12th April..can u please tell me about the case study??
Hi Kunal,
Are we supposed to carry our resume with us?
We filled in some details in Shillong form but I dont have a pdf of it? How do we get that?
There were a few candidates who did not have the pdf as it was not e-mailed to them > i think it is fine. they would have a print of the same.And yes, I think it will be a nice idea to take your resume along
Congratulations, you are most likely in. :-)
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