The interview is over.



Just a few days left before I get to know whether I can live up to my name or not.

Here are the minutes of the meeting:

Panel: Mr Menon (The Big Boss,Director -Admission)
Nithya (I think that was the nane...from the admissions office)
Kamal (alum)

Duration: 25 minutes

Called up on time .Asked them if I was clear.Mr Menon said that if at any time he felt I was unclear,he would let me know. :)

Interview Questions:

Mr Menon:
-Tell me something about ur family and tell me something which you want to discuss in the interview
-What rank did you get in the school (12th grade)
-Your grades in school and engineering are both around 75%. Why so less.?
( I explained them that my first year engg score was 60% and final year engg score was 87%...so the score 75% perhaps does not show the picture properly)
-OK..But ur GMAT scores contradict everything you just now said !..ISB average is 690. Why such a low GMAT score.
-Why didn't you retake it again.
(Told them that this was the second time. Had a tough time convincing him ! )

Kamal
-Walk me through your resume.
-What are the challenges you faced at work working at each project.
-How is it different working for an Indian client and an American client
-Tell me a situation where you took a tough decision (I think the example I gave was a bad one!)
-You say that you have handle teams where the members varies in terms of experience and age.How do you handle them.
- If I were to start a telecom company in US and am a low risk taker with limited expertise, what would be the strategy for me. ( Not a good answer from me !)
(Cell phone rang..and Kamal passed it on to the next interviewer)

Nithya
-There is a match between World XI and Asian XI to raise funds for Tsunami. You have mentioned that you have a great interest in quizzing. So, if you were to organize a quiz competetion to raise funds for Tsunami, what would be ur strategy.
- You seem to have a great interest in Mechanical Engg. Your final year engg project is a reflection of that...It is good....Then why did you jump into IT and not go for the manufacturing industry .( I think I messed this one! )

Any questions for us:
-Harvard is known for General Mgmt,Kellog for Marketing,CMU for tech, what would ISB like to be known in the future for?
(Gen Mgmt..ISB brings in the best prof from a lot of schools...etc)
-A question on Exchange program..What is the basis for selection..
-Most of the visiting faculty are of Indian origin (Ravi Aron,Jag Raju).Do I see that ISB intends to make them permanent faculty some day.
-ISB produces the leaders for tommorow. It has one of the best sets of brain in the country. Why doesn't ISB do something for Tsunami-like a disaster recovery program etc..

The interview was over....!

As soon as the interview got over, I did not know what had happened. There were absoultely no questions on post MBA plans..no questions on why ISB ..why MBA..No questions on pencil,tie etc...I was thinking that they would ask me more questions. I was a bit unhappy.

Also, I speak quite fast! So, I felt I could have done better.

I made sure that I talked about my acievements.

But It was quite evident that they (especially Mr Menon) were not happy with my low GMAT score. So,will just wait and watch what the final outcome is.

Bharani,Kaushik,Dip, Rohit,Vivek and others who have helped for the interview -A big thank you .And of course Raja and Vineet, all the best for the palcement season.

All the best to others and the R2 applicants.