We at JokaTimes asked some of the current students in IIM Calcutta about their Admissions interview experiences here. We were flooded with a whole gamut of experiences in response and so we present for the benefit of all those who have interview calls a serialized compilation of interview experiences of those who “made it” to IIM Calcutta. We hope this series benefits you as much as we anticipate.

Alok Srivastava, a PGDM student from the 2007-9 batch had this to say:

“The rather popular ‘Tell Me something About Yourself’ question started the show for me, where I came up with the positives that I had prepared for the interview. Since I had a year’s experience, they proceeded to ask me about my occupation as a Patent Analyst as well. I was subsequently asked a few specific questions about whether patents in general benefit the society and a few more expanding on similar lines. There was a plagiarism case that was doing rounds in the news at the time and I was queried about it. In general they seemed to be happy, and finally asked me my CAT percentile and my order of preference of the calls I had.”

As we can clearly see, Alok’s interview focused on his personals, his work experience and his knowledge of current affairs. Further, Alok lists a few frequently asked Questions (FAQs) for us.

“Tell me something about yourself” is one of the most frequently asked questions. My suggestion on the best way to handle this is to steer your interview to the areas you want. You may also be asked about your work. The panel genuinely listens to what you say, so be enthusiastic enough and come out with your experience.”

Divyesh Sharma, a PGDM student from the 2008-10 batch, who was admitted through GMAT and not CAT, had this to say:

“I was admitted through the foreign student category so it might be helpful for people from the same category to go through the experience so that they can feel comfortable about the process. One thing to note is that there is absolutely no difference in the interview and GD process for a Foreign student and Indian students. Whatever I have to say would therefore be pertinent to the general IIM C aspirant as well.

The foreign category students are paired with general students for the GD process. The interview however is scheduled last amongst the group. What would be noteworthy is that the intake in IIMC of foreign students has increased over the years while in other institute it has remained stagnant. Without getting into a debate about CAT vs GMAT and basing my judgement on the quality of students who have made it in this category I see a genuine reason behind this trend.”

As can be clearly seen from Divyesh’s experience, IIM Calcutta appreciates diversity in profiles. He also listed down for us some of the questions he faced during his interview. Divyesh had a strong background in the IT industry and was working in a much vaunted leadership role. So he was asked “You already are in a role which some people would get into post an MBA so why do you want to do an MBA. What value-add would be there?” He was also asked about his hobbies which are running and traveling. He says “Traveling is a tricky thing to say. One should be sure of their places of interests. Like I was asked about the places I had been to in Europe. I was also asked, “What is the name of the castle in Fussen? Who was the king who built it?””

In addition, Divyesh was asked questions about his preference between institutes. His advice is to be honest about any preferences and to give reasons in support of the candidates’ choices.

Compiled and Edited by
Chandrima Das