July 7, 2010

What are they looking for?

Posted in Literary, Opinion at 7:35 PM by Rekha

I attended 5 different interviews for selection to B-Schools after the CAT results were announced. All of them were different and exciting and I thoroughly enjoyed the variety. All I tried to do as a candidate was to be my natural self because I knew that getting out of a B-School successfully was more important and more grueling than getting in. But how do B-Schools make the go/no-go decision on a candidate after just a few minutes of ‘interview’? I was ready to pop this question at any interviewer who’d give me an opportunity, and it happened at the end of my interview for MDI’s PGPM in Bangalore. The interviewers asked me at the end of the session whether I had any questions for them.

I said, “Yes sir. What do you look for in a candidate? You get very little time to asses a person, so it must be very difficult for you…”

One of my interviewers replied, while ticking off on his fingers, “Attitude towards life, social attitude, general aptitude – which we know from you educational background and CAT score, whether they would fit in the MDI culture, how much variety they can add to MDI…”

That’s all fine. But how do they really find out all that about a person? They must make sure they ask the right questions. But we must remember that they are also humans, and may miss out on some excellent candidates at some point!

So the selection process this year conducted by the B-Schools I was shortlisted for, generally consisted of an essay/GD followed by an interview. An exception was the process conducted by SPJIMR, which consisted of two group interviews. Group interviews are interesting because you get to hear other people’s answers and for some, the group environment proves to be more relaxing. But on the other hand, the cons are, that for some, other people’s seemingly excellent answers may sound intimidating, and more importantly, it gives lesser time and lesser scope for projecting your individuality. Some may also argue that the group interview process actually gives a stronger arena to project oneself against the backdrop of several others. On the whole, I think a group interview is an interesting option worth consideration. Most B-School used to conduct group interview decades ago, and shifted to the current system later.

Another process I attended was IIM-B’s essay/PI. It was a quiet a solemn affair. The essay is an interesting change of recent years in the B-School selection process. According to some, institutes started this because of recruiter’s feedback that most of the graduates lack written communication skills. I must say, don’t we do any writing during the two years? So wont those help to improve this particular skill? But nevertheless, this creates a different challenge and change is good at times. During a group discussion, chances of a strong a commanding voice picking up points from the softer spoken is huge. And the noise levels are generally very high, making it extremely difficult for the interviewers to make a selection or judgment. So the essay can convincingly evaluate a candidate’s written skill along with original ideas. But let’s not be too hard on the time tested group discussion process. Some institutes like IIM-L have adopted a hybrid strategy where they made us write an essay and later discuss the same topic. This, I think is a good idea to overcome the flip sides of both essay writing and group discussion while reaping the benefits of both evaluation techniques.

The interviews were essentially similar, all aiming at putting a face to the person presented to them on paper, and clarifying anything about his/her profile that they want to discuss. I was consistently asked about my Carnatic music interests, my Statistics background and my social initiatives. The only exception was IIM-L, which posed an arbitrary interview where I got to talk very less about myself. I heard it had varied levels of ‘randomness’ for most candidates. Such things used to happen when stress interviews were in vogue. But these days, B-Schools genuinely try to ensure that the candidates are relaxed and able to project their true self for consideration.

Another interesting thing I encountered in two of my interviews (IIM-I and SPJIMR) was a psychometric test. It is very interesting to answer one, and a scientific way to understand the candidate’s moral/emotional temperament. But it is nothing that a shrewd mind cannot fool, especially when everything is on paper and one can refer back to what one answered earlier.

MDI’s selection process was good old time tested GD/PI. The topic was pretty general and everyone in the group got to talk. The group tried to make it a fairly well-behaved and involved discussion and was ready to listen to others. The interviewers were very attentive during the discussion and asked some candidates about the points they had made. The interview was a very interactive and open one. I got to talk about myself with ease, and was even asked in the end (as I mentioned before) to ask anything I might want to ask them. This process is time tested. And apparently it worked well for me. It was one of the most energised processes I attended.

A possible improvement would be to include an essay. But if all the interview panels are patient enough to listen carefully, that may not be essential. Another possible change would be to include a group task and note each candidate’s group attitude. Group dynamics can be also assessed through a group interview integrated with a group task – this may be combined with a GD/Essay process as well and followed up by the Personal Interview. Asking the candidates for a statement of purpose is also a time-tested process followed by most international B-schools. It would provide a ground for questions during the interview as well.

I am finally here at MDI, and am hoping to write about life here and after!

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