Right moves for the right results

The CAT results are out. Many of you would have got the visa to participate in the next stage of the admission process. So, it is worthwhile delving on what lay ahead and how to unlock these stages of admission rounds. This article focuses on what you should be
doing in the next few weeks to crack the personality rounds of the admission process.

The personality rounds themselves have witnessed a few changes in the format in the
recent past. Each IIM is looking at its own process. Some of them have done away with the GDs while some others have introduced essays in the process of selection.

Before getting into the specifics of what needs to be done for each type of process, one has to get a hang of one’s storyline. To ensure that, a lot of thought needs to be given to the key question — “Who am I?” Your storyline is built on the time that you spend in unraveling this question.

The personality rounds depend on the IIM that you have got a call from. Broadly speaking, there are three processes — personal interview, group discussion and essays.

Here are some tips on the different processes of the personality rounds.

*Personal Interviews: This is probably the best situation for one to make a positive impression on the panel. Remember, this is the only stage where you are being evaluated in person. So, it is a great opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the panel.

Personal interviews mainly evaluate an aspirant on confidence, conviction of thought and communication of the same, knowledge in subject/ work areas, goal clarity and orientation, among many other parameters. To be able to communicate all these convincingly, every aspirant must introspect deeply on a few questions like:

*Why MBA? (There is no standard answer that would make the panel happy!)
*What are your goals in life?
*What are your areas of interest — academic & non academic?

The awareness of one’s subjects, one’s work, and the environment around, are very critical to leave a positive impression on the panel. They are definitely not looking for unidimensional characters.

It is recommended that you make notes for yourself and keep questioning what seems an obvious answer to finally arrive at responses that appear well thought out. It is only then that you would be able to generate the necessary spontaneity in your responses.

The obsession with — “What is the right answer that will make the panel happy?” — must be done away with. Instead, look for a good response to — “What is it that you are looking for in an MBA?”. The ability to steer an interview in the appropriate direction can be arrived at only with deep introspection.

A few mock interviews which provide feedback is a must before appearing for the final interview.
*Group Discussions: These could be topical or could be case based. The first checks on awareness and depth of opinions, while the second checks your critical thinking skills. Neither of these is possible if one is a poor reader.

So, the first thing to be done is to do gather sufficient amount of reading material on key issues. Then the second stage is to be able to distil these thoughts and communicate in a crisp and compelling manner in the discussions. It is never the quantum of  “talking” that is key to a good GD performance. It is always the content and the process of communicating that is important.

Case studies specifically check your analytical ability. The ability to “analyse” and arrive at appropriate solutions in case studies, based on the data here and now, wins over the “how much” of  participation in a group discussion.

A few sessions of practice in groups that are competitive will help in chiselling these skills to the required levels. Participating in Boot Camps for call-getters would also help one in assessing the readiness for the selection process.

*Essays: This is a very recent development in the admission process of the IIMs. Just as case studies check the ability to analyse and communicate in the verbal forms, essays check on the approach to writing and the felicity of writing. Taking a look at a few sample essays of GMAT would definitely help in arriving at a structure to one’s writing.  

All these need a commitment of time from the student. It is definitely not a good idea to assume that just a couple of days of  “looking into self”  would help you cross the bridge.

Under preparation at this stage is suicidal. You need to ensure that you have gone through each of these processes, and have sufficient feedback to work on. All this has to be done to ensure that the great probability of conversion at this stage works for you too.

(The writer is academic director, Career Launcher.)