Looking into the mirror, I parted my hair neatly wondering how the the next few hours would pan out. Scourging through the GD/PI experiences at PG had left me with a sense of preparedness. A few self-check questions later I was on my way to St.Xavier’s. Stories about XIMB and the Jhabier Effect ran through my head. How I would love to be there, I smiled to myself. With 2 minutes to go, I panted into the waiting room at Xavier’s. Damn the Mumbai traffic!!The XIMB panel always start in time they said. My relief was interrupted by curious eyes greeting me. Some friendly, others seemingly evaluative. Socialize man, I thought. Few cursory greetings later I quickly sized up my group. Mr. Confidence talked aloud about his exploits in XAT. A 99-point-something, he waxed eloquent about how with a few days preparation he had cracked XAT. The fat Mr. Nerves watched with awe and admiration. Concurring with almost everything Mr. Confidence said, Mr. Nerves had already anointed him his mentor for the day. There was also Ms. Coy alone in the corner mourning perhaps the fact that she was the only girl in this group of 8. Mr. Amiable was a fellow TCSer. We tried identifying common friends in TCS. But in vain. All this while Mr. Confidence was weaving a web of charm around his cronies(Mr. Nerves and a few others). This time it was about his XLRI interview which he supposedly screwed.
“I was wearing a coat with Peter England label on it yaar....they said my suit distracted them and that they were more impressed with it than me( guffaws)....You what I said??(A pause that piqued the curiosity of his already spellbound audience) Sir this is like a gift wrapper. I am the gift. I wont mind if you take me in for this reason only.” There were collective gasps all around.
“What an answer!! I think you are in yaaar..”
He was beaming by now. He knew he had half the group in awe of him even before the GD had started.
Soon we were summoned in for the GD. I tripped at the door while I entered the room. Not a good omen,I thought. The topic was “GDs as a selection tool for MBA admissions-A Farce?”. Hardly had the moderator signalled start when Mr. Nervous started the GD frantically. A false start, I thought. The group was surprised by this sudden start. Slowly the GD settled into a decent discussion. Made a few points about how GDs judge your ability to handle chaos and some other politically correct points. It lasted for about 10-12 min.
“Arey Mr.Confidence, yaar you ruled the GD man. When you said “The crux of the issue is...” it stole the show man.”
I was amused.
Before the interviews, Mr. Nervous was requesting Mr. Confidence to give him tips on how to answer the why-mba questions. He gladly obliged parting with his supposed gyaan. I wondered how a candidate with borrowed answers would ever be selected. I waited for my turn patiently. I was the 6th candidate in order.
When my turn came I made sure I dint bump into the door this time. Clumsy me.
“So Madhukar, you read PG posts?”
“Yes I do Sir.”
“So you have read the GD/PI experiences posted there huh?”
“Yes Sir”(Sheepish smile). Honest old abe, I thought.
“You discuss interviews of other candidates in the corridor don’t you?”
“Well, yeah. Just to enquire how the interview went and all”(Super-Sheepish Smile!!)
“Then you must be knowing it all huh? Lets do one thing. You ask your questions and then answer it as well.” The panel sat back and smiled seemingly devilishly.
Ah. Signs of a stress interview huh, I thought.
“To begin with, on your behalf I would like to know a little bit about myself.” I liked the mysterious start. I went on about the stuff I wanted to tell the panel about myself. So far so good. They played into my alley.
“Thats it? Is there nothing else you would like to ask?”
“Sir. I would love to answer your questions rather than mine (Angelic Smile).”
Questions on my work-experience followed. Having steered them comfortably I started feeling confident.
“Why should we admit you in XIMB?”
Gyaan on how my experience would enrich the class discussion and how being a good student throughout I could weather the academic storm at a b-school, I seemed to have convinced the panel.
“Hmm...So you are a guitarist. If you are so passionate about music why then don’t you do a course in music instead?”
“Have already done B. Mus in Tabla Sir.(blah blah)Music lends me an extra dimension and is something I hold precious.(blah blah)But it is finally Finance that I want to do. And what better place to do it in than XIMB.”
Few questions later I was away. Bid the panel goodbye and wished Mr. Nerves and Mr. Confidence luck and drove back reflecting on a good experience overall. Coffee beckoned back home.
- Posted by Madhukar Subramanian
