At the IIML GD-PI

The 1^st day of February saw me heading for my first B-school GD-PI. The air outside may have been chilly (what with Mumbai’s temperature plummeting to 8 degrees about a week later), but I was shivering (rather trembling with nervousness) at the prospect of facing up to my first IIM interview. Just a day before, I had taken a mock PI at a coaching institute and the feedback I got was “You know your CV inside out; but you are grossly under confident. Stop being anxious about converting your calls; you’ll make it”. As I approached the GD-PI venue (which I reached a good 1 hour 40 minutes before time), I kept seeking comfort in the words “Stop being anxious about converting your calls; you’ll make it”.  When I reached the venue I saw a couple of familiar faces; people who I had met during the weekend GD-PI workshop at the coaching institute. Being the first GD-PI for most people, not everyone was keen to strike a conversation. But I decided to break the ice, courtesy some intense persuasion by my friend, who told me that it was a good way to make oneself feel relaxed with the added benefit of expanding your friends’ circle. The conversation inevitably drifted to the IIML PI form which had just 2 lines for mentioning one’s hobbies and extra-curricular activities and did not have any of the standard career goal oriented questions (E.g.: Why management?, Alternative career) in it. There were surmises galore on what are the kinds of questions the interviewers would ask as there was not even the slightest give away in the PI form as to what are the things in a candidate that IIML is looking for. Though I too felt that the form asked for “too little” information about oneself, I rationalized, thinking “These guys have been conducting PIs for the last 23 years; surely this form is the result of extensive research into who constitutes IIML’s dream candidate”. 15 minutes prior to the official start time, two men in black suits walked into the room where everyone had assembled and announced the itinerary for the day. We were to be split into 3 groups (panels in GD-PI lingo) and our GDs would be conducted in parallel in 3 different rooms. After that, we would be called for PI one after the other in a pre-decided sequence. The GD moderators would also be our interviewers.

As we stepped into the room where the GD was to be held, we were greeted by two moderators seated at the other end of the room from the door. Our chairs had been arranged in a crescent shaped formation. The moderators asked us to occupy seats in an anti-clockwise manner beginning with me, which meant I was sitting at the right extremity of the crescent. The moderators then collected our PI forms and gave us ruled sheets of paper. We were told to write an essay of not more than 500 words on the topic “The ability to avert crises rather than tackle them is the  hallmark of a successful person” for which we were given 20 minutes, followed by a 15 minute discussion of the same topic. I kept a spare piece of paper at hand to note the points on which I was expanding on in my essay, so that I could use those points in the GD. 

 

The GD

We were supposed to be a group of 8; however 2 people did not turn up and so we were only the 6 of us in the GD. I had been mediocre when it came to GDs at the coaching institute (which typically were conducted in groups of 12 to 15)and fancied my chances of a decent participation with a smaller group. I was the 3^rd person to enter the GD and had 5-6 equally spaced interventions in the GD; in fact everyone got decent airtime and the group seemed to be moving towards a consensus all along.  To summarize I conveyed the following through the points I made:

 

-     The ability to foretell and avert a crisis comes with experience which generally   involves  facing up to that crisis

-     It is essential to have the right temperament to tackle a crisis because there will always be a problem that we have never faced or anticipated

 

Several examples supporting both viewpoints were stated, which was obvious given the nature of the topic. I quoted the example of how certain companies had managed to stay afloat in the wake of the “subprime crisis” while others could not. In fact, at one point, I believe I brought the discussion back on track when it threatened to centre around the validity of an example that was quoted. However, in hindsight, I believe I committed the mistake of forcefully generating (and possibly repeating) a point when it seemed that at the end of about 10 minutes the group reached a consensus and had run out of points. I remembered one of the coaching institute profs quipping “You are not hosting the GD; just shut up once you are done with your points!”. Once I became conscious of this, I was desperately hoping the moderators would stop the GD (I’m sure they would have realized the group had run out of steam) and to my relief, a couple of interventions later, the GD was stopped. I would be the first person in my group to be interviewed after a short tea break. Overall I felt good about my GD (this would eventually turn out to be my best GD performance) and the fact that I could do well in a GD (which to be frank I dreaded prior to the IIML GD) gave me some confidence going into the interview.

 

The PI

I gingerly stepped into the same room in which the GD had been conducted. The interviewers greeted me, told me to take a seat and asked me to hand over my file containing original mark sheets and proof of employment certificate. Hereafter, I’ll refer to the interviewers as I1 (the one seated to my left) and I2(the one seated to my right):

 

 

I1: So what do you think about the GD? How did it go?

Me: Sir, I think we had a good, structured discussion which eventually resulted in the group reaching a consensus.

I1: And how would you rate your performance?

Me: Sir, it was decent. (Interrupts before I could say anything more)

I1: So Ameya, you spoke about the subprime crisis. Can you tell me why the rupee is appreciating against the dollar?

Me: Sir one of the factors that determines the value of a currency vis-à-vis other currencies is its demand in the international market. The higher the demand, the more valuable a currency becomes. Due to the US economy performing below par in recent months, most countries’ central banks have been selling large amounts of the U.S. dollar. This has resulted in it depreciating.

 

(One of the professors at the coaching institute I attended later told me that I should have also stated the booming Indian economy and the resulting investor confidence in it that had pushed the rupee higher. According to him, the answer I gave was the reason for depreciation of the dollar and not the appreciation of the rupee.)

 

I2: Why does any country keep foreign exchange reserves?

Me: Sir for trading.

I1: (With a puzzled expression on his face)Trading?

Me: I mean, if a country wants to buy something from another country, it needs to pay that country in its currency. Hence countries keep foreign exchange reserves.

I2: So can I say that countries need foreign exchange to finance their imports?

Me: Yes (I thought  to myself “Wow! That could have been a short and sweet answer.”)

I1: Recently the Zimbabwean central bank has been printing million dollar denomination bills? Why do you think they would do such a thing?

Me: Sir I’m not sure of the exact reason, but I think it may be due to spiraling inflation in that country (which was a guess) and the high exchange rate of the Zimbabwean dollar against the U.S. dollar.  

 

(The day after the interview, I read in a newspaper that Zimbabwe’s inflation had zoomed past 26000 % and that 1 USD was more than 6 million Zimbabwean dollars)

 

I2: Yesterday, and even today, instances of the Internet slowing down were reported due to some cable rupturing in the sea near Egypt? I always thought the Web was wireless. Why would some undersea cable rupture cause the Internet to slow down?

 

(Upon arriving at the GD-PI centre, I happened to read a newspaper and in one of the inner pages I read in detail a story about a fiber optic link rupturing in the Red Sea which had caused disruption of Internet traffic between the US/Europe and Asia-Pacific. Tellingly, I had experienced loss of connectivity while I was surfing the Net on 31 Jan, just a day before my GD-PI. Call it stroke of luck! J )

 

Me: Sir, long distance Internet traffic propagates over high speed fiber optic links. One of these links that ruptured yesterday was a major corridor for Internet traffic between the APAC region and the U.S. As a result many ISPs had to reroute their traffic over alternative links which probably could not handle as much traffic as the link that went down, thereby resulting in slow, or in some cases, no connectivity.

I2: But why don’t they use satellites for sending Internet traffic?

Me: Sir the delay involved in sending traffic via  satellite is 540 milliseconds, whereas over fiber optic links its about 200 to 300 milliseconds, which is a significant difference in the web world. Most web applications just cannot work with that additional delay.

I1: Ok…explain to me the principle behind fiber optic cables.

 

(Now this fellow was getting into hardcore physics. Fortunately I remembered the principle of “critical angle” and “total internal reflection” and told him the same. Thankfully for me, he did not ask me anything more on physics or my engineering subjects, as I wasn’t well prepared on acads for this interview, something which I made sure I did for the next interview which was for IIMK)

 

I1: Ok (now perusing through my PI form)….So you say you have represented college at a singing competition…can you sing for us a song you had sung there?

 

(Wow..this was something unexpected! Nevertheless, I sang Ghar se nikalte hi…  from the movie Papa Kehte Hain. Singing at an event or on someone’s request is something I love and I felt  extremely comfortable and confident doing it. It also helped me calm any “nerves” I may have had. The “performance” was followed by a barrage of questions like the name of the movie, the music director, the lead actors, etc. which I could answer confidently and correctly)

 

I1: (Reads off the PI form)…Organized quiz competition…Oh..so you are into quizzing as well?

Me: No Sir. I was the organizer of that event and was also the quizmaster. Although quizzing is something I did in school, I did not pursue it once out of school.

I2:Are you still working with Infosys? (While looking at the ‘Employment Details’ section of my PI form)

Me:Yes Sir.

I2: Then why have you left the ‘To Date’ column blank? Shouldn’t it read TILL DATE?

Me:Right Sir.

 

(He pushed the form towards me so I could make the change in my form)

  

I1:Tell me something about Narayana Murthy. (With an obvious reference to my employer)

Me: Sir he’s the non-executive chairman and co-founder of Infosys.

I2: (Interrupts)…Is he still an employee of the company?

Me: No Sir, he retired from the company in August 2006.

I2: So does he still come to office?

Me: (With a hint of surprise and hesitation on my face)…Sir….I don’t know that.

I1: Ok..(with a broadening smile)…Have you met him?

Me: Sir I have seen him at close proximity at the Mysore campus where I underwent training. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to speak to him.

I1: So..(as if throwing the gauntlet at me)…do you think he would make a good President?

Me: Definitely yes. He’s a role model for many of us in the company and is an epitome of integrity, which is essential for any leader to be looked up to. Also he has been a key contributor to Infosys’ success story and much of the goodwill that the company enjoys stems from his image as a person. I’m sure he has it in him to connect with a larger set of people, if made the President.

I2: What do you know about Lucknow?

Me: Sir Lucknow is known for its delectable Nawabi cuisine and for its historic monuments.

I2: Can you name any of those monuments?

 

(I hadn’t heard or read about any. But still I took a long time trying to think of any names without much luck)

 

I1: (Impatiently interrupts in a sarcastic tone) Is there something called as ‘Don’t Know’?…anyway…tell me what you know about IIM Lucknow.

Me: (Visibly shaken; rambling off whatever I could recall off the website) Sir IIM Lucknow is the first IIM in the country to have two campuses in the country. The campus at Noida was recently set up as a hub for executive management education. (Ummm..) At Lucknow, the courses offered are PGP, PGP-ABM…

I1: (Impatiently interrupts again; visibly rude this time)…And you have applied for the PGP!  (Perusing through my certificates and pointing out to my 10th and 12th certicates which stood out like a sore thumb; just a day before the GD-PI, as I was consolidating my certificates, I noticed I hadn’t got my 10th and 12th certificates laminated and decided I would do so after the IIML GD-PI)These are in bad shape!

Me: (Let out an embarrassed muffle) Yes Sir….I’m sorry about those.

I2: What do you think is Lucknow’s biggest contribution to India?

Me: (Thought for a few seconds…couldn’t think of anything) Sorry Sir, I don’t have enough knowledge about Lucknow to be able to answer that.

I1: Ok..thank you Mr. Mahadeshwar…you may leave.

 

I thanked both interviewers and left the room as gingerly as I had entered. Though I felt good about the interview as a whole, I felt that I didn’t do well towards the end because I gave “half-baked” answers. The first thing I did upon reaching home was to get the 10th and 12th certificates laminated, well in time for my next GD-PI, a good 10 days later.

 

 

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