[2013-2015] Goa Institute of Management (GIM) GD/PI Experiences

MBA
81
XAT Percentile -NA
CMAT : AIR 298 (September 2012, Score 264 )
10th - 92.8 (CBSE)
12th -91.2(CBSE)
Grads - 77(Anna Univ)
Work-Ex - 18 months
Batch of Interview - 27th Morning at Brainstorm consultancy , Bangalore
GD Topic - The Delhi rape victim " the braveheart was it wrong on her part to have stayed out so late in the night " or something like that .

Experience -

GD was very organized. We were a group of 9 ppl and everyone of us were given 15 second opening statement/ introduction. After that 5 minutes of discussion. Since the topic is fairly favoring one view, all of us were unequivocal about the opinions which we expressed. This was followed by conclusion statement by each one of us. Everyone were given 15 seconds to make the conclusion.

Positives of the GD: Everyone got a chance to speak.
the discussion was very calm and not heated.

Negatives: It was an unequivocal topic and hence there was no room for much arguments or expression of original opinions after analyzing the topic.


PI - I was the last guy in my panel to get interviewed. After what seemed like an eternity ( around 3 hours since the completion of GD ) i was called inside. The 2 prof asked me to take my seat. I was asked to hand over my file to one of them. Now P2( a charming 30 plus or minus year old gentleman ) told me " we are tired interviewing ppl, why don't you ask us questions and we will answer. I was speechless . Then P1 ( a 35 something year old gentleman ) asked me my XAT score and i said i applied via CMAT. He asked me why and i said i screwed up my XAT. He then asked me " Marks are not a measure of intelligence are they ? " . I replied politely that its not the only criteria. Then P1 said " your CMAT score is 264 , we don't know how to judge that score alongside XAT scores ( He was starting to turn on the heat , which became evident to me ). I replied politely that my rank is 298 AIR and its a good score. He then tried to provoke me saying " CMAT is an exam where ppl with low competence appear and you have simply been good among the worst ppl ". I felt a little irritated but i didn't show it . Then P2 said " According to you marks don't reflect intelligence , do they ". I again replied, " No i meant its not only criteria". P1 now got agitated and asked " Do you know John Nash "?
Me:I dont know.
P1: He was linked with game theory ( Check Wiki guys 😃 )
Me: I said ok.
P1 : He scored really high in exams and yet had great IQ.
Me : Ok sir.
P2: So you don't believe marks reflect intelligence , so are the universities and colleges jokers to conduct exams ?
Me : I didnt mean that sir.
P1: Prove your intelligence.
ME: What ? how do you want me to prove it ? Ask me something ?
P2: We will give you one chance to prove your intelligence. Prove yourself.
ME: Its really abstract. Shall i present a case study?
P2: Where is the case yaar ( Looking around for a briefcase )
ME ( partly amused and yet irritated) : OK , i shall prove with an example and started to rant about some stock market BS .
P2( getting irritated ) : We know this already. We want you to prove your intelligence.
Me: Ok sir i shall tell you an example from my coll days ( strted narrating )
P2: ( After a minute or so , he stopped pretending to listen ) Hey you are narrating some story when i ask you to prove your intelligence.
P1:Ok tell me why we shud select you ?
Me : ( puzzled and fumbled)
P1: let me rephrase it, tell me 2 reasons which can get you rejected .
Me : ( gave them the first counter punch). Maybe since i applied via CMAT and you don't deem it as competent enough .
P2 and P1 ( a little shaken ) : Ok tell me some personality traits of yours which can get you rejected ?
Me : I m confident about myself. If i don't fit in your system , it doesnt mean its something abt my personality .
P2: ( appeared again a little shaken ) : No you have misunderstood the qn , we asked you which traits of yours can get you rejected.
Me: I honestly can't think of any such thing and i am confident of myself.

P2: Ok so why are you wearing an ear stud?
Me: Its supposedly good for the nerves ( read somewhere on the net )

P2 now started joking : It has seriously affected your brains.
then he started saying something to P1 in hindi .

Me : Sir , if you don't mind pls talk in English , i m not conversant in Hindi.

P1 and P2 ( both shaken now ) : Then the conversation somehow got drifted to my reactions.
P2 : Yes i will speak in english.
Somehow the conversation got drifted to my reactions and they asked me if i have temper issues . I said no.


P2:Tell me your strengths and Weakness. I want you to do a SWOT Analysis.
Me : told my strengths n weakness and how i overcome them.
P2: So what is the opportunities for you in future?
Me : going forward , i shud look at this interview experience as a learning curve and not take it personally.
P2( Impressed by the answer ): Excellent. any qns you have ? or anything you want to say ?
Me: Nothing
P2 : you can leave now.
Me : Thank you ( with a smile ) and left.


Defintely i was grilled. It was more like a stress interview and lasted around 15-20 min. So pretty much they were provoking me , but in the end it ended well. Maybe i was a little aggressive too. Any comments PUYS ?? ( your feedback is welcome 😃 😃 )

Any other interesting thing -

1) they noted down what calls i had and they made me reveal the priority. I replied honestly that GIM is not my first pref.
2) Perhaps GIM can afford a much better venue for the interview than this place. The less said about it the better.

Overall its a good learning experience and i am happy for it 😃 No harsh feelings :)


82
XAT 77.04%
X 82.8%
XII 69%
GRAD:73%
i had my gd/pi on 27th - YMCA Delhi 1.30 pm slot..Aroun 10ppl were there
I reached 10mins late coz i got confused b/w YWCA n YMCA n rchd the room in a hassled state which they noticed
GD Topic - Facebook should be banned in academic institutes
We were all asked for an intro n then we went on to the discussion part which lasted about 5-6mins.There was this one guy who over powered everyone and didn't let anyone speak hence there was a fish market.Then to cover up he goes like don make it a fish mkt guys..obviusly when only one prsn keeps on spkin others wil try to get in at some point.I was right at the extreme end of the rectangular table with my back towards the moderators(bad seating arrangement).Coz whatever i spoke(if n when i got the chance) i wasnt heard n d dominating guy spoke the same in a louder voice.
When this torture ended we were asked to write the essay on the same topic in 10mins

Then the interview process started.
Ohk so mine was right at the end..Usual interviews lasted for 10mins,only d guy before me came back within 5mins.None of the docs/certis were checked.
P1:why were u late and hassled(Ohh shit :P)
Me:I rchd the wrong centre
P1:are u always this hassled?(:O)
Me:No sir I was probbly nervous coz i was late then I calmed myself?
P2:Y were u nervous,have u given any other intrviews?
Me:told
P1-So,Priyanka how do u rate GIM?
Me:Since I was really excited for the intrview and this col..I instinctively said 9.(I really thought of sayin an 8 though :/)
P2:Ohh wow u made our day.(Sarcasm am guessing :P)
P2:So bad marks in class 12th.What happened?(I didnt study obviously :P)
Me:I told them i focussed on engg exams,then there was an incident wid my phy ppr too but apart from that it was my fault
P1:So who all are there in your family?
Me:Told
P1:Then u dont need to work,u can sit around and relax your entire life
P2:Yes and get married
ME:(WTF) No I want to be an individual make my own mark..(Was really furious abt dis statement but managed to stay calm)
P1:So apart from academins?
Me:Told dem abt my extra curriculars(a little impressed now)
P1:Ohk why do u wanna do mba?
P2:yea spcly when u can st at home..LAUGHS(Ohk dey rly tested my patience now)
Me:Told them abt my long term goal
P1:Ohk it was nice meeting u young lady
Me:I was like seriously?Checked twice
Damn it lasted about 5mins..N i was really dissapointed they didnt ask anything weda its my wrk ex..my profile..abt me NOTHING..whether they were tired or what I've no clue..that was really UNFAIR.They are supposed to know sumone better in an interview.I was really counting on it since my XAT score is low.Really scared for the results :(
83

CMAT - 233

Centre - Lucknow
Date - 26th Feb

GD Topic - MBA is necessary for success in commercial world
GD Review - Good points came up from around 5 candidates, rest were either low on confidence or came up with vague points. 2 ppl spoke against the topic!! Then fish market. Observers were recording the process( like it was a proof that they two had actually conducted the process).

PI - One interviewer was a young man in late twenties, Mr. Abhishek Ranga, he was good , other one was an old man. It seemed interview was going on for the sake of being conducted. Nobody stayed for more than 10 mins. 85% questions were from academics . We had a feeling that we were called for a core company recruitment process. They began with a question on Civil Engineering. Then a little about politics, then lots of Civil Engineering!! All those awesome answers prepared for the moment were of no use.
84
XAT 82.xx%ile
X 89%
XII 84%
GRAD:68% (till 2nd year)

GD topic : Can India compete with China?

Not a fish market but i dint have a good experience..made an ok opening statement..bad conclusion ..tried to enter the GD but...kya he bole! essay ache se likha nai GD ke gam me..

Now interview :

Panel to chill tha ! There were 3 in the panel. Director(D) : Dr. Sunil Rai, Marketing wale sir (N)Nirmalya Bandopadhyay and an alumni(A) ( i dont remember his name :P)
Had a good experience. panel makes you feel very comfortable..


Entered the room.
Me: Good morning Sir
D: Good morning. Please have a seat.
Me: Thank you sir(smiled and sat down)
D: You have 2 mins. Tell us about yourself and in the end tell us why should we take you.
Me: told
D: family background?
D: So you sing? bathroom singer?
Me: No sir my family and some people have heard me singing.
D: good. sing your favourite song
Me: I started but i stopped . he said you can have water. i smiled and then sang two lines.
D: you sing well. take this hobby seriously.
Me: Thank you sir and i take that as a compliment.
N: asked some questions on maths.
Me: answered one out of two.
N: if you tell this to your teacher.. he would commit suicide ( i could only remember my teacher's face and i thot he wouldn't care at all )
D: just make sure he's not on 2nd or 3rd floor when you tell him or he'll jump off.
Me: i'll keep that in mind sir.
A: he gave me a situation and asked some questions on it.
Me: i tried to convince him but he wasnt very happy i guess.
N: what all calls do you have?
Me: told
N: which one would you choose?
Me: i said i dont want to join IMI hr and GIM has better ranking than FORE. also i'd like to get out of this city.
they laughed..and commented..when Delhi people wants to move out..Goa is the place
D: why do you think we're having such a conversation with you ? No stress nothing..
Me: gave some points.
D: god bless you. and we hope you make it .
Me: Thank you sir and i hope the same. have a nice day.


** though there were other questions as well but they were raised cuz i wanted to talk about those..
Also my GD went bad and xat score is low so i'm not expecting much..

Good luck !


85
XAT 85%ile
X 74.6%
XII 68
GRAD 62
Venue : YMCA Hostel Delhi 1.30 slot

GD topic : FDI in multi-retail sector would demise kirana shops

Although we were 11 people, GD was a bit fish market at a time. 2 girls were there .. they keep on talking... and i didn't get much time to talk waise points bhi thode kam hi the mere pas

PI: Panel was same as GD. One prof was from finance, he was a little young say P1 and another was a bit aged P2
I have a decent work ex and even decent salary, i was expecting start of my PI as "Tell me something and then moving towards work ex" but it goes like

P1 : "at that time P2 was not there" how r u, and ask for my certs and start checking at the same time ask "u working with --- and ask salary (although written in form)"
me: told every thing
till the time P2 came, and gave a look on my form and gave a amazed look saying "boss r u earning xxx, why r u coming in GIM, u are over qualified for GIM"
me: Mujhe samaj nai aaya kya bolu bcoz he looks serious but maine bahut sa gyan diya , why MBA and why GIM but still not convinced then aur gyan ... that was a good motivational speech boss he seems a little convinced
then pata nai kahan se question uske dimag mein aaya...
P2: u are not a small guy, u are mature enough tell me ur views about relation between girl and boy now a days..
me: ab aur bhi jyada gyan jhada maine (i was in favour of relationship)
P2 : so do u have gf.
me: sir i had, but broke up 2 years back ( told him that i had a lot of relations but finally found my love and then about breakup )
P2 : does it affect ur studies
me: sir i have left studies 4 years back i am working and yes at time it affected my job but i have to move on and i have moved now..
P1: why do u have low marks in GRAD
me:i told sir i was not at all serious till my grad, after grad i came to know till what extent life can be bitchy... bla bla bla... now i am serious
P1: So it may happen as u are pron to killing time and girls (I told him that at time i had multiple gfs and accept that that was wrong) so u will come to GOA and may be possible that u didnt study
me: sir i have set my goals in my life now... and any some how i have to attain those goals.. ----pata nai mujhe laga ye bhi sppech ho gaya.. and usse P2 kokya laga
P2 : which books do u read
me: a bit of fictions but i am not much in books
he again looks upset
P1: what r ur hobbies
me : told something something....
P1: any other calls
me : only GIM
p1: if i give u any chance will u come GIM or think about it after convesion
me : sir i will definately come
Both looks satisfied and say ok thakyou boss...

I feel relaxed now
finger crossed till results.

any comments puys??
86
@Priyankanova hey u were good... d opening line was nicely put.. n in d end u listed down everything dat was discussed... n were THERE in d discussion! so be postive! :D

87
XAT Percentile - 92
10th - 85
12th - 75 (Science)
Grads - 79 (BBA)
Work-Ex - NIL
Batch of Interview - 28th feb, 8:30 am, YMCA delhi

GD Topic - Can India Compete with China?

Experience - 30 secs for opening statement, 10-15 mins of discussion and 30 secs to conclude. The group had a good discussion. It luckily didn't turn into a fish market.. I kinda had to initiate coz d group didn't start for 10 secs.. I think i did a decent job. Made 2-3 entries and gave good points.

PI -
It was the best interview I could ever have. They made me feel very comfortable. It was a very friendly panel.. No stress at all...
Dr. Sunil Rai, Director (D)
Mr. Bandyopadhyay, Marketing Prof (M)
Alumni (A)

D- It has been a long wait. (I was the third last to be interviewed)
Me- Nt that late.. dere r still 2 more students who have to a bit longer dan i had to. :D

D- Daer (Hindi - Late) ho gya
Me- Sir, Daer hai andher nahi! (That just came instantaneous!)

M- hahahah, Sabhar ka phal meetha hota hai!
Me- I just smiled... Didnt want to b too spontaneous...

D- Have to talked abt d order that v r calling u for the interview. were u able to figure out our pattern?
Me- Sir we have tried a lot of theories bt every theory failed... I expalined d whole discussion that v had had outside the interview room...

D- In 2 mins, tell us abt urself, family, hobbies, strengths, etc.
Answered

Then we talked a bit abt my hobbies - dancing and reading...

D- I am putting 3 allegations on u. Nw u have to defend it.. U r nt a truthful person, u r very smart n ur find way arnd n u shifted frm science to mgmt coz of low scores.
Answered :D

Den he compared me to yudishtir (mahabharata)

M- Asked me 3 theories from HR..
I hadnt studied two of dem n said that dey werent a part of d cirriculum and explained d last one. Den 2-3 ques followed on dese theories. Answered.

M- Other calls. XAT, CAT, CMAT scores.
Told

M- Which wud u choose b/w imt-g and GIM
Told.
I said i want to njoy hostel life.. Every1 started laughing!

A- u have seen d GIM website. The student organisation do u knw abt dem. Which one wud u like to join.
Me- The one related to my specialisation wud b an obvious choice and apart from the social responsibilty club (Prayas he told me the name. i cudnt recall) and a cultural group. I added that i wud like to introduce SPIC MACAY in GIM!

Director sir said u are most welcome to bring ne change in d college... The faculty is dere to draw the salary and d students run d institute....

Shook hands with ol three and left. Was asked not to meet ne of waiting aspirants so had to leave without having a chance to even say a bye...


Any other interesting thing - An amazing experience. I can't believe it was d director of the institute himself and was talking so casually as if it was a chat over coffee..
Mr. Bandyopadhyay - Am eagerly waiting to be ur student! Amazing Teacher...

ALL THE BEST TO EVERYONE! DON'T BE NERVOUS AT ALL... THEY MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMFORTABLE AND AT EASE...
88
@RG8192 Good lobbying i must say.
89

Interview length-2 mins, max !! :splat:

No. of questions-2 :P
90
@RG8192

I was the second last one to be interviewed. The wait was just killing me. :)
I wasn't impressed with the alumni.
91

We have to make 1 min introduction on GD. So they will give that 5 min for thinking before that or after that introduction ?

92
@ayushnasa What did they ask you?
93
@carlos_anubis said:
@ayushnasa What did they ask you?
where do you see yourself 7 years from now
why mba if you want to be an entrepreneur.

94
@TECHCRATE said:
We have to make 1 min introduction on GD. So they will give that 5 min for thinking before that or after that introduction ?
@ayushnasa please reply bro
95
@TECHCRATE

Bro. We are given a minute to jot down the points and then everybody has to give a 30 second opening statement.
For my GD they said that the duration will be 10 to 15 minutes depending on the quality of the discussions.

After this, everybody was asked to give a 30 second conclusion.
96
@nikmanit Ok... Thanks for the info :)
97

XAT Percentile - 90.25


10th - 91.4

12th - 89.4

Grads - 77.16 ( B Sc Hons Physics appearing )

Work-Ex - nil

Batch of Interview - Delhi, 1st March, 1:30 pm

GD TOPIC - Should MBAs also consider a career in NGOs and not just in corporate companies?

Experience - Very noisy , 2-5 people speaking together many times. But I managed to be heard 3-4 times and made some inputs.
We were given 1 min to think , 30 secs each to introduce. Then 15 mins for discussion and 30 secs each to conclude

PI -
I was no. 6 in my group but they started from the middle, so I went in first !!!
Two professors - one of them was the Director himself !! Dr. Sunil Rai(S) and the other a Marketing prof.(M)
S- Start with introducing yourself without any facts about academics and all , speak about your life, experiences, your family, hobbies, interests etc. And end with one thing that irritates you and one thing that makes you happy
Me- did. answered some questions they asked based on what I said. They were happy and smiling and so was I :)

S- Studying physics hons, why don't you become a scientist?
M- Yes, we need bright people like you to become scientists!
Me- fumbled but somehow managed

S- Don't you think you have wasted a seat?
Me- no, the experience and knowledge matters still

M- Tell us about these bosons and god particles
Me- Explained , they looked impressed

M- you are a good girl, nice girl, but I don't think you can fit in the mean post MBA World. Why not take up research or teaching?
Me- Said I want to try it out first and who knows maybe a good person like me might fit somewhere perfectly in the mean world

S- Tell us about Hindu College (my college)
Me- told

M- What all calls do you have? What was your CAT and XAT score?
S- Which college is your top priority?
Me- XLRI sir . I think they understood and I said 2nd choice tough fight between XIMB and GIM

M and S - Thank you, all the best
Me- Thank you sir!!


Any other interesting thing - Process started at 1.30 and I was free by 2.30 , lucky me
The Director was super nice and friendly, it was a feel good interview. This is the way it should be, whether reject or convert!!
98
@nikmanit i think v had our discussion abt d alumni! :D
99

HI everyone
I had my GD-PI at kolkatta on 1st march at 8:30 am
1st thing i want to let know every1 is be in time as they are very punctual and they might start it at as alloted time..
there were 2 professor one from operations and another from finance for us
there were 10 students with 8 boys and 2 girls.. 8 had work ex and me and another guy were fresher more into family business kind of
GD topic was "CORRUPTION IS A PART OF INDIAN GENETIC CODE"
the procedure was in 3 steps.. 1st was a short introductory around 30 sec to be precise and to be in point wud be helpful.. then after all have spoken it was 10 min GD and then again summary close to 30 sec to 1 min..
just take care of time and present ur views
after GD we had to summarise the GD into 4 paragraphs as instructed by them and time alloted was 5 min which was not much but u have to write it in alloted time.
i had good GD nd wat

PI
It was cool.. it was never a stress interview all they were intrested in was that they were allowing us to speak..
i was asked mainly
1- introduce yourslef?
2- what kind of business do u have?
3- tell us more about business?
4- what do u mean by working capital?
5- what all branches u know in mba and ur interest?
6-what do u mean by MBA other than normal stuffs.. what it provides you?
7- why MBA and not in ur field,..(B.TECH IN ECE)
8- what things you will consider while u start ur business?
9- what other calls u have?
answered all of them and i think i have given my best..
just be cool and confident and give ur best shot.. as it is not the end of everything just go there as an experience and u will come happily..
ALL THE BEST 2 all apirants who are yet to give interview
and seniors what do u feel abt my chances if u can give ur views then it wud be so good.. if u dont want to give it here u can pm me..
thank u..

100
My interview experience.....:
Venue: Kolkata
Date: 01.03.2013
There were 2 professors....1 from Operation(O) and other from Finance(F)....Thnk god there was one finance professor.....warna mera kya hota...
There were 14 odd people for the process. We started with GD and the topic was
Corruption is a part of Indian Genes
It was like ok ok for me (I knew GD isnt going to be my main weapon). Though I was very tempted to introduce economy into the topic, but resisted my temptation coz it was not going to be in sync. wid the topic. It was a very well compiled Gd.......No fish market
Then we were given 5 mins to point down the summary
Then came the real show. PI
I was second for PI

They had my form wid them.....So they dint take my CV(Itni mehnat se banaya tha sir...padh toh lete)
F: U dint say much in GD...Y so(Kya sir, maine jitna bola utna mere liye bht tha..thou I knew k this ll b told in my intervw)
Aefended myself somewhat
O: So, u work in X....Temme something about ur job(Shades of my interview at MDI last year......where the start was similar to this n then it turned out to be disastrous......Started praying k they change the topic)
Though I explained my role and they seemed happy.....K chalo isko kuch toh aata hai....
Then further grilling by (O) on my job.....I managed to convince him.
Meanwhile (F) was silent. I was lyk, sirji aap jaago...(O) wale sir ko rest dedo thoda
Eventually the real game started after that
(O) was on rest after that, for the rest part of d intervw.
(F): So, why MBA(kya sir....Itni der laga di aapne....chalo koi baat nai)
A: NO GYAAN......ONLY TRUTH.....That was the plan.
(F): Oh, u r passionate abt stck mrkt. Temme which analysis u like(wah sirji, din bana diya aapne toh ye q puchke)
A: Inter market analysis
(F): xplain abt that
A: Xplained for 5 mins wid real xample.
Suddenly (O) joined d party n said....Hw do u know so much abt mrkt
A: Sirji passion.
(F): I am sure u must be thinking abt American CFA also(Thnk god u started dis topic sirji.....warna mujhe bolna padta....par pblm yai hota ki mai CFA ka full form bhul gya tha.....aur agar aap wo puch lete toh popat ho jata)
A: Yes sirji...karunga wo b....soch rakha hai maine.....par B-school m enter krne k baad...All gyanbaji on dis topic for 2 mins
(F): I am telling u honestly....We have companies X and Y this year in GIM n u ll hv great chances in them if u go wid CFA (sirji ye do companies ka naam leke aapne mera din bana diya....muh me pani agya, sach me)
(O): Ya i also think dat u shud definately go for CFA
A: SMILE, i ll definately do it sir, but till now my plans r lil difrnt.
Then there was lil chit chat for 2-3 mins regarding my career ambitions
Me:Sir my dream is v big
(F): U want to be finance minister or wat(Had an awsome opportunity to manipulate this joke to bring BUDGET into PI....after all raat 2 baje tak jaag k budget ki taiyaari ki thi maine....But it dint click at dat time.....chalo koi nai)
(O):Xat percentile
A: 93.66
(O): XL?
A: NO sir(kyu yaad dila rhe hai sir...rehne dijiye na)
(O):XIMB?
A: NO again sir(ab aap aur rulaenge toh mai chala jaunga sri)
(F): thnk u
A: Smile. have a gud day sir
Bas nutshell toh yahi tha....Baaki i forgot....
Best f luck to all f u frnds
Suggestion: Be true and calm down. They r really cool.