My IIM Calcutta FPM Interview Experience in Detail
Day 1
We had area-wise interviews on first day. I was interviewed by Finance & Control area / group. All the faculty members of each group(around 10 in number for Finance area) were there in the panel to interview all the candidates in Round 1. The average interview time was around 15 min for Finance area.
Q: You are interested in doing research on ABC topic. Is it related to Finance?
A: Explained why my topic is related to Finance because my topic seemed to a typical HR topic when looked at a first glance.
Q: What were the sections in Companies Act 1956 related to your topic?
A: Mentioned the two sections X and Y of Companies Act 1956 related to my research topic. Also, mentioned that these sections are now included in section Z of the Companies Act 2013
Q: What are the new provisions which have been introduced in Companies Act 2013 for this area?
A: Mentioned one new provision. They were asking if I knew anything more. However, I expressed my inability
Q: SEBI's provisions ate applicable for which type of companies?
A: Listed Companies
Q: If there is a conflict between Companies Act 2013 and SEBI Clauses, which one will be applicable and why?
A: I tried to explain that if there is any phrase like “overriding all other acts in force” in SEBI's provisions, then SEBI's provisions will over-ride Companies Act provisions.
Q: What is the possible research question for your area of interest?
A: Explained. Few of the faculty members started looking at each other probably in agreement that this is a possible research question which can actually be taken up for research.
There were several other questions very specific to my research topic which I was asked about. Then was the turn of some quantitative questions.
Q: What is the equation of a parabola?
A: Expressed my inability to recollect
Q: What is the equation of an ellipse?
A: Recollected and explained
Q: What is a prime number?
A: Explained
Q: Gave me a number (I guess it was 1729). I was asked to write it as sum of squares of two prime numbers
A: Tried but failed. However, in the meantime, some other faculty member started asking few more questions.
Q: What is sub-prime?
A: I was shocked to see a sudden shift from prime numbers to sub-prime (crisis). I explained the meaning of sub-prime, but didn't go into the details of sub-prime crisis.
Q: In which magazine has your article been published?
A: I went blank for a couple of seconds. I was quickly pre-empted by one faculty member – “You don't even know the name of the magazine where your article got published. However, I started with the sentence “Sir, I remember the magazine. My article got published in (this time was sufficient for me to recollect the name which I forgot being a little nervous) XYZ magazine.
Q: But, this is not a business magazine. It is a popular magazine. I guess it is not published any more.
A: Yes sir, this is a popular magazine. However, this is still getting published by PQR publication house.
Q: Where are you working currently and in which position?
A: Explained
In the evening the shortlist for round 2 was announced. 35 people were shortlisted from all areas including 5 in Finance. Round 2 consisted of RAT on the same day in the evening followed by Interview on Day 2. RAT was similar in pattern to last year. We were given an option to choose from a qualitative test and a quantitative test. 15 min were given to all participants to decide on the type of test. In all, 1 hour was given to solve the quantitative part and 2 hours for qualitative part (including initial 15 min). I attempted the qualitative part which was a 4-page article which was difficult to understand in the first go. There were a couple of questions to be answered in not more than 1000 words after carefully reading this article.
Day 2
All the 35 people shortlisted by various areas / groups had to undergo the interview by FPR (Fellow Programme & Research) Committee which consisted of one faculty member from each area in additions to Deans. I was asked to introduce myself in the interview to start with. Since, I had attempted the qualitative section in the RAT, it was natural for me to undergo some testing on quant front as IIM-C expects finance candidates to have good understanding of mathematics. I was asked one quant question and was later asked to prove it on the white board after writing a sequence and putting the limits. I tried my best and with the guidance from the faculty, I was almost able to prove it.
The final results were announced in the evening of Day 2. They selected 16 people in all (including 3 in Finance which also included my name). I had a huge sigh of relief. There were a few areas for which no body was selected. Strategic Management was one such area.