IIM Interview Experience by 99.6%iler Pulkit in Ahmedabad
In order to help you gain an idea of the interview process, we have collated the IIM interview experiences in Ahmedabad from varied sources. Check below for the detailed interview experience:
Detailed Profile
Pulkit Sethia shares his IIM A interview experience. He belongs to the GEM category and scored 10 CGPA in X, 95.8% in XII, and 8.62 CGPA in his under graduation. Till CAT ’20, had a work experience of around 23 months at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He also mentions that CAT 2020 was his first attempt and he scored 99.6+ percentile.
AWT Topic for IIM Ahmedabad Interview
Virat Kohli, captain of the Indian cricket team, decided to take paternity leave and return home after the 1st test match of the then ongoing India Australia Border Gavaskar Trophy. Various comments were passed by the retired players criticizing the Indian captain for this decision. Sports magazines compared it with army personnel who do their duty for the country and don’t leave the battlefield midway. They argued that cricket players are given equal treatment and respect, as the Indian army. So it’s only fair that he should have stayed back for the nation.
Post AWT, the interview session took place. The IIM Ahmedabad interview panel had two male professors.
The IIM Interview Transcript of Pulkit Sethia is as follows:
(Let’s denote the male panelist as M1, M2, and myself as P. The text in the bracket represents what my thought process was & what I conveyed.)
M1: Pulkit, you are working in a very esteemed organization of our country. Why do you want to leave ISRO and join IIM for an MBA? Don’t you want to serve the nation anymore?
P: (I was pretty much expecting this question and was prepared. I gave my standard 40-second answer, where I mentioned my long-term career goal and how an MBA from IIM-A will help me. I also added that how I can serve the nation even if I leave ISRO. The panelist seemed pretty convinced with my plan and vision.)
M1: What is your role at ISRO?
P: (I mentioned the division and the group in which I was working. I talked about the projects and activities carried out by me. I also explained the processes involved in layman terms and kept it very concise.)
M1: What’s the budget of ISRO?
P: 13,000 crores for the year 2020–21. (Also mentioned how much this is in terms of % of GDP and compared it with NASA’s budget.)
M1: The space sector is seeing so many changes. Can you mention the developments and where this sector is heading?
P: In India, space is currently at an inflection point. The global market for the space sector is 350 billion dollars, and India only contributes 2% of the total trade. The Indian government is allowing private players in the space sector to change this scenario. They are also encouraging space startups to take part in end-to-end space activities. They are setting up institutions like NSIL, INSPACe, etc., for the efficient use of ISRO facilities by the interested customers.
The mapping activities have liberalized to become self-reliant in navigation, and private sector participation will open up new and exciting opportunities in the coming years.
(This discussion was followed by some details on NSIL, INSPACe. The panelists seemed genuinely interested in knowing more about these developments, and the interview felt like an interaction at this point.)
M2: How good are you with statistics?
P: I am out of practice. I read and used statistical methods during my college. But I am very well aware of the basic concepts and fundamentals.
M2: How do you rate yourself in statistics?
P: I am definitely above average and am able to answer the questions except for some mathematical expressions.
M2: What are the different probability distributions.
P: Normal, Binomial, Poisson, Bernoulli, exponential.
M2: Explain with real-life examples.
P: (Explained and also gave practical examples as to where we encounter different distributions.)
M2: Mathematical expression for Poisson distribution?
P: (I didn’t know this. I wrote the expression for normal distribution and mentioned that I am not sure and it’s a guess.)
M2: Explain mean, mode, median.
P: (Explained).
M2: He gave me a few numbers and asked me to find the mean, mode, and median of that data set.
P: Solved it in a matter of seconds. It was an easy question.
M2: You explained the mean, mode, and median mathematically. Tell me a scenario where median and mode make more sense than the mean. You have 15 seconds to think.
P: (The last statement that I have 15 seconds adds to the pressure and can sometimes really affect the thinking process.)
Median makes more sense when we analyze the b-school placement figures. (Explained how a single very high or low package can affect the mean significantly.)
M2: Alright. What about mode?
P: (After thinking for 5–10 seconds) If we have to analyze a sports player who plays archery, the mode makes more sense than mean. The mode will tell the area which is most likely to get hit when the player aims.
M1: Where are the other ISRO centres, and what kind of work happens there?
P: Told.
M1: Is it justified for a country like India to spend so much on space when there are issues like poverty and unemployment.
P: I would like to quote Vikram Sarabhai, father of the Indian space program and one of the founding fathers of IIM-A:
“There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. “
“But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society.”
(I also explained other applications like tele-medicine, communication, resource mapping, urban planning, strategic uses like data for Uri attack, etc., and explained the importance. The panelists were quite impressed by this answer.)
M1: Do you follow Elon Musk. What are the developments that SpaceX is focusing on apart from the Mars colony?
P: (Explained the Starlink and Falcon projects of SpaceX. Then the interview steered towards other private players like Boeing, Virgin Galactic. I was very much comfortable answering these kinds of questions.)
M2: What are your hobbies. How do you spend your free time?
P: (Gave the prepared answer and mentioned things like cricket, stock market, chess, movies, etc.)
M2: The Covid-19 has shaken the economy. Still, the stock markets are making new highs. Explain why this is happening?
P: (Explained about the liquidity that has flooded the markets because of the US government. Also, explained that the market is a forward-looking indicator and the worse is behind us. The outlook is positive. The interest rates at an all-time low which make equity market a desirable alternative for the investment purpose.)
M2: Explain the budget in one or two lines.
P: The government has decided to focus on growth and wants to achieve a double-digit growth rate of around 12%. They are ready to spend more while maintaining fiscal prudence by the slew of measures which include privatization and asset monetization. The government is hoping that the fiscal deficit will come down to 6.8%.
M2: Alright. That will be all.
M1: Do you have any questions for us?
P: No. I am good. Thank You.
M1: (No chocolates offered) You can leave.
(From my perspective, the interview was good, and I answered almost all the questions. The panelists were smiling throughout and never interrupted even once. It lasted for 35 minutes.)
Verdict on 14th May: Selected!
This was one of the many IIM Ahmedabad interview experiences. Hope this gives you an idea on how to tackle the interview questions and convert the same.
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