Encounter 07 : IIM B…..Art of Digging Your Own Grave !!!

First Impression:

As I already discussed in one of my previous posts, if I have to put money on any of the IIMs before the results, I would put it on IIMB as these guys know the value of work experience well. But what happened today was total contrary to what I expected and that also because of my unique ‘Art of Digging Own Grave’

Rule of the Game:

Case study 10 mins to think 15 mins to discuss 10 mins to write summary.

They specially instructed that THEY WANT SUMMARY IN RUNNING FORMAT NOT IN POINTS.
(Hey….I noticed it well but I didn’t followed it…..in 15 mins I wrote the summary the best way in which I can….but problem was doing so I forget the rule of game that it should not be in points)

I was very happy after my GD and thought I just have to play safe in my PI to reserve a seat in IIM B but the happiness didn’t last for more time.

PI

P1: Tell me where your place Jamkhed is ?
ANS: Located in Ahemdnagar district of Maharashtra sir.

P1: What people do there ?
ANS: I told some kind of trading and majority of them in farming.

P1: What do your family do?
ANS: Told my dad is lecturer and also do farming as hobby.

P1: So how much interest you take in his work?
ANS: I told not much but sometimes I do think on problems farmers faced, as I want something to do for them in long run.

P1: What are these problems?
ANS: I mentioned collapse of cooperative sector in my region and reasons for same.

P1: So what you can do for them?
ANS: Sir..after gaining some experience and financial stability I will like to do something in line of what ITC had done.

P1: So what ITC had done?
ANS: Talked about e-choupal here.

P1: Can you explain me how they do it?
ANS: Told details about the functioning of E-choupal

P1: What TATA does ?
ANS: Talked about Tata Kisan …work they done like selp help groups.

P2: Why ITC should do it ?
ANS: I said to explore the market at the bottom of the pyramid.

P1: What is this concept ?
ANS: Explain him concept in detail here.

P2: Why ITC should do that?
ANS: Sir to further increase their business coverage areas they were in cigarettes and want to explore other fields also.

P2; Why not alcohol?
ANS: Sir…there is good profit margin available in this area and also they can win good will of people.

P2: But at same time they will gain hatred of middlemen in farm business? Will these guys put pressure on government to create problems for ITC?
ANS: I don’t think so…. because politicians also want good will of people and I haven’t read any such incidence yet…at same time I can’t rule out possibility of same sir.

P1: How TATA gain from what they done in this area?
ANS: No idea in detail of TATA Kisan sir.

P2: How you know these things in details?
ANS: Sir recently I read Fortune at the Bottom of The Pyramid by C.K.Pralhad.


P2: What else you read?
ANS: Sir I read good books like Alchemist, Monk who sold his Ferrari and also as I am Marathi poet I do read Marathi poetry also.

P2: Hey…you don’t mention all this in you form?
ANS: Sir there is no place to like achievements and interests in form sir.

P2: But you might have mentioned it in your SOP? Actually its very nice and rare to find that an engineer write poems also…tell me for whom you write this?
ANS: Sir while college I used to write for college magazines now I right it on my blog.

P2: Marathi blog ?
ANS: No sir I write it on English blog by uploading picture. Whenever I get free time I also like to listen my own poems.

P1: what kind of poems do you write ?
ANS: Sir on social issues and some on romantic also…I also write on the disappointing part of love also.

P1: Yeh we heard to write good poems you have to experience it what say?
ANS: I am not agreeing sir…I put myself in shoe of others to write it.

P1: But in that case it will not come from bottom of your heart?
ANS: You can say up to some extend my experience also influenced my poems sir.

P1: It seems you have lot of free time? See you write poems, read book and also maintain your blog so when did you work? Actually we herd lot of complain from IT guys that they don’t get any time for their personal life ….how you manage this ?
ANS: Sir….I have 5 days working week so I use rest of 2 days for my interests. I also believe in quality of work rather than quantity and also give time for other activities.

P1: Tell me what you have learnt from your job?
ANS: Start explaining here in detail…he stopped me and said please tell in bulleted points (this guy sucks)
Sir I learnt
Its people who drive the business not money.
How to handle people and client interface.
Handling the team that also when you have seniors working under you

P1: So tell me how you handled seniors in your team?
ANS: some crap here

P1: Give me a scenario…. one of your senior team member not working when you told him he said I am OK you are wrong what you should do?
ANS: I defend with some crap here.

P1: Still the guys not working and says he is fine problem with you only.
ANS: I gave up and said I will try my best and if not possible escalate it to my PL.

P1: So you mean you are not able to handle it?
ANS: No sir I will do it only when I run out of all possibilities.

P2: So tell me how you find in Pune after joining engineering? How you handled it?
ANS: Sir initially I find difficult to mix with the local convent guys but later on I synch well with them. My participation in extra curricular activities helped me to mix up with them and also them more than a person.

P1+ P2 THANK YOU VERY MUCH


This was my last interview and as my IIM A was not pakka convert type I thought I will create option for it with some great performance in B.
When I came out of the hall, my first reaction was I dig my own grave. I didn’t realize how I committed that stupid mistake that may prove vital in long run.
The whole day that mistake sucked me lot. But when I thought it was not the first mistake I committed in my life. I am here today thanks to many such small mistakes I committed in my life which taught me lot.
I realized that its not like I never fell but number of times I stood up were more than number of times I fell and that’s why I am here. Might be this mistake want me to stand more firmly before I enter into the world of management.