Group Discussion (GD) Topics & PI Experience by Gayatri, IIFM Bhopal

In a recent conversation with Shiksha, Gayatri talks about her experience of GD & PI process for admission at Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal. She talks about questions asked by the panelists and also has a few tips for aspiring students.

The topics in most of the GDs are either around the current affairs in the social and economic horizons, or absolutely abstract concepts where one has to show his/her creativity and ability to structure imaginations into words. Few topics that I remember are:
1. Food for Man or Man on the Moon

2. Humans as the slave of machines

3. Brexit

4. Jingoism

5. Indian politicians, with criminal charges, being allowed to contest elections

6. Yoga

7. Grey

For me, the primary focus area in GDs was body language. Although nothing can replace relevant content, the way you deliver the content is equally important. It is important to enter into the discussion multiple times, at correct pauses, with crisp points and with a respect to the previous speaker. Remember, this is a group discussion and not a debate competition. It is always important to have your own stand, but rigidity and lack of mannerisms can ruin everything for you.

Reading on current affairs through newspapers and magazines is “the” thing for preparing for these GDs. Moreover, reading different fiction and non-fiction books eases the abstract topics for you (this cannot be done overnight). But the key mantra is “Practise, Practise and Practise”.
Prepare for GDs and PIs since the word ‘Go’ of your preparation. Do not wait for the written entrance result to be announced.

Yes, I was enrolled with IMS Patna for my preparation. It always helps to have a mentor because you can have honest and on-time feedbacks, giving you enough scope and time for improvement.

Most of the GDs had 8-12 participants and 2-3 panelists.

 The idea is that you have to be well-prepared while you have to pretend that it as an impromptu conversation. 

The panel usually consists of faculty members of different study areas. You cannot fake an interview with such experienced people on the other side of the table. The idea is that you have to be well prepared while you have to pretend that it as an impromptu conversation.

The questions that were put forward to me were:

 1. Tell me about yourself

2. Questions on history of Magadh (as I come from Bihar)

3. Talk about your Strengths and Weaknesses

4. The most uncomfortable situation you can think yourself to be in?

5. What are your plans for 5 and 10 years down the line?

6. Who is your role model in life? (Please avoid giving convenient answers like, “My mom/dad”)

7. Being a woman, what do you think of work-life balance?

Questions related to my subject, my association with the NGOs I have been volunteering for, my engagements in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, were asked. I have also faced some abstract questions and guess estimates. Once I was asked to explain the logo of the institute and relate it to its vision statement.

The most important thing while preparing for a PI is to research thoroughly about the institute. This shows your sincerity towards joining the institute. You need to know the current affairs and trends in the socio-economic horizon. It is important to know yourself and your subject well. Moreover, as I said, you cannot fake it in front of experts sitting in the panel, prep yourself thoroughly with whatever you mention in your CV, SOP or the application form.

The key questions like “Tell me about yourself” and “Strengths & Weaknesses” are something very common in most of the interviews, you can prepare them well with a structured answer and get it proofread by your guide.  Mock interviews always help and try to have institute specific mock interviews as well.

Newspapers, magazines and reference materials from IMS helped me in keeping myself updated with the current affairs. The only strategy which worked for me the most is of practising more and more. Besides the mocks by experts, we used to take each other’s interviews in our friend circle.
Moreover, it is important to know yourself well. The whole idea of a PI is to know you well as a person.

So, as we all might know that there are structured and unstructured interviews. One moment I remember from one of my interviews was when I was asked an abstract question about the pendant I was wearing on the interview day. I was not prepared for it and thus I feel I couldn’t speak well. So, it is very important to be mindful in the interview. Be mentally prepared for any unexpected question that may come up. The panelists often want to keep you in stress, trying to triangulate your answers.

The overall experience of GD & PI has been good. While I have faced some GDs which subsequently became like a fish market, but even in that situation, you need to keep calm. Moreover, it is important to take the steering in your hands and moderate the discussion, which would show your leadership skills.
Moreover, very interestingly, the preparation phase for GDs and PIs is an opportunity to discover yourself and analyse your strengths and weaknesses. This opens up the scope of improvement and growth on both personal and professional fronts. I remember one more incident, where I was asked about a situation that would be the most uncomfortable for me and how do I plan to cope up with it. I said I was earlier uncomfortable with friends smoking and drinking around me. But now, realising that in the corporate world, I would be needed to attend various such office meetings, I have started interacting with people in such a setting and make myself familiar and comfortable.  Being flexible and accepting of others’ opinions and choices is very important.

As I have been emphasizing on the expertise of the interview panel, the most important tip I want to give to the aspirants is to Be Yourself.  A personal interview, as the name suggests, is aimed to know you better as a person, so keep it as genuine and humane as possible. Your smile and a friendly body language does half the work for you. Be very upfront about the answers you do not know. Most of the times, they do not look for experts; they need trainable people. You have to convince them that you are one.

It is not a competition to choose one winner. It just evaluates the group members on their readiness, leadership skills and interpersonal skills. Always remember, loud voice cannot prove any point and cannot compensate for content and mannerism.

About the Author:

Hi! I am Gayatri and I am currently working as a Financial Inclusion Consultant at MSC Consulting, India. I am a Zoology graduate and have completed my PGDFM course in Environment Management from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal.