IIFT admission exclusive: Candidate talks about Essay, GD and PI
Ipsita Sarkar Gupta | shiksha.com
We managed to speak to a candidate who appeared for stage two round for admission into Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) on February 13, 2014. The candidate has pursued a dual degree (B.Tech + M.Tech) in Ceramic Engineering from IIT (BHU)-Varanasi and also has two years of work experience with an IT firm. The person also started an education website along with five friends, which was later shelved.
During round two of IIFT admissions, candidates have to write an essay, participate in group discussion round and finally appear for Personal Interview. All the three – essay, GD and PI – are held together, on one day.
The candidate in question scored 57 marks in IIFT written test (IIFT cut off is 47 marks). In 2012, the person had managed to crack both IIM Udaipur and IIM Ranchi, but preferred to retake the management exams this year.
What happened next? Read the exclusive IIFT 2014 interview:
Essay & GD
Essay topic: Challenges in food security in developing nations (20 minutes)
GD topic: Story of Indian NGO – good intention but bad implementation (40 minutes)
Time for entire process: 60 minutes
I reached the venue a little late. After going through the initial document checking, I was sent to a room for essay writing. Thereafter, they took us to another room for GD session. The entire process was being handled by two moderators who were also IIFT professors.
There were 11 students in my GD group. First, each one of us spoke on the topic for one and a half minutes. Then it was declared an open house.
The entire process (Essay and GD) took 60 minutes.
The PI
Post GD, the personal interview rounds commenced. I was the fifth person in my group to go in the interview room. As mentioned above, two IIFT professors were on the interview panel.
(After initial rounds of asking about my educational qualifications)
Q: What are your future aspirations?
Q: Ok, so tell us about FDI in retail?
A: I along with five more friends started an education start-up. We had captured quite a good market share but our group broke up.
(Questioned more on what happened to the business and our group)
Q: Tell us about your current work profile.
A: Currently, I am working with an IT and finance consultancy firm. My profile involves market research and analysis. (Explained more on this)
Q: So you did your ceramic engineering? Tell us about blue pots.
A: (Answered them correctly)
Q: Whom do you consider as your inspiration?
A: Nikesh Arora, current senior vice president and chief business officer at Google, is my inspiration. Since he is our institute alum, I was fortunate enough to meet him and speak to him. (Explained more on how he inspired me).
Q: Thank you. We wish you best for the future.
A: Thank you, sir.
"Overall the interview was a good experience. I am hoping to get through. Fingers crossed. I also have interviews lined up for XLRI (both HR and BM), new IIMs and MDI," said the hopeful candidate.
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