MBA Admission 2023: Know how Siddharth Lilani, 99.64 percentiler in XAT, made his way to XLRI Jamshedpur

Shiksha: Hi, please tell us about yourself.

Siddharth: After completing my schooling from the Shishukunj International School in Indore, I pursued my bachelor’s in Information Technology from NMIMS, Shirpur. Then I worked with Accenture for over a year as an SAP ABAP Developer.

Panelists: They asked me to explain in detail my job role.

Me: I gave them a convincing answer.

Panelists: One of the panelists asked me to elucidate a technical term that I used in my answer. Me: I did that with an example to make sure someone from a non-technical background also understands.

Panelists: They asked me about the other calls I had back then.

Me: I told them about my calls and also told them at XLRI was my dream college.

Panelists: One of the interviewers then asked me what my greatest achievement in life was.

Me: I answered by saying that, “the best is yet to come but I am really proud about the fact that I have been consistent with my academic and extra-curricular performances throughout my student life.”

Panelists: They asked me which extra-curricular activities I was involved in.

Me: I replied, and they told me that I could leave the meeting.

Shiksha: Congratulations on converting XLRI Jamshedpur! How do you feel?

Siddharth: It is definitely a surreal feeling to have an admission offer from one’s dream college which also happens to be the oldest business school of the country. I am extremely excited to go to the campus and feel the history that has made it stand where it does today. I am looking forward to all the “hustle” as an XLer which is often talked about.

Shiksha: What is the selection procedure at XLRI Jamshedpur?

Siddharth: An aspirant must appear for the Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) which happens on the first Sunday of the year. Upon clearing the cut-offs, both overall and sectional, a candidate gets shortlisted for an interview for the course he/she has applied for. There are separate interviews for the BM and HRM programs. It is a long wait after the interview till the results get declared for both the courses of both the campuses together.

Shiksha: Which other B-Schools selection process did you appear for? How was your experience in other institutes vis a vis in the institute you have converted?

Siddharth: Apart from XLRI, I appeared for the selection processes of the following:

• CAP IIMs
• NMIMS Mumbai
• Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad
• P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai
• XIM Bhubaneshwar
• Goa Institute of Management

I had admission offers from NMIMS Mumbai, IMT Ghaziabad and XIM Bhubaneshwar. I was waitlisted by SPJIMR and GIM. The results of CAP IIMs are yet to be released. Apart from these, I also have an interview call from IIFT Delhi. I chose not to appear for the processes of IIM Nagpur, IIM Visakhapatnam and IIM Amritsar.

Shiksha: Did you get help or join a coaching school to prepare for PI? When did you start your preparations for it?

Siddharth: I had joined the classroom program of TIME Indore in July 2022. The program included GD/PI preparation too. I attended the sessions which were arranged to give us insights about how the interview process happens and what are the dos and don’ts for B-School interviews. I appeared for a couple of mock interviews before going for any actual interview and the feedback I received from the faculty members really helped me during the interview season.

Shiksha: Do you think that Personal Interview requires some separate preparation apart from what you mentioned?

Siddharth: I feel that everything depends on the candidate and what he/she deems fit. Every aspirant has a different background which makes everyone’s needs different. Nothing works as the rule of thumb in these interviews because every situation is dissimilar. It is important to know oneself as well as possible and then plan what is needed to get better at a certain aspect.

Shiksha: Are there ways to handle a situation when one has no answer to a question during PI?

Siddharth: Not being able to answer a question in an interview is extremely common. The question may be factual or situational. If it is a factual question, the candidate can always politely say that he/she doesn’t know about the subject. If it is a situation, the interviewers might insist the candidate to answer to which one can say that they only have limited or no experience pertaining to the situation. Normally, panelists quickly change their question because there are endless things they can ask and they very well know that the inability to answer one question doesn’t define a candidate.

Shiksha: Which interview turned out to be the best one? Enlighten us about the finest one according to you.

Siddharth: My interview for XLRI was definitely the best and closest to my heart. This is majorly because it felt like a formal conversation about things that I had previously discussed with so many people in life. More so, there wasn’t even one bit of the conversation which felt off to me after the interview got over.

Shiksha: What about the questions which you found difficult to answer? How did you reply to those?

Siddharth: Fortunately, neither have I been through the kind of stress interviews about which all aspirants read online, nor have I faced any question which I couldn’t answer naturally. Maybe I got lucky in the actual interviews, but I was well prepared for questions that stress aspirants out because the mock interviews with TIME were full of them.

Shiksha: Any tips for future aspirants?

Siddharth: I believe that every candidate is different and there is no formula to crack any exam or interview. Working hard is definitely essential and so is consistency. But in the end, results matter and how they come becomes less relevant (unless they come from unfair means). So, every candidate must work on developing a process that works well for them - physically, psychologically, and intellectually.

Shiksha: What is your future plan?

Siddharth: Over the next couple of years, I wish to acquire marketing and operational skills and become proficient so that I can be a fine manager in the future. Engineering indeed opened a new world for me. However, an MBA would augment managerial skills and refine the skillset that I already possess. Moreover, with the exposure on multiple fronts that an MBA would provide over the course of 2 years, I will not feel short on skills for at least a large part of my professional career. In most cases learning from life experiences takes a significant amount of time as opposed to 2 years of a master’s degree in management. With my MBA degree, I aim to get placed in an organization where I can work with the best brains of the country so that my voyage of learning does not end, and I can groom myself for higher management roles in due course of time. In 8 - 10 years, I desire to work with a reputed organization where I can make use of my technical background, managerial skills, and proficiency in public relations to ensure business growth and development of the organization.

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