MBA Admission 2023: Read Yash Kaviya’s PI Experience at XLRI Jamshedpur

Shiksha: Hi, please tell us about yourself.

Yash: I am Yash Kaviya, I was born and brought up in Ahmedabad. After completing my schooling in Ahmedabad, I went to Delhi to pursue my under graduation at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi. Having completed my undergrad, I worked for two and a half years with a menswear e-commerce company and have previously interned with Allen Solly, Arvind, and Zilingo. Apart from that, I am extremely passionate about languages and Hindustani Classical Music. I know 9 Indian languages and have learned the Tabla and drums professionally and can play other percussion instruments too.

Yash: I appeared for interviews IIMs, IIFT, and NMIMS Mumbai amongst others. I think personally, the interview at XL was one of the best, it felt like a conversation where they wanted to understand who I am as an individual. The interviewers made me feel very comfortable and warm throughout the duration of the interview.

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

Yash: I prepared for it myself. I prepared for approximately 6 months.

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

Yash: Yes, I think for a PI, it is really important for you to understand yourself as a person. So what I did was I used to sit by myself and ask myself any questions I could think of and would try to answer that, asking the most random questions helped me identify things about myself I wasn’t aware of. I also created a mind map using a pen and paper which allowed me to structure my thoughts, but I did not mug up specific answers to specific questions because I felt that would make my answers sound too robotic instead of natural. So I had a structure around which I could build depending on the questions asked.

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

Yash: I think being honest helps. If you are not sure, you can tell the panelists you aren’t sure but you’d like to try to answer. And if you are completely blank, being truthful about it will reflect much better rather than saying something which is incoherent.

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

Yash: My interview at XLRI was the best one personally. Felt like a genuine conversation wherein they wanted to understand who I was, what my interest was, and how I want to grow moving forward.

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

Yash: I was honest about it, in a couple of interviews, there were questions that I did not know the answer to, and I mentioned the same to the panelists.

Shiksha: Any tips for future aspirants?

Yash: Never ever think that one single exam is going to define you. You are much more than an exam you appear for. Though give it your best shot, always remember that you will define yourself. Always protect yourself and take utmost care of yourself.

Shiksha: What is your future plan?

Yash: I wish to work in fields where I can contribute to building positive organizational behaviors. I also want to be able to understand how people groups function and how and what we can do to make them function even better while protecting the interests of both the employer and the employee.