The interview that decided my destiny: Divya Gubba

Divya Gubba

That day I was dressed up in a blue kurta (since MBA culture of formal dressing hadn’t gotten ingrained in me by then) and waiting outside the hotel for an autorickshaw. I stopped an autorickshaw and proudly told the driver to take me to S P Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR). With a confused face, he asked me “where's that?” I was shocked for a moment but quickly opened Google maps and guided him as I was already getting late. After reaching the place the autowala told me, "Ma'am yeh SPJIMR nahi yeh toh Bhavan's campus hai pehle hi bataana tha na!"

The SPJIMR interview was my first MBA interview. The institute releases a profile based shortlist even before the CAT results are out. Frankly, I was not expecting a profile based call since I don't have IIT or any such coveted tag attached to my profile. But fortunately, I got one. I quickly entered the campus and without much difficulty, found the academic block where admissions process was going on.

As I reached outside the room where we had to fill the necessary forms my heart started beating fast. I took a deep breath and entered the room. It was an unexpected call so I was not prepared for the interview. I thought of booking the interview slot in February but my coaching institute faculty, who helped me a lot during the entire application and interview process, told me the advantages of taking an early slot and hence I booked a slot in January. The interview process was very efficient and there was no wastage of time at any stage. The initial formalities were done quickly and we were taken to another room for essay writing and psychometric test.

My essay topic was, "If you were a superman for a day, what would you do?”. The interviewee in me was pushing me to write on themes like, “I will rid everyone of poverty” to impress the evaluators but my common sense pushed me to be practical and write something feasible. Since we were given only 30 minutes for both the essay and psychometric test, I didn't have much time to ponder further. So, I quickly started writing about my passion for traveling and that if I get supernatural powers I would like to travel around the world.

After the tests, it was time for personal interview. SPJIMR is known for its unique interview process with 2 rounds of group interviews (GIs) and eliminations after GI-1. The fact that there was outright elimination after GI-1 scared me the most while I was waiting outside the interview room with 5 other candidates. The interview panel coordinator told us that one of the panelists was the PGDM program head and he is known to be tough during interviews. This increased our stress level. I tried to break the ice with others just to reduce stress.

As we entered the room, we were asked to sit in a particular order. The PGDM head started the interview by asking me a question on Internet of Things. Firstly, I thanked God a lot in my mind because a girl in my coaching center had explained this unknown term to me a few days back. Luck matters a lot! So I confidently answered it and a few follow-up questions after that. Mostly, current affairs questions were asked. Taking the advantage of being in a group, I kept quite when I didn't know the answer to a question thrown open at us and put my points forward when I knew the answer. After some time, the panel made up its mind on whom to reject and I assume I was in the neutral zone. Hence to analyze me further they asked some questions about my hobby which is playing the guitar. I put all my guitar knowledge in front of them to impress them and clear GI-1. We came out and were discussing about the interview when a girl came to us with a pink sheet which has results. Alas! They selected only 3 and I was one among them.

They asked us to quickly eat something and be there for GI-2. I rushed to the canteen and had sandwiches. The other 2 guys were waiting for me and I joined them. We were then called for GI-2 and as we entered the room there were a lady and an old professor waiting for us with our application forms and psychometric test papers. This interview was very chilled out with the professors cracking jokes and one the interviewees giving a mimicry performance. But we were analysed well on personality based questions like ‘what would you do if you go back in the past’, ‘why do you want to join MBA’, ‘how much control you have on yourself’, ‘which is the recent book that you read and what's your learning from it’, etc., I tried to be as frank as I can while giving all the answers.

The interview was done and we were asked to leave but the ma'am asked me to stay back. I was scared that I may have said something wrong. Once everyone left, she almost gave me a confirmation that I was selected and asked me to meet her if I join this college. That made my day. I was on Cloud Nine! I was very happy that my first interview went so well and I got a seat in one of the most coveted MBA colleges in India. With a happy heart, I headed out to a restaurant for lunch.

About the Author:

I am Divya Gubba and I am currently pursuing PGDM in Information Management from SPJIMR, Mumbai. After spending 25 years in Hyderabad I finally got a chance to get out of the city and explore new places which include Mumbai, Pittsburgh, New York and Noida. I am an enthusiastic learner and always ready to take up challenging tasks to learn something new.