Personal Interview (PI) is the final and most important part of the selection process. Top B-schools in the country give intense weightage to PI, especially the IIMs, with PI weightage of 30% or more, hence, it is very crucial to be ready and fully prepared for it.
PI is conducted post the first round, i.e., CAT exam. It is held to assess the mind, the verbal communication skill, the presentation of views and knowledge, and the ability to convince.
1. GK FOR PERSONAL INTERVIEW
IIMs and other top B-schools like FMS, XLRI, and more, use GK during the final selection, PI round. Walking in prepared with strong general knowledge and awareness is very important. It includes being updated with current happenings in the national and international arena, business and economy, social issues, etc. While preparing the GK topics, include GK related to your hobbies. If you’ve written down something as your hobby, then you will be expected to know general knowledge revolving around it.
2. ANSWERING WITH CONFIDENCE
When asked about you or things related to your CV, the main thing is to remember to be confident. Answer with charisma, keep it real, neat and crisp, and never oversell. Overselling may land you more questions which you may or may not know. Further, it doesn’t look good if someone asks you something related to your passion only to find out you don’t know.
Don’t come off too strong while giving your response because it may seem aggressive. Answer politely and on point, avoid running in circles when it comes to answering the panel questions. They are busy people with a chain of students waiting to be interviewed by them.
3. ACADEMIC PREPARATION
The good part about academic section is, you can play to your strengths. The questions asked related to academics may vary from basic to opinion-based to logical-based. Regardless, have a fair knowledge, enough to be able to answer questions on it.
4. THE POWER OF PRESENTATION
Presentation is not just for PI, presentation applies to everyday life. A good presentation is a ‘must’ ingredient for good impression. You may have GK, academics, and confidence, in the palm of your hands, and it could all still go wrong if presentation is lacking. It’s easy to confuse confidence with arrogance, take heed on this, because this will affect your entire presentation. Present yourself on time, present yourself neatly dressed, maintain friendly body language, avoid placing hands on the table, and finally, believe in yourself.
Wishing you the best of luck, Amigo!
For more information on Career Launcher’s GDPI program, click here.
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