Posted by NIRANJAN RAJPUROHIT on May 31, 2010
I had following calls – SIBM-Pune, SCMHRD, SPJAIN (Mumbai), XIMB, IIT Roorkee.
Since I attended so many GD, GT and PIs, it would not be possible for me to narrate all the experiences. However, I would like to share a few things which are very important for any college.
1) Be honest. Never bluff.
2) If you are a fresher, be prepared for technical questions like – ur final year project, ur seminar, ur training, ur favorite subject, etc
3) If you have work-ex, be prepared for questions related to business of ur company like – who were ur clients, what was the business of the clients, ur company’s hierarchy, sales and turnover of ur company, number of employees, etc.
4) Interview is a pre-planned game. Pls understand this. Go prepared with answers for all the question like – introduce urself, why MBA, why this particular college, ur hobbies, ur strengths, weakness, career goals, etc.
5) For every question, ur answer shud be logical and if the interviewer asks, u shud be able to give suitable examples to justify wat u have said.
6) Be prepared for cross-questions.
7) Smile wen u enter the room.
Come formally dressed. Proper haircut and clean shaven. It is very important. .
9) Remain updated about all GK and current affairs stuff. Read morning’s newspaper on the day of interview.
10) Always have a stand and have ur own opinion about whatever is asked to u, esp. in the case of debatable issues and current affairs.
11) Never talk about placements in the interview. Never compare any college.
12) Do a lot of research about the college before attending its interview. It helps u to speak confidently in the interview wen asked for questions related to why mba and why this college, etc.
13) Be thorough about ur hobbies. It is very much possible that ur entire interview can go discussing ur hobbies. If u don’t know all the details, say, about ur favourite game, u are out. It gives a very bad impression.
Posted by adarsh sharma on
“Why do you want to do an MBA?”
“Tell us something about yourself”
“What are your views about the current Indian cricket team”
“How did Punjab get its name?”
These were some of the opening questions I was asked during my interviews for admission into various top b-schools of the country. As you can see, some are clichéd questions whereas some are a bit off the course and there is no way you can be sure of what you are going to be asked. The best you can do is to be well prepared.
You may come across a lot of experts who tell you different things about how to crack an interview. A lot of the things might be true, but always take them with a pinch of salt. A lot of times their judgement is based on the past experiences of themselves or of others. The experience of others can surely give you a good idea of what can happen but it won’t be what will happen. Once I met a so called expert who told me, “ I will give you the answers to the questions like Why MBA and you just have to put them in your own words and present them.” Frankly this seemed totally absurd to me. In the end it is you who is going to be interviewed and it is you who knows about yourself, about Why you want to do an MBA! Being yourself is of utmost importance in any interview. If you don’t believe in what you are saying, how can you convince someone else about the same?
Confidence is the key when it comes to cracking an interview. Remember that most of the questions that you will be asked in the interview are going to be very basic and generic in nature. So, what the panel looks for is whether you can answer those questions with confidence and conviction. If an interviewee says that he wants to be entrepreneur, the panel invariably asks whether he has any business idea in mind. This counter question is just to check whether you are bluffing or are you actually serious about it. They also know that you won’t be having a fool proof business plan because otherwise what would you be doing there!
The question that gave me sleepless nights was whether or not I will be asked questions regarding my academics. I didn’t have a very good academic background which means less marks in graduation which made me doubt my own capabilities in answering those questions. This has been a query pointed at me by a number of aspirants as well. Again, like I said right at the start, you can never tell what you will be asked. For a fresher, you can generally expect at least a couple of academic questions as lack of work experience takes away one dimension of questions that can be directed at you so the odds increase. But this is not something that should worry you much as the panel more often than not will try to bring the best out of you and if you don’t seem to comfortable with your academics they will shift to other questions and you should try to answer them well.
Generally there is a lot of buzz about stress interviews. This is the case when the interviewer is trying to judge how bad your worst is. In such interviews, always remember, a smile never harmed anyone.
Sometimes the panel can also ask you current affairs or general knowledge questions. These questions are never the make or break questions. Whereas knowing the answers can give you some brownie points for sure, not knowing them will not end it for you. The bulk of your interview will be on the basis of the form that you will be asked to fill. Do take that form seriously as the form in itself won’t matter in your selection but the form is what can drive your interview in a certain direction. Try not to express extreme views as that shows you as being stubborn and less room is there for you to change your answer in the interview if you feel necessary.
A lot of times you can end up being your own interviewer. The questions you will be asked can be the loose ends in your previous answers. This can be to your advantage and also to your disadvantage. So, try not to leave loose ends and if you want it to play to your advantage, be extra careful as it can backfire as well.
All said and done, don’t forget that it is just an interview- One among many you will appear in this “MBA-season” or for that matter in your life. It will be good if you make it but won’t be the end of the world if you don’t. It may just be a blessing in disguise as who knows, You may get much better opportunities in the future.
Posted by tilak yagnik on May 29, 2010
I passed CAT in 2008 and got admitted at school of petroleum management. Well if i talk about my preparation of CAT it was not too voracious or rigorous, but it was surely a smart work. I was in third year of my engineering when I started off with the preparation at my coaching classes. My initial attempt was to get clear in concepts and solve the lower difficulty problems and questions which are generally asked in state entrance. What i feel is that daily four hours of practicing continuously for four months is enough to crack CAT provided you divide your time equally in all segment and not the one you are comfortable with. My practice pattern was to solve the papers I use to get from coaching classes “during and after the exam”. Also CAT is hell lot of dependent on the approach you solve your papers. Usually people decide to complete the section they are comfortable with first and then move further but what I feel is one should be flexible and move across sections in the paper. Do not try to complete one section at one go. We get messed up when the segment we first target turns out difficult and spoils our confidence. And it is very difficult to maintain same amount of confidence and concentration through out the paper. I wish all the aspirants all the very best.
Posted by TCYonline.com on November 12, 2009
CAT 2009 Pattern
Now that most of the surprises related to the computer version of CAT have been uncovered in the last two months (except for the ones you have yet to face between November 28 and December 7 at your test centres), it’s time to take a closer look at the new Official Test Interface. Moreover, the need to utilise the tabs and buttons most effectively can not be over-emphasised at this point.
Here, computer-based examination experts from TCYonline help you familiarise yourself with the test interface so as to make the most out of each feature that it offers. So here’s how to master the art of managing time effectively in CAT 2009.
Know thy battlefield
The first step in the preparation process is to know the features of the test interface introduced by Prometric. The following is a snapshot of the testing interface that TCYonline has prepared which precisely simulates the official CAT interface:
Official CAT Interface
The above snapshot shows us the four tabs. Additionally, it has also been confirmed that questions will appear one at a time as shown above. Of the four tabs, the most important are ‘Review’ and “Mark’. ‘Review’, because it is the only way one can jump through the sections and multiple questions and ‘Mark’, because, if utilised properly, it can be the perfect time-saver.
How to attempt CAT
These tips might be the same as those advised since CAT 1999 (for a paper-based test), nevertheless, the difference lies in utilising the ‘Review’ and ‘Mark’ tabs to your advantage. Here is what you need to do before starting to solve any question:
* The test will be attempted in three rounds. R-1 must take between 15-20 per cent of the total time. R-2 must take 50 per cent of the time and R-3 will take 25-30 per cent. You must, therefore, calculate the time line for the complete test the moment you read the total time on the computer screen.
* Calculate the average time per question (we’ll call it your ‘alarm time’) that you have, so that you know the maximum time a question can take. This helps you avoid getting personal with a question.
* If the initial introduction gives a listing of the sections, please take a note of the section number for your strength area be it Quant (Q), Verbal (V) or Data Analysis (DA).
* Whether you are interested or not, you MUST have at least a quick glance through the tutorial that will appear before the test.
* In order to avoid panic, please recall that:
o The only way to reset a question is to ‘re-click’ on the selected answer option. You will not find a ‘reset’ or ‘de-select’ button on the computer screen.
o In ‘Review’, you CANNOT move to a desired question unless you double-click on the question number. This is important because many of us would have practiced a ’single click’ option in their mocks and may conclude that the software is not responding properly.
Now that you know what to expect, TCYonline recommends the following three stages to help you escape the stress:
Round 1: Raise your confidence
Focus on attempting only the questions that are on topics you are strong in. A question that is expected to take less than alarm time for you qualifies to be taken up in R-1.
Now, you should also work smart. While attempting the selected questions in R-1, you must automatically prepare a list of questions that deserve to be attempted in R-2.
How?
Just put the ‘Mark’ tab to its best use. That is keep on marking the questions that are expected to take a little more than the alarm time, so that when you start R-2 you do not lose focus. Also, ensure that you do not mark more than 22 to 25 questions as you will not have enough time in R-2 to answer more than these many questions.
We urge you to start with the section that is your strong area, no matter if it is Section 3 of the test. You may jump sections using the ‘Review’ screen. This is how the Review screen will appear:
CAT Review Screen
Remember that in DI, most of the questions appear in sets of three or four. It is recommended that one set of three-four questions should be attempted in this round. Moreover, graph / table / chart-based questions should be preferred over logical games in R-1.
In Verbal, try more questions based on grammar and vocab. You should also try a few RC questions based on some specific stanza (and not the complete passage). Avoid doing inference-based RC questions, para-jumbles and FIJ in the R-1. Do para-jumbles only if the jumbled paras are very small.
Round 2: Reaching the threshold
The main target of R-2 is to clear cut-offs and ensure high accuracy. The best way to do this is to go to the ‘Review’ screen and click on ‘Review marked’ written at the bottom. Here, since you have planned and already marked the R-2 specific questions in the R-1 itself, you should be quite comfortable. Here’s how your ‘Review marked’ screen will look:
CAT Review Marked Screen
Questions of R-2 are the ones that may require a little over alarm time and need a few more calculations than those in R-1. You must try attempting two RCs in this round. The first aim is to have a balanced attempt in R-2, for achieving which you must start working on questions from your strength areas. Remember not to get carried away with only one section in R-2 and ignoring the other two. You must do that ONLY AFTER you are certain that you have managed cut-offs in all the three sections.
Round 3: Optimising the score
We say ‘optimising’ and not ‘maximising’ since a difference in attitude can make or mar your percentile in CAT. Keep your cool and be very choosy in selecting the right questions to spend your time on.
But how would you determine which questions to do in R-3? Should you choose to ‘Review all’ or to ‘Review marked’?
Actually, in this round, the ‘Review’ screen decides your navigation. You may click on the ‘Review incomplete’ tab or select one untouched question at a time and remember to get back to the ‘Review’ screen after attempting each question. However, first you have to see whether all the marked questions have been attempted in R-2 or not. If there are still a few remaining, prefer those.
Then, check the number of questions attempted in each section and see if one section has not been attempted much. If you find that you had a balanced attempt, you may now attempt the section that is your strength area to optimise your score.
The time limit for the three rounds may vary from person to person but lies almost in the given range. We recommend you to try this method in your mocks to ensure perfection.
TCYonline offers the largest benchmarking pool and the most comprehensive online CAT preparation course with access to TCY Analytics, Test Generator, Audio Visual Lectures, All India e-CATs on the real CAT pattern and e-Non-CAT Series for SNAP, IIFT, NMAT, FMS, JMET & XAT.
Posted by TCYonline.com on September 18, 2009
“There is no need to panic, guys;
CAT 2009 is no different from any past CAT as regards Quant & DI.”
As a serious CAT-09 aspirant, do you completely agree to it?
Although there is no need to panic, CAT 2009 is certainly different from the past CAT as regards the right ways to approach it. We have been assured many times through official notifications about CAT 2009 that IIMs are trying to keep the test as close to the old-paper-pencil-based pattern as possible. The freedom offered in a Linear-Computer-Based format supports their claim. However, the fact that it will be held on a computer screen is strong enough to make us re-visit our test taking strategies. The need to reduce or counter-balance the time-wastage-per-question, which seems to be a certain outcome of reading the data from computer screen, cannot be over emphasized. This, together with the fact that CAT Quant & DI are getting more reasoning oriented, would prove our excessive dependence on the quick-calculation-faculties a mere illusion. This mirage, if not dealt with carefully today, will anyhow disappear in November end. Nevertheless, today’s mistakes would be tomorrow’s blunders.
THE LOGIC PREVAILS
Past few years have proven to each serious MBA aspirant that a 99.99 Percentile in CAT is beyond quick calculations and Vedic Math. Though these skills are essential to set the mood, they hardly have helped a CAT taker who does not know how to logically approach a Quant or DI problem. Probably, that’s the reason why test makers are turning towards more logical problems and less calculation-thirsty sitters. Your MOCK Online CAT scores stand witness to the hard fact that as the Quant and DI problems turn more logical the time per question is bound to increase. This is because a logical problem needs a logical solution and to break the code you must spend time analyzing the given data. Hence, there is a need to curb this time-flu before it causes major damage.
A HOLISTIC APPROACH
If we analytically assess the challenges a computer can pose, we can reach the so called Holi-grail strategy for CAT-09 Quant and DI. The analysis by TCYonline experts broadly exposes 5 major challenges a CAT 09 Quant or DI problem can pose. They are:
1. Concentration
Challenge… which is the root cause of “having to RE-RE-RE-Read” a question statement / answer choices / a chart / an equation in order to un-lock the relevant information in it.
2. Optical-Illusion Challenge… which leads us to assume the “Not-otherwise-givens” thereby deviating from the logic and falling into the set trap.
3. Challenge of Relevance… which, if ignored, may push us into the data-ware-house-of-the-chart or graph.
4. Challenge of Consistency… which although a by-product of poor concentration on computer screen, can challenge our capability to stay consistent with a single unit of the data – especially the one used in the answer choices.
5. Challenge of Interpretation… which is caused by many statements which are difficult to retain in mind (because you cannot highlight any of them).
And there is only one way to meet these challenges – “Common-sense”. However, it can be easily translated into specifics as follows challlenges:
• Concentration• Optical-Illusion
• Relevance>• Consistency Interpretation
This has been explained in an example from past CATs below
Here are a few examples from the Past CATs:
Concentration
Question 1: In a tournament, there are n teams T1, T2, …,Tn, with n > 5. Each team consists of k players, k>3. The following pairs of teams have one player in common:
T1 & T2, T2 & T3, ……., Tn – 1 & Tn and Tn & T1
No other pair of teams has any player in common. How many players are participating in the tournament, considering all the n teams together?
(1) n(k – 1)
(2) k(n – 1)
(3) n(k – 2)
(4) k(n – 2)
(5) (n – 1)(k – 1) (CAT 2007)
Solution 1 :
Such question statements demand good concentration. Here, the given pairs confuse us. However, if we start formulating the problem on the scratch paper as we read, life gets easier.
For instance, Our notes go something like this:
There are “n” teams
“k” players in each team
“n” pairs (the confusing part was this simple) of teams have 1 player in common.
So, the answer is nk – n = n (k– 1).
Answer (1)
Optical-Illusion
Question 2 : In the figure, AB = BC = CD = DE = EF = FG = GA. Then DAE is approximately
1) 15o
(2) 20o
(3) 30o
(4) 25o
( CAT 2000)
Solution 2: It is given that AB = BC = CD = DE = EF = FG = GA; However, in the figure, these sides do not seem to be equal. Hence, in order to accurately reach the solution, we have to proceed with the given data and NOT according to the given figure.
Work from the choices.
If we put A = 15, then C = 15 (isosceles) and then keep calculating the angles further we can reach the solution fast (for this you must have drawn the figure on to the scratch paper).
Make adjustments in your assumptions by keeping in mind that the sum of angles of the big triangle must be 180o
You will find that only 25o comes as the result.
Answer (4)
Relevance
Question 3 :
(Note: Availability is defined as production less export.)
In which year during the period 1996–99 was Chaidesh’s export of tea, as a proportion of tea produced, the highest?
(1) 1996
(2) 1997
(3) 1998
(4) 1999
(CAT 2003)
Solution 3 : A lot of data, isn’t it?
But if you really refer to the question first you will find that in order to answer it, we don’t at all require the first chart. Just concentrate on the required data to solve this question.
From second chart we can say that it is highest in 1997.
Hence, remember – the more you read without referring to the question, the more you’ll get confused (and therefore waste time).
Consistency :Directions : Eighty five children went to an amusement park where they could ride on the merry-go-round, roller coaster, and Ferris wheel. It was known that 20 of them took all three rides, and 55 of them took at least two of the three rides. Each ride cost Re 1, and the total receipt of the amusement park was Rs 145.
Question 4 : How many children did not try any of the rides?
(1) 5
(2) 10
(3) 15
(4) 20
Question 5 : How many children took exactly one ride? .
(1) 5
(2) 10
(3) 15
(4) 20
Solution 4 & 5:
Total children = 85
Children who have taken 3 rides = 20
Children who have taken 2 rides = 55 – 20 = 35
Children who have taken 1 ride = 145 – (20 × 3 + 35 × 2 ) = 15
Children who have taken 0 rides = 85 – ( 20 + 35 + 15) = 15.
Therefore, if we put all the given information in a consistent way, we can answer both the questions together.
Interpretation :
Question 6 : A chemical plant has four tanks (A, B, C and D), each containing 1000 liters of a chemical. The chemical is being pumped from one tank to another as follows:
From A to B @ 20 liters/ minute
From C to A @ 90 liters/ minute
From A to D @ 10 liters/ minute
From C to D @ 50 liters/ minute
From B to C @ 100 liters/ minute
From D to B @ 110 liters/ minute
Which tank gets emptied first and how does it take (in minutes) to get emptied after pumping starts?
(1) A, 16.66 (2) C, 20 (3) D, 20 (4) D, 25 (CAT 2005)
Solution 6 : Would you take the chance to write all the data on the paper again???
Hey! You have got to work smart here!
Just put the given information in the required format.
–A ———– B—————-C———-D
- 20 ——- + 20———–+ 90 ——- – 90
- 10———+ 10 ———- – 50——- + 50
- 100——–+ 100——– + 110—— – 110
50 liters is going away from tank D every minute. Hence it will get emptied first and in 1000/ 50 = 20 minutes.
Answer (3)
A few more things one can exercise in his MOCKs are:
• Keep in mind the same old plan of doing the paper in 3 rounds. Now as the test is on computer you must follow a very logical approach to select the questions in Round 1 and 2. For instance, In DI you must attempt the questions that can be answered by read minimum information from the graphs / charts. In Quant, ones involving minimum equations should be preferred. Also, sometimes there are 2 – 3 questions based on one set of data. They are also expected to consume less time once the problem is properly drawn on to the scratch paper. Here we are assuming that Prometric will allow you to move back and forth among the questions. However, if it did not allow (highly unlikely) you to move back, your time per question will definitely increase as you will have to skip a question only if you know you cannot do it at all given the fact that you will never come back to it.
• Also it is expected that as the test goes online the percentage of Data-Sufficiency question will increase. Moreover, it is also expected that the amount of data in the Graphs and charts will be less and with a logical approaches described above you would be able to come up winners!
All the Best!!!
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