CAT Personal Interview Tips

CAT Personal Interview is the next most important step after the Group Discussions for getting into MBA institutes and IIMs. Candidates hoping to get into business schools must be ready to face CAT Personal Interview.

Typically, there is a panel of two or three members who evaluate you, in most cases these people are professors from the institute where you have applied, while some institutes ask someone from industry, typically alumni from that institute, to sit on the panel.

Approach to the CAT / IIM Personal Interview (PI)

The focus of a B-school Personal Interview can range from specific questions about your job to broad discussions on life. Approach the Personal Interview as a conversation to be enjoyed, not as a question-and-answer ordeal.

It may be about your hobbies - your recent cross-country trip. This doesn't mean that the interviewers are not serious. It just means that you're being sized up as a person and a future professional in all your dimensions.

A typical interview covers more than one theme. You are generally asked to first introduce yourself to the panel members. Remember that this is your opportunity to 'lead' the interview into areas that you are comfortable with or to topics that you wish to discuss.

It is quite important to highlight your achievements, whether academic or extra-curricular, in your introduction itself. Don't wait for the panel members to specifically ask you about them! Other things that you could mention in your introduction are your family and academic background, hobbies and interests, goals and aims in life, your strengths and weaknesses, etc.

CAT / IIM Personal Interview (PI) Tips

• Speak clearly and enthusiastically about your experiences and skills. Be professional, but don't be afraid to let your personality shine through. Be yourself. Don't be afraid of short pauses.
  
  
• Be positive. Employers do not want to hear a litany of excuses or bad feelings about a negative experience. If you are asked about a low grade, weakness in your background, don't be defensive. Focus instead on the facts.
  
  
• Be prepared to market your skills and experiences as they relate to the described.
  
  
• Research information about the institutes before the interview. Make sure you know the institute in detail at least for three years such as minimum and maximum rank , performance, faculty and placements made by them.
  
  
• Arrive early for the interview. Plan to arrive for your interview 10-15 minutes before the appointed time. Arriving too early confuses the employer and creates an awkward situation. By the same token, arriving late creates a bad first impression.
  
  
• Carry a portfolio, notepad or at the very least, a manila file folder.
  
  
• Bring extra resumes and a list of questions you need answered. You may refer to your list of questions to be sure you've gathered the information you need to make a decision. Do not be preoccupied with taking notes during the interview.
  
  
• In many career fields, the lunch or dinner included during the interview day encompasses not only employer hospitality, but also a significant part of the interview process. Brush up on your etiquette and carry your share of the conversation during the meal. Often social skills are part of the hiring decision.
  
  
• After the interview, take time to write down the names and titles (check spelling) of all your interviewers, your impressions, remaining questions and information learned. If you are interviewing regularly, this process will help you keep employers and circumstances clearly defined.

IIM Admission Interview - Sample Questions & Suggested Answers

Justify your decision to pursue the MBA program?

Don't tell the panel that you are looking for a "challenging job in a good firm with lots of money, status and glamour". Instead, you must convey to the interview panel that you have made a rational and informed decision about your career choice and your intended course of higher study. There are broadly four areas which your answer could touch upon.

• Career Objectives: You could talk about your career objectives and how the two year MBA program will help you achieve them.
  


• Value Addition: Value addition will essentially be in two forms knowledge and skills.
  
  
• Background: This is where you connect your past to your future. If you are an engineer, try and say that the MBA course and your engineering degree will help you do your job better in the company that you will join. You should be able to convincingly justify how your engineering qualification will help.
  
  
• Opportunities and Rewards: You could also at this stage mention the opportunities that are opening up in organizations for management graduates. At this stage mentioning superior monetary rewards for management graduates may not be a bad idea.

Why do you think you would enjoy your chosen area of study (Eg: Marketing)?

Marketing is key to the success of any organization and the function has always appealed to me, because it requires a combination of creativity, strategic and analytic ability - all qualities that I feel I possess.

Through discussions with some of my seniors, I have a pretty good idea of what it's like to work toward taking up a marketing job, and I know I will enjoy the work.

How do you spend your spare time?

I have a good collection of books of different genre and enjoy reading. In addition, I love driving during late evenings or on rainy weekend afternoons. Also, for the last two years I've been volunteering at the local children's hospital on Saturday mornings.

What are your weaknesses?

I used to be somewhat disorganized, but eventually this got me into trouble when I missed an appointment I hadn't written down. It was clear that I had to learn how to be more organized.

So, with the help of my senior colleague we worked out a system that I still use today. Not only do I stay on top of things, but I'm more efficient, too.

The first thing you need to do prior to interviewing is assess yourself. This includes listing your strengths and weaknesses, your accomplishments and achievements, reviewing your strong and your weak subjects, and recording some of the key decisions you have made in your life.

You should then review your interests, the disappointments you've encountered, your work environment likes/dislikes, your business and personal values, your goals, needs, restrictions, and life style preferences. It would help if you're ready to practice answering the following potential questions.