IIM-A Interview experience

Blazer clad ultra formal dress up; short hair and beard-less face, wow my mom couldn’t have expected more from me..!! I remember how she wished to put a black tikka on my face as I left home. But the nicely made hairstyle was molested by the hot wind and I reached IIM-A with a middle parting.

I entered the KLMDC hall in IIM-A at 9:15 am to find around 20-25 candidates waiting in the lounge. KLMDC had randomly arranged chairs, a registration desk at one end and a refreshment counter at the other. I just knew one of the candidates, Rishabh from IIT-Kharagpur whom I’d met the previous night in the campus. Even he had applied only for Public Systems Group (PSG). I directly went to him and made friends with 2 more guys sitting besides him. As soon as the registration process was done, they announced the names of PSG candidates who were soon to be interviewed. There were 19 in all and I was the first in the list. As the hint already given, I was directly sent in as the first interviewee. I wasn’t even given the time to think whether this was a fair game to send me right in. Yes, I was restricted from getting a gist of the interview unlike all the other candidates, but on the positive note I didn’t have to sit and keep wondering. Even before I could have got Goosebumps I was in the interview room.

3 panelists were sitting in front of me, P1, P2 and P3. P1 had a same right hand fracture as me and was middle aged, P2 deserved the central position respecting his age and P3 was a young but very stern looking man.

P1: Hi, same pinch. Whatsup with your hand? (I was so much expecting this to be the 1^st question.)

Me: Sir, I broke the thumb while playing cricket.

P1: Oh, so you’re an IPL material and again we’re similar, I too like cricket. Anyway, tell us something about you. (I hadn’t prepared a mugged up answer to this question like everyone but I knew that I would do pretty good talking spontaneously about all the things that I was or I am into.)

Me: I’m Hardeep Pathak, born and brought up in Ahmedabad itself. Schooling…. College……. Plastic Engineering…… AIESEC…… Japan……. YUVA Unstoppable…… JOYFEST……. College Unstoppable…….. Dramatics……. Public Speaking, Panel Discussions……. Elaborated on all these topics; and guess I took around 3-4 minutes for this answer itself. Guess I got an edge on mentioning the following points:

• IIM-A was a part of JOYFEST.
• Had shared the Dias with Prof. Ankur Sarin in one of the panel discussions about Loksabha elections. And fortunately, P3 was already aware about the fact, don’t know how. (Later that day I got to know that Ankur sir is the chairman of PSG.)
• Intense involvement in public systems throughout last four years alongwith good academic record.

P1: Alright 1 more from my side. As you’re interested in cricket, you surely would be following IPL.

Me: Yes sir. (Damn, I’d got excited.)

P1: So, can you discuss the financial model of IPL? (Shit man, I wanted to tell right away, ‘Sir, I aint from a financial background.’) What do you think interests one to be a part of something like IPL?

Me: (Ignoring the 1^st half of the question) Sir, it’s mainly Money, Glamour and Platform due to which one wishes to be a part of it.

P1: (unconvinced look) When you say money, a player merely gets 2-3 crores; and that’s nothing compared to the franchisee rates of few hundred million dollars. So, how do you think they’re interested cos of money?

Me: Sir, lack of any similar platform where in the players can showcase their talent makes it more popular. It serves as a ladder to climb up to the national and international level.

(I was relaxed as the topic was diverted from the FINANCIAL MODEL. But guess P1 read my mind.)

P1: Alright so what’s there for the owners then? How do they make money? Why do they spend so much in buying teams?

Me: Sir, it’s a very simple investment for them. They make money primarily in two ways:

1. By direct sponsorships &
2. There’s a system by which half the revenue generated by selling tickets in a home match of a team goes to the franchisee owner.

(P1 looked ignorant about my second point. But nodded in appreciation I guess. P2 was serene and P3 was a disturbing element as he constantly moved pages in some files here and there.)

P1: Ok. So there’s nothing except these two things for the owners?

Me: Sir, these are the two major.

P1: Don’t you know they make money by selling goodies and merchandise?

Me: Oh well, it skipped out of my mind sir. Ya, they do earn by this and in fact Shilpa Shetty has also started a restro cum bar in Mumbai as a promotion and revenue model for Rajasthan Royals.

(P1 signaled that’s-it-from-his-side gesture to the other 2 panelists; took my file and started going through it.)

P3: Alright so why do you wish to do FPM?

Me: Sir, basically I wish to do FPM only in Public Systems and that is the reason that I’ve applied only for one group exclusively. As I told, I’ve been quite active in the public sector since the last four years and whatever I’ve done is purely based upon my knowledge and perspective towards it. By pursuing FPM, I guess I can refine my crude skills and more importantly this will provide me with a platform through which I can get a broader perspective of the issues. And also I’ve always been a solution oriented person; so FPM in PSG is for me a solution to the issues prevalent in the society.

P3: Alright so what do you wish to do in Public Systems?

Me: Sir, I primarily wish to pursue my research in the education sector and to narrow it down ‘in primary education’ and specifically for ‘rural India’, as this is the issue close to my heart and requires more attention as of now. I’m also interested in ‘waste management’ as I’m from Plastic Technology background.

P3: Ok. Why waste management? (I wondered why he didn’t pick up ‘education sector.’)

Me: Sir, when I was in Japan, I studied the waste disposal and management process there. It was highly organized; everywhere they have separate bins for plastics, dry waste and wet waste. As almost all the plastics nowadays are recyclable, they recycle those plastics and that is the reason Japan is one of the best countries in terms of Plastic Technology. Just look at the impact if such a system is implemented all across India. Also sir, the waste of one production unit can be useful in some another. These kinds of technique prevalent in countries like Japan need to be implemented in India. There is no such fully organized waste disposal or management system in India as of now.

(P1 looked impressed and P2 had started peeping into my file; P3 was as always expressionless. Guess I faired quite well in the waste management answer but P3 still managed to catch me)

P3: You’re sure that there is no such organized waste management system in India?

Me: Yes sir. Not a single one completely organized.

P3: So what do we do of our household waste?

Me: We dump them in a bin; the municipality takes it to the Suez farms and is then taken care off there but not in an organized manner. Very rarely in rural India also they follow vermicomposting.

P3: And what types of wastes are there in houses?

Me: Dry waste, wet waste and plastic wastes primarily.

P3: And what happen to the newspapers then?

Me: Oh, sorry sir. I missed out on that. Ya, that’s the only well organized waste management system in India.

P3: You want to research on Waste Management and you’re not aware about the only organized waste management system in India?

(Was he expecting an answer to this too? I just showed remorseful expressions but guess he wanted me to speak and be sorry for that; so he spoke nothing even after my expressions.)

Me: Sorry sir, it skipped out of my mind. And broadly only plastic waste management is what I had in my mind and I primarily wish to work towards it.

P3: Alright can you name any company in Gujarat working towards waste management or treatment?

Me: Yes sir, there’s one company; I don’t remember its name but I know about the processes they follow, CETP and FETP.

(P2 intervened at the right time or I would have been tormented by P3. Though I was fairing quite well in the ‘waste management’ issue but he was keeping away from my topics of authentic interest. I wanted to reiterate that I was interested only in Plastics waste management and not in what we do of newspapers and the companies indulged in it.)

P2: Alright why research?

(Kya sir, ab jaake ye question aaya?)

Me: Sir, I come from a background of teachers. Since last two ages, my family has been associated with teaching. So, it has been instilled within me right from my childhood that education is the primary tool through which one can empower not only oneself but also lots of other people. And as we all know sir, a researcher is an academician after all. Also, I’ve always been proactive in all the areas of life. If I feel something about an issue, I never sit back but take a lead towards solving it. And as I mentioned also, I can get concrete solutions of major issues by doing research about them.

P1: (jumped in before I complete) Hardeep, as per what we know about you till now, you’re a man of action. (He spoke some words in Sanskrit which I could not make out. For a second I was scared but he translated them.) For research, you need to be an introvert kind of person who can sit back, abstain from action and just do research. What do you think about it?

Me: Sir, according to me research can be done in two ways:

1. Going out, meeting new people, networking, interacting with them all and getting their perspective about things that interest you and
2. Sitting online, searching in Google about those issues.

It is after these that you put your thinking tank ON and start addressing the issue on your own. And this is what I’ve been doing so far. And the first way in which we network with people is an action right? So, I feel that action and research should go hand in hand. Research without action would be futile. In all the policies that government makes in India, there is always a gap in implementation because the decision making and the implementing bodies are not in synch. So, if I do research and not implement it, it does not solve the purpose. Also, I know sir, for the coming five years, I’ll be concerned only with research and I’m completely ready to do so as it will only augment and show proper direction to my life mission.

P1: That was impressive. (Gesturing as if he has passed the Right To Question to P2)

P2: You’ve shown interest in ‘education sector’ as well as ‘waste management.’ But I hope you know that you can pursue your research only in one field.

Me: Yes sir. These are both my areas of interest. But given an opportunity, I would like to carry out a thesis on education sector as that issue is more close to my heart.

P2: So Hardeep, in what sense you want to be involved in the education sector?

Me: Sir, I’ve been involved in rural education and teaching basic subjects to slum kids. And I wish to carry it forward as I think primary education needs to be focused upon for reducing the drop put ratio; and that too primarily in the rural segment. And I also feel that the whole municipality school system has been a failure.

(P2 nodding in anticipation and P3 going through my file. P1 somehow always looked positive about me. Don’t know if the two common things- plaster and cricket had gained some sympathy for me. J)

P2: How are the challenges of rural India different from urban India in terms of municipality school education?

Me: Sir, there is a vast difference in the concerns. Concern like distance matter for rural India but not that much for urban. A city has lots of municipality schools but a village has only one generally. Also, rural India being too much traditional, parent counseling is far more important than in urban India. Following traditions, in rural India still girls are not allowed to be educated. Again the economic aspects affect the urban India more than the rural India.

(P2 and P1 were nodding at almost all the statements. And I guess P2 just needed a hint of clarity. So, as soon as he got an intimation of the same from my answer, he intervened and stopped me.)

P2: Alright Hardeep, well that’s it. (Signaling the other two panelists.) We wish you good luck. Thank you.

Me: Thank you sir.

As I reached the waiting room, all the fellow PSG candidates gathered around me and made me burst out my experience. All but two (including me) had master degrees and few of them had an incredible work experience though most of them did not have it in a related field. And by interacting with a few I could directly make out that they weren’t at all clear what they wanted to do in PSG and looked like were there just out of their desperateness of making it to IIM-A. As I shared my clarity with the fellow candidates, they were so impressed and almost everyone showed so much confidence in me. And many of them said “1 seat toh booked hai iske liye.” I was fortunate to be the maximum voted candidate amongst the candidates who would definitely make it. I became more confident and started getting more positive vibes after the way fellow candidates felt about me. Just hope that the panelists felt exactly the same way. AMEN