Profile: 9/9/8

CAT: 98.35%

Work ex: 2.5 years in operations at Amazon

Received calls for both OSCM and BM

5th February, Bangalore

First, all the students were asked to sit in a common room, where after verification (just a proof of identity), a case study was handed over. We were allowed to make notes but were told not to open it in front of the interviewer.

The case study was about an ethical dilemma faced by a tutor—whether to accept a gift offered by one of the student’s parents as a token of gratitude, which could later influence him to give special attention to their son, as they had made a request earlier to have a specific teacher assigned to their child.

They called us to the panel room for GI1.

Our interview panel consisted of three people:

P1 - Male professor

P2 - Female professor

A1 - Alum of SPJIMR

There were five people in our group:

M1 - Male with 2 years of work ex in IBM (IM shortlist)

M2 - Male with 2+ years of work ex in Amex (IM shortlist)

M3 - Male with 1+ years of work ex in a construction company (OSCM shortlist)

F1 - Female fresher, Economics background (OSCM shortlist)

M4 - Myself

The interview started with them asking whether we all had breakfast (since it was a morning slot at 7:45 AM) to ease things.

Then they asked TMAY.

P2 to M4: What are the parameters you look at while selecting a vendor? (My work ex involves vendor management, hence the question.)

M4: I answered with 2-3 parameters.

Then they asked everyone to add points to it.

A1 asked everyone about their short-term goal post-MBA and grilled them on it.

M1 was asked about different language models and the Watson computer in IBM, along with the difference between DeepSeek and ChatGPT.

M2 was mostly grilled around his goals.

M3 was asked about his work ex.

Since F1 was a fresher, they asked questions mostly about her Economics background.

A few open questions were:

1. Should water be charged?

2. If you had a magic wand, what is the one answer you would erase that was given in the interview?

3. Suggest any improvements to fellow students based on their performance in the interview.

Overall, the interview was not that stressful. We were made to wait for another 30 minutes in a common room where we could have snacks.

After that, every group was called outside to announce the results of that particular group.

M2, M3, and M4 qualified for GI2. F1 and M1 were out of the process.

I don't know on what parameters they select candidates. I personally felt M1 was better in comparison.

We were grouped again into four with different people:

M1 - Myself

M2 - Male with 3 years of work experience in Deloitte as a consultant (OSCM shortlist)

M3 - Male fresher (Marketing)

F1 - Female with 3 years of work experience in KPMG

There were two panelists:

P1 - Male professor

P2 - Female professor

They asked us to introduce ourselves with something beyond what was mentioned in any of the forms.

I started my introduction with the meaning of my name—"youthful"—and said it sums up my personality a little (establishing context for the questions that were asked later on).

The initial questions revolved around the case study.

Then P2 asked everyone about their hobbies.

M3 mentioned reading philosophical books and was asked about his favorite author and book, which led to a discussion.

M2 also mentioned reading books and was asked about his favorite author. He mentioned "Niccolò Machiavelli," and questions revolved around his ideologies and M2’s opinions on them.

F1 mentioned singing as her hobby, and they asked if the gift offered by the parents (in the case study) were an Arijit Singh concert ticket, would she accept it.

P2 to M1:

"So you started your introduction with the meaning of your name. Did someone tell you to start like that so the panelists would get interested in that point?"

M2: "Hooking point."

P2: "Yes, yes, hooking point."

(Everyone laughed.)

M1: I told them no one advised me to do so, but I just wanted my introduction to start on a light-hearted note.

P2: "Okay, you mentioned that you love watching movies. What’s your favorite movie?"

She then added, "Don’t tell Pushpa," and everyone laughed.

M1: I told them about *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.*

P2: "Is there any philosophical takeaway for you from this movie?"

M3 interrupted and shared his philosophical takeaway from the movie (which was something I wanted to say).

Then, I said, "Live in the present and make the most of it."

P2: "Okay, there’s this urge in people not to look old, right? Just like how you said... they want to be 'youthful'" (everyone laughed again), "and they use so many skincare products. What’s your take on that?"

I said it’s about confidence. If people think making their skin look young by using skincare products makes them feel confident about their looks, then why not? But personally, I don’t use any, as for me, it’s the mental state of being youthful that matters rather than how I look.

P2: "So you're saying people can be youthful even in their 50s?"

I said it’s possible to some extent and shared an example of my grandfather, who, even at his old age, was youthful enough to understand and interact with me.

P2: "I like your positive mindset. But I don’t think it’s easily possible to stay youthful."

They then asked everyone how they heard about SPJIMR.

Everyone mentioned how SPJIMR is one of the top institutes in India.

I shared my personal experience of an IIM interview I had in my undergrad, where they grilled me a lot on my startup idea. Afterward, I felt they looked down on me, and I wasn’t feeling well. When I was discussing this with a friend who had an SPJIMR interview last year, he told me his experience was completely different. He said SPJIMR is one such institute that values candidates in the process and genuinely wants to know them better. That made me apply to SPJIMR.

The interview ended, and while leaving, we were handed goodies—a cup with SPJIMR printed on it.

Overall, it was a great experience. I'm confident about my GI1 performance, but I’m not sure how they will evaluate my GI2. However, I was honest with my answers.

General tip: Be well-prepared for questions on your work experience and your goals post-MBA.