If we all had the right guidance, the requisite reference material at hand, and unlimited time to write and revise the essays that we write, quite a few of us would eventually be able to produce satisfactory essays. The same task becomes infinitely more difficult when it is presented in the form of the WAT, which must be accomplished in approximately 15 minutes, and which must be produced entirely from references in one’s memory. When we are ultimately faced with the final WAT assignment and a blank paper, several factors begin to weigh heavy on our minds. There is the complexity of the t

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Over the last few years, most of the top B-schools have switched over from group discussion to writing ability test (WAT). There are compelling reasons why this has happened. It will be prudent to understand them before we begin our preparation for the WAT. The most important reason, I feel, behind this change is that, unlike in GDs, in an essay, it is impossible to borrow the content from anyone else or further develop someone else’s thoughts. You must entirely depend on your own content and reasoning. In fact, GDs are meant to test your ability to assimilate diverse points of view alon

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Most of the questions that one encounters in a B-school personal interview can be classified into the following categories: A – Introductory questions B – Academic and work-experience related questions C – Current affairs and general awareness questions D – Personality-based questions E – Goal-related questions F – Stress questions Let us begin by looking at these types, and the common questions that are asked under each type. Please note that while most interviews begin with introductory questions, no particular order of question types is followed by the panel as regards

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Having looked at the pre-interview preparation in the previous post, we can now focus on what happens in the initial stages of the personal interview. There is one factor of your PI performance that invariably shapes your first impression in the minds of the panellists even before they meet you. Can you imagine what it is? It’s not your CAT score, or your academic scores, or your work-experience, or your hobbies and interests. It is your punctuality. Whether or not you turn up on time for the interview greatly influences not only the panel’s first impression but also your own

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Often after the announcement of CAT/XAT results, MBA aspirants starts getting confused regarding the B-school selection. A lot of data is available about Old IIMs in public domain regarding various parameters like academics, profiles offered etc. But in case of Private B-schools barring MDI, SP Jain, information on all parameters is incomplete. Situation gets even trickier when two similar colleges are compared. Aspirants log on to various MBA related websites, Facebook and Pagalguy group of colleges. These sources can be good for knowledge about institutes but they have a risk of objectivit

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Personal Interview Tips: I must have interviewed at least a few thousand candidates in my time. Every time I feel that I have seen it all and I have met them all, a Higher Power Up There intervenes and restores my humility by presenting a sample that I have never seen before. I share with readers these samples in the (absolutely vain) hope that they will not repeat these cases, and make their own new mistakes so that my life remains exciting. I just pray that you make those new mistakes in the mock interviews and not in the actual ones! Sin No 1: Negative Body language and Attitude: Thi

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Group Tasks, though not as common as group discussions and WATs, present us with challenges of their own kind. A group task aims to evaluate the candidate on psychological parameters so that the evaluators can understand the candidates’ comprehension, communication, decision making, and leadership quality within the dynamic context of a group. Working in a group, the candidates also demonstrate their social and interpersonal skills to the panel. The objective of a group task is to perform a clearly-defined exercise within the stipulated time, by using the available resources and en

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The process of a case-study group discussion is almost similar to that of a topical discussion in that there is a preparation time of about 5 minutes, the panel starts the discussion and observes the discussion without moderating it, and the group is at complete liberty to understand, analyse, and interpret the case as it deems appropriate in order to make a recommendation. There are however 2 key differences. The first is that instead of an opinion-oriented or a descriptive topic, the participants are given a case statement, which they must read so as to prepare within the given prep

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Before we begin to talk about abstract group discussion, let us first understand what the word abstract actually means. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word as follows: Abstract: disassociated from any specific instance , difficult to understand: abstruse , insufficiently factual: formal Indeed, all the above definitions of the word are reflected in most abstract group discussion topics. Abstract topics can be single words, such as ‘Blue’, short sentences, such as ‘All crows are white’, or even images or pictures. What they all have in common is they do not have any c

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Perhaps the most common group discussion types, topical group discussions are an integral part of the evaluation processes many of the top B-schools. Topical group discussions are called so because they have a clearly-defined topic framework within which the group discussion takes place. Topical group discussions are broadly of two types: opinion-oriented, and descriptive. For example, a discussion titled as “Should B-schools do away with their entrance examinations?” is the former type, whereas, “India in 2030” is the latter. Within these two categories, you may find two sub

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