The ISB interview

The decision and planning that had begun in July '07 before I left for Canada acquired another milestone I received a call for an interview from ISB. After doing well in my GMAT and writing what I thought were coherent essays, I felt reasonably confident of at least being interviewed. Still, it was a relief to receive the official email in my inbox.

My interview was at Taj Lands End, Bandra. The Bandstand is one of my favorite spots in Mumbai, right after Marine Drive and it's always a pleasure to look out over the Arabian Sea. However, I was a little concerned that the panel in question might already have been fatigued by the time they got to my interview at 5:30 PM.

Anyways, the day started off rather badly. My suit wasn't ready, had to wear a blazer, which actually turned out to be not so bad. Combined with the Raj Thackeray fiasco, Mumbai was still tense. As it turned out, it would have taken a complete bloackade to stop me from attending arguably the most important interview of my life.

Mom and Dad were around for moral support and a quick drive. We reached waaaay ahead of time. The attendant wouldn't allow me to start on the essay till 30 mints before the scheduled start. I spent some time freshening up and chatting up the other candidates. Expectedly, very few people from the IT/Engineering background. I felt my hopes go up a bit :)

Finished the essay for the word "ferocious". I get the feeling someone at ISB had flipped the page to "F" in the dictionary. Everyone got an f-word that day :) My slot was delayed - I guess the interviews were longer than expected. Surprisingly, nobody prevented me from continuing on the essay. That was a little odd. Ideally, everyone should get the same amount of time. However, since the coordination was not being done by ISB, I guess it could be simply an oversight. It shouldn't really the candidate anything more than 10 mints to write a 100 words, anyway.

I was called not to one of those conference rooms but to an actual residence room on the 15th floor. Looks like someone messed up with the scheduling of the meeting rooms !! Anyways, the setting was quite informal and the view was excellent. There was Ms Hema from the ad-com, a gentleman from ISB and an alumnus.

The discussion started off with Raj Thackeray. The panel expressed surprise that I had traveled from Thane while many others had rescheduled their interviews. Since the TV in the lobby had been ON, I was able to offer further developments, much to my advantage (at least, that's what I think !!).

I was asked to recap my experience so far. They were curious to know why I hadn't shifted jobs like other IT professionals. My answer was simple - I enjoyed my work at IBM. I was provided for in every way - the money wasn't bad, flexi-hours, challenging work, international experience, vertical growth, WFH. What more could a guy want. They were keen to know whether I'd go back to IBM after ISB. Sure, I replied, provided the opportunity exists and fits. There followed a discussion about sabbaticals, policies etc. Hopefully, I managed to show that I had done my homework and was seriously considering the alternative. I feel many candidates will be asked this question, especially entrepreneurs, since the placements aren't likely to be great for the CoMMX.

We moved on to my blogs. There was a long discussion on affirmative action and other posts. We managed to cover the role of the government in daily affairs, censorship etc. In between, there was a quick reference to my strengths and weaknesses and to my stay in Bahrain and Canada. The most interesting part was regarding the loyalty management domain. My functional expertise really helped me out in describing the three avenues of growth for such programs.

All in all, it was a very pleasant experience. Of course, doubts started creeping in the moment I reached home, but there I saw an email from CMU requesting an interview and a whole different cycle started !!

My advice to other candidates:
1) Know yourself and your application
2) Don't bullshit. If you don't know an answer, say so
3) Do not fabricate stuff that you have no clue about
4) Stay positive, exude confidence in your abilities and be relaxed
5) Take initiative in directing the conversation if you feel it's going downhill

Hope this post helps others to prepare for their interviews.

Edit:
A brief comment about my profile. I am an electronics engineer by qualification and hold a B.Tech from IT-BHU. My professional experience consists of the 4.5 years with large MNC in software services, some of it (over a year) international and some of it leading my own team (around 6 months). I covered a host of technical certifications, submitted some code assets and won a few awards during this time, finally being recognized as the top 5% across India.

I've traveled a lot and spent close to 15 years in the middle east. My academics have been consistent, sometimes even eye-catching and include 90% + on most exams, a scholarship from CBSE and a 1st class in Engg. I generally enjoy reading, blogging and playing the tabla in my spare time.