The Interview

28th February, 2014
Nagpur

I was on my terrace, with cool drops of the untimely showers soothing my face. 
This was hands down THE greatest moment of my life!
I had been selected by Symbiosis International University for a course in Telecom Management at one of the most breathtaking campuses in India. 
A picture's worth a thousand words.

I reminisced back to 8th February, just a few days back. I had just exited the interview room of SIMC, one of several institutes on the campus. There was a smile of triumph on my face. This had been the best interview I had given till date.
We left the city next day and it struck to me that wouldn't it be great if I create a transcript of the entire interview and try to publish it in the magazine of my current college, where I was pursuing BE in Electronics.
The strong memory helped and I made the transcript. 
Unfortunately, the magazine had already been published 2 days ago. 

A blog sure does come in handy. 
Here's the entire article complete with the interview transcript for interested graduates/ soon to be graduates.

Hi friends,

We’re finally at THAT stage of our career! A no. of companies organize campus drives annually in our campus and seek aspirants who’ll prove to be valuable assets to them.

I’m sharing my Interview experience at SIMC, Pune, which gave me a chance to be a part of one of the very best B-Schools in India. I got this chance after clearing the coveted SNAP test which was held on 15^th December, 2013. If at least a single student gets benefited from reading this experience of mine, writing this piece would become worthwhile.

So my PI-WAT was at 12 noon on 8^th February, 2014. We reached there at 11.15 to get some time to relax a bit. The college looks like a Hill station and is situated on top of a huge hill along with several other colleges of the Symbiosis International University. The atmosphere is breathtaking and awe inspiring! After registration and verification of documents, we’re treated with lunch which was excellent to say the least.

PART 1- Writing Ability Test

Our 1^st topic was “Cultural Impact of Bollywood on the World”. I wrote about the history of classic films like Harishchandra and Aalam Aara, compared Indian classic cinema with Hollywood, and stressed the fact that stars like SRK, Big B, and Salman are huge celebrities all over the world, adding to the impact the Indian cinema has on the worldwide audience.

The 2^nd topic was “Satyam Scandal”. I  had very little knowledge on this one, so I started by chronicling India’s rich heritage and people who gave their life for the sake of this nation, and compared it with today’s India, where politicians are running rampant all over the Janta and corruption is at an all time high. Also, I stressed on the fact that the 1700+ crores which were the subject of talks everywhere, could make or break an entire small nation. A few tidbits more and I finished the essay.

PART 2- Personal Interaction

There were 3 interviewers. 1^st one was a middle aged professor, and other 2 were a bit young compared to him. I asked permission to enter and take a seat.

Now, the most important thing here was that I was really nervous before the PI, but as soon as I saw the 3 professors with their cheerful faces and calm attitude, the nervousness faded away in a jiffy and it felt as if I’m about to talk to some friends about my life and my career. Those 3 professors knew their stuff and they sure helped me getting over my nervousness. The interview started. They looked at my resume for some 15 seconds. I’ll address the 3 professors hereafter as P1, P2 and P3.

P1: So Abhilash, tell us something about yourself.

ME:  I’m pursuing B.E. 8^TH semester from Priyadarshini Bhagwati College of Engineering, Nagpur. I’m kind of an introvert at first, but I gel up well with people as I get to know them better.  My hobbies are to write daily personal diaries, which I’ve been doing since 1^st January, 2007. Also, I like to study Classic Hollywood films, dating back to the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and so on. I kind of do research on them (A look of astonishment came over their faces!). Last but not the least, I like to read stuff, especially comics and novels. Reading is more like a passion to me than a hobby. I value it as much as I value food and sleep.

P2: Could you tell us more about this hobby of yours, concerning Hollywood films?

ME: Sure sir. Contrary to other people, who watch these films for pure entertainment, I watch them and go a little bit beyond that. After watching a classic movie, I go to IMDB, read reviews of fans like me, and then go to legit Review sites like RottenTomatoes and check out the expert reviews. If I like a particular character, I try to learn about him/her and Wikipedia is always there to help me. I haven’t touched the films of the 1910’s and 20’s, but I’m sure to do that sometime in future. The oldest film I have seen is the 1931 classic, ‘City Lights’ starring Charlie Chaplin. It’s an emotional movie with a comic tone. I mostly prefer Black and White movies.

P2: Could you tell us how you stumbled upon this hobby of yours?

ME:  Sir, there was no specific origin point for this hobby. Actually, it all happened by sheer accident. I was watching this horror film, Psycho, which is the greatest horror movie ever made, by the greatest director to walk on the face of this Earth- Sir Alfred Hitchcock. I’ve seen it so many times that I stopped counting after 10! So this movie made a huge impact on me and thus the addiction for classic movies started.

P2: Why is that you have a craving for Hollywod movies and not Bollywood movies?

ME: The thing is that Bollywood films are nowhere near the caliber of the classic Hollywood cinema. During the 70’s when Amitabh Bachchan was starring in action film after action film, wowing the Indian audience in the process, they were making legendary films in Hollywood like Psycho, 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, which were way ahead of their times. Sure there are some films in India which I like. Lagaan is my all time favourite Bollywood film because of its inspirational tone, but when it comes to preference, Classic Hollywood cinema is my cup of tea.

P3: What qualities does a leader should possess?

ME: I think that he should be regular and punctual in his work so that the people who work under him get inspired to do the same. Regularity will always be on the top of my list as I myself have applied it on my life.

[I kind of stuttered while answering this question but somehow was able to give a moderately satisfying answer]

P1: So what are your plans for your future?

ME: I want to pursue MBA and get placed in a good company having a good working environment. I had 2 choices before me to pursue after Engineering- MTech or MBA. I chose MBA because I believe that MBA grooms you to be a better professional and an even better individual who can communicate well with people and doesn’t get offended easily. I’m not trying to ridicule and make fun of the MTech aspirants, I’m just stating the facts from what I’ve experienced.

P3: So how will you manage to pursue MBA? How will you make a transition from all of your C, C++ and all your computer knowledge to MBA?

ME: Sir, actually I don’t possess all these skills you just mentioned. As you can see in my resume, I just have basic knowledge of the Windows operating systems and Microsoft Office, how to operate them etc. Nothing more than that. In fact, I have this bug inside me which is fascinated by the field of business and management (Their eyes widen even more). Some 7 years back, I actually did a business on a small scale. Sir, if you wish, I would like to tell you about it.

P2:  Definitely. Tell us about it.

ME: I have this huge collection consisting of some 10,000-11,000 comics and novels, and it fills a cupboard of the size of a large wall. So after my 10^th class got finished, I made several library membership cards, made a library board, and distributed the cards to the colony kids. Some 8-10 kids joined my library. I made certain rules like the library would be open 9-9, you could take only 3 comics/ 2 novels at a time, or a combination of them, etc. The money I earned from that venture was just a small bonus for me. The important thing was that these little kids, who are the future of our country, instead of wasting their summer afternoons sleeping or watching worthless cartoons like Doraemon, were actually reading stuff which would help them in the long run. Reading has helped me a great deal since my childhood, and it sure did help them too. In fact, the mother of 2 kids who joined my library, actually complimented me for what I was doing (Eyes widened again).

P2: So what are your favourite novels?

ME: I prefer Thrillers so my favourite is Dracula by Bram Stoker, Psycho( On which the previously mentioned film was based) by Robert Bloch, and Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine.

Finally, the 3 professors asked each other whether they want to ask any other thing, and upon mutual agreement, finished the interview.

ME: Sir, It was a pleasure to talk to all 3 of you.

P1,P2,P3: Same here.

So that was it folks! Not a SINGLE technical question was asked! Sometimes, they get so interested in your extracurricular stuff such as hobbies, YOU GET A CHANCE TO ACTUALLY DIRECT YOUR INTERVIEW TOWARDS YOUR PREFERRED DIRECTION FROM THE 1^ST QUESTION ITSELF!! They seemed really interested in my hobbies and were enthusiastic throughout the interview.

On top of that, HR interview is nothing but their way to know how well can we communicate with people in English. So reading newspapers and magazines would really make a difference in your communication skills. Thanks for reading this piece and I hope it helps you while preparing for your interviews. 

Have a great future ahead!!