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Interview with Debanjan Dey

1. General Background Questions
2. Questions related to Pre-MBA Preparation
3. Questions related to Group Discussion
4. Questions related to Personal Interview
5. Questions related to CAT 2009 Paper
6. Questions related to Your Future Plans

General Background Questions

Name: Debanjan Dey
Exam: CAT 2008
Marks: 246 (356)
Quantitative: 59 (100)
LRDI: 62 (96)
Verbal: 125 (160)
Percentile: 100
Current Status: In the Final Year of Engineering at Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Question: Were you a fresh graduate when you appeared for CAT 2008 or did you work in some organization and gained some experience?
Answer: I am in my final year of Engineering college (Computer Engineering branch) at present. So definitely a fresher when I appeared for CAT 2008.

Question: Can you tell us something about yourself and your pre-MBA qualifications and work-experience?
Answer: I did schooling from Mother's International School, New Delhi, electing PCM with Computer Science in High School. I had a good academic record and am a recipient of the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) Scholarship. I applied to a number of Engineering Entrance Exams and cleared AIEEE, BITS and CEE. I joined Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology, since it had a good reputation, was close to home, and I was getting my preferred stream (Computer Engineering.)

Question: When did you decide to go for MBA?
Answer: I was initially inclined towards getting placed with a top product company and working in the technical line first, before pursuing a higher degree. I got offers from Adobe, Aricent and C-Dot. My excellent result in CAT 2008 was the main reason I decided to try for an MBA as a fresher and make use of this new opportunity I had got. Furthermore, I had a department rank of 6/100 in college and a good academic record which would boost my chances of making it to a top B-school.

Question: Does this mean that you appeared for CAT 2008 without actually being serious about a career in management at that stage?
Answer: Yes, while appearing for CAT, I had not finalized any plan to pursue MBA immediately, as a fresher.

Question: Will an MBA degree add on to your existing career plan or did you decide to switch/start a career in management?
Answer: I have not yet decided on the exact field of management I am interested in. Since I am a fresher, I would like to get a better idea of the subject before formulating my final career plan.

Question: What exactly were your reasons for pursuing management as your career?
Answer: Due to a number of reasons, many engineers pursue an MBA degree whether as a fresher or after a few years of work experience. The reasons are usually better and quicker career advancement, getting a broader outlook on the functioning of industry, and personal value addition. My reasons were similar but I had actually planned to try for MBA after a few years of work.

Question: Do you think money plays a great role in choosing management as a career?
Answer: It definitely plays an important part, but in the current job situation under the effects of recession and lay-offs, average placement salaries are dipping. The main reason to pursue an MBA right now would be that it is a good time to invest in education, when the job market does not have much to offer. Hopefully, the situation will be better in a few years' time.

Question: Which MBA Institutes and Programmes you have identified for your MBA?
Answer: I only appeared in CAT 2008, and have only applied for the flagship two-year full-time residential programmes of IIMs. If I don't make it to the IIMs, I would take up a job offer.

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