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CoolAvenue's Interview with:
Ritesh Khanna
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

1. General Questions
2. Questions related to Pre-MBA Preparation
3. Questions related to Group Discussion / Group Exercise
4. Interview-related Questions
5. After Joining MBA

4. Interview-related Questions

Q. Date and location of Interview. Were you given the option to choose? Was the interview date fixed or re-scheduled couple of times?
A. TISS Campus in Mumbai was the location. No option to choose was offered. Interview dates were fixed, so no re-scheduling was allowed.

Q. Can you tell us about the panel that interviewed you?
A. Panel consisted of three professors of TISS, but chosen from different departments of the institute. One was from the department of Management Studies. One panelist did not ask even a single question and was merely observing. Later, I came to know that he was a professor of Psychology at the institute.

Q. How long was your interview?
A. Interview lasted about 20-25 minutes.

Q. What was the first question? The most interesting question? The most difficult question?
A. My first question was straight out of the details of the form that I had filled while applying to the institute. Most interesting question was on the Cola pesticide row ongoing at that time. They grilled me on my knowledge on the issue.

Q. How did you prepare for the interview? While facing the panel, were you confident, did you feel prepared?
A. I did not prepare much as I just wanted to show them my real self. I just had a few things in mind that I wanted to say. I was given ample scope to express myself. I was confident and candid. I think that helped me in securing admission.

Q. Was any feedback given to you? What feedback did you receive from the panel at the end of session?
A. None.

Q. Did work experience help in getting the choice of your school and also in dealing with the curriculum?
A. I was a fresher.

Q. Getting into and sailing through a B-school is easier for a Science Graduate than for someone from Humanities background. Your comments please.
A. This isn't true in absolute terms. Although 56% of our batch comprises Engineers, most of the rest are from Humanities background. None of them is any less than the Science graduates and, in fact, in a field like HR, being from Humanities gives one a distinct edge.

Q. Will an MBA degree add on to your existing career plan or did you decide to switch/start a career in management?
A. Yes, it'll fit into my career plans as I never saw myself succeeding in an Engineering career. It shall help me start my career from a high string and give me a career curve which'll be steeper than the one I would've had as a plain Engineering graduate.

Q. Why did you decide to do MBA from this school?
A. I could convert only TISS's call. However, I also believed that my kind of personality will fit best into the HR Management kind of career.

Q. Were you able to get the school of your choice or did you compromise and opted for the best option that was open/available for you?
A. I opted for the best option available. However, there was no question of a compromise as TISS has a great standing anyway.

Contd.   5. After Joining MBA