Excerpts of my interview with ISB

Excerpts of my interview with ISB (Indian School of Business).

All in all, I think the interview went OK. I found myself a little bit stuck with words at times and couldn't articulate my points as well as I wanted to. However, I did answer all of the questions.

Committee: "Hi this is such and such from the admissions committee." Coincidentally one of the guy's name also happened to be the same as mine and he reminded me of that.

Committee: "Good evening to you"
Self: "Good morning to you"

Committee: "So, how was your day today?"
No problem with the answer.

Committee: "Can you please walk us through a typical day at your job?"
They poked in for details about the projects I was involved in.

Committee: "Do you have the autonomy to make decisions at your current job?"
I am currently managing a large project with three people working under me, so answered yes.
Committee: "If so, why did you write in your essay that a million dollars will give you autonomy when you already have one?"
I chose to go for the million dollars over the knighthood in the second essay. Gave them reasons as to why I wrote what I wrote.

Committee: "So tell us about your experiences gained while working in different international locations. How would you describe the work culture in these countries?"
I had prepared for this question, so was able to answer it quite well I think. I answered by saying that country 'x' has this type of work culture, and country 'y' has that type and mentioned how I overcame these cultural barriers to come out on the winning end.

Committee: "Why did you apply to Indian schools when you have many other options available in the US?"
Responded by saying that I am not limited to career opportunities in the US and am therefore looking at schools outside of the US.

Committee: "What other schools have you applied to?"
I mentioned that I have applied to IIMA PGPX.

Committee: "Did you apply to their 2 year program or their 1 year program?"
The 1 year program, I responded. I wondered why this curiosity. Perhaps I should have mentioned some additional schools just so that I didn't come across as someone who didn't weigh all his options. Oh well.

Committee: "How did you hear about ISB?"
Through peers and then online.

Committee: "Define your view of what effective leadership is."
Gave them some pointers on effective leadership. Wasn't able to articulate my points here as well as I wanted to. I had practiced this question and had listed 6-7 different leadership essentials. However, during crunch time, I could only remember 3 such points.

Committee: "So how did it feel to have climbed Mount Whitney?"
I had mentioned in one of my essays about this feat. Gave them a good response here.

Committee: "Do you have anything else you would like to tell us about you?" Kind of stumped by this question. I said "no" because anything I would've mentioned might have come across as self promotion. Still don't understand the logic to this question. At this point, I asked them if we had come to a point where I could ask a few questions. They said I could ask anything.

Asked them a total of three questions. I had put in decent amount of preparation in the types of questions I wanted to ask and finally listed three questions that I thought were comprehensive.

Committee: "OK, I think we have come towards the end of the interview. If you have no other questions, we will be signing off."
I said I had no further questions.

Committee: "Good night"
Self: "I want to take the opportunity to thank you for spending some time with me today. Have a good day".

The discussion lasted a total of 40 minutes. I would give myself a 6/10 grade. Again, my articulation skills suffered a bit because it was already 9pm here when we started, and I was somewhat tired. The feeling I have is similar to what one goes through when you purchase shares from a certain company. You just have no idea if the shares will do well or drown. At this point, I have no idea as to how the committee rated my performance. Two weeks of wait and shall find out.

India Calling?

This morning, as I brushed my teeth and looked at my goofy-self in the mirror, I asked 'Sanjay, what are you doing?' Such a question is not unwarranted, for I aspire to leave a cushy job, a respectable salary, and a newly bought home in the San Francisco bay area (where a good majority of the world population would relinquish their life earnings to relocate to) to become an unemployed student IN INDIA? Do I really have what it takes to survive in India, with mid day sun beaming the temperature close to 40+ celcius, with having to fight for every inch of space with millions of others, and with dust, pollution, corruption, and rudeness rampant in a day to day life? I don't have a clue.

But there is something about India that gets my juices flowing. With newly established businesses thanks to a gradually flourishing economy, these businesses, in their infancy when viewed in a global context, will need expert management to grow as leaders in the regional markets. Why not try to apply my skills where they would be much more appreciated? We all know India has the knack for producing brain powers in the ranks of scientists and engineers. Despite India's prominent business schools, where it lags behind is in its ability to pump out business leaders, the kind that are decision makers and trend setters. With sometimes too much drama and emotions attached in business settings, the Indian leaders often fail to exercise their street smartness and rather use their emotions when making business decisions.

India needs to be careful not too ride the wave of the recent economic success to inflated optimism. Now that the economy is improving, it needs to find ways (and this will be difficult) to keep the rate of improvement constant or better. The IT sector, which thus far has been the lone contributor to it's economic U turn, needs a lending hand from other sectors for the economy to continue to expand. If this is not motivation enough, the looming shadow of overpowering China on the north ought to keep the fire alive in India. China's infrastructure has not been improving solely on the shoulders of IT prominence, but rather on the shoulders of all different sectors and therefore has comparatively a much more stronger economic foundation. The tussle between China and India promises to be interesting, and what better view than to be in India right in the middle of it all.