CAT (Common Admission Test) Interview tips and tricks
Interview by Management Institutes
The interview is in the form of a “Question-and-answer ” session – the interviewer asking question and the interviewee answering them -all oral and nothing written.
The weightage for the interview part of the selection process in case of most management institutes ranges between 10% and 25% but in most cases the institutes do not specify the weightages for different component of the selection process. However it has to be borne in mind that while the weightage given to interview in the selection process of management institutes is not high as compared to written test, this is an area that cannot be ignored by the candidates. Unless the candidate performs well in this areas, his/her chances of getting selected will diminish drastically.
“An interview is conducted to have an insight into the attitude of the candidate to life in general and the chosen profession in particular.”
Some management institutes have only a single interview whereas a few management institutes have more than one interview as a part of the selection process.
Why an interview is conducted by management institutes for selecting candidates?
A written test tests the aptitude of the candidate by looking at the candidate’s ability, logical ability, verbal ability, etc. But it should not provide any insight into the attitude of the candidate whether personal or professional.
An interview is a process which looks at how you react to various situations. It involve thinking on your feet. An interview gives an opportunity to the interviewer to peep into your mind and look your thought process.
“Look at each question in the interview as an opportunity to show more good things about yourself to the interviewers.“
About interview panel
In the interviews conducted by management institutes as a part of their selection process, the candidate interviewed by a team of interviewers. This group of ‘interviewers’ is referred to as the interview panel. The interview panel normally consist of two or three members – in most cases ,the panel may have more than three members also.
Management institutes normally give the responsibility of conducting interviews to their professor – in other words, the members on the interview panels are regular, full time professors of the respective institutes.
some management institutes , while having their faculty members on the interview panel, may also have one outsider on the panel. For example IIMK Kolkata follows the practice of having an alumnus of their institute (who is working in the industry ) on their interview panels – with the other two members being professors of the institute. Some management institutes have a psychologist on the interview panel .
Type and duration of interview
Based on the process of interviewing, the interviews that you will come across in management institutes are of two type. The first one can be referred to as the non-stress interview and the second one as the stress interview.
A non-stress interview proceed with questions asked in a normal business like manner and the candidate given enough time to answer the question .
In a stress interview, the candidate is deliberately put under a lot of stress by the interviewers.
Interview at management institutes last anywhere from 5-6 minutes to 30-40 minutes. However you should not come to any conclusion about your chances based on the duration of the interview. A short interview is not necessarily bad and a long interview not necessarily good.
Preparatory aspects of interview
Look at a few preparatory aspects that you need to know about interviews.
1.Dress code
2.Entry and initial moments in the interview room
3.Sitting posture
4.Body language
5.Language to be used in an interview
6.Conduct inside the interview room
What the interviewer look for in an interviewee ?
The interviewer are chiefly interested in knowing whether you are a suitable candidate for a management course as well as for taking up managerial responsibilities in future.
The main qualities that the interviewer look for the candidate are:
Level of knowledge the candidates possesses.
Conceptual understanding of issues
Clarity of thought
Communication skill
Planning of career
Basic personality
Reacting to a situation
Type of Questions asked
The main areas/questions in interview are:
Tell us something about yourself?
subject knowledge/Work experience
General awareness/current affairs
personality related questions
Why do you want to do a course in management?
Hobbies/Interest/extra curricular activities
Why do you want to do management education?
This question is basically meant to know how good you are in your thinking process and how clear you are about your professional goal .Remember that you cannot afford to give answers like “I just feel like doing it” “It plays well” etc to this question.
In any case, you should have a clear idea as to what a management degree can provide to you .While thinking for an answer to this question, you should focus on what management can do for you, what additional skills you need, to grow in and contribute to the organization that you are working for or will be working with and how management education can help you acquire such skills.