INTERVIEW EXPERIENCES

This document has been prepared by

the Konquest committee of IIM
Kozhikode. It contains the interview
experiences for admissions at IIM
Kozhikode penned down by the
students of PGP course at IIM
Kozhikode, Batch 2021-2023.
`

Frequently Asked PI Questions

1) Tell me something about yourself

2) Mention an incident where your friends or team/subordinates didn’t agree with your
decision. How did you handle the situation?
3) What is your most significant achievement?

4) A situation where your leadership was challenged. What did you do? What happened
to the task eventually?
5) Brief a scenario where you adapted to new situations at work (for work ex candidates)

6) Mention a challenge you faced in the job and mention the steps taken to resolve it?
7) What are your strengths and weaknesses? Mention three of each relating it to any of
your past experiences or instances.

Tips
1) Try to be as calm as possible, and take a moment before answering any question posed
by the interviewer. You can also ask for some time to think about your answers to
structure them.

2) Remember that the interviewer is not conducting the interview to find the faults in you,
he is just another person, wanting to know you better.

3) Be well prepared, this will help in remaining confident, which will reflect in the way you
answer your questions. Be genuine, with your answers, if you don't know about
something, be honest about it.

4) Give mock interviews to understand what is your perception as a candidate for the
interviewers and work accordingly.

Best wishes!

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Interview Experiences of Students from the batch of 2021-23

Candidate #1
Education Background: B. Tech - Naval architecture

Work Experience: 12 Months

Interview Experience:

To begin with, there was the standard 'Tell me about yourself' question. This was a question I
had prepared for, and something every MBA aspirant must prepare for during an interview. I
spoke about my background, my academic and co-curricular achievements and my hobbies. They
asked me about the place I belonged. I talked about heritage sites, bio diversity and tourism. The
rest of the interview was focused on my work experience with Indian Navy which included
projects, submarines and operations. The interviewer asked me who my favorite artists and art
forms I follow. They also asked me about Indian classical music to which I spoke on gharanas
and raga.

Overall, the interview went very well, and I was thankful that my interviewer was a football fan
as well. It was not a stress interview by any means with both interviewers being friendly and
reasonable given the online circumstances.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #2
Education Background: B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering

Work Experience: 23 months

Interview Experience:

My work Experience was in Customer Analytics. The interview started off with basic self-introduction. I
used this to my advantage, to show off my strong areas, and where I would want my interview to go. It
was followed by a deep dive into my job and the skillsets I have acquired during my workex. They also
questioned me on the business aspects of my job, to understand my understanding of the business.

This was followed by questions on my hobbies. I had mentioned photography as one of my

hobbies and they asked a difficult question on how a DSLR camera works. I had prepared well
for this and gave a well-structured answer.

Other discussion areas included my POR in college, my interest in marketing, why MBA.

Next, the discussion went into my most unexpected area – business news. They asked me to list
down all the business news I had come across in the past month. I flustered a little, as I did not
expect this area of discussion. But I maintained my calm and mentioned few business issues of
that time, that came to my mind. They picked the Facebook-Australia issue and asked me to
explain in detail. It was followed by a few cross questions. Next I was asked to explain about the
Reliance-Future group issue. I did not know the details, but I explained whatever I can, and said
that is all that I am aware of.

Tips:

• Have a good business understanding of your work-ex. The interviewers may often be
interested in understanding whether you are thinking like a manager and if you have a
good business understanding.

• Follow STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) approach while answering situation-
based questions.

• Sometimes the interviewers may mislead you by giving disapproving comments, and
sound dissatisfied with your answers to stress you out. Do not get demotivated, stay
confident, and answer to the best of your ability! All the very best!

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #3
Education Background: B.Sc - Hospitality and Hotel Administration

Work Experience: 37 Months

Interview Experience:

My interviewers actually skipped the usual 'tell me about yourself' and went right to ask about
the organization I worked at. They wanted to understand what exactly my role was, what I studied
in college and how I contributed to the organization. Since I studied hospitality, they asked me a
few questions on how I feel India's tourism can be marketed better, and the specific steps we
need to take as a country. They asked for my opinion on aqua-parks like Sea World and zoos,
and whether such developments could boost tourism.

They also asked me what my backup plan would be in case I did not clear my IIM Kozhikode
interview. During this answer, I mentioned that IIM K was my dream college, and they followed
this up by asking why and probing me on my answer.

The last part of the interview was around general knowledge - I was quizzed on topics such as
the Industrial Revolution, World War II, the governance system in Saudi Arabia and the feud
between Saudi and Qatar. In this section I did fumble a little, but kept communicating with the
interviewers. It ended with them asking me the Prime Minister of Pakistan and President of India,
after which they said I could log off.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #4
Education Background: B .P l anni ng - P hysical P l anni ng
Work Experience: 31 Months
Interview Experience:

My interview started with a brief introduction and a walk through of my CV. Coming from a
unique background, I had a basic idea that much of my interview would be to explicate the
work that I had done prior to the process. I have a bachelor’s degree in urban planning and
have work experience in infrastructure and real estate domain. So, majority of the questions
revolved around the public policies and projects taken up by the central government, and their
outcomes. They asked follow-up questions on how the UP government should project their
achievements, whether metro rail services (MRTS) are needed for tier 2 cities, how IoT is
helping cities to become “smart cities”, and how will the budget 2021-22 change the urban
ecosystem. Subsequent to this, some general knowledge questions were thrown at me. Even
these revolved around famous architects and their projects. Next, they even asked me why
Kerala is called “God’s own country” and some other questions pertaining to the state. Lastly,
they asked me about how I attacked a strategic problem when I worked as a consult to the
government. I explained why government and private clients are different and what
government expects out of its consultants. Finally, they gave me an opportunity to ask a few
questions. The whole process went on for about 15-20 mins. I believe that if you are through
with your CV, if you are keeping abreast with the latest developments in the country, and if
you have a clarity on what you do, how you do and why you do, you will easily sail through
this process.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #5
Education Background: B.Tech - Electrical Engineering

Work Experience: 34 months

Interview Experience:

My interview started off by them drilling me on electrical engineering, power electronics and other areas.
(Most of which I wasn't able to answer) So would encourage preparing engineering related subjects. They
are asking specifics on contribution of some scientists in your engineering specialization. They didn't ask
me anything on my work experience. They just asked me to tell them what I do during a typical work day.
Then moved on to current affairs. Asked about the local literature, politics, movies or fav film directors
etc. of the state I belong to. Then asked me why I want to pursue MBA. Finally, they asked if I had any
questions for them?

Candidate #6
Education Background: B Com, CA

Work Experience: 32 Months

Professional Certification: CFA L3 cleared

Interview Experience:

My interview began with a brief introduction of myself and why MBA? I correlated my finance
journey and where I want to get. How MBA would not just help me getting there but also help
me hone my soft skills. Then I was asked to talk a bit on your website. I explained how I and
colleague founded a literature platform. Furthermore, I was asked on Web 3.0 and Web 2.0? I
did not know answer for that. Finally, followed by 2 questions - How would bond prices react to
interest rates? Gave response on the indirect relationship and also added a bit on calculating
duration and How many continents there in world? I said 7. Interview ended!

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #7
Education Background: B.E - Electronics and Instrumentation
Work Experience: 35 Months
Interview Experience:
My IIM K interview started with the interviewers asking me the meaning of my name. This was one of
the recurring conversation starters in IIM interviews. I would like to categorize my interview into 3:
General, work and current affairs. To start with general questions- tell me about yourself, about my
hobbies, perform a stand-up comedy for 2 mins (had mentioned stand-up in my hobby), why MBA, your
biggest achievement in life, how many languages do you speak and how fast you learn languages. For
work related questions, they asked me about my work, 3 good things and bad things about my work,
how can the bad things be changed, what managerial skills you learnt from work and what are the
different instruments used in a refinery. Finally, current affair questions were - The price of crude oil
became negative at a point in 2019. Why did it happen? Is it beneficial? (Was asked because I worked in
a petroleum refinery) and what is the difference between a private sector, public sector and LLP.

Candidate #8
Education Background: B.Tech - Electrical Engineering
Work Experience: 5 months
Interview Experience:
It went on for a good 15 minutes or so. 2 Male panelists started off with asking me introduce yourself.
Then asked me about my favorite historical fiction book. One of the male panelists was a Jane Austen
Fan. Pride and Prejudice discussion was for more than half of the interview. I was asked to explain
character analysis of Elizabeth Bennett's Mother. Then I was asked the difference between Elizabeth and
Jane. Pride and Prejudice as a concept discussion went on. I was asked my views on Marriage. Electrical
questions- Significance of KVA in transformer, different kinds of power, how to find if a circuit is
resistive, inductive or capacitive.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #9
Education Background: CA

Work Experience: 27 Months

Professional Certification: CFA L2 cleared

Interview Experience:

The Profs who interviewed me were quite warm and welcoming from the time I stepped into the
zoom call. They made me feel at ease by asking me how I was doing. These were the following
questions asked by them - Tell me something about yourself, what is the company you are
working for into, background of owners, what areas have you worked into?, what is the difference
between commercial bank and NBFC?, the penalty charged on breaking FD before is on interest
or principal or both?, how do you analyze credit risk of a company, state financial ratios needed
for the same, do you read newspapers? what kind of news do you follow?. I answered them all
and finally I was asked to log off.

Candidate #10
Education Background: B . A r c h , M .P l a n n i ng
Work Experience: 34 Months
Interview Experience:

The interview lasted around 12-15 minutes. It started with the basic tell me something about
yourself question. Based on that, I was asked further questions relating to work experience. I was
an architect Further questions about the current project that I was working on, what are the major
challenges that I faced from urban planning aspect in metropolitan cities? With shift from work
from office to work from home, what changes did I see happening in urban planning? I was also
asked to name an architect who is famous in sustainable architecture? Further I was asked to talk
about a building, why has sustainable architecture not scaled up in India, why do you want to
pursue management? and what sector and companies are you looking forward to work after this?
I gave examples for most of questions from my personal experience. They had relatable
anecdotes from my work ex and life experiences. The interview ended with positive feedback
that I was smiling the whole interview.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #11
Education Background: B . C om , C A
Work Experience: 37 Months
Interview Experience:

The interview lasted around 12-15 minutes. Questions in sequence: (1) Personal Questions -
Introduce yourself? Why MBA after CA? Do you think any value addition to you from MBA
after CA? (2) Work Experience related - Explain more about your work responsibilities? (3)
Subject related - Types of amalgamation and how they differ? Business loss and capital loss
setoff? Tell us about Section 35D of Income Tax Act. (4) Budget related - (Budget was previous
day. Be prepared for that as well) How do you view the current budget? Do you think it will
boost the economy? (5) General Knowledge - Southernmost tip point of India? State with more
forest area in India? Name of the longest mountain range in India? Most literate state? Most
Illiterate state?

Overall interview experience was good. Stay positive and give answers confidently. Later part
of the interview was little bit stress because panel continuously asked the questions which I am
unaware and the other panel member was laughing. But I tried to maintained my cool and replied
confidently. And never ever bluff in the interview. If guessing the answer let the panel also know
that you are doing so.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #12
Education Background: B . C o m ( H )
Work Experience: Fresher
Interview Experience:

My interview went on for 12 minutes. When I got in, the professor asked me, what are your
interests? My immediate response to that was about my interests and hobbies. They replied they
wanted me to tell them about my interest in a particular subject. I told them that I am interested
in the field of finance. So my whole interview revolved around questions related to finance. They
asked me about debt-equity, like what is an ideal debt to equity and whether a company should
raise debt or equity. Some questions were asked about dividends, whether they are taxed by the
company, whether we have to pay taxes on those, and about capital gains.

Further, they asked me about GST- how many rates are there in GST and products which come
under the 0% tax bracket. The next question was about custom duty- why do people buy gold
from foreign and why do the Indian government take taxes on those. Then some political
questions were asked, like three states which do not have BJP's rule. One question was asked
whether there is a separate minister for the commerce department. If yes, then who are they?
Then they asked me if he manages any other ministry as well, to which I replied yes and told the
ministry. Next, they asked who the Vice president of India is and what his constituency is, to
which I could answer only the first part. The last question was asked about the constituency of
the President; to which I didn't know the answer.

Tips: If you are a fresher, you must have a basic idea of all your subjects from undergrad, plus
you need to prepare at least two subjects vigorously. Second, know about the state you are
coming from and Southern states (mainly about Kerala but a fair idea about neighboring
states). Last, know about the significant happenings in the world and your opinion about it,
e.g., budget, Covid 3rd wave, etc. All the best for your interview!

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #13
Education Background: B C A
Work Experience: Fresher
Interview Experience:

My first question was to justify my gap year. I told them that i took a gap because i was applying
for Indian Air force but couldn't make it due to medical reasons. After this all my questions were
related to Air force, Military and security of India. One Tip: Try to drive the interview. I knew i
could answer all the questions related to Military. So I try to drive my interview in that direction.
Try to talk about topics or field you are comfortable with.

Candidate #14
Education Background: B . T e c h ( C o m p u t er E n g i n e e r )
Work Experience: 31 Months
Interview Experience:

It usually started with introduce yourself. This is undoubtedly the most important question in the
interview as it helps you to direct it the direction you want to. I kept my intro crisp ~90 secs with
less about my achievements and more about me as an individual. This helped me drive the
interview towards my hobbies, interests, motivation for MBA, etc. What I want to do in the
longer run (8-10 years) was another favorite for interviewers in my case and would include few
basic questions from my academic background and indepth questions from my work experience.
It usually ended with current affairs (world geo politics) and some questions related to my
hobbies and learnings from them (I mentioned anime watching as my hobby and what I learned
from it). Thats all for the interview part, though a more important factor in my selection process
was my confidence and my ability to answer questions spontaneously.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #15
Education Background: B . A .
Work Experience: Fresher
Interview Experience:

Prepare a well-structured introduction as it will decide the direction of your interview. Go

through all your UG subjects or recent exams that you have given have a bit of knowledge of
business world. Prepare well on your hobbies. Why MBA is must and you should have a well-
structured answer which will relate your UG your aim and your interest with this. Have faith in
yourself you are not expected to know everything. But prepare well which you know and practice
as much you can.

Candidate #16
Education Background: B.Tech (Chemical Engineering)

Work Experience: 36 Months

Professional Certification: CFA L1 cleared

Interview Experience:

My interview started by stating… you have worked for approximately 2 years in Bank, please
explain CAGR. I was unable to answer, as I did not know it. Then the interviewer said the full
form and I could then add to it. Next, I was asked about Beta. I explained it saying using the
formula: ratio of covariance by variance one. Various types of risk experienced by a bank was
also asked as a follow up. Then I was questioned about my personal finances and how much
savings I have. What is the investment strategy I followed? I explained how I analyze stock, the
methodology I followed. I also explained that while I was preparing for CFA and CAT, I invested
in mutual funds as I did not have the required time and how I chose the mutual fund. They
followed it up with questions on nifty and Sensex (like where it is as of now, how many stocks
make their portfolio, etc.). Lastly, I was asked to tell what I do in my free time and to talk about
something not mentioned in my CV. Since, I mentioned cooking as one of the skills I worked on
in pandemic, they asked me questions related to it, like what is your criteria for selecting a recipe
from YouTube.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #17
Education Background: B.E (Mechanical Engineering)

Work Experience: 36 months

Interview Experience:

The interview was a very friendly and engaging experience. The interview was more focused on
past work experience with situational and opinion-based questions in that domain. The interview
started with the question Why Mechanical Engineering? I explained how I gained interest and I
could visualize what I learn. Then I was asked about my roles and responsibilities at work. After
explaining in detail, I was asked about my opinion on the Indian automobile parts supplier
industry, their position, pros and cons. I explained in detail about their current status and people
mind set about the Indian suppliers in comparison with import suppliers. How can we improve
and what changes are required to raise standards on par with other countries. Then I was given a
situation about which country other than China, India, US, UK can become the automobile leader
in the coming years and why. After analyzing my thought process, I answered UAE and
explained my reasons for the same. I was asked in which location I would set up the
manufacturing plant and reason for the same. The next segment of interview was a little about
my PORs and then general knowledge and current affairs questions.

Preparation Tips:

Prepare answers for all basic HR questions and also your answers for the follow up questions
which might be asked based on your answer. Divide your answers preparation plan into

• HR questions and follow up questions

• Achievements in School, UG

• Work experience covering basics and roles and responsibilities

• Positions of Responsibilities and your contributions.

• UG domain specific questions

• General Knowledge, Current affairs news as well as your opinions on those.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Prepare answers for all possible questions you might expect and practice to deliver them. Be
confident and humble in your answers. Accept if you do not know the answer. If you know
partially, ask the interviewers if you can take a guess and then proceed. Maintain good body
language, ensure formal attire and eye contact though it is online. Explain your achievements
signifying numerically (E.g. Elected as secretary among 100 students etc.,)

All the Best!

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #18
Education Background: M.Sc Geology

Work Experience: 25 months

Interview Experience:

It was an online interview and by the time of IIM K interview, I was pretty well versed with
giving interviews for other colleges. But, I forgot my ID and had to run and get it from downstairs
after the meet had started. Even with this start, the interviewers made me feel pretty comfortable
with initial greetings and casual questions which really helped calm down.

They asked me the usual, tell us about yourself to which I gave my prepared answer of my
academic and work experience background, focusing more on work ex as I wanted more
questions from there, followed by my hobbies.

Geology as a subject intrigued almost every interviewer so the follow-up questions would be
based on it. Why did you choose geology in the first place? What all did you learn in this course?
Application based learnings? Why MBA now? This is where I focused more on my job and why
I wanted to pursue MBA. It followed with understanding what my job was, how it was related
to my undergraduation and how it led to me choosing MBA. They asked me 2-3 questions on
my organization and it is very important to know your organization in and out. Questions you
cannot answer of your own organization leaves a bad impression.

The second interviewer focused on technical aspects of my job related to analytics (3-4
questions). He also asked me why I had not given the GSI exam (UPSC exam in Geology) which
is considered quite prestigious. The gist is that you have to have a clear understanding of why
you want to pursue MBA because they will keep asking the same question indirectly many times
in the same interview to check the coherency in your answers. Hence, the answer to GSI related
question cannot be that it was too difficult or that you weren't interested, but how it did not align
with your future aspirations and how you discovered it.

Stay confident during the interview and keep a smile on that face.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #19
Education Background: B.E (Civil Engineering)

Work Experience: 2 months

Interview Experience:

I am a Civil Engineer (with one year gap)

P1: What is the reason for your gap in academics? (said the truth diplomatically without making
up stories. Never fake, the interviewers will easily find it. Just be candid and showcase the
positive aspect of it)

P1: Job Profile (explained about my Sales job - learnings from my job - revenue that I generated
for the firm)

P1: Hydraulics vs Pneumatics

P1: Asked about famous canals (mentioned Panama Canal. Talked about its importance in trade)

P2: Asked me to say about a Structural marvel in my state (Lot of follow up question like stress
distribution; free body diagrams, etc)

P2: Founder of my college (said about his contributions for Indian freedom and his objective of
starting the college)

P2: Tell me something that is not mentioned in the form/resume

P2: Social activist you know (Since I had helped some orphanages)

No Basic HR questions

Focused a lot on academics

Never interrupted while I answered

Entire interview took 15-20 mins

Tip: Confidence is the key.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #20
Education Background: BBA Finance

Work Experience: Fresher

Interview Experience:

The following were some of the questions asked in my interview. All the best!

Q1. What is the impact of the announced budget on the stock market? (Budget was announced
on day of interview)

Q2. Mention some salient points about the Republic Day Parade 2021?

Q3. Why do you want to do an MBA?

Q4. What are some of the places you have travelled in India?

Q5. What do you like about these places?

Q6. You are just 20 years old, do you feel you'll be able to cope up with peers elder to you at
IIM K and how? (Mentioned that age is just a number and since I made it to the interview, I
believe I had the capabilities to be a good leader irrespective of my age)

Some questions related to stock market and crypto currency (I mentioned a lot of achievements
and inclination towards stock market and crypto in my intro)

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #21
Education Background: Bachelor in Design (B.Des) - Fashion Communication

Work Experience: 15 months

Interview Experience:

It was a Zoom interview scheduled around afternoon and my turn came soon. I did not have to
wait for long. There were 2 professors on the panel.

The interview was intimidating and serious, but the professors were very welcoming and were
actively listening to everything that I was trying to explain. I believe being calm and composed
there was the key. Answering questions with confidence also helped. For the things I did not
know, I was upfront about it and tried answering the rest in the best possible way I could. Started
and ended the conversation with a smile and a greeting and thanked the professors for their time
:)

Questions:

- Tell me something about your field, how is it different from Fashion Technology?

- Are you comfortable with GK questions? Which is your favorite topic? (Chose Politics)

- Which states are having elections currently? (Could name the ones in 2021)

- Who is the Chief Minister of Kerala?

- What is Design? What is Fashion?

- If you were to choose the next CEO of a company, whom would you chose from? A fashion
communication designer or fashion technology person? (I answered as it depends on the demands
of the company and stated the benefits of choosing either for their position separately).

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #22
Education Background: CA
Work Experience: 26 Months

Interview Experience:

Firstly, Greeted both of them. Female interviewer asked me to introduce myself. I talked about
my work ex- Deal Pricing in Cloud and Infrastructure Service Line and hobbies. They further
asked me about the kind of Cloud Services that Wipro Provide, their challenges and how they
resolve these issues. I answered that they provide managed services for cloud migration and
transformation services and also talked about ticket raising mechanism for issue resolution. Next,
asked me if I priced deals from the government. I said no, told her that India sector is managed
separately I’m part of global team and told her the revenue from global geographies. She finished
by asking about Paas.

Next male interviewer took over and asked about recent development in accounting, method of
accounting for oil exploration companies, regulator of accounting standards. what NFRA does,
which one have more authority NFRA or ICAI, chairperson of NFRA, my opinion on financial
Data published by companies losing its relevance and credibility and their reasons. He asked why
is it that people rely more on the data by analysts than companies and should the company not
provide its future expectations to the analysts. After answering them vaguely. I expected him to
ask about Wipro- buyback, interim dividend etc. as I was not very comfortable with detailed
discussion on accounting. Then again he started off ‘Is Depreciation a source of cash? Does it
have any inflow? Then why is it source of cash? Why is Depreciation added back to net profit
while calculating cash flow from operating activities? AS for cash flow? Methods for preparation
of cash flow statement? Why do many companies prefer Indirect method for cash flow
statement?’ I answered and finally I was asked to log off.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Interview Experiences of Students from PGP-LSM

Candidate #1
Education Background: B.Tech (CSE)

Work Experience: 23 months

Interview Experience:
I was interviewed Online by two panelists. First question was for an introduction or TMSAY
(Tell me something about yourself?) (Move away from traditional and cliché answer and put
sufficient efforts in tailoring an introduction for yourself), favorite Subject and some cross
questions related to it, asked about Himalayas and rivers in India, asked about why I would want
to join IIMK and LSM course in particular, asked about my low CAT scores and reasons for the
same and some abstract questions like 'If I got selected would I travel by train or plane?' to test
logical aptitude.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #2
Education Background: B. Arch.
Work Experience: 23 Months
Interview Experience:
My interview started off with an introduction and I gave the prepared answer which I had
rehearsed over and over. I ended by mentioning my hobbies, hoping that the interviewer will
pick up from there. But that did not happen and the lady interviewer started off by asking me
about my views on uniforms in general. She wanted to understand whether I supported uniforms
or not and I mentioned that I feel uniforms are important in schools, to evade focus from class,
race etc. and to bring everyone on an equal platform. However, uniforms incorporate ensure
equality and maintain homogeneity among various nations. She then went onto ask about
prostitution being legalized in India to which I had views of normalizing it, but said that I did not
know the legalities of it so can't comment much. The interviewer was happy and asked the male
interviewer whether he had any questions for me. He started off by asking me whether I knew
the architect who planned Chandigarh and my views on the success or failure of the planning. I
had read about this is detail during my grad school so breezed through this question. He next
asked me about the news regarding the bringing down of IIM Ahmedabad building. We went
onto talk about adaptive reuse and how the legacy of Louis I Kahn needs to be preserved and the
move needs to be called off. Then the female interviewer took over and wanted to know why I
am inclined on doing an MBA if I am sounding so passionate about Architecture. I gave the
answer which I had given across interviews, which was that after working in the architecture
industry, I realized that I was more interested in the management side of projects and want to do
an MBA to understand this and LSM gives me an added advantage of doing it with a humane
perspective. After this I wanted to clarify on the prostitution answer and ma'am explained to me
the whole process of why legalizing this will overburden the already pained prostitutes. They
need to be educated in order to move forward and legalizing is not the way forward. I thanked
her for sharing this piece of knowledge with me and expressed that I look forward to being a part
of the institute.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #3
Education Background: B.E. (Biomedical Engineering)
Work Experience: 22 Months
Interview Experience:
The interview started with the "Tell me about yourself" question. I answered this starting from
my family-schooling-college and work experience. I've been learning Bhagavad-Gita since
childhood, and I had included this aspect in my answer. Immediately the interviewer asked a
random sloka from Bhagavad-Gita and asked me to complete it. Post that, he asked me for the
meaning of the sloka and its relevance in today's scenario. The next couple of questions revolved
around Mahabharata. The interviewer asked for my favorite character from Mahabharata and its
reason and asked me to quote the ethical dilemmas faced by characters.
Since I am from Tamil Nadu, the panel then delved into Tamil Nadu politics, and since elections
were impending, the interviewers asked me about the Dravidian movement and its history. The
interview then turned into a conversation about a recent book I read, and the final question was
why MBA and why LSM in particular and how I would be contributing to the program.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #4
Education Background: BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration)

Work Experience: 14 Months

Interview Experience:
I had two interview panelists and each of them took turns asking me their set of questions. The
interview started with the first panelist asking me basic questions about where I grew up, my
educational background, my hobbies etc. When I mentioned that I am from Mumbai, I was asked
specific questions such as the historical significance of the Kala Ghoda statue in the city and my
views on how the State has handled the COVID situation in Maharashtra. I was then asked to
talk about the extra-curricular activities that I have been associated with and any achievements
that I felt were unique. I spoke about my research papers here and the next 4-5 minutes of the
interview were spent discussing the topics and themes of my research papers. Next, I was asked
about the positions of responsibility that I held in college and my learnings from holding those
positions. Lastly, I was asked why I wanted to do an MBA to which I responded with my
reasons and my interest in brand management/FMCG. The second panelist took over after this.
He started by asking me questions related to my educational background such as “What is the
difference between brand extension and product line extension?” in the context of marketing. He
also asked me a few questions related to Accountancy. The last leg of the interview was focused
on GK questions. First, I was asked questions related to Mumbai which included the Aarey
Colony controversy and Chipko movement. Then I was asked questions about the Gandhi/Nehru
family, Indira Gandhi’s assassination and asked to chart out their family tree. In the end, I was
asked about which other calls I have received and my preferences. Luckily, I was able to
successfully answer most of the questions asked and the interview ended with a bunch of
thankyous and smiles being exchanged.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #5
Education Background: B.Tech (Mechanical Engineering)

Work Experience: Fresher

Interview Experience:
The interview started with a basic intro and follow up question regarding hobbies. My hobby
was reading fiction and I was asked the book which I was currently reading, some questions
about the author, the theme of the book etc. I was asked about my school and why I studied in a
Sainik school, what my views on whether defence forces were required. Some current affair
questions were asked. Try and be up to date with the news. I was asked a headline of the very
same day. Be thorough with your profile and expect questions from your undergrad subjects and
project topics.

Candidate #6
Education Background: Bachelor of Fashion Technology

Work Experience: Fresher

Interview Experience:
My interview lasted for around 15 minutes and it had two panelists. They asked me about my
day and how the pandemic situation was in my city. Then we moved on to my introduction and
they were curious to know why I wanted to pursue an MBA after an unconventional degree. A
few follow up questions were asked on the same, one of the professors was trying to convince
me to stay in my field, work for a few years and then go for an MBA. (You need to be clear in
your mind as to why you want to do an MBA, because in various interviews they were trying to
figure out why I wanted to do MBA just fresh out of college) Then the conversation shifted to
why I wanted to pursue LSM and not the general MBA, again here they are looking for specifics
and not general gyaan so be thorough in these answers. Overall, it was a great experience. They
are just trying to figure out who you are as a person, so just be authentic and everything will
work out. :)

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #7
Education Background: B. Sc(H) Mathematics

Work Experience: Fresher

Interview Experience:
My interview was scheduled around 4 Pm. It started with few expected questions, my
introduction. I mentioned my academics, extracurricular and talked about my hobby more. I was
expecting questions regarding my hobby but they asked me why did I not go for a job (indirectly
why MBA) and I related this question with my extracurriculars and showed my interest towards
MBA while doing internship.

Then the discussion went on into academics and asked me questions from linear programming,
differentiation, functions, statistics (did not go deep into academics, but better be prepared).

I'm from Ranchi, Jharkhand so they asked me the neighbouring states’ names and then asked me
how to go to Bangladesh from Jharkhand (I named the states we cross and they seemed
satisfied).
Now, they asked me question regarding my extracurricular. I mentioned my work as an event
coordinator and the sponsorship I brought for the event. Then they asked me how I pitched and
who the sponsor was. I was answering this question and they cut me in between (I said the
sponsor’s name was Rapido and they cut me) and asked a question about Rapido - what is the
revenue system of Rapido. I answered this and it was my last question.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #8
Education Background: B.A. LL.B. (Hons)

Work Experience: 24 Months

Interview Experience:
My Q. Tell me about yourself?
Ans. Greeted panelists. Gave brief introduction about my hometown and my school education
than about my under graduation and the competitive exam which I faced to get an admission.
I also gave a brief about my work experience and the kind of work which I did there. I also gave
a brief about my hobbies and my future aspirations.
Q. Why you chose to do MBA after Law?
Ans. I gave my reasoning why MBA will complement Law and help me to achieve my goals.
Q. What are your views on current farm laws?
Ans. Explained the all the 3 legislation in brief and my opinion over it.
Q. What are your views on socialist?
Ans. Briefly explained socialism and then expressed my views over it.
Q. Name three socialist countries?
Ans. My answer was, Sorry! I cannot recall any of such countries.
Q. Express your views on Kerala politics?
Ans. Expressed my views and have a few follow-up questions.
Q. Kerala’s language?
Ans. Malayalam.
Q. Why do you apply for LSM programme?
Ans. Expressed my views over the LSM programme and why it will supplement my past
education and help me achieve my future goals.
Q. Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
Ans. Explained about my long-term goals.
Q. What was your role in your past organisation?
Ans. Explained my role and how I added value to my organisation.
Q. Any questions for us?

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Interview Experiences of Students from PGP-Finance

Candidate #1
Education Background: M.A Economics

Work Experience: 34 Months

Interview Experience:

There was no WAT held in my case. My interview was held in online mode. The panel included a male
and a female professor. The discussion started with the generic "Tell me about yourself" question. I told
them about my educational background, my co-curricular achievements, experience related to work and
hobbies. This was followed up by in-depth inquiries related to the nature of the job at my last
organization. Since my job involved the application of statistics, therefore the professor also asked a few
questions related to the subject like correlation, independence of events etc. They asked me the reason
for pursuing this course, followed by a question related to the field I would like to pursue post my MBA.
Then there were a few basic questions related to the concepts associated with that field. Finally, they
asked me about the latest financial news. The overall interview was stress-free, and the panel was very
cordial and supportive.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #2
Education Background: B.Tech (Electrical Engineering)

Work Experience: 23 Months

Interview Experience:

The interview started 20 minutes early for me as per the scheduled time. The first question was
regarding about myself, where I gave a prepared answer. Since it was a PGP Finance interview, I was
also asked about why I applied specifically for this program, wherein I related it with my prior work
experience and my strengths with respect to the analytical skills required for this particular domain. I
also laid emphasis on why my future goals lay in coherence with pursuing Finance from an old IIM.

Prepare your work experience very diligently, if you are a fresher think it from your internship/project's
perspective. As the interview progressed the nature of questions gradually shifted to more of technical
questions from the field of statistics. While the questions were primarily basic in nature, I would suggest
all the aspirants to brush up their basics of finance and statistics. Simple concepts, but mostly
application based would be asked. Try to steer the interview towards your strengths.

I was also asked questions regarding my under-graduation, since it is in Electrical Engineering, I was
asked about the government's power reforms, and how it has benefitted the economy. Questions
regarding Kerala's geography and elections were also discussed. Be confident and be thorough with
what you speak.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #3
Education Background: B.Com

Work Experience: 42 Months

Professional Certifications: CA, CFA L2, Actuarial 3 papers cleared

Interview Experience:

My interview started with basic questions like tell me about yourself and then went to some questions
like what fascinates/attracts you towards finance. After that they asked about my interests and current
financial news. The news related to be related to the stock markets or some scandal recently. I talked
about the scandal related to options trading in US. Then they went on to grilling me on those concepts
and then some fundamentals of Options. After these questions, they asked about my knowledge on
differentiation and asked me to cite few practical examples and any example relating differentiation
concepts to stock market. After that, a few questions about my work-ex at the end.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #4
Education Background: B.Com

Work Experience: 36 Months

Interview Experience:

My Panel – A Professor from finance and Accounting and a Professor from quantitative method and
Operations management

Professor 1 - You have mentioned work experience of 36 months so are you currently working or not?
and tell us about your work there?

Answer - I was working in BPO and I was on resignation period. so, I explained briefly about my roles
and responsibility, my achievements and also about the projects which I have completed.

Professor 1 - You have good academic in class 12 and class 10 but there is huge drop in graduation, so
what was the reason?

Answer - I was very genuine about answering this question, I explained how I tried multiple things during
my graduation which costs me a huge drop in my percentage in graduation.

Professor 1 - You are a commerce graduate so tell us about the difference between gross working capital
and net working capital

Answer- I was prepared with all basic terminologies related accounts, economics and finance, so this
question was expected for me. So, I explained that gross working capital is the total current assets and net
working capital the difference between Current assets and current liabilities

Professor 1- You have a work experience in operations and want to MBA in finance so what are your
expectations, be genuine with the answer we do not want the scripted answer.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Answer - The same question was asked in previous interviews also so i had the scripted answer for this
question. I took 4-5 seconds to think and answer my genuine expectations with the MBA finance and what
i did additional in finance.

Professor 1 - Tell us about your views about Indian economy and the impacts of Demonetisation, GST
and Covid on its growth?

Answer - I took almost 4 minutes to explain this question, I started in the reverse order. First, I explained
what are the impacts of covid, then GST and then Demonetisation and in last one minute I explained my
view on Indian economy.

Question - Tell us about your views on Citizen Amendment Act, we do not want any correct or any wrong
answer, we just want to know your views

Answer - Topic was kind of controversial so i answer very balanced answer, I put my views in such a way
where I covered what are the concern and why government has brought this law and what can be the
impact of this amendment,

Question - What are the languages in south Indian states

Answer - I explained in which state what are the languages spoken, like in Kerala it is Malayalam, Tamil
Nadu it is Tamil and so on for all states

Question - Elections was going on in Kerala so she asked which is the current ruling party in Kerala and
what are your views on it?

Answer - This was the toughest question for me, i was not very much aware about the politics, so i was
very genuine with my answer i told the name of the ruling party in Kerala and i told her that i am not very
much aware about the political performance in Kerala so apologies and told her that i wont be able to
express my views on this.

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]
`

Candidate #5
Education Background: BA (Hons) Business Economics

Work Experience: Fresher

Interview Experience:

Basic questions were asked, including, intro, why MBA. After this, some more finance related discussions
happened on, the difference between money market and capital market, current a/c deficit, undergrad
questions (GDP, inflation, IS-LM model related), cloud kitchen, faasos, byjus, changes in economy due
to Covid (follow up question- how will you increase demand), Citi Bank (related question as it was in
news that time), Who is Krishna Ella, Sports Minister, and a few Budget related questions.

While answering the basic questions I give the pre prepared answers, while for rest I took some time to
recollect all my learnings then answered based on it. Try to give straight forward answers indicating your
clarity on the concept.

Prepare current affairs, hobbies related questions. All the best :)

Candidate #6
Education Background: B.Tech CS

Work Experience: 48 Months

Interview Experience: Some of the questions asked in my interview:

1. Introduction

2. Why CSE and then PGP Finance

3. Finance Minister of India

4. Why Budget is prepared?

5. Key points of Budget 2021

6. Questions about Kerala, economy of Kerala, etc.

7. MP from Wayanad and why he contested from Wayanad

Konquest Knowledge Committee - IIM Kozhikode

Neelesh | Pavana | Sakshi | Shubhiksha | Sriram | Tharankeshvar
e-mail: [email protected]