GD, PI Round, Tips for First Step on Journey to MBA

Dear MBA aspirants now it is the time to sharpen your communication and presentation skills as you need to gear up for GD and PI round. 

With the shortlists for GD-PI declared by IIFT recently the MBA aspirants have now woken up to the other realities on their journey to MBA and that is they have to make a mark in GD, Essay writing and personal interview round.

Also Read : How to Get Internship at Google

In an attempt to help you ace these rounds and help you make the correct impression in front of the panel of interviewers here are some tips to ace these rounds. 

One must remember the institute is checking your attitude, how well you structure to your thoughts, your problem solving skills and "how he/she approaches any question or problem.

 For Group Discussions, reading a lot helps. You should be assertive but not imposing.

You should be able to contribute to the discussion but at the same time let others speak. It will show how you conduct yourself in a board room. You can get hold of a book which covers the Do's and Don'ts of case GDs along with a few practice cases. Each and every coaching institute have these GD books. Another interesting idea is that you can try and form a group with like-minded friends and discuss these practice cases.

For Interview round make sure you're dressed formally and have a clean look. You should go with an open mind, positive mindset and self confidence. You can be asked anything under the sun and no one expects you to know all the answers but it is important is how you approach the answer. Please remember you should model your interview in such a manner that it meets the expectations of the particular institute. Do not appear nervous. For practice, you can organise mock interviews with family/ friends.

There are always a few typical questions like "Why MBA?" "What are your long-term and short-term career goals? How MBA will help you achieve these goals?" "Which specialization you would like to opt for and why?" You might be asked questions about any drop in education or a sharp fall in marks at any stage - you should be prepared with the answers beforehand.

The key to success in these rounds is reading, practicing and talking to lot of successful people who have graduated from top B-schools.

Wish you all the best for your career....

Stay tuned to MBA Informer for more Updates.


Post By 
Alok Upadhayay 

Read More

Tips on Body Language for Personal Interview

Body language plays a major role in your group discussion and personal interview rounds. As you have read in the previous article on MBA Informer about the role of body language. Remember that, your action speaks louder than your words. So be careful before you act as it can destroy the entire game which you had almost won by utilizing your content, multiple entries and leadership skills.

In this article, we talk about the gestures which should be absolutely avoided by you:

1.   Pointing fingers: Pointing fingers generally signify talking in anger and accusing someone with your finger. It exhibits your aggression.

2.   Playing with pen or paper: Playing with pen, paper or just moving your hands shows careless attitude. Whether you remain silent or talk while playing with such objects, it will show your lack of interest.

3.    Stooping/slouching: You should sit straight while in a GD/PI. Don’t stoop or slouch or bend forward. That is an informal posture and is not at all welcomed in GD/PI rounds.

4.    Sitting with crossed arms/legs: When you sit with crossed arms/legs or both, it refers to a closed mindset and a person who is not ready to accept/listen to others’ point of views.

5.    Throwing your hand: Don’t throw your hands in such a manner that it enters your next group member’s space. Every one has their own personal space and entering that disturbs the entire group coherence.

6.    Fidget: You should not keep fidgeting or move uncomfortably in your chair.

7.     Not to be stiff: When it is advised that you should not keep fidgeting, it is also meant that you should not be absolutely stiff in your position. You should be comfortable in your posture.

8.   Scratching, pricking, rubbing: You should not engage your hands in inappropriate activities such as scratching, pricking, rubbing etc. This will again show your lack of interest in the GD/PI and too much obsession with yourself.

9.     Control your facial expressions: Control your facial expression and avoid showing your anger/disgust/frustration reflect on your face. Also don’t smirk, smile or laugh unnecessarily. Don’t make it too stoic.

10.   Moving your legs: Moving legs refer to impatience. If you keep moving your legs, you will communicate that you want to get rid of the GD/PI process. Even if you feel that way, you should control your movements and body language to make yourself appear enthusiastic in the B-School admission process. 

Read More

Preparing for GD to Score in MAH CET, Some Tips and Tricks

MAH CET 2011 is over now, and you must be preparing for GD and PI. Here is something for you. In this article you will get to know about the qualities that are measured and judged by the panelists, learn how to exhibit leadership skills, the different types of GD topics, and the ways to generate points during the GD round.


Qualities that count-


Group Discussion is a way by which the B-School panel measures the following qualities in the applicants:
Content: How much knowledge you possess on a specific topic.
Rational thought process: How good is your analytical skills and thought process.
Communication: Both spoken English and non-verbal communication.
Group Behavior: How good is your group dynamics, the way you are interacting with a group and your body language.
Leadership Skills: A leader shall emerge in the GD because of his/her contribution.
Exhibiting leadership skills
Leadership skills are exhibited when the speaker gives certain points in the GD which either moves the GD forward in a new direction or moves it towards a consensus. The leader brings in a fresh approach to a thought process which the group follows.
So we see that content, knowledge and rational thought process are some of the most important requirements to be successful in a GD.
How to generate points?
There are 3 methods to generate points in a GD:
KWA (Key Word Approach)
VAP (View Point of Affected Parties)
SPELT (Social, Political, Economic, Legal, Technology)


Let us try to understand how to use these.


KWA: Say the topic is “Deep Blue is not Blue Enough”. Now we got to take each word and try to understand the significance of it. “Deep Blue” can symbolize the super computer with whom Garry Kasparov had a chess competition. So once you connect the word with the example that’s one point. Now try generalizing further into the debate about artificial intelligence over human intelligence, and say that artificial intelligence is not “ENOUGH”. So we are trying to use the key words in the topic itself to first understand the topic better and then to generate more points.


VAP: Say the topic is “Dowry continues to haunt Indian brides”. So who are the parties involved with this topic: Bride, Bride’s family, Groom, Groom’s family, Society, Media (who shall be make the issue public), NGOs (for supporting the bride), Government & Panchayats (their role in dowry removal), Law enforcers like courts & police. Now each of these parties’ view-points and roles related to the topic becomes a valid point for the GD.


SPELT: Say the topic is “Retail boom spells doom for the local grocer”. So from SPELT way the following points can be generated:
Social: Should we support the small kiranas just on humanitarian grounds?
Political: Role of Government
Economy: Impact on Indian Economy because of Retail & Retail sectors contribution to GDP
Legal: FDI issues, Labor laws, Taxation
Technology: Cold Storage & Supply Chain, Efficient supply and availability will marginalize prices and reduce costs and wastages.
Hence we see that apart from knowledge, the way you are analyzing a topic is important.


GD topics
GD topics are classified under the following categories:
1. Knowledge Intensive Topics
2. Non-Knowledge Intensive topics


Knowledge Intensive topics can be of the following nature:
1. Economic Topics (Example: Liberalization is leading to jobless growth)
2. Social Topics (Example: Dowry continues to haunt Indian brides)
3. Political topics (Example: Reservation issue is just to get a vote bank)
4. Sports/ Media related topics (Example: 1 Billion people, 1 Gold medal: this is with reference to Olympics)
5. Sector based topics like in IT, Telecom, Retail (Example: Retail boom spells doom for the local grocer)


Non-Knowledge Intensive topics can be of the following nature:
6. Concrete topics (Example: Greed is good)
7. Abstract topics (Example: Deep blue is not blue enough)


So start listing down different topics under each areas or check out any GD book and start reading up under each categories.
For Economic related topics look at fundamental concepts like FDI, Stock Markets, Liberalization, Employment scenario, Capital Convertibility, Rupee VS Dollar, Inflation, Export-Import, different kinds of economy in the world, Socialist versus Capitalist, etc. For Sector based topics start making a 1-2 page note on each important sector like IT, ITES, Banking, Insurance, Retail, Telecom, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Power, Agriculture, Logistics & transportation, Nuclear issues etc.
Try to study about what has been happening in each sector in last 1 year, what are the problems, who are the major players, what is the future trend, what are the strengths and weaknesses in each sector.

Read More

GD myths, Qualities Count, Some Interview Tips

The GD PI process at leading Maharashtra B-schools, like JBIMS, Sydenham, Welingkar will be conducted from Tuesday, May 10, 2011 to Tuesday, May 31, 2011.

It’s the beginning of the efforts of MBA Informer community. We are here to help you at each and every stage of your ROAD TO MBA. As all of you know that all the MBA aspirants has to go through a tough selection process of GD {Group Discussion}. Some Institutes also test the abilities of the candidate through Case studies.

All the institutes wish to have the best brains in their institutes. Thus for this purpose the admission processes is divided into two stages. The first stage of this process is entrance test. You have faced this stage already. Institutes conduct GD and PI(Personal Interview) in the second stage. The time period of second stage may vary. For e.g. Most of the institutes which accept CAT score only have conducted there GDs but those colleges which accept MAT score are still calling candidates for GD and PI. CET Maharastra will conduct its GD in month of MAY.

The qualities B-schools look for in candidates and the purpose of holding GD PI

GD PI is a very important aspect for selecting the students as the complete personality of the candidates is reflected through these processes. The expectations from the candidates are determined by industry expectations. These include the technical skills, decision making skills, interpersonal skills and conceptual skills.

Technical skill comes from the education. Decision making ability refers to how you take the decisions in your organization. Conceptual skill is the ability to solve and analyze complex situation and Interpersonal skills is the combined skills of communication, leadership, teamwork and conflict resolution.

Myths associated with a GD

1.  Person speaking the most scores the most: It is not important who speaks the most. What is important is whose points make more sense

2.Person starting the GD is the winner: A person might start the GD with a good point. But that does not make him the leader. He has to keep coming back with equally good points whenever possible.

3. Communication skills are very important:  Only communication skill is not enough as your points should have some substance.

3.Like starting the GD, summarizing the GD is also of great importance: Summing up does not mean that you will have to repeat what others have said. It is checked how differently you present the points from others while summing up.

Case Study GD

Case Study GDs are gaining importance over the years. Several B-schools like IIM Indore, IMI and many others conduct Case Study round of GD. In Case Study GDs, you will be given a certain situation and you have to bring out a solution of that problem or situation…

Approach for dealing with a Case Study GD should be as follows:

Identify the problem – At first you will have to understand what the problem is and exactly which is the area you need to look at. For example, if the case is about a company undergoing a loss, then you will have to review what the reason is. Is it the product or something else?

Give two to three different possibilities - On the basis of the problem, you need to come up with two to three possible solutions that you think will work for the particular situation.

Analyze – After that you need to analyze the pros and cons of the suggestions you have made. Then finalize which one is the most feasible option to approach.

Recommendations – You have to give your recommendations on the basis of the solutions made by you or the other members of the group.

Personal Interview

Some of the common questions during the interview round are on: Introduction about yourself, Why you want to pursue MBA, Your awareness about the subjects you pursued in graduation and General Awareness.

For the question on introducing yourself you should give a brief introduction about yourself. Mention your strengths and achievements, your hobbies and interests. But be careful about your tone. It should not sound over confident or under confident.

The way you carry yourself is also of utmost importance. You should dress formally and comfortably. Remember that you are appearing for an interview and all aspects of your personality will be reviewed.

Read More