Management...part 1

Last week the results of CAT were out...For those of you are so very blissfully ignorant, CAT is the entrance test for all the IIM's. It is considered the worlds most difficult exam, but it still makes up only the first part of the two part selection process..But then,, no one ever said getting into an IIM is a walk in the park..Out of the 3 lakh odd people writing the exam,,about 7000 or so are eligible to get a call, but then, even amongst them there are different selection criteria for each of the IIM's, based on which this list is further shortlisted. So basically, you could get a 98 percentile, and still fall short of the expectations...May seem cruel, but then, the world is not all fun and games...

Cut to CAT 2007. I prepared decently well and took the exam. It went off decent. And in Jan 2008, i got my results. Now being in 8th sem, we were busy with DoTA (as usual), and i wasnt too bothered about checking the results. It was mainly cos of the mad rush that would be there on the sites and all, seen enough results to know that there was no point. So the 5 of us sitting in my room, were busy playing. Lots of people had expectations that i would 'crack the CAT' , so i started getting calls about my result, and i kept telling everyone that i didnt check. One of them finally asked me to tell him the details and that he would find out!! He tells me that i got a royal 98.64 percentile. To me, that was just still a number, so i didnt know whehter that meant a call, but then, i just got back to playing! I was already exhibiting managerial skills, making optimum use of my time and getting others to do my work!!

But as fate would have it, i didnt get any calls from any IIM's, seems like these days even a 98.6 isnt enough!! later i found out that the reason i didnt get calls, was cos i got 91.98 percentile in english,,whereas the cutoff was 92!!!! It was then, that i realised the value of 0.02%. But then someone reminded me that i filled up forms of MDI..Its another management institute, which comes in the top 10 in the country..I got a call from there..

Most people were very excited at the prospect, but i wasn't too keen.. Call it overconfidence or plain stupidity, i was pretty sure i wouldnt join the place even if i got through..But i still was going to give the interview..My interview was scheduled for mid march, and it was on the MDI campus in gurgaon. Between the cat results and the interview, i even got placed the second time, getting my job that i'm in now. This only decreased my interest in MDI more..But i still was going to give the interview...Here's what happened..

Dateline -> March 2008
Place-> MDI, gurgaon.

Reached gurgaon the nigth before the interview, stayed at rommates house. His parents always treat me like their own kid, so there was a royal dinner too. I read up a little on a few sites, checked my CV one last time, and went to sleep..

In the morning, the procedure was supposed to start at around 10AM.. But to be on the safe side, i got out of home by 8, and reached the place by 8:30..There were only a couple of people there till about 9, but they were all there for the same purpose, so i set my doubts aside and sit there in the class room type place where we were to wait. I have the knack of being able to sleep anywhere and any time, and i tend to feel more sleepy after having a bath. Like many other weird and very inappropriate times, i started feeling sleepy there!!! i put my head down cos i had nothing to do, and i ended up taking a little nap without my knowledge. When i next opened my eyes, it was almost 10 and the classroom was full !! went, washed my eyes and came back to find the guy who was telling us the instructions in class..We were divided into groups of 10 for the group discussion(GD)..

The GD was a a very sad affair. The topic was should india have a presidential or parlimentary form of government. We were all given slips to note down stuff and a number by which we would be assigned. i read an article on the same thing a few days before, so i had loads of points supporting why india should have a presidential form, and the people around me didnt seem like those ultra smart people who would steam roll everyone else. So i was all excited that this won't be too tough for me.

I expected the GD to be a structured affair, with people being civilised unlike the 'gavaar log' in college who just believed in screaming. After all, this was a prestigious management institute and all.. But my mistake again. Even here people were screaming their heads off, cutting off people's points in middle. I spoke once at the start, then in middle i tried to make a couple of points, but kept getting cut-off in middle. There was never a time when less than 3 ppl were shouting. A few more sterner interrupts from me all went to waste cos no one was in a mood to listen. Then they told us conclude!! i was like ,,whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?? already?? Then before the conclusion,,they pointed to me and 2 other people saying we hadnt spoke much!! imagine,,someone telling me that i dont talk much!!! Anyways, then i told them my points, which were not taken well by the guys opposing the idea, and again the screaming started. Another interrupt by the ppl coordinating later, it was concluding. I didnt know what to think of the whole thing. But anyways, we sat and waited outside because the GD wasnt an elimination round...

The next round was the personal interview. One by one, people started going in. When they came out, there was usually a mad rush to find out what they were asked. Most people were cagey in telling the others, cos they had no clue themselves. The only thing i got to know from the first couple of people who came out was that they detested wikipedia, and that they were asking everyone who spoke the best in the GD. After finding this out, i didnt bother finding out more and went an sat aaraam se without a care in the world...Then, after a loooooooong time, my turn for the interview came..

It kept running in the back of mind that these interviews are usually "stress" interviews,,where they have people sitting on your head and keep firing away questions left, right and center!! So i prepared myself, straightened out my tie and shirt and walked in.....

To be continued...