IIFT GDPI experiences-1

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi GDPI experiences (1/3)

Candidate: S.Satish Kumar  

Location: Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), Spencers Plaza, Chennai

Date: 5th Feb, 2011 (my Birthday :) )

Time: 2pm

This is a long post...please excuse the verbiage . The IIFT GDPI was my first GDPI of season 2011.

Had improperly planned my IIFT preparation...there were so many things which I thought I had to know. Especially reg my company....so with no other go, I tried to get as many plus points about my company as possible at the last minute. Slept only at 2am...got up at 7am (was supposed to get up at 6am  ) had a disturbed sleep..forgot my purse in my hurry...reached centre 15 min in advance though. Coming to the experience:

11+1 members (one absent) and one panel (1 lady, 2 sirs...1 of the sirs came late).. We were waiting for one candidate to come...and eventually the essay writing started at 9.30 am.

Essay writing:
Solid 20 minutes. Single ruled (both sides) sheet of paper.

Essay topic: "Realty boom in India is due to speculators"
I was    for a few seconds...then started. Jotted down points in pencil at bottom of page.

• Gave intro about current population (customer base), gdp per capita (cash in hand of customers)...said customer base and cash inflow opportunity present
• Then dwelt into how SEZs and Highways bring in interest among public to buy property there. Then said speculators enter the scenario to create too much hype & hoopla to try and dupe the public
• Then said public should be well informed and take wise decisions...for speculators could be your next door neighbour, a politician, the media or a corporate. Mentioned uncontrolled speculation could lead to a recession similar to the realty bubble burst in US and its subsequent recession
• Concluded saying the boom is because of speculators and that people should be more careful

A 5 minute break before the GD...used the restroom .

Group Discussion:
GD topic: "Two party system is needed for economic development of India"

• Everyone had approx 2 min to tell their opinion. Points I spoke:

  • Focusing on 2 things @ same time will lead to lapse of concentration
  • Current political parties are more intent on caste bank politics and exploitation of the minority
  • Mentioned population and the untapped potential
  • So there should be two parties, one focusing only on financial & economic dev
  • Other should focus on welfare development, cooperation with neighboring countries and work against terrorism

  Paused to see a point when the next person was asked to speak...
• Everyone spoke well....open house discussion was very cordial and everyone listened when others spoke. I came in 4-5 times..tried to give a diferent angle once. First expanded on my points, mentioned the need to increase gdp (mentioned current gdp, RBI's estimate, China gdp) and reduce inflation rate. Then brought in CWG ..said with such a huge population...its a waste of potential and this should be handled by one party...
• The lone girl in my group made good points about reforms in education system...people also mentioned Egypt crisis, US govt setup, economic theories...good discussion in my opinion. Majority was ok with 2-party...some wanted multi-party..a few mentioned single party
• Two people used the bell to good use..finally one panelist asked 4 of us to conclude. He then mentioned that the GD was good and that we had had a good discussion.
• Two panelists kept roaming about the room and then finally settled down..noting down stuff (caught a glimpse of her from the corner of my eye)

Later, I realized some the candidates had written about "Reality boom"...I presumed essay topic was "Realty boom"...I was confused at this point . Anyways we forgot about it.

We were all pretty relaxed post-gd. I stepped out to take a call...when I returned the guys said my name was called and since I was not there, the next person had gone in. Was shocked for a minute before realizing I had been conned..  (this lightened up the mood a bit).

Personal interview:

Entered with a smile..one charming ma'am who spoke less, two sirs (beaming faces). Wished all before settling down.

Sir1: So Satish...3 years work experience at TCS..happy?? Tell me about your company and work...
Me: Gave TCS stats (quality processes, employee strength, etc...) and my actual work experience
Sir1: But other IT companies also have these quality models na...
Me: Yes sir, but TCS is first company in world to receive CMM level 5 certification. Was okay with it.
Me: (continuing) Specifically mentioned that I do support work which helps in communication and team skills a lot.
Sir1: Don't you think TCS offers a lot..are you happy with it?
Me: Yes sir..TCS part of TATA conglomerate which is expanding phenomenally and TCS too is sir..but growth here is a long process..mentioned employee strength and that not everyone can be promoted that easily..so lots of procedure and waiting time....mentioned need for an MBA in this scenario..seemed satisfied.
Sir1: Okay...in which perspective are you technically strong?
Me: I was clueless as I did support...gave a roundabout answer (Sir 2 said " but you need to mention something specific so that we could question you on it"...Me: "Yes sir, but restarting my point, I primarily do support work"),then mentioned profile-building aspect through my support project. Explained in detail about my work here..
Sir1: Okay you have heard about servers...what are they? What's the use? Imagine you are from HP, sell me a server and tell me disadvantages of having it.
Me: ~Clueless~ mentioned something cost of maintaining it and a 24x7 team to monitor it. Mentioned maintenance of a recovery site. Then that it is the core, connected to many computers...
Sir1: Then what's difference between MAN and WAN..both are networks right?
Me: Sir...the area concerned differs..MAN s bigger...cost involved and the maintenance team to monitor the server increases manifold (he wasn't too satisfied, but didn't show it)
Sir1: So what is a blade server?
Me: Grin . Sorry sir, I have heard of it..but I don't know about it.
All 3: Smiles
Sir2: (He was nodding all along and silent all this while. I tried my best to look at all 3 panelists even though I was answering Sir 1 alone) We are hearing so much about appreciation...why will profits of companies like TCS, Infosys, HCL etc go down if there is appreciation?
Me: Sir, major contributors to gdp is IT and ITES..which are exporters. Explained about appreciation (explained it wrong, but corrected myself quickly when he smiled) with an example and said that with appreciation (rupee WRT dollar for eg), there will be loss. He was saitsfied.
Sir1: Given a choice between TCS, Infosys, Wipro..which company will you invest in?
Me: Sir, this is a tight question as it might go against my interest in my company..
Sir 1 & 2: That is okay..you can give a frank opinion 
Me: Sir TCS and Infy..they are primarily Indian (darn...)
Sir2: But Wipro is also Indian right?
Me: Sorry sir, yes it is. But TCS & Infy are bigger companies...and I am more interested in TCS.
Sir2: Why?
Me: Sir, its part of Tata conglomerate...that gives a safety factor when investing.
Sir2: Okay, so you are talking about two things...Risk and ROI.
Me: Grinning yes sir.
Sir2: Okay...Risk part is done. What about ROI? Which company based on ROI?
Me: Sir, I would take an informed decision based on current market scenario and global develpments.

All 3: Okay, thank you. You interview is done.
Me: 
Sir2: So what is the view about the panel outside?
Me: Sir everyone and I too feel the panel is very relaxed and it is more interested in knowing the candidate well.
All 3: Relaxed..definitely..and they all started laughing  ..but don't you think we are very secretive??
Me: Definitely sir...the candidates never know what the panel thinks of them till the results come out.
All 3: Smiles  
Me: But sir, to be honest, I was expecting some questions from my hobbies..now this was an unexpected jatka from me 
Ma'am: Okay, now that you ask, what are your hobbies?
Me: Smiling..mentioned blogging and photography.
Sir2: Blogging...we specifically did not want to question you on your hobbies because of this...he mentioned something about what's so great about blogging..people are kind of misusing it etc.
Me: Smiling..sir that depends on one's perspective. Assuming I am weak in communication..I can use blogging to improve my communication skills. It also helps me stay connected to people and learn about their opinions. After a MBA degree I would eventually be managing resources and people. And blogging inculcates a habit to patiently listen to others' opinions...because in an organization, decisions are to be taken only after everyone's opinion are heard..from that perspective, blogging is really helpful. If people misuse it, now that is a totally different perspective.
All 3: Smiles..okay thank you (Sir 2 seemed satisfied now), you may leave now.

I thanked all of them and left smiling .

Verdict: Rejected