The CAT 2018 exam is just around the corner. Those who are taking the exam this year might have done with their syllabus coverage, revisions, and mocks. Now, it’s time to focus on all that you have done as a part of your preparation and control the butterflies in the stomach in these last few days before the exam.
To get out of the CAT 2018 exam tension and to guide you and prepare you for the next stage of the selection process which you would experience if you clear the CAT Cutoff, we would here discuss some important tips and tricks to crack an interview for the prestigious IIMs.
Well, we all know that after making through the CAT exam and battling it out in the Group Discussion (GD) and the essay writing test, it all boils down to the interview. Its here where your personality traits are put to test and the ‘person you are’ comes out.
However, while preparing for the CAT exam we rarely pay any attention to the interview phase of the evaluation. The interview has the potential to make or break your chances of getting into the IIMs.
So, to help you sail through the interview we are now going to discuss some important tips and techniques. Now, sit back and relax and read till the end.
Short and Crisp Introduction
Tell me about yourself? This would probably be the first question of any interview process and the case is no different in IIM interview. Here the key is to keep it crisp, short and relevant in the context of the scenarios rather than narrating a story of your life.
Just tell your name, city from which you belong, qualifications, work experience etc. Don’t extend beyond 3-4 pointers. An introduction is just like a start to interview, don’t waste too much time on the beginning so, that you’re late for the destination.
Take it to your areas
To keep control over the proceedings in the IIM interview the one thing you need is to center the discussions around the area in which you are comfortable or familiar. It can be anything say the domain in which you are working, your hobbies, any of the skill you learned, politics, sports etc.
This would allow you to express yourself freely and the interviewer would have sufficient pointers to judge your personality traits and thought process. The other thing it would do is that it would create a series of follow-up questions from that area and will allow you more time to talk on the area of your command.
Explain about your skills
While discussing your skill set or strengths don’t just say that you know this and that and you have honesty, leadership as your qualities or strength. Rather try to explain the skills and strengths/qualities through the impact that they have created for you in real-life scenarios. Say, for example, an incident where you got the desired results by putting in your leadership abilities.
This substantiates your skills, strengths/qualities and creates an impressive image in the mind of the interviewer.
Read the Newspaper
Well, this is the single thing that would help you in getting through not only the interview but GDs and essays as well. It’s obvious to get a question from current affair related to industry, sports, politics etc as a part of your IIM interview.
To take the questions from current affairs on their chin you must be well aware of the recent happenings. In essays, this would help immensely as current affairs related topics are seen commonly in the question paper.
In GD you can substantiate or deliberate on your point by citing examples from current affairs or if the topic is a current issue then you would have sufficient points to discuss.
Start straight away
This is the most important part in the Interview preparation. If you have even 1% chance (which you would get to know during the preparation phase and after solving mock tests) of getting through the CAT exam start preparing for interview parallel.
You never know you might get less than 7 days’ time between the interview date and the call for the interview. So, it’s better to prepare yourself simultaneously instead of falling at the last hurdle of the race.
So, that’s all in regards to the tips and tricks for cracking the IIM interview for now. We wish you all the best for your CAT 2018 exam and hope to catch up with you for your essay, GD and interview preparation post-CAT 2018. For any query in regards to CAT 2018 please feel free to comment below.