My D day Venture

“Four options are before you. One is a problem involving insurance product. Second, data of a village.....1000 houses, 6500 people and so on. Third, documentation of a particular process or research. Fourth, liaison activities between certain groups. Which one do you think you are good at?” Immediate question I faced when I entered room for IFMR-CIRM interview. When I opted for the first one, next question was ready. “Can you solve this question?” A paper and pen was provided to solve a weather insurance product problem. Please be prepared to face unexpected questions and attitudes from the panel at any point of time. Other questions were, how many insurance providers are in India? What is the difference between life insurance and non-life insurance? Should there be different regulations to handle these 2 difference insurance domain? If yes/no, why? My favourite rural development projects (both successful and failure).Most of them were technical in nature.

IFMR-CIRM was my first interview and I had entered the room without even knowing what CIRM stands for!!! I wanted to be in marketing field and waiting for my turn in GCMMF which did not disclose my name in the initial lists. Hence instead of wasting time, I wanted to have mock interview experience and went to IFMR-CIRM. That was disastrous!! I wanted to give the interview to federation and BASIX, but my name was in the middle of the list. My second and last interview was with IFMR Venture. It was very long....Some of the questions asked were

1. Which concept at IRMA I liked the most? and why?

I told about new generation cooperative (NGC) and panel aggressively tried to convince me that NGC is no way better than traditional coop.

2. Regarding my work experience and how it is relevant now

3. I was asked to choose between rural energy and rural drinking water as Venture currently working on these two sectors and I may work for one of them. I chose rural drinking water.

4. I was asked to explain how I would implement drinking water project in a village (assumption was right technology is available). I spent lot of time in explaining my thoughts.

5. Series of questions related to failure of many government project related to providing drinking water. What is the main reason for the failure etc

6. The takeaway from IRMA and work experience.

My only request to you is try to build your own perspective in each topic. During the interview time, your original thoughts help you but not the borrowed and shortcut answers. There can’t be two answers for technical questions. But when they ask you to opine on certain issues or when they give live problems, it is your strong perspectives that help you respond convincingly. This is only about the experiences in the interview room. But how you prioritise your organisations, interviews and choices according to the changes and surprises on D day make substantial difference to the outcome. So be flexible, confident.

Prashant Hegde

some thoughts abt the day....

Just a day after our MTS ended we had the pre placement talk from ITC and this was the start of so called "PLACEMENT FEVER" season .We all had a new topic to gossip and sometimes serious talks like “where will we land up” .As a member of Placement committee I knew the time has come where we all PC members will have to slog a lot and face the batch on important as well as some "trivial" issues.

Ok now not boring you with the pre placement time talks and gossiping let me start my experience. I was not shortlisted by ITC and then by Basix…Somehow felt that where our batch agreed to disclose the marks I was not shortlisted .IFMR,TERI ,AP govt,FINO,HIWEL,GCMMF and NDDB did shortlist me . Let me tell you that organizations coming for placement in IRMA shortlists participants in such a manner that you will find no correlation as to why a particular person has been selected and why the other one was left out. So never rely on organizations short listing criteria( important TIP). Just before the D-day I was pretty much busy with the PC work and had little doubt as to what am I going to say in the interview as frankly and honestly speaking I had not prepared for the interviews whether it be going back to the books of previous terms or keeping oneself updated on current issues and also not even reading the newspapers ..(these ingredients are always suggested for the interview and GD preps) .Luckily SKS divided the list of students to interview in two panels and mine was the first interview which was timed to start at 8:30.this was like mock interview. I was the first “bakra” in front of SKS people and they started asking all arbit questions like if your colleague is jailed how will you get him out.if any one of the three has to be saved then which one will you choose “1.boss,2.client,3.subordinate”.I thought I was not giving an Interview for a B school campus recruitment but rather for a Law school campus placement. They kept me questioning on similar lines and I kept on babbling the answers for an hour or so. After the interview I came to know that this organization is not fit for me. However they did not even gave the spot offer also (basically did not select me).Luckily within 15 minutes I was lined up for IFMR capital interview .thanks to PRM 30 people they did a good job in updating each one of us on the happenings taking place in front of the interview panels. But before that IFMR CIRM called me for the interview,I had no idea what this CIRM does and what are its functional areas .I was asked initially about myself then my interests and then question on how are my mathematical and analytical skills. Straight away after that I was asked to design a life insurance product for rural poor. I was given one minute to think on that.The next question was a numerical on Insurance product as in what will be the farmers inflow of cash and outflow of cash ,what will be the pay offs and was asked to draw a graph. After all these bouncers I was asked to design the MIS of the loan product.then before leaving they asked me about HDI ranking,how many insurance companies are there ,where I see myself in 5 years from now.I was pretty confident they will offer me a job.after coming out from interview I was called with in 5 minutes for IFMR capital interview. again the usual question introduce yourself and blah blah…..main bouncers were thrown when they asked me why interest in finance of MFI’s. then came train of questions what is securtization,capital adueqacy ratio, credit enhancement,delinquency ratio,off balance sheet method of financing MFI ….etc etc……as soon as I came out of room they offered me to join ,I asked them to wait for 10 minutes and suddenly they raised the package. Just after that I also got offer from CIRM and they offered a higher package then Capital.but till then I had already signed offer with capital.so this was my experience but people believe me it all depends on that day.how you feel about yourself.just be confident ….

PRASHANT BHARDWAJ

Anand talks...

I was interviewed at number two in the batch. My interview with BASIX went quite well and was positively expecting a call. After 7^th candidate, they came out with a list of 4 spot offers excluding me. All the four were agri students from a particular region in the country. I was an engineer with 3 yrs experience and it came out that BASIX people were looking for specific set of skills for their forthcoming foray into a particular region. Though later in the day when most of the people got placed, they made themselves open.

1. Take Home: If they had not picked you, it is not your fault; sometimes they are looking for some other things viz. background etc. Naturally they also have a predetermined set of things.

Then to chill out I went for NDDB interview (as I never wanted to go into dairy, there was no pressure to perform). Also I had to wait for my interview turn in FINO, my 2^nd choice company (I got a spot offer here).

2. Take Home: Don’t panic. Always keep 2-3 options. Always Remember!!! Recruiters have all the way to pick you.

3. Take Home: Do read Nitesh’s experience.

-ANAND PRAKASH

Jo bhi ho.. us din to lag jaati hai..!!

Then, I got a call from Puneet, my boss, offering me a job. I ll be in the team where I did my MTS. But then, it was just 3 days before the D day.

So, I felt the heat till I got the call. When I confess that this heat cannot be avoided, let me try to tell u how one could get the temperatures down. I would tell what I think went well for me.

Let me start with some context.

I was always clear that I ll be in finance. Finance is again too broad. I knew where I was interested to a bit more extent. So, the confusion is lesser here. Still, it all depends on who comes on campus. This only to some extent is in your hands. So, there is some heat which can be diversified and some which cannot be.

To make things easier for myself, I went on for few courses. The results were scheduled on 27^th January. I was occupied and my mind thought of only this result. Placements etc were not yet thought of. To avoid this result excitement and tension, I concentrated on a certificate course scheduled exam on 25^th. So, it’s like this. I was occupied with exam or its results. I had no time to think of placements. My mind was not idle and hence not a devil’s work shop.

So, the take home for you is: pre occupy yourself with something constructive which would help you in interview and also keep you away from diversifiable tension and confusion. Diversifiable risk is never rewarded by the market. Only beta is rewarded, mind you.

And then, I had to think about D day also. It is crucial. I thought to get thorough about whatever my resume contained. My work experience in railways, other exams and other things broadly. Other things included my achievements, how, what, etc. The important thing is to know about the organization.

One thing guys!! You should understand that an organization tries to get some feedback from those they know. So, try to get spotted and if this is done, try to be in their good books.

I feel, my case analysis sponsored by IFMR had a considerable impact on my selection. They observed me and my friend. They spot some of us. So guys, if IFMR is sponsoring UDAAN again, you need to be very active.

This is all I have for you. Don’t know how good this would be for you. Still…

Mohammed Irfan…

The day that was.....

Well….In my opinion, placements are 90 percent hype and 10 percent test of your ability. I feel, be it Group discussions or interviews, what matters on that day is your ability to think “common sensical things”- clearly and confidently. Knowing some basic facts such as your CV details, project details and some fundamental concepts in finance/marketing etc would be sufficient enough for someone to sail through. The unnecessary pressure which starts rising before 15 days of your placements creates unnecessary doubts about your knowledge, ability, skill and preparedness. People start wasting more time in unnecessary worrying about not knowing particular subject or project rather than actual working on those subjects/projects. But all said and done, such things are going to happen. It is easy to say now but experiencing it is as difficult as making Sunny Deol dance on the tune of “Beat it”.

Some of my experiences before-during-after the process have been documented on my blog – www.noviceshashi.blogspot.com

Our experiences with organizations such as NDDB and GCMMF which conducted written test showed that, you need almost no preparation to clear those exams. But then, preparation is always better to maintain your confidence level as in the end it is the only support which will help you on D day.

I appeared for four interviews during these two – IFMR –Venture, AP-Tribal Dept, Impact India and Hole in the Wall. Some of these interviews were with serious intentions while some were not.

Most of the time, interview revolved around my MTS, OTS projects - key findings, observations and learnings from these projects. Sometimes basic questions such as “for organization having no inventory, which ratio – Acid test ratio or quick ratio – would be used?” were asked.

AP government asked about water, land and forest management issues and their implications on NREGS etc. Impact India interviewed me by putting me in a situation where I was asked to find out reasons for sudden changes in their number of patients treated every year and solutions to tackle those issues.

Over all, all interview panels will make you feel at ease and if you have some eccentric information about yourself then try to mention it in your CV. During my IFMR interview, lot of air time was spent on my hobby of writing blogs. Many questions were asked on what kind of blogs I write and my opinion on Shiv Sena issue in Maharashtra etc. These things will keep you away from serious questions such as finance or marketing.

No one knows what is going to happen during those few hours. So, keep your options always open. Be ready with your preferences in case you have to take a decision. Never count on one single organization. You never know what factors would contribute on that day.

Opinions above are very personal and in no way should be taken at a face value. Whatever happened with me will not necessarily happen with all of you.

All the best!!!

SHASHIKANT PATIL

The Impact India experience

I did not go through any of the trials and tribulations like my batch mates. Hell, I didn’t even feel I am sitting for placements. I had chosen my domain way back, when I had joined IRMA. That simplified things greatly. There was only one organization which was offering what I wanted. So all I had to do was wait for it. Towards all other organizations, I was indifferent. And our place comm had created all the necessary hype about me “waiting”, so much so that my interview wasn’t even an interview at all. I could clearly see that my interviewers had already made up their mind. That it was just an interactive session. It was fun talking to them so calmly about everything. Even jogging! And I am really happy I got to help my friends the day they needed me the most, because of the choice I had made. I would like to say only one thing for this blog. Choosing your sector makes things really easy and simple. And it helps your batch mates too. You do not add unnecessarily to the competition, you do not waste anyone’s time, and most importantly, you are well prepared as all you have to do is learn as much as you can about your domain. And the rest is, well, “a bungalow on the beach” …. ;).

Parvati Singh

MY INTERVIEW EXPERIENCES

My very first interview with Department of Tribal Welfare, Govt of AP was unexpectedly amazing. I was put at ease by all the panel members out of whom one was IRMA alumni (PRM-27). There were a few things which came to attention of the panel at first sight from the placement brochure and resume:

Most of the times your graduation background is important to interviewer, generally not the college/ university of graduation. But in my case I derived an advantage of being a student of Banaras Hindu University since my interviewer was also an agri- graduate. So this can happen that belonging to a good, reputed institution may do half of your work. (After seeing this they generally don’t ask question from academics etc.) But this was very special. Don’t take it for granted.

Be ready for the questions from your MTS/OTS, not only in terms of work that you have done but also how do you see the organization. For instance mine MTS was in a CSR division. I was asked about the relevance of work organization is doing, whether CSR is a socially acceptable way to exploit people, what if the main organization due to which CSR created was not present in the area then do you think the economy would have been better in that area & if yes how? Etc-etc....

Generally hobbies & interests are written just for the sake of writing in CVs. These are one of the most neglected areas but be very careful in quoting your interests in resume. A good time of mine interview is spent on the interests I mentioned in the CV. Just for a case in point I have written: ‘Reading short stories in Hindi literature especially by Munshi Premchand.’ I was asked not only about to summarise one of the stories of my choice but also that what issues I found central to the stories of author. The can also ask you about the other authors of Hindi literature and one or two books written by them. So be alert in making your hobbies very specific, it’ll attract very particular questions also (like in mine case).

In the end of the interview, if panel asks you to question something from them, always ask a question. This shows that you are genuinely interested in the organization. But ask the questions that have to do something with the operations, working with the organization and that too simple one. You can also ask about the geographical spread of organization. For instance ‘Why BASIX is not working in UP while has good presence in all other neighbouring states?’ Don’t go for too technical questions and your compensation etc. Negotiation for salary is a completely different thing, keep that apart.

I hope that some of my experiences will help you to tackle your interview beautifully. The key message is: Just be yourself and everything will fall in place.

ALL THE BEST!!!!!

Neha Shankar