Lohith Nagaraj

I think this answer may not help, it will give an impression that you cannot manage things, think of something else. Probably u can say, u were interested in pursuing something, working on an idea etc

02:29 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

The focus should be on a lot of things, but again more emphasis should be given for your academics

02:30 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

Did u quit your job for the sake of preparation?

02:31 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

You can practice, take a set of few topics, keep writing about the same, try forming an opinion about the things that are happening around and that are relevant

02:32 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

You can actually state them, but you can say, as to why your startups failed, and probably the need of an MBA to make your startup work should be incorporated in your answer

02:33 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

You will definitely get questions on academics, probably, you can deviate the question to your favorite subject (non programming ) and try drawing their attention towards that, again a CS engineer, few basics will be expected of you

02:35 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

Everyone will have something or the other, you should sit and think about the same, there will be something, probably it may sound too small to you, but you can surely rephrase it in such a way that it becomes an attractive and acceptable answer

02:36 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

See, instead of bookish answers like, I want to broaden my horizon or I have technical skills and now I want to acquire management skills, talk about real life experiences and why and which experience made u feel like doing an MBA or giving a thought about the same, as a fresher, you can talk about the activities you were part of in your college and the need for management education

02:38 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

You should know everything about things you have stated, apart from that, why MBA, why startup failed, what are you planning to take from your MBA, why now, etc etc. Undergo a Mock PI to get a fair view, its all about putting the right answers that are not cliched

02:40 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

Very difficult to tell, but if you have already got a call, concentrate on your interview preps, do not worry about these now, you can ace your interview and still convert

02:41 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

No, it does ot work like that, see, their is a weightage given to every parameter, your acad scores, your WAT, your PI, you may score less on acads score, but WAT and PI may go well, and again when i say go well, its relatively well, that may save you. but then just coz u have good acads, may not necessarily guarantee you a convert

02:48 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

MBA gives you a lot of objectivity. You know what all angles to think from while solving a business problem, it will give you that peer network, that exposure to real life business problems, learning can be really fun, coz most of it are practical aspects

02:49 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

Restate the same, tell how similar are managing a band and managing a production firm (ofcourse, there lies a lot of difference, figure out how you can relate). You can tell, while managing your band, which all problems you faced, while scaling your band or making your brand go big, what all problems you faced (if at all you faced) and what could have been done better, a strong theoretical grounding about various aspects of business, or a strong peer network and exposure to diverse fields could have made your band big, think on these lines, then come to a conclusion as to why you think an MBA can answer these questions

02:53 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

It will not, as long as you are very well versed with your acads, (the point is, you should be thorough with something) but then have an answer for why dont you have good extra curiculurs

02:55 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

Certain things are required, for eg, demonestisation, how trump's election victory will affect the economics, India's GDP, Implementation of GST, these are the most recent issues, have an opinion about these, or things that are making sound currently, for example again, the debate of Jallikattu, what is your stance and why..

02:58 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

You can say, you quit the job, wanted to try out different things, eventually they did not materialise, they failed coz you lacked a formal training in management and hence you are planning to take MBA.. Again if you had quit your job, coz you had very hectic schedule while preparing, then that can be told, you can defend by saying, the need of management made me think about MBA, but then I had to cross the initial phase (CAT), I needed time to prepare P.S - Use this only if it was really really hectic

03:01 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

Prepare well with your acads, expecially CS, favorite subject, algorithms, e-commerce, why MBA, Why as a fresher, why not after some work ex, why shud we select you etc. Give a mock for an idea

03:03 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

You can expect a mix of questions, some from acads and more from work ex. Why an IT company after mechanical? What have you done in your work ex? Can you describe the same? How do you think MBA will add value for you, you can expect questions on your work, your company, the domain of the work and other basics

03:05 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

For WAT, any topic it is, I used to use an approach of stakeholder and keywords.. Say for example, in the given topic, who are the stakeholders, think from their angles, pros and cons, which are the keywords, and concentrate on them without deviating.. For example, lets say the topic is : Corruption is the root cause for economic problems in India List down the stakeholders - Government, People, Brand India, Bureacracy etc etc Keywords - Root cause, economic problems (really? is it the case, what do you think so), stick to only economic and do not deviate to other problems like social and all.. Take a stance, have a structure, list chronologically, (you can use the above two approaches) and have a good start and an end.

03:10 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

This involves a lot of introspection, so ask yourself why do you think you are a better candidate than the rest, what is that you add and others do not, what is so special in you that is relevant for the course, what have you done in the past that can make you stand out and how is it relevant to this course

03:13 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

What board did you study in 10th and 12th? You can file an RTI seeking an explanation for the same and they will provide an answer, it has happened in the past.. Every IIM, at least the old ones is different in the way they say applicants, in Indore, the avg work ex is low, has been the case for past few years, say for my batch it is around 20 months, whereas if you compare it with Bangalore, theirs is close to 36 + months, the admission committee decides these things and they change year on year and it also depends on the applicant pool, am really sorry you did not get one, but good luck for other calls, make it count, coz u ll only go to one B school in the end

03:31 PM

Lohith Nagaraj

You can say, see I am good at these, I want to become this (people who are generally good in puzzles and numbers, have an orientation for number crunching, so you may like domains such as Finance, Analytics, Operations Mgmt, decide which one you want to) hence I want to pursue an MBA, coz, an MBA can help me achieve what I want to, again be prepared for related questions

03:33 PM