Faith Career's Co-Founder & ISB alumnus Dr. Kumar Anshul tirelessly worked with aspirants applying for the Indian School of Business's flagship program, Post Graduate Program in Management (PGP). It is a globally top-ranked one-year management program. His hard work has come to fruition and all his mentees have received interview invites from ISB. In this blog post, we share the questions asked by ISB's interview panelists, along with each applicant's profile.
In the coming days, we will be publishing more questions to help you prepare for your interview. Watch this space and stay tuned!
If you want to receive interview training and 1:1 mock interviews, reach out to Dr. Anshul by clicking on the button below.
Candidate's Profile
Education: B.Tech. (non IIT/NIT/BITS), M.Tech. (IIT Bombay)
Work experience: 5+ years in an E-Commerce MNC as a Software Developer
Post-MBA goal: Product Management
Interview date: October 8, 2022
Location: Mumbai
Mode: Offline (In-person)
Questions asked
Which recent projects you have taken up in Product Management? (Detailed follow up on the same.)
Domain/Company deep-dive questions: How do you think X (the company where the candidate works) can do better, especially in the Indian market? What are the possible challenges?
Product Management is a very competitive choice of job during ISB placement. What makes you unique as a future Product Manager?
You want to take a POR (Position of Responsibility) at a club at ISB. Pitch yourself for the President of BTC (Business Technology Club) at ISB.
Extracurricular Project questions: Deep-dive: Why was it successful? Why do you think people perceive it well? How did it start? How did you get involved in the project? What exactly was your contribution?
What projects did you do as a Teaching Assistant during your M.Tech. degree?
Hobbies (Chess): What is your favorite opening in Chess? What have you learnt?
Candidate's Profile
Education: B.Tech. (non-IIT/NIT/BITS)
Work experience: 2+ years in Analytics Consulting, FinTech Startup, and FinTech MNC
Post-MBA goal: Product Management in FinTech Industry
Interview date: October 8, 2022
Location: Mumbai
Mode: Offline (In-person)
Questions asked
What did you learn in the Analytics Consulting firm? Which all projects did you work on?
Why did you change your domain from Analytics Consulting to FinTech?
Discussion on long-term and short-term goals.
What exactly do you want to do in the long-term?
Why ISB?
Being a re-applicant, how is your application different this year? What went wrong last year according to you?
Why don't you continue your current job and get into Product Management instead of pursuing an MBA?
Explain a recent project that you have done in your current role.
Hobbies (#1 Cricket): Who is your favourite cricketer? Why? (#2 Reading): Why do you like these 2 authors that you have mentioned? Which books by them do you like? Why?
Do you have any questions for us?
Candidate's Profile
Education: B. Tech. in Electronics & Communication Engineering (non IIT/NIT/BITS)
Work experience: Inspector at Central Board of Indirect Taxes And Customs, Govt. of India, 7+ years of work ex.
Post-MBA goal: General Management
Interview date: October 8, 2022
Location: Mumbai
Mode: Offline (In-person)
Questions asked
Tell us anything about yourself. Anything that you want to share.
Describe in detail about your 8 postings in the Customs Department.
Which posting has been your favourite? What did you love about it?
Describe one particular incident/example during your posting.
What is the most interesting assignment that you took during your favourite posting?
You seem to be really enjoying your job. Why do you want to transition?
Is it because you think importance of taxes is fading away?
Why don’t you try for a job in private sector without an MBA?
Why ISB?
Tell us 'Why ISB?' without using any catchy phrases.
Why General Management? Which companies are you targeting?
You have to start in General Management with some vertical. Which vertical would you want to start with?
How will your work experience and skills be relevant in General Management?
What is this Road Safety competition that you have mentioned in the application. Tell us more about it.
What is the safe way to drive on Indian roads?
You are a proponent of safe driving and you also like F1 racing. How does that add up?
Why are so many accidents happening every year in F1 races?
More technical questions on F1 (which was mentioned in 'Hobbies' in application essay).
Which is your favourite F1 team? Are you happy with their performance?
Is there a F1 race today? Which circuit? Is the race over? What is the result? Are you surprised with the result? Who came 2nd and 3rd in today’s race?
Is there anything in your profile you wanted us to ask you?
Tell us anything interesting that you want to share.
Before getting here, how confident were you about your selection at ISB?
What is your Plan-B if ISB doesn’t happen?
Do you have any questions for us?
Candidate's Profile
Education: B. Tech. (non IIT/NIT/BITS)
Work experience: 5+ years of work experience in Deloitte, KPMG in Tech Consulting
Post-MBA goal: Product Management
Interview date: October 9, 2022
Location: Hyderabad
Mode: Offline (In-person)
Questions asked
Tell me about your work.
What have you done in KPMG on HCM and Security?
Toughest in work and how did you come out of it?
What is your happiest moment?
Working with multiple stake holders?
Why have you chosen PM and how it is aligning with your experience?
What do you want to improve in any Google products?
Take any day-to-day app that you use. What will be that you want to implement?
How did you manage your team of 3 on ABC project?
What is your expectation from ISB?
What are your future plans?
Candidate's Profile
Education: B. Tech. (non IIT/NIT/BITS)
Work experience: 4+ Work Experience in Healthcare Analytics Consulting (MNC+ Startup)
Post-MBA goal: Strategy Consulting + Entrepreneurship
Interview date: October 15, 2022
Location: New Delhi
Mode: Offline (In-person)
Questions asked
What will be your specific learning path at ISB? What all courses will you take? What all activities will you do?
Can you tell us about a recent project that you have managed? Wasn’t the solution very obvious to the client? Why did they come to you?
You’re already doing some aspects of Consulting. Why do you want to do an MBA?
You mentioned you want to conduct ISB MasterChef. How does that fit into your story? What learnings would you draw from it?
You’re a reapplicant. What went wrong last time?
How were you able to narrow down to this point (the reason of reject last year)? What did you do after narrowing down to rectify the errors made during last year’s application?
What learnings have you drawn from your cooking hobby and love for food?
What learnings have you drawn from your professional life?
Why MBA? Why from ISB?
Since you are leading a team now, how would you describe your leadership style?
How do you manage a conflict within your team?
Do you think MBA is a good financial decision for you?
Candidate's Profile
Education: B. Tech. (non IIT/NIT/BITS)
Work experience: 2+ years of work ex in an MNC bank as a Software Developer
Post-MBA goal: Product Management
Interview date: October 16, 2022
Location: New Delhi
Mode: Offline (In-person)
Questions asked
Tell me about your job roles and responsibilities.
How has the transition been between initial days of working/training to shifting to a project?
Product Management – You could have taken an online course and achieved this. Then why this?
What do you identify as your strengths and weaknesses?
If given an opportunity, what would you choose OSC or SLC and why?
What have you done unique in your job role/project?
How do you identify yourself to be a unique candidate as compared to others when it comes for GSB?
Since you have a diverse profile in terms of co-curricular activities, doesn’t it give an impression that you are into everything and not focused into one?
Talk me through various initiatives you have taken in your college/work life, if any.
What makes you a good leader?
Who is your role model in Cricket?
What have you learnt from your role model and how have you inculcated those values in your life?
Tell me about the hardest thing you have overcome in life?
If you are not selected in a leadership role, how will you then go about it?
Do you want to be a MS Dhoni of SLC or Ravindra Jadeja of OSC?
Do you have any questions for us?
Candidate's Profile
Education: B. Tech. (non-IIT/NIT/BITS)
Work experience: 2+ years of Work Experience in Tech Mahindra and Cognizant as Programming Analyst
Post-MBA goal: Public Policy Consulting
Interview date: October 23, 2022
Location: Hyderabad
Mode: Offline (In-person)
Questions asked
1. Tell me something about yourself.
2. Tell us something about your work.
3. What impact are you making with professional experience in your day job?
4. Why not UPSC? Why did you give up so early?
5. Coming from a family with majority from govt sector why you want to move to corporate career?
6. Your conversation with ISB alums who are working as Public policy consultant what learnings from ISB helped them to become a better public policy Consultants?
7. Tell us about few electives which you discussed with Alums to get good wholesale knowledge on public policy consulting
8. Tell us something about the work you done with KEC INTERNATIONAL (internship)?
9. How does ISB fit in the picture?
10. In which sectors in public policy consulting you want to work and why?
11. Why you want to work for women & poverty?
12. If you want to make some impact in developing women from marginalised sector what about matriarchy society still existing in North-east India?
13. Tell us about few monument you visited in Guntur & their history.
14. Tell us about one of the old monuments you visited and it’s history did it make impact & its history?
15. Are you aware of any projects in Telangana where public policy consultants are making Impact?
16. As you said Public Policy Consultants have Social Thinking. Differentiate it from Corporate Thinking and name any example of projects where they was100% success according to Social Thinking.
17. Bureaucracy follows Top-Down Approach (as said by the applicant). How do you make impact from bottom up approach?
18. Anganwadi people also get data from grassroots level and makes some impact with their service. Help us to understand what else can be added to make the work more effective?
19. What else does India need to change to gain equilibrium in Tribal parts and marginalized society?
20. Do you have any questions for us?
Candidate's Profile
Education: B. Tech. (NSIT)
Work experience: 4+ years of work experience in Analytics Consulting, Real Estate, and Management Consulting.
Post-MBA goal: Management Consulting
Interview date: October 29, 2022
Location: New Delhi
Mode: Offline (In-person)
Questions asked
Please tell me about yourself.
Multiple questions regarding the applicant's job switch from Company A to Company B and then to Company C.
Reason for switching
Highlights of the applicant's role
Were these switches deliberate?
Your role at EY is boring compared to real estate, is that so?
Managerial options explored
Why ISB many times?
Explain geopolitics in one minute.
Since you worked in a motor racing club, any recent highlights from F1 racing ?
A basic inquiry about the applicant's journals
Why not foreign universities (this question was answered while answering "Why ISB?")
Why not progress your career via jobs and EY (answered during “Why ISB?” question)
Why switch from real estate to EY?
Candidate's Profile
Education: B.Arch. + MBA from MICA
Work experience: 5+ years as a Product Manager in Music Media Industry
Post-MBA goal: Marketing in Consumer Tech Industry
Interview date: October 29, 2022
Location: Bangalore
Mode: Offline (In-person)
Questions asked
What’s is your exact role?
How do you decide if a product is worth investing in?
Is there any campaign that you're proud of?
How does your team work?
Why are you interested in the Consumer Tech industry?
Tell us about an instance when things went wrong. How did you handle it?
How do you take decisions?
What are your learnings and challenges of leading a team?
Why ISB?
Candidate's Profile
Education: BBA
Work experience: Less than 2 years in Finance and Advertising (EEO Applicant)
Post-MBA goal: Digital Marketing
Interview date: October 29, 2022
Location: Bangalore
Mode: Offline (In-person)
Questions asked
1.You’re from Christ University. Do you know Ritika? (She had interviewed in the morning, same batch of college, worked on the initiative.)
2. Tell us about the 'Project 9 to 5'.
3. In simple words, tell us why do you want to do an MBA.
4. Why not IIM or INSEAD?
5. Do you think only an MBA can make you successful?
6. Why ISB? What if ISB doesn’t happen this year for you? Why are you so keen on ISB? You can apply to IIMs.
7. Tell us about a brand's campaign that you liked.
8. How have you managed to change people’s opinions in a meeting room ?
9. Are opinions valued in your organization? Do you think you being younger has impacted your opinions in your company in any way?
10. Tell more about a Google project.
11. Have you spoken to any alumni? (was asked by all panelists) What was their feedback about ISB?
12. Who is Mr. Sriram? (was mentioned in the applicant's essay) [He is an alum and conducted an online workshop.]
13. Write down 3 words as to why should people do MBA. (Don’t want your personal reasons as we know them)
14. Why not continue Project 9 to 5 hustle and make it a revenue-generating model?
15. Why don't you join your family's business?
16. Do you have any questions for us?
17. Are you friends with your initiative's co-founder ? Did you apply together?
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