“Bahut Pyaar Se Grill Kiya”: An Arts Graduate’s Unique IIM Visakhapatnam Interview
Candidate Profile
- Background: Bachelor’s in Arts (Literature)
- Experience: Fresher
- Academics:
- 10th Grade: 85%
- 12th Grade: 88%
- Undergraduate CGPA: 7.6
Interview Panel
- Date & Duration: ~20 minutes
- Panel Composition: 2 Interviewers (1 Female, 1 Male)
- Tone: Intensely inquisitive with a warm demeanor—polite but probing
Interview Questions & Candidate's Approach
Introduction & Motivation
🔵 P1: Tell me about yourself (TMAY).
🔵 P1: Why MBA? Why not work first?
🔵 P1: What will you bring to the classroom? How will you compete with engineers?
Literature & Critical Thinking
🔵 P1: What was the last book you read? How are its lessons relevant to an MBA?
🔵 P1: Name another post-colonial book. (Candidate was grilled here)
🔵 P1: How will literature help you as a manager?
🔵 P2: Who is your favorite author? What did they write?
Quantitative Preparedness & Policy Awareness
🔵 P2: Did you study math after 10th? How will you handle it in MBA?
🔵 P2: Define mean, median, mode. Where can we use median and mode in policy-making?
• Median: In setting income benchmarks for welfare programs.
• Mode: In identifying most common causes of school dropouts.
🔵 P2: What is standard deviation? Provide an example.
Business & Current Affairs
🔵 P2: Do you read business news? Share a recent piece.
🔵 P2: What is GST? Differentiate between direct and indirect tax.
🔵 P2: What is Sensex? How many companies are listed in it?
Key Takeaways for Aspirants
- ✅ Literature students must show how their skills are business-relevant—especially in communication and analysis
- ✅ Prepare for deep, layered cross-questioning—even for seemingly simple answers
- ✅ Know your genre classifications and definitions if you reference literature
- ✅ Brush up on basic statistics and how they apply in public policy
- ✅ Stay composed and courteous—humility mixed with confidence works well
🔍 The above interview experience is based on real candidate interactions collected from various sources. To ensure privacy, some details such as location, industry specifics, and numerical figures have been altered. However, the core questions and insights remain authentic. These stories are intended for educational purposes and do not claim to represent official views of any institution. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.
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