🎓 IIM Shillong Interview Experience: Chemistry, Football & Consulting – How This Science Grad Scored Big in His MBA Interview
Candidate Profile
- Background: M.Sc. Chemistry, NIT Surat
- Work Experience: Fresher
- Academics:
- 10th Grade: 93%
- 12th Grade: 89%
- Undergrad (Integrated M.Sc.): 8.1 CGPA
- Category: General Male
Interview Panel
- Panel Composition: 2 Interviewers (1 Male, 1 Female)
- Group Discussion (GD): Case Study (topic not specified)
- Personal Interview Duration: ~15-17 minutes
Interview Questions & Candidate’s Approach
🔹 Icebreaker & Personal Questions
🔵 P1: “Tell me about yourself.”
🔵 P1: “What value or skills have you learned from football?”
🔵 P1: “What’s one common phenomenon between a football team and a chemistry lab?”
🔹 Core Chemistry Questions
🔵 P1: “Can we add any two chemicals and expect a reaction?”
🔵 P1: “Tell me with examples.”
🔵 P1: “Is a football team an acid or base?”
🔵 P1: “How do you measure acidity?”
🔵 P1: “What is the pH of blue vitriol?”
🔵 P1: “Which is the strongest acid?”
🔵 P1: “What’s nitric acid and its pH?”
🔵 P1: “What’s sulfuric acid and its pH?”
🔵 P1: “Draw the structure of any protein.”
🔵 P1: “Are proteins made only of carbon and hydrogen?”
🔵 P1: “What is an amino acid? How are they useful? What happens if you break them?”
🔹 General Awareness & Opinion-Based Questions
🔵 P2: “Tell me 5 advantages and 5 disadvantages of Byju’s for students.”
🔵 P2: “Japan faces demographic challenges. As a consultant, suggest solutions: (1) Increase population, (2) Solve workforce shortage.”
- Population: incentives for childbirth, immigration policy relaxation.
- Workforce: automation, elderly employment schemes, attracting skilled foreign workers.
🔵 P2: “Which cars were launched in 2023?”
🔵 P2: “What are hybrid cars? Aren’t they more harmful since they use batteries + fuel?”
🔵 P2: “Which states have upcoming elections?”
🔵 P2: “Do you still play football? Why not professionally?”
Key Takeaways for Future Candidates
- Expect cross-disciplinary questions linking hobbies and academics.
- Be ready for analogies and abstract thinking—interviewers appreciate creativity.
- Brush up on core subject knowledge from your graduation field.
- Balance technical answers with opinions in consulting-style questions.
- Stay updated on recent products, politics, and economic trends.
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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