SPJIMR Interview Experience – Finance-Focused Grads Take on Case Plays and Ethical Dilemmas
Candidate Profile
- Background: Undergraduate degree in commerce and finance
- Work Experience: Freshers or with minimal work experience (from courses like BFIA, BMS, BCom Hons)
- Academics: Consistently strong academic profiles, with slight variations across candidates
This SPJIMR interview round featured four candidates—all with finance-heavy academic backgrounds. Here's a deep dive into the types of questions asked, how the interaction played out, and what future aspirants can learn from it.
Interview Questions & Candidate Responses
🔹 Finance and Technical Concepts
🔵 Panelist: What are Free Cash Flows to Firm (FCFF)? What is its formula?
🔵 Panelist: How is FCFF different from FCFE?
🔵 Panelist: What is cost of capital?
🔵 Panelist: Explain beta and how it is calculated.
🔵 Panelist: What is the proportion of debt and equity in capital called?
🔵 Panelist: What are the three main types of business decisions?
🔵 Panelist: Differentiate between investment and financing decisions.
🔹 Application-Based & Personalized Questions
🔵 Panelist: If you're producing a film, how do you ensure it performs well?
🔵 Panelist: How would you calculate ROI for a cricket team?
Round 2: Ethics, Roleplay, and Imagination
This round was all about testing judgment, ethical reasoning, and creativity. Candidates were given hypothetical situations and asked to respond spontaneously.
🔹 Situation-Based Role Plays
🔵 Panelist: You saw your SPJIMR interviewers at a cafe last week. How would you approach them?
🔵 Panelist: Your roommate is using drugs. His father is the DCP and has threatened you. What do you do?
🔵 Panelist: As PM for a day, what 2 policies would you immediately implement?
🔵 Panelist: Share something interesting about yourself that hasn't come up yet.
🔑 Key Takeaways for SPJIMR Aspirants
- ✅ Deep knowledge of core finance concepts is crucial—prepare with formulas and logic
- ✅ Expect creative applications of finance in real-world scenarios
- ✅ Ethical dilemmas test both your values and your reasoning
- ✅ Personality-based questions offer a chance to show originality and confidence
- ✅ Be spontaneous but thoughtful in role plays and hypothetical policies
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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