Decision-Maker in the Making: How a Fresher Impressed the SIBM Pune Panel
Candidate Profile
- Background: B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
- Work Experience: Fresher
- Academics:
- 10th Grade: 10 CGPA
- 12th Grade: 82%
- Undergraduate: 76%
- SNAP Percentile: 98.91
WAT & Group Exercise
- 📝 WAT Topics:
- You are sent back to the Stone Age.
- Change is inevitable if you want to grow.
- 💬 Group Exercise: The task involved using a limited budget (600 points) to create a cohesive story using 4 pictures and 4 sentences. The group collaborated smoothly without conflicts and reached a consensus.
Interview Questions & Candidate's Approach
Extempore Round
📣 Topic: You own a small restaurant. Your head chef gives you two choices:
- Serve a few special dishes with expert chefs
- Offer a broader menu and hire generalist chefs
🗣️ Candidate Chose Option 2: Argued that providing variety would attract a wider customer base and help grow the business. Suggested offering discounts and slightly better-than-average quality to build word-of-mouth.
Icebreaker & Personal Questions
🔵 Panelist 1: When did you complete your graduation?
🗨️ Answered: Completed in 2020.
🔵 What did you do post-graduation?
🗨️ Focused on MBA preparation while attending a few job interviews.
🔵 Why didn’t you get selected in those interviews?
🗨️ Candidly discussed performance gaps.
Decision-Making & Situational Judgement
🔵 Panelist 2: Reacted to extempore—asked why someone would come to your restaurant if everyone offers variety.
🗨️ Responded: Discounts and improved quality would help attract and retain customers.
🔵 Won’t low price and high quality cause losses?
🗨️ Clarified: The aim is to provide slightly above-average quality, not luxury.
🔵 Hypothetical Scenario: "Would you choose a high-paying job in a remote area or a moderate-paying one in your hometown?"
🗨️ Chose the hometown option—cited cost savings on rent and food, and better mental well-being leading to improved work efficiency.
Key Takeaways for Aspirants
- ✅ Expect scenario-based and decision-making questions.
- ✅ Be practical and structured in extempore responses.
- ✅ Maintain a calm and collaborative attitude during group exercises.
- ✅ Honesty about your journey creates authenticity.
- ✅ Use personal reasoning to justify choices in situational questions.
🔍 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.
📢 Stay tuned for more real MBA interview experiences and expert prep tips!
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