Of Brands, Batsmen, and Biases: A Marketer's Challenging Ride at IIM Visakhapatnam
Candidate Profile
- Background: B.Tech Graduate
- Experience: 33 months in a corporate role involving international exposure (including business travel to Ghana)
- Academics:
- 10th Grade: 90%
- 12th Grade: 90%
- Undergraduate CGPA: 8.0
- CAT Percentile: 92
- Profile Type: GEM (General, Engineering, Male)
- Interview Duration: ~30–35 minutes
Interview Panel
- Composition: 2 Panelists (1 Male, 1 Female)
- Tone: Intellectually demanding—especially on conceptual and analytical clarity
Interview Questions & Candidate's Approach
Business Concepts & Global Awareness
🔵 P1: Introduce yourself.
📌 Tip: Always structure your TMAY to align work experience with MBA motivation, especially if your job involved international clients or travel.
🔵 P1: What’s the difference between bias and assumption in marketing?
📌 Tip: Bias is a subjective error in judgment; assumption is a neutral hypothesis. Clarify with examples—e.g., gender bias in ad targeting vs assuming a target demographic's income range.
🔵 P1: What is a brand?
📌 Tip: A brand is a perception built over time—through identity, value, and customer experience. Think Apple vs generic tech.
🔵 P1: How can a service provider build a brand if they’re just a delivery channel for another company’s product? (Grilled here)
📌 Tip: Focus on customer service, reliability, packaging, and post-sale support as differentiation points.
🔵 P1: Who is the current RBI Governor?
📌 Tip: Shaktikanta Das (as of 2023).
🔵 P1: Who is the President of Ghana and what is their currency?
📌 Tip: Show that your international exposure wasn’t just a line on your CV—President Nana Akufo-Addo, and the currency is the Ghanaian Cedi.
🔵 P1: Where is gold traded in India?
📌 Tip: Answer MCX (Multi Commodity Exchange) and possibly mention SEBI’s regulatory oversight.
Mathematical Reasoning & Analytical Judgement
🔵 P2: What is a function? Define domain and range.
📌 Tip: Be clear: a function maps inputs (domain) to outputs (range). Real-world example: age (input) to insurance premium (output).
🔵 P2: Do you know statistics? (Followed by multiple unfamiliar terms)
📌 Tip: Be honest about your limitations, but engage sincerely—basic statistical literacy is a must for B-school.
🔵 P2: Define mean, median, and mode.
📌 Tip: Provide simple definitions with numeric examples to show clarity.
🔵 P2: IPL case—if you’re buying a batsman, and you have mean and median scores, which one would you trust? (Grilled on choosing median)
📌 Tip: Median is less affected by outliers, but defend it by explaining scenarios—e.g., a batsman with 1 score of 100 and 4 scores of 0 has a misleading mean.
Key Takeaways for Aspirants
- Clarify the difference between similar marketing terms—examples help defend abstract concepts
- If your profile mentions international exposure or niche industries, be ready for country-specific or sector-specific questions
- Know your basic statistics—even if you’ve never studied it, be ready for at least mean, median, mode
- Use reasoning to back your decisions in case studies, even if your answer isn’t “perfect”
- Expect some grilling—it’s not personal, it’s a test of composure and clarity under pressure
📢 Disclaimer: Real Stories, Modified for Privacy
🔍 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.
🔍 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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