SPJIMR Interview Experience – From Physics to Marketing: A Fresh Take on the SPJIMR Interview
Candidate Profile
- Background: Physics graduate from a reputed university in Delhi
- Work Experience: Fresher
- Academics:
- 10th Grade: 94%
- 12th Grade: 95.2%
- Undergraduate CGPA: 8.6
Interview Panel
- 2 Female Panelists
- Mode: Group setting (3 freshers - 1M BCom, 1F BMS Finance, 1M Physics-Marketing aspirant)
Interview Questions & Candidate's Approach
🔹 Icebreaker & Profile-Related Questions
🔵 All Candidates: Please introduce yourselves (Round-robin style)
🔹 Technical & Analytical Questions (Finance Candidates)
🔵 To Finance Candidates: Explain the components of a balance sheet.
🔵 To Finance Candidates: Who gets preference during company liquidation: Debt holders, investors, or preferential shareholders?
🔵 To Finance Candidates: Does paying interest on debt increase or decrease a company’s tax liability?
🔵 To Finance Candidates: What’s better for a company: raising funds via debt or equity?
🔵 To Finance Candidates: What is weighted average cost of capital?
🔹 Transition & Domain Relevance (Marketing Candidate)
🔵 Panelist: You’re from a Physics background. How does that relate to marketing?
Candidate: Physics trains you in quantitative thinking, experimentation, and creativity—skills that translate well to marketing analytics and campaign strategy.
🔵 Panelist: Do you know about the marketing electives offered in the second year?
Candidate: No.
🔵 Panelist: What’s your favorite marketing campaign?
Candidate: Red Bull Stratos (2012)
🔵 Panelist: How would you recreate it today?
Candidate: Integrate metaverse experiences and meme marketing to appeal to Gen Z audiences.
🔵 Panelist: Metaverse doesn’t provide real human interaction, how is it useful?
Candidate: It offers virtual interaction through avatars. Plus, it’s cost-effective for global collaborations, replacing expensive in-person meetings.
🔵 Panelist: Convince the finance students that the Red Bull campaign was a success.
Candidate: It led to a 12% year-on-year sales increase.
🔹 Practical Marketing Scenario
🔵 Panelist (Finance student with a jewelry startup): How would you market my products?
Candidate: Use a borrow-and-wear strategy with friends (free influencers). Also, collaborate with micro-creators on Instagram for small fees (₹500–₹1000).
Key Takeaways for Aspirants
- ✅ Finance candidates should revise balance sheet components and capital structure basics.
- ✅ Marketing candidates must be thorough with at least 2–3 ad campaigns and current digital trends.
- ✅ Always tie your previous academic/work background to your post-MBA goals.
- ✅ Learn about the school’s electives and curriculum beforehand.
- ✅ Structure answers with a beginning, logic, and conclusion—especially for abstract 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.
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