Riding on the wave...Its all crests n troughs..!!..

My one more Step at IRMA

The journey of finding a job started on Feb 6th, rather “job” is a crude way of interpreting B-school placements; we choose and charter “careers” during placement season at IRMA.

I got a chance to sit for two good interviews in the placement process of PRM30, rest were dummy interviews so I will put my experience of only 2 interviews.

1st interview – ICICI foundation
Shortlisting: Based on small write up of 400-500 words.
• 3 topics were given
I had chosen
“Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results”

It’s a long read, hope it contributes to your prep

Interview:

My turn came after 4 candidates had already been interviewed; PRM27 batch IRMAN (Mr. Ashutosh T) was conducting the interview, so I was under strong assumption that from my whole resume he will concentrate only on one thing, that is FWS, OTS & MTS, and the reason behind this assumption is that’s were our (IRMANs) true strength lies.
I am putting down the excerpts of my interview; I am not putting my responses to all the questions which were asked to me as every individual has his/her own style of interpreting and responding to the questions.
The best part was Ashutosh was coming to the entrance to call/invite the candidates, and when I entered he was standing at the entrance he kept his hand on my shoulders and guided me to the seat. It was made to make me feel comfortable and off-course a good interviewing style but I think only a senior IRMAN can do such an act, such an amiable gesture, this led to, me getting instantly eased of all pressure and after that it was a friendly chat between us for an hour. I think in the whole process not a single time I addressed him “sir”, it was always “Ashutosh”, future HR managers should take a cue from him, that’s the beauty of human contact and demeanor.
He started with my FW, even he had gone to Kerala for his FW so he had some knowledge about the place, he asked me “Why I went to Kerala, what I learnt, how could I relate classroom learning to the village”, then he came to the OTS and MTS, he made me think in so many aspects with the same “Why and What”. I realized that the only thing in this whole PRM course which gave me leverage was my understanding of projects in different parts of the country and organisation. He grilled me on the difference between villages in north, central and south; the location of my projects.

It’s not only socio-culture but style of governance, people’s perception and other things. I realized it when I had gone to Himachal, lots of south Indians go and visit HP, but none would have stayed in a interior village for 2 months, people used to come only to see me and ask if English is the language spoken in Kerala.
He then asked me about the principle behind watershed approach. Then he moved to “why ICICI-CEE and education sector”, he asked me “What is the difference between literacy and education”, “what is the format of education system in India, how it works and what are the problems in it” all these answers he wanted from my experiences in the field not from the literature or theory, so once again I was in the mode of reminiscence. He questioned about various govt. education prog. and their loopholes. He then asked me what are my learnings from previous work-ex, and how I have used and developed it in last two years here. He was randomly asking questions without linking them, so my flow of thought was breaking; I think he intended to do that. Then he gave me to design a training module for teachers using technology i.e. different modes and type of content to be provided to them, and then to develop an evaluating system for them, all these designs were to be built in the framework in which government environment and bureaucratic setup existed. Soon he moved into precarious territory by putting across”what if your boss is stubborn, how will you tackle him”. He even asked my view about job hopping and its effects. He then asked why I chose the first topic in write–up, better be prepared for this as normally while choosing on write-ups , we tend to take least resistance path but we can’t blurt it on the face..Right? :). He asked me how do team work fits in my perspective of things and how my inclination towards sports helps me in team work. In the end normal HR questions. Where do you want to see yourself in future. Most of the questions asked were HR questions but it is always good to be prepared for them, as putting your thoughts together and stitching it correctly is cumbersome under pressure.

In the final stages of the interview I had a talk with him in length about the work which they do and what are they expecting from us. He asked if I intend to negotiate, he was ready to push the salary fig. to maximum. By then, I got the gut feeling I was clearing this interview with a heavy pay check in my pocket, it would make everyone happy, both at home and my camaraderie would be delighted after hearing it. But I was not convinced with the work which I was supposed to do for them and somewhere in my heart I found I will not be happy in the long run. I decided I will not accept it..if the offer is given…..I think most of my batch-mates have gone through this decision making process. But I swear it is the toughest thing to do, especially when PC members, PC coordinator, your friends, waitlisted candidate all are looking at you with their own different thought processes and perspectives. But better you stick to your conviction and the wisdom you gained over the years, and yes you should be able to answer one question comprehensively “does it make you happy”. The happiness index can have different weighted variables according the life which you want to choose, so the discretion lies in your hand. But one thing is there it’s easier said than done.
Result – Finally, They accepted me and gave me an offer but I didn’t accept it.



Interview 2:
NABARD financial Services
No initial Rounds…Direct Interview

I was not in a positive mood before attending the interview, as initially they had mentioned in JAF that Kanada language would be preferable and then later they had passed on the message mentioning that even others can apply. Anyways somehow I pushed myself to give my best shot to it as the profile offered was of my liking. The panel consisted of two members, IRMANs PRM1 and PRM24, Mr. C.P. Mohan from PRM1 is a well known person in the field of micro-finance and currently he is the MD of NABFINS and Mr. Ashutosh S the current COO of the org. I had read Mr. Mohan’s few articles before the placement season; it was an opportunity for me to interact with him face to face. One can always find optimism in all situations but only if we try searching for it.

Interview
The interview started with, they asking me to tell a joke…ghosshh!!…2nd floor of ETDC slipped under my feet:P..i never expected this…I thank Mr. Sunil Mittal that his sadist n junk SMS jokes used to come to my mobile. I tried to figure out what was the “joke of the day SMS”..When I recollected it was the worst racist joke I had ever heard..:P..but I didn’t had any options other than blurting it out ..as i couldn’t remember anything else..I thought I cut a sorry figure with that joke but they did laugh…huff...

They asked me are you feeling comfortable?..ghoshhh how could i…I waited for this org from last 3 days…didn’t sit for any other options…I was nervous…like hell..
The interview can be divided into two parts one part nice and easy going and the other complete rip-off…Mr. Ashutosh started with the first part of interview…He asked me about my fieldwork and experience about SHG interaction…he also kept switching from activities in IRMA and significant questions. He asked me how I spent time in IRMA..about my family..my time table in IRMA..…do I booze…how many GFs I have made till now…do I smoke..etc. ..in technicals he asked me..how would I define Microfinance…what are its types..then he asked me about the recent AP ordinance…what is the rate of interest …what are the principles of MF and the difficulties which I saw in my fieldwork experience…all this could be tackled as we got a great prof out there..Mr.Shaylender…even if u sleep in his class ur fundas vl be clear….then he asked me wat do I play in sports..he threw a googly by saying a name n asked me to identify…huff.. I never heard of that fellow..I have alwaz answered qs on cricket evrywr n anywr..bt this one was hard….then he told me that the person was an umpire….now who d hell cares about umpires I didn’t even feel guilty for not answering that qs..:)…

After this Mr. Mohan started ripping me off…he started with Y did I tuk up engineering..rather Y did I tuk up science stream…n y did I come to IRMA..thn Y I want to join NABARD..he grilled me on these for 20mins..i was grasping for breath…I swear…

He then asked me wat is super normal profit ..i blabbled something....n he replied was “u can shut ur mouth n say I dnt knw. rather than wasting time..”..:D:D…silent I was like a lamb……thn he asked me wat is some godamn matrix from Marketing..wats the difference between sales and marketing….. he asked me my favrit subject in IRMA..and I replied MM..becoz dats the only thing I cud remember that time..its a pity aftr studyin so mny subjects I cudnt recollect a single subject....like a looser…:P…bt thts pressure….he then asked me what is database n why its needed ( I was database admin)…wat do u mean by an institute building activity…define it…:P….hope u all have listened to raju sir….

After the above assault..it was one more round of Y nabard..did I get ny other offers..(I said v r not allowed to disclose)….he asked me my expected salary n my expenses…(hw mch I spend on booze n gals…:P:P….)…I dnt reply d expenses part bt did mentioned about education loan to get some sympathy n respect…..:P….
Then asked me do I write articles..do I know anything in computer networking….he then told about the work in NABFINS..future plans n how is dr operations….
In all , I must say it was a damn gud interview panel..I felt gud tht I was interviewed by Mr. Mohan…..After 5 hours ..thy disclosed the result…..2 of us had made it….small cogitation I did n said a yes to the offer made to me….
People..the interviews in IRMA are hardly technical…if at all u r going for hardcore finance u myt expect technical stuff…but I feel its ur attitude vch makes a difference…..

And then u jst don’t know on wat basis thy shortlist u ..or give u an offer..no permutation or combination vl answer u that qs…its just……it has to be ur day….
When preparing..prepare well ..d experiences of ur FW,OTS n MTS…n thn jst go thru compny profile..read thru basic definition of sector..n prepare HR qs well…..n moreover answer it 2 urself ..”why do u want join this org”…

Our plcmnt process has changed… ..its nt one day all jobs….so kp ur composure n dnt brk under pressure …leading to tkn up ny offer vch comes on ur way jst for the sake of it…wait til ..wat u want…n during al this hoopla find some one with whom u cn confide n share..:)..I had sm1 to listen to my anxities n stress....:)..so atleast didnt had 2 worry mch in that field!!

Most imp… explain to ur juniors about the plcmnt process..evn thy wud b eager to knw abt u.. bt if thy kp on askin u ..its extra pressur.. vch adds up to d already 1 ton load on ur shoulders..so hope u have vry understandin n supportive junis…
All the best ….go ahead..”Make a difference”…….


Regards
Hari Pratish Pillai
Hell-Ping
PRM30