CAP interview experience
This interview was for 10 new IIMs, viz, BodhGaya, Jammu, Kashipur, Raipur, Ranchi, Rohtak, Sambalpur, Sirmaur, Trichy, Udaipur.
Venue: The Monarch Luxor ,Infantry Road, Bangalore
Date and Time : 12 Feb 2018, 09:00 AM
CAT17 Score : 99.75 (Sectionals 98.6+)
Class 10 = 91.xx
Class 12 = 86.xx
Engineering : 82.xx
Work Experience : 18 completed months as Software Engineer
WAT Topic : Freedom of speech in India.
WAT was for 20 mins with 300 words as the limit.
No GD
WAT prep : 2/5
WAT performance : 0/5 (It was pathetic, once again, after IIMK)
There were 3 panelists, one male professor who was 70+ for sure, a female professor of about 35 years of age with specs. I think these two were finance professors. they asked only about finance and kept saying 'well done' whenever I explained something tricky.
The third panelist was a lady in late 20s, was very pretty and asked questions about me, family and work. She was the jovial kind and listened to the answers maintaining a very nice eye-contact. She was the only member who kept focusing on how I sit, how I was making hand gestures and asked me if I was comfortable.
The senior professor demanded the certificates and college transcripts as soon as I entered the room.
Q1 : Introduce yourself, with details about your family. They even asked me about my siblings, which college they are in.
Ans : Told them all the basic information. Mentioned about long term goals and I wish to make a career in finance.
Q2 : Tell me the subjects your mother teaches. Where does she work? Her college timings?
Ans : Sociology and Home Science.
Q3 : Tell me more about your father's business. How do you procure goods? Do you participate in your business?
Ans : Told them about how we buy and sell. My dad has a handloom business. I told them I work part time there when I am home. They smiled when I told them that I get paid in ice-creams.
Q4 : Where do you work? Explain the final product on which you work.
Ans : Told them about Dell, my java developer job. They were keen to know about the product I work for. I told them to use it themselves and experience the awesomeness :)
Q5 : So you are interested in finance??
Ans : Yes. I am interested in asset valuation.
Q6 : Why Asset valuation? It is such a niche field and you might end up getting no jobs.
Ans : Told them about my interest and research in the field. They were glad to know that. (This was a long answer and they listened very patiently. They were actually interested in the entire story)
Q7 : What are your hobbies?
Ans : I like cooking, reading and jogging.
Q8 : Favorite cuisine? What all can you cook?
Ans : Not some cuisine per se but told them what all can I cook. Told them how to make Paneer Chilli with all ingredients and required quantity. I was asked if I can cook anything specific to South India? I said 'No'.
Q9 : Where are you from? Are you a non-vegetarian?
Ans : I told them that I am a practicing vegetarian and I am from Rampur, UP.
The room-service people came with 3 glasses of juice and 2 water bottles. The panelists asked me if I would like to try the juice, I thanked them and said no. They asked for water twice before continuing the interview.
Q10 : What do you think of India-China relations?
Ans : I think we are the ones who will decentralize the power from the hands of USA. (I am not an expert on these things. Spoke everything very general) They did not seem to buy it.
Q11 : What do you think of India-Pakistan relations?
Ans : A peaceful discussion is required as of now. Told them what I read about the very recent firing on border in J&K in The Hindu today morning.
Q12 : Compare Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. Narendra Modi.
Ans : NaMo's victory was due to 2-3 people, INC had too stakeholders. More stable and globally recognized now, but few decisions could have been taken in a much better way (like Demonetization, which I think was a small disaster).
Q13 : Which is your favorite author? Why?
Ans : Ayn Rand. Told them I was impressed with 'The Fountainhead'.
Q14 : Socialism V/S Capitalism. What is good for India? Choose one if you have to.
Ans : A mix of both. I chose Socialism.
Q15 : What is a balance sheet?
Ans : Explained assets and liabilities.
Q16 : What is an income statement then?
Ans : Tried to explain but fumbled up a bit. Prof smiled. I think the answer was incorrect.
Q17 : Tell me why asset valuation? What made a software engineer interested in it?
Ans : Told them about my internship where I witnessed a couple of start ups being acquired. Then tol them about the Dell EMC deal of 67B USD.
Q18 : How big is Indian economy?
Ans : Told them that nominal GDP is 2.5 T USD and PPP GDP is 9.5 T USD
Q19 : What is PPP??
Ans : Told them with the classic example of USD - INR. Also told them about Big Mac Index.
Q20 : You have won some Maths Olympiads in school. Tell me how many times the digit 0 comes if I write numbers from 1 to 123456789.
Ans : I was not sure as to how to solve, the 2 lady profs also started solving. None of us could solve in 20 seconds. The senior prof asked me to give up.
Q21 : Tell me the 3 basic models of valuation of companies.
Ans : Told them about DCF, Comparative model and option pricing model. The senior professor seemed pleased. He asked me 2 examples of each. I told them 3. :)
Q22 : What are options? What are different types of options?
Ans : I could only define options. I was not sure of the types. I told them that one is put option and could not name the other one (It is call option)
Q23 : Tell me some characteristics of options.
Ans : Had vague idea so told them I am not sure but gave a random answer. They seemed to buy it.
Q24 : What are derivatives?
Ans : Gave them just the basic definitions, could not speak more. They decided to move on.
Q25 : Have you invested in stocks? Tell us about your portfolio?
Ans : I have not invested as of now but follow news with friends.
Q26 : Tell me the names of 2 Bharat Ratna Awardees from South India.
Ans : Told them about Sir CV Raman (My office is in CVRaman Nagar :) ). I told them that Mother Teresa was an Indian citizen too. They snapped back saying she lived in Kolkata and not south India.
The professor gave me a hint saying that the other one was a president too. I said 'Kalam'. He was not impressed. Told me I should have known this one.
Q27 : Tell me the names of 2 South Indian scientists who got Nobel Prize.
Ans : I knew only one : CV Raman. (They told me that his nephew Chandrasekhar also got it. I asked if it was posthumously? They replied in negative. I asked whether this was in 1990s, he told me that he don't remember the dates)
Q28 : Would you like to give back to the society? In what manner??
Ans : Told them about Dell CSR and activities during college.
Panelist : Ok Mayur, we are done with the interview, you can leave now. I stood up. Just then, the panelist who asked questions about family and work asked me if I had some recent achievements? I was standing now.
I told them about the award which I got in Dell, told them about Olympiads in school and quiz competitions in college.
She seemed pleased. I was asked to shut the door and they started scribing something on the sheets they had with them.
Total PI time : 25-27 minutes.
Interview Prep :2.5/5
Interview performance : 3.5/5
Verdict : Converted all IIMs in first lists (except 2 , which I converted in second list).
This interview was for 10 new IIMs, viz, BodhGaya, Jammu, Kashipur, Raipur, Ranchi, Rohtak, Sambalpur, Sirmaur, Trichy, Udaipur.
Venue: The Monarch Luxor ,Infantry Road, Bangalore
Date and Time : 12 Feb 2018, 09:00 AM
CAT17 Score : 99.75 (Sectionals 98.6+)
Class 10 = 91.xx
Class 12 = 86.xx
Engineering : 82.xx
Work Experience : 18 completed months as Software Engineer
WAT Topic : Freedom of speech in India.
WAT was for 20 mins with 300 words as the limit.
No GD
WAT prep : 2/5
WAT performance : 0/5 (It was pathetic, once again, after IIMK)
There were 3 panelists, one male professor who was 70+ for sure, a female professor of about 35 years of age with specs. I think these two were finance professors. they asked only about finance and kept saying 'well done' whenever I explained something tricky.
The third panelist was a lady in late 20s, was very pretty and asked questions about me, family and work. She was the jovial kind and listened to the answers maintaining a very nice eye-contact. She was the only member who kept focusing on how I sit, how I was making hand gestures and asked me if I was comfortable.
The senior professor demanded the certificates and college transcripts as soon as I entered the room.
Q1 : Introduce yourself, with details about your family. They even asked me about my siblings, which college they are in.
Ans : Told them all the basic information. Mentioned about long term goals and I wish to make a career in finance.
Q2 : Tell me the subjects your mother teaches. Where does she work? Her college timings?
Ans : Sociology and Home Science.
Q3 : Tell me more about your father's business. How do you procure goods? Do you participate in your business?
Ans : Told them about how we buy and sell. My dad has a handloom business. I told them I work part time there when I am home. They smiled when I told them that I get paid in ice-creams.
Q4 : Where do you work? Explain the final product on which you work.
Ans : Told them about Dell, my java developer job. They were keen to know about the product I work for. I told them to use it themselves and experience the awesomeness :)
Q5 : So you are interested in finance??
Ans : Yes. I am interested in asset valuation.
Q6 : Why Asset valuation? It is such a niche field and you might end up getting no jobs.
Ans : Told them about my interest and research in the field. They were glad to know that. (This was a long answer and they listened very patiently. They were actually interested in the entire story)
Q7 : What are your hobbies?
Ans : I like cooking, reading and jogging.
Q8 : Favorite cuisine? What all can you cook?
Ans : Not some cuisine per se but told them what all can I cook. Told them how to make Paneer Chilli with all ingredients and required quantity. I was asked if I can cook anything specific to South India? I said 'No'.
Q9 : Where are you from? Are you a non-vegetarian?
Ans : I told them that I am a practicing vegetarian and I am from Rampur, UP.
The room-service people came with 3 glasses of juice and 2 water bottles. The panelists asked me if I would like to try the juice, I thanked them and said no. They asked for water twice before continuing the interview.
Q10 : What do you think of India-China relations?
Ans : I think we are the ones who will decentralize the power from the hands of USA. (I am not an expert on these things. Spoke everything very general) They did not seem to buy it.
Q11 : What do you think of India-Pakistan relations?
Ans : A peaceful discussion is required as of now. Told them what I read about the very recent firing on border in J&K in The Hindu today morning.
Q12 : Compare Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. Narendra Modi.
Ans : NaMo's victory was due to 2-3 people, INC had too stakeholders. More stable and globally recognized now, but few decisions could have been taken in a much better way (like Demonetization, which I think was a small disaster).
Q13 : Which is your favorite author? Why?
Ans : Ayn Rand. Told them I was impressed with 'The Fountainhead'.
Q14 : Socialism V/S Capitalism. What is good for India? Choose one if you have to.
Ans : A mix of both. I chose Socialism.
Q15 : What is a balance sheet?
Ans : Explained assets and liabilities.
Q16 : What is an income statement then?
Ans : Tried to explain but fumbled up a bit. Prof smiled. I think the answer was incorrect.
Q17 : Tell me why asset valuation? What made a software engineer interested in it?
Ans : Told them about my internship where I witnessed a couple of start ups being acquired. Then tol them about the Dell EMC deal of 67B USD.
Q18 : How big is Indian economy?
Ans : Told them that nominal GDP is 2.5 T USD and PPP GDP is 9.5 T USD
Q19 : What is PPP??
Ans : Told them with the classic example of USD - INR. Also told them about Big Mac Index.
Q20 : You have won some Maths Olympiads in school. Tell me how many times the digit 0 comes if I write numbers from 1 to 123456789.
Ans : I was not sure as to how to solve, the 2 lady profs also started solving. None of us could solve in 20 seconds. The senior prof asked me to give up.
Q21 : Tell me the 3 basic models of valuation of companies.
Ans : Told them about DCF, Comparative model and option pricing model. The senior professor seemed pleased. He asked me 2 examples of each. I told them 3. :)
Q22 : What are options? What are different types of options?
Ans : I could only define options. I was not sure of the types. I told them that one is put option and could not name the other one (It is call option)
Q23 : Tell me some characteristics of options.
Ans : Had vague idea so told them I am not sure but gave a random answer. They seemed to buy it.
Q24 : What are derivatives?
Ans : Gave them just the basic definitions, could not speak more. They decided to move on.
Q25 : Have you invested in stocks? Tell us about your portfolio?
Ans : I have not invested as of now but follow news with friends.
Q26 : Tell me the names of 2 Bharat Ratna Awardees from South India.
Ans : Told them about Sir CV Raman (My office is in CVRaman Nagar :) ). I told them that Mother Teresa was an Indian citizen too. They snapped back saying she lived in Kolkata and not south India.
The professor gave me a hint saying that the other one was a president too. I said 'Kalam'. He was not impressed. Told me I should have known this one.
Q27 : Tell me the names of 2 South Indian scientists who got Nobel Prize.
Ans : I knew only one : CV Raman. (They told me that his nephew Chandrasekhar also got it. I asked if it was posthumously? They replied in negative. I asked whether this was in 1990s, he told me that he don't remember the dates)
Q28 : Would you like to give back to the society? In what manner??
Ans : Told them about Dell CSR and activities during college.
Panelist : Ok Mayur, we are done with the interview, you can leave now. I stood up. Just then, the panelist who asked questions about family and work asked me if I had some recent achievements? I was standing now.
I told them about the award which I got in Dell, told them about Olympiads in school and quiz competitions in college.
She seemed pleased. I was asked to shut the door and they started scribing something on the sheets they had with them.
Total PI time : 25-27 minutes.
Interview Prep :2.5/5
Interview performance : 3.5/5
Verdict : Converted all IIMs in first lists (except 2 , which I converted in second list).
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