Personal Interview: Dos & Don'ts for your PI at a top B-School

Feb. 18, 2012 - PRLog -- In the last article on Personal Interview, we had talked on what are the qualities that the panelists look for you. To get you more acquainted on what you should and should not do during the PI round, this article of MBAUniverse.com brings to you the Dos and Don’ts for your Personal Interview round at a top B-School.

Dos

Pay attention to your appearance: Your appearance will give the first impression to the panelists and as you know, first impression can be the last impression. You should be dressed in properly ironed formal attire. Not just clothes, you should take care of your shoes and hair. They should be as tidy as possible.

Keep your answers crisp: Keep your answers short and crisp. There is no need for long answers or beating around the bush. “Your answers should be short and crisp. You should not waste the time of the panelists by beating around the bush or by mentioning information which are already known to the panelists,” mentions Dr. A M Sherry, Admission Chairperson, IMT Group of Institutes.  

Maintain eye contact with all panelists: When a panelist asks a question, it doesn’t mean that you will keep looking at him or her. You must maintain eye contact with all the panelists. While starting the answer, look at the panelist who asked the question and gradually shift the gaze towards another panelist.

Be confident & honest: Confidence and honestly can be your trump cards in cracking a PI round. You should be confident about what you are answering and you should answer with utmost honesty. In questions like what are your hobbies, or what is your opinion about a particular statement, you must speak what you believe. “There are some questions which don’t have a right or wrong answer such as questions on your hobbies. Even if your hobby is to surf the internet, say that confidently with proper justification. If you don’t like reading, don’t ever mention it,” mentions Dr. Sherry.

Don’ts

Don’t make wild guesses: You should not answer something about which you are not very sure of. If you don’t know something, you should politely say that you don’t know. But making a wild guess can be risky. “If you answer something which you are not very sure of can get you in trouble. The following questions will be even tougher and troublesome for you,” states Prof. P C Mehra, Admission Chairperson, IMI Delhi & Bhubaneswar.

Don’t give mugged up answer: For questions like ‘Why do you want to do MBA’ or ‘What are your hobbies’, you often tend to mug up a generic answer. But in reality, this does not work. “The panelists have experience and wisdom with which they can detect which answer is genuine and which is not. So you better not produce a mugged up answer before the panel,” says Jain.

Don’t mention things which are already there in your CV: In the question which seeks your introduction, you should not repeat the things which are already mentioned in your CV. “Mention your achievements, strengths and weaknesses which are not there in the CV. You can also mention your hobbies and what is your reason to do MBA if you have a strong reason,” suggests Kshitij Mohta, IIM Ahmedabad student and mentor.

Don’t lack general awareness: General awareness is of utmost importance for an upcoming manager. The current affairs should be on your finger tips. It is true that you cannot know everything, but you must be aware of the current economic, political and social know hows of the world.
Don’t lose control over your body language: During the Personal Interview round, you should have a composed body language. You should not be too rigid, not too relaxed. While slouching on the chair is not acceptable, sitting in the edge of the chair is also not desirable. You should also avoid gestures like scratching your head, biting nails, looking here and there while answering etc.

The Part 3 of the series will give you tips for the D Day.

To read the part 1 of the series of articles on PI, click on the following link:

Personal Interview: Know the qualities that the top B-schools look for in a candidate