XLRI draft answers - Part 1
Ha ha, I have written down a small (not so small really) list of questions that might be asked in my interview at XLRI... Here is the current list with the prospective answers :P
Describe yourself as a person.
I am a dedicated, enthusiastic, confident person with a strong desire to excel in everything I do. I have an experience of 32 months working in a software company and have a sound knowledge of software development process and working in a team environment and leading a team to achieve the objective. I have been performing at the team lead level for the past year and half in my job. I am a leader by nature and am always eager to take on new challenges.
Why would you wish to pursue a career in management?
I would like to pursue a career in management in order to be able to utilize my skills and strengths, namely, leadership, decision-making ability and technical ability, to the maximum. Also, a management course would help me to have a holistic view of business and its associated difficulties.
What is your short-term goal?
My short-term goal is to pursue a business management degree from a premier institute in India. I would like to work for a few years post my masters in a respectable enterprise in order to gain an insight into management in practice as well as understanding different aspects of managing an enterprise.
What is your long-term goal?
My long-term goal is to open up a small IT company. I want to be able to sensitize myself to various aspects of managing a business outfit before I begin with opening up of my own enterprise.
List down your three strengths and weaknesses.
My major strengths as a person are Leadership, Decision making ability and Technical knowledge in my field. I am also very aggressive by nature and that may sometimes be mistaken for arrogance. Also, due to my over-enthusiastic nature, I can sometimes be called as being emotional.
What is you most significant achievement so far? Why?
My most significant achievement in my work was in January 2005, when I ensured that my team delivered a very unrealistic and improbable drop, in spite of the tight deadline. I was asked by my manager to lead the team at a time when it was facing a very tight deadline and lacked vision and direction. At that moment, I took on the responsibility and made sure that the team is focused to achieve the milestone irrespective of the tight schedule. We worked day in day out over the week-end to ensure that the drop is made. The client appreciated our efforts in getting the work done on time. My manager appreciated my work and gave the following remark over my performance: "Varun showed exceptional technical and managerial capabilities during the DWM drop weekend. His levels of commitment and hard work should be an example for all inspiring to be leaders. Great work!"
What has been your greatest failure in your life? How have you gained from it? What did you learn?
I believe I have not had any major failures in my life. There have been times when things have not gone according to plan. Such small setbacks do happen but I make sure that I identify the mistakes I made due to which the things didn’t turn out right. I then ensure that I don’t make the same mistakes again.
Mention one instance of teamwork and how you overcame obstacles as a team and were successful.
The instance I gave above is also the instance of teamwork. During the time we had a lot of work to complete in very less time, we divided the work amongst us such that we could finish maximum work in minimum time. I ensured that no person was sitting idle at any point of time and made sure that each individual is motivated to make the delivery possible. Even in the case of team getting stuck at some technical issue, I made sure that we got the resolution from the client at the earliest so that the task could be completed. The prime reasons we were able to make the delivery possible were our exceptional teamwork and work ethics.
What does leadership mean to you? Mention one leader you have come across in your life. Also give one instance where you were a leader.
Leadership to me means the ability to take a group of individuals, motivate them to work as a unit called team in order to achieve a particular goal. If I am asked to pick one leader I have known from my life, it would be my first manager in my job. He is a true leader, and also a great person to work with. His strengths lie in recognizing the strengths of his team members and making them perform to their potential. I have learnt a lot from him and hope that we will work together again sometime. I have been undertaking the responsibility of a team leader for the past one year in our project. Thus, I have been performing responsibilities of a leader for quite some time now.
Why should we select you over other candidates?
I believe I am well qualified and suited for the Business Management course offered by XRLI. I have the qualities needed to become a good manager and I believe that your institute could help me in grooming myself to become a great manager. I also have the right temperament and skills required for becoming a good manager. I have an experience of managing a team of 4-6 six people over the past one year, which definitely gives me an edge over other candidates. If given a chance, I will definitely prove my worth.
Why our institute?
XLRI is among the top B-schools in the country. XLRI has the right blend of experienced top quality faculty and infrastructure to provide the best platform for young management aspirants. I believe that XLRI can provide me that platform to excel in my future endeavors. The BM course provided by the institute is the right one for my long-term career aspirations of becoming a top entrepreneur. Also, XLRI boasts of a strong Alumni network that will allow me to meet like-minded people who can help me learn a lot about managing a business and provide good opportunities to realize my dream of my own enterprise in the long term.
Give us three reasons why you think B-schools are overrated.
I believe the reason why a particular B-school is overrated is due to the viewpoint of the majority of MBA aspirants applying to the B-schools. Many students/working professionals think about doing an MBA just to join the bandwagon. The lure of high salaries and better lifestyle is the prime motivation for these people to look at a B-school and thus tend to ignore the learning aspect of doing an MBA and instead look at only the monetary aspects of an MBA degree. Thus, rating B-schools by the average and top placement salaries obtained last year also tend to rate a B-school over another incorrectly. Another reason why B-schools tend to be overrated is that while learning in a B-school, importance is generally given to perform tasks with excellence and in the right priority, in real life, the focus is on balance and not priority.
The list will continue in the next few days hopefully :)
Describe yourself as a person.
I am a dedicated, enthusiastic, confident person with a strong desire to excel in everything I do. I have an experience of 32 months working in a software company and have a sound knowledge of software development process and working in a team environment and leading a team to achieve the objective. I have been performing at the team lead level for the past year and half in my job. I am a leader by nature and am always eager to take on new challenges.
Why would you wish to pursue a career in management?
I would like to pursue a career in management in order to be able to utilize my skills and strengths, namely, leadership, decision-making ability and technical ability, to the maximum. Also, a management course would help me to have a holistic view of business and its associated difficulties.
What is your short-term goal?
My short-term goal is to pursue a business management degree from a premier institute in India. I would like to work for a few years post my masters in a respectable enterprise in order to gain an insight into management in practice as well as understanding different aspects of managing an enterprise.
What is your long-term goal?
My long-term goal is to open up a small IT company. I want to be able to sensitize myself to various aspects of managing a business outfit before I begin with opening up of my own enterprise.
List down your three strengths and weaknesses.
My major strengths as a person are Leadership, Decision making ability and Technical knowledge in my field. I am also very aggressive by nature and that may sometimes be mistaken for arrogance. Also, due to my over-enthusiastic nature, I can sometimes be called as being emotional.
What is you most significant achievement so far? Why?
My most significant achievement in my work was in January 2005, when I ensured that my team delivered a very unrealistic and improbable drop, in spite of the tight deadline. I was asked by my manager to lead the team at a time when it was facing a very tight deadline and lacked vision and direction. At that moment, I took on the responsibility and made sure that the team is focused to achieve the milestone irrespective of the tight schedule. We worked day in day out over the week-end to ensure that the drop is made. The client appreciated our efforts in getting the work done on time. My manager appreciated my work and gave the following remark over my performance: "Varun showed exceptional technical and managerial capabilities during the DWM drop weekend. His levels of commitment and hard work should be an example for all inspiring to be leaders. Great work!"
What has been your greatest failure in your life? How have you gained from it? What did you learn?
I believe I have not had any major failures in my life. There have been times when things have not gone according to plan. Such small setbacks do happen but I make sure that I identify the mistakes I made due to which the things didn’t turn out right. I then ensure that I don’t make the same mistakes again.
Mention one instance of teamwork and how you overcame obstacles as a team and were successful.
The instance I gave above is also the instance of teamwork. During the time we had a lot of work to complete in very less time, we divided the work amongst us such that we could finish maximum work in minimum time. I ensured that no person was sitting idle at any point of time and made sure that each individual is motivated to make the delivery possible. Even in the case of team getting stuck at some technical issue, I made sure that we got the resolution from the client at the earliest so that the task could be completed. The prime reasons we were able to make the delivery possible were our exceptional teamwork and work ethics.
What does leadership mean to you? Mention one leader you have come across in your life. Also give one instance where you were a leader.
Leadership to me means the ability to take a group of individuals, motivate them to work as a unit called team in order to achieve a particular goal. If I am asked to pick one leader I have known from my life, it would be my first manager in my job. He is a true leader, and also a great person to work with. His strengths lie in recognizing the strengths of his team members and making them perform to their potential. I have learnt a lot from him and hope that we will work together again sometime. I have been undertaking the responsibility of a team leader for the past one year in our project. Thus, I have been performing responsibilities of a leader for quite some time now.
Why should we select you over other candidates?
I believe I am well qualified and suited for the Business Management course offered by XRLI. I have the qualities needed to become a good manager and I believe that your institute could help me in grooming myself to become a great manager. I also have the right temperament and skills required for becoming a good manager. I have an experience of managing a team of 4-6 six people over the past one year, which definitely gives me an edge over other candidates. If given a chance, I will definitely prove my worth.
Why our institute?
XLRI is among the top B-schools in the country. XLRI has the right blend of experienced top quality faculty and infrastructure to provide the best platform for young management aspirants. I believe that XLRI can provide me that platform to excel in my future endeavors. The BM course provided by the institute is the right one for my long-term career aspirations of becoming a top entrepreneur. Also, XLRI boasts of a strong Alumni network that will allow me to meet like-minded people who can help me learn a lot about managing a business and provide good opportunities to realize my dream of my own enterprise in the long term.
Give us three reasons why you think B-schools are overrated.
I believe the reason why a particular B-school is overrated is due to the viewpoint of the majority of MBA aspirants applying to the B-schools. Many students/working professionals think about doing an MBA just to join the bandwagon. The lure of high salaries and better lifestyle is the prime motivation for these people to look at a B-school and thus tend to ignore the learning aspect of doing an MBA and instead look at only the monetary aspects of an MBA degree. Thus, rating B-schools by the average and top placement salaries obtained last year also tend to rate a B-school over another incorrectly. Another reason why B-schools tend to be overrated is that while learning in a B-school, importance is generally given to perform tasks with excellence and in the right priority, in real life, the focus is on balance and not priority.
The list will continue in the next few days hopefully :)
posted by Who me? | 5:51 PM
6 Comments:
hehe
Hey Congrats Dude..Great going... :o)
abbe ek post mein itna likhega kya....fuck!, this is a long post.
best of luck
go n get them!!!
hehe..if u read it now..am sure u'll be rofl
yes i am jobless! :D
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