Today I had my UNC Kenan-Flagler interview. It was with an alumnus at a coffee shop in Mumbai. The alumnus was cool, in a complete weekend mood,  and was wearing two-thirds. On the other hand, I was in a serious interview mood and wearing business professionals. He himself apologised for not informing me about the dress code in advance but appreciated the fact that I was keeping safe when it came to dress code. Anyways, he ordered coffee and stared directly with why Kenan-Flagler. I gave him my reasons and then he started talking about his similar experiences and why he chose Kenan-Flagler. There were no questions on Why MBA, Why Now or What have I done till date at my work place. The questions that followed were on my achievements outside of my work area, my other extracurricular activities, my interests, my personal background and other similar stuff. He also asked me about other schools in my list and we also talked about the current economic scenario in US. He passed out in 2001 and so he faced similar difficult situation due to the dot-com bubble in those years. We talked about some of his experiences at the school and while finding jobs and internships.

Finally, it came to questions from my side. I asked him 2 questions and got the answers. His coffee was over and we started talking a walk. He also recommended me a few things on the career/job search during difficult times and we finally concluded. All in all it was more of a conversation that I usually have with anyone I come across during the two hours of my travel from my home to office. Local trains (or tube trains) are good to meet different people with diverse backgrounds

I feel like I could have said a lot more than what I did but these things were not directly related to the discussion we were having. I guess either I need more practice on highlighting my self or this is indeed the way blind alumni interviews are conducted.

BTW …. there are some discussions going on few forums like BW about Kenan-Flagler inviting a lot of candidates for interview. Untill last year, Kenan-Flagler followed a different interview policy where the calls were divided into two seasons. An Open Season and a Closed Season. In the Open Season they interviewed anyone who submitted Part One of the application.  In mid-January they would move to Closed Season.  At that point they reserved the interviews for people they have screened and invited to interview.  But this year they have moved to ‘Invitation-only’ policy. So if you get an invite then that is a positive indication of the admissions committee’s preliminary assessment of your candidacy. Here are the details: http://blogs.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/mba/2009/08/18/and-the-admissions-season-starts/

This is exactly what Fuqua(Duke) told me today. I am not invited for an interview.

I don’t know what exactly does it mean. It can mean a straight reject or it can mean a waitlist for my app. I will come to know the exact status only on  January 19, 2010. It is such a looooong wait. But it does not appear and feel good as this is not what I was expecting.

Although, officially people can get an admit at Fuqua without an interview. But with over 95% of the admitted students having gone through an interview (according to BusinessWeek) how likely it is for an international to get an admit without an interview? Interview calls are usually based on overall profile of the candidate and that includes the quality of the essays.  After not getting this invite for an interview, I will now have to reassess my essays (they were actually reviewed by some current business schools students) as that is the only area under my control right now. I might have to get in one or two more reviewers for my essays (though it was not easy to get a good reviewer and some of them have exams coming up soon). So the tasks for next weekend: Review my R1 apps to check for improvements.

My UNC Kenan-Flagler app went in on last Friday and so my R2 apps have started. Well practically it appears to be a very late R1 as many of the business schools have their R2’s ending in early to mid January. I kept Kenan-Flagler for R2 mainly because I started writing my first essays with Kenan-Flagler and going by the experience of many people who have been through this cycle, I decided to submit it late in order to incorporate any improvements that I will learn during all of my apps. With each app, the content of my essays was getting better and better. My final set of Kenan-Flagler essays was a lot different from my first set (although the basic idea presented was the same).

I had submitted my Part I of the application a few weeks back and that included my GMAT report and my updated resume. Based on these, I received an invite for an interview from Kenan-Flagler a few days back. So now I have sent the interview request to a Kenan-Flagler alumnus in Mumbai and let us see when he responds. Till then, I just need to wait for my interview call from Johnson (Cornell) and Fuqua (Duke).

Johnson usually takes some time to release the calls and they do not have any formal dates for interview calls. They can call the candidates for interview right up to the last week of the decision deadline. And I guess some people are yet fo finish their R1 interviews at Johnson. But in case of Fuqua, they will release interview calls on December 8 (early morning December 9 for me). Only a couple of days to know if I stand a chance to get into Fuqua. Fuqua students and adcom team have been very helpful throughout my application process in answering my queries.

Now, as far as other R2 apps are concerned, I am most likely to stop here for some time as I believe I better get some news from my R1 apps in order to move ahead with R2. If I get interview calls, then I can easily reuse the idea’s (not the content off course) from my R1 essays. If not, then I will have to rethink about everything that I did for R1. So far I have applied at five schools with interview calls from three of them. My ISB interview was fine, my Olin (WUSTL) interview went good but my Kenan-Flagler interview call is based on my GMAT and resume. I will try to finish my Kenan-Flagler interview before the holidays but till then no more R2 apps. In any case I am most likely to apply at only one more school. I believe, if I can’t make it to any of the six schools in my list, there is no point in applying at more. The only decision to be made is, which one is the sixth one?

After waiting for an interview invitation from the schools I have applied to and trying to kill the wait period by indulging in numerous activities, I finally got the invitation for an interview from Olin (WUSTL). It was kind of a nice feeling after seeing this invite. The interview was a face-to-face interview with the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Olin on last Monday. All in all it went fine and was more of a conversation.

I reached the location a lot earlier than expected and we came across each other. The interviewer was kind enough to advance my interview by 30 mins. It started with usual question “Walk me through your resume”. I was able to (or allowed to) control the flow here and she kept on noting down the important points. Then cam the regular Why MBA and Why Olin questions which again went smooth. The some work related questions, questions about my company (including LB to Nomura transition) and some team work related questions. All in all it was like a regular conversation like my informative interview but this time she had read my file completely and was already aware of some of the key facts of my background. We also talked about the important aspects of Olin and some of its distinguishing aspects. About the people I know at Olin and so on. Finally came the last part where she asked me about my questions. I asked her a few and got them answered.

Like I said, it was more of a conversation rather than anything else and was good in the way it was conducted (next to the pool at The Taj Mahal Place and Tower ). Officially, the decision can come anytime before January 22, 2010. But she said she will be back to the school on December 9 and they might release a few decisions close to holidays.

This week I had my informative interviews for Rotman (Toronto) and Owen (Vanderbilt). These were primarily resume based as I have not submitted my apps yet. It was kind of nice experience with the adcom members of both the schools as they were patient in listening to my story and were interested in knowing more about both – my work related background and my extracurricular interests.

I had both the interviews on the same day at the same location. But since I have been in touch with current students and alumni from both schools for a long time now it was not difficult to talk about specific topics about both. I had my questions prepared and it was nice to get the answers to those firsthand. Here is the experience as far as I remember:

 Rotman (Toronto) interview: Interview with Bailey Daniels at 10:30 am. Started with “Walk me through your resume”. Went for about 10 mins (Yes … somehow I was able to keep a tab on the time). She noted a few things about it. Why MBA and Why Rotman questions. Then a talk about my target firms post Rotman and Rotman’s alumni contacts in those firms. Questions on my extracurricular activities.

Then came “Why this activity? I am thinking this is only for people who like to kill.” I was thinking WHAT??? This activity is known for a lot more thing than killing/hunting. (It was about Shooting) Told her about why I enjoy it. Then a talk about some of the Ice sports possible in Canada.

Finally, “Any Questions for me?” Had a few and got the answers. All in all it went for around 20 mins only. But it was nice. I guess there was not grilling on any particular topic as it was an informative interview and Rotman would love my $200 at-least (Just kidding).

I am waiting for some clarification from the school on loan programs and hence will submit my app only if I hear some good news. I was asked to wait for 2-3 weeks.

Owen (Vanderbilt) interview: Interview with John Roeder at 12:30. He started with talking about his background and some other Vanderbilt related info. Then came “Walk me through your resume”, questions related to my work, working in teams, 1-2 leadership related questions, Why MBA and Why Owen, How did you do your research on selecting the school, and then finally “Any questions for me?”. I had a few questions and got them answered. App status is the same as that for Rotman. I am waiting for some clarification from the school on loan programs and hence will submit my app only if I hear some good news. The interview lasted for around 30 mins and was another normal experience.

Both the interviews were regular and quite expected in nature. I was able to control the flow and there was lot interaction rather than plan questions and answers. Perhaps this is how most of the informative interviews are conducted. However, one thing important was the notes taken by the interviewers. They noted almost eveything I said and I am sure this will be useful when they will evaluate my full application.

Coming Up next: Olin (WUSTL) formal (after invitation) interview.

It has now been only two weeks that I was done with my R1 apps and deciding to take a break, I find myself getting anxious and worried about the results at times. I start thinking about the status of my apps and when will I get the interview call. I tried to kill this dull time of my life and overcome this wait period but I am running out of options. I tried to:

1) Indulge myself in work and lot of work. But it doesn’t work always. I can work for about 9 to 12 hours in a day. What about the rest of the time?

2) Do a lot of fun and volunteer stuff. Works at time  but can’t do it daily. For my volunteering activities, the people in my group are not as free as I am right now. It happens mainly on weekends. What about the weekdays then?

3) Read admission blogs, MBA applicant blogs and other such stuff. Sometime it helps to keep myself updated. But for how long?

4) Play Tennis. But where is my tennis partner these days? Oh, I forgot, he is on an all India trip. Wish I could do that too. I hope once I am done with this MBA application cycle, I can manage to get 4 weeks leave to do so.

5) Prepare for Interviews. So far the most useful activity. ClearAdmit, Accepted and Your MBA Game Plan have been very useful here.

6) Cook some food. Yes I can do that on weekends, when my Mom will allow me to mess up her kitchen . BTW … George Bernard Shaw was 100% correct when he said: “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.“

7) Press F5 every 15 mins on my mailbox and MBA forums. Nah, can’t do that anymore. My eyes start paining with that.

Study for MBA. Say What? Let me first get an admit.

9) Remember Homer when he said ”To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of lifes problems.“

10) Buy new clothes and shoes for Interview. Yeh, Yeh. I will do that once I get an interview call.

11) Finally, I got it. It is Music.

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. – Berthold Auerbach

 And BTW … my Johnson (Cornell) app is now in “Complete” status and will be reviewed soon by the committe. I just now recieved an interview call from Olin. It is next Monday. And there has been no update or email on my app status from Fuqua (Duke). So for now option 5 and 11 are the two best options to spend my time with.

This class at Rotman held specifically for prospective students is a good to watch lecture on outsourcing. Though it is a 62 min long video, I liked the lecture not just because I currently benefit from outsourcing but also because it tell’s me where outsourcing can go. What people thought was impossible to outsource yesterday is now being outsourced unanimously and what jobs we might think cannot be outsourced today, might just land up somewhere in a developing nation at a fraction of the cost (or for some other reason).

Just as when I was watching the video at midnight on 13th Nov, my sister just revealed her surprise. It’s my birthday today on 14th Nov (I know I am born on the Children’s Day ). I loved this surprise gift that she got for me this time. BTW … Just a week back it was my Dad’s birthday. Yes, We both are Scorpi0ns – we are passionate about what we do, we are hardworking, we are filled with desire, a little bit secretive and we never forget anything (especially what you do or say while we are drunk ). We (my family) usually celebrate with a family dinner at a good restaurant. Sometimes it’s one of our favourite restaurants and sometimes we go out to a far-off location or to a different city to try a new place (of-course only after hearing good reviews about it). And this year too we will celebrate in the same manner. However, we might not be able to go to a new city or a far off location as my dad’s health is not in the best shape. He was diagnosed with Cerebral Infarction only a couple of weeks back and it takes a lot of time and effort to recover. I have postponed my treat for my friends and our family celebrations at home will definitely be subdued.

As far as my MBA apps are concerned, I am now done with applying to my dream schools and the R1 season is over. I will hear from ISB by the end of this month but I have limited expectation from it due to my OK-type ISB interview. I submitted my Fuqua (Duke) and Johnson (Cornell) apps just a few days back and so will have to wait till December to hear from them. I worked for more than 2 months on these two apps. As far as Olin is concerned, it can send me updates or news all the way upto Jan 22, 2010. Olin doesn’t have any set dates for interviews or other such things. And going by what happened last year, I might not hear untill the last day and still get an admit.

I selected these schools primarily due to:

a) the team-based culture.

b) the easily accessible faculty.

c) very good curriculum (core and electives) for a career in consulting.

d) the alumni I know have done well after passing from these schools.

e) the current students who have been very helpful, open to help and active at the school.

f) No negative feedback from any of the current students (trust me on this one … I received negative feedback from current students of some other schools that were on my mind before ).

g) the availability of non-co-signer loans at these schools. An extremely important factor for me.

I am thankful to all of my essay reviewers and my two recommenders for supporting and helping me in my apps. I wanted to apply at Fuqua in EA as it is my number one choice but was not able to do so due to time limitations. I believe my submission timing will not matter much if my application is good. The R1 season is now over (in some cases it was R2 :( ) and now I will be taking a small break from all this. Need to relax and take care of family for a few days. I will be preparing for the interviews and the R2 applications after some time.

Finally, it has been raining extremely heavily here now for more than 2 hours non stop. I hope Cyclone Phyan is not back to Mumbai, after it got diverted last Thursday. I hope we don’t see another round of Mumbai City Floods.

Yesterday I submitted my Fuqua app and so now the wait for the interview begins. I am really happpy to submit my Fuqua app because the Fuqua essay questions allowed me to express not just my professional work but also my personal interests. I was able to write expressive essays due to relatively large essay limits given by the adcom. Although, in one of the essay I didn’t use the complete two pages allowed by the adcom as my story ended in less than two pages.

I am really thankful to my essay reviewers and some of the Fuqua alumni that I know. They were very helpful when I was preparing my Fuqua application. I was able to express my fit with the Fuqua culture (or Team Fuqua as it is more commonly known) in a much better manner with the help of the response to my queries that I received from the Fuqua alumni and current students. They all were very open at answering all of my questions.

It feels good as I can relax now after working for more than two months on my Fuqua app. Although one of my recommender is yet to do his job, he has assured me that it will be done by the final deadline. I will be checking on him in every 12 hours from now

Happy Birthday Dad

Dear Dad, it’s your birthday, And I want you to know
You’re with me in spirit, Wherever I go.

So Dad, happy birthday; May there be many more
So we can enjoy, Our very special rapport.

I am now done with my first MBA interview at ISB yesterday. I reached ISB on Friday itself and stayed with a friend of mine who is a current student and lives on campus.

OK. I was given a lift from the bus depot to the ISB campus by a fellow passenger (Mr. R) on the bus from Hyderabad airport to the city.  Thanks to him for saving my Rs.100. Boy the ISB campus is huge. And the moment I entered the campus I was greeted by two snakes. Yes. There are snakes, peacocks and white hares. Amazing. Anyway, the snakes were sleeping and soaking in the sun and so i just took a photo and moved ahead. Headed towards my friend’s room and after a lunch with her, started seeing the campus and met a few current students. It was a good experience to talk to an ex-chef from Taj Hotels, an ex-IAS officer and some engineers like me. Not to forget some beautiful faces that I saw

On Saturday, though my Interview was the first interview of the day at 9:40, I reached the location at 8:30 itself. I had to write a 100 word essay on “Cloning”. Wrote a little bit and then noticed that it went a little bit above 100. My panel (#3) had three interviewers. One Alumnus (A), one current Student (S) and one alumna-cum-adcom member (N). Can you guess why I am referring to her by N?

All in all it was a mixed experience as it started very well and in between I had some bouncers and then it ended in an OK manner. So here it begins:

N: Good profile. But tell me something about you that is not in your profile.

Me: (Thinking … what? Thinking of what I have not written about me in my profile……………….Still thinking……….Ah got it …) I am good poet.

N: (Thinking with a smile … “Oh yes … another poet is here. Lets see how good a poet he is “) So do you write your own poems? What kind of?

Me: Yes. I write my own Ghazals.

N: Can you narrate one for us?

Me: Sure. “Humne itni bhi nahi pee …. …. …. jala mat dena.” (This was one of my most recent works )

A, S and N: Good. Who is the person for whom the poem is written ?

Me:

N: Do you read?

Me: Not Much. But occasionally newspapers and magazines.

N: Oh. I was about to ask you about latest IT trends but now I guess I cannot.

Me: You can still ask me the same question. I will give you my honest opinion.

N: What do you think of your company’s (Nomura’s) future?

Me: Very bright. They are having a record growth this year and will continue to have so. It is a big and very old financial giant backed by a very good balance sheet and expertise.

N: So was Lehman Bros. What makes Nomura an exception that it will not go the Lehman way. BTW… just to let you know we are looking for you approach to your point and not your final opinion.

Me: Defended Nomura. Its strategy and aggressiveness as compared to LB and so on. Some how managed my ship as there were a lot of cross questions.

N: Why ISB?

Me: Explained my views.

N to S and A: Do you think ISB will really provide Sunil all this? I doubt.

Me: Defended further with names of a few courses and special programs at ISB. Everyone appeared satisfied/OK and moved to next question.

Now the next person starts. S had some questions on team work and I told him what I did in such situations.

N: So tell me about two instances where you faced a difficult team member.

Me: (What? Where did TWO come from? I remember only one such situation.) Told them. They appeared to be not so much satisfied with the answer as I saw questions marks on faces of N and A. But the accepted my answer and asked for scenario two. Told them about other such scenario (figured out a related scenario while I was narrating scenario one). Went OK.

S: Coming back to scenario One. What did you do and why? Any problems you faced with your solution.

Me: Responded what I had experienced.

Finally A starts: Do you cook? Why? What? What’s your best dish?

Me: (Cooking was mentioned in my activities.) I missed my home food when I started working. So started cooking. I prepare Sindhi food and told them about my best dish and how to prepare it.

A: Then some questions on my experience during Lehman Bankruptcy.

Me: (This is where things didn’t go in expected manner.) Fact is: I was preparing for GMAT during those days and this event gave me time to prepare and so I used it. Moreover, my father had gone through this bankruptcy experience before when I was a kid. His experience helped me in remaining calm and avoiding the psychological pressure. After I was done with GMAT, LB was sold. So didn’t have to face such difficult time with job hunt or so.

A: Ok. So how were other people reacting? How did you help them?

Me: In reality, everyone was calm and preparing for themselves. Half of the office was empty. Rest were cool due to regular updates from senior management. On top of it, 4 banks started special recruitment drives for lehman employees so some of them had multiple offers and infact got new jobs with good raises. So hardly any pressure on anyone.

A: Oh!!! What we were looking for is how did you react to this situation and helped others. But your case is different.

Me: (I hope I do not have to pay a price for being honest )

A: How do you mentor new graduates/joiners? Your recommender has praised your mentorship skills so tell me the details.

Me: Told them how I use my experience from my first job and make sure that it doesn’t happen to my team.

A: Why did you choose this particular topic for essay2. It appears to be just an event related to some issues what you led during a production release. So why this and not something else.

Me: This incident … That incident … It was because of this … (They appeared to be convinced but you never know what they exactly felt.)

N: Any questions for us?

Me: Asked two and got a response.

A again: OK just one more question. So why MBA? and Why ISB?

Me: (What? I just said that before. Why again? Anyways…) Same reasons again but this time added one more point.

N: Give me your 100 word essay.

Me: (Ahh. Finally you will take a look at the essay. I can debate on Cloning for another 30 mins)

A, S and N: It was nice meeting you.

Me: (What? you have no questions on my 100 word essay? Anyways.) Thank-you for your time.

All in all it went for 30 min precisely. All the time A was reading my application and was taking notes. Now I have mixed feeling here as I was not able to answer what they were looking for or my answers were not detailed although they were to the point. I also feel that I missed a few important points. But I gess this is all that can be done in 30 mins and this feeling will always come even if I get 60 mins. Let us see what happens next.

Just a note for prospective candidates, the interviews are fully application based and they will try to corner you on one or two points. If you remain confident and give some inputs/facts to your answer or even related your answer to your own experience then it should be fine. Just don’t make a face that you don’t know the answer at all while still trying to say something.

And, if you are singer, prepare to sing in front of them, if you have a good sense of humor be ready to crack one or two jokes.

Finally, went to my friend’s room, had a breakfast with her (Yes. I went to interview without the breakfast.) and then left for the airport.

Now while waiting for my flight at the airport, a lady (wearing an ISB t-shirt) took the next seat. Out of curiosity, I asked here about her relation with ISB. She was an ISB alumna from 2007 batch and an ex-IRS / Income Tax officer (… Wow! I better now discuss my finances here ). She is right now a high profile manager at GVK – people who are developing the Mumai Airport. Further, she asked about my experience and told me that she was the Placement Officer in her batch. She knew many people from my company and she also knew “N” personally. And … guess what … she also knew “A”. More than just a co-incidence?

We talked about her career, her year at ISB and many such things (including her favorite whiskey ). And in the flight, I met another ISB alumnus (he had an ISB bag). He was from 2008 batch and is now a senior manager at Novartis. Amazing. I like this recession now for they had to fly economy. Otherwise they would have been flying in business class and I would not have got a chance to talk to them.

Now, later in the evening when I was at home, my father suffered from extremely high blood pressure. He fell down on the floor while walking and had to be taken to the hospital. He spent his night there and now we are all back home. He is relaxing and is now in a good health. I know him. He is a strong man and will recover quickly.