IIM Ahmedabad interview questions, preparation tips and other details -By Hemanth Reddy Varakantham, 99.13 percentile, IIM Ahmedabad - Part II

Having prepared twice for the CAT, I can conclude that it is not a test of knowledge it is rather a test of management skills, exactly the skills expected from the future managers. Most of the people above 99 percentile are equally knowledgeable, but the differentiating factor is how one manages his/her time, stress and efforts. Hence, a person with a cool head is more likely to crack the test when compared to a nervous one. Having said that here are some tips to get ready for the after CAT process along with IIM Ahmedabad interview questions.

But before that here is a sneak preview of my academic background:

• X score: 9.8 CGPA
• XII score: 95.8 % 
• Graduation: 9.18 CGPA (B.Tech in Computer Science, Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology)
• CAT 2018: 96.7%
• CAT 2019: 99.13% 

Getting ready for GD, essay and interview 

The interview was the hardest part for me, and it is the second most important in terms of the weightage given after the CAT score. I attended the classes conducted by TIME during weekends. Knowing the answer to the question ‘Why MBA?’ took a lot of time as it required soul searching. There was a lot to learn, and it required me to form a group of like-minded people. 

I came across five people who were equally motivated to crack the interviews and formed a WhatsApp group with them. The process of uploading our WAT sheets on the group and getting opinions from all the other members helped everyone in the group. We also discussed intensively on a various number of topics which helped in GD, WAT and interview process (all of us are now in the top five IIMs). 

I was also active on Twitter which not only helped me gain knowledge on various general happenings but also in knowing various opinions and weighing them against one another. Other than the content, one should know what you should speak and what should be avoided during the interview. For this purpose, I attended mock interviews. Interviewers, being experienced, highlighted what my areas of strength were and asked me to focus on those aspects during the interview. I tried to be genuine for most of the interviews, and that worked like magic for me. I remember saying, “I don't know sir" four times during my IIM Ahmedabad interview for the questions I genuinely had no idea. 

IIM Ahmedabad interview experience

In AWT the topic was about farmers giving land to development purposes which was followed by an interview with 2 male panelists (P1 and P2). So, here is an account of all the IIM Ahmedabad interview questions that I faced and which might be helpful for some.

P1 - Hemanth, introduce yourself. 

Me - I spoke about birthplace, state (Telangana), school, B.Tech in CSE, work experience at TCS. 

P1 - You have very good academics, very good consistency. 

Me - Thank you, Sir. 

P1 - In AWT, why did you write that the author assumed that development activities don't include agriculture. What proof did you have? 

Me - (Asked for the question paper) pointed out the statement about national interests, and the author didn't mention about agriculture in them. 

P1 - What do you do at work? 

Me - Gave the relevant information.

P1 - What are your favourite subjects in B.Tech? 

Me - DBMS and Agile software development. 

P1 - What is DBMS? 

Me - Gave the usual definition.

P1 - What is the primary key? 

Me - Gave the usual definition.

P1 - Can we have multiple primary keys in a single table? 

Me - No, Sir, we cannot. We can have multiple fields that can act as the primary key, but the name changes to the composite key. (P1 asked to draw a table and explain) 

P2 - You are from Telangana, and I know you support its creation. Hemanth let's debate, and we have a lot of time, you are the last one in the panel. Oppose Telangana, why it should not have been formed? 

Me - Telangana was formed opposing the centralization of development, but even after formation, the problem exists. Jobs’ problem exists. (Forgot to mention A.P and its problems) 

P2 - Do you say KCR used the emotions of the people? 

Me - The people of Telangana felt that they were being deprived of opportunities, water etc...the aspirations of the people were there, but KCR certainly used everything he could. 

P2 - Other states people like Vidarbha, Bodoland also have aspirations, should we give them their state? 

Me - If there is a solution possible with setting up development committees and special provisions, then no Sir. 

P2 - Are the aspirations not important? 

Me - They are important, Sir.....mumbled sometimes. 

P2 - Ok. What is article 370?

Me - Gave the usual answer. 

P2 - Are the aspirations of the people taken into account there? 

Me - People of Ladakh wanted to come into the Indian union. It was done for the greater purpose of extending development activities to the state and maintaining law and order. 

P2 - Why don't we give away Kashmir to Pakistan, let's get all people here and give all the facilities? 

Me - It's the matter of national pride. 

P2 - Kerala wanted to be a separate country, why don't we give it? 

Me - Spoke something about unity, defense, economy... 

P1 - You learnt about SDLC? Explain. 

Me - Explained, told about the waterfall model, agile model. 

P1 - What is the advantage of agile? Draw and explain.

Me - Drew and explained the difference and advantage. 

P1- What is root cause analysis?

Me - Explained. 

P1 - What do you know about six sigma?

Me - Bxplained whatever I knew as I didn’t know in detail. 

P2 - Why do you want to do an MBA now with just six months of work experience? 

Me - Gave the relevant answer but P2 was not impressed. 

Questioned more about that, explained, still seemed unimpressed. 

P1 - Do you have any questions? 

Me - No. 

P1 - Take as many toffees as you want, you are the last one. You may leave.

Verdict: I got calls from all the IIM's, IIFT, MDI, NITIE and IIT Bombay. I was able to convert IIM Ahemdabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, NITIE and IIT Bombay. Finally, I will be joining IIM Ahmedabad.