Friday 27 March 2009

Me V/S Google - Part 3 (Round 2)

Continuing from the previous post, round 2 was held after roughly two hours. This round was shorter as compared to the first one and after the initial finance based questions, only our opinions on various issues were sought. I shall try and post the responses of all the candidates.

Panelists:
P1 - A very old gentleman, who spoke in a heavy South Indian accent.
P2 - Middle aged lady, extremely elegant and graceful. Very observant.

Candidates:
C1 - North Indian guy, fresher.
C2 - Aeronautical engineer from Kerala with 92% graduation acads!
C3 - Me ;)
C4 - Revathy, Tamilian girl with 3 years work experience, came across as highly fake.
C5 - Aspiring entrepreneur with a call centre accent.
C6 - Gujarati chokra from IIT, working in some big financial firm.

One thing bound us all. We all wanted to specialise in finance!

P1: You must be having your reasons for doing finance. But why should we choose you for finance? I don't mean why finance, rather why you for finance.

C1: Spoke about aptitude for maths and being god with numbers.
[--That was part of my answer, I begin to look for some other reason--]
C2: Similar to C1, says he is suited to the complex world of finance as he has already been exposed to the complex world of aero dynamics.
[--P1 then asks him if he wasted four years in engineering, to which he replies no--]

C3: Sir being an engineer I have studied math and stat til very recently, so I am in touch with numbers and feel comfortable working with them. Besides, I can visualise myself working as a credit ranker or an investment banker rather than an information manager or a marketing expert. Analysing data and arriving at a conclusion interests me and is one of my strengths.
[--P2 remarks that analysing data and arriving at a conclusion is required in every field. I nod my head in agreement! Baat toh sahi thi na yaar--]

C4: Says she has worked in a technical field and would like to understand the financial side of business.
[--They asked her why she wouldn't like to understand the marketing side of it!--]
C5: Said he wanted to become an entrepreneur and so this was a logical move!
C6: Works in a finance based company so this was for career progression.

P1: Between SP Jain and IIM Bangalore which would you choose?

C1: IIM B as it has a brand name.
[--Damn! This guy is at an advantage. He always gets to answer first!--]
C2: IIM B as it is a better institute.
C3: IIM B because of the brand value coupled with its long standing establishment and the chance for better networking.
C4: I dont agree with the brand aspect of it. Brand is built by the students. I would opt for whichever offers me an admit first.
[--P1 asks if she would flip a coin. She says yes. I rub my hands in glee, that's one candidate less! Someone who flips coins to decide isn't your ideal management student.--]
C5: SP Jain as it will help me realise my dream of entrepreneurship.
[--P1 remarks that even IIM B would--]
C6: SP Jain as it gives more importance to values!
[--I puke!--]

P1: What is the NAV of a mutual fund?

C1,C2,C3,C4,C5: Don't know!
C6: [--Answers correctly--]

P1: If I have 100 shares and 1:1 bonus is issued, how many shares will I have then?

C1,C2: Don't know.
C3: 200.

P1: If the price of the stock is 620 pre bonus, what will the price be post bonus?

C1,C2: 620.
C3: Approximately 310.

P1: Difference between monetary and fiscal policy.

[--Starts from the other side now--]
C6,C5,C4: Don't know.
C3: I had actually learnt this answer! Spoke for two minutes about repo, reverse repo, inflation, deflation, public expenditure etc.

P1: You have to advertise in the matrimonial section. How would your ad read?

C1: Well educated, caste no bar.
C2: Well educated, Keralite.
C3: Well educated, Christian.
C4: Well educated, Tamilian.
C5,C6: Well educated, caste no bar.

P1: You can ask only two questions to your to be wife. What would they be?

C1: I would give her a hypothetical situation and ask her opinion.
[--Is given 5 minutes to think of a hypothetical situation--]
C2: I would not be my normal self and ask her if she liked me. If she says yes, I would know she is fake!
[--P2 rips him apart on this--]
C3: What do you expect from me as a husband? What can I expect from you as a wife?
C4: Where do you see us 10 years from now? DO you love me?
C5: Will match our interests and opinions.
C6: How do you treat your parents? Do you have good values?
C1: I would ask her if she would quit her job to look after my parents, should they fall sick.
[--P2 insinuates that he is a male chauvinist and that he should quit if he earns lower than her. But he disagrees. He says she only should quit. They bicker for a minute or so--]

P2: How many of you'll game?

C1,C2,C4,C5 say yes.

P2: I want you all to one by one tell me how you will ensure that you inculcate reading as a habit in your child. Cause we see that today gaming is taking over.

C5: Spoke about giving incentives for reading.
C4: Gave an example of how when she was in school, there were 30 minutes set aside every day for reading.
C1: Imposing restrictions on the child when it comes to gaming.
C3: Reading is a habit which should be cultivated from very early on. A lot of children don't like reading because they pick the wrong book. So a 6 year old should be given a fairy tale kinda book with colourful illustrations. And after the child finishes reading the book, the parent can discuss the book with the child.

[--There was some more discussion on this, but these were the major points covered. 50 minutes had passed and the panelists told us that we could leave the room. SP Jain values ethics and all a lot and so I escorted the female Revathy and opened the door for her and all. I hate myself for doing that, lekin kya karein karna padta hain--]

That's all I have. It was quite a pleasurable experience. No stress at all. Friendly panelists but very intelligent. You could see that they were giving you a lot of rope, but they would then use the very same rope to strangulate you.
Happy New Year to those who celebrate Gudi Padwa. I just love India, where else would I get so many holidays!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i'l b surprised if u dont get in here!...tht ws impressive an interview :)

*fingers crossed*

~fort(if u stil call me tht,that is.. heh;) )

P.S. Change shud always b for the better & not for d sake of change.