XLRI Admissions 2022 - GDPI Compendium
XLRI Admissions 2022 - GDPI Compendium
XLRI Admissions 2022 - GDPI Compendium
We hope you are all set for the next round! Please note that GD round will not be a part of the selection
process this year. In line with the previous year, there will be a Personal Interview round. Details regarding
the same will be communicated to the candidates in due course of time. However, to guide you in your
preparation for the journey ahead and give you an idea of the PI round, we have collated a GDPI experience
compendium based on the inputs taken from the XLRI 2021-23 batch of BM/HRM programs. Do keep in
mind that interview experiences vary across panels and years, so you may consider the document as a
compilation of experiences and not a strictly exhaustive list of questionnaires for the upcoming round.
Interview:
C: Dear juniors,
These halls bring back many memories where I spent the best days of my life. This school truly gives us a
beautiful childhood and opens our mind to the possibilities.
I was here in your place but also worried about what lies ahead after school.
I took a leap of faith and applied to the US, got selected at a few places and made my call based on the
scholarship.
In the US I realized there is a lot of opportunities everywhere but i need to learn the art of managing myself
and prioritizing. So my main goal at that time was to learn and grow and take up the challenge and so I did.
I've been back, but I can tell you a lot of friends who are doing well. There is a certain winning strategy, but
it's based on a number of factors.
C : ma'am, it's not a yes or no answer. It really depends on many factors, the college, the major, the market
for it especially for international students, finances, capabilities and location of campus.
P3: okay I see, so why did you choose to come back. Why did you not do your OPT?
C: I had a family emergency and living in the US during the first covid wave was a very hard experience, of
complete isolation, there was a hiring freeze and I thought it would not be economical to stay another few
months. Also given I studied physics I needed to pursue further education to gain employment.
P2: okay why did you study physics and not pursue it further?
C: I loved physics growing up, I was always fascinated by it and was a voracious reader. I was good at it and
even in college I topped many Physics courses. But as I understood through my internships and research
experience that gaining employment in physics was growing extremely difficult. That is why I took many
courses in Material science, finance, Operations, Manufacturing and liberal arts.
I decided that I'd do an MBA after this.
P2: tell me about your family and what your background is.
C: my parents are both lawyers. I'm an only child. My mom doesn't practice, she started her own boutique
for men's ethnic wear in Kolkata, and I helped her set it up.
C: learn about all aspects of business and focus mainly on Finance and operations.
P3: have you looked at placement reports and what is your dream company?
C: possibly any consulting firm would be great. But I didn't get a chance to look at placement reports.
P2: what were your internships and campus jobs in college about:
C: internships were analytics and market research on EV batteries, as a TA I taught classes to first years
including lab and problem solving. I did a research internship and wrote a thesis.
There were three panelists, say P1, P2, and P3 – All male professors at XLRI. Each of them focused on a
separate aspect of the profile.
P2: I think climate change is a hoax many scientists don't believe it- unlike gravity. Why do you think it isn't?
(Gave ozone layer example- didn't agree with it)
(Gave Australia flooding example- didn't agree with it, refuted it, but I held my ground)
(Then I said scientists don't believe it coz certain companies are lobbying against it)
P2: Name the companies which are lobbying against these changes
(Gave example of a company which has been accused of unethical practices in the past)
P2: The aforementioned company is a regular recruiter at XL- would you consider their offer, named multiple
other companies: ITC cigarettes, HUL, Nestle. Would I accept their offer?
(I said that it doesn't align with my goal to work, so it would not be my first choice, but also that I would not
negate the possibility of working with them- because it doesn't matter what a company has done in the past,
what matters is their willingness to make a change in the future.)
P2 seemed satisfied with the answer
P2: what are 3 benefits and drawbacks of govt privatizing BPCL
(answered)
P3: I want to select you, But I don't want to give you a seat because I see you as a bright candidate working
for climate change initiatives and doing good for the country. Such a candidate would waste his potential
contributions for the good of the country.
(I said that I also like People and Organization Practice (POP) Area, started giving him an example of my
work, and he cut me off. Said that I might be interested in POP, but that would stop me from working
towards climate change full time 24*7*365 and negate my contributions to the country. I countered by
saying that an HR role will not occupy my entire life, and I can work for my passion on the side, over
weekends. But he wasn't satisfied with the response.)
Verdict: Converted
Tips: A better answer for climate change/sustainability related questions could have been companies can
create business advantage and value while accelerating climate action. Companies need to move away from
looking at themselves only as sources of emissions and see themselves as potential providers of solutions for
a fundamental societal need. And they don't necessarily need new tech to innovate.
1. You have stated BM as the first preference in your form and HR a second so if given a chance we offer you
both which one will you do?
Ans: I said I'd be equally interested in doing HR. They said you can't do both and is it by mistake you selected
BM as 1st, say we are offering you both, I said BM then (I could not contradict myself as per form)
I said at the point of form filling I filled BM as the first preference since I had more experience so if that
might be a selection criterion, considering that.
7. You did risk analysis in both your organizations, what was the difference in work.
Ans: Front end vs back-end work of risk consulting at both orgs respectively and further explained the job
requirements.
10. One example where you used learning from one project to another.
Ans: Explained a project where a senior left midway so I learned stakeholder management and resource
management.
12. What is risk analysis? What is risk, how do you measure it? There are different processes and different
clients, how do you set the same benchmark for all? Relate risk analysis to HR.
Ans: Explained one HR audit observation. All IT rights and F&F should be done before the employee is
separated, there should be IT controls in HRIS, otherwise unauthorized access risk and financial risk.
Verdict: Converted
P1:
P2
P-You're from commerce background, have you studied anything about this calmness, and human behaviour
- Yes, we have HRM related subjects in our curriculum, like organisational Behaviour and HRM, where I
studied about how individual behaviours are determined by and affect the organisation on a whole, Thus,
calmness comes into play wherever we are dealing with conflicting situations or there’s a need for critical
decision making.
P-what aspects of it, how they impacted you
- they impacted me by making me more aware of the importance of human behaviour in an organisation and
how the workplace environment also has an impact on the same.
P-some question again on calmness
-told
P-any instance where you lose your calm
-told, with how I handled it then
P-have you organised any fest as a part of college club
-yes, I was a part of organising team of a society of my college, where we organised, a big event having a
large footfall, and the presence of famous speakers, cut off:
P-okay fine, gave a situation of fest in college cancelled due to covid, sponsorship raised, 4 days left, what
would you do
-I would see if there were a possibility of conducting the fest online, the sponsorship will be used in
maintaining the logistics and giving away prizes and mementos. If not, will try to have it earmarked for the
next year’s fest, or can donate the sponsorship raised for covid relief.
P-you left one important part
- Thought, couldn't come up
P-okay
-I asked what it is.
P- In the scenario that you have an option to donate the money to Maharashtra for coping up with covid,
you would first need to take permission from the company you raised the sponsorship from, if you can
donate their money
P3
P1 asked a follow up
- answered
Tips: Prepare your intro well, as it can direct your whole interview, therefore include only those things which
you are comfortable talking about. If you mention any hobby, have a sample of it ready to show, and some
general knowledge behind it. An interview is mostly a conversation which builds upon whatever you say,
asking many follow-up questions to your answers, so choose your words wisely. Everything you say should
be backed by logic and instances from your life, which you can be asked to quote in order to better
understand how you display that particular quality.
P1- How does that changes roles for you and roles for someone with 4 years of graduation? (mine was a 3
year course and the panel was aware of the same)
- Sir, that makes them suitable for analytical roles as they have studied mathematics in 11 th and 12th and I
am more suitable for manufacturing type.
P1- Good. Tell me one instance apart from the one mentioned in your SOP, where you performed a
managerial task/role.
- I mentioned that I introduced an event in my college and managed the same during the fest – it was
related to marketing.
P1- Doesn’t that make you suitable for a General management role?
- No sir, I lack experience and maybe in the future I will move to those roles but I believe right now the HRM
programme can help me look at an organisation from inside.
P1- Alright, then tell me how you approached obtaining a job after college.
- Answered that most jobs were analytics based, and I was unable to convert them. I tried the off campus
route but faced difficulty due to the pandemic.
P3- So you mentioned quizzing. What do you think the purpose of quizzing is?
- I gave a detailed answer but the 3 major points I covered were – networking, platform for introverts and
increase in knowledge base.
P3- Are you saying that quizzing is more about logical deduction?
- Yes sir.
P3- Please justify.
- Sir can I give an example. My eureka moment to impress at least one interviewer.
Sir, if you notice in Hollywood, there are plaques of people on the ground when you see the footpath, and
there is one celebrity who is not there but on a pole.. You will say that this is factual. But with enough hints,
you can reach the answer – M. Ali (the boxer), as his religion doesn’t allow a plaque on the ground.
P3- Comes back in, You expect deduction to help you narrow down the possibilities, but in the end, it's just a
guess.
- Yes sir, can be said in that way.
P2- Ok, let me test your logic, you said you are good with it. Take a copy pen.
9+6=3
8+6=?
- Yes sir 2. Addition is being used as subtraction in operation.
P3- So you are just good with patterns. How is that helpful in HR?
- Sir these days data is used in performance analysis. Maybe I can use it there to improve efficiency.
P1,P2 right.
P2- How long do you think do you take to complete a sentence?
- Sir, based on the analysis of this interview close to 10 to 15 seconds.
He smiled.
Educational Background: Graduation (8.75 CGPA) | 12th (93.20%) | 10th (10 CGPA)
Work Experience: 20 months of consulting experience (ZS Associates)
Percentile: 92 %ile
PI Experience:
P1- What did you do during your under graduation apart from studying?
- I told him about my love of sports, how there are annual inter-faculty sports championships, and how I won
the badminton championship for all four years of my undergrad. I also mentioned that I used to be a state-
level volleyball and badminton player in high school.
P1- And now you're working at ZS Associates? Was it a campus placement? Are you still working there?
- Yes, it was a campus placement. I'm still working at ZS and I have been involved in Market Research
projects.
P1- You must have given an interview for ZS? What did you like about ZS? What have you prepared for today
based on learnings from that interview?
- I told him that I had three campus placement opportunities but chose ZS because working there required a
good mix of both qualitative and quantitative skills (rather than just technical skills), the type of work
involves management and client interaction even at entry level positions, which gives people good exposure
and networking opportunities.
I told him that in terms of preparations for today, I had reflected on my previous experiences - what went
well, what could have been better, and what lessons I could use if something similar happened again in the
future. Also, one of the things I learned from my ZS interview is that we should try to learn as much as we
can about the company/firm/institute to which we are applying.
P1- Do you then have an idea about XL and its HRM courses?
- I did look over the XL website and the HRM courses it provides. I've also observed the type of work that HR
professionals do at my workplace.
P1- How often do you speak to HRs at your company?
- Quite frequently. Each ZS employee is assigned a Professional Development coach who is also an HR
specialist. Employees can track their work trajectory in the company with the help of PD coaches.
P1- You obviously have a lot of achievements in sports, why don't you pursue something in that field?
- I believe it is too late to pursue a career in that field at this time. It might have been possible if I had
decided on it during my school days. Throughout the school year, there are numerous opportunities in the
form of U17, U19, and U21 events. Also, because I've only played at the state level and not at the national
level, there are many more people who are better at badminton and volleyball than me.
P2- State level achievements are still very huge, you should be proud of yourself. Do you still play these
sports?
- Thank you, sir! Not since the covid and work from home situation. But at work, I've competed in and won
company-wide badminton and table tennis tournaments. I haven't been able to keep up with volleyball,
however.
P2- Do you agree that volleyball is not as popular in India as cricket or football?
- I completely agree with you, sir. One interesting fact: volleyball is the world's fifth most popular sport,
trailing football, cricket, tennis, and hockey. It is even more popular than badminton and TT (which most of
us consider to be more popular sports); however, it is not considered a mainstream sport in India.
P2- How can we rectify that?
- Government can start with providing more funds.
P2- Interrupted, I am looking for a more holistic approach, and at different levels. What if the government
allocates crores of money but nobody still watches volleyball?
- We can begin by constructing volleyball courts in schools. Schools currently have badminton and basketball
courts, but no volleyball courts. Schools should have separate volleyball coaches, just as they do for athletics
and other sports. On a national scale, we can have premier leagues for volleyball and have celebrities
promote it in the same way that they do for the IPL.
P2- People can also make movies like Dangal.
- Exactly sir.
P2- But movies like Dangal are made because there are people winning at sports like wrestling, etc.
- Sir, people are winning at various state, national, international level volleyball events too, they are just not
being highlighted.
P2- What is your favourite topic in Maths?
- I like percentages and ratios because I use them at work as well.
P2- But even 10th standard students can do that! Come on, you are an engineer!
- I also like differentiation.
P3- There was recently news of a disagreement between Saina Nehwal and her coach. Don't you think sports
is bigger than these minor arguments?
- Conflicts are unavoidable whenever there is a difference of opinion. Players like Saina Nehwal have
represented India in a variety of international events, including the Olympics. And it's natural for her to
believe that her demands and needs must be prioritised; it's only human nature. Conflicts are unavoidable,
but there are numerous methods for resolving them.
P3- Such as?
Me - Active listening and researching, compromising, ignoring, through involvement of a formal mediator.
Thank you, you may log off now.
Q. You mentioned in your SOP that teams consist of various people that have different viewpoints. Name
three instances where a homogeneous team makes more sense and three where diverse teams are ideal.
A. I started to elaborate on one point but they asked me to stop and take a second to list down pointers and
explain later. Could come up with two for both, they said that it is alright.
Q. So one of your examples mentioned a relevant group of people talking about a social issue. You have an
advertising background, say you are creating a campaign for Women's day. Would you say a homogeneous
group of women make more sense here?
A. Answered about how it would be better than men narrating our stories but some level of intersectionality
will still exist.
Q. So it's not really homogeneous. Would you like to modify your answer?
A. No sir, this is as far as I could narrow down.
Q. Anything else that comes to your mind about intersectionality, said no sir that's all.
The conversation with him was longer and more elaborate, led to a discussion.
Female panellists took over. I had mentioned being a disability rights worker throughout college and till
present day and she started with that.
Q. Types of disability?
A. Answered correctly.
I felt like I could not impress her because her expression was difficult to understand. Third panellist came in.
Kept smiling throughout.
Q. Asked me about how the advertising industry discriminates against people. No ad exists that shows obese
people.
A. I gave them a few examples of the ads that did show obese people.
Q. That's a one in a million thing. You know the reality. Why do you think this happens?
A. I explained how advertising is aspirational, and how this aspect is further propagated by unrealistic beauty
standards.
Q. Say it's a product that makes people obese like Maggi. I still never see an overweight mother feeding
Maggi to an overweight child.
A. I said this will imply that their product has negative health effects, which no brand would attach itself
with.
Q. How will you make representation in advertising more inclusive keeping in mind revenue and approvals?
A. I talked about baby steps and how, despite how ideal it sounds right now, this could become a reality if
conscious action is taken.
Q. So there exist reservations for castes and women and PwDs and the third gender. What about obese
people? Do you think a legislation can be brought in regarding this?
A. No sir, while there definitely needs to be mindset change regarding this matter I don't think a legislation
can be brought in.
Q. Why not?
A. There might be an issue with statistical evidence for the same. Gave a few stats about inequality for PwDs.
Q. If I give you concrete data that proves this, still no legislation can be brought about?
Even though I held on to my stance that it is unlikely such a legislation can be brought in, he kept on giving
me hypothetical situations and said why not a legislation.
A. Sir, these legislations can always be challenged by saying obesity is not permanent. Mindset change is
critical in this situation, especially for this issue.
My last answer caused all three panellists to smile; I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.
My entire interview revolved around the topics I mentioned in my SOP. Please don't bring up social work if
you aren't completely committed to it. If this happens, take your interview on a different tangent. Because I
felt at ease answering questions, I mentioned it.
The interviewer started asking about why this is the case, and why would the local authorities underreport. I
told him I’m not sure but probably to curb the panic. This conversation goes on for a few minutes where he
keeps asking me the plauisble reasons as to why the authorities are reporting less deaths, and I try and give
him a variety of answers, he keeps cutting me off, trying to prove me wrong.
P2 takes over
Q: Enough of Covid, you have mentioned in your SOP that you were a part of the literature club of your
college. Tell me why is literature important in one’s life (some question on these lines)
A: Well-rehearsed answer.
Q: It seems like you were only in college for extra-curriculars. I see no engineering related answers in your
SoP
A: Fumbled a bit, became a little defensive, muttered out some answer justifying why that’s not the case
Asked me a few questions related to computer architecture, data structures etc. (I come from an IT
background)
P3 takes over
Asks me whether I follow what’s happening in the world of business, and asked me what news in the world
of business caught my eye in the last few days
Talked about the Tata-Mistry standoff going on at that time
Asked me to explain what it was all about and what implications will it have
Answered
PI Experience
BM interview
P1
Where are you connecting from?
P2
P3 Prof Kanagraj
3 panelists, M1,M2,M3
{Got entry into the room a little early, I think they were still discussing my profile, heard them talk about my
college and they were sounding impressed with it(or so I thought but that raised my confidence)}
M1: Tell me a bit about yourself, where you are joining us from?
{Answered the normal intro, did not talk anything about HRM or why I wanted to do an MBA etc, just where
I grew up what I studied and my hobbies}
So you’re in your final year of engineering? Explain Bernaulli’s principle.
{Explained the principle, giving an example. He further asked me a practical application for the same which I
answered}
Okay tell me the difference between diodes, triodes and transisters. { I did electronics and instrumentation
engineering and hence this question, I answered as much as I was able to, not a lot of cross questioning
here}
M2: Tell me about Article 370 and what all has happened after its abrogation. {Asked me this as I grew up in
J&K, I started answering as I had this well prepared, covering both sides of the argument and giving all
insights I could, might have tilted more towards the positives over the negatives though, during this time,
saw M2 and M3 looking away from the camera and laughing a bit, sharing an inside joke, giving me the
impression that they were at the same place while taking my interview, M2 did not ask any questions after
this as I had given a detailed answer to this}
M3: You're a swimmer right? What are all the different strokes? {Told them the 4 strokes} okay what’s the
difference between breast stroke and butterfly stroke. {Explained it in words, before I asked him if I could
show it with hand movement to explain better, which he allowed me to and I did}
M3: I don't have any more questions, however when you were explaining the Article 370 you stressed more
on the positives only, were there no negatives?
{Was taken aback a bit since I did cover a few negatives, but did not show it, apologising in case I did miss
out on points and telling him the negatives, which he still perceived as positives for some reason and tried to
corner me sayin that I wasn’t looking at things in a critical and analytical way, not in a grilling way but asked
me again, giving examples of politicians such as Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti being against the
abrogation, I further explained their reasons behind the same and the rationale for it to be brought back. He
did not act or look convinced at all but at this point he just laughed and ended the interview, thanking me
and asking me to leave.}
Final verdict: WL20
Finally, they asked if I expected some questions that were not asked. I told them that none of their questions
were expected by me. They all laughed, and the interview was over.
Pleasantries exchanged
M1- Okay, what is the latest amendment in this regard and what part is still Intact from Government of India
Act 1915?
-I spoke about Unlawful Prevention Act in a brief but was unable to answer Government of India Act 1915
part of the question.
M1- By which year was the IPC promulgated and who is the authority which introduced it first?
-Unable to answer.
M1- Everyone is aware about CAATSA, tell me what you know about LEMOA.
-Unable to answer.
M1- Take a situation where you are going to arrest a criminal, how is a warrant made and under which act
does this fall?
-Unable to answer.
M2- What is your family business? What are the revenue and profits?
-Answered
M2- What is the point of doing an MBA when most of the MBA's will not be able to earn what your father's
company is already generating?
-I mentioned that that placement is only one aspect of the importance of peer learning and education and
how it will help me achieve my short and long term goals.
M3- Why is the time limit for filing a complaint in criminal proceedings indefinite?
-I took a guess here, people may abstain at first hand due to external factors, and might eventually gather
courage.
M3- Assume you are the authority of a constituency; what amendments will you enact to reduce crime rates
there?
- Gave a generic answer but was interrupted by M3.
I was then asked to log off. I was not given the opportunity to ask questions, and was abruptly disconnected
and had to re-join in the middle.
Pleasantries exchanged
The panel consisted of three interviewers. They talked to me one by one. Having a wide experience in a
growing industry most of the questions revolved around my work experience, my role in the company and
how I contributed towards the various projects I was involved in. Towards the end of talking to the first
interviewer I was asked a basic technical question related to ECE, which was my undergraduation major. The
interview was then driven by the second interviewer who asked me questions about the prevailing pollution
problem in Delhi, and was regularly put into ethical dilemmas during this session, solving which would
require quick decision making which most of you have already displayed by acing XAT. The third interviewer
asked me a few general knowledge questions about the insurance industry and about the recent books I
have read. The interview ended with greetings and if i had any questions for them.
All over the interview was not very hectic and lasted for around 30-35 min. It is not necessary that one might
know the answer to each and every question being asked. Try to get close to the answer by the knowledge
that you have, otherwise you can skip the question by saying that you are not sure. It is advised not to
diverge from the agenda during answering and stick to the question with a structured answer. Keeping your
cool and having a smile on your face throughout always helps.
Background:
General Female Engineer, 2.5 years work-ex in Automotive
10th:94/12th:87/ UG:70/ XAT Percentile: 96.67
Questions + Answers:
P1: What is Marketing (work-ex) what kind of work you did in marketing?
Me: As I was working in a tier-1 company, our marketing was B2B which included preparing GTM for our
clients, working on bundled product price strategy, market research, customized pitch decks, etc.
P1: How will you come up with a Market size of EV battery in India
Me: Basic guesstimate approach
P3: Ok then. You can log off. It was nice talking to you.
Said Thanks and logged off!
Tips:
The interviewer is more interested in our approach of answer. So, even if you aren’t sure of the answer, you
can at least tell how you would arrive or what assumptions you can make to answer that question.
Be very crisp while answering situation-based questions. If you extend your answer unnecessarily it just
wouldn’t help you and also may disinterest the panel. For this you can use STAR framework (Situation, Task,
Action & Result).
In case of a grilling, cross questioning, disinterested panel be sure to keep your morale up. This can be a way
of interviewer to evaluate your response to unusual situations. Just be polite, keep a smile & just be
confident throughout the interview.
Percentile: 98.7%ile
PI Experience: 3 interviewers
Educational Background: Engineering Background with 3 years of work experience in the financial services
sector. I had also completed my CFA Level 1 during the first year of my job.
My XLRI PI went for around 30-35 mins, and it was divided into 3 parts, each taken by a different panelist.
First part of the interview (taken by P1) was a small introduction and the questions revolved around my work
experience. P1 wanted to check my awareness about my role and the industry I was working in. They also
asked my thoughts about how would the roles in financial industry shape up in future.
Second part (taken by P2) asked me about my experience in Jagriti Yatra (a social event I was a part of). I
had also built a potential social enterprise as part of this event, and I was questioned in depth about this.
Third Part (taken by P3) focused on my under-graduation courses. I was questioned about my favourite
subject that I had put in the answers submitted to XLRI earlier. Afterwards, there were also questions from
the subjects I was not very comfortable in. For the questions, I did not know the answers, I politely
mentioned that I have lost touch since it has been a long time after I passed out.
In an MBA interview, Panelists judge you on two metrics, first- whether you’ll be able to go through
academic rigor and second- whether they’ll be able to get you placed in the companies which come to
campus. All the questions are asked with these broad metrices in mind. During the interview, it is easy to get
nervous and stressed but remember, it’s just a conversation where you have to be yourself. Treat it like a
conversation with a school friend whom you’re meeting after a long time and discussing with him your
journey.
Three professors: All seemed to be in their late 50's. 2 from Finance and 1 from OB (P1, P2, P3 and M- Me)
P1: Why didn't you complete CA?
M: Said I'm done with CA and that I've been working in the field of Audit for 11 months
P1: Asked if I've done articleship
M: Yes, 3 years of articleship.
P1: Asked me why I have a break from Aug 2019 to March 2020
M: Explained about the courses we have to complete post CA to get our membership. Also said that I'd
appeared for CAT/XAT at the same time.
P1: Asked me to explain my work completely
M: Answered in detail specifying certain major audits that I had undertaken.
P1: Asked me which audits I've been to and about what is ethical and unethical
M: Explained. Tried more to stress on concept of Materiality in Audit rather than specifically speaking too
much on unethical.
P1: So what is the concept of materiality in audit?
M: Explained the concept stating that it could be both an amount as well a critical area.
P1: Materiality is the amount right?
M: Not necessarily sir
P1: What are you saying, are you sure materiality in audit does not imply amount?
M: Explained that amount is one aspect but if the area is critical, you can report the same even if the amount
is not very high. Gave an example of how I did find a default in the NPA amount of a bank and even though it
was a small amount, the area was critical and that since the audit time was just 7–10 days, there could be a
larger default which was not noticed due to sampling error in audit, so it was necessary to report it.
Now P2 comes in
P2: Difference between Ind AS and AS
M : Answered
P2: Difference between manufacturing and bank audit
M: Explained (tried to speak how the sampling error might be higher in bank audit as one of my points, long
discussion on same).
P2: Stopped me in between, and asked me about the recent changes in audit
M: Explained wrt NFRA, RBIA, etc. Tried to stress more on the changes made as a result of scams etc. as I had
a good idea about it and the same were major adjustments.
P2: What recent changes have taken place in ITR?
M: explained
P2: In how long you'll understand a client's business as an auditor
M: Explained wrt to different types of audit. He specifically asked for external audit, so spoke as to how it
depends on engagement letter and then with the discussion with our engagement team, we can get a basic
idea. Plus how the auditors are appointed for a certain period to get a good understanding and how we use
the work of another auditor.
P2: Explain to me step by step in detail as to how you'll help a charitable trust escape taxation
M: Explained that I've not worked in this domain but yet tried wrt to a corporate entity
P2: Stopped in between and asked to speak for individuals
M: I couldn't answer this
Now P3 comes in
P3: Difference between private and public bank
M: Answered
P3: Is RBI a private or public bank
M: Tried explaining it's a Central Bank acting as a regulatory authority. Don't know why they didn't accept it
though I was pretty confident on it (later found that RBI was nationalised in 1949. For the first time, the
professor made a very weird expression)
P3: Explain to me step by step as to how will you audit the RBI
M: Tried my best in accordance with the audits I've been to but was stopped in between
P3: Adarsh, I hate financial ratios, it only covers one aspect of entities, can you explain why we use them
instead of multiple variables
M: tried linking it with Casa/net margin, debt equity/interest coverage and a lot more to show how financial
ratios are interconnected and hence can be used
P3: no, I'm not satisfied, try considering a portfolio, why do we only consider risk/return, why not anything
else, i find it very illogical
M: I couldn't understand the question tbh, tried linking it with arbitrage pricing model
P2 interrupted: You're a CA, you should know sir is referring to Sharpe Ratio Adarsh
M: I apologized and accepted I couldn't understand the question (honestly first time I got a bit scared in the
interview). I did explain what Sharpe Ratio meant though.
P2 explained what he meant
Then they said thank you and asked me to log off.
The interview went on for around 35-40 mins.
Profile: Completed B.Tech from NIT-Surathkal & currently working as a Software Engineer at Samsung (on
Smartwatches) since 21 months
10/12/Engg/XAT: 95/93/8.4/98.5
P2(40's guy; bit intimidating) interrupts when I say short term goal was maximise user engagement and then
monetise it through business accounts.
Over to P2 again
P2- Who manufactures Edge to Edge OLED displays for iphone? (Told Samsung manufactures chipsets for
them but not sure about this. Should have known :/ (P.S: No offence but P2 Had a really heavy Bengali
accent, could not understand few things he said in the first place. Then answered))
P3- Favourite topics in Physics, Math from 10-12
(Said Permutations, Differentiation)
P3-What do you get when you differentiate velocity wrt time? (Answered)
P3- Meaning of integration (Summation of small parts)
P3- Integrate acceleration wrt time. Unit of acceleration (Answered)
P3- Area under the curve is Integration. Area can be velocity? Sure?
(Tried to explain using the equation v=u + at. He said explaining using MLT (in that Bengali accent) is easier.
Couldnt understand first. Mass, Length, Time didnt click to me - I was thinking something related to Linear
Transformation he mentioned what MLT was, still didnt click. I said v = u+at can also be used. Then after
4-5 seconds, I confirmed do you mean Dimensionality? And then I explained using dimensionality)
Questions for us? Asked about Prod Man related courses and opportunities in XLRI
Duration: 17-20 mins. Not sure
Interview experience: 4 panelists. Deep questioning on my UG research projects. One panelist had worked in
the same area and continued the line of questioning for a long time. Then moved on to current events, and a
particular case of trains being converted into COVID shelters. Asked about my opinion on a recent survey of
the government's performance during COVID.
Tips: If you don't know an answer, be honest about it. They won't berate you for it. And you can always ask
for some time to come up with a solution.
Background: general, male, civil engineering graduate, 9/9/9, 6 months work experience aa business analyst
EXL.
Interview Experience: Started with introduce yourself questions. Then discussed about my undergraduate
project, questions on acads during college. One question wherein i was shown a failed bridge photo and was
asked to identify the possible causes of failure. Why MBA, why XLRI, questions from the questionnaire given.
Major part of the interview was based on the questionnaire given. Had mentioned physics as favourite
subject so was grilled on physics. They wanted quick thinking and application of learned concepts. Interview
lasted for 25-30 mins. Tips: prepare general behavioral questions and questionnaire questions thoroughly.
Engineer
Computer Science
3.75 years of work experience.
Domain: Data and Buisness Analytics
PI questions: based on work experience, on stats and regression.
Questions on my work with the NGO
Behavioural Questions: Where do you see yourself in 10 years ?
Duration :30-35 mins
Tips: Be thorough with your resume.
There were three panelists, one female and two males. I will be referring them as P1 (F), P2 (M) and P3 (M).
My interview was scheduled on 8th March 2020 (Women’s Day) from 4:30 to 5pm.
As soon as I joined the zoom meeting, we exchanged greetings and since there was a female panelist, I
wished her a happy women’s day. The male panelists greeted me too
P2: Okay Komal, since it is Women’s Day can you give an extempore on the topic “Women Empowerment”?
XL interviews do not have extempore as an evaluative component, but I was given one just in the moment.
Me: I asked for a minute to jot down the points.
P2: Sure, take your time.
Me: I spoke for around a minute and majorly focused on the Women’s Day theme of 2021 which was
“Choose to Challenge”. I spoke about how COVID had made the world more challenging especially affecting
women and what all steps can be taken to empower women.
P1: Okay, do you know what pink tax is?
Me: I answered yes, it was how female products are often priced higher than similar male counterparts.
Gave an example of personal care products like shampoos and razors.
P1: Yes, what steps can you take to reduce the pink tax?
I was a bit surprised here since I had never thought of this, I again asked for some time to think over what all
can be done.
Me: I spoke about how increasing awareness about this price inequality was the first step. Next companies
could promote unisex products without creating differing lines of products for men and women.
P1: What else can be done?
Me: I could not think of any other solutions and told her the same thing.
P1: Alright we can move on.
P3: Do you think there needs to be an International Men’s Day?
Me: I answered positively and told that there does exist an International Men’s Day already on 19 th
November. However, because of historic societal pressures, today women are perceived as being lesser than
men which is not the case. Hence there is greater emphasis on Women’s Day. But I agreed that one should
also appreciate and empower men.
P3: Do you think you should be empowered?
Me: I was smiling and told that I am fortunate enough to have supportive family and friends who have
empowered me throughout my life, because of which I was sitting in front of the panelists. So instead of
being empowered, it was rather my turn to empower other women.
P3: (He was smiling too) Okay I am done.
At this point P2 shared his screen. It an image of a human and robot kind of merging into one.
P2: Okay what is your interpretation of this image?
Me: I told them how recently there was lot of development in AI in fields like manufacturing, teaching,
healthcare etc. and the image depicts the transfer of work, from humans to machines.
P3: What can be the pitfalls of AI? Let’s say in teaching.
Me: I mentioned how AI can be very useful to do the administrative work and for evaluation purposes.
However, teaching also has softer aspects, like teachers understanding a students’ problems based on their
family background or personalities and then offering solutions. Such subjective differentiation isn’t possible
with the kind of AI we have right now. An AI can lead to generalized solutions which won’t fit every student’s
needs.
P2: Okay but look at the way AI has been progressing, don’t you think it will be able to replace teachers in
the long term?
Me: I agreed that the progress was commendable but because teaching is not a rule-based field which can
be taught to a machine, I didn’t think AI can replace teachers.
P2: I am not saying immediately. But maybe 50 years down the line? Don’t you think it is possible for
teachers to be replaced? (P2 then quoted results of some study which said that AI will replace humans by
2050). Even these famous scientists are saying so, and you don’t agree?
Me: It can be possible sir, but I think the probability of that happening is very low. AI still has lot of biases,
and we haven’t found out a way to get rid of them. It will take many years to reach that point. And teaching
is one of those fields where in humans will be needed.
This discussion went on for around 5 more minutes where the panelist tried to convince me to agree with
him. I did not have any particular data point to support my views, but I stood my ground.
P2: Alright Komal I think we are done here.
Me: I thanked them for their time and logged off.
Background- 2 years workex in consulting, graduation in BBA(Financial Investment Analysis) from SSCBS, DU,
based out of delhi
Interview duration-30-40 mins
Interview Experience- Three panelists- One operations prof, one finance prof, one HR prof. Ops prof started
asking about my workex from the get go- asked me about the firm, its typical deliverables, the product i was
producing in my service firm, my deliverables/contribution, what the supply chain looked like in a typical
service organisation, how it was done specifically in my organisation
Prof 2- Showed me a cartoon of three kids with differing heights given a pedestal to stand on- asked me
what it represented and what i thought of it.
Answer- picture represented equity vs equality, defined both terms. The prof asked me instances of equity,
equality in my organisation. Equity- women are provided company cabs post 6pm, men are provided after
8pm- based on need. Equality- all employees get equal dinner allowance for working post 8pm.
Prof 2- asked me about what equal opportunities employer meant, is it closer to equity or equality
prof 3- asked about why a cup of coffee costs more in USA than a cup of tea in india- answered purchasing
power parity- asked me to define it, what all the basket of goods includes, what other factors could impact
the difference in price- answered input costs
Background: Engineer (NIT Trichy- Metallurgical and Materials), 6 months work experience- Tata Steel Ltd.
1. Introduce yourself- Gave a good intro, mentioned that my father works in insurance
4. Tata Steel-related questions- Developments in steel industry, how MBA will relate to my work experience,
Industry 4.0
5. Hobbies- Mentioned that I own a blog- more questions about topics of interest, how blogging platform
works, Covid-19 related developments
2. Current events, GK
3. Your profile- work exp (company+industry), undergrad subjects, family background, SOP answers,
interests and hobbies
My XL Interview Experience:
My interview consisted of three panelists. The starting of the interview was with the most expected “tell me
about yourself” question. The interviewers gave me sufficient time to explain as much as I could. They set a
very calm tone to the whole process. Then when questions from their end started it was mostly around the
SOP I had written. They asked me about everything in it which meant that they had read it pretty
thoroughly. The questions were focused on the rationale behind my decision making. The solutions that I
had offered were probed further to understand whether I recognize the limitations as well. They were
interested in knowing whether thought about problems in a comprehensive manner. There were few
technical questions from my subject matter. Nothing too much in depth. It was more about whether I knew
the lay of the land. Most of the grilling happened in the “why MBA” part. They suggested a variety pf career
options and wanted me to explain I particularly wanted me to do an MBA. Though many asked me not to do
it, I did say the monetary value an MBA offers is also an attraction to which they seemed to be happy about.
There were no current affairs or GK questions. They ended the interview by asking me why I put BM as my
first preference since I was very convinced that an HR MBA would be the right choice for me. I honestly did
not have an answer to it and said that I marked the options in the order it was presented (a lame attempt at
a joke and one I should have avoided)
Campus converted: XLRI Jamshedpur – HRM
Educational Background: B.Sc. Maths Hons (7.23 CGPA) | 12th (93.60%) | 10th (90.4%)
Work Experience: 18 months of HR Talent Acquisition (Genpact)
Percentile: 94.5 %ile
PI Experience:
One of the panellists then questioned why leaving a job is the best way to learn.
I discussed how I felt I had understood my career expectations while on the job. So it's a strategic decision
because my previous role didn't provide me with much. Also, I discussed the career push and aspirations I
have, and how I am currently able to take a step back from the corporate environment and complete my
higher education.
One of the panellists began cross-questioning me about my job role and the projects I worked on.
The responses were mostly relevant to my role. But I also worked on a few projects and talked about how
we implemented the feedback loop and everything in the process.
This led to a question about three flaws in the current XAT process, which I answered.
I discussed how this is a very elitist approach because there aren't many centres, then there's no feedback or
anything for people who make it to the interview round, and there's a lack of timely communication, and
how I felt clueless, and the process didn't have clear stages (the whole GD and interview concern). There was
a lot of questioning, and I had to defend my answers when they asked me to reconsider and think more. I
was circling back to the decisions I had made, attempting to demonstrate why I believe this has a significant
impact.
General tips: Practice expected questions until your answers sound good, focus on how your "story" fits
(why this b-school, why now, why this particular program), it’s okay to not know things but be fluent with
your answers and never lie. Be prepared to face basic questions from new updates in your sector or area if
interest.
General Tips:
Tell your story very genuinely
Dress well
Learn to calm your nerves and treat these interviews as just another conversation
Don’t stress if you don’t know answers to some questions, just confidently move on
Background and Introduction: I am a B. Tech. fresher from College of Engineering Pune with major in
Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Financial Engineering. I started my preparation for B school entrance
exams in my third year and went through the process during my final year. I had a 9 9 9 profile and secured
99.93%le in XAT thus having calls for both BM and HRM.
Calls received: XLRI (BM & HRM)
Interview Duration: BM: 20-25 min. HRM : 35-40 min
Questions asked (BM):
Panel consisted of 3 professors (Quants and Eco)
1. Where are you joining us from?
2. Do you have a placement?
3. You have good acads from good college, why waste an engineering seat, go for MS
4. You mentioned eco as elective, what is fiscal policy?
5. What is the current policy of gov?
6. Do you know probability? What is it
7. A question on one case of prob
8. How to tell fair die from faulty one?
9. Have you studied IC engine? What is concept of knocking?
10. What will happen if you put petrol in diesel car?
11. What is meaning of your name.
Answers - Pretty much answered most of it correctly and confidently, fumbled a bit on the probability
problem, but the professor helped me get to the answer. All the panelists were friendly and there was no
grilling on any question.
General tips - Be thorough with your answers and convey a clear reasoning. Be yourself and try to own up if
there are any key highlights/differentiators in your background and how you justify them for your career
goals. Be confident from start to end and keep a smiling face. All the very best!
Educational Background: BBA Corporate Finance (3.97/4.00 CGPA) | 12th (91.23%) | 10th (96.83%)
Work Experience: Eros International PLC (2 months)
Calls received: XLRI (BM & HRM)
PI Experience:
We exchanged greetings and then immediately P1 asked the opening question.
P1: Tell me something about yourself that you haven’t mentioned in the SOP.
Self: I spoke about a research paper that I had gotten published which was based on consumer perception
towards organic food products. Spoke of primary and secondary research
P1: What was the secondary research that u did?
Self: Told him about literature review
P1: Literature review isn’t secondary research
(Although I was taught that literature review is secondary research, so I stood my ground and said that
literature review is certainly a type of secondary research)
Self: explained what secondary research entails and how literature review is a part of secondary research
P2: (speaking to other panelists) isn’t she wrong here?
P1: what was your primary research?
Self: Spoke about how we collected data through questionnaire about the motivators, barriers and beliefs
regarding organic products...also spoke of descriptive analysis and the tools that we used like measures of
central tendency and regression
P1: Regression and correlation, what’s the difference
Self: Told the 4 assumptions of regression and what correlation is and how we used it for the research
P1: The assumption about errors is wrong
Self: (Again I was almost sure that it is right and at first, I stood my ground but later when told again that I
am wrong, I said that though this is very fresh in my mind because i had learnt it in the last semester only.
Still, I shall go back to it and do a fact check for my good)
P2: You spoke about Advance Financial Modelling being your favourite subject in your SOP details...what are
the advantages and disadvantages of mergers and acquisitions.
Self: First explained what both the terms meant and how they are different...then explained each advantage
and disadvantage using an example from current affairs to fortify my point. (Advantages cited by me were
synergy (example Vi cost reduction and increase in total customer base), innovation (google keeps acquiring
new start-ups because in-house innovation might not always be the best in the world), consolidation of the
industry making sure that it doesn’t lead to monopoly (SBI’s acquisitions of smaller banks) and immediate
expansion (Wipro expanding into the European IT consultancy space by acquiring Capco for 1.25B USD)
Disadvantages: Might not be allowed by the government because it may cause a monopoly which is against
the ideal trade practices and cultural clash like in the case of Ford and Toyota
P2: So, if in an industry there are 10 players out of whom 9 are loss making and only one is sustaining and is
profit making. all of them agree that the smaller companies much be acquired by the bigger one. Then will
this be allowed by the govt
Self: This won’t be allowed because this might create a monopoly and as I said this is against the rules ...that
one company would be very strong, and he could dictate the terms of trade and thus the consumers may
lose all their bargaining power.
P2: But eventually if u let those other 9 firms shut down then still the only player left will be the big one thus
causing a monopoly
Self: In that case sir the monopoly might not be strong enough to be even called a monopoly because like
theoretically it is believed in macroeconomics that new players will enter the market and normalise the
situation for sure. Moreover, post-acquisition this one big player might raise very high entry barriers for may
new entrants. Thus, this is an even more reason for the government to not allow it.
P1: Okay you might log off thank you for your time.
P3: What other calls do you have?
Self: Could not clear DILR cut off in CAT so can’t none from that route. So only XLRI BM and HRM
P3: Do you have any questions for us, what were your expectations about the questions from the
interview...what was taught to you in your coaching classes?
P1: First tell us about your expectations.
Self: I haven’t taken coaching for GDPI, but I did take coaching for the entrance test. However, when I spoke
to my friends about what they are being told and guided to do. Just so that I have a direction of what I
should preparate suggested that as freshers you must have absolute conceptual clarity w.r.t to your
subjects, current affairs, and other involvements beyond college’s scope
All of them started laughing gently and then asked me that I could log off. I said thank you, have a smile and
logged out.