Search Results

Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, is one of India’s premier business schools, renowned for its academic excellence, industry-oriented curriculum, and exceptional return on investment. Established in 1954 under the University of Delhi, FMS offers flagship MBA, Executive MBA, and doctoral programs. Known as the "Red Building of Dreams," it boasts a legacy of producing top corporate leaders and entrepreneurs. With a rigorous selection process, a dynamic peer group, and strong corporate connections, FMS provides a transformative learning experience that blends theoretical knowledge with real-world applications. ADVERTISEMENT Candidate Profile:Background:  General Engineering Male (GEM) Academics:  10th – 89.8% | 12th – 84.8% | Graduation – 69.1% CAT Percentile:  99.93 Panel Composition:  3 Members – 2 Female (P1, P2), 1 Male (P3) Interview Questions & Responses P2:  Naman, tell us something about yourself. (This interview was after a month-long gap since my last one, so I was slightly unprepared for my usual answer. I mentioned my graduation and work experience but forgot to cover my hobbies.) P2:  Do you know of any recent M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) in the pharma industry? Not very recent, but Ranbaxy was acquired by Sun Pharmaceuticals. P2:  Why do you think M&As take place? To capture market share and reduce competition. I explained with an example of Flipkart acquiring eBay India (which had happened just a day or two before the interview). P2:  Okay, now P1 will give you your extempore topic. (I had butterflies in my stomach, hoping the topic wouldn't be too difficult.) Extempore P1:  You have to speak on the topic "Namaste"  for a minute. (I was relieved to get a simple topic!) Spoke about how "Namaste" is very closely associated with me since it is the meaning of my name. Explained that it is the first word many foreigners learn when they come to India. Mentioned that it is used to greet people and show respect, and that it is synonymous with "hello." Concluded with "That’s all I can think of." P3:  (First time speaking, with humor) "Kisi ko bhagana ho toh bhi bolo Namaste."(Everyone grinned.) P1:  Tell me three women entrepreneurs. I could only name one – Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. P1:  Which organization does she lead? Biocon. P1:  Tell me some industry experts instead. Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo) and Arundhati Bhattacharya (SBI). P1:  How long have they been working in their respective organizations? I don’t know, ma’am. P3:  Why MBA? Talked about my career plan and family business. P3:  What is the turnover of your family business? Told. P3:  How do you judge a company’s performance? Talked about financial statements, mainly the income statement and balance sheet, and what each of them represents. P3:  Do you know any financial ratios? Initially said I didn’t have much finance knowledge, but then suddenly remembered and blurted out: "PE Ratio, sir. The Price-to-Earnings ratio."   (Sigh of relief!) P3:  IIM Calcutta results were announced yesterday. Did you convert? Didn’t convert, sir. P3:  Why? Didn’t answer a couple of questions well, and CAT score weightage is lower there. P3:  But you’ll get the benefit of weightage here. Yes, sir! Closing Remarks Verdict:   Direct Convert! 🎉

Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, is one of India’s premier business schools, renowned for its academic excellence, industry-oriented curriculum, and exceptional return on investment. Established in 1954 under the University of Delhi, FMS offers flagship MBA, Executive MBA, and doctoral programs. Known as the "Red Building of Dreams," it boasts a legacy of producing top corporate leaders and entrepreneurs. With a rigorous selection process, a dynamic peer group, and strong corporate connections, FMS provides a transformative learning experience that blends theoretical knowledge with real-world applications. ADVERTISEMENT Candidate Profile: Background:  General Engineering Male Work Experience:  20 months Academics:  10th – 10 CGPA | 12th – 98.5% | Graduation – 8.3 CGPA CAT Percentile:  99.76 Date:  23rd April 2021 Mode:  Online Interview Panel:  1 Male Professor (M), 1 Female Professor (F) M:  Good morning, Karthik. Good morning, sir. M:  Start with where you did your graduation, where you are working, why MBA, and why FMS. All in one go, sir? M:  Yes, don't you know we have marks for your SOP? Yes, sir. I will start. (Gave a brief answer covering all the questions.) F:  Okay, Karthik, let's move on to the extempore. Your topic is "Build to Last."(Started writing something on paper.) F:  You are not allowed to write anything down. Look at the camera, think for 20 seconds, and speak for a minute. Okay, ma’am. (Spoke about startups and infrastructure. Explained why 90% of startups fail, issues like lack of expertise, misallocation of capital, and rapid expansion. Suggested that gaining experience before launching a business can help build companies that last. Started talking about infrastructure...) F:  Your time is up. Did you read the book Build to Last ? No, ma’am. M:  When did you start working? July 2019, sir. M:  What are the revenue streams for Adobe? There are three revenue streams: Document Cloud, Creative Cloud, and Experience Cloud. M:  How does Adobe compete with free PDF tools available in the market? Adobe offers a suite of tools rather than just one or two free features. Free sites often require credit card details after a few uses, making the process cumbersome. Additionally, Adobe focuses on enterprise clients rather than retail customers. M:  Who are Adobe’s enterprise clients? Mostly government organizations moving toward paperless governance. M:  How sustainable are the revenues? Adobe shifted to a SaaS (Software as a Service) model, ensuring recurring revenues. M:  What is the third revenue stream you mentioned? Experience Cloud. It provides a comprehensive product for companies to run marketing campaigns, including analytics, targeting mechanisms, and social media campaign management. M:  Interesting. How does Adobe compete with giants like Google and Facebook? Our primary competitor is Salesforce. We have an Open Data Initiative with Microsoft and SAP to enhance our data insights, which can help us become a leader in the marketing cloud space. M:  How do you propose to increase your company’s revenue? In the Document Cloud space, Adobe is nearly a monopoly, so there’s limited room for growth. However, in the Marketing Cloud space, there’s a large market to capture. Adobe currently holds a smaller market share here, so focusing on this area would be prudent for revenue growth. F:  Nice talking to you, Karthik. We could continue, but we have pressure from the next candidates. This concludes your interview. All the best. Thank you, ma’am. FMS assigns marks for SOP, Extempore, GD (canceled this year), and the Core Interview. The Core Interview has fewer marks compared to other colleges.

Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, is one of India’s premier business schools, renowned for its academic excellence, industry-oriented curriculum, and exceptional return on investment. Established in 1954 under the University of Delhi, FMS offers flagship MBA, Executive MBA, and doctoral programs. Known as the "Red Building of Dreams," it boasts a legacy of producing top corporate leaders and entrepreneurs. With a rigorous selection process, a dynamic peer group, and strong corporate connections, FMS provides a transformative learning experience that blends theoretical knowledge with real-world applications. ADVERTISEMENT Candidate Profile: Academics:  10th – 89.33% (ICSE) | 12th – 89.33% (ISC) | Graduation – 9 CGPA (Honors in Sociology) CAT Percentile:  99.60 Interview Format:  Conducted offline at FMS Delhi. Traveled from Kolkata to Delhi for a 10-minute interview. Panel Composition:  2 Female Panelists (F & N) Interview Questions & Responses F:  Please introduce yourself. Gave my introduction. They listened as patiently as they could, but after this, the conversation felt rushed. Extempore Topic:   "City of Chaos"  (15 seconds to think, 1 minute to speak) At first, I was baffled by the topic—it was so abstract. Took a second to calm myself and thought of Delhi. Talked about how it was my first visit, how different it was from my hometown, and how people there are always on the move. Made up a scenario from my metro ride that morning: a group of teenagers creating chaos, talking loudly, munching on food, while another group sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts, dealing with the city of chaos  in their minds. Not my best extempore, but I tried my best. Thankfully, I was cut short when my minute was up. F:  We see that you have been a basketball player for quite a while now. Is there an NBA in India? Told F:  What is India’s ranking in world basketball? Told  ( I could have made my answer more engaging by mentioning separate rankings for men and women instead of giving a generalized response. ) F:  Prachi, what have you been doing since 2021? Ma’am, I graduated in July 2021 and wanted to pursue an MBA. Hence, I decided to prepare for CAT properly. Simultaneously, I continued regular basketball practice and gave tuitions. F:  You do a lot of MUNs as well. State in bullet points the relevance of the UN in today’s world. The UN was established to save future generations from war. However, the world is currently witnessing a major war between Russia and Ukraine. While imposing economic sanctions is one deterrent, the focus should be on saving civilians caught in the crossfire. N:  Why do you say so? Hasn’t the UN done anything so far? Yes, ma’am, there have been meetings and sessions at the UNGA and UNSC. However, the existing UN structure limits its effectiveness. Russia’s permanent membership and veto power have been problematic in containing the situation. N:  What can the UN do to help the situation on the ground? (I went blank for a moment but refused to accept defeat, especially on a topic in my comfort zone. Took a risk by mentioning something I wasn’t very sure about.) Ma’am, the UN has something called the UNCT (United Nations Country Team), which is functional in all member nations. They can deploy assistance in Ukraine through neighboring countries and carry out rescue operations. Saving innocent lives should be the topmost agenda, and UNCT can facilitate that. F:  What is your ambition in life? (Went blank again. Something was definitely off with me that day.) Umm… Ma’am, I wish to contribute to an organization and become a significant decision-maker, leading to both the organization’s growth as well as mine. F:  Which organization are you talking about? (Literally crying inside at this point.) Umm… wherever I’d be working. F:  Yes, but you must have some organization in mind. BCG.  ( Could have given a more thoughtful answer, like any organization aligned with my goals, but no—I had to dig my own grave! ) F:  Who is the head of BCG in India? I am not aware, ma’am. F:  What is the business model of BCG in India? Sorry, ma’am, I am not aware. F:  These are business-related questions. How do we know that you are genuinely interested in business? Ma’am, I am very eager to learn about the business world. There are two key reasons…  ( Went on to explain my "Why MBA" answer. ) F:  Which other calls do you have? Told N:  What are your reading habits? What types of books do you read? Ma’am, I read fiction more than non-fiction. N:  Favorite book? Harry Potter! :D N:  Why do you like it? What lessons did you learn from it? The most important lesson I learned from Harry Potter is the value of perseverance. Only by standing strong during difficult times can you experience the good times. F:  What is the key message you learned from J.K. Rowling? Umm… Ma’am, J.K. Rowling never stopped writing even after completing the Harry Potter series. She continued to publish books on the magical world, many of which have been adapted into movies. So, again, the message is one of perseverance. ( I should have mentioned how she pursued what she loved despite multiple rejections and never gave up until she made it to the top. Ugh! ) Closing Remarks: N:  Okay, Prachi, we are done. Thank you! Verdict:   Converted! 🎉