Mentorship Programme, 2014

An External Relations Cell Initiative

IIM Tiruchirappalli

For any queries, please contact us at: mentor@iimtrichy.ac.in Follow us on: Facebook Aspirants page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/iimt.aspirants/ Pagalguy: http://www.pagalguy.com/forums/cat-and-related-bschools/2014-16-official-iimtrichy-admissions-thread-t-113355/

Mentorship Programme, 2014

WAT/PI Preparation Kit

Written ability test (WAT)
How to prepare
Practise writing atleast 1-2 essays daily within a set time limit of approx. 20 minutes. This will help you to think fast and under pressure. Ensure that your essay has a proper structure with an introduction, a main body and a conclusion. Also pay attention to your grammar and spelling. Be well versed with prcis writing. Take help from your teachers and college seniors wherever necessary. Use PESTEL framework if required: P Political E Economical S Social T Technological E Environmental L Legal Using the PESTEL framework, you could analyze your WAT topic from various perspectives. Try to capture the examiners attention with an interesting first line; an appropriate quote is one of the many good ways to start. Avoid jargons; good vocabulary is an advantage. If you do not possess good vocabulary, do not worry as clarity is what matters. So keep sentences short, lucid and avoid preaching.
o o Avoid: The parameters of your responsibility are included in the job description you received on your initial day of work at the association Use: Your responsibilities are listed in your job description. You received your job description on the date of joining

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Use active verbs in the sentence structure to keep up the readers interest. An example is as follows:
o o Avoid: This is a good introduction of the topic. Use: This introduces the topic well.

Mentorship Programme, 2014

Any opinions and ideas you express must be supplemented with adequate logic, examples, data and facts
o o Avoid: The Indian Pharma industry is booming. Use: The Indian Pharma industry is booming. During 2007-12, it grew at CAGR 12% driven by rising generic drug exports.

Make sure that your handwriting is legible. Neatly presented essays hold the readers attention

What to expect for WAT?

The topics mentioned below were given to the students during last years WAT process. They are indicative in nature only. Repetition of topics is unlikely. However, these topics will give you a general picture of the trends followed. You may plan/prepare accordingly. Needless to say, be well versed with current affairs. A lot of the topics may be based on latest issues. 1) In some countries inheritance of father's property is not legally entitled to the children. Should Inheritance of parents wealth be a legal right or should bequeathing wealth be at parents discretion? 2) Should industries have a tie-up with institutions for professional courses? 3) For a merchant even honesty is a financial speculation 4) Education system in India 5) What is the impact of social networking sites on children? 6) An essay on your opinion of punitive measures regarding the juvenile accused in the Nirabhaya case 7) How modernization has affected the environment and the way out? 8) An essay on wildlife conservation and tribal rights 9) In India nuclear families are increasing, particularly in urban areas. Elderly people of these families are left back in the village all by themselves. What could be done to improve their living conditions? 10) An essay related to the Right to Education 11) Should Juvenile age be reconsidered or not? 12) Do Indians lack civic sense?

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13) Should research findings be shared while project is going on? Some medical cases it can be useful to save life 14) There are broadly two types of Tablets: Cheaper ones with low quality and higher-priced ones with emphasis on performance and quality. If you are the CEO of a Tablet company, will you compromise on "Engineering and Quality" for keeping the prices low or will you manufacture "higher-priced, higher performance" Tablets? 15) Corruption in the Indian system 16) Are subjects like sociology, literature, philosophy mandatory in modern technology oriented education system? Write for & against the topic 17) Division of bigger states in India into smaller states lead to better governance and socioeconomic development of the people in the smaller states. Do you agree or disagree with the statement? 18) Are old age homes a necessity as more and more people migrate to cities and become nuclear families or is it a morally wrong thing to do? 19) An essay related to safety of working women and measures that need to be taken 20) An essay related to how jobs have changed peoples lives. The topic had to be written considering the following factors a. Men and women being more career oriented than relationship oriented b. People willing to relocate c. Change profession after some years 21) What initiatives should corporates take to reduce pollution and global warming?

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Personal Interview
You must be thorough with your resume. Be well prepared with questions on courses you completed in graduation, term projects incase of the engineering students, academic details etc. Good body language and communication skills are a must Goal clarity: Answers should be in line with the questions that follow, the answers you give should substantiate the goal you seek Maintain eye contact and address all the panel members Basic etiquettes like entering the room with permission, being seated when asked are essential. Dont initiate a handshake Listen to questions carefully, ask for clarifications when required Maintain brevity in answers, no beating around the bush Most important: wear a smile

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Mentorship Programme, 2014

Possible Questions
1) Why MBA? 2) About yourself, your strength and weaknesses. This question needs to be answered very carefully. Refer to the following link for tips - http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outsidevoices-careers/2013/09/23/how-to-talk-about-your-weaknesses-in-a-job-interview

3) Why should you be chosen or rejected? 4) Short and long term goals 5) Questions on graduation subjects. You may prepare 1-2 subjects in detail should you be asked about your favourite subjects. 6) For people with work experience, know everything about your company such as share details, turnover, last quarter results, key business areas, competitors & your job responsibilities 7) You may be asked about your hobbies. Be sure to only tell about hobbies you actually pursued and can substantiate as well. For example, if you like travelling, you could be asked questions on where all have you have travelled. Further, you could also be asked about those places, so prepare accordingly. The key is to not fake/lie here 8) Narrate an incident where you faced a challenge , how you over came it and the lessons learnt 9) Which among the new IIMs would you choose to go to if you get through all? (Talk in terms of faculty, pedagogy etc). Its advisable to go through the websites of all the IIMs you have a call from, be well aware of their location, years of operation, Infrastructural facilities and other such details. 10) Incase you have switched jobs, you might be asked for the reasons 11) Justify time lags, if any, between 12th and engineering 12) Incase you say that you would like to take up marketing, you could be asked the following questions a. Sell a pen/bottle etc. b. Difference between consumer & customer c. 4 Ps of marketing d. Difference between sales and marketing 13) Questions on your ability to estimate ( E.g. how much does it cost to build a 1Km road ) and come up with answers. Your thought process matters here, not the answer. A good way to tackle these questions is by thinking aloud so that the panel gets a clear idea of your approach 14) What would you do if you do not get admission this year? 15) Difference between MBA/PGDM 16) Meaning of your name 17) Qualities of a good manager and a good leader, difference between a manager and a leader 18) Abstract questions like whats the difference between science and art? Is a scientist an artist as well? Justify
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Needless to say, the list is not exhaustive but all these questions were asked during last years WAT/PI process. The range of questions asked in the PI varied. While some students were asked general questions on current affairs and their background, others were asked more specific/technical questions like graphs of functions etc. PI questions depend on a number of parameters like the kind of panel member and their background. Counter-questions based on the answers you give etc must be answered well. Prepare to the best of your ability but the vast possibilities of PI questions make the process quite daunting. What matters is your confidence and the way you answer. At times, the motive behind asking seemingly irrelevant questions is to see how the candidate handles the situation. This is especially true during stress interviews. The aim of stress interviews is to intimidate you and throw you into panic. Be calm. The way you handle the situation will measure your success. If you do not know an answer, say that you are unaware of it. DO NOT fake an answer.

Mentorship Programme, 2014

How to prepare on General awareness?

Keep abreast with the daily news, especially as D-day comes nearer. You need to have a general idea on the following issues: 1) Indian Constitution, Indian Economy, GDP, 5 year plans & Budget of the current financial year 2) Latest news on Arab uprising (Egypts new constitution) 3) The Naxal movement 4) Scams in India, preferably the most latest ones 5) Election 2014 and AAP 6) Walmart in India, FDI 7) Uttrakhands natural calamity 8) MNREGA, Adhar card, coal block allocation 9) Telangana 10) G12 summit Other more specific issues that you could read on have been provided below with links for a few of them. These could either be used as a WAT topic or asked directly by the panel members in the interview. Please understand that the list in not exhaustive. 1) Generic drugs Vs Patents: Supreme Court reject Novartis AGs plea to preserve patent for cancer drug Glivec 2) Punishment for Juveniles (take cue for the Nirbhaya case) 3) On Malala wining the UN Human rights award 4) Article 377 5) Policies by Raghuram Rajan
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6) Arunachal student dies in Delhi, attracts protests 7) US Spying : http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/facebook-wants-to-read-your-sms-confidential-infokaspersky/1/341515.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/nsa-effort-pries-open-computers-not-connected-tointernet.html?_r=0

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India next to US in making user data requests to Google

8)

Latest spectrum auction sees aggressive competition: Airtel , Vodaphone License extension cancelledhttp://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/this-spectrum-auction-round-to-be-moreaggressive-experts_1025352-1.html http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-02-04/news/46964130_1_900-mhz-bandvodafone-india-three-circles

9) Latest happenings in the aviation industry Jet-Etihad deal; Spicejet Tiger Air deal
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/singapore-airlines-tata-joint-venture-orders-airbusa320s/1/202187.html http://profit.ndtv.com/news/corporates/article-boc-to-lease-airbus-jets-to-tata-singapore-airlinesventure-report-378386

10) RBI to withdraw all pre 2005 notes

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/rbi-to-withdraw-all-pre-2005-currency-notes/1/202580.html

11) Keep a tab on Latest major M&As and newly crowned CEOs like Satya Nadella for Microsoft 12) Rising Unemployment
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.financialexpress.com/news/glo bal-unemployment-crosses-200mn-mark-in-2013-indias-jobless-rate-to-inch-up-to-3.8--in2014/1219972/

13) RBI Policy review: Repo rate raised by 25 bps , CRR unchanged
14) http://thediplomat.com/2014/01/nirbheek-indias-anti-rape-gun-draws-widespread-criticism/

15) Agusta-Westlands chopper deal : latest 16) Finance Ministry against banks charging own customers for ATM services. NPCI constitutes a committee to decide fair fee for one bank using another banks ATM. IBA proposes only 5 free transactions per month
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17) Johnson & Johnsons global recall of ASR Implant ; Health Ministry issues recall alert for ASR following metal poisoning 18) Newest nation South Sudan: Ethnic killings 19) Samsung- Apple lawsuits
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._v._Samsung_Electronics_Co.,_Ltd. 20) Iran signs nuclear deal with world powers http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/20/us-iran-nuclear-idUSBREA0J00420140120

Mentorship Programme, 2014

Other resources
A few other resources that you may find useful for your overall comprehensive preparation
Basics of Economics (Micro & Macro) http://economics.about.com/ India: http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/pl_vsn2020.pdf List for a lot of abstract and current-affair topics: http://essaysforiim.blogspot.in/2013/ http://www.shiksha.com/preparing-for-gd-use-this-checklist-for-topics-article-5649-1

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Mentorship Programme, 2014

Disclaimer

Copyright of this Document belongs to the External Relations cell of IIM, Trichy. It will be an infringement of our copyright to use this document for any commercial purpose. However, you are free to share this document as long as you attribute the work to the author i.e. the External Relations Cell of IIM Trichy. IIM Trichy does not take responsibility for the manner in which the information contained in this document is used. You must retain the disclaimer section while sharing the document.

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