Pit Stop 2 - SP Jain Interview (Part 4)

SP Jain generally has a group interview.. No GD so this was good... But they have 2 group interviews... Every year they had it on the same day but this year
they had it on 2 different days... One was 24th Feb @ SP Jain and the other was 24th Mar @ SP Jain again... The first one was 8 am in the morning (which I
feared that I would sleep during the interview - never a morning person).. the second one was at 9:30 am (which is still decent).. What made this entire
process difficult was that there were 20 seats (for the course I had applied) and around 250 - 300 calls given out for the first round...
First one - Sleep me reported dot at 8... thanks to the Virar fast which got me to Andheri in 12 minutes else I would have been late... Document cheking... I
did not have my score card... Man!!! this is the second consecutive time I do not have necessary documentation... Went to the students who are arranging
this and asked them if the admit card would do... They agreed.. Phew!!! That was close... I was in the first group to be called... I had 3 marketing, 2 finance, 1
operations and me (doing IM) in the group... We entered... Again a smile on my face... I was first in the group when we sat in a semicircular arrangement...
So, the first question... Tell me about yourself...
M (happy that finally this question which I had prepared around 7 versions for was asked) - told
Everyone also answered...
Now, the questions were asked to one person and then passed... So, there might be no connection in both the questions...
I - Ok, sharmili - tell me your most significant achievement in work?
M - told
I - What was the failure that you had faced and what were the learnings?
M - told (actually these were from the form we filled and were asked by the student @ SP Jain)
I - Sharmili you read right... Tell me 2 things you would do to increase speed of reading?
M - First you dont read out aloud... read in the mind... Second - increase the span of your eyes... This is a long term approach but works...
I - So, your hobbies include poetry... Can we hear one of them?
M (well I know she wants to check if I am bluffing but how the hell do I remember a poetry? - Made up a poetry on the spot... ) This poem was written after
the bomb blasts that recently happened in Mumbai local trains... Its about a suicide bomber...
I am sitting in a train thats about to blast
Seconds away nothing will remain - not even its cast
There is happiness, chatter and laughter around
In a few moments - there would be no sound...
(Now, I am no Wordsworth... Cannot make more than 4 lines on the spot... But the madam seemed satisfied)
I - There is a project with no process in place... You have to put a process in place... How would you go about it?
M (Giving global gyaan) - I would analyse the pain areas... Then the reasons for the pain areas (gave some examples from personal experience) Use some
already existing process and customise it if possible... But if not, I'll discuss the process to be started in detail with the team members and then unanimously
implement one process...
That's it... The first interview was done and it was better than IIM B, I thought... I made it through the first round
_________________________________________________________
The second round started with me taking a panga with a senior student... My interview scheduled at 9:30 did not start even at 12:00... I went to him and I
said if this frustration makes my interview go bad then its your neck on the line (not that could actually happen but said it anyway)... So, finally around 12:30
my interview started and this time a group of 4 people - all from IM - went for the interview... Now this interview was more of a discussion... The professor
would give a topic and would ask all the 4 of us to speak...
I - Dont you think IT is so hyped up... I mean people do not have basic necessities and all you guys do is keep talking about IT as if its a biiiiiiiig thing... IT has
not helped the actual India...
M - I do not agree sir... An instance where IT has impacted and helped the masses is how banks now work... IT has automated most processes, opening an
account is easier, loans are made more accessible to people which in turn helps to provide for the basic necessities you just mentioned...
I (grilled others on this and asked a new question) - What are your views on child labour?
M (before me - this other person on my panel said that youth in the city is not as aware of this as those in towns/villages.. somebody else said that this
problem can never be eradicated..) (Speaking when my turn came) I disagree with both the views mentioned... I hail form a city but I work from an NGO who
works on educating under privileged children... We also conduct vocational training where we help their parents get jobs thus reducing the need to getting
financial help from their children... and even if this is on a small scale now, continued efforts in this direction will help address the problem of child labour...
I - Pick a political issue all over the world...
M (everyone selected one thing or the other.. I selected India-Pak tensions)
I - what is the real problem?
M - The problem stems from the Kashmir issue primarily... Emotional baggage prevents a good decision making process... Some more gyaan on this topic...
I - What do you think of all these TV Serials that have come up... What kind of effect do they have on the people?
M - They have reduced the time families have togehter... They have reduced the playing time for kids who chose to watch TV over playing... etc...
I - Tell us about your family
M - Told
I - What is your idea of God?
M - It is a force for me which makes me believe that once I put in every effort from my side then the result would be taken care of by him... It is a belief that
good things will happen to me coz I am a good person...
I - You are in a church and this one person is smoking while the sermon is on... What would be your take on this situation?
M (before me people said something like he has a freedom of expression so he can smoke but he shud realise that he is disrespecting the father... Someone
else said if I am there for the sermon I would pay attention to it despite the disturbance!!) - (I again disagreed with both of them)... I said that he should not be
doing that since he is not only disrespecting the father but also invading other people's space by disturbing them by smoking... So, if he intends to attend the
sermon he shud put out the cigarette else should go out smoke, finish it and then come to attend the sermon...
That was it... They thanked us and we left... Felt a little better after the interview but later realised 90% of the junta had similar interviews and with 20 in 400
seats chance - I did not know how should I categorise my interview...
But, I got through so I guess what I did was acceptable...
The final pit stop... the next blog...

SP Jain Interview
Before the interview, we needed to fill a profile sheet. It has some wonderful qualitative questions which took me to introspection mode. I had never
before,pondered this much about my own life history. Answering to these questions,on the other hand,helped me to self assess and know myself better. This
was very helpful in my other interviews as well. Here are the Q&As.

Adversity faced in life.

We are three siblings, all are bright students. My father was suffering from urinary incontinence disorder and it was becoming very difficult for him to meet
our education and his treatment expenses with the small grocery shop we had.FFE scholarship helped us to complete our studies.
Distinct contributions to the society by you or your family members.
As a member of FFE, during my engineering days in NITR, I used to tutor Class-6 students of nearby Jhirpani School for Rural Math Talent Search
examination. After becoming financially dependable I have started donating to the trust and am also involved in fund raising for the trust.
My formative years
Cracking Navodaya exam was my first little step to success. After my matriculation, I stayed in Hostel for 6 years where I met students from different
backgrounds. It was a platform for Social understanding and staying away from home also taught me how to adapt to different situations.

1. Explain a situation when you were a part of a team where the group process and/or intended outcome failed. What was your role, how did you contribute to
the process or outcome, and what did you learn?
In my final year of engineering I had to submit a project on Online Inventory Management System. We were a team of two students and a professor acted as
the Project coordinator. I took the initiative to do the programming part and my teammate agreed to take care of the documentation. We completed the first
part of the project in 7th semester and got a good grade. In 8th semester we got some other assignments, so we kept on delaying the project work. Since we
already had a base to work upon, we thought the second part wont take much time and we didnt even meet our coordinator for a long time. But as the day
for submission approached we found ourselves short of time. Also lack of proper distribution of work among us had repercussions on the final project that we
submitted. Our coordinator was disappointed with our work. He was very supportive and was expecting a better output from us, so he extended our deadline.
We had our lesson; a proper assessment of the work, proper distribution of work among team members and constant communication between the team
members is essential for a group process to succeed.
2. Describe an instance in which you took the strongest stand of your value system. What specific values were violated and what was at stake for you?
I have been presented with many a situation in my life where my ethics and values have been challenged, but I didnt budge. One such situation came across
when I and my elder brother appeared for the Orissa Joint Entrance Examination in 2002, to get admission into top engineering colleges in our country. We
were allotted the same examination hall; even, to our surprise, our allotted seats were very near to each other- he was sitting one row behind me. After
completing his higher secondary education, my elder brother had to discontinue his studies because of financial constraints; and I knew he was not well
prepared this time. In such competitive exams every single mark is important and can make or break someones career. There was only one invigilator in our
room, and we could see students taking unfair advantage of her lack of attentiveness. We both also could have helped each other, sought help from others;
but my ethics didnt allow me to do so, and neither his. As results came out, though he didnt get a seat in any NITs, we were happy that we got what we
deserved.

3. Explain a situation where you have brought about any improvement either in your self, work or society.

During my second year of engineering, I presented a paper on Chemical Heat Pipe in a national level seminar in my institute. It had a very good content, and
I was excited to speak about it in front of professors I regard highly.
It was my first presentation, and my anxiety and nervousness took over me. I couldnt put across my points properly and also fumbled while answering to
questions. After the presentation I was very upset and was determined to get over my anxieties. I realized through Introspection that I was giving more
importance to result than the process, and it was hampering other aspects of my life also. I started practising yoga to calm my nerves, made a dedicated effort
to focus my attention away from my own anxieties and outwardly towards the task in my hand. It helped me in my public speaking, stage appearance, and
competitive exams alike. Its productiveness was vindicated when I won the first prize in Paper Presentation on Design of a Slip Sensing Device one year
later, getting over my anxieties.

SECTION C
WORK-EXPERIENCE DETAILS
(To be answered only if the candidate has full time work experience)

1. Give a detailed description of the roles, responsibilities and achievements at your current /last place of employment.(in not more than 300 words)
I currently work for CGI Information Systems as a Software Engineer, its a Canada based IT Services Company which creates and delivers IT services and
solutions. After some induction and a month of training, I was inducted in a project called Arrow-GFS. Arrow Electronics, the client, is a major global
provider of products, services and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and computer products. The main objective of this
project is to make QSP application (Financial System) obsolete from Arrow application and have Oracle Financials as its Financial Package. The project was
done in two phases namely Conversion and Interface. The project objective was to migrate the data from Mainframe to Oracle 11i applications. We are a team
of nine members responsible for delivering the solution to the client. I am handling Purchase Order module of the application; it involves gathering business
requirements, performing business assimilation with the help of Arrows subject matter experts, coding, making appropriate Test Cases for the application,
production implementation, fixing production problems, production support and coordination with team members to get the development work done.
Handling a module, interacting with client, achieving efficient performance within given constraints has been stimulating though taxing. The successful
engagement award our team received in 2007 annual tour is a testimony of the kind of performance we delivered and the key performer award I got for my
individual contribution was also very satisfying. In business perspective, this efficient delivery has paved the way for continuous business with same client
and established our organizations efficiency and quality deep in customers mind.

There were two group interviews.I cleared the first round, which was an elimination round.Didnt do that well in the second one.Overall, it was a
satisfactory performance on my part. Doing well in your first interview gives a boost to your confidence, and it helped me in lucknow interview which was
my second interview of the season.

Describe a challenging assignment you have handled (at work or outside) to date. What were the challenges and how did you handle
them? What were the personal learning you derived from this assignment? (300 words max.)
At my workplace, in my first experience as a mentor, I was expected to design and coordinate a new student intern's learning and working experience. After
briefing him about the work, I asked him to help me with a project I was working on. However, his dependence on me and expectation to perform the

experiments myself meant that I found it increasingly difficult to balance my role as a mentor with my regular responsibilities.
Realizing that this model of working was clearly not working, I took him out for a lunch conversation to understand his perspective. Surprisingly, his
difficulty was a lack of understanding of the technology, and lack of direction due to inadequate feedback. Working on this information, I set up a schedule of
tutoring lessons. Everyday for about a week, we met for an hour and poured over the system, helping him understand the technology and also its applications
and consequences. I also set up weekly meetings to review progress over the previous week, and assigned new tasks for the next. This helped give him a sense
of direction and achievable goals to work towards. These efforts quickly brought him up to speed, and he not only provided me with useful data to test my
algorithms, but also freed up time to concentrate on research.
My key learning through this experience was the importance of communication. I learnt the importance of understanding the others' opinions and concerns,
and to address them in a mutually agreeable way. I also learnt that timely feedback is essential to set a sense of direction and convey appreciation for work
performed. This also helps understand the consequence of our work, thus providing a strong motivation for best performance