FMS Delhi Interview Experience MBA-FT 2019-2021

Interview Date- 18th April 2019

Venue- FMS Delhi Campus, opposite Kirori Mal College

Time- 8:30 a.m. I had reached an hour earlier, so I strolled outside only, taking in the imposing sight of the "red building of dreams". This was my last interview for the season, and the most important one after IIM Calcutta.

Group Discussion- There were 9 of us in our group; 5 being absent. I was pleased to find 2 more BITSians in the same group as me ( one from Goa and the other from Pilani ). The panel told us that we had 1 minute to prepare, 9 minutes to discuss and 1 minute to summarize. The topic was "Justice delayed is justice denied". One of the members of the group was a bit too aggressive and was not letting anyone else speak or interject. I spoke a couple of times and gave examples to support or counter points being made in the discussion. I addressed each and every person in my group and did not speak over anyone else. I would rate myself 7-8 out of 10 for the performance.

Interview- Now, FMS is famous for its brief and crisp interviews- the duration is usually 8-10 minutes including the extempore. I was last in my group, and my interview was to be taken by 2 panelists instead of 3 ( the seat in the middle was unoccupied ). One of the panelists was a senior female professor ( Prof. Kavita Singh from Organizational Behaviour department and the other was a senior male professor ( Prof. M.L Singla from Information Management department ), who came in the room later. The third panelist was an alumnus.
I was asked to tell them about myself, in the middle of which I was interjected and asked to begin with my extempore, the topic being "Consultants create more problems than solutions". I was not given any time to prepare and was told to start immediately; I spoke both for and against the topic, and was summarizing my stand ( consultants create more solutions ), when my time got over ( 1 minute exact ).
In the interview, the panelist asked me about my opinion on whether consulting is something which companies use for "fashion-sense" or not. For a minute or two, the 2 panelists were talking to each other. I gave my opinion confidently, with a smile; it was against the view of the panelist, but I tried making some valid points. Before I could speak further, Prof. Singla walked in, asked me what other calls I had and told me to leave.
The experience was similar to speed dating. ( I hope the panelists liked me ).

Expectation of results- None. The interview was very short and unpredictable. It is all in the hands of the panelists; if I managed to capture their attention somewhere and impressed them, I will make it. Else, I will not be even in the wait-lists.

Result- Waitlisted (101). Better than a straight reject in 2017 :)