SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai (Interview)

SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) Interview details (Jan 2020)

SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) is one of the top 10 Business Schools in India. The strategic location (Mumbai) coupled with excellent faculty and alumni base provides students with ample opportunities. 

Specialty: SPJIMR is one of the only few top business schools in the country that does not require a very high CAT score. The school focuses heavily on the profile of the students and social sensitivity. The profile can include academic consistency, extra-curricular, certifications, sports, etc. A complete evaluation of the profile is done by the admissions committee. The CAT cutoff for the institute is 85 percentile with sectional cutoffs as 75 percentile in each section. Therefore, if you have a good profile you have a fair chance to convert the call even if your CAT percentile isn’t very high.

Candidate: GEM (Civil Engineer, applying for Finance at SPJIMR)

SP Jain gives two calls one based on profile and one on score cum profile. I was called on the profile based call. The interview happened on 14th Jan 2020. The process starts with the document verification followed by the Psychometric test, WAT Group Interview 1 and Group Interview 2.

Psychometric Test Tip: Be true to yourself. The time is less don’t think too much about finding the most appropriate answer as there is none. Mark the answers as per your understanding on the subject as you can be asked to evaluate your point of view in the Group Interview 2 Stage.

WAT topic: “Why is criticism necessary for creativity?” (Word Limit 300)

Group Interview 1 had 6 participants and all of us had some experience under our belt. I don’t know if it was a conscious decision by the authorities because there were other groups with a mix of experienced and inexperienced candidates.

G1 Interview:

3 Male Panelists

This interview is more on the technical lines based on the specialization for which you have been shortlisted. The interview started with about yourself question. Remember what you say in about yourself shall shape your entire interview.

General questions which were asked:

Finance: Why Finance? What is the aim? What do you know about 2008? Why did it happen? Why was it so bad? What was the major flaw in Mortgage-Backed Securities?

Marketing: Why Marketing? What led to this decision? Which companies do you aim for? Which was your favorite marketing campaign? P’s of Marketing? Why not operations as your profile is more suited for that?

IT: Why IT? What did you do in your work ex? What is big data? Difference btw regression and statistical modeling? More on the project during work? What other things can be implemented related to the project?

G1 Tip: Be well versed with the current affairs and some top news or technologies related to your specialization. The professors are very friendly and would guide you on every step of the process, just be vigilant to pick up the hints. Also, know what you have written on the online form and don’t fall in the pit of contradicting yourself. There were students who were asked to justify their choice of specialization and were put in situations where their reasoning was found contradicted. Remember, don’t fall into that pit, have a strong reason for your choice.

3 out of 6 were selected for interview two.

G2 Interview:

This interview was more on the ethical lines. Very casual discussions about grey areas of life.

2 Panelists 1 Male and 1 Female; 4 applicants who cleared round 1 were called for the interview

The interviewers took our introductions. Then they asked us what made us happy. Followed by discussions on what made us happy and what made us sad. Everyone said something and there was further questioning on the answers. This was followed by some answers we had given in the psychometric test. The question was, “is the world equal”, the discussions followed with several questions to explain our viewpoint followed by what are the flaws in our own viewpoint. After this discussion, we were given a situation and were asked to take a stand.

Situation: (Female Panelist) I love the GAP store, recently, I came across a piece of news stating that the GAP store manufactures its clothes in Bangladesh using child labor. It is my favorite brand. What should I do, should I keep buying or should I stop?

The question was followed by a healthy discussion. Everyone was given time to explain their views. The answers were followed by several counter questions on the reasoning trying to push you to change your stance on the issue. The discussion went on for 10+ mins.

The entire G2 took around 30-40 mins but time flies when you are inside that room. The profs were amazing, really helpful and accomodating.

Tips: Enjoy the process and be yourself, don’t try to frame answers and try to portray yourself as someone else because you can get tangled in your answers when cross-questioned. Study your specialization well. Read current trends related to your specialization. Know yourself well. I felt the time for the WAT+Psycho test is less so remember to do it swiftly.