The Personal Interview Round is the final round in the admission process and the final test that holds a candidate from the dream course/ institute. Naturally, all candidates who make it to this round want to clear this hurdle with flying colours. Yet, only a few go ahead while others miss out. This is because only a handful of candidates are armed with the thoughts, ideas, personality that impresses the members of the interview panel. Others try to cover their internal deficiencies with external paraphernalia, which gets exposed before the experienced panellists.
External Factors
There are a variety of external factors that you can take care of to be ready for the interview. Factors such as how you dress up, how you talk, how you conduct yourself during the interview, your body language all contribute in creating the right aura around you. This is the least a formal set up like an interview demands. Any candidate who has some knowledge about interviews would look at these things as basic requirements and won’t even break a sweat over them. However, it is also true that these things in themselves do not guarantee success to the candidate.
PI is much more
PI is much more than just dressing up well and looking well groomed. For your PI to go well, you have to impress the panellists with your thoughts and ideas. The interview is to gauge the kind of person you are and whether you will fit into the expectations of the institute or not. Though how you dress up and how you carry yourself is important, but ultimately, once you have settled down into the interview, what you say decides whether you clear the interview or not.
Prepare for PI
Though it is difficult to predict how the interview will go, it is easy to anticipate the kind of questions that may be asked in the interview and therefore, go prepared for it. Questions about personal life, interests, thoughts on MBA, the institute concerned and so on are common introductory questions that may be asked. All candidates must be prepared to answer them as well as they can. As such questions can be predicted in advance, candidates can think of the best ways of answering these questions, which will create the best impact on the panellists.
Be Aware
A candidate who is aware of his/her surroundings, is a good observer, is well read, should have no problem in facing the interview. Any question that the panel puts up, will become an opportunity for such a candidate to impress with his/ her knowledge and perspective. The idea behind the interview is to assess the understanding and intellectual acumen of the candidate, therefore, the candidates must exploit this opportunity to prove to the panellists that they are thinkers and have a well- thought out perspective on issues.
Be at your best
PI is one final opportunity you get to impress the people who will decide your fate, so make it count. Don’t leave anything to chance. Make sure that you are well prepared to tackle the tricky questions thrown at you and don’t lose your calm. It is better if you participate in mock interviews to get a feel of things. Along with looking professional and wearing the right attire, you must focus on delivering the right content before the panel which helps them tilt favourably in your corner.
PI is your last chance to show that you deserve a seat in the institute. To do that, you will need much more than just the right dress.
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