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Tips To Ace Personal Interview - Do you get jittery when it comes to facing the judge's panel after the CAT 2023 exam for personal interview? Although the personal interview of MBA colleges differs a bit in terms of the external job interview. Yet it is most likely for candidates to have apprehensive thoughts.
What if I couldn’t crack the CAT 2023 personal interview? What will I say if I do not know the answers to some questions? How should I ace my CAT personal interview? Are there any tips to ace it? Well yes, we at Careers360 will provide you with CAT interview preparation tips to an ace personal interview in this article. What a personal interview is? What questions can be asked? What to avoid during personal interview etc., will be there in this article along with the tips to an ace personal interview of CAT. These tips can also be used by candidates during a job interview. As the MBA admissions in India are on peak time, candidates who are to face the admission process of B-schools can also use these tips to ace personal interview rounds.
With context to CAT admission, a Personal Interview is a one on one real-time interaction between a interviewee and group of personnel called interviewer. CAT Personal Interview is a major tool used by institutes (at time of admissions) to gauge the abilities of an individual. In a personal interview not only the verbal responses are noted by the interviewer or panel, but also implied behaviour is carefully monitored.
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Interviewers are curious to know everything about the interviewee. In a personal interview, there will be questions about your personality, your work style, work experience, psychological behaviour towards things and work interest. Always remember to bring out the positive side even if the interviewer has asked a negative question. While there are some questions that do not have any right or wrong answers, make sure to be specific about them and try to answer in a dominating manner.
Do not speak wrong if you are not familiar with the topic asked by the interviewer
Speak only the actual algorithms. Do not try to bluff to look intelligent
Avoid slang/jargon
Be in a formal dress code
Show your presence of mind
Be prepared
Now that you know what a Personal Interview is and what you should not do. Let us now move onto the tips to ace Personal Interview.
Do your research
Do not be empty-handed
Know the basic etiquettes
Learn behavioural interview techniques
Dress for success
Demonstrate confidence
Be an active listener
Use illustrations
Ask questions
Stay calm and motivated
Let's look at the detailed tips to crack Personal Interview one by one carefully:
Learn about the institute or company in which you are about to give the Personal Interview. Take your time to research the institute or company. Doing good research will allow you to stay confident on this aspect and you will be ready to answer all related questions. Read the “About Us” section on the website of the institute or company. If you know people who have studied at the same institute or worked for the same company, go and ask out their opinion about the institute or company. Do not go unprepared.
Do not land up without any documents. Going empty handed may leave the interviewers thinking about exact qualification. Make sure to take the following listed documents.
For CAT 2023 Admission Personal Interview - Take class 10 and 12 certificates. In case of postgraduate admission take a Bachelor's degree as well.
For Job Personal Interview - Take certificates, a Few copies of your resume/CV, any additional educational certification.
Basic Documents - Some passport-size photographs, a pen, notepad/papers.
Due to agitated state of mind, candidates make minor blunders and end up losing points. Candidates remain unaware of the basic etiquettes. Take your time and prepare yourself to know how to face personal interview. Some of the basic etiquettes that candidates must follow are-
Be on time and don’t be late
Do not use a cell phone during the personal interview preparation
Pay attention to what the interviewer is communicating
Talk only about what is necessary. Do not over-talk
Do not badmouth any institute or organization
Maintain a proper body posture
Apart from the basic CAT interview questions, candidates need to prepare themselves for some behaviour based questions as the Personal Interview also judges what is implicit. Behavioural interviews are aimed at judging candidates on how well they have handled their past situations. The best way to prepare for this is to make a list of your strengths and weaknesses and then try thinking of situations where you think you have applied them.
Be in formal attire and look confident. It is said that a well-dressed person is half prepared. Although, there is no proper dress code defined for the interviewee, do not try to be creative with the dress code. Wear a formal dress code. Do not wear heavy perfume. Avoid doing too much makeup if you are not interviewing for a creative company or fashion institute.
Be confident in how you look, speak and behave. Never let the interviewer feel that you are losing confidence through your answers. Remember that non-verbal communication is equally important and helps you portray yourself in a good manner. To look and stay confident maintain a positive body posture. Think positive during the interview. Your mood is reflected in your voice and hence is considered a factor of how confident you are.
Do not force the interviewer to feel that you are losing interest and are being non-attentive to his questions. Listen to what he says and not hear what he says. Remember that “Listening is active” and “hearing is passive”. Hence, be attentive and an active listener.
If the interviewer asks you any questions, try giving the answer along with some examples. Make sure to showcase the positive aspects of the question. Do not exaggerate the examples as they make sound confusing and a part of storytelling. Prepare some illustrations in advance and imagine a situation. Make it sound like a real situation and above all speak it with confidence.
As already known that a Personal Interview is conducted as interpersonal communication. Henceforth, the candidates also have the option to ask question/s from the interviewer with regard to the institute or company. Do not hesitate in asking something that you think can be relevant and support your decision to join that organization or institute. Take complete advantage of the opportunity.
In the case of nervousness, try using the washroom and make yourself at ease. Remember that it all shows on its face. Hence, be confident and remain calm. Prepare yourself in advance to see the after-effects. Take some deep breaths for freshening your mind and enchant that your personal interview will be successful.
During the CAT personal interview, candidates are often asked about their academic background, work experience (if any), reasons for pursuing an MBA, strengths and weaknesses, leadership skills, problem-solving abilities, future goals, and how they can contribute to the MBA program and the business world. Interviewers may also inquire about current affairs, industry trends, and situational questions to assess the candidate's analytical thinking and decision-making skills.
Do's:
Don'ts:
Now that CAT 2023 result has been declared, candidates must prepare themselves for the CAT PI round. The best way to ace CAT Personal Interview is to follow all the personal interview tips above and be thorough with your research on CAT Personal Interview questions. Preparing for answers beforehand and being prepared for how you will react in a particular scenario will increase your confidence.
Yes, the CAT (Common Admission Test) typically does not have a traditional interview as part of its examination process. CAT scores are used primarily for shortlisting candidates for the next rounds of selection, which may include interviews, group discussions, and written ability tests conducted by individual MBA institutes.
CAT interview questions cover a range of topics such as candidates' academic background, work experience, motivations for pursuing an MBA, strengths and weaknesses, problem-solving scenarios, industry trends, and their ability to contribute to the program and business world. Situational and behavioral questions are also common to gauge analytical and decision-making skills.
Yes, interviews are an integral part of the selection process for most IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) after the CAT exam, assessing candidates' suitability, motivations, skills, and potential for their MBA programs.
With a CAT rank of 5419, your percentile is around 95 to 97. This means you may not get into the top IIMs like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, or Calcutta, because they usually take students above 98 or 99 percentile. But you still have good chances at newer IIMs and other top MBA colleges.
You can get admission into IIMs like Amritsar, Raipur, Jammu, Udaipur, and Bodh Gaya. These IIMs accept students with lower percentiles, usually between 90 and 94.
Apart from IIMs, you can also get colleges like MDI Gurugram, IMI Delhi, Great Lakes Chennai, and maybe even FMS Delhi or JBIMS Mumbai depending on your category and performance in interview rounds.
You should now start preparing for the interview, group discussions, and written tests that most colleges will conduct after shortlisting you based on your CAT rank.
Here are websites you can check for cut-off and admission details:
https://www.imsindia.com/blog/cat-cutoff/
Hello Sahitya
For FMS Delhi, your percentile should be 99%+ and it should be 99.5%+ to be on the safer side.
Now coming to the academics:
1. 10th marks: 75%+ are given 10 out of 10
2. 12th marks: 75%+ are given 10 out of 10
3. Graduation marks: FMS doesn't considers graduation marks for screening.
So if you have 75%+ in both 10th and 12th, you will get full marks in academic score.
To know more about FMS: FMS
Hope this answer helps! Thank You!!!
Hello Ayush
This is definitely a myth that with 0 work-ex you can't get IIM ABC because freshers still get into them although the competition is brutal but if you have good academics (9/9/9) and a good CAT (99.5%+), you have a chance.
These are some other good colleges except IIM ABC which you can aim for:
TIER 1:
Tier 2:
To know more about CAT: CAT by Careers360
Hope this answer helps! Thank You!!!
Hello Aspirant,
With an AIR (All India Rank) of 1,60,000 in NEET and in the OC (Open Category) there is a very slim chance of getting an MBBS seat in a government medical college, especially in General Category seats through All India Quota (AIQ), but here are some options:
You can also participate in state counselling rounds, as sometimes, seats remain vacant/unfilled, including mop-up rounds.
Hello aspirant,
The question papers for CAT MGU University can be found on their official website, or you can also visit careers360 website for the same.
The link of which, I am attaching here,
https://university.careers360.com/articles/mgu-cat-2025
Regards
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