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| Somesh Jha, a 2012-13 batch student from IIMC, Dhenkanal, has completed his internship with The Hindu and got placed with Business Standard. |
Before telling you what you need to do and needn’t do to crack the IIMC entrance, I would like to familiarize you with the life that lies ahead once you successfully pass this hurdle. For me and for most of my batchmates, they had the time of their lives all these 9 months. This would completely change your life and would nourish the journalist within you for sure. IIMCians, as far I have observed, are very well respected in the industry and are considered the best. Wherever you go, whichever company you join, you are sure to find an IIMCian either holding a top post else working top class.
Don’t worry too much about placements from now on. Things like where will I be placed, whether will I be placed or not could conquer your mind too often but do not lay your emphasis on that part. Once you are through, just give your best, go with a mindset to “learn” and there you go! But to reach there, you have to work up a sweat.
So, now the big question – HOW TO CRACK THE IIMC ENTRANCE…?
For this, I will run a few FAQ’s which will probably clear all your doubts
Q 1. I am from a non-journalistic background, is it so that a person from journalism background will get a preference over me or will be able to fair better than me in the exam?
Answer – A big NO. It doesn’t really matter guys if you are from journalistic background or not. You can be a lawyer and then pursue this or even a manager and then go on to be an accomplished journalist. Believe me. I have done Marketing Management and Retail Business from Delhi University. Neither of those terms has got anything to do with journalism at all. Infact, it can work in your favour in a few cases as well, the reason being you will have knowledge in a specific domain before entering into this stream. And in journalism, you should be the jack of all trades but the master of one. Honestly, there is no preference given to a person from journalistic background and it all depends on your competence my friend!
Q 2. I am going to give entrance for a journalism school. So, does it mean I need to master the knowledge of all the fields – sports, politics, business, etc.?
Answer – NO. Just stay abreast of the latest happenings. Scan through the newspapers daily and go through the editorials of atleast 3-4 newspapers (one of them should definitely be The Hindu). You needn’t know who the President of Slovenia is but yes, if that President is elected a month back then yes, you should know that.
Q 3. Do I need to go through each and every page of the yearly GK books such as Manorama?
Answer – Not at all. Not for the written test atleast! Can’t say about the interview though as anything can be asked over there. But there is a trick for that as well. You need to take the interview in your way or direction so that questions are asked according to your comfort levels.
Like, you should have knowledge about the political scenarios of your birth place as this can certainly be asked in your interview. Infact, the interview round is something, not even the experts can give you an appropriate advice as it all depend upon your confidence level and the way you handle questions. If you do not know something, be straight forward and confident (as well as polite) enough to say “No Sir I do not now this”. The interviewers won’t eat you up believe me. Just be yourself there.
And for the written test, what worked for me is, I went through the newspapers thoroughly last 3 months before the exam. If you missed out on that, take the Pratiyogita Darpan or even take the help of the internet and look for names which are in the headlines since last few months. Do make a note of that.
You will get a question where you will be given 10 names and you will have to write short notes on them for 20 marks. Those are the scoring areas of the examination. All the awardees, achievers, any celebrity’s demise, etc are the common areas from which the questions do come.
For this, I would suggest you to observe the pattern of the last few years’ question paper carefully. You will observe that no name is asked out of the blue and those names had been in news a few months prior to the examination.
Q 4. I am done with the preparation. What about the written test now? Do we need a rocket science to crack it as the best among the best would be appearing for the same? Or do I write flowery language to catch the examiner’s appeal?
Answer – First congratulations that you are done with your preparation but this is only the half task done! Now, wait for the D-day and fight the battle with full force. You do not need a flowery language at all while writing the exam, it is good to have sound vocabulary but that does not matter much. If you can simply convey your thought, form an opinion and stick to it, you will be through. What won’t be tolerated is weak grammar. Do not make silly mistakes and do not forget to revise. Most important – STICK TO THE WORD LIMIT! It is not the quantity but the quality which matters the most.
Moreover, try to give as much balanced view as possible. Measure both the sides of the equations in your answer. You needn’t bring a political angle in all of your answers. Moreover, try to bring in facts as well. There should be a fair balance between facts and opinions.
Just try finding out the scoring areas in the exam and make sure you hit the bull’s eye. The most scoring area of the examination would be GRAMMAR. DO NOT ANSWER anything on an issue you are unsure of. As it is rightly said, half knowledge is always dangerous.
Q 5. I have cracked the IIMC entrance test. Have I won the battle already? Do I sit back and relax? How do I brace myself for the interview now?
Answer – There will always be lull before the storm arrives. To prepare yourself for the “interview storm”, just brace yourself well in these hours of lull. I know you would be on seventh heaven after cracking the written test (I also was) but then, ground yourself first. You have to now run an extra mile to reach your dream destination.
For interviews, as already mentioned above, confidence is the key. It is how you drive the interview and the more you drive it your way, the better it is. There will be times and infact most of the times, during this round, when the interviewers would try to knock you down completely, could become unjustifiably rude on you and even try to dominate upon your opinion but you have to make sure that you keep standing firm in these times of storm. Do not be rude on them. Present yourself and your thoughts well. Do not try to be oversmart as they are experienced enough to judge a person within minutes.
If you the confidence in you, suitable attitude and can give justice to your views then nobody can stop you. Be honest to yourself and do not utter things which can lead you to a maze, from where coming back becomes difficult.
Again, do read about the recent happenings and deeply research on each and every burning issue because they can ask you anything and will further, try to dig deep into your answers. Do your homework well and be ready for basic questions such as Why Journalism, Strengths, Weaknesses, etc. and just hope for the best.
Q 6. My name came in the list but I didn’t make it to IIMC, Delhi. Oh God! The names of these places I haven’t even heard in my entire life! Shall I still go ahead with the other branches of IIMC?
Answer – From my personal experience, I can tell you I got to learn a lot being in IIMC, Dhenkanal. Being born in Delhi, I still didn’t limit myself from securing my dream. Things would look all rosy from the aerial view when one would think of IIMC, Delhi but believe me I had a few friends over there who told me that they are not quite satisfied with their experience and do not even know their batchmates well enough(at that time they were almost done with their second semester exams). And tell me, wouldn’t it be exciting to explore a new place and report in those areas of the country you are completely unfamiliar of?
Learning is a process which is entirely dependant on you. If you want to learn and are ambitious enough to be a part of the IIMC family, you should not pre-occupy yourselves with such thoughts.
Anyways, journalism is a profession in which you will probably have to go to remote areas, war zones and even Maoist-affected areas to report and there you won’t be given any choice. Better to start your journey by not constraining yourself just to remain in the hustle and bustle.
Moreover, the examination is already centralised and placements, I believe from the next year, will also be. So, there would be an equal opportunity for all!
You wouldn’t even realise when you will come at the far end of this beautiful journey which will take you on a roller-coaster ride leaving you with nostalgia, good memories, great friends and inturn, making you a person who you always wanted to be – A CAPABLE JOURNALIST…
So, just go ahead and realise your dream! A dream called the I.I.M.C…
For further queries, you can reach me at somi91@gmail.com
Don’t worry too much about placements from now on. Things like where will I be placed, whether will I be placed or not could conquer your mind too often but do not lay your emphasis on that part. Once you are through, just give your best, go with a mindset to “learn” and there you go! But to reach there, you have to work up a sweat.
So, now the big question – HOW TO CRACK THE IIMC ENTRANCE…?
For this, I will run a few FAQ’s which will probably clear all your doubts
Q 1. I am from a non-journalistic background, is it so that a person from journalism background will get a preference over me or will be able to fair better than me in the exam?
Answer – A big NO. It doesn’t really matter guys if you are from journalistic background or not. You can be a lawyer and then pursue this or even a manager and then go on to be an accomplished journalist. Believe me. I have done Marketing Management and Retail Business from Delhi University. Neither of those terms has got anything to do with journalism at all. Infact, it can work in your favour in a few cases as well, the reason being you will have knowledge in a specific domain before entering into this stream. And in journalism, you should be the jack of all trades but the master of one. Honestly, there is no preference given to a person from journalistic background and it all depends on your competence my friend!
Q 2. I am going to give entrance for a journalism school. So, does it mean I need to master the knowledge of all the fields – sports, politics, business, etc.?
Answer – NO. Just stay abreast of the latest happenings. Scan through the newspapers daily and go through the editorials of atleast 3-4 newspapers (one of them should definitely be The Hindu). You needn’t know who the President of Slovenia is but yes, if that President is elected a month back then yes, you should know that.
Q 3. Do I need to go through each and every page of the yearly GK books such as Manorama?
Answer – Not at all. Not for the written test atleast! Can’t say about the interview though as anything can be asked over there. But there is a trick for that as well. You need to take the interview in your way or direction so that questions are asked according to your comfort levels.
Like, you should have knowledge about the political scenarios of your birth place as this can certainly be asked in your interview. Infact, the interview round is something, not even the experts can give you an appropriate advice as it all depend upon your confidence level and the way you handle questions. If you do not know something, be straight forward and confident (as well as polite) enough to say “No Sir I do not now this”. The interviewers won’t eat you up believe me. Just be yourself there.
And for the written test, what worked for me is, I went through the newspapers thoroughly last 3 months before the exam. If you missed out on that, take the Pratiyogita Darpan or even take the help of the internet and look for names which are in the headlines since last few months. Do make a note of that.
You will get a question where you will be given 10 names and you will have to write short notes on them for 20 marks. Those are the scoring areas of the examination. All the awardees, achievers, any celebrity’s demise, etc are the common areas from which the questions do come.
For this, I would suggest you to observe the pattern of the last few years’ question paper carefully. You will observe that no name is asked out of the blue and those names had been in news a few months prior to the examination.
Q 4. I am done with the preparation. What about the written test now? Do we need a rocket science to crack it as the best among the best would be appearing for the same? Or do I write flowery language to catch the examiner’s appeal?
Answer – First congratulations that you are done with your preparation but this is only the half task done! Now, wait for the D-day and fight the battle with full force. You do not need a flowery language at all while writing the exam, it is good to have sound vocabulary but that does not matter much. If you can simply convey your thought, form an opinion and stick to it, you will be through. What won’t be tolerated is weak grammar. Do not make silly mistakes and do not forget to revise. Most important – STICK TO THE WORD LIMIT! It is not the quantity but the quality which matters the most.
Moreover, try to give as much balanced view as possible. Measure both the sides of the equations in your answer. You needn’t bring a political angle in all of your answers. Moreover, try to bring in facts as well. There should be a fair balance between facts and opinions.
Just try finding out the scoring areas in the exam and make sure you hit the bull’s eye. The most scoring area of the examination would be GRAMMAR. DO NOT ANSWER anything on an issue you are unsure of. As it is rightly said, half knowledge is always dangerous.
Q 5. I have cracked the IIMC entrance test. Have I won the battle already? Do I sit back and relax? How do I brace myself for the interview now?
Answer – There will always be lull before the storm arrives. To prepare yourself for the “interview storm”, just brace yourself well in these hours of lull. I know you would be on seventh heaven after cracking the written test (I also was) but then, ground yourself first. You have to now run an extra mile to reach your dream destination.
For interviews, as already mentioned above, confidence is the key. It is how you drive the interview and the more you drive it your way, the better it is. There will be times and infact most of the times, during this round, when the interviewers would try to knock you down completely, could become unjustifiably rude on you and even try to dominate upon your opinion but you have to make sure that you keep standing firm in these times of storm. Do not be rude on them. Present yourself and your thoughts well. Do not try to be oversmart as they are experienced enough to judge a person within minutes.
If you the confidence in you, suitable attitude and can give justice to your views then nobody can stop you. Be honest to yourself and do not utter things which can lead you to a maze, from where coming back becomes difficult.
Again, do read about the recent happenings and deeply research on each and every burning issue because they can ask you anything and will further, try to dig deep into your answers. Do your homework well and be ready for basic questions such as Why Journalism, Strengths, Weaknesses, etc. and just hope for the best.
Q 6. My name came in the list but I didn’t make it to IIMC, Delhi. Oh God! The names of these places I haven’t even heard in my entire life! Shall I still go ahead with the other branches of IIMC?
Answer – From my personal experience, I can tell you I got to learn a lot being in IIMC, Dhenkanal. Being born in Delhi, I still didn’t limit myself from securing my dream. Things would look all rosy from the aerial view when one would think of IIMC, Delhi but believe me I had a few friends over there who told me that they are not quite satisfied with their experience and do not even know their batchmates well enough(at that time they were almost done with their second semester exams). And tell me, wouldn’t it be exciting to explore a new place and report in those areas of the country you are completely unfamiliar of?
Learning is a process which is entirely dependant on you. If you want to learn and are ambitious enough to be a part of the IIMC family, you should not pre-occupy yourselves with such thoughts.
Anyways, journalism is a profession in which you will probably have to go to remote areas, war zones and even Maoist-affected areas to report and there you won’t be given any choice. Better to start your journey by not constraining yourself just to remain in the hustle and bustle.
Moreover, the examination is already centralised and placements, I believe from the next year, will also be. So, there would be an equal opportunity for all!
You wouldn’t even realise when you will come at the far end of this beautiful journey which will take you on a roller-coaster ride leaving you with nostalgia, good memories, great friends and inturn, making you a person who you always wanted to be – A CAPABLE JOURNALIST…
So, just go ahead and realise your dream! A dream called the I.I.M.C…
For further queries, you can reach me at somi91@gmail.com
2 comments:
this was really helpful..thank you, sir :)
All the best pragz :)
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