Ad-PR GD-PI: Wide and Deep

Saumya Baijal is a 2007 pass out from IIMC, with a Diploma in Advertising and Public Relations. She has worked as a Strategy Planner at Ogilvy and Mather, and in Client Servicing in agencies like Ogilvy and Mather and McCann Erickson. She is currently the Brand Manager at Cisco Systems and runs her own theatre group called Aatish. She is a blogger and keenly critiques and sees the social impact of commercial cinema on society and vice versa. She is also an avid animal lover, and likes making friends with every dog she finds!

The first time I set foot in the IIMC campus to pick up my admission form, I decided I wanted to study here. A time when Mass Communication seemed like a flux of many ideas, I remember having filled up forms for English Journalism, Radio and Television Journalism and Advertisng and Public Relations. I had always wanted to be a journalist. Apparently the universe, IIMC and destiny thought I’d make a better advertising professional. But, it was to just study at IIMC that made me fill all three forms. Just to want to have the opportunity maybe, of penning this post don someday.

So, what is it that helped me through? It was knowledge. Knowing my interest area, understanding well, what there was to the career I planned to choose. The entrance exam provides ample opportunity for you exhibit your writing skills, and creativity, but its the GD and PI that really test your knowledge, your ability to get bombarded with questions and answer them truthfully and deftly, and how receptive you are to arguments of others. At the same time its about not drowning the others but making your point intelligently.

Group Discussion: The truth of the matter is that everyone in that room is vying for the same seat as you, and will try every trick in the book, and every way that they can think of to outshine you. Don’t let that dent your confidence. In a group discussion, I feel, one should never speak just for the sake of it, to make their voices heard. It is about making an intelligent point related to the discussion that can turn it around. There will be people who will try and drown your voice, but its content that wins. If you have a strong point, and if someone next to you is unnecessary wasting time reiterating a point already made/summarizing for others benefit, politely make your point, and use examples to bridge it together. Personally, I always advocate against making a completely unrelated point in Group Discussions. It just makes it futile. But then it is your own best judgment at the situation.

The Personal Interview: Its really your last lap that you need to cover. Read. Read. Read and then read some more! Be very very clear with the points you make, what you have done, have the complete information in your mind for anything you may say. I remember vividly sharing the fact that I did a lot of theatre and was immensely proud of it, when I was promptly asked to perform, making the washroom my entry point and using the interview area as my stage. Also, I remember being asked the name of the script writer of Rang De Basanti, since we had been talking of popular culture before that.

So, in a nutshell- 1. Know your FACTS 2. Don’t worry. Don’t buckle under pressure 3. If you don’t know something, say you don’t. Don’t try and cover it up. Honestly is always the best way to move. If it is meant to happen, it will. Read loads of Brand Equity, Ads of the World, Agency faqs and so on before the interview. Watch ads with filters. Watch worldwide ads like Superbowl commercials, Cannes Winners. And know your current affairs well! Its all a brand game now. For example, you should have a PoV on the impact on brand Manchester United now that Sir Alex is retiring.

So all the very best! Do well!