Confidence is The Key

Hi this is Krishna, pass out of EJ, 2010-11. Always wanted to be a journalist. So if you are not serious – please don’t occupy a seat of other deserving candidate who might not be as lucky as you. Currently working with Business Standard and based in Mumbai. Krishna is heading Membership Drive of IIMC Alumni Association in Maharashtra Chapter.

Congratulations to all those who have cleared first hurdle – the written examination. I would like to share my thought on PI (personal interview) section of journalism courses. I had cleared written exams of both courses (RTV & EJ) and appeared for both the interviews. However, I didn’t clear RTV interview and ultimately landed in EJ. As I told you in my article for written exam, I have an interesting interview experience to share. So here it is.

I will tell you account of my interviews. It will tell you do’s and don’ts of interviews. Hope this helps you.

Journalism interviews, I would call them as extension of written examinations so if you are here there are very bright chances that you’ll finally land up in IIMC provided you are able to impress the panel – even if you differ from the panel’s opinion.

First I would talk about why I couldn’t make it to RTV? The reason is simple – I didn’t sound confident enough like I was in EJ interview (both interviews were held back to back same day, EJ first). So don’t lose your confidence – it’s the key to crack any interview, not only IIMC.

So in RTV interview, I was asked few questions related to current affairs which I could easily answer and that shouldn’t be a problem for you too. However the most important part of RTV interview is piece to camera (P2C). You are asked to stand before camera and asked to give a P2C on any topic of your choice (probably panel might also give you a topic). As I said confidence is a key here. Face the camera confidently. Don’t murmur or blabber or falter on camera. You will lose marks right away. And again I’m repeating if you are confident, you will sail through.  So make up your mind on which topic are you going to give the P2C and start practicing the points but make sure that it doesn’t sound like you have learnt it by heart (ratta marna). However if the panel gives you a topic, you should be ready for that too. I wasn’t able to give a decent P2C and thus couldn’t make it to the final cut in RTV.

Now EJ – which I ultimately cleared. Again I was asked some questions related to current affairs and since I came from Maharashtra, I was invariably asked about Raj Thackeray which was a hot topic those days – in news for attacking north Indians in Maharashtra and in particularly in Mumbai.  I supported Raj Thackeray by saying his ways might be wrong but the issue which he has taken up is completely correct. Now before you start hating me for my answer, which also got the panel infuriated I justified my answer the solid reason.  I gave them a fact that Mumbai being a city which is surrounded by sea from three sides has only one side to grow and there are limitations for the city to accommodate more and more people which create problems for existing residents as well as people who newly migrate.

However panel didn’t seem convinced by my answer.  However I stood on my ground. They asked me now if you are in Delhi and if we ask all Maharashtrians to leave Delhi immediately, would you like it? And what would be your reaction then? I said, I definitely won’t like it but Delhi has land to grow therefore the problem is not so peculiar (however  on the hindsight – I feel same for the Delhi that there should be limit to which we should allow our cities to grow to ensure proper urban planning – however that is a different issue).

Further ahead I went on to say that the Constitution of India to which everyone is referring to and saying anyone in the county has the right to go and settle anywhere in the country has a sub clause in the same rule saying, however if the state feels that the migration is harming the people it can ban it (reasonable restriction is the right word as mentioned in the constitution however couldn’t remember it exactly in the interview room). The panel was more annoyed. One of the panelist said that “which constitution are you referring to, Raj Thackeray’s constitution?” this was his exact remark.  I said, “no, I’m referring to constitution of India.” So the member further said, we have all read constitution of India and we can tell you on with complete responsibility that there is no such thing written in the constitution.

However I stood my ground and didn’t relent.  After coming out of room, I thought I should cross check the facts though I was sure about it and if possible show them to panel. I called up a friend and asked him to check. Finally after being on call for about 30 minutes he was able to locate the exact line. It was a part of fundamental rights. I asked him to sms me the gist – I was happy that I wasn’t completely wrong. But I wasn't fully correct also. I went back to the interview room to find it locked. I gasped for my breath. Hopeless, that I had annoyed the panel came back to lobby to find one of the member standing in the lobby. I rushed to him and showed him a sms which friend had sent. He smiled and said it talks about reasonable restrictions and not ban. I said, yes I meant that.  I don’t know what impact it had but I was through.