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| Nandita Singh is 9th topper of Advertising and Public Relations, 2012-13. She was placed on campus at the PR firm, 20:20 MSL and is currently working there for technology clients in the B2B sector. Though she was uncertain of her future when she first got into IIMC, she ended up among the top 10 in her class and is now spending her days unravelling the mysteries of PR. A foodie at heart, Nandita recommends venturing outside the IIMC campus to enjoy therapeutic meals at the canteen at Secular House, Hawkers in Vasant Kunj or some chicken paranthas at the dhaba outside IIFT, Qutab Institutional Area. When she’s not buried in a pile of work, you find her humming a diverse set of tunes or socializing. |
Ah! You’ve made it past that long subjective entrance exam and you’ve come through with flying colours. But this is only the beginning. Don’t relax now after having built up to this admission process for several months.
Let me begin with a common tip: YOU CANNOT STUDY FOR A GROUP DISCUSSION/ INTERVIEW. You may "learn" some intelligent sounding fun facts to impress the panel and it may even work. You might even cram some more. But that’s all you’ll manage. And you’ll have a side dish of stress to deal with. There’s no harm however, in updating yourself regularly in the week leading up to the GD/PI. Papers, the Internet... These tools were created to make up for all the reading up you didn’t do earlier. The one thing you should have is an opinion! On everything. Especially considering you’re applying for a course that nurtures and helps ascertain more concrete opinions in order to help strategize better. And honestly, though it’s not necessary that either the GD or PI will hold questions specific to Advertising or Public Relations, it’s good to know the definition of the course you are about to spend a whole year pursuing. (As precautionary measure, look up MORE than just the definition of Ad/PR).
Group Discussion: A room full of people you’ve never met, leave alone conversed with. One topic. For or against. 15 minutes on a clock. 2 minutes each to sum up. And a panel sitting across from you, judging whether you are proficient with: Content, Conversation, More content, Consideration, and Conviction.
If you’ve aced GDs before, stop reading immediately. You don’t need this. If you’re a fresh graduate, this is probably your first time. That’s not a bad thing. It was mine too. And so oblivious was I, to the supposed tension that surrounds a group discussion that I think I was the only one who stepped out of the room and DIDN’T want to cry. Honestly, it’s the time before the GD, right outside the room, where everyone’s queued up like they’re waiting to be punished, that tension grips you the most. So what do you do? Go prepared.
Condradicts the very first suggestion I made, doesn’t it? Well, I said you can’t prepare content for a GD, but you can go equipped with skill and tact. That’s what a GD is honestly about. Not only if you can perform, but if you can perform in a team, perform in a team you aren’t familiar with, perform under pressure and perform impromptu. So the key then is to balance the following:
- Talk, talk sense, and talk with confidence. Silence goes unheard; nonsense, ignored; and overconfidence, admonished.
- Let others speak. Now this is the most cliché mantra there is. But the point is being missed. Don’t just stop abruptly when someone else butts in. Multitask! While you’re busy collecting your thoughts, look around and notice the people who aren’t getting the opportunity to express themselves. Egg them on. Honestly, anyone who tries to hog the limelight will only put the panel off.
- Speak in crisp sentences. Like a freshly toasted Paapad crisp. Long winding sentences, will either be rudely interjected, or will trail off into someone else’s more engaging comment.
- DON’T look at the people evaluating you. In the midst of all the ‘Speak and let speak’ and ‘I must also sound intelligent’ we forget that we are being judged for having a discussion, not delivering monologues to the evaluating party.
- If you’ve come this far and still remembered everything I’ve said, congratulations. I didn’t remember half of these things. So as consolation for suffering the verbal deluge, I offer you the star piece of advice. You will ALWAYS catch their attention if you speak up first and sum up last. Of course, all of the other things will factor in, but this is like that 11th mark you can score in a 10 mark paper.
- Practice! No matter how courageous, and confident you might be, you should try and be accustomed to the idea of discussing opinions in a group without losing track or your temper. Try a dinner table GD with your family/friends. Even more fun: try to do it without them knowing you’re trying to do it.
Essentially, remember this: You are being evaluated for the person you are with other people and whether you can hold your own without losing your cool. If you know who you are, they will too. A tad philosophical, but it worked for me. (I guess there’s a reason there’s so many of us to offer advice).
PERSONAL INTERVIEW: Really? You made it out of the GD with that one girl who kept stuttering her point right when you were getting to the peak of your sermon, AND that guy who was sitting just too close for comfort AND that member on the panel who seemed to be glaring only at you?
CONGRATULATIONS! You’re still alive and you have an INTERVIEW TO GIVE! Honestly, the process was such a blur for me, I don’t even remember if it was on the same day. I think it was. But the two processes are a world apart.
The GD still seems okay because we have this herd mentality that will let us feel less fear simply because there is company to share it. And then... *horror movie music from when the heroine goes to open the door late on a full moon night* the PERSONAL INTERVIEW!
Honest to God, even if there are some of you who think you’re here just to ‘take a shot’ or ‘see how it goes,’ the lead up to this particular event will make even you, lose your last nerve. But, the trick is to not let that state of mind come across. In fact, it is the most important for those of you who mean business when you say you want to get into Advertising/PR. Here, is where your knowledge will truly come in handy. And again, blurting out crammed bits of info will not suffice. You must sound like yourself. You must sound like you know what you talk about and you talk about what you know. My biggest motivation (and this was self deduced) was to know that no matter what happened inside that room, I had no reason to lie. Mind you, I had no alternate plan to take up in case I didn’t make it here. Walking in, I just knew that no matter what happened, I would not lie about something I didn’t know. I had no reason to. It takes a certain degree of decency, to accept your flaws gracefully. And that can go a long way in reflecting well on you. Lack of knowledge does not show lack of the will to learn. Make sure that they know that you are at least keen to learn and know more, if you aren’t already a walking-talking Encyclopaedia.
Now, let me make another disclaimer here: This may not necessarily work for everyone. Sometimes, interviewers are too busy scouting for what they want in a candidate, to be able to notice what else the person has to offer. But this is just my take on the whole GD/PI process. Luckily for me, some of that “updated knowledge” from the previous night AND the day of the interview, came in handy too. So while putting off your preparation till the last moment is a bad idea, ‘revising’ won’t harm you one bit.
Follow the ritual: Greet the panel (EACH PERSON), wait until you’re asked to be seated, look pleasant as opposed to flashing a toothy grin at the interviewers, and sit back. The interview begins. Answer questions as directly as possible. And when it’s all done, smile and say thank you, even if you thought it went horribly. Chances are they won’t catch onto how horrible you may have thought it was. Extra points for confidence! Once again, DON’T pretend to be someone you’re not. The interviewer has been playing this game for longer than you have. They cannot be duped.
And make sure you perform to the best of your ability, even if you don’t know why you landed up here. You did after all; take away the possibility of one other student, who may have wanted it more, to get through. Besides, there’s no greater disappointment than knowing you were capable of doing better.
All the best! Oh and, don’t forget to breathe.
Inhale. Exhale.
And repeat.
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