Know Your News For The Interview Round

Yashika Khanna (more commonly known as Yashika Totlani from her IIMC days) was a student of Radio and Television journalism and graduated in 2010. Previously an auditor with Ernst and Young, she topped her batch at IIMC and started working as a Production Trainee with Headlines Today. After spending 2.5 years with them and being promoted to the designation of an Assistant Producer, she moved on to work as a Senior Copy Editor with IBNLive.com. She is currently assisting her husband in his business-school journey in USA and working alongside as a freelance wedding photographer in Illinois.

When I stepped into my Radio and Television program interview round in 2009, I was nervous because I knew that I had to bag this gig. Stuck in my job as an auditor, this career shift was essential for my emotional well-being. I had spent nearly six months pouring over newspaper editorials (I read three newspapers at that point – The Times of India, Hindustan Times and The Indian Express) and watching uncountable television news discussions at night (my favourite being Rajdeep Sardesai’s India at 9 on CNN-IBN). Before I stepped in for the interview, I had spent a full day going over the details of all recent news stories and memorizing the names of my cabinet ministers.

The summer of 2009 had also seen the great Indian General Elections (just like this year) and I knew that I needed to have detailed knowledge about the politics of each major Indian state (‘major’ being a denomination of the number of seats). I had written blog posts about it and the pieces has in turn helped hone and sharpen my knowledge about the election outcome. So basically, I ensured that all the ground-work was in place before the interview. Also, upon conversations with an alumni, I had been told that the institute basically tests you for two things – first, a command over the English (or Hindi, as is your case) language and second, the multitude of your personal opinions.

I, and a bunch of other aspirants were seated in a room on the day of the interview. Our documents were verified sequentially and one by one, we were sent to the main room where the interviews were being held. During that waiting time, my heart literally came to my mouth in anticipation. When my turn finally came, I picked up my paperwork and headed to the interview room. A small part of me jumped up with joy when I saw CNN-IBN’s Suhasini Haider sitting there with Professor Raghavachari and one other person. The excitement ensured that I gave a good interview. Questions, expectedly, were mostly centred around the general elections. I was asked who the Chief Minister of Orissa was, what I knew about the outcome of the elections and in my opinion, how would Manmohan Singh fare as a second time Prime Minister. 

I was asked about why I am making a career shift to journalism (and I had a pretty convincing answer for that question), and what were my aspirations as a future journalist. Suhasini was kind with her interrogation, but Professor Raghavachari was quite thorough (but don’t let that scare you, because he turned out to be a complete sweetheart once we started the course). I also took the interview time to mention a blog that I frequently wrote for the CNN-IBN news website which carried my latest write-up about the general elections. That seemed to do the trick for most people on the panel.

After a long string of current affairs questions, I was asked to go into an adjoining room (connected to the main interview room with a video link and TV), look into the installed camera and give a 2-minute PTC (piece-to-camera), pretending to be a reporter and reporting on the elections outcome from Tamil Nadu. I had never done anything like this before, but I did somehow manage to stand there, hold the mike, and blurt out all that I knew about TN. Mirror sessions pretending to be a reporter with a comb in my hand helped with this part! Thankfully, a few days later the list of admitted students was released and I was on it.

My advice to all aspiring students is to first, have a real passion for journalism to crack your IIMC interview. Second, do your homework and know your news inside out. Hard facts are very important. Third, dress and look your best always. This skill will also be helpful in making strides in your career as a journalist. And lastly, always be confident and wear a smile. 

All the best! And remember that it’s not that tough!