SCMHRD GDPI Experience

Finally going with the title of the blog, i am back to write my journey towards my MBA degree..and all the GDPIs have surely played a great role (a really great one!!). So they deserve a big place in this blog for sure.

Also, this is in for the fact as i have to keep my promises made to a number of people to share all my GDPI experiences and this is the best way i guess i can do it.

Before i actually start, i also wish to thank all the infinite number of people whose insights over the selection process of various bschools proved to be of great help in my preparations.

Also cant forget the pivotal role played by all at CL who helped me beat the battle at all GDPIs to such an extent that the actual GDs and PIs seemed to be no different from the practice ones. Heartful of thanks to all of you and i really want to name Harsh, Garima, Geetanjali, Dhruv, Peeyush, Ekagra and above all, Neeraj Prasad Sir.

So, finally starting with the SCMHRD GD/PI story.

Well, SCMHRD or Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development as its called, is a bschool known for its excellence for HR for years and has made its name in other streams as well in recent years. Being the second best bschool in the Symbiosis league, this was a bschool i would have considered to join for sure.

The entire process was scheduled on 29th Jan'2008 and this was my first call of the season. And hence i was a bit nervous. After going through a quick and fast preparation at CL for a period of 15 days, it was Showtime!! To add to my anxiety was the fact that SCMHRD conducts the GD as an elimination round. But then, to ease out the things, i had a score of 91 in SNAP which was just second best in the coaching and the opinion i had from most of the faculty, seniors and friends, at this score i had a great chance to convert the SCMHRD call.

So finally i landed in Pune on 28th Jan. Had to travel all the way from Kanpur to Pune because nearly all the Symbiosis colleges had given away with the centres at Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai etc. this very year...the year i had to give it. But it isnt something i want to complain about...the reason being that firstly there are people who had to travel much more than me i.e. candidates hailing from places much far like J&K, West Bengal and even the North East frontier.
And moreover, this visit to Pune strengthened my belief that luck does favours you when you are in for a good cause. A few days before the call was scheduled, i was damn worried about the stay of 6 days at Pune and then suddenly, things clicked when got in touch with Amit and all the anxiety was gone when he invited me to stay over with him for the time. (A heartful thanx to you Amit!! The stay was very delighful and i really had a great time!!)

I reported at International Convention Centre at around 8AM and it was really hectic to get up so early and report on time. But that ICC centre was really cool. The process started around 9 AM when we were divided into groups of 10 each and taken for GD. The GD included two case-studies of about 20 mins. each. including 2 mins to think and pen down the points.

The first case study was about a transport company that was facing a problem with untrained employees, failed attempt to automate the ticketing system, decreasing customer satisfaction and in-efficient scheduling of the routes which was bringing losses to the company. I made some points about having a training and motivation programme for the staff, removing the basic bugs from the ticket issuing-software, have both the options of having automated as well as manual ticket-issuing and restructuring the scheduling of the routes after conducting a study/survey of currently prevailing systems. Nearly, all of the points were accepted and we came to a consensus well in time.

The second discussion involved a problem about an individual who had to schedule his entire day given that he had resigned and had to leave the city next evening. We had a number of tasks that were to be covered in the entire day before us and clearly the passage on the paper instructed us to decide which task is most important. Firstly each one of us was asked to tell about the option we considered the most important and why. When the discussion opened, all of us discussed the entire schedule and placed each activity according to its priority. This GD also went very smooth and we arrived on a consensus way before time and then for the latter part of the discussion, people kept repeating points.
All in all, the GD was a great experience. Each discussion lasted about 20 mins. and there was no chance of a fish market given that we had so much time with a standard group size of 10.
They had a selection ratio of 1:2 and i was one of the lucky ones who crossed the first hurdle and made it to the interviews.

Had a wait of about 2 hrs before the interview finally started. Meanwhile, they also checked our documents. My interview started at around 12 noon and lasted for about 12-15 mins. It was a total chill experience with no specific stress questions etc.

My chance came and the volunteer called my name. I didnt even had to knock the door as one of the panelists opened the door himself and welcomed me in. He was all smiles and was seeming so delighted to see me that i feel he would have given me a hug had he been a little more happy. The panel consisted of two people...one an old guy (OG) who was probably a faculty from SCMHRD and other one was a young guy (YG) who was looking very elegant and was probably from the industry or an alumni as this was the mix in the panel as we were told.

As i took my seat, OG was reading my details in the form. At that moment YG started.

YG: Hello Sudhanshu!!
Me: GoodMorning Sirs!!
YG: Thats a pretty impressive profile you got Sudhanshu. Quite a number of significant achievements!!
Me: Oh..Thank you sir!!
YG: Which one of these achievements you cherish the most and why.
Me: (After thinking for a while) I consider my First Prize and Third Prize in techfest at IIT Roorkee as one of the most significant ones because i was in my 2nd year at that time and was competing against teams from Final year and M.Tech. The judge themselves had acknowledged our young participation. That and the prize itself had helped to boost up the confidence.
YG: What was the event about??
Me: (Told them about both the events individually..one of them was a business plan while other being a long-term software design contest.)
YG: Tell us more about the business plan.
Me: (Told)
OG jumps into the arena.
OG: Tell us something about this IAYP award you got.
Me: (Told them all..about its origin, why its given and what i did to get it. Its formally known as International Award for Young People but in some countries its also known as Duke of Edinburgh award)
OG: Do you know who is the duke of Edinburgh currently??
Me: (Stumped) I am not very sure sir but i guess its Prince Charles.
OG: Are you sure its Prince Charles and not his father??
Me: I am not sure sir..but i guess its someone from the royalty.
OG: Its his father, Prince Philip.
Me: Ohh..Thankyou sir. I will remember it from now.
OG: What other activities you do??
Me: (Told them about my hobbies i.e. reading, travelling etc.)
YG: So, where you have travelled in recent times??
Me: (Told them about all trips i made in past few years including a trip to Haridwar and Vaishno Devi with friends during first year of my graduation.)
OG: Ok..so what basic difference do you find between the two places?
Me: Told.
OG: No..you dont get me..what other differences you find??
Me: (We kept discussing about it for 5 mins where i kept telling more and more differences and he kept asking for more.)
Finally after 5 mins.
OG: The basic difference is pollution.
Me: ohh..Right sir.(How come i have known what he wants to listen!!!)

OG turns to YG..."Any more questions". YG smiles and shakes his head for a no, then turns to me..
YG: Ok Sudhanshu! It was great talking to you!! All the best!!
Me: Thank you sir!!
I came out...closed the door behind me..and took a sigh of relief.

Finally the first call of the season went cool. The next in line was SIBM..the big-boss of Symbiosis family!!