FMS Interview Process

FMS boasts of one of the most unique interview process of most top rug b-schools in India. While the FMS entrance test is known for its emphasis on speed game due to the sheer quantity of questions, the interview process is quite a inversion of the same where the quality of answers matter more than the quantity of verbiage.  Before going to a qualitative aspects of the interview and to give you a feel how to prepare, we will get through with the basic stuff.

Last year the written test was for 700 marks and it is understood that in the final evaluation the marks were divided by 10 to get a score out of 70. 10 marks each were then allotted to GD, PI and EX (extempore) making a grand total of 100 based on which the final rank list was prepared.  This gave a 70% weight-age to written test (High by Indian standards) and a factor of 1 to 10 for each marks gained in the GD/PI/EX process as opposed to written. The important takeaway is as most people who qualified for the exam would be among the top percentile, their marks are likely to be clustered together and there is a good chance to make up for lost marks for people who didn’t score well in the written test. Also the people who performed well have a good and fair starting advantage but should not take things for granted and need to make sure that they don’t make major blunders in the GD/PI/EX process. Now the catch is that this time the written test is for 800 marks and the process might be altered a bit. Either FMS could stick to the 70-30 split or go for a 80-20 (unlikely in our opinion) or go for a lesser weightage for written. But it would be safe to assume that proportion would not change significantly and hence at a board level the previous insights hold true.
Now we shall go through each of the steps of selection and some key takeaways

Statement Of Purpose

Till last year the process of GD/PI/EX used to start as soon as you filled in your FMS applications since as part of the application form, you have to write a SOP (separate for both MBA and MBA(MS)) indicating why you wanted to pursue the course at FMS. It has been discontinued this year, but it is very much possible that you might be asked to write a smaller SOP on the day of your interview or some time before. So it is advisable to write an SOP or at least have a vague idea  what to write. This is also one of very probable questions that can come up during interviews and hence it is crucial to have clarity in your mind regarding this. For both the SOP’s, it is advisable that you touch up on important questions that are inherent and ones which can be asked separately in the interview like “Why MBA?” “Why FMS?” “Why MBA right now?” “Why you?” etc. For MBA(MS) it is advisable to understand the commonality  and difference between the courses and have suitable variations in your SOP to fit that. Historically consistency between what was written and what was said in the interview used to be checked. So keep that in mind and adapt as the situation unfolds.

Group Discussion

As compared to similar selection processes in India, FMS-GD is usually on the shorter side without a similar reduction in group side (typically a batch of 10-12 depending on no-shows).  As far as subjects are concerned it had been historically more focused on economic and current affairs based topics and it is necessary to have a basic level of awareness of the same so as not to look out of place. As is the case everywhere, the general idea in GDs is to check for abilities like soft skills, natural leadership, coherence of thoughts, ability to give structure to problems etc more than subject matter knowledge (though they are somewhat interrelated). Now the time that you get (10-15 min) is generally too small to show all of these skills for most people so the idea is to make sure that you enter the discussion wisely and use the time that you get properly. To repeat a oft repeated cliché there is no need to try and get maximum air time , on the contrary it is not advisable as in a large group with small time, it can seem like being too selfish. Another important scenario to handle well is a “fish market” GD, in which case either trying to calm it down or not throwing more dirt into the mess would be a good strategy. There have been cases of 70-80% people of the same group making it thru to the final list and also none of them making the final cut,  so one trick is to try and build some rapport with your group mates when you wait for your process to begin, as it is in everyone’s best interests to have a civil GD. The thing to understand is that it is not a elimination process and you still have a chance to prove your mettle in the next two rounds which when properly understood by everyone in the group will remove a lot of nervousness that leads to a uncivil GD in the first place. Remember FMS is considered a marketing campus and assertiveness is valued but at the same time aggressiveness is never to be confused with assertiveness.

Extempore

Probably The most unique part of the FMS process is its extempore. This is usually how the PI starts wherein after a brief exchange of pleasantries, the topic is thrown to the candidate on which he is supposed to speak for a minute or so. This generally can make or break your selection as it not only carries a weight-age of 10 marks but also sets the tone for your interview. Some general pointers

1) Topics can be anything under the sun.

2) You do NOT get any, I repeat, any time to think.

3) You have to talk till the time they ask you  to stop.

There is no right or wrong way to do this. It advisable to bring in some connection to business or your profile etc but in the end, your soft skill, quick thinking ability etc are being judged. People who have make the final cut have done widely different things from making interesting business insights, to cracking good jokes or doing some kind of social commentary. As long as it brings out your skills, is not offensive and is coherent, it should do. The thing to worry about is the linkage of what you say and how your interview goes. A lot of practice with random topics is advised. Some previous topics include, anything special said in GD, your name, the colour of your tie, etc

Interview

Again there are no specific patterns for the interview, there have been interviews on acads, work ex, interests, something said in the extempore etc. The thumb rules are; be honest  and be through with these honest claims. Some observed trends (that are probably common everywhere) are that fresher’s get quizzed on acads a lot,  for where as for people with prior work ex there is a good amount of time spend on work ex related information, especially if you claim management related experience or duties. Again Extempore, as mentioned before sets the tone for the interview and could drive a lot of what is asked, so extempore preparation should ideally include linking things to your profile and being able to talk sensibly about them in a manner than enhances your candidature. The general set of personal questions like Why FMS, Why MBA/MBA(MS) etc  need to be well prepared. Any  trends in your acads (consistency, descend, ascend etc), any peculiar moves like year dropped , switch in profession, etc are also common triggers for question.

To summarize the beef of this article -:

1) Forget about your written test marks, it’s done and dusted, and it will be fairly accounted for , do well in what you can control.

2) Have good idea of why you want to do MBA and why particularly at FMS and go 10 levels deep on this and related personal questions

3)Show your assertiveness but don’t be aggressive.

4) Have good current affairs and functional knowledge but no need to be a world beater at this

5) MBA is as commercial as a course can get,  prepare in such a way as to show them at least a glimpse of the gem in you that they can polish to make a good business leader out of you making you employable and uphold the rich legacy of FMS.

At the end of it, FMS with its more than 50 years of tradition is a college that looks for potential future business leaders and that is what you need convince them you can become during your brief interaction for 2-3 hours that day.