IIFT shortlists candidates on the basis of its written examination.One of the oldest business schools of India, IIFT was established to train students for the external trade sector. The institute has campuses at New Delhi and Kolkata.Ranked among the top 30 B-schools of the country, it offers full-time MBA (International Business) at both the campuses. The final admission is granted as per the entrance test (IIFT) scores and performance in the subsequent selection rounds.
Selection Process
The screening process for MBA (IB) 2022-24 consists of the following rounds:
- Shortlisting (based on IIFT exam score)
- Personal Interview (including Extempore round)
Extempore Topics
In this round, the candidate is given 1 minute to think and 3 minutes to speak. The following topics were given to the candidates during MBA (IB) admissions 2022:
- How is technology changing the face of education?
- Hard work v/s Smartwork
- Idolization of sports athletes in India
- Is FDI in multi-brand retail a boon or bane?
- Cryptocurrencies: Good or Hoax?
- Differential impact of inflation on poor and rich
- Capital Punishment: Is it Justified?
- Online Gaming: Advantages and Disadvantages
- Media sensationalism and fake news
- New Education Policy, 2020
- Should reality shows like ‘Shark Tank India’ be promoted?
- Skilling the youth in India
Interview Experiences
A panel of 2-3 interviewers asked the candidates about their personality traits, career goals, academics, work experience, etc. Each personal interview went on for 20-25 minutes. Glance through the experiences shared by candidates interviewed in 2022:
Interview 1:
Background:experienced professional
Questions:
- Why MBA? Why IIFT?
- What skills does it take to become a successful product manager? Tell us about an instance where you showed such skills.
- Are you aware of the latest business news?
- How does demerger of a company helps it?
- To which companies MothersonSumi Systems supplies auto parts?Do you think this sector can boom in the future? Do you think if an auto company is making more cars, then its ancillary business will grow?
- How much you’ll rate yourself in Maths? Name the topics you are most familiar with. So, what is the rank of a matrix? Can you tell me about its real life application?
- If a function is continuous, will it be differentiable?
- Are you aware of any laws/bills that were recently passed in parliament?So, what is the purpose of Delhi Municipal Corporation amendment bill?
The candidate was also given the following puzzle: How will you get the cherry out of the wine glass,without moving more thantwo lines?
Interview 2:
Background: Chemical Engineering, 3.5 years of work experience in RIL
IIFT %ile: 97.95
Questions:
- Where are you from? What is special about your place?
- Do you think coal mining should be privatized?
- From which countries is India importing coal?
- Why IIFT?
- Why is RIL is terminating employees? Tell us about your experiences at the company? Will you join it again after completing MBA?
- Which are Fortune companies? Where does RIL stand in the list?
- You have mentioned about a semiconductor crisis. Can you explain in detail?
- Tell me the difference between AI, ML and DL.
- Which specialization are you interested in? How is it related to International Business?
Certain cross-questioning was also done by the interviewers.
IIFT - Interview Experiences
Interview 3:
Background: B.Com, CA Intermediate, Work ex of 17 months
IIFT %ile: 97.53
Questions:
- Tell us about your current job role. So, what are your key learnings and skills gained from job?
- Where do you live?Which campus do you prefer, Delhi or Kolkata?
- What is financial leverage?
- Do you think debt is a double-edged sword? Explain.
- What is the difference between physical and financial assets?
- What are your hobbies? Which sports do you play? Which kind of movies do you watch?
- What other exams have you taken? And what are your scores in those?
- Why didn't you take the CA final exam? So, what are your plans regarding that?
- Were you in the morning batch or evening batch at St. Xavier's?Why didn't you doM.Com from there?
- What do you think of India's approach to semi-conductor shortage and impact of Russia-Ukraine on the shortage? Which Indian companies have shown interest in semi-conductor production?
- What was your experience in WFH? Do you feel any difference in productivity in WFH as compared to offline set-up?
The panel cross-questioned the candidate on a few questions but mostly, the interview went well.
Interview 4:
Background: B.Tech. (Electronics)
Questions:
- What is thedifference between electrical and electronics engineering? What are the main components of both the branches?
- What is the difference between conductors and semiconductors?How are semiconductors made? What is the voltage in AC? And in Mobile?
- What is Band gap?
- Do you know India’s ranking in Badminton federation? Which football league do you follow? In which year was La Liga and Real Madrid established?Which other team do you follow? So, who leads in ElClassico history? Who is the coach of Real Madrid?
Interview 5:
Background: Work experience of 30 months in IT
IIFT %ile: 99.46
Questions:
- Why MBA?
- How is TCS using ML in its projects?Who arethe MD and the CEO of TCS?
- Are you aware of Sri Lanka crisis?
- What is CAD?
- How is the work environment at TCS? Why do MBA when you can grow at TCS?
- What is your plan after doing MBA?
- Will you join TCS after MBA?
- What is India doing to mitigate Russia - Ukraine crisis? Which companies are taking the initiative?
.jpg?null&itok=cfMtOH8a "Management Development Institute (2021 - 22)")
