I got out early from my place (Bangalore traffic you see…) and ended up at the interviewers office half an hour early. I wandered around the interviewer’s office for sometime and then finally decided to barge in.

I apologized for being early (that would be a first) and he completely understood – “I always take Bangalore traffic into account and looks like you did too” is what he said. I waited while he wrapped up his other engagements and he called me into his office, 15 minutes before the time. [14:00]

Having met before at the Ross Information Session and talked at length, we had a friendly chat before the interview started. He asked about the lay-offs and how it was affecting me, the team and the company. He started by saying that the next 40 mins was the time for him to know me and me to know the school through him…

The rest of the interview was like ahembeea’s, but less questions (I talk a lot). The major questions were:

  • Give me a personalized walk through of your resume
  • Why MBA?
  • Why Ross?
  • How do you think you can contribute to Ross Community?
  • Any regrets in life?

As I said before, I fear that I talked a wee bit in detail (hope this didn’t undermine my interview). The he asked me if I wanted to ask him anything. I asked him a question relating his job and his MBA experience. He was very nostalgic and detailed in answering that question. I could see his passion for Ross and for his job. Considering that the role that he holds now is similar to what I am vying for, post-MBA; it felt great to see that. The interview ended in about 45 minutes.

A neat little thing happened as I finished my interview and stepped out. The interviewer wished me good luck and said he had more interviews lined up today. As he went back, I saw next interviewee in line, waiting. She smiled at me and we started chatting. It turned out that we had met at the Tuck Reception. Her name was Madhu…

She thanked me for my blog and said she had greatly benefited from it (result!). Just then my interviewer came back and saw us both and queried if we knew each other. She repeated what she said and he had an acknowledging smile on his face. A great ending to an exciting one hour. [15:00]

I hope my interviewer got a clear idea of why I want to do my MBA at Ross and why I think I would fit in at Ross.Now that my part is done, I will sit back and await the school’s decision (and pray of course :) ).

Thanks to Nisa, Harish and Barbie for keeping me sane during these days of layoff turmoil and helping me to stay focused. Now, a one day break and I start my UCLA app, the next on my list. Signing off for now…