Interview Experiences
XLRI HRM Interview Experiences
2022 XLRI HRM
2022 XLRI HRM
HR interview
Bangalore 22march 08:45
Work ex – cement plant related
GD – ranking of B school gives a clear picture of management education system in India
Started the GD, but didn’t make more than 2-3 points. Mostly ppl were repeating the same points.
PI – weird experience
P1- What is your work nature and what people trait you had (basically Why HR)
Told abt commissioning of software and hard modules in 3 cement plant and training the lab operators there. Then discussion abt pros and cons of calling people or boss by first name. And psychological analysis of a boss asking his inferior to call him by first name.
Then starts the weird part
P2- chemical composition of hair and nail, told they are protein called keratin. Why cobra venom kills when it is also a protein, told abt amino acids and all. Why hair grow and it’s use in present age(told abt stone age as hair protect in cold climate and stuff like that, why nails grow . They wanted chemical reason for nail growing, I was fully blank here . And some more discussion on this, finally abt my take on GD. Starting from P2 , we all were laughing , including me. They were putting weird questions in between abt nail and hair and I was mostly smiling or laughing and said don’t know abt this. That’s it.
Paharpur Business Centre, Nehru Place
There was 3 interviews, 2 males and 1 female. Anita Sarkar(F1), Soumendra Bagchi(M1), Jatinder Jha(M2).
M1: So Sushant, have you completed your B.E.?
Me: No sir, I’m in my final year, will be graduating in May.
M1: Okay, did you sit for placements?
Me: Yes, sir.
M1: Did you get placed, where?
Me: I did, Amazon.
M1: Don’t you think it’s better if you don’t waste our time and do a job for a few years and then come back here? (Intimidating already)
Me: No sir, I believe education should be completed at once (Interrupts me)
M1: Do you think education is ever really completed? I don’t think it is.
Me: Umm, sir, I meant formal education (this was already starting to make me nervous). Also, I believe in gaining theoretical knowledge before practical (interrupted again, khudki kabar khod di)
M1: What?! No! How will you even understand theory without application? How will you become a manager if you don’t even know what management is?
Me: Sir, theory will help me. The course of XLRI will also help me get some hands on experience (Interrupted again)
M1: What hands on experience? There is no hands on experience!
Me: Sir, the internships that we do and activities that are there.
M1: What internshipS? There is ONLY ONE internship, only one, that also happens at the end of 1st year! And what activities? There are no activities!
Me: Sir, I have done internships before. (Almost choking here, didn’t even know what I’m saying) The most recent one was at Deloitte USI. (Should have talked about my societies and PORs, stupid me)
M1: What did you even do at Deloitte?
Me: (explained what I did)
M1: So you just copied and compiled code? Isme kya naya kiya? If I hire a BSc student and train him for 2 months, he can do this, maybe better than you.
Me: Yes, sir. But see that training is also theory only!
M1: Have you ever made Maggi?
Me: Yes sir.
M1: Did you read any theory for that?
Me: Sir, I read what was written on the packet and asked people how much water to add, for how long to cook it.
M1: That is instructions and not theory! Theory is how carbohydrates turn into maggi. Acha how does that happen?
Me: (what? Carbohydrate? Maggi? This was class 12th chemistry!!!) Umm, carbohydrates are heated and then with water they split and become fat.
M1: You are wrong. See you don’t know theory! What is used to make Maggi?
Me: Sir preservatives and wheat, etc.
M1: Have you ever even read the ingredients? Wheat are you sure? Preservatives are raw materials? Tell me the difference b/w them!
Me: I have sir. Preservatives are not raw materials, but like Wheat, maida, vegetables, spices are and preservatives are used along.
M1: How is Maggi produced, the manufacturing process?
Me: Umm, water is added to wheat or maida, it is processed and made into long threads which is then wrapped in a cuboidal form.
M1: What? Adding water? Won’t it get sticky?
Me: Sir fats and preservatives are added to prevent it from being sticky.
M1: Are you sure? (Raising his eyebrows)
Me: Yess, sirrr, I think sooo.
M1: Have you ever had a gf? (this caught be off guard) Don’t be shy, tell me.
Me: Yes, sir.
M1: So did you read about how to make one? Did you join a course? Dale Carnegie, how to make friends and influence people?
Me: (was flabbergasted) No sir, but it took time and practise.
M1: So if there is a driver, do I need to just INSTRUCT him about the car, how to drive it or do I need to teach him theory that how to prevent a skid, etc.
Me: Ofcourse, he can drive with basic instructions, but if he has that theory, he will be a better driver!
M1: What will he do with the theory!
Me: Sir if there is any fault, he will be able to locate and understand the issue. If the car is not starting, he’ll know if there is fuel pipe failure, there is garbage stuck or just that there is no petrol and will be able to find a solution better.
M1: Do you own a car? Or does your family own one?
Me: (I own 5, what should I say, what if he asks me details about them, I also don’t want to sound like I’m trying to show-off, let me say 2) I have 2 sir. One Dzire, One Honda City.
M1: You know modern cars cannot be pushed? How does that information help?
Me: Yes sir. Automatic cars cannot be pushed. The driver will know in case of breakdown there will be no use pushing the car! Which might in fact damage a few parts.
M1: Acha define theory!
Me: Umm, sir, it is knowledge about a particular subject. Information about it.
M1: Make a venn diagram of theory and knowledge.
Me made.
F1: There is a large part of knowledge outside theory, how do we cover that?
Me: Ma’am, using experience we can cover that. Theory is very specific to a subject, knowledge is much greater.
F1: Now you are again saying that practical is more important. Have you heard about AI? What effects will it have as a HR Manager?
Me: (a very short one line definition and use of AI) Most people say that it will leave to job losses, I believe that it won’t. It will lead to a job restructuring and an HR manager will have to find and create those jobs.
M1: No! People will lose jobs.
Me: Sure, but other new jobs will be created.
M1: You know about driverless cars, all drivers will be unemployed, what will you do with them?
Me: Sir, new coders will be required, maintenance of code etc.
M1: You will ask the driver to code?
Me: No sir. A driver will have knowledge about cars, some cars be employed as mechanic, some can be adjusted in manufacturing sectors, some can be in other sectors.
M1: Why? Why should I employ drivers as my labour?
Me: Sir firstly this is not magic. Every car won’t become a driverless car overnight, it will be in phases. And I’m not saying that they should be forcefully employed by factories, but they can be. There is always a demand for manual labour. Technology isn’t new, we had machines earlier, almost everything in car manufacturing sector in done by robots, which was done manually earlier, that doesn’t mean manual labour isn’t employed. They are still used!
M1: What phases? It is so easy to copy code. You write it once and copy it!
Me: Sir people are not comfortable adopting to new technologies suddenly, it takes time. Also it will take time to make technology better. Some drivers can also be used to help train the AI system.
(some more minor disagreements by him and repetition of the above points by me. Could see the other 2 people chuckling)
M2: (spoke for the first time, gave example of technology in baking sector and mass layoffs then changed the topic) Have you seen XL’s logo? What does it signify?
Me: Yes sir. (didn’t know what to say in logo’s significance, started talking about the motto, was interrupted within 10 secs)
M2: I will give you a situation. You have a company and you want to expand, you will 100 labours or 2 tech people, budget and effect will be the same.
Me: Sir, 100 labours. I will be able to manage them better and take more output.
M1: How you are contradicting your own stand that tech will replace people.
(bhai, maaf kardo aisa kya gunha kar diya maine)
Me: Can I employ 50 people and 1 tech person? It will be future proof also.
M1: Okay. What all calls do you have?
Me: told.
M1: FMS is done?
Me: Process starts from 13th April, mine is on 19th.
M1: MDI interview done?
Me: Did not apply.
M1: Why? You must have written CAT.
Me: wanted to only apply to the best institutes.
M1: How was your Indore interview?
Me: It was mostly on acads, it went fine.
M1: Shillong?
Me: It is on 23rd March.
M1: Have you ever been to Indore?
Me: No sir.
M1: where are you from?
Me: Delhi.
M1: What do you parents do?
Me: told.
M1: Why don’t you join your father’s business?
Me: I’m not passionate about that field and (Interrupts me)
M1: What is this passion? You college people are fed with this passion passion shit.
Me: Sir, something that interests you, something that you get up in the morning and feel excited about and not sad.
M1: You felt sad in school also, in college also, will feel the same when you do MBA and even in job.
(bhai gand hee marlo tum toh)
M2: (asks some qs regarding HR manager, why or something like that)
Me: Sir I don’t want to become a HR manager. I want to become a manager in tech company. (M1’s expression change, he wants to say he’s done I don’t let him interrupt). Sir I went through the course structure of XLRI. You teach DS, DBMS which will be very helpful for me. I already have the tech skills, I will gain massive people skills which will benefit me a lot, this is the perfect course for me.
M1: Okay, we are done. You may leave now.
M1 was really strict and gave very stern and scary expressions. He did not once agree with what I was saying! The other did not speak much and were mostly chucking or slyly smirking. Total stress interview.
Interview:
P1: What is your role? What does your company do? Was there a situation where your initiative brought about a positive change? If not give an example of a situation where you took the initiative but it could not bring the desired change.
What do you find challenging about your work? Where do you seek intellectual solace?
P2: I have to pay tax for having an income. Is that right? Should I have to pay for that? People who earn more have to pay not just more tax but at a higher rate. Should that be?
P3: You mentioned Dan Brown’s novels. Which ones have you read?
Me: said
P3: What is the link between Angels and Demons and the da Vinci code? What is the author’s take on separation of church and state? What is your take? According to the book, can I make the statement Mary Magdalene is the holy grail?
Interview was general conversation. They started with the opportunity cost of doing an mba and then justifying the decision of doing an mba. Asked me about the statutory bonus component in payslip. Then what do you understand about HR. BM first choice. Don’t you think you are making us look like fools then. Past experiences of working in team and what qualities I have that would make me a good HR.
2022 XLRI HRM
A: HRM interview
Bangalore
XAT 97.9 percentile
X/XII/Grad – 90/91/7.4
Work ex with 22 months
Three panelists, same as those who observed us during the Gd.
First question was why I quit my job, and then what work I did.
Second question was regarding the GD topic of privatization of railways. I was asked whether I can think of any other industry or company that was privatized. As an add on, I was asked whether the education industry should be completely privatized.
Next, I was asked – if I were a decision maker and there was an industry that was making heavy losses, what would the first criterion or train of thought be.
Finally, I was asked – if an industry is making losses and has some 20k workers and is polluting the environment, would I choose to keep it open or shut it down.
GD : Will Artificial Intelligence remove HR managers out of a job in the future
WAT : Write about your individual perspective from the GD done. Not the group’s consensus.
PI questions: self introduction.
You being a fresher why should we consider you. Between GD and pi what would you choose as an hiring policy. Rate the performance of the GD members today. Why do mba college take people with experience. Some family questions. Do you like your branch. Why did you choose it. Why pursue an MBA?
The order might be wrong, but these are the questions I remember…
People with work ex were asked about monopoly markets, some HR scenarios and one person got asked about AI(CSE graduate) a lot. Some CA guy got asked about “financial tranfer” something not sure.
Profile: B. Tech. Mechanical, GEM Fresher.
97/89/89
XAT – 99.28
Panel: 3 M
They started the interview 5 mins before the scheduled time. I was startled. I said “Good morning”, the panelist corrected me with a laugh.
Interview:
P1: You’re from VIT, right? Which branch(specialization)?
P1: Placements done? (Ongoing). Any offers? (Five, including 3 mass recruiters).
P1: Let’s say you don’t get the desired college. Will you opt for a job? (I said I’d give another try next year. He said it’s foolish to do that. Questioned my decision making. I stood by my point and explained how I’d not choose a role I’m not interested in just for the sake of employment)
P1: Okay, good. Let’s say a friend comes to you for advice regarding the 3 IT companies asking which one would be a better choice. What are the parameters you’d think of? (Role, Growth Opportunities, Training, Salary, Location, etc)
P1: Order of preference for the parameters? Rate the companies considering each parameter.
(I rated them individually. He kept a note. Two of the companies got nearly same cumulative score)
P1: He wasn’t satisfied since two companies had the same cumulative score. He asked me how I’d select one among two candidates for a promotion if there is only one position, considering both are equally good in all aspects. Answered something.
P1: Let’s say one of them got the promotion. What would be the effects on the company and the other candidate? What do you think would be the right thing to do for the 2nd candidate after such an incident?
P2: Why HR?
P2: Have you taken any courses related to HR? No.
P2: Did you do anything specific during your time in the clubs and organisations in your college which would qualify you for HR?
P2: Which other institutes have you opted for HR?
P3: Which one would I prefer in India during these tough times – Underemployment or Unemployment? (Underemployment)
P3: Would you prefer two people in your family earning 5000 each, or one earning 10000? (2 people)
P3: Why? (Morale of the other person, both would have equal opportunities once these tough times are over, etc)
P3: Explained the Maternity Leave concept. Then gave me a situation. Let’s say women get maternity leave for about 26 weeks. 10 weeks before birth, and 16 after. As per current law, women don’t get the 16 weeks after birth if there is a case of miscarriage. What is your opinion? Would you suggest a change? (I suggested one month for mental health)
P3: Let’s reverse the case. What if the mother dies? Should the company help the family in any way? (I said considering benefit to both the company and the family, the law should come up with an income line, like the BPL. If the total income of the family is below that line, then the company should provide monetary support for the child’s education)
P3: For how long? (I said till it’s basic education is completed. 10th.)
P3: (Laughs) You’re very generous. It’s not entirely possible in practical situation. (I said that’s why there’s an income line)
P3: Okay, good. You may leave the meeting now. I hope it was a good experience.
30 mins interview. P1 and P3 were very chill. P2 poker face. I felt the interview wasn’t so good from my end, but it was a very chill and engaging experience.
Very unexpected interview experience. Nothing that I prepared was asked. No questions about me, about why HR
It started with what is shared economy, will practices of uber ola come under shared economy?
What all will be included within the services of India? What are the functions of a bank? What is debt, asset?
There are 2 rash drivers one is under the influence of alcohol, both had an accident who will you show mercy to?
Which national policy has caused tensions in Northeast India? I answered CAA NRC, he said that’s the right answer. Questions on this.
In IT we have 0 and 1, I want to introduce 2. Why or why not I should do this? Why is a TCS employee paid 3 lpa and Bharat petroleum employee 10 lpa? What 3 changes you can make to help the employee at TCS?
What are your hobbies? I said painting and writing reviews on Google Maps. They asked me the distance between mountains or elevated heights are measured using lines, what are these lines called? Aren’t you an expert on maps?
I said I’m an expert at writing reviews on maps
Can’t recall more, but there were all like this. Very weird strange questions about literally anything on the face of the earth.
In the end they asked did you enjoy the interview, I replied it was not what I was expecting and hadn’t prepared for such questions. They asked me to tell me what all I prepared for HR and give like a short 30 second version. I did that.
Then the panel said, since we asked you so many difficult questions we give you the chance to ask us one very difficult question that you know we won’t know the answer for. I hesitated, giggled a bit. They nudged to please ask.
Then I asked them about whether they are aware of a new man made element that has come into existence a couple of months back, the name of that metal is actually influenced by Marvel comics.
They laughed they were like, all these cartoons we have to catch up on. Then they asked for the answer.
I told them Vibranium, it’s actually something that my generation or anyone who has read the comics or seen Marvel movies would be fascinated with. It’s being used to make the pods for hyperloop
Throughout the interview all 3 male panel members were giggling and laughing.
I have no clue what to expect as the outcome for this.
Also we are told to login 20 minutes prior, I logged in 25 minutes prior and my interview started within 2 min of joining.
Background: 20 months work ex at Wells Fargo, ECE graduate
Very chill panel, kept laughing and countering my answers, easygoing too.
1. So you’re from Bangalore. It’s getting hot no? Why do you think this is happening?
(I said pollution, population…) What would you do to relieve the city of pollution? (Lots of counter questions, how will you promote car pooling? People want esteem and self-respect and that’s why they own cars, how would you get them to carpool?)
2. You’ve indicated BM as your first preference on your profile. Why HR? (Some grilling went on, they said they’ll call the BM team and tell them to keep my offer on hold because I’m interested in HR. Followed by some more hasi mazaak).
3. Tell me about 2 HR policies in your company that are good (Some grilling… I said employee engagement is good, they debated a lot on this. “Why should you play games at work? That’s not even on your contract. It’s not ethical. Just be honest, leave all these HR technicalities. Yesterday was good friday, redeem yourself by confessing to the truth”.)
4. What was the role of HR in the Wells Fargo scandal that happened a few years back? (Explained the scandal, but couldn’t get to what exactly they wanted to hear.)
5. What other calls do you have?
2022 XLRI HRM
