Hey guys, hope you're all doing well. Recently, I was thinking of my IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore & Calcutta MBA interviews because I had to make a course on group discussion and personal interviews for MBA students I'll add its link in the description if anyone among you is preparing for MBA interviews but while making that course I realized that many MBA skills are tested during Bschool interviews. The interview panelists evaluate candidates by checking if they have the skills required to become a manager. So let me tell you the 5 skills required to get into an MBA college so that you can convince the MBA interviewers. The 5th one is the most important criteria tested during MBA interviews so do stick around, let's start with the first one which is networking. Networking means how many people know you such that if you reach out to them for some favour, they'll definitely help you. You must have heard the importance of peer learning or alumni network at a Bschool This is because you're supposed to reach out to your alumni and network with them. Irrespective how strong your alumni are if you don't know how to network, there's no point. During interviews, this is how to showcase the skill of networking: Once during an interview, a candidate with low academic marks was asked that you didn't do well in your college, so if we admit you to the MBA course, how will you perform? So, he mentioned that he has talked to the people currently studying at the Bschool, he has even talked to the graduates of the institute and he is aware how hard he'll have to work. Which is why he has improved his marks in the recent semesters and which is also why he worked hard for CAT and got a good percentile Basically, when he mentioned that he talked to the Bschool students and alumni, he showed he had the skill of networking. So it's important to learn this skill which will help even after MBA Even today when I need to invite someone on the channel or for any opportunity I have to reach out I always network with people, it is very important. Stanford Online had made an excellent course on it, its videos are freely available on YouTube that'll surely help you, I'll put them in the description also. The second skill that you need is communication. I love this skill and keep mentioning it on the channel but it's important to note that communication doesn't mean how good your English speaking is or how many tough words you know or how fluent you are Communication means can you convey your ideas to another person in a way such that they understand exactly what's going in your head. The skill of communication will definitely be tested during an interview because how crisply and effectively you communicate matters. Crisply means using as fewer words as possible and effective means without using the pauses that make it difficult to understand the message or act like a distraction. For example, you must have seen people use filler voices like 'uh' or 'ah', so by avoiding them you become better. Communication skills get developed by practice and for that I've often recommended our today's sponsor which is Cambly & I trust that it's an effective resource in helping you improve your English communication. You must be aware that Cambly allows you to connect 1:1 with native English speaking tutors from UK/US and can practice speaking with them, but now Cambly is also offering another solution that is an affordable option for you which is Group Session. Since school days, we've seen only a few students getting attention in class. So, we've never talked in English in a group. Anyway, kids make fun of each other if someone tries speaking in English. Here you get a safe environment, just like you a maximum of 2 students are a part of the group they could be from different places like Korea, Japan, Nepal so that you feel comfortable while talking to them in English. They also wish to learn just like you, so you'll become a confident speaker when you practice in a group. This is beneficial for someone who is hesitant to talk to other people since you get a non-judgemental environment here, you can safely communicate. You also get global exposure and since a new year has just begun so they're offering up to 45% off on long term plans I'll add all the details to the pinned comment, do check it out, I'm sure it will help you. Skill no. 3 is business know-how. How much do you know about businesses, startup ecosystems, and finance? Here we are not talking about the academic knowledge, people are scared they'll be asked during the interviews "What is the definition of money?" You'll get asked that if you're a commerce/economics student but if you're an engineer/diversity student, they only want to test your business inclination. How much do you know about the business world, the current happenings, and in general about startups, entrepreneurs, IPOs. I'll recommend some beginner-level resources. No. 1 is a podcast called First Principles. Here, many startup founders share their journeys and vision Since these are interesting conversations, you learn both life skills and business skills. Second is Finshots, I've recommended it earlier also because it's truly great You get one article a day on finance that deals with economics, startups, financial ecosystem and you'll definitely love it because it's written in a very simple language So either you can sign up for their newsletter or read the daily section on website where one article gets added daily. The third is Live Mint which is a business newspaper. You should definitely read its articles and editorials, even if you don't want to read a physical newspaper, you can buy a subscription plan and if not that also then many articles are free also, just check them out. Skill no. 4 is Excel & PowerPoint. Every MBA student and graduate knows the importance of Excel & PPT making. I've always mentioned these are skills that you need to know to get into an MBA college but recently I was talking to a product manager on the channel who said a useful point she said that Excel & PPT are indispensable tools that everyone should learn because they simplify the communication of ideas. Just like we build vocabulary for better communication, same way Excel helps you communicate better via diagrams, charts, functions, cells so if you learn this skill, it will help you whether you do MBA or not I've often shared about excel-practice-online.com, a free website you don't need MS Excel, you simply need your phone, it contains all the functions there For PPTs, I'll share some sample PPTs in the description that share how consultants make PPTs or think which is a great inspiration because they make the finest PPTs that are well structured The final skill is that of curiosity/growth mindset I told you this is the most important skill tested in any interview let me tell you why so, in fact in my course this is an entire lesson because if you don't have a good profile, even then you can get selected if you show a growth mindset in interviews A Bschool ultimately has to place you the interviewer thinks whether you'll get employed at the Bschool or not for that you either need a good profile or you need potential which means you have the capability to build your profile during MBA and it's important to have a growth mindset or curiosity for that It'll be tested many-a-times how curios a person are you often when you're asked a question but you're unable to answer, they wish to see if you ask what the answer was or do you try to guess? Do you put in the effort to think of the answer? Basically, it is tested how curios are you to know the answer. Similarly, if they ask you what is your life's biggest achievement so do you tell your achievement as an instance or do you share what you're planning to do ahead using that achievement If you ask this question to me, my biggest achievement is building this community of 200k students who wish to grow but will I narrate it this way? No. My biggest achievement is a community of 200k students with a growth mindset and now we can use this to reach out to more people with knowledge bring them on the channel and bridge the info gap in the society When you have a growth mindset, you don't stop here you use your achievements as a stepping stone, when you narrate your achievements like this, it goes an extra mile and shows you are curious or a person with a growth mindset. This takes time but the more you hear others' stories, the more you read, solve puzzles, the more you'll become this way. These are my recommended top 5 skills before MBA. I hope it helps you!
