How I went about the interview preparation.

7 April 2013
At the outset,I am going to warn you that this post is going
to be long and tedious.I am writing this piece not for my
personal satisfaction,but for thousands of aspirants who
are mediocre like me;who ruined their high
school/graduation academics,and did not achieve anything
significant in last 20 odd years of existence.I just want to
tell you,all of you,who are reading this post is that YOU
CAN MAKE IT if you are mad enough to burn yourself. I
owe my success to many,and it is my obligation to do my
bit for others.
A brief introduction about myselfName-Akshay Gupta
10th-79.6% (CBSE)
12th-67.6% (CBSE)
Graduation(SRM University,Chennai)--CGPA of 8.911 out

of 10(Worked very hard in college;Hit gold here)-ECE

Engineering.

I have no extracurricular activities to justify my High school

debacle.It took me 2.5-3 years of extreme efforts to crack
XAT entrance test(98.83%)I will write a post later on how
a person with 0 aptitude and no foundation cracked the
toughest MBA entrance exam on earth.It's a myth that one
can't learn aptitude.Infact,one can learn any Goddamn
thing on this earth if one is motivated enough,and willing to
go under fire.Now words come cheap,so let's have some
statisticsXAT 2011-44.22%
XAT 2013-98.83%
Once I reached this far ,I promised myself that I will force
them to think 100 times before they reject me in an
interview.

XLRI interview shortlist came on 17 Jan 2013.I was in

Goa;I heard myself getting shortlisted for both
interviews(BM and HRM).I left my friends,and came back
to Mumbai the same day.Next 2-3 days,I was very tense
on how to go about preparing for the interviews.There
were millions of things to be covered,and I knew I have to
give an exceptional interview if I have the slightest chance
of making to the hallowed portals of XLRI. The ratio for
XLRI convert always has been around 1:10 (For 120 seats
in HR, they call 1200 people for interview). Also, this year
because of goof up in marks, the ratio went on to become
1:13!
Firstly, I got in touch with few XLRI seniors,but it was
rather demotivating because they all were special in some
way or the other.I had to walk alone,and I had to find
something special about myself.
Material UsedI made a fat notebook(Around 200 pages or more I really

don't know but it really is fat! ),and everything that I used to

see,read,hearAny relevant detail,I used to put it in that
diary.It had numbers,figures,charts,quotes,drew India
Maps,world Maps,electronics diagrams,equations,world
capitals,major sportsSome strange idea or
thought.Everything.It was one thing that I kept with me
even when I slept.The purpose was to devote last week on
revising that diary.I answered 18 straight questions in
numbers,figures and quotes in the HR Interview bcz I
revised that diary 6 times.
General Reading-Took last 8-9 editions of The Chronicle(IAS preparatory
material,monthy magazine used by IAS aspirants),and
marked all the important articles that can be talked
about.Read each important article twiceWrote all the
numbers,figures,and made a small summary of each in my
above mentioned diary.
-www.epw.in(Economic & Political Weekly) : It is a website

which has extremely high quality content.The website uses

articles by Phds(Doctorates) on their thesis.It can
extremely taxing to read articles by them but you have to
Again numbers,figures,quotes in my diary of every article
that I read.Wrote summaries.My each good article used to
take me 30 mins in making
notes,summaries,diagrams,charts,learning author names
for references etc.
-The Hindu,The Indian express,Business Standard: I used
to read Indian express and Business Standard completely
everydayDevoted 2 hours on these 2 papers
everyday,and editorials in The HinduAgain the same
notes,quotes,numbers etc. I can cite one particular
example-James H Buchanan died recently at that time,and
I was reading about his obituary.I made notes about his
economic and political theories,his nobel prize etc and I
talked about him in my interview when we discussed
corruption in India.
The Economist,Project Syndicate,India today,TIME,BBC

etc- I used to use my TCS library to read articles in these

magazines and make notes when I was tired doing the
normal stuffThis exercise was mainly focused on
international world.
TIME,Career Launcher etc-I collaborated material with my
friends from TIME institute,Career launcher etc,and used
their material as well.
Competition Success Review year book 2013-Marked all
the major events and relevant static GK,and put it in my
diary.My HR GD Topic was-UN the security council.I was
the only one in 13 people who was throwing numbers
about when it was formed,how it was formed,why it was
formed,how many current members,General assembly etc
etcFor eg-UN formed in 1942,during the 2nd World
war,during the time of Winston Churchill(England PM) with
193 countries in general assembly,the latest being South
Sudan comprises of 5 permanent veto powers etc etc
I cannot remember or write what all I read and from where

but I read,read and read till my eyes hurt to the point of

watering and not opening.I hardly slept for 45 nights.
About myself(THE WHOLE UNIVERSE SURROUNDING
ME)--Used Wikipedia and google maps to read about India
and world in DETAIL and make notes(I drew India Maps
and world maps to remember what all places are where)
Our History,all civilizations-Vedic,Indus
Valley,Mughals,British,Mauryas etc etcGeographyRivers,lakes,Mountains,terrain,oceans,weather,temperatur
e,winds etc.
Politics-NDA,Congress,PMs,Presidents,Parliaments,Upper
house and lower houseIts no of members,How they are
chosen,States assembly etc.Our neighbours,Our
area,Human development Index,Asia,WorldEverything.
-My name,My family,History of Guptas,History of
ChandraGuptas,Kalidas,AryabhattaKeep branching
out.Each link will take you to the next link.From Guptas to
history of Chandraguptas to Kalidasa(During this

empire,he wrote),from kalidasa to his works,from his works

to why he was special,to Ajanta and Ellora,from there to
Allahabad ,from Allahabad to Kumbh Mela from kumbh
Mela to its size,no of people,area,recent news etc,from
Kumbh details to Mythology/religion,from religion to
Islam,Buddhism,ScienceWars..PHEW!Keep
branching out,and anticipate questions what else can be
asked.
-My job,TCS,TATATata sons,their history,remembering
each year and name,Major businesses,Which countries
and what,How,Recent developments,Major competitors
etcEverything
-HR-HR verticals,companies,HR course structure,favourite
subjects,How HR works,Major HR professionals,Recent
HR trends,learnt everything about best HR firm in the
world ie. MERCER-how,when,why,what,who etc
Numbers and figures.Everything.
Hobbies-I developed reading habit to improve my verbal in

last 3 years or so.I had read 75 plus books,and I

researched each and every book and categorized it into
fiction and non-fiction,and put the list in my interview
folder.Also,I read a large number of good non-fiction
books(Around 32 non-fiction books) i.e Amartya
Sen,Mohd. Yunus(I converted HR bcz of this),CK
Prahalad,Malcom Gladwell,VS Naipaul,Joseph Glitz,Frijita
Kapra,Stephen Hawking,Larry Collins etc.This had to be
my strengthSomething special about me.I wanted to
drive interview on my reading habit,so I prepared it like
crazy.
Academics-My engineering scores are mind boggling after
my 12th ,so it appears to be a farce.I bought a foundation
book on Electronics and Communication engineering,and
prepared from there.I had great difficulties initially but by
the end,I was thorough on major areas.
I am tired of writing all this,but this is not even 1% of what
all I didI was so so so desperate to make it that I could
have died preparing for XL.I left nothing on luck,and I was

a time bomb waiting to be exploded.

Just to give you a brief glimpse of my interview:
-Prof1-Akshay,we made you wait so long for this
interview.You are the last personYou must have been
very bored and tired by waiting for more than 3 hours.
Me-No,Sir.I am feeling very upbeat.I was preoccupied with
the newspaper,so it was not an issue at all.
Prof1-What newspaper were you reading?Was it provided
in the reading hall?
Me-Sir,newspapers were provided in the waiting hall but I
used Business Standard that I brought from my home.
Prof1(Hmmm)So is BS your favourite newspaper?
Me-Sir,I try to keep myself abreast of the latest happenings
in the world.

Profs 1,2,3 togetherK,so what did you read today?

Me-CAG reprimanding UPA for a new scam.
Profs 1,2,3 togetherThis CAG is a foolish
organization.They have brought the whole country to a
halt.They make exaggerated claims.Bureaucrats fear
making decisionsNothing is happening in this country.
Me(Took Chairman name because I wanted to show my
knowlesge) Sir,You are talking about Vinod Rai ,the
chairman or CAG all together?
Prof1-CAG.
Me-Sir,They estimated 1.28 lakh crore loss based on the
3G auctions that took place in 2010Sir,their claims are
not of out thin air or notional.
Prof2-But the country is not able to work.

Me-Sir,then you would say the same thing about

judiciaryThe current judicial activism.You cannot use
corrupt means to get things going.Everyone is quiet in
room.
Prof3-First they said 1.28 lakh crore loss then they
changed to 2000 crore lossWhat is this?
Me-I thought for 5-10 secondsSir,irrespective of the
figures and numbers,there was something wrong that
happened.If CAG wouldn't have brought it out in notice
then things would have gone the same way.This cannot be
the excuse for civil servants not to work.
Profs 1,2,3(Impressed).
Prof2-This essay of your's on IndiaWhat are you trying to
say?
Me-Sir,It is not the corruption;the bureaucracy;the red tape

that affects our countryIt is our attitude.For eg: I am a 24

year old boy who has not voted even once.So Am I correct
on my part to blame others?We should look within
ourselves before looking outside.
Prof3(Staring at me-Interested and curious)
Etc etc etcI cannot write everything.
Prof1-So you read?Do you know what is a booker prize?
Me-Sir,the first booker prize was given in year XXXX
Definition of Booker PrizeI started counting the names of
Booker prize winners from 1971.
Prof1(Irritated)-No no noWhat 1971?Tell us some latest
Indian booker prize winners.
Me-In 2006 the booker prize was won by Kiran Desai for
her work The inheritance of loss.She is the daughter of
Anita Desai,another renowned author of Games at twilight.

In 2008,Arvind Adiga won the booker prize for The White

Tiger:it is a black humour genre;There is something also
called as Booker of the booker prize which is given once in
25 years to the best of the booker prizes;It was won by
Salman Rushdie who writes on Magical realism and is
famed for Midnight's children which is about post Indian
independence condition till emergency imposed by Indira
Gandhi.
Prof1- VS Naipaul,Salman Rushdie,Amartya Sen,Malcom
Gladwell,George OrwellYou read all crazy authors.Starts
laughing aloud.
Me- There is a very thin line demarcating a genius and a
crazy person,Sir.
DEAD SILENCE IN ROOM.
Prof1-Hmmm so you read a lot.What one book would you
suggest as an HR?

Me-Sir,I would recommend,Banker to the poor by Mohd.

Yunus.It is a book by a nobel prize winner who founded
the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.It is a book that tells you
how a sustainable business can be developed from the
section neglected by the corporate sector.For reference,we
can use CK Prahlad work on Bottom of the pyramid theory
or James H Buchanan about development economics.We
can also talk about Amartya Sen paper on Nutrition and
development that he presented in 1998.
Prof2(Amazed)-What do you know about Microfinance
(related to Grameen bank that I talked about in my last
answer)?
Me-Sir,the 2005 Krishna crisis?
Prof2-No,something recent.
Me-Sir, the 2008 Malegaon report?
Prof2-No,something more recent.

Me-Sir,the SKS microfinance scandal in 2010?

Prof2(Disgusted and irritated)-No more recent.
Me-Sir,the 2011,Microfinance bill?
Prof2(Expression for is this guy mad?)-No more recent.
Me-Sir,the AP crisi s in 2012?
Prof2(Shocked)YesTell me about it.
Me-Sir,the NABARD and state banks workCuts me in
between.
Prof2(Gave in)-Quiet.He thought for 2 mins to ask me
something that I wont be able to answer,and then asked
me the rate of Microfinance that the institutes charge in
India.

Me-Sir,I don't know but can I make a logical guess?Proff3Nods.Me-Sir,since the poor people have no option but to
resort to the money lenders if Microfinance institutes don't
provide them money so,I think, they would take benefit of
this position.The money lenders charge outrageously high
interest,so MF too would charge something around 1415%.As per the govt. priority sector lending norms,govt.
banks are supposed to provide loan to poor without any
collateral of about 10% out of their earnings but the banks
hardly follow it.This gives MF to create a monopoly and
charge high interest,failing the whole objective of
microfinance.
All three professors show respect to me
The portion that I have written above lasted for just 5-6
mins,and my interview was of 21-23 mins.I completely
overwhelmed,all of them,all the time.They were
shocked,impressed,irritated at the same time.
In the end,professor3 says to me(Very slowly and

appreciatively),Do you want to say something that would

increase your chances of candidature?
I thought for 30 seconds(bringing all the pain,all the
insults,my parents' faces,my disfigured body into my
memory,the sacrifices that I have made,living every single
day with the fear that I will never make itI am not cut out
for the cream),and said on the verge of tears,Sir,I have
made mistakes in my lifeMy 10th and 12th scores are
very low,butIf you see my engineering scoresThe kind
of work that I have doneThe kind of books that I have
readI have really improved in life,SirI have really
improved.
Colour of the Prof3 face changed,and he couldn't speak
anything for 2 minsHe just looked into my eyes,and
NODDED!
I knew that I had nailed it at that very instantNothing
could stop me.

Note-I was extremely fluent that day,and I used quality

words and expressions because of extreme reading for 45
days.I wrote a poem on EUROZONE CRISIS 2 days
before the interview to show my creativity and writing
talent,and improved my essay on VS NAIPAUL that I had
written 1 year backThey really liked both.My GD was
exceptional too,and they talked about that in interview.I put
in index in my folder,marked stickers of different
colours,arranged things in a very organized and neat &
clean way.I did everything that I could
meticulously.Everyday around 8-9 hours and 15-16 hours
on weekends saw an average guy getting through.
When determination wins over fate,honour comes calling.

Akshay Gupta,XLRI Batch of 2013-2015