03 January 2015

The Best Way to Crack the GWPI at India's Top B-Schools


(Please note I have changed the font on this blog from Trebuchet to Verdana.)

If you have secured or are expecting an interview short-list from a b-school, you should now focus on your preparation for the highly competitive and rigorous stages like GD, Essay (variously called Written Ability Test or Writing Test), and Interview (GWPI).  

To put in a great performance in the GWPI, please focus on the following for effective preparation:

(a) Academics
  • Pour over your graduation subjects.
  • You may have favourite subject(s). If you have one, you must be really comfortable with almost everything related to this subject.
  • Also, throw a glance at your project(s) work and paper presentation(s).

(b)
 Career 
  • Think about long term plans (even if not concrete);
  • Get a hang of things in your chosen line of activity; 
  • How your mental strengths and current skill set match your choice of career, and 
  • Also, think about Plan B, i.e., what if Plan A (of doing an MBA and later career choices) does not work out. 

(c)
 Self-related Qs
  • Hobbies;
  • Evaluate your mental strengths and weaknesses;
  • Think of instances where they came into play;
  • How a particular strength helped you become better;
  • What are you doing to overcome/tackle any weakness, and
  • Information about home town/state – uniqueness, history, cuisine, comparison between home town and town of employment (if different from home town).

(d)
 GK & Current Affairs 
  • Global economics:
o   Slow global economic recovery;
o   eurozone crisis;
o   U.S. economy – jobless recovery and growth pangs;
o   Japan and Abenomics;
o   Economic, military & political power rise of China, and
o   BRICS – why Russia and Brazil are in recession.

  • Indian economy:
o   Current state of the economy;
o   Reasons behind slow GDP growth;
o   Faltering reforms process;
o   Infrastructure bottlenecks, including in railways;
o   FDI (especially in multi-brand retail, insurance);
o   NITI Aayog;
o   SMART Cities plan;
o   Swachh Bharat, and
o   Make in India and industrial clusters.

  • Global politics:
o   China - political & military muscle-flexing; 
o   Syrian crisis – Role of the Islamic State;
o   Rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria; 
o   Israel-Palestine imbroglio;
o   Rising authoritarianism in Turkey;
o   Korean peninsula – North Korea versus South Korea; 
o   Iranian nuke plans and P+1 deal;
o   Terrorism in Afghanistan & Pakistan;
o   Russia – Ruble crisis; also Russia-Ukraine crisis;
o   Post-Arab Spring situation in Egypt, Libya, & Tunisia; 
o   Ebola crisis in West Asia, and
o   Nigeria - terrorism & Boko Haram. 
  • National political & social issues:
o   Recent Assembly elections – impact on national polity;
o   J&K – elections, Article 370, & Jammu-Valley tussle;
o   Naxalism – origin, ideology, reach, methods;
o   Social Media - freedom of speech & curbs;
o   Black Money - menace of corruption;
o   Gender-related issues, including safety issues, and
o   Religion – conversions & reconversions debate.
(e) Work-related 
  • All about your work profile;
  • Check out the current state of the industry;
  • Info about company or companies you worked for, and
  • What did you learn from work, etc.

(f)
 Also, work on 
  • Why management career;
  • Why MBA;
  • Alternate career plan; 
  • What other calls have your received, and
  • Which school will you join (in case of multiple calls). 

Be invested in your future. Be passionate. Work hard. Keep learning!



2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks a ton sir.. This info helps a lot and a lot..

ashu said...

Sir, can you please let us know about the updated list of current affairs, which we should prepare for the GD-PI session of Cat 2016-2018.
Thanks !!