How to prepare for TISS 2024 PIT PI?
TISS 2024 PIT PI EXPERIENCE AND EXPERT TIPS
This article will help you understand the selection process of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai and exclusive tips are mentioned at the end.
PIT – PRE-INTERVIEW TEST
PI – PERSONAL INTERVIEW
YOUR INTRODUCTION
I am Saumya Shivhare. I graduated from NIT Bhopal, Btech ECE. I have two years of work experience in Decision Sciences and consulting. My work experience grew a huge passion for business problem-solving in me. Having done numerous projects in marketing analytics, BI and operations, I realized that this base will surely help me fulfil the bigger dreams. I wanted to invest in myself even more and follow a guided path towards my goal of becoming a seasoned leader.
I left my job in October 2018, with a mission in my heart to pursue post-graduation. With only one and a half month in hand for CAT, SNAP, XAT, MICAT and TISS, I just threw myself into self-studies. I managed to get respectable scores in all of them, got decent calls and to my surprise, converted each one of them.
CALLS CONVERTED
Following are my converts (couldn’t attend all of the calls I got)
- TISS Mumbai HRM and LR
- MICA PGDM-C
- VGSOM, IIT Kharagpur
- IMT Ghaziabad
- IMI Delhi
- TAPMI PGDM and BKFS
- SIOM Nashik
- FORE Delhi
- LBSIM Delhi
- SITM Pune
TISS PIT/PI EXPERIENCE
Since the beginning, I have always been an active person. Be it dance, acting, writing, painting or volunteering, I have never rested my back. Another trait which I think sets me apart is, finding patterns in what people say, what they do and foresee how things pan out and to visualize how will it matter to me and my work.
I am a person who values freedom of self, the most. Freedom to choose, to study, to express and to communicate. Eventually, I visualize myself, creating a self-sustained ecosystem in my workplace by bringing in various tangible as well as behavioural factors.
Keeping this truth of mine in mind, the one and only institute that would let me be myself and become the person I have visualized myself to be is Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The school is set apart from the other B-Schools in terms of the peers, faculty, opportunity and diversified ecosystem.
Because it is a different school, hence I had to zone out from the usual MBA pitch mindset. I had to analyze, what is it in me that I can flaunt on the D-Day. I boiled down to a few things as my core ideas for the interview:
- I have to talk with a relaxed mindset
- I have to be brutally honest about myself
- I have to paint a picture before them. My character arch, my life sketch
- My evolution, things and situations that brought me to this interviewee chair, before them
I decided to convey these messages, if I am able to paint this picture for them, and make them listen to me, I think I might have a chance of getting one of mere 30 seats (GEN) of TISS HRM and LR.
TISS interviews are known for being long and conversational. They give you time to bring the best out of yourself. They want to dive in your psyche and check, if you have that “perfect candidature” or not. And trust me, no one knows what is a perfect candidature for this school.
I was taking care of usual things, getting in touch with plethora of information about our country, our world, my state, my city, my government, my company, relevant social and political issues. But underneath, I was actually preparing for the conversation that I am going to have with the interviewers. I was getting ready to be broken down to my core, my psychology, who I really am?
This preparation journey was one of the most beautiful journeys for me. I literally visualized myself 10 years down the line, 20 years, 50 years down the line. What person am I seeing when I warg into the future and google the name Saumya Shivhare?
Another most important aspect of my preparation was the Human Resources angle. What does it entail in the coming future, where do I see myself in it, doing specifically what?
I had enough dots now on canvas, now was the time to connect. I drew lines for my passion for working automotive manufacturing domain and human resource management. I wrote down pointers and created mind maps as if I am already an HR head in one such company.
I read trivial things on an uber level, like labour laws and policies in corporate as well as plants.
I picked out situations and examples from my work experience, what were the matters that should have been taken care of? What are the most groundbreaking policies of my organization?
I was in split minds. Preparing for two most important and completely different schools (TISS and MICA) was getting on my nerves. But I held myself and trusted my instincts.
To unnerve myself, I did regular meditation, to bring my wild thoughts to rest and calm myself. I had to be particularly relaxed for TISS D-Day.
On the D-Day, my written, my group discussion went very well. I spoke and let speak. I expressed with my eyes, my hands. I was aware of my voice modulation, my smiles, my gestures. And it was all effortless. I didn’t even try to push myself. I guess the number of thoughts and efforts I had put in for last month was panning out smoothly. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It gave me the exact adrenaline rush, which I used to get when I performed street plays on roads after months of practice.
And then, the final interview happened, and yet again, I was the last one to get interviewed. In those 45 minutes, I was questioned on my ethics, my decision-making process, my trivial knowledge, my passion for business, my interest in manufacturing business problems, my plans to turn the tables on usual HR practices, my evolution as a person and as a professional, my instincts (via case studies), my wits, my future visualization, and my temperament.
Never have I ever conversed about my life in so depth in anyone. And I made sure that my being last interviewee for the day, doesn’t affect my performance. I managed to entertain them, I made them listen to me. I was speaking with my eyes. It was emotional for me. This was the place I want to be in, so badly. But, I have to keep cool. And smile.
Waited for a month, almost overanalyzed my interview each and every day of that month. Almost gave up hopes to get selected, because overthinking led me to believe that maybe I was being delusional. Maybe my choice of words was wrong. Maybe something is wrong with me. I’m not getting there.
In the meantime, MICA converted for me. I was so sure to go to Ahmedabad.
The result day- 25th April, about 3:20 P.M. I logged in to the TISS portal, saw my marks, saw that it was a YES. I am given a YES. I’m in!
I almost threw up, I was shivering and sweating, felt hot and cold, cried and laughed simultaneously. I have no words to describe my feeling.
TISS PIT/PI WAT TIPS
Tips? Plan out your story, your pitch. They don’t want a money-maker mindset. They want relaxed and personally motivated individuals, who can visualize the bigger picture, who know the value of themselves and of TISS, who think beyond and carry the confidence to achieve beyond.
Be yourself. Be aware of your truth, your environment. I played a storyteller in my interview, you decide what you’re going to play.
Author – Saumya Shivhare
