PERSONAL INTERVIEW

Personal Interview

After clearing the written test in CAT, a candidate is called for PI (Personal Interview) by the institute in which he/she seeks admission. This is done only when the candidate crosses the minimum cut-off limit in CAT scores fixed by the respective institute.

• Generally these interviews are the final part of the selection process whereby the candidate has to sit for a one to one dialogue with the dean or the concerned admission authority of the institute.
• It is the performance at the personal interviews that decides whether the candidates are eligible for admissions in a particular educational institute or not.

NEED FOR PI:

• To gauge the suitability of the person for the job or the degree course.
• To judge how well the candidate can handle pressure or how positive he or she is.
• Sometimes even though a candidate may have all the requisite qualifications for getting admissions to a college or for getting a job, he/ she may fail at the personal interview for reasons such as bad attitude, lack of confidence and other personal shortcomings.
• The institutes call you for an interview because they don't know you, and they want to get to know you in order to assess if you have the qualities that would make a good manager. In an interview, the panel deduces these qualities from your answers.

IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION CRITERIA IN CAT: In the second stage of selection that is also on a five-point scale, candidates were assessed on the basis of their written ability test, group discussion, personal interview, quality of academic qualification and quality of work experience.

Thus PI plays an imperative role in selection criteria. About 20% importance is given to PI, which is highest among the other variables in CAT.

BENEFITS OF PI:

1. Personal Interviews equip candidates to be better prepared to face any kind of probable questions from the interviewer.
2. These interviews are also aimed at instilling confidence in the candidates, which is a vital ingredient for success in any field.