Tips to an IIML prospect

A couple of days back, a guy called me on the eve of his IIML GD/PI, for some tips. He was one of those high work-ex MBA aspirants, who crack CAT partly by chance and partly coz IIML gives low-percentilers some respect if they have slogged for a few years somewhere after graduating. But he ended up revealing his worries about whether he would get a good job post MBA. I couldn't lie, and told him that high work-ex is a disadvantage at any IIM. But then, there had to be a reason for him to perform the next day. So I tried to convince him that job should not be the sole reason for getting into IIM, and that there are many other things, of a far greater value. For me it was loads of free time, sleep, jogging, booze at insti-parties, books (non-academic), good internet connection, tension-free education loan, Sahara Ganj, Gomti Nagar, Dominos Pizza and the wonderful winters of Lucknow. I couldn't get laid coz a couple of alpha males in our batch dominated that department. I did try Axe and Wild Stone, but I guess it's not just about smell. So, in a nutshell, the best thing about MBA from IIM is the experience. There is not much of any real value otherwise, which you wouldn't have had anyway if you were frustrated enough with life. Of course I did not tell that guy what I actually liked about my MBA at IIM. Instead, I talked about stuff like personal growth, personality development, value addition, contacts, friends, etc. He was not going to be convinced anyway, coz he had a dream job, which he described to me, and nothing else mattered to him. (Dream jobs exist only in dreams. I think I have enough "diversity" in my work-ex to make this statement with a high level of confidence.) I told him many companies come to IIML with such jobs on offer and so he had good opportunities. And, that probably worked. Although, my earlier point of high-work-ex-you-are-doomed-at-IIM point had cast a permanent dent in his mind, I am sure he'd temporarily overcome that with the pre-MBA I-can-do-anything mindset.