BARC Interview Experience - Mechanical Engineering
Hi, I just had my BARC interview a few days ago and thought I'd share my experience since many still have their interviews left.
I was selected on the basis of my GATE Score, even though I did clear the cutoff for the CBT. I selected the slot for my interview to be on 19th May, because by the time I logged in for slot booking all later slots were filled and I wanted it to be over quickly.
0. How to Reach?
The interview is in Anushaktinagar. The nearest railway stations are Mankhurd and Govandi, you can get a direct auto to BARC from either station.
I reached Mumbai on 18th, and on 19th morning I reached the Interview venue by 8:15 AM. The document verification started around sharp 9am or 9:15am, because they will make you fill 3 forms before verification.
1. Verification
Make sure you take two copies of all documents listed in the mail. Take an official CGPA to Percentage Conversion Document for your college grade (and school if your school had CGPA). They don't mention that in the Documents Required list, but it is required. They do give you a printout but many people forget even their Application forms, so yeah it will be crowded.
There will be a form where you have to write YES/NO on the documents. Arrange all documents in exactly that order, sign all xerox copy pages with name and signature and go early. They'll start calling by name after a few people and you may have to wait till second half for your name to come.
After verification, there are some other simple processes after which you reach the main venue...
2. The Interview
You'll be sitting in a waiting hall, from where they will call your name. The room will have 6 to 7 senior scientists and a board.
I entered at 11am, and they made some small talk with me - how was your travel? Where is your college placement? etc. After that, within 2 minutes they sent me to the board and told me to write 4 subjects of my choice.
Now, I did not have much interview preparation because I somehow did PYQs and revised numericals and formulas well to get a GATE rank under 100. I was good in Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Strength of Materials because I had great profs at my college to learn from. For the fourth subject, I chose Thermodynamics.
The questions were simple to start with. Draw the Temperature profile from the centre, to a distance far away from a pipe carrying water at a certain temperature, and explain the nature of the curves you drew both physically and mathematically. There were a few cross-questions, which I answered well and they moved on to SOM.
SOM was also pretty simple, they asked questions on Bending Moment, Flexure curves, stress distribution, pure bending cases etc, all on a hanging L shaped beam. The difficulty started when they asked me to design it. I assumed they wanted me to state the process to select dimensions, but they changed the question by asking "What cross section? Why". I fumbled it here and did not explain well.
Then came thermo, which absolutely killed my interview. It was a pretty simple question of a tank with two compartments containing ideal gases with given initial states, and then they asked me the process to find the final position of the separator. I absolutely blanked. I had done similar stuff before, but I don't know why I said absolutely terrible answers to all cross-questions here. After this, they took pity on my state and moved on to Fluids.
Once again, I answered it pretty well. Simple velocity and temperature profiles in a pipe flow, compare and explain for Laminar and Turbulent regimes, different Prandtl numbers, derive the equation etc.
By this time, I think they had learnt what they wanted to learn about me, so with a short "You atleast know your basics well", I was told "Thank you" and let go from the panel room.
3. Further stuff
You'll have to sit and collect your travel allowance. It doesn't take much time, and it's good that they provide it at that point only.
4. My thoughts
I absolutely messed up and there's very little chance of selection. So I would like to just say, prepare the basics well.
Draw graphs more than equations, revise whatever graphs you've drawn. Know why those graphs and results are coming. Mechanical Pantomath is a good channel where he has PYQs from other people, questions will be similar.
All the best for your interview!