MHRD Interview Experience
This might come across as a little rude, but I genuinely felt that the interview panel was quite judgmental.
I come from a remote place, and despite that, I was able to secure a good percentile and get shortlisted for the interview. So naturally, I was expecting the conversation to focus on how I built my profile and got to this point.
Instead, some of the comments from the panel left me quite uncomfortable.
They said things like,
"How did you make it this far when you’re from such a remote place? "
"Good that you made it this far, but good luck ahead. I hope you’ve filled some good colleges in the CAP rounds as well."
I mentioned that I had only filled my top 3-4 choices because I was specifically looking for good education. My previous degree was also from a Tier 1/Tier 1.5 college, so I wasn't really looking to compromise on that. In case I dont get as per my expectations I am ready to repeat as well.
The response I got was, "You should have filled the others too. You already have a good percentile (97.something). What if you don't get these next time? "
Maybe they didn't intend it this way, but it came across to me as, “You got lucky this time, so don't assume you can do it again.”
How can someone make such assumptions about a candidate based purely on where they come from? Coming from a remote place doesn't automatically mean someone lacks the capability to reach a certain level.
I was also surprised that the interview barely focused on my resume. They asked questions that felt largely unrelated to my profile, and whenever I tried to provide context or support my answers with examples from my past experiences, I was frequently interrupted or those points were simply ignored.
I went into the interview expecting to have a conversation about my journey, achievements, and how I built my profile to this point. Instead, I came out feeling like the panel had already made certain assumptions about me before I could properly explain myself.
Maybe I'm thinking too much about it, but the overall experience felt unnecessarily dismissive and judgmental.