What is the IIM selection process in detail? What is the advantage of having job experience or being a fresher in the IIM selection process?

The selection process at IIM is extremely challenging and demanding. Excessive hard-work and planning go into the preparation. In this answer, we will focus on the selection process at IIM Ahmedabad, Calcutta, and Bangalore because the remaining IIM’s follow a similar procedure.

The First Stage: The Common Aptitude Test (CAT)

• A student has to clear the CAT exam for getting admitted to an IIM. For Foreign internationals, the GMAT score will also be considered valid.
• The Common Aptitude Test, also known as CAT, is a competitive exam that appears by around 1.96 lakh candidates.
• CAT is conducted with the purpose of ‘eliminations strategy’. The exams short-list the students for the next qualifying round i.e. the interview. These may be conducted through phone calls and nowadays emails.

The structure of the CAT question paper is (2020-2021 pattern) –

The data interpretation and logical reasoning sections are expected to be good, from the recruiting managers. Therefore, special attention should be given to these sections.

• To get into IIM Ahmedabad or Calcutta, the students might need to manipulate their percentile, make it above 99% and above, keeping in mind the cut-off. As for IIM Ahmedabad, they have always inducted academically diverse students for the past few years. IIM Bangalore is slightly different in this case, for them weightage is given to academics and work experience of a student rather than his/her percentile.
• The work-experience criteria play different roles in these three campuses- Bangalore prefers candidates with work experience; Ahmedabad and Calcutta prefer percentile, where freshers are included. 

The Second Stage: The interview

The interviewers are associates of the IIM brand, they could be the faculty, ex-faculty, or even alumni. A student can establish a connection with them which might continue later in the campus as well.

• IIM-Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta don’t conduct group interviews. There might be group interviews taken on the other campuses.
• Interviews at IIM-Ahmedabad are not random. Each question asked is either directly related to the candidate or indirectly connected to the discussed topic. 
• In IIM-Bangalore the interview-type oscillates between two ends- either a smooth or a stressed interview. 
• IIM-Calcutta has more academic-based interviews focussing on academics and mathematical rigor. 
• Work experience is always preferred. Lack of preparation can cause serious damage.

• Good work experience, academia, extra-curricular activities are impression-marking tools, and can never go wrong. The students can use their skills as a selling point.

The Final Stage: The Conversion

• The three important factors essential for conversion to IIM are - CAT score, academics, and interview round. Work experience is implicitly included in the selection process, either during the interview or while viewing the resume but it is not outwardly included in the criterion list.
• Keeping in mind the admission criteria, along with the above-mentioned factors, the final list of selected students is prepared.

Being on an IIM campus is an inexplicable feeling. There is no shortcut to it but a student can remember a few points- firstly, try to be as authentic as possible; confidence is the key; enjoy the interview process, answer the questions earnestly; present the qualities which make you a good and irreplaceable candidate, be unique. They are looking for a reason to select you, and as a candidate, all you need to do is give them that reason.