The interview chronicles 28 Feb 2021

Two young people consisted of the interview panel. Both interviewers had spent at least fifteen minutes on the application as the questions were directly coming from the application.

Started off with: if currently working and am I happy working where working?

• Explained the reasons and a bit about the job profile

What convinced me to apply to this program?

• Unusual journey or decision and talk about higher opportunity cost (was asked to elaborate on this why I thought like this and the personal experience of the panel was shared); based on the set of beliefs inherent in my decision making (was not able to share this with them)
• This experience is already seen by me and what it does to a person; I shared the experience of another fellowship from the past and its contribution to the transformation and that the fellowship experience is irreplaceable

How does this program fit in with your goals? And some problems that trouble me and impact me?

• Exposure to a melting pot of ideas and interaction with a diverse set of individuals
• Few social problems which are impacting India are close to my heart including water scarcity, income inequality, the response of a normal Indian person to a person of disability

Was cross-questioned on what has stopped me from doing anything till now?

• Provided a bit of background again.
• Lack of proper channels where I can directly contribute

What do I consider significant in my journey till now; the transformation experience and the opportunities my alma mater provided to me.

What was the challenge and what was the process of overcoming it?

Asked to elaborate on helping first-year undergraduate students in a professional capacity and the interviewer shared her own experience of Resident Guides during her Bachelors overseas.

What matters the most to you and why; why is it hard to fully trust some people and easy for others; “fake” interactions?

• Answered mostly on the perspectives created during my limited lifetime and experiences with other people (was cross-questioned on what I did in such a case; you move on and how did that affect the relationship with my colleagues; nothing like that happened)

[Collaboration]