INTERVIEW TIPS
GD - WHAT AND WHY
I.
What & why
A GD
is a methodology used by an organization to gauge whether the candidate has
certain personality traits and/or skills that it desires in its members. In
this methodology, the group of candidates is given a topic or a situation,
given a few minutes to think about the same, and then asked to discuss the it
among themselves for 15-20 minutes.
The
reason why institutes put you through a Group discussion and an interview,
after testing your technical and conceptual skills in an exam, is to get to
know you as a person and gauge how well you will fit in their institute. The
Group discussion tests how you function as a part of a team. As a manager, you
will always be working in teams, as a member or as a leader. Therefore how you
interact in a team becomes an important criterion for your selection. Managers
have to work in a team and get best results out of teamwork. That is the reason
why management institutes include GD as a component of the selection procedure.
Personality
traits the GD is trying to gauge may
include :-
Ability
to work in a team
Communication
skills
Reasoning
ability
Leadership
skills
Initiative
Assertiveness
Flexibility
Creativity
Ability
to think on ones feet
Clarity
of thought
Group
working skills (especially during a group task of case study discussion)
Conflict
handling
Listening
and probing skills
Knowledge
about the subject and individual point of view
Ability
to create a consensus
Openess
and flexibility towards new ideas
Data
based approach to decision making
Company's
Perspective:-
Companies
conduct group discussion after the written test so as to check on your
interactive skills and how good you are at communicating with other people. The
GD is to check how you behave, participate and contribute in a group, how much
importance do you give to the group objective as well as your own, how well do
you listen to viewpoints of others and how open-minded are you in accepting
views contrary to your own. The aspects which make up a GD are verbal
communication, non-verbal behavior, conformation to norms, decision-making
ability and cooperation. You should try to be as true as possible to these
aspects.
The
Purpose of GD
While
the written exam tests the quantitative, reasoning and verbal skills of an
applicant, that is not all that a future manager is expected to excel in. In
fact, that is just the start! A successful manager should not just be good with
his quota of work, but he/ she is expected to contribute as part of a team.
Ability to work, and contribute in teams is an absolute must to succeed in
corporate sector. And that’s what Group Discussions aim to test.
Why do we have GD ?
Reasons
for having a GD
It
helps you to understand a subject more deeply.
It
improves your ability to think critically.
It
helps in solving a particular problem.
It
helps the group to make a particular decision.
It
gives you the chance to hear other students' ideas.
It
improves your listening skills.
It
increases your confidence in speaking.
It
can change your attitudes.
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