1999

There were 22 vacancies, and 45 were shortlisted (out of less than 70 applicants). We were interviewed by 5 panels, each with 2 professors. We had submitted our resumes, a writeup on why we were applying for the programme, various declarations and our grade sheet. Though it was rumoured that grades played a 50% part in shortlisting, it was not so. Each panel ranked their candidates independently (in which grades played only an implicit part) – so it was the interview that really counted. After ranking, they pooled the rankings across panels (this is probably where grades might come in) and allocated the first available preference by rank. If the universities you opted for are not available, you would not be considered for other universities even if your ranking is high. So it makes sense to fill out all the universities of your choice if you’re keen on going. ...

Microsoft has been ruled a monopoly. The findings are a pretty interesting economic analysis. (The US District court site also has a copy.)

Citibank awards Rs. 50,000 to 2-3 candidates from IIM Bangalore based on leadership traits. We had to submit ‘brief’ writeups on what leardership is, why we’re good leaders, what our social contributions and academic achievements are, etc., along with our resume. We also had to turn in a student and faculty nomination. Since I had lots of time (I was bedridden with a fractured ankle) I prepared quite well for this interview. 11 were shortlisted. The interviews were scheduled for 20 minutes each. ...

Curious that Google should return Microsoft’s home page when you search for “more evil than Satan himself”… When I tried this on 24th June 2000, it didn’t work. Maybe Google got smart. Or was it Microsoft? On 3rd July 2000, it worked again. Comments Anonymous 18 Dec 2006 3:11 am: I tried it, doesn’t work now Max 30 Mar 2009 6:26 pm: It’s been fixed, Microsoft (and also Bush) were pretty mad at Google.

Punctuation is critical. Believe me, mistakes can be glaring!

Web design guidelines are available at the Web Developer’s Virtual Library.

Lehman Brothers was recruiting Sales, Trading & Research in Tokyo, and Investment Banking in New York. If that sounds like greek, read Vault’s report on investment banking. They seemed disappointed at the number of questions that came their way during their pre-placement presentation. There were hoping for a lot more, and agressive, questions. The people who came included Alan Cutter, Pamella, Isabella, Sarab Bhutani (all from New York), Dalip Awasthi and Sumant Gupta. They shortlisted 21 people for New York and 9 people for Tokyo. Rajesh Dalmia and I were on both shortlists. ...

First year students ranking in the top 20 in CAT from each of the IIMs are eligible to apply to this scholarship. It pays for the tuition fee for the two years at IIM-B, and hence is worth about Rs. 2 lakhs. The resume is the key to shortlisting. The Aditya Birla group assigned a weightage to each achievement (depending on whether it was at the national level, state level, college level, etc.) and added up the points. The top point scorers were chosen. Some points are awarded to the write-up also. From IIM-B, Vijayalakshmi and myself were shortlisted in 1999. 8 were shortlisted from IIM-A and IIM-C respectively, while 2 more were from IIM-L. The scholarship was awarded to 10 people finally. The distribution was 4-1-4-1 across A, B, C and L. Viji won it from IIM-B. ...

I was playing around with CGI and wrote a script to determine when somebody last logged in. Read about CGI.pm.

The Keirsey temperament sorter is an online Myers-Briggs test. My type is ENTP, which I share with Walt Disney, Richard Feynman, Steve Jobs and Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes.) Comments Thejesh GN 14 May 2009 8:13 am: Good good. This is almost 10 year old. You started blogging long back! The Calvin and Hobbes search Takedown | s-anand.net 21 May 2010 11:53 am (pingback): […] when I started reading Calvin & Hobbes. The earliest reference I can find in my blogs is in July 1999. I remember it didn’t take me long to become a fan. I’d read every strip on the newspaper; hunt […]