Toffee at IIM ?

 The practice of offering toffees to the candidates was probably started to make the candidates feel more comfortable and to eliminate stress. It seems to have had the opposite effect.

I think the panelists have a lot of fun behind the back when they know that a simple action such as offering or not offering a toffee to the candidate can make him or her go into instant panic mode.

Let me make one thing clear: It is just a toffee and there is absolutely no hidden motive behind offering a toffee.

Among the five IIM interviews I had given (IIM A,B,C,L,K), I was offered a toffee or cookie only at IIMA and IIML. But I had converted the other three interviews as well. So offering a toffee or not to the candidate has nothing to do with how the interview went.

Interestingly, I was offered a cookie first at the end of my IIM Ahmedabad interview. As soon as I took the cookie, they also offered me a toffee. I hesitated, but then went for the toffee as well. The panelists started laughing and also offered me a cashew. Since I had a cookie in one hand and a toffee in the other, I couldn’t go for the cashew and politely declined.

During my IIM Lucknow interview, I was offered a cookie at the beginning of the interview. As soon as I put the cookie in my mouth, the panelists started asking the interview questions. There was a long awkward pause after the question, when they were waiting for me to answer and I was trying to chew my cookie as fast as possible without making any chewing noise.

-Rohan Jain