Why are Group Discussions conducted by companies?

A group discussion (GD) is used to assess group skills that cannot be judged in an interview. More importantly, a GD is a great way for employers to see you in a real-life simulation of an activity which happens every-day at work -it's called meetings and conference calls.

It helps the employer explore an individual's confidence, team spirit, ability to deal with a chaotic and unstructured environment and express themselves in a structured manner. Please remember often when you are going in for meetings at work, thoughts and structure is really present. Can you be the person driving structured communication! Group discussions are also a test of your logical and analytical skills and your competence to deliver on them in a high pressure and high stakes environment.

The question which most students face are:

What skills are judged in a Group Discussion?

Let’s start with the skills and behavioral elements that you are being judged on in a group discussion exercise:

1. How good you are at communicating with others?

2. How you behave and interact with a group?

3. How open minded are you?

4. What is your competency level for quick decision making?

5. How well do you listen to others?

6. How confident are you when criticized or attacked in a discussion?

7. Problem-solving skills

How you should perform in a Group Discussion?

1. Grab the opportunity to speak first, but if you miss it, enter politely and systematically into the discussion

2. Sit with a straight and confidence posture

3. Allow others to speak and be courteous

4. Use quotes, fact and figures, everyday life examples to express a clear opinion

5. Make eye contact with all the participants and keep nodding when others speak.

6. Do not repeat a point, or be lengthy or irrelevant

7. Also, intervene if someone is going on and on without making relevant points

We are helping students everyday to create a winning strategy for their upcoming GDs by understanding their personality, competencies across communication and analytical skill levels.

You need a winning GD strategy!

Remember the only way you are going to ace the GD is by having a well thought out and practiced strategy. Try our unique service called Cracking the GD. We promise you that within 3 to 5 days, we can create a personalized GD strategy for you.

Cheers,

Abhishek Srivastava (LinkedIn Profile)

The writer of this blog is the co-founder and CEO of MBAtrek and extremely passionate about mentoring and coaching young professionals. He has worked in multiple MNCs like Apple, Accenture and Schneider Electric and a seasoned strategy and business professional with extensive experience across diverse industry sectors (oil and gas, telecom, metals and mining, consumer goods, chemicals, power generation. Abhishek is a MBA from the Indian School of Business and has a Masters in Environmental Engineering from Georgia Tech, USA (Recipient of Outstanding Masters Student) and a Bachelors in Environmental Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering, India.