Final Placement Interview Experiences

Serial No.
Name
Company
Role
Bhaskar Kashyap
HSBC
Global Funds Approval

and Research Team
Ganesh R
Mogae Media
Sales
Sana Niazi
KPMG
Management
Consulting - IT Advisory
Nitish Kumar
Bluestone
Operation
Abhinay Lakra
BAJAJ Auto
Sales
S Sandeep Bhat
Reliance Industries Ltd
General Management
R Adharsh
Citibank
Operations &
Technology
Pratibha
CBC
CI
Pooja Punjabi
ABP Group
Sales and Marketing
10
Ipsita Acharya
JP Morgan Chase
Analyst- CRG
11
Aparna Johari
TAS
General Management
12
Aadita Saksena
Yes Bank
Corporate Banking
13
Parvathy
Mu Sigma
Apprentice Leader
14
Kruti Maru
KPMG
FMAS
15
Sunando Das
Tata Communications
General Management
16
Nithin Raj M
Microsoft
Programme Manager
17
Harsh Yadav
RPG(CEAT)
Sales and Marketing
18
Nimisha Drolia
GS
IBD
19
Aseem Agrawal
Asian Paints
Systems
20
Ankita Aggarwal
General Management
21
Asmita Jha
Cognizant business
consulting
Business consulting
22
Kaustubh Dudhane
IBM
Sales Consultant
23
Sonali Paralkar
Idea Cellular
24
Biranchi Prasad Sahoo HSBC GFAR
Associate Analyst
25
Ramesh Kumar
Domain Consultant
TCS
Sales and Marketing
26
Mohit Jaiswal
Samsung
Sales and Marketing
27
Shilpi Chaudhry
Tata Communications
Management Trainee
28
Pragati Srivastava
Hexaware Technologies
Senior Management
Trainee
29
Keshav Kumar
Cognizant Interactive
Digital Marketing
30
Neeta Verma
IBM
Senior Consultant Strategy &

Transformation
31
V Sharada
Tata Communications
Limited
General Management
32
Vishal V
CBC
EBA, Sr. Business

Analyst
33
Vijayendra V
HCL Technologies
India Business Sales

Manager
34
Pallavi Kelshikar
KPMG
Consultant
35
Parth Limbachiya
Samsung
Sales
36
Susnato
CBC
Consultant
37
Athul Bhargav
Cognizant Business
Consulting
Business Consulting
38
Umesh Kumar
Heinz
Management trainee
39
Ankit Goel
Indus Valley Partners
Business Analyst
40
Monisha Mehrotra
CBC
Consultant
41
Aparna Goswami
Heinz
Sales & Marketing
42
Meena Yadav
Future Group
Management Trainee
43
Sonam Kardam
Asian Paints
Management Trainee,
Systems-LEAP
45
Deep Shikha Govli
Capgemini
PMO Lead, BIM
46
Animesh Ratnam
Cognizant Business
Consulting
Business Consulting
47
Subhashree
ICICI Prudential
Management Trainee
48
Sandesh Patil
Lenovo
Regional Channel Sales

Manager
49
Surbhi Paliwal
Vodafone
S&M
50
Abinash Kumar
Capgemini
Pre Sales Consultant
51
Usha Bhakuni
HSBC
GFAR
52
Mansi Garg
KPMG
Consultant IGS-Edu
53
Ashish Katiyar
Samsung
Sales and Marketing
54
Biswapriya Saha
ZS Associates
Business Operations
Associate Consultant
55
Harshada Shewale
JP Morgan Chase
CAU
56
Ankita kumari
JP Morgan Chase
analyst
57
Tasleem Fathima J
Accenture Management
Consulting
HR Analyst
58
Deepak Garewal
MuSigma
Apprentice Leader
59
Anuj Sharma
ICICI Prudential
General Management
60
Kaustubh Jambhulkar
KPMG
Consultant (IGS-EDU)
61
Gaurav Auti
Cognizant Analytics
Associate Business
Development Analyst
62
Anuradha Dhote
Goldman Sachs
Analyst - IMD
63
Manjilkumar Gedam
Mu Sigma
Associate Manager
64
Sarika Chauhan
ICICI Bank
NA
65
Peeyush Patil
Idea Cellular Limited
Management Trainee
66
Leeza Manocha
Idea
Sales & Marketing
67
Ajeet Kispotta
SBI
IT (operations)
68
Srishty Barla
Future Group
Operations, Category
Management,
Marketing
69
Pankaj Singh Bhati
CBC
Consultant
70
Vipin Kumar
Tata Communications
General Management
71
Madhurima Maggu
Reliance Industries Ltd.
General Management
72
Tarang Doifode
Tata Steel
Sales and Marketing
73
Apurba Roy Chowdhury KPMG
Consulting
74
Siddharth Mehta
SBI
Finance/IT
75
Pamal Preet Singh
Sales & Marketing/

General Management
76
M Rohit
ICICI Bank
Corporate Banking
77
Mariyam Mohammad
Cognizant
Retail Operations
78
Sreekanth P S
ABP Group
Strategy
79
Subharthi Sen
Royal Bank of Scotland
Analyst
80
Mrityunjay
Bajaj Auto
Sales and Marketing
81
Himani Kabra
ICICI
Corporate Banking
82
Rachna Ravi
Vodafone
Sale and Marketing
83
Yashasvi Kansotia
Capgemini
Senior IT Consultant
84
Spandana A
Omega Healthcare
Not specified
85
Anukriti Chhabra
Vodafone
Sales & Marketing
86
Ankit Luthra
Samsung
Sales
87
Alka
CBC
Consulting
88
Anshul NaGroup
Discussionive
KPMG (IT Advisory)
Management
Consultant
89
Shraddha Shrikhande
Nomura
Change Management
90
Divya Thomas
Nomura
CMT
91
Abhinav Tandon
Philips
Business Leadership
Program- Sales &
Marketing
92
K Sivaram
HCCB
Sales
94
Saurabh Chaudhary
Hewlett Packard
Financial Consultant
95
Anshuman Pradhan
Idea Cellular
Sales and Marketing
96
Aashirwad
Muthoot Group
Marketing
97
Debopam Chakrabarty RPG Group
Sales and Marketing
98
Rohit Jaiswal
CBC
EBA
99
Preeti Kumari
ICICI Bank
Finance
100
Veeresh Goswami
General Management
101
Dipti
TCS
Retail Business analyst
102
Viswa Teja Yalla
Samsung
Sales and Marketing
103
Nikita Runwal
Capgemini
Senior Consultant
104
Umang Thaker
Crisil
Analyst
105
Rohit Dhall
Snapdeal
Product Development
(Technology)
106
Yogesh Pirate
Accenture Technology
Solution
Consultant
107
Nikita Mirakhur
Axis Bank
Management Trainee
108
Rohit Dhall
Consulting
Analyst
109
Chubasenla Jamir
Cognizant
CBC
110
Shailesh Shelke
Cognizant Business
Consulting
Consultant
111
Pooja Sumon
Mahindra Comviva
Business & Product

Development
112
Shruti Mandal
CBC
Consultant
113
Kumar Prashant
ICRA Ltd
Analyst
114
Itishree Dash
KPMG
MC ITA
115
Swati Agarwal
ITC
Sales & Marketing
116
Navya Joseph
Mindtree
Business Consultant
117
Akanksha Kirti
SIS
General Management
118
Reina
Vodafone
S&M
119
Reeshil N
Cognizant
Senior Analyst
120
Rahul
Mindtree
BA-Manufacturing
121
Venkatesh Balakrishnan Crisil
NA
122
Ved Prakash
JP Morgan Chase
Analyst, CRG
123
Milan Hembram
Transdyne IT service
Sales
124
Priya Bagade
Arvind Lifestyle
Retail Operations
125
Lekshmi Vaidyeswaran ICICI Prudential
General Management
126
Arathi Mohan
KPMG
Risk Consulting
127
Tanya
Philips
Sales and Marketing
128
Purba Tripathy
KPMG
RC ITA
129
Sneha Gupta
Cipla
Supply Chain
Management
130
A Sindhuja
Cognizant Business
Consulting
Consultant
131
Kunal Hande
ZS Associates
Business Operations
132
Pusyakant Tiwari
SIS
General Management
133
Gaurav Baldota
Omega Healthcare
IT Strategy
134
Safwan Saidalavi s
IBM
Sales
136
Samya Ray
Axis Bank
Finance
137
K Pavan
Capgemini
PMO
138
Mohammed Shajeer
Samsung
Sales Manager
139
S Akshaya
General Management
140
Yuwali Dabur
Vodafone
S&M
141
Anirudh S
ICRA
Analyst
142
Tamaraiselvi A
Mindtree
Senior Consultant
143
Nitish Kumar Suman
KPMG
S&O
144
Ishita Shewakramani
Reliance Industries Ltd.
Management Trainee
145
Sakshi Singh
Consulting
Analyst, Strategy
Consulting
146
Jignesh Rathod
idea cellular limited
sales and marketing
147
Surbhi Sharma
Crisil
Business Development
148
Ritu
ZS Associates
149
Kiran Kannan P
SBI
Assistant Vice
President
150
Debiprasad Behera
Capgemini
Senior ConsultantAppsOne
151
Siva Kumar Badugu
ICICI Bank
Banking(Retail)
152
Vineeli U
KPMG
Risk Consulting
153
Samit Das
Capgemini
Senior Consultant
(PMO Lead)
154
M Srinivas Naik
Future Group
Marketing
155
Gopika Pushpangadan People Interactive
Sales & Marketing
156
Anita Jain
Britannia
Sales & Marketing
157
Deeksha S
TAS
General Management
158
Arjun A L
Cipla
marketing and
operations
159
Aarya Palsule
Yes Bank
Product Management
160
Rohan Gautam
Capgemini
Senior Consultant
161
(No Suggestions) a
GSK pharma
Sales and marketing
162
Anupriya
ZS Associates
163
Supriya Pushkar
Cinepolis
Operations
164
G Sahiti
Matrimony.com
Insight miner
165
Kavita Yajnik
Vodafone
Sales & Marketing
166
Sweta Satapathy
HUL
Leadership Program IT
167
Amit Chouhan
Cognizant Business
Consulting
Senior Analytical
Consultant
168
Richa Singh
Mphasis
General Management
169
Nikhil Chivane
Samsung
Sales
170
Anamika Chaudhary
Fidelity
IT + Finance
171
Surabhi Bhate
Vodafone
Sales and Marketing
172
Eshita Agarwal
Nomura
Change Management
173
Neha Sherpuri
IBM
Sales
174
Bhavneet Kaur
Nestle
Sales and Marketing
175
Diksha Singh
Lenovo
Sales and Marketing
176
Nikhil Kumar Gupta
RPG
Operations
177
Pooja Thakur
Arvind lifestyle
Retail Operations
178
Ankita Prakash
Tata Steel
MT- S&M
179
Deepak Venkata
Bajaj Auto Limited
Area Sales Manager
180
Priyanka Bari
Hansa Cequity
Business Analyst
181
Mitali Jain
Microsoft
Program Manager
182
Prakhar Garg
Infosys Management
Consulting
Consultant Fin profile
183
Abhishek Iyer
TAS
General Management
184
Rupali Pawar
Tata Steel
Sales
185
Amitha Prabhakaran
Capgemini
PGP/17/193
186
Parul Singh
ICICI Bank
Not known explicitly
187
Soumya Ranjan
Pradhan
IBM
Sales and marketing
188
Srilekha Bhattiprolu
Cognizant Business
Consulting
Consultant
190
Shardul Mhetre
Samsung
Sales
191
Saurabh Tiwari
SIS
General Management
192
Perwez Alam
Wipro
Sales Management
Trainee
193
Shraddha Singh
Cap Gemini
Consultant
194
Pratyasha Burman Ray ICICI Bank
Finance
195
Sandesh A
Capgemini
Consultant
196
Amol Kharte
Hansa Cequity
Business Analyst
197
Thiyagarajan B
Vodafone
Sales
198
Venu Merh
Cognizant Business
Consulting
CI
199
Mayank Mehre
ICICI Prudential
GenMan
200
Anuj Goel
Wipro
Marketing (Sales &

Strategy)
201
Pramod Bhosale
IBM
Strategy and Analysis
202
Manish Pareta
Infosys Management
Consulting
Consultant
203
Pritam Karmakar
ICRA
Analyst
204
Rajendran
Idea
Sales and Marketing
205
Sayantan Mandal
Hewlett Packard
Finance
206
Roshni Pattanaik
ZS Associates
207
Ravi Kumar
Wipro
208
Shakti Saini
Fidelity Investments
Sales Strategy
Enablement
Systems Analyst/
Business Analyst
209
Pradnya Ingle
Mindtree Ltd.
Business Consultant
210
Pragjyotika Nandan
Vodafone
MT
211
Sabyasachi Das
Nomura
Change Management
212
Pritam Roy
Omega Healthcare
Management Trainee
213
Sreedev Basu
Nestle
Management Trainee
214
Shakun
Microsoft
Program Manager
215
Farzaan Habib
Mphasis
Leadership role
216
Himanshu Singh
Consulting
Business Analyst
217
Anshul Yadav
Hexaware Technologies
Pvt. Ltd.
Senior Management
Trainee
218
Esha Choudhury
Raymond
Senior Management
Trainee- Lifestyle
(Marketing)
219
Shalini
KPMG
Consulting
220
Shreya Pandey
Citibank
Management Trainee
221
Ashish Gedam
Omega HealthCare
Management Services
Pvt. Ltd.
Operations
222
Baher Bhadre
Samsung
Sales
223
Shougaijam Dibyalaxmi
Matrimony.com
Devi
Business analyst
224
Amol kata
HCL
India sales manager
225
Aniket Verma
Tata Communications
General Management
226
Priya Chandak
Vodafone
Management Trainee Sales and Marketing
227
Akanksha Chandra
SBI
Management Trainee
228
Sharada Prasanna Seth Asian Paints
SCM
229
Umang Thaker
Samsung
Manager - Sales
230
Umang Thaker
TAS
Manager
231
Vinesh Vijayan
Mogae Media
Sales
232
Sushant Kumar
Coffee Day Beverages
Area Sales Manager
233
Sonakshi Jaiswal
Mogae Media
Managment traineeSales
234
Rajesh kumar singh
omega healthcare
mangaement trainee
235
Nisarg Patel
Yes Bank
Treasury
236
G Madhuri
Nomura
Change Management
237
Priya Yadav
Tata Communications
General Management
238
Amanjot Singh
Wipro
Business Developer
239
Arshia Gupta
Bluestone
Brand Manager
240
Akash basak
Samsung
Assistant Sales
Manager
241
Ankit Kumar
HSBC
GFAR
242
Shiji Thilak
IBM
Sales
243
Ekta Punn
Samsung
Sales
244
Divya Kumari
Idea Cellular
Sales and Marketing
245
Surbhi Kothari
Crisil
Analyst
246
Dinesh kumar V
Infosys Management
Consulting
Consultant
247
Dheeraj Kumar
IBM
Sales Manager
248
Arnab Sethi
Muthoot Group
Assistant General
Manager, CRM
249
Prakriti Sharma
HUL
Sales & Marketing
250
Oshin Kumar
Avalon consulting
Consultant
251
Satyapriya Ojha
CBC
Consultant
252
Parvathy Rajan
Crisil
Analyst
253
Abhishek Sohal
Heinz
Sales & Marketing
254
Utkarsh Tyagi
Tolaram Group
Marketing Associate
255
Prama Mukherjee
ABP Group
General Management
256
Viral Malvania
Coffee Day Beverages
Sales
257
Harsh Naroliya
Finideas
sales manager
No. of rounds
3
3
More than 4
More than 4
2
2
More than 4
2
3
More than 4
2
3
2
1
2
1
Please mention the details of various rounds

Round 1: Test on Economics, Finance and Excel
Round 2: Group Discussion
Round 3: Personal Interview
Round 1: Video conference
Rounds 1 & 2: Interviews
CV Shortlist then one round of interview only
Direct Interview

Group Discussion round accompanied by a round of interview, another round was conducted as the panel
member 3 had gone our in midst. In Group Discussion, they look forward to anyone contributing
significantly. 5 of our members got selected for the interviews. Interview was primarily HR, with all
questions related with leadership, culture, etc.

Round 2: Interview
Round 3: HR Interview
Round 1: Technical Interview


Both rounds were interviews with different panelists. They were testing candidates on problem solving
skills. So most questions were situation based or cases.
First round was a Pre-PPI interview taken by the Head of CRG division after the CRG workshop. Second
round was the PPI interview by phone. There were 4 panelists for the final interview.
Round 1: Chairman's Group Discussion

Round 2: Summer internship presentation round
Round 3: Interview round
1- Presentation about the company followed by written test. It had 3 parts- deciphering some coding,
some information is available- what interesting questions you'll ask, a video will be played & you have to
express your understanding briefly (you can even draw). This is eliminative.
2- We had a case discussion (4 people & the interviewer), it was a simple case, one liner- like, "In ecommerce, returns are increasing, why?" There was a lot of focus on team work. We had to come up with
inputs for a mathematical model too. There was no interview! (The people after us had interviews instead,
I think because all 4 weren't available at a time for a Group Discussion)
Round 1: Telephonic Interview (I sat in my own room and gave the interview) - about 54 minutes - was
kind of stress interview (He tried to put stress, I didn't succumb, so that I guess was the key).
Round 2: Skype interview - about 35 minutes. Few questions from first round were repeated. HR and
application based practical questions were asked. Nothing theoretical.

Rounds 1 & 2: Interview with different department / division heads

Round 3: Interview with Director

Round 2: Technical interview (20 minutes)
Round 3: HR interview (40-45 minutes)
Rounds 1,2,3 & 4: Interviews

All rounds were a mix of both technical and HR. More of technical. Few basic questions in HR, common to
almost all panelists (few not asked explicitly but implied from the course of the conversation).
1.) Why GS? Why IBD?
2.) How do you fit to the role?/ Why should we take you over other candidates waiting?
3.) Are you willing to work for long hours?/ Will you be able to manage?
Counter-questions on HR based answers.

Round 2: Interview
Rounds 1,2 & 3: Interviews

All three were interview rounds and was asked one common question - tell me about yourself. 1st
interview was mostly behavioral questions and lasted for 30 minutes. In 2nd interview the person was
telling the dark side of consulting and judging whether I was comfortable with that. It lasted for 15 minutes.
3rd interview was simple HR and salary structure was described. It lasted for 10 minutes.

Rounds 2: Interview
Round 1: Online Aptitude Test - Basic logical reasoning and psychometric questions
Round 1: Written test

Written Test covered nearly all fundamentals in Finance and Economics . There were four sections.
Section I covered concepts in IAPM , Derivatives and FIS. Section II covered 2-3 excel concepts like
vlookup etc. Section III covered concepts on mutual fund and general fund management. Section IV
covered basic economic concepts and recent economics related current affairs.
Group Discussion: 15 Minutes discussion followed by every one summarizing in the end individually.
Interview: One Round & 3 Interviewers - 2 Technical Guys, 1 HR Guy
Direct Interview

Round 2: Written aptitude test (CAT Type, Logical Reasoning-Data Interpretation, 40 minutes 80
questions)
Round 3: Interview

Round 2: Interview
Rounds 1 & 2: Group Discussion

Round 3: Interview
During the presentation, we were informed that Hexaware innovates on 4 themes
1.Change service models using insights from data. Continuously integrate additional sources of data to
improve insights.
2.Consumerization as it impacts the Enterprise.
3.Build & Manage Hybrid environments
4.Eliminate the need for people using automation and technology
We were divided into groups of 6-8 people, and each group was asked to choose one topic from the
above mentioned 4 topics for Group Discussion.
My group chose the 4th topic "Automation. It was a 3 member panel of senior executives, they told us
from the beginning that "We don't want Arnab Goswami, but someone who can structure his/her thoughts.
Also background in IT is not necessary."
Group Discussion went on smoothly for 10-15min, each member was asked to conclude.
After initial shortlisting from different groups, we had a second round of interactive Group Discussion, in
which panel members were also involved. The topic was same "Automation", as most of the groups had
selected the same topic. In this Group Discussion round they were looking for a more technical approach.
One of the panel member did some briefing and asked us to continue the discussion, he was pitching in to
give direction to the discussion and also asked questions such as "how can we sell our IT services based
on automation to a client." This Group Discussion round went on for around 30-35 minutes. At the end of
this round also, each member was asked to conclude.
Third Round was the Personal Interview.
Round 1: Online Aptitude Test

Round 3: Interview
The Online aptitude test was easy; quant, graphs, LR; time management required.
Group Discussion - 2 minutes for everyone to present their points on the topic - " what should finance
minister do to increase the Group DiscussionP of India"; 2 moderators were there & they paid attention to
each n every detail; Well-thought n innovative points will do the trick.
PI was taken by the same 2 members who took Group Discussion; Mostly CV based - if they found
anything related to what they were looking for then they grilled deeper; mostly questions on online user
experience designing (they were hiring for interactive experience department), spas, Google analytics,
etc.
Round 1: CV based interview
Round 1: Interview
There were two rounds , viz. HR & Technical, which were clubbed together into one. This included HR
questions and technical questions in the field of consulting.

Round 2: Written aptitude test
Round 3: Interview
Round 1: Interview on Summers and resume based
Round 2: Interview on Summers and resume based interview

Had gone for EBA role but they changed role after first round hence had to give two more rounds.
Interview
Round 1:Written test

Round 1&2: Interviews
Pre visit online video interview like summers post shortlist
It was a direct interview short list. The interview itself though, was a challenging one which lasted for 55
minutes(approx.) with questions spanning a very wide range of topics being asked.

Round 2: Interview

Round 2: Interview
There were was a Group Discussion round ,each comprising of 10 people, it was a screening round post
which around 10 people were shortlisted for both the profiles(Systems & Ops).The second round was
interview round
Round 1:Group Discussion
Round 2: Interview
Group Discussion topic was abstract. They just wanted to check our communication skills. Along with
good speaker listening skills were also equally important.
Interview was totally based on CV. They dint ask any of the technical questions. they asked me about my
internships and projects

The first two were technical and the third was HR.

Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Psychometric Test - typical psychometric questions testing your consistency of thoughts.
Round 2: Case Study Round - A live case study of real product launch by Lenovo was given at the time of
form filling. Based on the submissions, Placement Committee released the shortlist on the day Lenovo
visited. 12 people were shortlisted.
Round 3: Interview Round 1 - Everything on CV was asked by 2 panelists.
Round 4: Interview Round 2 - Same as above with deeper focus on Sales and Marketing for 7 people
from Round 1.

Round 2: Interview
Rounds 1&2: Interviews

Round 1: HR based questions.

Round 2: About education sector, your views on the same.

Round 3: Interview
Round 1: Case based interview + Personal Interview
Round 2: Situation based, few problems(mini cases), HR questions
Round 1: Workshop
Round 2: Online test
Round 3: Technical interview
Round 4: HR interview
Telephonic interview - PPI interview
Round 1: Senior person in the Talent and Organization department. Case based questions after a quick
introduction. The cases were based on HR scenarios. In the end I was told that the cases were real
problems that ACM had dealt with. We covered many cases in this round which lasted around 40 minutes
because he used to move on once I suggest the approach without waiting for some concrete answer.
Round 2: Senior person in the Financial services and enterprise planning. More generic cases i.e.,
questions were open ended. I was also questioned on HR competitions mentioned in my CV.
Round 3: Partner of T&O. Generic questions. Do you think consulting is a sustainable career option?
What do you think about the concept of work-life balance? General topics and interests like CSR etc.
Round 4: HR interview: Why consulting? What other path if not consulting (I answered: another consulting
firm)? What do you know about Accenture. I told many things based on talking to others like their culture.
Their strong analytics capabilities. He questioned further: Then I told I went through the website only for
few minutes for lack of time (this excuse may not be accepted most times so please do spend
considerable time on understanding the organization) and so he explained everything about Accenture,
beginning from their divisions to their capability networks and where they stand in India business.
Round 5: Partner round: I loved discussing with him on a gamut of topics. Delhi (last posting location
preference) vs. Bangalore (which was my first preference when asked for posting location)? Why I should
stay in Delhi at least for a year in spite of all rape cases, the safety of women, consulting as a career for
women, how difficult it is for educated women to find grooms, religious issues? What kind of people like
HR, scarcity of men in HR, should we give quota for men in HR, Suppose there is preference for religious
minorities and women in organizations (right or wrong), migration of educated men to gulf to earn more
etc.
Be assertive and articulate, but be tactical, perceptive and polite at the same time.
Round 1: A test on logical ability with questions based on program outputs.

We were required to figure out the output of a pseudo-code. Also, they showed us a video of around
10minutes, after which we were required to write 3 things which we thought were most important. (No
criterion was given for this judgment)
Round 2: After the test, if you clear it, Case based Group Discussion will be taken.
It was a case based Group Discussion of four people, where the panelist was giving direction to the
discussion. In the end he also asked each one of us what more could have been added to the discussion
and also to summarize what was discussed.
Round 3: Interview
Asked me 'Tell me about yourself', gave few guesstimate type questions.

Round 2: Interview

I had a PPI via IMD Connect competition that was conducted by GS, so this account details my PrePlacement Interview experience. Around 7-8 rounds of interviews were conducted with different sets of
people ranging from first year analysts, experienced analysts, one round with HR, and other rounds with
divisions heads. Within these 7-8 rounds, I also had two VC(Video Conference) rounds with New York
team. Each interview lasted about 20 minutes.
Round 1: A test on logical ability with questions based on program outputs.

Round 2: After the test, if you clear it, Case based Group Discussion will be taken.
Round 3: Interview

Round 2: Interview

Round 2: Interview
The Group Discussion topic was "Impact of applications like Whatsapp,Viber etc. on telecommunications
industry". Time -10min.
I was 4th speaker, said some facts regarding CAGR of telecom & wireless communication in India. made
limited entries, structured the Group Discussion in between.
The interview was for about 10-15 minutes.


Round 2: Personal Interview (6 member panel)

Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Technical & Functional


First of all a shortlist was given out off all the applicants. It had around 70-80 candidates. Then a
Chairman's Group Discussion was done in the group of 11. Everybody was given 5 minutes time to
moderate it. Each round of Group Discussion had a situation which needs to be looked after and finally
had to come to a conclusion.
After that there were two rounds of interview. First one was technical and second one was HR round.

Group Discussion - It was a fun Group Discussion, very different from what we have usually. We were
asked to write two things that we would wish for if God appeared in front of us. Post that our partners (the
person sitting next to you) was asked to read out our wishes and finally we were asked to discuss which of
those wishes was the most immature and which one the most mature and sensible.
Direct Interview based on shortlist

Caselets and situation based. Very open and healthy sort of discussion took place with ample opportunity
to speak. Candidates were being judged more on their ability to analyze and think, then come up with
answers rather than based on who says first.
Round 2: Interview Round 1 - HR Interview - About yourself, why consulting, about handling pressures,
travelling and things that are a part of a consultants life.
Round 3: Guesstimates and situations, current affairs, CV based questions.

Round 2: Interview

Round 2: Interview
Group Discussion: Topic related to 4G, something Reliance is currently entering
Points which made business sense were well taken, brought the discussion back on track as people were
focusing on the wrong target segment.
Interview was mostly based on intern-ship, how it could have been done better, why did not get a convert.
Tackled well, my ground firm when they tried to break me. Lots of questions on academic projects and
what was done, key learnings etc. Questions on b school competitions. Changes in me over the 2 years
here at IIMK.
Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Strategy based questions, situation based questions, about internship.
Rounds 2 & 3: HR questions and questions on what I had filled in the form.
Telephonic interview
Only one round: Personal interview
Round 1: Psychometric test

Round 2: Case based Group Discussion
Round 3: Personal interview
Round 1: Psychometric Test

Round 3: Interview
Round 1: Personal Interview, one interviewer
Interview
Round 1: Group Discussion - The Great Indian Jugaad

Round 2: Interview

Round 3: Interview

CBC process is quite big. First in order to apply one need to fill a form with few behavioral questions. Also
there is an online interview which takes place there after for further shortlisting.
Round 1: Walk me through your CV, one should know in & out of their CV, if you have work experience be
ready to talk about it.
Round 2: Questions like why consulting, why Cognizant, why you, talk about your achievements.
Round 3: Pure HR round. Discussed salary in this round after from basic HR questions.
Overall an easy process to crack. No technical questions/ No case interview and guesstimates. Just know
about yourself and your passion.


Round 2: Interview
Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Marketing case based Group Discussion

Round 2: Interview

Round 2: Interview

Technical Round: The questions were on Accountancy, Project Finance, M&A and Valuation & Real
Options. There were two interviewers. They were friendly in their approach and tried to make me
comfortable.

Direct Interview


Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Psychometric test

Round 2: Case based Group Discussion
Round 3: Personal interview (mainly HR)
Round 1: Technical+HR for about 40 minutes

Round 3: Interview
I got shortlisted for 2 roles. One had Group Discussion followed by an interview. While another only had
interview.
Round 1: Test. There were 4 different section: Logical reasoning, Aptitude , Verbal ability and Financial
aptitude. There was one small paragraph writing in the end as well.
Round 2: Group discussion. The topic was a general topic.
Round 3: Personal interview. There were two panel members.

Round 2: HR
Round 1: Case Study Round (30 min)

Round 2: Interview Round (80 min)
Round 3: Interview Round (25 min)
Round 4: HR round (15 min)
Round 1: Group Discussion (30 min)

Round 2: Interview (90 min)
Group Discussion-Since I had a Group Discussion shortlist and not a direct interview shortlist, Group
Discussion was my first round. Group of 10 people. 2 topics were given to us and we were required to
choose one of them and discuss. Group Discussion went smoothly, did not really turn into a fish market.
At the end of the Group Discussion each of us was asked to sum up/ give their view on the topic, for
which we got barely 7-10 seconds each.
Interview- 1 round only. Barely 15 minutes. Revolved primarily around the CV. Stress interview.
Round 1: General PI
Round 2: Technical PI
Round 3: HR
Round 3: General Interview and spot offer
Round 1: CV based (20min)

Round 2: Generic (15min)
Round 3: HR (10min)
Direct interview shortlist.

Round 1: We were required to make and present a presentation on "Less than 15% of the startups or new
products actually succeed in the marketplace. If you were a key contributor in the team which is
responsible for this launch what pitfalls will you avoid enhancing the success of your product idea? What
would be your Strategy around it? A lot of cross questioning, application based examples were asked.
Explain an FMCG produce in terms of new product development and launch, STP.
Round 2: Technical
Round 3: HR

Round 2: Interview
Only interview- since it was PPI through ITC Interrobang
Interview

Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Purely technical round. Asked about analytics and CV.

Round 2: A short interview again based on CV and analytics background.
Round 3: HR round, just about background and gave the offer in the end.

Had gone for EBA role but they changed role after first round hence had to give two more rounds.
Round 1: Test.
Round 2: Group discussion. The topic was a general topic.
Round 3: Personal interview.
I had a PPI. I had a telephonic interview and I converted it.
Telephonic Interview
Round 1: Group Discussion- They gave 2 topics and asked the group to finalize the topic among
themselves
Round 2: Interview- General CV based
The topic was "Should Education system be commercialized?" I spoke just twice . First when I felt the
discussion was drifting away from the topic and the next time before the conclusion wherein I said that
there is a need to strike a balance between the role of Public and Private institutions in offering education.
Rounds 1,2 & 3: Group Discussion with a total of 3-4 topics. Moderators switched topics when discussion
was going off-course
Round 4: Case based interview
Round 5: Partner round
Round 1: Marketing case based Group Discussion

Round 2: Interview- Panel of three interviewers (Division and Country Heads). Questions revolved around
the summer internship project, prior achievements and hypothetical business scenarios.

Round 3: Interview
Round 1: Which was a PPI.
Rounds 1,2,3 & 4: Interviews

First round was video interview and the rest were personal interviews.

It was case based round. A case about pharmaceutical company was given and it was divided into
different modules. Each module had some information, graphs and based on that we were supposed to
answer the questions.
Round 2: Interview Round 2 was a telephonic round and was taken by a partner. He asked few CV based
questions and a small case.

Round 1 was with a IIM A guy who asked about leadership positions held till date, and grilled on that part.
Interview
Round 1: Aptitude test
Round 3: Interview
Direct Interview
Two shortlists were given by the company. One was the direct interview shortlist and an another one was
the Group Discussion shortlist
I had a direct interview shortlist

Round 2: Interview
Round 3: Interview
Round 2: Interview

Round 2: Interview

Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Functional interview

Round 2 - HR interview
Round 3: Interview
Moderated Group Discussion. Participants were asked to choose an industry and a case was given on the
choice made. It was basically a case on which KPMG had already worked before.

Round 1: HR round based on CV and basic knowledge of consulting

Round 2: Case based and situation based round
Round 3: HR round with specific consulting and Accenture based interest
Round 4: Partner round with a few cases and HR questions

Round 2: Interview
Had a PPI so directly sat for the interview.
Round 1: Technical+HR (1.5 hours)

Round 2: Partner Round (30 minutes)

Round 2: Interview
Direct interview

Round 2: Interview
Rounds 1,2 & 3: Group Discussion with a total of 6-7 topics.

Round 4: Case based interview
Round 1:Group Discussion - Current Affairs
Round 2: Interview
The Group Discussion topic was "Do the emerging fashion trends in India have an impact on increasing
atrocities against women". It went well. Everyone was given chance to speak. Final Interview was almost
like an HR interview. Mostly HR questions and few related to my academic projects.
Direct interview
One round of interview

Only one round of PI with an HR person and one from the strategic team. SO one person technical and
the other HR
Interview Round:
Direct shortlist based on CV. Shortlist is really short around 10 to 12 people. Only one interview round
based on CV and general HR questions.


Round 2: Telephonic with partner

Round 2: Interview

Round 2: Interview

Round 1: Technical
Round 2: Technical
Round 3: HR
Round 1: HR and Technical

Round 2: HR

Round 3: Interview

Round 2: Interview
There was one Group Discussion and two rounds of interview. People made me feel comfortable and
there was no stress at all. There were three people in total. Two of them took first round of interview and
the third person took the last interview. Both rounds of interview were general. They asked questions from
CV and a lot of HR questions. My interview went on for 2 hours and they were mainly interested in people
who are eager to learn and are flexible.

Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Group Discussion- State of Greek economy

Round 2: Interview (Technical+HR)

Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Group Discussion-Two topics were given. First one was on effectiveness of Celebrity Ads.
Second was that if Nestle had to chose to enter India with a new product, which category- biscuits or
water should it go for?
Interview:
Round 2: CV and internship based
Round 3: HR
Round 4: CV and general discussion
One panelist in each round.
Round 1: Case solution submission


Round 1 and Round 2 were HR rounds while Round 3 was a telephonic technical round. There was no
Group Discussion for Operations role. People with relevant work experience were shortlisted and
interviewed.

Round 2: Interview
Direct Interview based on CV shortlist. Around 15-20 people were shortlisted.
Direct Interview after CV shortlisting

Round1: CV based and general questions like what do you do in leisure time, what kind of person are you
- few friends or many?. This round happened by mistake. They asked why marketing role; they thought I
am applying for marketing consultant role. When I told I am interested in business analyst role, they sent
me to next panel.
Round2: Mainly puzzles. Asked me 7-8 puzzles. Also asked why this role.
Rounds 1 & 2: Interview with different department / division heads

Round 3: Interview with Director
Interview Round 1: Was with senior program manager, asked a mix of technology related questions,
business related questions and HR questions. Was an elimination round.
Interview round 2: Similar to round 1 but was more rigorous. Detailed discussion on application design
and implementation.
Directors' round: Telephonic Interview - walk through the CV, detailed discussion of photography (hobby),
tech related as well as HR questions - had a predetermined set of areas he wanted to ask questions from.
Round 1: Telephonic call with associate partner.

Round 2: Face to face interview with associate partner who came down to campus for recruitment.
Round 3: Telephonic call with partner.
Round 4: HR discussion about role and salary.

It was a direct interview. Interview panel consisted of 3 people. 1 lady and 2 gentlemen. They were calling
people base on CV. I felt interview was mostly based on CV and general attitude. It went on for around 35
min.

Round 2: Interview
Interview questions were mainly focused on banking domains. Interview continued for around 25-30
minutes.
Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Video conference

Round 2: Interview
Round 3: Interview

Round 3: Interview

Round 1: They discussed about your CV in detail, Mentioned subjects and Projects in your CV. Long/short
term goals. You must have clear view about company, their business, competitors. Overall it was 30-40
min interview.
Round 2: How do you fit for this role? it was kind of HR and technical both interview.. Asked about Six
Sigma Certification and its concept. How will you manage huge workforce. They also asked basic finance,
IT, and strategy concepts. It went for 30 minutes (approximately).
Round 2: Interview
Interview round only

Round 2: Interview

Round 1: Online test

Round 2: Interview
They conducted an online test prior to the start of placement process. It was quantitative as well as
scenario based test.

Round 2: Interview
Round 1: A form with two subjective questions (including SOP) apart from the other general ones (Same
as the one they'd given for summers)
Round 2: Video submission
Round 3: Interview 1 (1.5 hours)
Round 4: Interview 2 (HR Round - 15minutes)

Round 2: Interview

Round 2: Interview
Group Discussion was around 10-15 minutes long. It was a group of 6 people.
There was one final interview round after the Group Discussion shortlist.
Everyone should be thorough with their CV. Will help a lot.

Round 2: Interview
Group Discussion : Provide three suggestion to FM of India to improve fiscal deficit??
Each candidate was allotted max five minutes.
10 candidates were present
PI only 1 round was carried. 1 interviewer was present
Round 1: Interview for 15 minutes

Round 2: Case Interview 1.5 hours

Round 2: Interview

Round 1: Purely Finance Technical Round

Round 2: Mix of Finance and HR
Pound 3: Pure HR
Round 1: Case Study and Behavior Round

Round 2: Partner Round

Round 2: Interview
Round 2 & 3: Interviews
Round 1: Technical+HR

Round 2: Interview
Group Discussion Topic: Should Raghuram Rajan bring down the Interest rates? Basically on the
monetary policy of the RBI
Round 2: Interview (Technical+HR)
Interview

All interviews. MS usually doesn't visit campus and conducts Skype/Telephonic interviews. All 3 of my
rounds were telephonic and I preferred it over Skype interviews.

Round 2: Technical Round
Round 1: Skill based interview

Round 2: Skill based interview
Round 3: HR round
Round 5: HR round

Round 3: Interview
Interview Round
Round 1: Group interview consisting of 4 students, 2 moved to the next round.

Round 2: Interview
Interview


Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Interview
Round 1: Chairman's Group Discussion which lasted about an hour.

Round 2: Personal Interview ( a quick interview of just 5 minutes)
Round 3: Personal Interview ( around 30 minutes duration, HR questions)

Round 2: Interview
Round 2: Interview

Round 2: Interview

Round 2: Interview
Direct Interview through Skype, based on shortlisting through CV.

Questions asked were mostly from CV. Gauging my aptitude for the role and for sales as a career was
focused upon.

Round 2 & 3: Interviews
2 minute interview followed by a 15 minute long interview

Interview

Round 2: Interview

Rounds 1&2: Interviews


There was a written test first and followed by a Group Discussion round. The written test was based on
topics like bond valuation, macro knowledge, excel knowledge, valuation, corporate finance.

Round 2: Interview
Group Discussion based on Current affairs topic, Interview: Mostly CV based, about summer internship
experiences and work experience responsibilities. Few questions were asked about the IT industry.

Round 3: Interview
Round 2: Interview
Round 1: Test. There were 4 different section: Logical reasoning, Aptitude , Verbal ability and Financial
aptitude. There was one small paragraph writing in the end as well.
Round 2: Group discussion. The topic was a general topic. Had 8 people.
Round 3: Personal interview. There were two panel members.
Round 1: CV based Interview
Round 2: 3 Cases to be solved

Round 2: Interview
Direct Interview
Round 1: Group Discussion-Case based and was for about 20-25 minutes.
Round 2:Lasted for about half an hour.
Round 3:Lasted for about half an hour and was telephonic in the presence of the HR.
Round 4: Lasted for about 20 minutes.
Round 1: Group Discussion (30 min)

Round 2: Interview (90 min)

1st round composed of video interview that was send online. The video interview consisted of two
questions which were "Tell me something about yourself" and "Why do you want to join CBC?"
Interview - lasted about 20 minutes. Was based on internship project mainly.
Rounds 1 & 2: Interviews, mostly HR.
Interview through VC. 8 people in the panel.

Interview 1: Technical about media industry
Interview 2: Technical and HR
Round 2: Interview
Personal interview
Group Discussion Topic and other details
Effect of decrease in interest rate by Federal Bank.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Make in India, 15 minutes, 10-11 members.
Crude oil price reduction, its pros and cons for Indian economy.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. You are the Sarpanch of a village and you have called a meeting of heads of nearby villages. A
bottling water company is planning to build a plant in your village. A social activist organization says
that this would lead to depletion of water resources which is required by villagers for agricultural and
domestic purposes. However the plant will help provide employment to many. What should you do?
2. A skin care cream company has launched 2 variants in last 6 months and has sold 50000 units.
However 7 consumers complained that they are facing issues like skin irritation etc. with the
product. Should the company recall the products or continue? 3. Your mining company is no
longer profitable. However closing the plant would require shifting 5000 families. What should the
company do? 4. Company is planning on recruiting leprosy patients who have been cured and can
work like any other human being as per the doctors. However recruiting them may result in isolation
as other workers may not be that forthcoming towards these people. What should the company do?
5. Your company is labor intensive and has high fixed costs. Hence you may lay off a few workers
which would be opposed by the union. On the other hand, the labor union head is trying to use his
influence to get his nephew into the company. What should you do? 6. You are a consumer goods
company and a market leader in most categories that you exist in. However recently the sales arent
increasing much followed by increasing raw material prices. Your competitors are giving discounts to
sell their products. What should you do? 7.
Your company has experienced works manager and
purchase manager. However recently your works manager is trying to influence the purchase
manager to get a specific contract. What should be done in this case? 8. The materials manager
in your company had done a wrong deed 8-10 years back and has paid price for it ever since. He
still works for the company (probably at a lower position) and is someone who can get his work
done. Should he be promoted? 9.
The young talent in your company isnt rotated as they are
held by the management of the team that they start working with. Also only those who have spent
years working in the company are promoted. How do you tackle these two issues?
Not Applicable
Your client is in e-commerce, returns are increasing, discuss among yourselves & come up with 3
questions to ask the client (the interviewer); next we had to come up with 7 inputs for a
mathematical model to predict returns; time: around 30 minutes, 4 people.
Not Applicable
Case based ( Should the company try to focus on high value customers or serve all the segments,
Time - 2 minutes to explain, 7 minutes to discuss, No of people - 10.
Not Applicable
Why do you think you are the best fit for Sales and Marketing role of CEAT.
10-15 minutes
Around 8-10 people in group.
Not Applicable
Managers are analytical, entrepreneurs are innovative.

20 minutes and 10 people in the group.
If you met God, what would you wish for
8 people
20 minutes
Not Applicable
Negative Marketing, 8 people, 20 minutes.
Is Group DiscussionP an indicator of the health of an economy? - 10 minutes were allotted for 8
people in the Group Discussion.
You have the information that 3 months down the line USA interest rates will be hiked. As an
investor which assets will you be willing to invest in?
Not Applicable
The e-commerce bubble is about to burst, around 15 minutes was given for discussion, group of 10
members (Samsung generally looks for people who are assertive and speak most in the Group
Discussion, so try to dominate rather than being polite).
8-10 people per Group Discussion Group, Generic Topics to be introduced by the chairman and
summarized within the time limit. Mostly looking at the valid points made and calmness maintained
during the entire process.
"Eliminate the need for people using automation and technology".

2 rounds of Group Discussion,10-15 minutes (first round), 30-35 minutes (second round)
6-8 members
Not Applicable
What should FM do to increase our Group DiscussionP - 10 people - 2 minutes per person.
Chairman Group Discussion
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
8 to 10 people ,15 minutes , how GST will change supply chain practice in India?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Should FDI in retail be allowed?
10 member group, 20 minutes Group Discussion, abstract topic was given.
3-4 minutes speech on any of your idols except your family members.
Not Applicable
Should education be commercialized in India?

10 people in the group.
Not Applicable
Role of technology for development in rural India.
Not Applicable
Economic grants are good or bad. No. of people - 9, time - 15 minutes.
Not Applicable
Politics and Religion
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
A retail chain has 4 stores in an area, and wishes to close one of them. How to decide which one
should be closed? Time- around 30 to 45 minutes, Number of people in the discussion 4.
Growth in economy under Narender Modi.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
E-commerce company wants to develop forecasting model, what input parameters will be required
for such an function?
Case based Group Discussion, 20-25 minutes, 8-9 people in the group.
Impact of applications like Whatsapp,Viber etc. on telecommunications industry : Time - 10minutes.
Group Discussion Topic: Is ICE Bucket challenge a facade or helpful. There were ten people in the
group, Group Discussion was moderated by 3 panelist who intervened in between to direct the
group if group made chaos. It was a fish market since 2 to 3 people were speaking at the same
time. Time given was approximately 10 minutes after which everyone had to summarize , which
took another 5 minutes.
Effects of decrease in global oil price.
How helpful is social media in shaping the country?

Time slot- 10 minutes
8-10 members in the group.
Not Applicable
Group Discussion topics were situation based, 5 minutes for each round containing 11 members in a
group.
Group Discussion topic explained above. Group Discussion was for 10-15 minutes with around 8
people.
Not Applicable
Many caselets. eg. if Muthoot Finance wants to expand into a new business, what business can that
be. No of people - 10, Time - for all the caselets 1.5 hours.
Recent fall in Oil Prices and its impact, 2 minutes to think and 30 minutes of discussion, 8 number of
people.
4G
15 minutes
8 people
Case based Group Discussion, 20 minutes, 10 people.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Case was given, 15 minutes.
OTT services and mobile networks - 15 minutes - 8 people
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Number of students: Ten ; Time allotted: 20 minutes

It was more of a fish market and everyone was putting forth one or two examples of some great
jugaads done by Indians, I voiced my opinion on how Jugaad has emerged from the rural roots
owing to limited resources. With one or two examples from the rural marketing class, also, I only got
to enter twice in the Group Discussion so I was determined to conclude the Group Discussion and
luckily got the chance to do so. They shortlisted 4 of us out of the group of 10. It wasn't important to
shout, it was important to put in credible points.
Religion and politics do not mix

12 people
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Should interest rates be cut.

Should Rajan raise the interest rates?
Marketing case based Group Discussion- 10 people
Group Discussion Topic: Who is winning the mobile space in India - Indian or foreign companies?
Duration:45 minutes
Size of the group: 6
Initially everyone was asked to speak for 2 minutes each about the topic before engaging in the
discussion.
Not Applicable
How to market 3G to rural population, 10 minutes, 10 people per group.
Not Applicable
Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan: A marketing gimmick?
E-commerce, 15 minutes, 8 people.
Case based Group Discussion, 20 minutes for the discussion, 10 people in a group.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
How GST benefit Indian business

15 minutes
10 people
My Mentor
There were around 8 people in the group. Everyone got the chance to speak.
3 innovative products Snapdeal can launch.
Not Applicable
Is Ecommerce sustainable in India. Time allotted- 20 minutes (I guess).

No. of candidates- 10
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Role of technology as a development enabler of rural India; 10 students

20 minutes approximately.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Time - 15 minutes approximately.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Should Sanskrit be made compulsory in schools in India? 15 minute Group Discussion, each
individual will have to conclude, 8 members in Group Discussion group.
Time:10 minutes
No of people:8
Group Discussion Round 1 Topic: Right angled triangle; Group Discussion Round 2 Topics: Section
377, Seventh Sense, Year 2025
Group Discussion was case-based. 10-15 minutes to read the case and approximately half an hour
for discussion. Number of people in the group was ~10.
1st topic was Right Angled triangle. 2nd Group Discussion topic was Seventh Sense. Group
Discussion time for each was 10 minutes.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
E commerce and it's future. 10 minutes, 8 people
Not Applicable
Role Model
View on newer IIMs proliferating in the country
Discussing a joke is like dissecting a frog; nobody likes it and the frog dies in the end.
15 minutes
8 people
Bottom of the pyramid.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
To hive off or keep an ecommerce arm with the parent company.
Make in India
20 minutes
10 people
Not Applicable
How to sell 3G to rural India

10 minutes time, 10 people.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Falling oil prices boon or curse for Indian Economy.
Not Applicable
Case Based (Finance)
Abstract topics like the letter A, drinking holes in Kozhikode, seventh sense.
Narendra Modi's make In India campaign, 15 minutes approximately.
Do the emerging fashion trends in India have an impact on increasing atrocities against women?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
10 people were part of the Group Discussion and each person got to be the chairman once. The
following are the situations I remember: 1. You are the regional sales manager and sales is
decreasing. You can take money from next months budget to improve sales or let it decline . what
do u do ? 2. Your company has senior managers and younger managers and their working style
clashes. New recruits don't work in time allotted and take lot of breaks. But you don't want to curb
their creativity . what do u do ? 3. You are the principal of a school. Annual day is set to happen.
Really big event with minister coming and all. A student accuses a senior prof of sexual harassment
and student council is planning on a strike if immediate action not taken. What do u do?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Does AAP has the potential to become a national success?

10 members group, 20 minute discussion.
Diversity and culture in an organization- 20 minutes were given for 6 people.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Technology changes human behavior.
OTT Players Vs. Telecom Operators; Time:20 minutes; 10 people in the group.
Case based Group Discussion with 3 related questions; application of IT to increase sales in a rural
area. 30 minutes of Group Discussion followed by 10 minutes of individual questions.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
New IITs and IIMs

20 minutes
12-15 people
Group Discussion was on a general topic related to education in government colleges and increase
in the number leading to degradation of quality of education. They didn't want a fish market and
wanted everyone to speak up. Different viewpoints were encouraged. At the end of Group
Discussion, they asked us to narrate one past experience about which nobody knows in that room. It
was an informal kind of question and everyone told about their personal experiences of love,
travelling, embarrassment etc. I narrated a complete experience of foreign exchange and how I
faced the situation.
Bottom of Pyramid; 8-9 participants; 12 minutes.
State of Greek Economy, 5 members.
Is e-commerce destroying the mall culture in India
Are celebrity advertisements effective? If Nestle were to launch a biscuit brand or a water brand
what would you suggest it does? The first topic was to discussed by the entire group and the second
was to be answered by each individually. 5 people in the Group Discussion.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Should social networking sites be allowed in offices during working hours. No. of people was 10.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
There were 10 members per Group Discussion. Each person gets a chance to chair the discussion,
with there being 10 different topics ranging from business problems to situations of moral conflict.
Time allotted was 8 minutes per topic.
Not Applicable
Will AAP be successful in becoming a national party?

No of people in group: 8
Case based Group Discussion with around 10 people in the group. Mostly case is on the lines as to
whether a bank should offer a particular product to the client or not.
Brick mortar stores vs. e-commerce sustainability?
Not Applicable
Asked us for the Group Discussion topic: Group chose: " Performance of Modi government in one
year".
Not Applicable
IPL, 15 minutes, 6 people.
Not Applicable
Case based Group Discussion.
Pick a role model and explain why.

20 minutes
10 people.
Not Applicable
How can technology be leveraged for rural India (20 minutes, 10 people)
Not Applicable
Management education and ethics
Product Vs. Services
Provide three suggestions to FM of India to improve fiscal deficit.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Is 3G necessary for Village customer? The Group Discussion was for 10 minutes with 10
participants.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
E-commerce Future
Sustainable development
Not Applicable
Jugaad
Should Raghuram Rajan bring down the Interest rates?

15 minutes
8 people
Not Applicable
Celebrity Endorsement, 30 minute, 5 people.
Not Applicable
Freedom of speech in terms of recent happenings, 8 people.
Not Applicable
There were 8 people in total and we were required to select a Group Discussion topic ourselves.
Time allotted was approximately 30 minutes.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
"Is the ban on PK justified", Group of 8-10, 15 minutes allotted.
Dating is killing the matrimony business.
Not Applicable
Chairman's Group Discussion comprising of 10 different situations, 10 minutes per person, 10

people in the group.
Indian Jugaad, Time allotted 25 minutes, 10 people in the group.
Hike in oil prices Boon or bane, 10 people, 20 minutes.
Managers are analytical, entrepreneurs are creative. (20 minutes).
The impact of GST on Indian Economy, 15 minutes were given. All the candidates got chance to
speak. Overall satisfactory.
There were 10 people in the group. Each of us was assigned a different situation, which we had to
initiate and discuss. Lasted for an hour.
Not Applicable
Write the name of an idol on a piece of paper other than family members. Put yourself in their shoes
and discuss as to why you should be saved in case of a sinking ship where only one person can be
saved.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Is Qe-tapering the appropriate method to bring developed nations out of recession?

10 people
Being Tata it was a chairman's Group Discussion. There were various questions for each chairman
such as If you were alexander and had two sons , one of them was good at fighting and one was
good at strategy planning .Whom would you elect as the head after you?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Is AAP party perfect for governing India?
Are economic sanctions achieving their purpose?

Time slot was 10-12 minutes
8 members in the group.
Mention three steps that the finance minister should take to improve the Group DiscussionP of
India.
Is AAP correct for India

20 minutes
10 people
How what Sapp and other such applications are affecting the telecom industry?
Should alcohol be completely banned in Kerala?
Not Applicable
Negative Marketing
Not Applicable
Shadow case with pseudonyms but was basically about how Lipton Ice Tea can take over Nestea.
Sales data, market size as well as consumer preferences were given. We had to answer specific
questions. Group Discussion group had 8 people.
Case based Group Discussion.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Left or right?
Not Applicable
Please mention the questions and answers discussed in the interview. (At
least 10)
The interview started with Finance questions and then went on to HR.
Panel : 3 people ( HR, Assistant VP, Senior Analyst)
1. Asked me the difference between NPV and IRR and pitfalls of each. Answered
Confidently.
Why sales?
Good at convincing people. Gave some examples from my PORs.
Tell about yourself

You may first want to cover the CV points and then cover some other points which is
not there in CV. Take good time 5-10 minutes.
Interviewer looks for structure in answering and thinking process. So you may want
to start with something like first I'll talk about my CV and then I'll cover some other
points; or like my CV is divided in 3 main sections: Work experience, Academics and
Award and Achievements and then take him through each section.
Be thorough with your CV points.
Question on plant capacity. Set up time and Running time data was given. Concept
of load balancing was asked. ( Do not remember the data).
1. What you know about sales and marketing?

Answer: STP, 7Ps of marketing but did not answer anything about sales.
Define Game Theory and who invented it? Apply Game theory and find a solution in
India Pakistan problem. Told game theory but forgot who invented it. They gave
clues about Nash and I gave a brief intro on Nash. Made assumptions of nuclear
power and found the Nash equilibrium as both not firing weapons. They like the way
I modeled the problem.
Tell me about yourself.

I talked about myself till the interviewer read through my CV and started asking
specific things.
1. Why should we hire you? Why a fresher over work experience?

Person with work experience gets molded in a particular kind of perspective, for eg.
one with sales background will look at problems with that perspective, freshers can
be trained more effectively. tried to relate the job profile with my personality.
With the digitization of the world, why would you join a newspaper company even
though you know the product is already dying?
Introduce yourself. Mention 3 significant points.
1. Introduce yourself?
Spoke about my childhood, interests and PORs (Completely different from my CV).
Started with the basic 'Walk me through your CV.' kind of question. I spoke about
my education and PORs at great length.
There was no interview for us, just the Group Discussion. First we discussed &
came up with 3 questions like:
1. Are returns increasing more in any particular category/ overall? If so, in which?
2. Is there a correlation between increase in returns & increase in number of
customers?
3. Is revenue growing in these categories as well?
The approach, thought process is what they look for. When we asked some
questions which weren't so obvious, the interviewer asked us why we asked these.
As already mentioned, it was CV and HR based. so the questions were like INTERNSHIP RELATED
What did you do in internship project? (Mine was relating to Valuation)
Why did you take 5 years time period? Why just the growth period? How do you
calculate?
How did you do the analysis?
HR interview - Based on profile, previous work experience.

Prepare CV well. He specifically took points from my CV and told me to elaborate.
Question :Tell me about yourself.

Answer : A brief intro about your academics, PORs, Work experience and
internship experience in about 2 minutes or so.
What kind of a role are you looking for?

I talked about the usual work that a sales & marketing guy would do.
Round 1:
1.) Tell me about yourself
2.) Basic financial transaction situation: You take a loan of 100 @ 10% to buy an
asset worth 100, depreciation and tax rate given, what is the impact on all 3
financial statements?
3.) How change in financial leverage impacts ROE?
4.) What is GS's ROE? What is its share price?
5.) What are the reasons for an acquisition/deal?
6.) Some current deals named by me. So question asked: whether it was an
acquisition or merger? few more details on that
7.) What do you understand by beta?
What's the difference between you and Ankita XYZ.

He didn't stop me so I continued for 5-7 minutes. Prepare the answer nicely.
Tell me something about yourself.

Answer: Do you really need an answer?
Why Sales?
- Need sales to understand consumer.
- Most people at the top level in companies have started as sales managers.
- Sales provides challenges, change, chance to interact with people.
How do you value a stock? What parameters are considered & what steps are
followed?
1. Started with 'Tell me about yourselves' and questions flowed mainly from my
introduction and my CV.
Tell me something about yourself. They were essentially looking for a starting point
in your introduction to kick-start your interview
Interview 1 was very short - maximum 7-8 minutes, which began with tell me
something about yourself. It did not go beyond the question as the interviewer
started asking questions from whatever I spoke about my introduction. very generic,
no industry knowledge was required, they were looking for individuals passionate
about work and energetic to work with.
Tell me about yourself?
Q1. Tell about yourself.

Ans. Answered in less than 1 minute and with most recent achievements and
summer internship.(Keep smiling face and answer)
Tell us how much you know about Google analytics.
Tell me about the academic project 1.

Ans: I explained everything about the project.

I ran them through my CV.
What was Summers all about with TAS ( I worked in Cloud storage which was a
good fit to what he knew and his company did, elaborated in detail in short and
sweet language to the interviewer)
First round they gave me five minutes and asked me to impress them. I talked about
my case study competition experience in Phillips blueprint. Then told them about the
venture I had setup continued it with my summer internship experience. The key
was the detailed approach with which I told about all these. At the end the panelists
were quite impressed.

Start from the beginning. Stress more on your strong points...talk more about
internship if you have done some good job during intern. Throw some ambiguous
statements which is your strong forte and needs further explanation. Don't explain
until asked. It will direct your interview towards your own way...never lose control of
your interview.
General Introduction
Q) Asked about the prior work experience.
1. Please take us through your profile.

Standard 'tell me about yourself question', took the panel quickly through my
career, work experience, internship, electives, co-curricular interests, strengths,
weaknesses & stressed more on interests, passions, hobbies ( initiatives I had
taken on the same on a macro-level).
Tell us about yourself.
Run me through your CV. Started in the order in which details are given on the CV.
What did you do in your summer internship?

I did market research for Evershine to help device its strategy to start exports in
Africa. I explained the method and the approach that I followed.
What do you think about our management trainee program?

I talked about the positives and the negatives I saw in the program, based on their
presentation.
Tell me about yourself Here I told them how I was brought-up in different parts of India and how it helped in
improving adaptability. Basically, you have to sell yourself as a sales and marketing
person. So, tried using the traits of a typical sales guy.
Started with my take on Group Discussion?

I, honestly, told that it was too chaotic and I did not like it and hence did not
participate much in it.

Talked about what I have done in my previous work experience other than my brief
introduction.

Basic intro questions.
About yourself.
1. Tell me unique thing about you.

Like to solve problems rather than doing jobs.
Case based question(Pharma client):

Analyzing graphs for customer insights.
Why credit after investment banking?

Spoke about my skill sets and interests.
Mostly based on internship experience and related work.
Case 1: Mining company. 40% absenteeism. Majorly uneducated senior people.

How will you go about this problem?
Approach: Looking at distribution of absenteeism across age groups, roles, days.
Then finding problems faced by company because of the absenteeism. Surveying
employees to find out common threads of issues.
You being a fresher, what advantages you add which work experience people can't?
Innovative and out-of-box ideas
Tell me about yourself? - Basic stuff
1. Tell me about yourself.

I mainly spoke about my work experience, then about my strengths and
weaknesses.
How would you divide an amount of $ 1 Mn between various investment options

available globally?
Discuss about whether you would like putting money in developed or emerging
market. Given the market scenario - what are the risks being faced on either side.
Within these markets, are equities doing well (based on stock performance and
market sentiment) or is fixed income doing better (based on interest rates) and then
finally, pick out the industries where you would like to invest.
As I was given offer, right after the topic based Group Discussion, the interview was
only a final formality for discussion any issue if I had any.
Q1. where are you from?
Walk me through your resume.
Q1) Tell us about yourself.

A1) started with name, college, internship, hobbies.
Quickly rush me through your CV.
Tell us about yourself in one minute.
Q: Walk me through your CV.

A: Highlighted major points of my resume.
Tell me something about yourself?

I started with my personal details then education and then emphasized on work
experience as it was the only thing which I could correlate with them. then explained
my tenure at IIM K in brief.
Introduce yourself - standard question for which a reply should be aptly prepared as
this is an important question for every interview.
Q: Tell about yourself?

A: Educational background, Work experience details, extra curricular activities, IIMK
POR, Hobbies.
Q. About yourself
A. Walked them through the CV, all the significant achievements.
Tell me about Yourself?

Answer them well as prepared by you.
Introduce yourself.
The normal prepared answer.

What strategy will you take in case I have to decide between 2 colleges to for
admission ( my internship was in an educational institution).
Q.Tell me something about yourself.

A. Gave an already prepared answer.
Mention 5 things you wish to highlight from your CV.

I mentioned things related to finance. Mainly focusing on my internship and projects.
What's your goal?
Q.Tell me about yourself?

A. I had prepared for general HR questions. So was ready with the answers.
Q) Introduce yourself.
A) Went in chronological order from earliest to most recent. Tried to focus on things
that were not in CV.
Q: Tell us about yourself.

Tip : Be thoroughly prepared with this question since it shows your level of
confidence.
Why IIM after IIT?

I always dreamt about studying in elite institutions in India. So it was always a goal
for me.
A brief introduction, I was allowed to steer the interview in the direction I wanted it
to. Much like an IIM K interview.
Please tell me about yourself.

Gave rehearsed answer highlighting key points of my CV and putting more
emphasis on summer internship.
Walk me through your CV.
Q1: Please tell me about yourself.

Answer: In this question, I mentioned about my academic background, family
background, work experience, internship and the electives taken at IIMK in second
year.
Tell me about yourself

Initially tried to make it a stress interview. Criticized my performance in the Group

Discussion which I then justified.

Apart from name, place & qualification I explained myself using an analogy linking
my interest in cricket. The interviewer asked subsequent questions based on that.
What is Depreciation? How is it accounted for?

Depreciation is a charge on assets.
Why marketing?
Developed a liking for marketing from the third term and decided to do marketing
after the summer internship.
Q. Asked to run through my Resume.

Ans. Gave a brief description of points covered in my resume.
Summer Internship details
What is your knowledge about the businesses in which Reliance Industries is

operating in?
This was a company-specific question. I talked about their various businesses
specially the upcoming Reliance Jio.
Q: Tell us about Competitions I Had won & mentioned..
I had mentioned competitions Marico and Ebay. So they asked me a lot about how
we proceeded for the problem statement and whole interview was mostly based on
answers I gave for these questions..
They asked me in detail about the models we used (RFM analysis) for the same.

I have given an introduction about me. Keep the answers simple.
Q1. Tell me about yourself.

Ans: Mentioned educational and personal background, Hobbies etc.
Which are the places you have stayed before ? and which one is your favorite ?
Personal details.
Tell me about yourself. What is your future plan, higher study, company switching
options.
Answers should be crisp and clear. Try to cover all the points which are mentioned
in the CV.
Interested in higher study but not now- 5-10 years down the line.
Question- Why are sentences in your CV not till the end of the rectangular boxes?
Do you think a CV with more words is better than a one with less words?
Answer- If something can be expressed concisely, then why bother expanding
unnecessarily. Quality versus quantity- I'd prefer quality.
CV based
Asked basic questions about yourself and background.

General details about me, my academic qualifications and work experience.
Tell me about yourself, something not on your CV, strengths , weaknesses.
Tell me about your background.

You need to let them through your CV in brief stressing on current achievements or
interest.
Spoke about my educational qualification and interests.
Introduce yourself.
They cut me after 30 seconds and started asking the next question.
Name and tell me About Yourself.

There were 2 people in the panel.
Interviewer: Tell us about yourself.
Me: I asked if they wanted me to run through my CV.
Interviewer: The floor is open, as you wish.
Me: I talked about both, my CV and personal experiences.
Introduce yourself.
Questions based on work experience.

Q: Name and Tell about yourself.
A: Gave details about background and education.
There were general questions like:

1. What is an index and the current values of the Indian indices.
These are pretty simple questions meant to judge the general awareness of the
candidate. Normal paper reading would do good to the student in this regard.

Told everything about myself.
1) Tell me about yourself.

Ans. Just walked them through my CV and my interests.

I broadly covered all aspects including education and hobbies.
What have you learnt in Game Theory?

Ans. Modeling real-life situations as games involving 2 or more players, their
strategies and the ensuing payoffs.
Q) Why don't the youth of today want to be entrepreneurs?
Tell me about yourself and your family.

Explained in detail.
Tell me about yourself in brief ( journey starting from my Engineering days till now).
Why consulting?
Answer truly base don what you want to do in life. Although I had a consulting
background, I had a marketing summers. I could relate it to a strategy role that I will
want to pursue in the future.
Market share information about company and its competitors was given and I was
asked to analyze this data and come up with possible root causes.
The question was about leadership positions held.
About yourself
- Answer for 2 minutes
Why comparative less marks in graduation?
Gave personal reasons.
It was a strange one to start with as I was asked to tell the processes from where I
am coming from, since the company was informed by the Placements Committee
beforehand about the other companies on campus.
I answered Citibank and then I was grilled about why am I sitting at Axis interview
and what were the questions being asked there. This made it clear to me that it was
an aggressive panel and maybe they would continue to keep on stressing me on the
same note.

Describe about yourself?
Ans: Gave a short description of my background and experience.
What are your electives?

Stated them in the order mentioned in CV. All finance.
Round 1: Gave a situation that if Mindtree lost a deal(bid) to one of its competitors,
how do you go about analyzing the reasons and finding out a solution.
HR Interview:
Tell about yourself and cross questions based on it.
Q- Revenues of Tata Steel

A- About 1,48,000 crores
Q-1: Walk me through your CV, Work experience in particular.

Ans: Generally, make your introduction interesting and crisp enough to highlight how
you want to drive rest of your interview. Accenture as far as I could gauge was
looking for clear understanding of the industry you have worked in and how your
previous experience helps you build a case as a consultant.

Give an answer according to the preparation. only basic details and interests were
given.
General introduction and a details of all the achievements at IIMK.
Q. Case study on a pharmaceutical company.

A. There was a full fledged case study, print outs, were given and interviewer took
through it and asked case based questions.
Asked to mention 2 favorite subjects and was asked questions on them?

Ans-I mentioned the ones which I were confident.
One puzzle
25 horses are there.one race can be done with 5 horses then how races are
required to decide the top three?
Ans : 7 rounds
They asked me about the work experience and general questions like why finance
and why ICICI Bank.
Case : Marketing strategy to sell crows.

Introduced myself. Briefed my CV. and then 1-2 minutes were spent on my hobbies.
Introduce yourself.
Education, family background.
How comfortable will you be with sales, if we don't give you a marketing role at all?
I made sure I was spoke with conviction that I will manage the sales role with
equanimity.
Summer Internship Round:

Some pointers:
1. The presentation format is already shared and you would have submitted it before
the process starts.
2. No need to make the presentation look very fancy. I had simple boxes with the
content for each slide. You get 20 minutes to present the presentation and 10
minutes for question.
3. What is important here is your individual contribution, the exact output of YOUR
contribution, challenges faced by you and learnings. It doesn't matter how big your
project was as long as you have significant contributions to talk about.
3. I covered some of the drawbacks of my project in my learnings, so the panelists
weren't able to question me much on that.
4. At the end of the day, it's your project. So know the in and out of your project and
be prepared before you go in with potential questions about your project and the
possible answers for it.
Why MBA?
To relate my medical education background with a sound knowledge in
management so as to bring up the healthcare segment and bring up a significant
change in the healthcare delivery practices for the public.
Tell me about yourself ?
General question to introduce yourself.
Interview began with general questions like tell me about yourself and why pharma.
They particularly ask why are you entering into a niche sector like pharma. They
enquired whether I was aware of the company and its products.
First round was a case based interview. A whole case was mentioned in steps.
Facts and figures were presented in the case itself.
Go through your CV?

Mentioned my educational background, summer internship, PORs and then my
hobbies.

Answer: Basic introduction about yourself and they will ask further questions from
that.
The interview began with the basic, clichd but most important question: Tell me
something about yourself.
I began with the points on my CV- Graduation college, most significant academic
achievement in undergrad, Internship, hobbies, blogging, stint at Teach for India
during undergrad, Summer Internship & mPower.
Introduce yourself : Brief description of what I've done, bring in relevant talking
points from CV, significant achievements with emphasis on work experience, what I
am looking to achieve in an organization.

- Prepare this one by heart.
Regarding work experience - Two or three cross questions on worked done earlier.
Q. Tell us about yourself.

A. Went ahead as prepared. Emphasized on my work experience. Gave a hint that I
was a workaholic and used to enjoy my job in IT industry. Talked about my work in
Backwaters committee.

I introduced myself and my family a little bit. I told about my internship experiences
and what all I learned in two months. How being a fresher I managed everything.
They asked a lot of questions from my internship then. But all of them very general
like how did you convince people or try to get work out of people. Questions like that
no technical question at all.
Q: Tell us something about yourself.

A: I started by talking about where I come from, my family background, then
described my academic and extra curricular achievements, PORs in brief and
ended by stating my interests and hobbies.
Difference between stock and bond- basic 3 differences.
In the beginning the panel introduced themselves and asked me to do the same. I
introduced myself and mentioned a few things which we generally mention in "About
me".

I gave a brief of my background and then came to why I wanted to do marketing
and my career aspirations from there on.
Difference between sales and marketing.
I was asked whether I will be comfortable with working in plant location.

Answer: I have worked in various parts of country such as Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh in my previous job and I was able to adapt well with the
people and work culture at every location. Hence, I am open to any location and as
long as I get job satisfaction, location is not an issue.
A dynamic candidate like you, why dint you get placed so far?
- Waiting for a company like this which also happens to be my dream company.
Introduce yourself.
Q: What do you do in leisure time?

A: I watch movies or TV series these days. I read only if I have longer duration of
free time, so that I can complete the book in one go.
What's your hobby? I said photography - he asked me to design an app for video
making. Basically he was looking how much ground do I cover and how structured
the approach is. I cross questioned him - which platform we need to make the app
for, who are we targeting, I mentioned all the functionalities I would want in the app little technical and more of thinking out loud from the users' perspectives.
Started with tell me about yourself.

Introduced myself.
As the presentation round questions were completely specific to the internship

project, I am writing only the Director round questions here:
Q: Why didn't you get a PPO (I had interned with TAS in Tata Trusts)?
A: I said something about being unclear on future choices, whether to join the Trust
or first try my hand at other businesses. But now I was sure, I wanted to do sales &
marketing.
Q: Tell us about yourself.

A: Gave introduction for about 2 minutes.
Introduce yourself.
Ans: Basic details - home, schooling, engineering. Why is pursued what I did.
Internship details.
Which division of ICICI would you like to join?
I said wholesale banking.
Why sales?
Described about subjects, summer internship and interest.
Why do you want to become a consultant?

Ans - As per my SOP, right form the choices of subjects to my PORs, I have strived
to gain a broad perspective of different areas. After my internship experience, I
decided that I wanted to go beyond core marketing.

Just give them a brief introduction. If its a sales profile make sure you tell them the
variety of experiences you have had till date.

Well prepared for this question and they stopped me in the middle.
the questions were technical for me, completely based on markets and derivatives.
They also asked a lot of questions related to the personality test they conducted.
Hence, no specifics.
You have a bucket of 5 liter capacity and one of 3 liter capacity. You have unlimited
water supply and no other utensil. How will you take exactly 4 liter of water?
Introduce yourself - A basic introduction, was asked to cover everything in my life

from school to college.
Q. Chart out a strategic plan (combination of Marketing & HR - my areas of

specialization) for the new CM of Gujarat.
-> Expected the explicit use of jargons like conflict management, target group etc.
One of the interviewers was carefully noting down the management related words I
used.
-> HR concepts from 1st year came in handy.
They wanted to know if the candidate is passionate individual and fit in sales and
especially in insurance sector. Panelist was an HR guy, an alumni and Director.
Started with tell me about yourself. I tried to highlight my strengths.

I gave a brief introduction about myself.
Difference between Six Sigma and Lean methodology?

Lean is the part of six sigma. Lean concentrates process efficiency whereas Six
sigma concentrates defect reduction.
Q-1- Tell me about yourself.

Answer- Give structured and well thought out answer. Quickly reach to your comfort
area (Academics/Work ex ) and elaborate on it till you are asked a counter question.
Give me your Introduction.
Intro About my internship:

I had to elaborate on the purpose of my internship and company's expectations
What is IRR?
All the questions were mostly decision making types, based on the Case Study
(Sales and Marketing Case).
Resume walk.
Tell us something about yourself.
All HR based questions.
Round 1 was HR. Started with CV based questions about extracurricular such as
Sangram and Clubs. Went on about how that was affected by my upbringing - asked
about schooling and where I grew up, and how that shaped my interests.
About the App that I liked using most, avoid messenger apps.
I couldn't think creatively but then answered Accuweather.
Q. Tell me about yourself.

A. Told about my schooling and my engineering. Told on length about work
experience and my hobbies as well as my academics and extra curricular in IIMK.
It was totally CV based. Asked me about work experience.
Tell us something about yourself?

Gave a brief introduction about my achievements and took them through my CV.
Tell us something about yourself.

<Prepared answer>
Introduce yourself and your family background?

General introduction, stressed more on work experience and Internship.
Tell me something about yourself that is not on your CV already.

The standard HR answer, telling the journey of my life highlighting events which
showed my strengths.
Q.) Tell me something about yourself?

A.) Spoke about my schooling, engineering. background, IIM K, POR's( both during
undergrad and at IIM K), hobbies, etc.
Tell us briefly about the kind of sketching you have mentioned in your CV.
Tell me about Yourself ?

Focus more on what I did at IIM K than past academics.
About Yourself ?
Told the pre-prepared answer in a chronological order stressing more upon the
hobby (dramatics) and PORs.
Q: Tell us something about yourself.

A: Had an answer prepared. Focus on important things on CV and also strengths.
About SBI.

Keep a balance between your personal life and professional details while answering
this. I had given a brief answer for about one minute. It described my childhood,
schooling, college, decisions made regarding Engineering and life at IIMK.
Couldn't clear the Group Discussion round.

Couldn't clear the previous round.
Q1: Tell me about yourself.
Q. Tell me about yourself.

A. A brief introduction about the past academics and the work I did during summer
internship.
Introduce yourself.
Tell some something about you?
I explained it.
Tell me about yourself. (Pitched myself as a hard core fin guy as the Job
Descriptions they had sent had 4 finance roles).

I started out with my background, moved on to internship experience and then
finished off with my hobbies.
Tell me something interesting about yourself.
Tell me about yourself ?

Questions on marketing concepts - marketing mix, brand evaluation,
PPBM concepts ( PPBM subject mentioned on CV)
What created your interest in the field of finance?

I had already prepared this question, my answer was 2008 finance crisis. Please
make your answer before hand.
Question: What was the Summer internship project?

Ans: Mentioned the topic of the project which is ROI and the framework, how did I
go about the implementation etc.

Talk briefly about background, internship, achievements, interests outside CV.
Please walk through your CV.
The interview round had 3 people. one H and two senior sales guys. They asked me
to introduce myself. I started with my name, family and education details. Later
followed it with my interests. They simply kept on listening and didn't ask any follow
up question.
Which role have you applied in? (There were 7 roles floated for us and I had applied
in 1). Answered CRM.
Design a swimming pool for a blind person.

I took it step by step by walking through a persons path from the changing room. I
suggested a pool with tiled stairs running throughout the circumference. I suggested
change in the texture of the tile right about a foot away from the pool entry so that
the person is warned. I also suggested use of a tile material that is probably less
slippery. Final suggestion was to have lanes in the pool so that people don't bump
into each other.

I told about my qualification, family and hobbies.

Answer - You know best.
Was asked to describe internship project.

Ans: General prepared answer.
Q. Tell me about yourself

Ans: Told in brief about my background and my interests. Also talked about my role
as the Students' Council member in detail and the important leadership positions
undertaken by me.
1. What do you know about the media industry?
Sales interview are usually not based on CV etc. . For me it was photon+.
Question and Answer 2

Asked me to choose my favorite subject from the
subjects mentioned on my CV. I chose Financial
Derivatives.
Asked me questions on option pricing.
Answered.
Asked me to sell Chicken to a vegetarian
1)Took foreign exchange as an example and said all
vegetarians were happened to eat some chicken
during their 3 months stay as no veg options were
there.
2) If Slaughtering is the issue, I said anyways the life
time of chicken is very less and it will become waste
after that.
I mentioned Game Theory as one of the subjects so he
asked if Airtel and Vodafone are two main competitors
in an area and suppose you are Airtel and you want to
increase your market share. Design a game around
this.
As this was kind of case based questions ask more
questions like: Are there only two players? What is the
market share? What are the point of differentiation for
Airtel and Vodafone? Is there any difference between
customers who prefer Airtel and those who prefer
Vodafone?
After getting a complete idea of the market and the
competitors, apply game theory concepts to design a
game.
Company is sending 10 package from India to NY.

Their 10% material is found have defects and must be
return to India. Company is sending those material to
India every day. then the carrier contacted and gave a
proposal "if u send 30 package in single lot, they will
give 50% discount". What's your decision?
A: depends on the cash cycle policy and interest rate
on opportunity cost
You told us everything about marketing now tell us

about sales?
Answer: Had no idea but tried to convince the panel
that I knew a bit about it and mixed it with marketing.
What are the qualities you look forward in your boss?

Told them clearly that as I am a fresher, I would say
from my internship viewpoint. Said that he should be
open and transparent to me on all things. He should
inspire me and not just delegate work to me.
What work I did at Oracle.

I was a part of the QA team at oracle and I explained
my routine work along with some extra initiatives that I
undertook during my tenure
2.Asked about MOS and MM1 from my CV?

Explained majorly the whole marketing plan, so read
Kotler in short.
What is the difference between newspaper reading

audience in the west and the east. (Eastern people are
still traditional as compared to US, they prefer the
touch of the paper).
Questions on live project

My project was on shareholders activism so I was
asked how did you value the companies, what
valuation methods were used, which Indian sector is it
most suitable for etc.
2. Out of everything in your CV, what is your biggest

achievement?
A co-curricular activity(project) which I had undertaken
in college. I explained how it helped me develop into a
more mature and capable person.
They were interested in someone who has more of

marketing exposures. I was asked about the various
subjects I have taken, which I listed. The only
marketing subject I had was AMMR, and told about its
project.
With your team, come up with 7 inputs for a

mathematical model to predict returns. The interviewer
asked me to put these on the board, I had to take a call
on whether or not to accept inputs given by my team
mates & try to stick to the time limit (which we didn't :P)
we came up with inputs like: sales predicted, % returns
with existing customers & new customers, & increase
in number of customers, a factor for promotions during
festivals, etc.
Many questions on academic project 1. Game Theory project - What measures did you
suggest? Why were these selected?
2. MACR /SAJVA Project - My project was about Kraft
Cadbury T/O
What are the defenses one has against hostile
takeover?
What changes were made in UK takeover Code
and many others?
HR interview - What do you know about Tata

Communications and where do you think you fit in the
role and reasons for your answers.
Told about Tata Communications and the role I applied
for, tried to link it to the subjects in my CV.
Question : Questions related to my work experience

( Had worked on Virtualization )
- Why did the need for virtualization come into picture ?
- Explain the process flow of your work?
- What are REST APIs ?
- Who were the customers of your product ? Price ?
How was your Summer Internship at Kellogg's ? What

did you do?
Round 2:
1.) Introduce yourself.
2.) What are your areas of interest? (Continues from
above point).
3.) Picks up 1 subjects from CV one by one. Asks
questions on each! FD, FIS, IAPM, MACR.
I.) FD: A pharma stock price might change to + or 20% due to approval/disapproval of trials, how to
create a risk free strategy?
ii.) IAPM: Government instrument has what beta?
iii.) MACR: Situation on share exchange ratio for an
acquisition.
4.) Few more points from CV, slight basic talk on
academics projects (since 2 deals were mentioned).
5.) Questions on internship, why rejected the PPI?
Why MBA ?
If you had to check my knowledge about tennis what
will you ask.
Are you organized?

Yes I plan my next day before sleeping and include any
changes required later on. Elaborated on this.
Why are your marks not good in graduation when you

have excellent grades in school?
Answer: I was a very sincere student during my school
days but focused only on studies. During my
graduation, I wanted to be an all-rounder. However, I
could not work out the good grades.
Do you want to switch to Marketing?

I mentioned I do want to do marketing eventually, but
only after gaining hands on experience in sales.
What is SOTP? In what kind of companies we use this

concept to value the stock?
Explain the Nature of your work.
Why S&M?
Interview 2 was comparatively longer and asked

various HR questions.
1. After introduction, asked about what I knew about
Tata Communications?
Why merchant navy?
Q2. Why sales and how will you do consultative(B2B)

sales?
Ans. Since I had B2B course so I answered in terms of
value, benefits, cost, closing of deal ,etc.(Again
prepare short answer with key points).
Have you ever setup a Google analytics account? Do

you know other similar tools?
Why should we select you?
Why CBC?
Questions about Foreign Exchange.
You don't have any technical background, not an

engineer. How will you work in an IT e-governance
field?
I answered saying that to sell IT solutions you don't
need an IT background or a degree. You need
technology knowledge but a degree in not necessary.
Tell the situation where you handled free riding

problem.
Asked to choose a vertical I liked and why (I chose
healthcare and retail. My resume had multiple
competitions related to the retail sector).
The second round was about consulting, what my

views were on consulting, which field I would like to
work etc.
What is your opinion about leadership?

Throw some statements, sayings, take a stand whether
a leader is born or created, stick to it and don't give up
at all. Please don't beat around the bush.
Internship Experience
Q) Asked if I was comfortable working in BFS.
Ans) Replied no in a polite manner and linked it to my
interest in marketing.
2. Take us through your internship project in detail.

Explained the entire project keeping the language nontechnical; as I interned with a telecom giant & the panel
had made it clear they knew little about the field, hence
no jargons.
You are overqualified for this post? Justify yourself?

They are looking for perfect fit.
What did your organization gain from your summer

internship work. Explained the long term utility of my
work.
What was your summer internship project?
What issues did you face during the internship and how
did you overcome that?
The major issue was in getting data about the exports
so I anonymously created profile on B2B sites as a
buyer and then sent inquires. This helped me in getting
data about the major products exported as well as the
price offered by the various sellers.
What is your personal take on the program? Any

concerns?
I voiced my concerns about the program not being
flexible enough to give me the opportunities I might
seek going forward.
Why S&M?
Connected the dots right from my engineering to MBA
using PORs I had.
They said they called me for the interview only

because of that one point that I was trying to make
during the Group Discussion and gave me time to
completely explain my view on the topic.
What is Presales?
The Processes involved before bidding to the Client,
such as translating client objective and requirement
into winning solution concept. Preparing RFI, RFQ and
RFP and other thing is also part of Presales.
Why finance?
Told about my interest in trading.
Your prior experience in education sector.

Try linking any projects, internships and programs you
have done.
2. Why marketing?
Gives opportunity to interact and learn a lot from
different people.
Case based question: Guesstimate for calculating the
market for the client.
Why are you suited for a credit role?

Spoke about my strength in financial statement
analysis, ability to look at details and piece through
elements, internship experience at Deutsche Bank.
Some general knowledge questions.
Case 2. India Post: 5000 employees. Top management

wants to survey their employees to find out something.
Most offices do not have internet, phone or road
access. How will you sample? Which method will you
use? Why? How will you implement it?
Approach: I could not answer the sampling part well, so
he asked me how many days will you require to sample
1000 postmen. I gave an approximate answer based
on guesstimates. I was further questioned. How many
analysts will you under you to complete in one month?
Given one analyst how long will you take? These
answers you can just calculate out loud. Further to this:
Why should the client pay you so much for just
collecting data. He can use some other company that
does not charge so much? I answered that people who
are supposed analyze have better idea on how to
design questionnaires so that the data they collect can
be analyzed quickly. Money spent on data collection
saved when analysis is done.
What is it that you like about MuSigma?
Guesstimate about estimating the number of masala

tea prepared in Kozhikode in a week?
Approached by starting with number of outlets for
masala tea. Considered the difference in consumption
during working day and weekends. Considered the
time for tea consumption.
What do you know about KPMG and role? - Info from
website and Job Description.
2. Why analytics? Specially after IT?

I spoke on how big data and Data warehousing will be
the future of business.
Describe a situation in which all investment vehicles

(bonds, equities, commodities) would go down and
when they would all go up?
Give them a combination of market sentiment which
would make the prices of all the above vehicles go in
one direction. For e.g. high inflation will mean interest
rates are increased, hence, bond prices plunge; weak
market sentiment due to high inflation - hence stock
market and commodities don't do well. Substantiate
with current scenario of how these instruments are
performing on global or India level.
Q2. Do you have any problem in moving to Bangalore?
Why do you want to make a career in finance?
Q2) Which other processes are you in ?

A2) Not allowed to disclose that.
Why Sales? Why not IT- you have IT work experience?

Why Idea? Why not any FMCG if you want to start you
career in Sales & Marketing?
Tell us what you did at Infosys (my work experience at

Infosys).
Why Future Group?
Q Which domain you worked in during your work

experience?
Telecom and Hi-Tech Manufacturing
Q Tell me recent trends of both the domains.
Mentioned recent events and source of the information.
What do you expect from Tata Communications?

I discussed all the scope which I thought of to enhance
my career growth. It was a two way communication.
They asked about my family and their backgrounds.

Probably this is just to ease the candidate so he talks
about something he is comfortable with and hence
later is not nervous during the rest of the interview.
Q: What do you know about Tata Steel?

A: General facts about when it was established,
revenue , global footprint, employee strength, ranking
in world.
Q. Guesstimate: To set up a bowling academy in a

village in MP and the sessions will start in the month of
August, how would arrive at the number of balls that
would be needed every week.
A. Asked questions about how is the place of the
academy important, about the number of players that
will enroll. Have they enrolled already? If yes how
many? How many pitches have been constructed in
the academy?
If every practice session will be assisted by coaches?
Depending on the number of students who have
enrolled and the number of coaches we can come up
with the number of students per coach. Then once a
bowler arrives at the bowling end he will not bowl once
but he will bowl a few times before his turn comes
again. when on bowling the ball goes away he will not
go around to pick it, so the next ball should be ready by
his side. Depending on the kind of bowling he is doing
spin or fast bowl the amount of time would be
important as well, as that will determine the number of
turns that each player would take.
The importance on the month of August was that due
to rains the tennis balls cannot be used as that would
get soggy.
Talk about your Summer Intern-ship?

My summer intern-ship was in Birla Sun Life Insurance.
Project details and what was my role in the project.
Talked about the outcome and my input in the project.
About Reliance industries.

What all segments they are in?
Why MBA after engineering from institute like IIT?

How would you convince your client to buy a certain
project in case he is not willing to?
Q. Why ABP?
A. About the group and media sector.
Tell us something that happened in the global economy
in the last 6 months.
Told about the falling oil price and the weakening
Rubel.
Tell us about one instances where a company has
shown social inclination in its attitude?
Q. Describe your summer internship experience.

A. Again prepared beforehand.
Q) Why leave your UG course for MBA?

A) Answers specific to discipline and personal choices.
Q: Which is your favorite subject (out of the ones

mentioned in the CV)?
Tip : I mentioned the one that I liked the most and was
also confident of answering questions related to the
same.
Summer Internship project details?

Explained about how I managed between distributors
in Castrol to highlight my people skills.
Asked me how after 22 years of my life in Gurgaon,

these two years at IIM K have broken my myths about
South India.
What kind of role did you do in your summer

internship?
Explained the details of my summer internship project.
Why consulting interests you ? - cross industry and

cross functions exposure, growth etc.
Q2: Tell me more about the work you have done at IBM
(organization I worked before coming to K).
Answer: I elaborated the points written on my CV. Then
based on my answers, the interviewer asked me some
more questions on it. Like more in depth about some
processes and some functionalities.
Why this role?

What did you do in FIS?
3 ways in which I would brand IIMK and the resourced

I'd required.
Explain about the Marico case and your approach? (I

came runners up in Marico sales case study
competition).
Explained the problem statement and our teams
approach to the problems. The interviewer then asked
me to validate our approach and identify alternative
solutions.
How is project finance different corporate message?

Project Finance is based on Cash flows and Corporate
Finance is based on Assets already in place.
Why telecommunication industry?

Rapidly expanding industry, frequent technological
changes and one of the toughest things to sell to the
customer.
Q. Elaborate on your summer internship project?

Ans Being a marketing profile, I tried to relate all my
summer projects to the marketing role offered by the
company
PORs held in post graduation.
Why CBC?
What is data analytics? (I was asked this because of

my work experience in analytics)
Discussed about analytics and explained with an
example of a project I had done.
Which are your favorite courses and tell us something

about them?
I talked about Product Policy and Brand Management
and PMF (Project Management and Finance courses.
Q2: What do you think of the latest trends in the

Ecommerce?
I mentioned about current status of Amazon, Flipkart
and other general trends.
2. Why Sales?
I had an internship in Saint Gobain and I had a stint in
Sales. I liked it a lot because I get to interact with a lot
of people and also it is challenging.( So on, I have tried
leading my interview to my internship so they kept
asking about my internship).
Q2: He asked about Summer Internship project.

Ans: Explained him the project and the methodology.
Tell me about the summer internship experience.

My summer internship was in general management. I
explained in detail and more importantly highlighted
the financial aspects I had worked on. This was to
show my inclination towards finance.
Guesstimate on number of tennis balls to be sold in

India in 2015 as my hobby was playing tennis (include
the number of tennis balls used for playing cricket also;
segment and use population method to arrive at the
final answer).
Why do you want to join Accenture?

Please mention Accenture's good work culture, work
life balance and consultant role.
Question- Run through your CV.

Answer- Did so (was cut off mid way though).
Internship experience in detail.
Since I have work experience they asked questions

related to my project and domain(IT).
More details about the work experience?

Roles and responsibilities of my work experience in
Infosys.
Why not FMCG? Why do you want to continue in a

technology firm? (Be well-prepared with questions like
why MBA, why marketing/sales/consulting, why a
career change).
Why consulting?
Tell me about your summer internship and the role you

played. How did it helped you ?
Walk me through the summer internship project.
What were your roles and responsibilities at work?

Told them about my work and project.
Why should we take you?
What do you know about the company?

Why S&M?
Before I could answer that, they asked if marketing can
be done without sales?
I answered saying No, and elaborated on identification
of customer needs through sales like in the case of
Mpesa or Airtel Money.
Explain your background in analytics?

Explained my work experience in big data analytics.
IT related questions like what is waterfall model, UAT,

delivery management etc.
Q: Tell about oil price fall.
A: Told about oil excess, economic crisis etc.
Gave me a list of valuation multiples and asked me as

to which which one to use when?
This would be a trick question as some of the multiples
would not be consistent as hence could not be used.
For egg. PE/sales is an inconsistent multiples.
However there was a follow up on that as Flipkart uses
this multiple very frequently. One reason to this would
be that it has not broken even yet and hence would not
have a positive PAT. Also it would have very low debt
and most of its capital would be equity thereby making
the sales of the firm completely to the equity holders.
Hence the above multiple is justified for this company.
Tell me about your summer internship?

Told them about my summer internship experience and
learning.
2) Asked about the internship.

Ans. Told the details about my project.
Did you attend the presentation?

I said No. They explained what the role was and what
they were looking for.
How would you model the Schrodinger's cat

experiment as a prisoner's dilemma problem?
Ans. I know that the experiment involves the cat in a
box containing radioactive material and at any one
time, the cat may be alive or dead. However, I am not
sure that there are two players in the experiment.
Q) What would you do to promote the

Entrepreneurship cell of IIMK? How would you get
students interested?
Explain about work done during internship.

Told about the experience and the Risk assessment
tool I had developed.
Why Cipla, pharma industry?
Expectations from CBC

They want you to be level-headed and not tell things
like "I want to be a top notch strategist right after I join"
They would like it if you can show that you are ready to
learn and grow over a period of time.
Profit and Loss statement was given and I was asked

to find out how much market share should be captured
by firm in order to achieve XXX amount as PAT.
It was If I held positions in NCC or some sort of district

level sports played. Answered no, but stressed on the
interest in physical fitness and health conscious
attitude.
Family Background
- Told about family.
Why MBA?
Job opportunities and passion.
Interview panelists asked me to go through my CV and

explain the contents.
Since I had interned with the Financial Institution Group
at Credit Analysis Unit of JPMC, I had a good idea
about credit rating of banks. So I explained my nature
of work and the various parameters to work with while
evaluating the bank like asset quality, profitability,
capital ratios and liquidity ratios.
What do you know about the company.

Why Sales?
Mentioned my summer internship and how competent I
am in Sales and Marketing stating relevant examples.
Tell me about your POR in NIT Trichy.
Take on the sales stint during summer internship.
Tell about internship?

Explained in brief since it was not in finance. Tried to
shift focus into academic projects done.
Round 2: HR - Interests, strengths, weaknesses were

asked. Need to be clear on questions like why mind
tree etc.
What are your expectations from KPMG?
Q-What are the problems Tata Steel is currently

facing?
A- Procurement of raw materials for steel making
because of naxalism and quality issues.
Q-2: Why consulting and why Accenture?

Ans: Try connecting dots from your past experience. I
build my case through my work experience in auto
industry and my summer internship in the same
industry with Mahindra Group. The more strong your
case is for a particular domain, the easier it becomes
for consulting companies to pitch you to a client.
Read about company and their few projects to look
genuine to show your interest in the company.
Tell us about your strengths and weaknesses.

Talk in detail about my strengths and gave instances
when those strengths were used by me
In weaknesses. I only talked about how I want to
improve on faster decision making.
Picked up my internship projects of college and asked

me about the telecommunication industry.
I talked about the latest technologies like 4G and
spectrum allocation scam.
Q. Another Case based question included

guesstimates.
A. Solved guesstimate and did some calculations as
per the case.
Explain different valuation approaches?

Why Facebook not Twitter?

For me Facebook does the same thing as Twitter.
make sure you are well prepared about your CV and all
general questions. They asked more about my work
experience and then why finance and why ICICI bank.
Different types of pricing strategies - which is suitable

in which situation?
Why IT consulting?
Short term and Long term goals?

This was a prepared answer.
Why did you choose marketing?

Talked about the passion for the subject, how I had
actively participated in the promotion of my college
event and how it inspired me to take on marketing, how
the professors at IIMK had influenced my mindset and
how I the guest lectures from industry persons had
made me realize my aptitude for the profession.
What all brands of Britannia you know and which is

your favorite?
I knew the major brands and said bourbon was my
favorite.
Final Interview:
1. Tell me about yourself (almost all my interviews
started this way).
Ans: Finished it under 2 minutes. Started with the fact
that I was a dancer, shared some experiences of the
same , then moved on to my reading habits and then
spoke about my professional interest which ended with
my experience in Students' Council in IIMK.
Why CIPLA?
Quality meet affordability. Takes challenges even when
the monetary benefits maybe low but has a larger
public impact. Good role. growing fast.
Why commercial bank? Why banking industry?
CV based questions like on internship, my foreign

exchange experience etc.
Why pharma?
My answer was related to growth in the segment,
increasing disposable income and insurance sector will
compliment this industry.
Second round was a mix of HR and situation based
questions.
Your knowledge about the role offered?

Went through the Job Description.
Asked about knowledge of any analytical/statistics tool.

Told about SPSS.
Asked questions on hypothesis testing, what is pvalue?
How will you explain about p-value to a lay man?
Tell us in detail about your internship.

Started explaining in detail about my project, explained
in detail the 4 points mentioned on my CV about my
internship.
Describe a situation where you made a mistake and

how you rectified it- spoke about an experience from
the workplace.
Why poor performance in academics?

- Poor performance is not because I was incompetent
or something but I did not pay enough attention to
studies. I improved a lot after engineering.
Work done in summer internship?

Q. You seem to be a perfect IT guy. Then why sales?
A. I was prepared for this. That is why I framed my first
answer accordingly. Explained that although my
previous job was fulfilling till a certain point, but after
that, there was no scope for learning. It was getting
difficult to keep enhancing my profile while staying at
that role. Had two options: Switch or higher studies, I
chose IIMK.
About CRISIL CYTL award.

They asked about my dissertation for CYTL. What is it
what was the conclusion How did you come to such a
conclusion and as I elaborated they counter questioned
me.
Q: Explain what was your summer internship project

and how did you go about it?
A: I stated the necessary details, explaining my
approach while also highlighting some of the out-ofscope work that I did.
Walk over your CV- general about yourself.
Explain in detail what I did when I was working with

Capgemini.
I explained about my work experience in detail, about
the role, about what I did and about the project as a
whole.
Tell us what was the problem you were trying to solve

during your summer internship? (My internship was
with ITC and on increasing sales of a soap brand)
Talked about the entire problem, told them the root
causes and why competitors were better. Also told
them the recommendations made by the end of my
project. One thing that is absolutely important is to
know your summer project in and out and not
hesitating when anything is asked on it.
About yourself.
I was asked if I will sign a bond of 3 years.

Answer: I said that as I have worked in the sector for 3
years and I enjoy working in the same sector. Also, it is
the area where I can apply concepts learned in
engineering as well as MBA. Apart from that, I am not a
person who switches jobs very frequently as I like to
work for a significant amount of time and make a
countable contribution to the organization. Hence, I am
okay with signing the bond.
Do you know about the role and what are you expected
to do?
- Explained about the role mentioned earlier during the
presentation about how all the operations take place in
a retail store.
Tell us in detail about your summer internship in

Daimler (the intern during graduation).
Some questions about my positions of responsibility.
Q:What type of movies do you like?

A: I like light hearted movies of romantic or comedy
genre. I appreciate movies like inception but I don't
enjoy watching them in leisure time. I keep such
attention requiring movies to watch at specific times.
In continuation to above question - How will your app

stand out from others? Tell me three things - I said: 1.
Compatibility - all file formats could be
imported/exported.
2. Ease of use and default features.
3. Fast processing.
What do you know about the role we are offering?

I did not had very clear view. he explained me about
the role in detail.
Q: For core S&M, firms like HUL and Pepsi are more
suited. Tata Group doesn't have many opportunities.
A: It has opportunities across the spectrum, from
FMCG sales (Tata Global Beverages), product sales
(Motors), services marketing (Taj), corporate account
management, and so on.
Q: Tell us about Game theory project.

A: Explained the project and it's implication.
Tell something about the academic projects.

Ans: Explained in detail what was done in the two
projects mentioned in CV.
What are the different divisions of a bank?
Wholesale, Markets, SMEs, Retail, Risk management.
Why IBM?
Explained product n services and client relations.
What are your expectations from this role?

Ability to interact with the client on a long term basis
and gather enough information to set the premise for
the problem.
Asked me about previous employer.

Firm name, what company does and what was your
role.
Tell something about company.

Explaining about company in detail, they asked for
competitors also.
Why Wipro?
Why Capgemini?
the questions were technical for me, completely based
on markets and derivatives. They also asked a lot of
questions related to the personality test they
conducted. Hence, no specifics.
Why IT?
In a knockout tennis tournament, 31 matches played in

total. How many players did participate in the first
round?
What are your extra-curriculars? - Based on the points

mentioned in CV.
Q. If you are to launch a new product similar to

Whatsapp in the Indian market, how would you go
about it?
-> Began with explaining how we need to first initiate
secondary research & try & gain information about
competitors, their products, customers they cater to
etc. through the information that is easily available in
open.
-> This should be closely followed by Primary research
wherein you go & try to find out the grievances existing
customers have towards the existing products in the
market, latent/unmet needs if any.
-> Invest in R&D.
-> Suggested that the <Rs.1000 phone category could
be tapped.
-> Wove Samsung & Nokia in the answer.
-> Used some concepts of NPD to explain the answer
better.
Asked me about POR at IIM Kozhikode. Told them

about my significant contribution.
Why did you want to go for MBA?

To gather a practical perspective about the business
scenario.
Tell me Some process improvement parameters?

Cycle time, throughput time, Cost reduction, employee
training, collaboration with suppliers, etc.
What is GE- McKinsey matrix?

Industry attractiveness & Business unit strength.
What Finance electives did you take?

FD, IAPM,FIS,MAJV,PMF.
How did I plan to address list of deliverables?

Had said about the timeline which I had fixed for my
internship period.
Can IRR be negative?

I mentioned all the things that were not present in my
resume like my family background, my schooling and in
detail about my interests.
What is SAP?
Details of internship.
What did you learn during your summer internship?
Internship at Wipro.
Why do you think The SarbanesOxley Act of 2002

was needed?
Why do you want to join us?
Continued with SWOT analysis type question. Asked

describe yourself in 3 words, and then how would
other's describe you? I said calm and dependable for
the latter part, and was cross questioned - give an
example - so talked about sports (experiences from
practice and matches).
Asked me to design a weather app.
Q. Are you comfortable with huge amount of data?

A. I told them about various projects I've done using
excel and some experience during my internship.
Asked about my projects done in my previous

companies.
Some questions about my achievements.

Explained about my positions of responsibility and their
relevance.
So tell us about your internship at Madura Fashion &

Lifestyle.
<Prepared answer>
Asked about internship experience and questions.

Regarding internship such as Data collection
procedure and research methodology?
What do you understand by retail banking?

Based my answer on how retail banking is what
banking at its core is.
Tell me more about your work experience.

Explained about the job responsibilities and the
leadership hats I donned during my tenure.
Q.) Talk about any initiatives that you've taken.

A.) Spoke about initiatives that were implemented
under my POR's at IIM K.
Tell us more about yourself.
Tell me more about your work experience.

Explained about the job responsibilities and my
interests.
Do you possess leadership skills?

Told about play direction which needs both team work
as well as leadership skills.
Q: What have you learnt as a Placements Committee

Member?
Why SBI?
Question regarding my SCM project?

Very crucial! Be very thorough with the academic
project mentioned in your CV, particularly with
Operations related projects. Probably this was the
deciding question for me.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q2: [from POR] What did you do for pan-IIM laptop

deal? How did you go about it?
Q. Tell us about your family and anything other that you

want to share apart from what is mentioned in the CV.
A. I talked about the places I've lived in.
what is your knowledge about role offered.

Why healthcare?
You have taken all finance courses. But the role we are
offering is Product Development and Corporate
Relationship Management. Have you studied any
marketing course? Because the role for which we are
interviewing is marketing!!! (Something I never
expected and it was not written in Job Descriptions
they had sent!).
Amongst all the subjects mentioned on your CV, which
is your favorite one and why?
I answered PMF and said how it was a different course
from others and gave a new perspective of PPP
projects.
Why do you want to work with Tata?
What unique is their in your CV?

Design online marketing campaigns for various
situations.
What do you think you are good at?
Tell us about different methods of valuation?

Told them about def., multiples, real option valuation.
Question: Why opted for HR in the summer internship

Ans: I mentioned about my interests in HR, and how I
have taken few subjects in IIMK and in foreign
exchange courses as well.
Internship experience.
Questions about internship.

It was sales and marketing so they went into detail.
Asked me about my internship and how it will help me

in CRISIL.
Please individually prepare this answer with respect to
each company that you are sitting for.
Why shift from Operations to Consulting ?
Thereafter they asked me about my previous work

experience, what I did and how I did. I gave them a
fairly long description of it narrating all the interesting
and challenging situations I had come across as
operations executive.
Explain what is a CRM and how can it add value to a

firm like ours?
Answer: Increasing customer loyalty, customer profiling
and targeted advertisements.
If you were the Swimming Federation of India, how

would you promote swimming as a sport?
Talked about tapping rural talent by offering
scholarships simply for taking up swimming. Tapping
students through schools that can have tie ups with
municipal pools. Educate parents about sports quota
and career opportunities. Finally a print campaign with
a shirtless picture of Sehwag and Phelps asking 'Who
would you rather be?'
Have you worked before?

No.
What is consulting to you?

Answer - Consulting is about nurturing and taking care
of the baby of the client as your own. It is not about
baby sitting. Stress this over and above the technical
competence.
Why CRISIL - focus and clarity on work done by the
company.
Strengths and weaknesses.

Ans: Again the prepared answer but be sure to back up
with strong examples or instances from your life.
Q. Tell something about your leadership skills.

Ans: Talked in detail about my responsibilities as
Students' Council members and what all do we do for
the batch. Got questioned some more on this, but it
went smoothly.
2. Advertisements in the media industry. Difference

between print advertisements and media
advertisements.
They will simply give you something and ask you to sell
it to them.
What is the most important thing in finance. That is
return.
Difference between futures and forwards.

Answered.
Explanation about PORs.
I mentioned Consumer Behavior as one of the subjects

and I am from Raipur, so he asked a case based on
Chhattisgarh: You want to bring digital transformation in
Chhattisgarh, you are familiar with the place and the
demographics so how will you achieve this.
Segment the population and give examples for each
segment something like poor : what Micro-finance could
do to bring transformation, middle class: what Banks
and online shopping sites could do etc.
25 horse and find top 3 race horse. In one race only 5

horse can participate. Find min no of race.
What is the difference between marketing and sales?

Answer: Wrong answer
One of the panel members took the initiative of
explaining me what exactly the difference was.
Just nodded my head throughout during the
explanation.
What are the qualities you look forward in your

colleagues? Told that they should have lunch with me
and have an open discussion about their experiences.
Learn from their mistakes and incorporate better
practices.
What do I see as the next big technology change in
banking sector?
I had attended the Onto workshop conducted by
Citibank last month and it came in handy for me to
answer this question. I talked about one of the
innovations like I didn't know about it. I was also asked
to explain about the way I would implement that
technology change which I did.
3. Why CBC?
I did not explain anything about the company, jumper to
the profile being offered, since it is about digital
marketing plan, I tried to explain my interest, told them
everything studied in IMC and E-comm. also the latest
trends.
What kind of ads feature only in newspaper or what kind

of ads feature on television alone and not in
newspapers.
Internship questionsMy project was on a M&A deal so I was asked about

basics of the deal, name one of the targets, valuation of
target company, wick and beta calculation, deal value,
beta for risk free asset and other details about the deal.
3. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Varies from person to person.
Asked about my internship. I spoke at length about it.
We had to wait for a few minutes for the 4th candidate

to join us, before starting the Group Discussion. We
were talking casually. We were talking casually to the
interviewer. He asked what people in campus generally
think of Mu Sigma, what did you like about the company
etc.
Work experience related

Round 1What did you? What was your motivation? Why did you
leave? What kind of clients you served? What do you
want to do now?
Round 2 Same questions as above.
Why did you chose such subjects etc.
Technical Interview - Where do you think Tata

Communications should start focusing more to generate
profit?
Gave some gyaan regarding Cloud since I had this
particular subject. The company had also started
providing enterprise cloud services.
Question : What kind of apps do you use in your

mobile? Name few .
Answer : Do not tell Whatsapp, Facebook etc. etc. . I
took names like paytm, bookmyshow, irctc . The app
names you take can influence the interviewer to ask you
to design a similar app in competition to existing ones
with better features.
P.S: I was asked to design a similar app to
bookmyshow.
What do you do as a part of Media Cell?
Round 3:
1.) Again introduction. Areas of interest.
2.) Lots of questions on M&A valuation techniques.
More emphasis on relative valuation, When to use
which one? P/E, P/BV, P/S, EV/Betide, should EV/NI be
used? is EV/Sales a good multiple? Give examples for
few where these multiples fit? For tech cos., ecommerce cos.? Why does it differ? Depreciation, cost
structure what can matter?
3.) What is EV? in details. As to break-up of what is net
debt? Debt & equity at market or book value? Why is
cash deducted?
4.) What is minority interest? Should it be included in
EV?
5.) One best quality that makes you fit for this role?
What was your work at Oracle ?
What's your passion?
Do you get uncomfortable when some changes happen

which are not according to your plan?
Not exactly, I do get uncomfortable for few seconds
which is obvious but then I plan as in what next needs
to be done in accordance with the change.
Why Sales?
I want to do sales because I have done the same in my
internship and I loved it. I love to solve the problems by
interacting with the people at the ground level. I had
also brought sponsorship for the Sangram '13, a sports
event at IIM Kozhikode. I believe I am an extrovert and
gel well with people from various background.
Puzzle based question
Tell us about different valuation methodologies. Say a

Diversified company is valued using SOTP and usual
valuation methods. Which method do you think will
result in higher valuation and why?
Explain about the white paper you have published

(Based on CV).
What are distribution systems and how do margins

work? I told them about ROI and differential margins of
different channel members that I had studied in SDM.
2. What profile was I looking at?

I spoke about sales and Marketing and then general
management.
Why MBA?
Q3. Sell Diet Coke against watermelon juice( both were

kept on table) in less than 30 seconds
Ans. I compared both the juice on 6 key attributes: a)
Brand; b) Quality; c) Availability(on the move); d)
Freshness; e) Cost; f) State
And then summarized the above 6 reasons also.
(They didn't give time to think so be prepared with such
comparisons questions)
What is regression?
Questions related to past work experience.
What is the role about?
About subjects chosen in foreign exchange.
You will have to stay in project site, 2 tier towns, how will
you manage?
Answer : Exposure during my start up stint.
Strength and weakness

Difference between big data and data archival, methods
of handling same or not (I worked on data archival near line storage, deep storage etc. which was different
from big data, characterized by 3 Vs.).
Third round was mainly HR round, about my interests,

hobbies etc.
What are your strengths?

changes from person to person. Stick to 2-3 strengths.
Until asked don't keep on going on and on.
I had to give them 6 strengths because they kept on
asking for next .
VRO Project and Merges Project

Q) Asked if I was comfortable in traveling?
3. Few internship recommendations were not

implemented. Why do you think this happened?
Explained the reasons for the same.
3 main points of CV? That's it.

Not CV based interview.
Explain how will you assess quantitatively the success

of your project (from prior work experience).
He asked me about my engineering projects also.
Walk me through your CV.

I talked about all the things I had mentioned in the CV
and the learning from the various different experiences.
I also talked about major accomplishments during my
work and internship. Finally I talked about my other
interests and hobbies.
What could be your takeaways from this program? Do

you see any positives for your career?
I talked about the company being a good starting point
for my career and once again voiced my concerns
about starting with a sales and marketing role.
Why Lenovo?
Had read some reports from Lenovo online and told
them about the recent acquisitions of Lenovo.
Why Vodafone?
Company of young minds, boom in telecom, vibrant
organization, cross cultural people.
What is RFI?
When a client identified a large number of suppliers for
their product or services, they asked for detailed
information about the product or services so that the
vendor can be filtered for the next round.
Questions about summer internship.

Project and learnings.
Why consulting?
3. Tell me about Job Description

More of distributor related push strategy in the market
area and working with them to increase sales.
Case based question: Operation related, how to
implement lean systems to the operations of the client.
What are the latest Basel III norms for banks? What is
their purpose?
A comprehensive set of reform measures, developed by
the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, to
strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk
management of the banking sector.
Spoke about the various measures and ratios and the
purpose of each.
Banking related questions like Basel norms
Case 3: A Company planning to partially automate

campus recruitment process. What is the single most
important benefit that the company will get out of it?
Approach: Cost reduction: HR time reduced (this was
the final answer) but I also gave other answers before
coming to this conclusion.
Value addition: time distributed evenly to all candidates
so better candidate fit. Last candidate may be better
than 1st but because we don't have enough time for last
without automation we may not have time to interview
him properly.
Better streamlining of the process. More organized.
Did you like the selection process?
Why ICICI Prudential?

Relate with my qualities.
Why do you want to join IGS-EDU? - I gave my genuine

reasons like liking, career and family background.
3. Any prior work experience in Analytics?

No
Describe your internship project?

Give them a high level logical view and then go into
specifics. Focus on the challenges you faced and how
you overcame them. They look for keen understanding
and if you are unsure of any aspect, don't bluff around
it.
Q3: Who all are there in your family?
Difference between funded and non-funded bank

facilities.
Q3) What is Parkour ?

A3) Told them about it.
What subjects have you studied?
Q: Beauty contest objectify women's body... what's your

stand ?
A: Women empowerment and then compared it with the
body building competitions (Arnold, Phil heath, Kai
greene, Ronnie coleman etc) if it cannot objectify men
body then some goes for women also.
How online retail is different from brick and motor retail?
Which domain do you want to work in ?

I wanted to work for HealthCare domain.
Which domain do you want to join in Tata

communication?
I said customer service and delivery and product
management. Interviewer then asked me about the
product life cycle. its various phases.
What business of Reliance I am interested in and why?

Whatever you answer ensure that you know how
Reliance fits into that industry and where is stands. Also
know a little about the industry growth and prospects in
general.
Q: Mention and Tata Steel Brands

A: Wiron, Shaktee
Q. About the recent fall in the oil prices, why is the US

doing so?
A. To push Russian economy to the brink as they are
primarily dependent on oil and fall in oil prices would
prove fatal to them.
Talk about your Work Experience?

Name of the company, my role in the company, talked
about my projects and my leadership roles in the
company.
What at Reliance I find interesting?
Where do you see yourself after 10 years ?

What is leadership according to me? Its traits and
qualities needed.
Q. Strategies to increase circulation

A. Very situation specific..
Tell us what you studied in the Banking and Financial
Intermediaries course.
Told about the Basel regulations.
I talked about Rahul Bajaj's plan of getting
marketing/advertisement stories from
Management/Technical grads. I narrated my
advertisement story.
Q. Why Banking?
A. Best time to be in bank. Enthusiastic about banking. I
had done a FLIP certification in banking fundamentals.
etc.
Q) Some reference to points made during Group

Discussion.
A) Justify your stance.
Q: Which is your favorite academic project/ explain it.

Tip : Again, I mentioned the one that I knew really well,
but also make sure that it should be in some way
related to the job profile/ the company that you have
applied for.
Strengths and weaknesses?

Ability to adjust to the surroundings, Importance to
family, Work takes extreme priority, Stress, opening up
to people easily.
Asked me in detail about the SDP project.
Why do you think you will be good at sales?

I highlighted my passion for sales and marketing that
has developed through my experiences at IIMK and my
summer internship. I said that I like to be in the front line
of the organization which is the sales department.
Why this company ? - Big brand, recognized products

and services, Consulting role etc. Read about the
company before hand.
Q3: Tell me about the work you have done in your

internship.
Answer: I told him everything that I have done in my
internship. I explained him every process in depth and
then he asked me some lead questions form the
answers I had given.
If I had contacted seniors.

What is your proficiency level in Financial Derivatives?
Discussion on the work done in leadership positions in

college.
Where did you acquire the data used in your analysis

(Marico case study)
Explained how we used the hints given in the case to
acquire relevant data from internet.
Is Goodwill recorded in books?
How would you sell SIM cards by direct marketing?

A campaign in the colleges with personalized phone
numbers to the students
Q. Asked about my understanding of the role offered.

Ans. Explained about what I infer from the job
description.
* Be well versed with the Job Description.
Sales experience before.
What do you know about the EBA role?
Tell us detail about the academic projects.

I explained in detail about the three projects I had done
in finance. No cross questioning was done
Tell us something about your academic project in the

elective of Advanced Marketing Research?
The project was on the Indian General Elections. I
summarized the objectives and key learnings.
Q3: Subjects mentioned in CV

Asked about what I learned in pricing, How it can be
applied to the retails sector.
Where do you see yourself in the next few years?

I like to be a Marketing head by climbing up the
ladder( an elaborate answer).
Q 3: How your work in summer internship contributed to

the company?
Ans: Explained him why the project was important to the
company.
Explain the concept of NPV and IRR without using any

financial jargon.
I started with this simple concept, If I were to give you
100 Rs.today and one year after. which one will you
prefer ? and elaborated while bringing in the concept of
inflation and interest.
Internship experience in depth.
Some questions regarding case study like how did you

arrive in to this decision.
Question- Tell me about your internship.

Answer- Did so.
Which profile and domain within AMC are you looking

for and why? (Finance or corporate development)
Why consultant?
About previous company?

Revenues, market share, market share of my division,
major competitors and clients.
Difference between B2B and B2C. Which is more

challenging acc. to you? Give 3 reasons : answered
B2B, related it to summer internship, challenges faced,
client interactions require in-depth knowledge, dealing
with industry experts.
Why CBC?
Tell me about the various types of risks in a project and

what are the parameters to assess it?
Describe the work assignment during your work

experience.
Other competitions won and what recommendations
were given.
All about the previous stint at iGATE. Job Role and

Description.
Asked about Last mile project - what is it and my role in
it ?
No other questions, interjected in between asking if I
was open to change (Yes or No) and how did IIM
change me in the past 2 years?
ME: I said it had made me a humble person.
What is big about big data? Why is everyone talking

about it?
Simple HR questions like what are your strengths,

weaknesses and how would you fit to the role we are
offering?
Q: If you were to rate a jewelry shop, what would you
see?
A: Cash in hand, insurance, seasonality, inventory.
A PE multiple of 8 is better than that of 10. Justify.

Since a PE multiple is dependent on the growth of the
firm, the risk associated with it and the dividend yield.
Hence depending on these factors the PE multiples
could be justified and hence is not a clear cut method of
comparing firms.
Tell me about your SDP project?

Told everything about my SDP project.
3) Family Background
Ans. Gave the details.
Which is your area of specialization and why?

Sales and marketing. I told them Sales ignites the
passion in me to get things done. I also drew from my
B2B Sales experience in Dubai (Internship) and said
that it gives me a ring sing view of the organization.
Tell us about your academic project you did on Ola

Cabs.
Ans. I explain to them the business model of Ola as a
technology-enabled taxi cab aggregator.
Q) Suppose you are Shahrukh Khan in Swades, which

three things would you consider absolutely essential to
turn the village self-sustainable and why?
Guesstimate for number of two wheelers in Kozhikode

Thought aloud and explained my assumptions for each
step. Approach matters not the final answer.
My experience at copal, key take always in 2 months No handholding, great experience, good guidance from
mentor and guide.
Why did you change organizations during work

experience?
Since I had shifted to a consulting role after my first job,
I could explain why it fit me.
Task sequence of a particular process was given with

details such as task duration, failure frequency, etc. and
I was asked to find out two activities that should be
optimized to improve overall efficiency.
Why CGPA's are not revealed in campus? Campus

policy obviously but the underlying logic might be to
allow PG students to focus not only on competitive
studies, but also to other dimensions. Taking CGPA
away as a determiner in finals may sort of help there.
Question on internship work
- Told in detail
Why sales?
My opinion that sales is the best way to understand an
organization and business at the grass-roots level.
How are you going to pick a stock of a bank ?

I differentiated between the PSU banks and the private
banks. I explained through the angle of asset quality
which was not good for PSU. Secondly governance
issues was also touched upon by me.
Then the funding profile of the banks and the loan
portfolio of the bank was explained by me and the likely
impact on India situation where exchange rate volatility
is very high.
What do you know about the role?

Sell yourself?
Told how I fit to sales and Samsung.
Challenges faced in handling Sangam'15?
Summer internship project
What is deferred tax liability?

Wasn't sure of exact answer. Tried saying what deferred
tax is.
Not Applicable
Long Term and Short Term Goal
Q- How will you handle the aspect of people more

senior to you in the organization working under you ?
A- To ensure that people senior to me in the
organization feel respected, I would take in their
opinions with utmost seriousness. Also, it would be
imperative on my part to make them feel that there is so
much that I have to learn from them. I would try to
develop a sense of mutual respect.
Q-3: Case on auto industry about increasing sales of a

particular model.
Ans: Have a structured approach. Cases about
increasing volume share or profitability are solved in
Case booklets present in our repository. I used one of
those structure and customize to auto industry. Recent
trends in the industry always help solving cases.
I could crisply present my recommendations and always
remember to summarize in the form of elevator pitch.
why do you want to do sales?

I answered with the example of the live project I did,
and I talked about how I enjoyed doing that project I've
also mentioned that later on I want to move to
marketing/branding.
FCFF/FCFE and Ratios analysis

Explained the concept.
Q. Another case on operations and sales, an actual

problem they handled.
A. It took quite sometime because of 7-8 pages and
graphs given.
Was asked to elaborate on academic project on KMRL?

Twitter allows you 40 words so why so many people

follow Twitter?
Not Applicable
Why consulting? Why KPMG? Why risk consulting?
Questions about my graduation project.
Why Future Group?

It is said that CMOs of many large MNCs are from
Future group. So there must be a lot to learn while
working for Future Group.
Talk about your favorite hobby.

Talked about travelling and how road trips had
influenced my outlook, the cultural variations across
small distances, the difference in cuisines etc.
They asked about my foreign exchange experience,

and the value addition.
I said the knowledge about various cultures and
interaction with people from across the globe.
2. Tell us about your internship experience

Ans: Covered this in 3 points:
a. Objective of my project and my expected role
b. Activities undertaken by me to achieve the same
c. Output of my efforts
Openness for international role, say in Africa, Pakistan,

Afghanistan etc.?
Open to all locations and roles.
Where do you see yourself after 5 years?
What do you understand by the role?
why are you entering into a niche sector like pharma?

I wanted to be in sales, secondly to build knowledge
and I find good opportunity in a MNC like GSK .
Not Applicable
Why Cinepolis?
Told about the company working culture, flexibility it
offers and how I can grow well in that role in future, and
therefore contribute to the company.
Questions on statistics like what is Poisson distribution.
Give the most significant recommendations of your

internship.
Explained them in detail and was cross-questioned on a
few of them too.
Describe the biggest project you have worked on and

why it was significant : described the project, the
business that it brought, my contribution to the project
and the outcome.
Why are you interested in Data Analytics?

- I did a course on SPSS and I liked it. also, I used
analytical framework in another subject Strategic
Analytics which exposed practical aspects of analytics.
It is a growing field with a promising future and I want to
be a part of the growth.
Whether you are in touch with summers to check if

your work is implemented?
Q. Would you be able to adjust in sales profile given

your past experience in IT?
A. Reiterated my reasons to quit. Added few more
points in favor of sales profile and tried to convince that
I'm eager for this opportunity.
IBOK Certification
I explained what I did and stressed upon the point that
whenever I do valuations, I start with a neutral stake so
to come up with the right valuation and no bias should
be there.
Q: How did you come up with this recommendation?

What gave you this idea?
A: I talked about the insights that led to the idea and
how I obtained them.
What is a call option- definition?
Having such a great experience and interest in IT, why

do you want to change from IT to sales?
After MBA, developed interest in sales. After doing so
much ground work for the competitions and interaction
with the vendors and customers make me feel I am
more suitable for sales.
Distribution of ITC, HUL? What are the general cases

when a distributor's money gets stuck?
Explained the structure of how ITC and HUL have
different channels.
The cases were: Excess inventory, Credit to retailer and
badly estimated order.
Tip: Keep in mind your SDM concepts. Most firms come
for a sales role and knowing basics work. Read up on
FMCG sales and marketing blogs apart from your
textbooks.
Tell me something which you don't like.
Why do you want to remain in the same field? why don't

you want to get out of your comfort zone?
Answer: Power sector in India is filled with immense
potential as well as unforeseen challenges. I worked as
a technical person when I was in previous job but now I
can see the business from a more holistic perspective
and hence want to contribute to the sector.
Do you know what is the brand of the suit you are

wearing right now?
- Allen Solly (Arvinds biggest competitor)
They replied saying you are rejected already, next
candidate pls. I interrupted saying "Yes Sir I know that
Allen Solly belongs to Madura Lifestyle which is Arvinds
biggest competitor". They stopped and began listening
to me asking me to tell more about this. So I started
talking about the knowledge and insights I gained
during Pinnacle- flagship competition of Madura
Lifestyle.
What are the different types of steel used in
automobiles?
What is the key difference between B2B and B2C?
Q: What kind of person are you - few friends or many?

A: I have many friends but very few close ones who
know almost everything about me.
How will you monetize your app? I said two things

1.Use the freemium model of monetizing the apps 2.
Use advertisements.
Difference in basel 2 and basel 3 framework.
Q: Why is Tata Motors in such bad shape?

A: I said some mistakes they made with the Nano, and
suggested some corrections they could make.
Q: Tell us about your work experience in L&T.

A: Talked about work profile in my achievement at
workplace.
Tell something about PORs mentioned.
Why you want to join that particular division?
Why B2B sales compared to traditional fact job?

Client relations , negotiations. My forte. This is what I
love to do.
A consultants job is very thankless especially at the

ground level. How are you prepared to deal with this?
It is my intent to gain experience in the field not merely
for credit but also for learning and implementation
purposes. I believe that true learning will not be hidden.
What do you think are 5 best qualities of a

salesperson?
- Target driven
- Good at numbers and helpful to people
- Good listener
- Ready for new experiences/adaptive
- Build collaborative environment for all stakeholders
What did you learn in ERC, SCM?
Why sales and how it is relevant to your work

experience?
Your strengths and weaknesses.

the questions were technical for me, completely based
on markets and derivatives. They also asked a lot of
questions related to the personality test they conducted.
Hence, no specifics.
Interview was mostly based on V
1. Academic projects
2. Certifications
3. Summer Internship
In a sports tournament, each team played a match with

every other team. How many total teams participated if
105 matches were played?
Why Sales? - The role was of sales, so this question

was expected. I told them that I have done sponsorship
work for my committee, dealing with people of all ranks
- which helped me gather an on ground experience.
Q. You've been writing for InsideIIM. If you were to tell

us something about the article that you like the most,
which one would it be ?
-> One needs to be thorough with the smallest of details
of the things mentioned in the CV.
-> Told them about an article that I'd written on the
plight of women in India, gave examples of Manu
Sharma, the Badaun case etc.
-> From there they moved on to general things.
Q. Why do you think such things continue to happen in
India?
-> I elaborated on two major reasons -> lack of stringent
punitive actions (like capital punishment for rapists etc.)
& widespread discrimination (influential people can
easily get away with things).
Asked me why sales?(as 1 year would be sales stint) I

gave them little amusing answer saying I was inspired
by the movie Pursuit of Happiness. Why seeing that
movie makes me believe that I can be a good sales
guy? I gave them some of movie scene references.
They seemed impressed with the answer.
Why sales?
Because I'm an extrovert, like meeting new people and
understanding their perspective etc.
Case : Suppose PepsiCo has problem in its supply

chain in the south Indian market how will you approach
it?
I had asked him warehouse location, no of retailer,
distributor. Is there any real time data transfer issue?
Product variety issue? Accordingly I approached the
problem.
Product -market growth strategy
Which course did you enjoy the most?

FIS
Why company did not do many of these things before?

Most of these internship process comes when
companies are trying to expand to new products or
markets. I had mentioned what exactly company was
trying to do with my internship deliverables
Can there be multiple IRR? If yes, then which one

should we take?
Give an instance from your work experience when you

displayed team work.
What is BIS?
3 strengths and weaknesses
Explain the IT academic projects mentioned in the CV.
How do you suit this role?
A lot of question on the 2008 Financial crisis. Basically I

said that I am a fan of Raghuram Rajan. Hence the
grilling.
Not Applicable
Final question of HR round was: Take 2 minutes and

come up with a creative pitch as to why Nestle should
hire you. Answered: I'm big, round and healthy, so I'll
make the perfect brand ambassador for 'Good Food
Good Life' (Nestl's motto).
About the Users I will target and how would it affect the
app I am designing - for some reason, I said travelers business and leisure.
Q. 1 situation in which you emerged as a leader

A. Told about how during one night shift in my
organization, I took charge of an incident and how I
used my ingenuity to tackle it.
Situation based questions.

Creating a appraisal system for a Finance Division.
Asked about my family background.
What were the major learnings?

<Prepared answer>
Asked about CSFA certification?

explained in detail that it was a 3/5 months process of
offline classes thru course materials and test for
marketing and sales enthusiasts.
Why retail banking over investment banking? (my

internship was in IBD)
Tell me about Bhooklagi.

Explained the concept of Bhooklagi as well as explained
them how I brought improvements in operations of
Bhooklagi
Q.) Talk about your internship project

A.) Gave a gist of the problem statement, approach,
recommendations, etc.
What was your favorite subject in your engineering

course?
Tell me more about Entrepreneurial

Experience(Bhooklagi).
Explained the concept of Bhooklagi as well as explained
them how I brought improvements in operations of
Bhooklagi.
How would you handle your seniors?

Told about the need to be diplomatic but never
compromise with the values and principles of an
organization.
Q: Ethical dilemma during Placement Committee work?
About Financial Inclusion
Why SCM in particular for a carrier option?

Though I was a fresher and lacked relevant experience
in the field of operations, I was able to convince them I
deep interest in the field because of my mechanical
engineering background.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q3: Why Sales?
Q. If you would be remembered for one thing, what

would that be?
A. Helping others and partying.
Some questions on your personal life

Why I should prefer you?
Do you have any question?
I asked which roles you're offering. Any finance role?
Because in Job Descriptions you've mentioned 4
finance roles.
HR: We have hired candidates for finance roles from
other campuses.
Why should we hire you?

I answered recounting learning from past failures and
how I am better able to handle difficult situations due to
those.
What do you know about Tata communications?
Why IT ?
1 Case based discussion
Why Samsung ?
What are different types of multiples and what are their

drivers, also gave me a small question on P/E valuation
of different companies?
Be prepared with your multiples and know the drivers of
each multiple very well.
Question: Was the project adopted by the organization

Ans: Yes
Will you be able to cope up with rigor of aggressive

sales targets?
They gave me an aptitude question to solve.

I did.
CV based questions like some projects that I have

worked on. My CV was heavy on social activities. So, it
was a talking about.
Questions related to concepts from EoS subject.
Concepts of Network effects & Platform architecture
Thirdly they were interested in knowing if I did

innovation in my academic and Job related affairs.
Please be prepared to highlight some of the challenging
things that highlight your run off the mill attitude and
qualities.
Difference between a CRM system and online

marketing initiatives?
Answer: CRM gives a holistic view and online marketing
is just a part of CRM.
If you ran a theatre company that was going to perform

in rural city how would you price your ticket?
Price is based on 3 things: cost, competitors price and
addition value provided to the customer.
Calculated costs of travel, stay, food and promotion.
Took a benchmark price for a movie running in a local
theatre. Set price lower that the movie price as a
penetration price whilst only breaking even. Suggested
increase in price for future shows if performances are
likes.
You have an internship in ABB. What did you do there?

I was a technical trainee. I studied the working and
manufacturing of SF6 circuit breakers.
Tell about work responsibilities.

Answer - highlights key words.
One instance where you have displayed leadership and

teamwork skills.
You have been mostly in IT jobs - Deloitte, Wipro
internship then why Sales and marketing and why do
you want to do it.
Ans: Told them my interest since first year in marketing,
and then how I've felt that in IT I would not be able to
make a change in people's lives etc.
Q. Why Tolaram Group and why Nigeria?
Ans: Told about how international experience would
help me in gaining more experience while working and
how it all will help in future. And also having talked to
the alums working in that region, I have got positive
reviews and would love to work there.
3. If I had to expand to ABP to MP. What are the steps

to be followed?
Apart from that questions on my cultural committee
activity.
What is difference in share and bond?

Gave a scenario and asked me about hedging
strategy.
Answered.
Tell me about your family.
If you could go back in past 1 year of your IIMK life

and change 1 thing what would that be ?
I had very few B - school competition mentioned in
CV, so I said I would participate more.
n no of prisoners were in a prison cell. In case a

prisoner who had tattoo on his head, go to the guard
and say that he has tattoo on his head, he will be
allowed to free. no communication was allowed. On
8th day, all prisoners who had tattoo on their head
went to guard and say I had tattoo. How many
prisoners went to guard and how they decided?

Answer: started with my home town then
engineering, job experience, summer internship.
What are the qualities you look forward in your

subordinates? I expected them to be open to me with
all things. Any issue concerning them to be first
communicated to me without any hesitation. They
would also come forth in presenting their views in
every discussion.
Who is the minister for corporate affairs in India?

I didn't know.
Who is the home minister of India?
I answered Mr. Rajnath Singh
4.Asked me to pitch either myself for the job or

iPhone (which one of the interviewers was having)
over the other phone (that was with the 2nd
interviewer).
since I had already explained about myself, I chose
iPhone pitching case. started with first knowing about
the client, asked him certain questions: how would
you like to be associated; as a youthful &
spontaneous person or organized, do you like to play
games on phone, how many app do u have in your
present phone, do you have family, do you like to
take pictures of your kid etc. then compared his
phone with iPhone in terms of memory, processor,
ROI. it's more about how you present his whole thing.
What would you choose between the following and

why?
1. Less no. of advertisements in your newspaper,
hence lesser revenues and thus lower circulation but
maintaining a brand value for your paper.
2. Higher no. of ads, higher revenues and your
newspaper is easily available in all parts of the
country, however lesser content and thus it may
impact your brand image.
(Talk about maintaining brand value and thus
creating a pull for advertisers)
Which sector would you recommend for investment

in India? Pitch the sector in 2-3 minutes
4. Since you major in marketing, why do you want

to do general management?
I explained how my internship in marketing was
necessary but not sufficient to fulfill the company's
goals and why knowledge of finance, operations etc.
becomes important too. Gave example of launch of a
product where apart from devising marketing
strategy, budgeting and SCM becomes integral too.
Asked about my Finance project from my CV.

Explained that.
Not Applicable
You are a BPO. Client wants you to give contract for

invoice/bill processing. The price (x)to be quoted is
per invoice. How will you derive 'x'? What are the
major cost drivers?
Answer_Main costs - transport/couriers(may be variable or
fixed as per our contract with transporter), IT
system/softwares(fixed), employee/labor cost(fixed or
variable, but generally fixed)
_Sensitivity...
_Type of contract can be - cost plus, all inclusive
except transport (linked to oil prices) etc.
The crux is to describe process from start to end and
think of all possible scenarios.
What should be the ideal target market for our

enterprise Cloud services in India?
Talked about a recent paper by KPMG on cloud
services in Indian context, the segment with the
highest growth potential and the various service
models with high growth rate
Question : Interview round one - Since in hobbies I

had written gymming and Playing Cricket, I was
asked to design an app for gymming. What all
features and stakeholders you can think of and how
do you monetize your app?
Points to take care of : How practical your features
are, different ways to generate revenues , choosing
the right target segment, market estimation and
acceptability among your customers.
P.S : Most of them were asked to design an app
relevant to their hobbies in round 1.
Why a sales role?
Round 4:
1.) Introduction again
2.) Areas of interest. To check what in IB interests
you? Would you actually enjoy IB or just because you
have no option?
3.) Varied questions. Beginning from valuation. DCF
basics to terminal value computation. Exit multiple.
4.) Will you use EV/Betide or P/E. Why? Long
discussion on that. Which one will be higher out of
the two, Why?
5.) Situation: Only info available is P/E of two
companies, one 8 another 10. Which one will you
invest in? Detailed rationale and discussion.
6.) Questions on WACC. If D/E ratio changes, how
will Kd, Ke change? Why? Detailed discussion.
7.) What is your long term goals/career aspirations?
Tell about any latest achievement.
What are your strengths?
Why consulting?
It gives an opportunity to interact and help different
clients on different problems in different sectors. The
job would have scope for continuous learning and I
like learning by doing a variety of things.
Tell me about your internship.

I had devised a marketing strategy for the small
scale businesses to adopt online platform. Moreover,
I had discussed the issues faced by the customers
by discussing with the salesperson.
How will you increase sales for an area?

Increase penetration (no.of stores), make stores
more visible.
Increase frequency and volume of - promotions,
offers.
Say a start-up in an emerging industry is to be

valued. Currently the start-up has negative operating
cash flows and earnings. how do you value such a
company? How do you value a bank or a financial
institution?
Few questions to gauge how well you can think in

Marketing / consumer behavior aspects.
Sales is a tough job. Do you think you are up for it?
3. Would I work hands on the projects - such as data

and coding (due to some relevant work experience
such a question was asked)
I rejected the idea, its not advisable to say a yes
always, say what you want to do and not have to
make the interviewer happy - being honest helps
here.
Why IT? What do you know about Hexaware?
Q4. Summarize all the marketing courses written on

CV in single line
Ans. I answered as marketing is all about
understanding, creating and delivering values and
took some examples from SDM, IMC, B2B and
Service marketing.
Logistic regression with example.
Questions related to internship project
Projects during graduation (engineering.)
Extra activities
How will you grow your start up venture? Similar to

how to increase sales asked in a consulting
interview.
What is important to you means or ends?
Not Applicable
Have mentioned the summary in the above

questions.
Weaknesses?
Do prepare at least 2-3 weaknesses...when asked
tell not more than 2 weaknesses ..if asked for more
then pretend like thinking and then talk about next
weakness, if you can't think of anything "Food" is the
best answer for this question. Don't say "food" as you
2nd 3rd weakness, it works only when you cross 3-4
weaknesses.
Puzzle about chessboard
Q) Asked if I was comfortable talking to client during
my stint at Deloitte?
4. Since you hail from Gujarat, what are your views
on the Modi government?
A balanced answer, witnessed development in
Gujarat (cited examples from personal experience),
but it remains to be seen what he can do on the
national level. Also, he should keep distance from the
quagmire of controversies, lest people would quickly
loose faith.
Situation 1- Regarding hire and retaining employees.

Addition in scenario.
Tell us about your project during your work

experience (as mentioned on CV)- Started with an
introduction about my client, which sector it belonged
to, details about the project.
I had 3 Chemical engineering projects and I have

done two internships during engineering so He asked
me that, after doing so much of technical work why
you decided to do MBA?
What is your hobby?

I talked about Cricket and the passion for it. Also I
mentioned the achievements and levels at which I
have played.
Which is your favorite industry to make a career in?

No specific preferences.
Case questions - List down the top 2 markets you will

select to attack first. Also state the reason for
selecting the markets.
Did some number crunching in the presentation that
helped in sailing it.
Why marketing?
Took few subjects and liked the field, no work
experience so entire interest based on subjects and
how I liked the cases discussed.
What is RFQ?
When procurement wants the suppliers to make the
suppliers Quote the price per amount of product or
services other than the information about the
personal skills, Training and other details.
What are the measures used to evaluate a Mutual

fund.
Managers, risk measurement techniques, past
performance
Where do you see yourself 10 years down the line?

Which domain?
4. Tell me about your book

It is based on the Social issues in India and what are
the different perspectives in them.
There are 2 companies in the same sector and with

the same fundamentals. One has higher DOL than
the other, which would you invest in?
Technically, DOL and DFL offer higher returns but
most people forget that they also increase the risk
borne by investors. Since credit analysts are
pessimistic and conservative, you choose the one
with lower DOL.
Aircraft leasing related questions
Q 4: Because you have studied behavioral analytics

can you tell how analytics will help in solving
behavioral issues with scenarios. What is the
behavioral part and analytics part of any problems
like turnover, absenteeism etc.
Answer: Took absenteeism example again.
Behavioral part: Personal issues, Absenteeism
Culture, Spill over effects
Analytics part: Metrics for these issues and then
trying to get numbers for these metrics.
What would you like to ask about MuSigma?

Wasn't very happy with my first question, asked me
to ask another question.
How will you do sales in North-east without

knowledge of language?
Take help from a salesman good in both languages
Short Term goals? - Basic stuff
4. What is your profile understanding

I told him how I would be helping sales and
marketing teams of client to make sense from data.
What are you looking at in your career in the next 5

years? Why do you want this role?
Take into account your aspirations and as well as the
scope of the role that you are interviewing for. If your
answers seem doubtful regarding whether you want
to take up this role or not - then it reflects badly on
your performance. Like all other companies, they are
looking for someone who will stay with the firm and
the role/department long term.
Q4: Would it be a problem for them if you have to

work out of your hometown?
What is a letter of credit (LoC)?
Q4) Where did you learn skateboarding?

A4) Learnt from own, started it recently.
Tell me something from your foreign exchange

program?
Q: With your IT background how you can help SBI ?

A: Explained how IT is important for automating
business process, efficiency etc
How can one increase customer satisfaction in brick

and motor retailing?
Q How can you contribute to this domain ?

Mentioned that I did B.Tech.. in biotech, so would be
in a better position to understand the context of
different assignments and since I have work
experience in CR so cross pollination is also a
possibility.
What factors will you consider for product

development?
I explained the feasibility framework- technical, legal,
finance, environmental, social, economical.
I was asked a guesstimate based on my answer to

the previous question so be well prepared.
Q: you have worked in IT industry, will you feel like a

misfit here?
A: described its about the approach and shared my
experience in interacting with clients.
Q. Capital cities of the seven sisters of the North

east.
a. Correctly answered all.
Questions related to my group discussion topic?

Basically the interviewer asked about the impact of
Oil prices slow down in India and is it good or bad.
You should have fair idea of about what is going
around the world and the current scenario.
On academic projects.
What was this project about.
What books do you read? Tell about the recent book

you read/reading?
Do you think you will become a good leader? what
change would you like to bring in the organization?
Q. Guesstimmate on circulation increase

A. Numbers were provided in question. Can't recall.
Why finance?
Told about my love for numbers and my fascination
for the industry.
Mention some brands of Bajaj Auto.
Q. Are you ready to work for 12 hours a day?

A. Yes, at IIMK we have hectic schedule as well, etc.
Q) Questions about behavior during Group

Discussion
A) Told them that I didn't like the Group Discussion
turning into a fish market so early so I was passiveaggressive in my approach.
Q: "Explain your roles and responsibility in XYZ

society in your college"
Tip : Must prepare this answer well and the focus
should be on how responsible you were at managing
your position.
What do you understand about our company?

Explained about their business model and how they
grew in a short span of time.
How is the NGO currently performing and what

impact did your recommendations have on the
functioning of the NGO (related to SDP project)
What if you are not able to move to Marketing in the

future?
Currently my focus is on getting more experience in
the sales division as that forms the base for a
marketing career. I would like to move towards
marketing function only after 5-6 years in sales.
Subject you liked most.
Q4: You have done your academic project on

Spicejet. So, as a consultant what all suggestion will
you give to Spicejet Management to avert the crisis?
(Spicejet was in news for its financial crisis during
this time)
Answer: I have asked him 1 minute to think. Then,
based on my project, I told him, first of all, the
problems Spicejet is facing. Then, based on those
problems I told him the recommendations we had
outlined in our project. Then, he asked some deep
questions based on my recommendations like how to
improve load factor (I have used this term in my
recommendation), what is a load factor, what is the
industry standard, why Spicejet's competitors are
doing good, why Spicejet can't incorporate those
practices etc. Based on reading of newspaper
articles and analysis, I have tried to answer the
question the best way possible. Then he started
asking more about operational efficiency and final
recommendations. I asked again for some one
minute to think and finally I consolidated all points
and told him some four or five final
recommendations.
Technical questions on bond

What is the difference between and interest rate
swap and a currency swap?
How my initial work experience as a marketing

analytics consultant ties up to a career in sales and
marketing.
He also asked many CV based questions.
In what cases goodwill is recorded?
What was the biggest success in IIMK?

Runners-up in the Roar for CSK competition. The
solution was totally different from other teams and
acknowledged by the judges also.
Q. How would I make the ATM business profitable?

Ans. Talked about strategic location selection,
differentiation from other bank ATM's through value
added services and promotional schemes.
PORs held in graduation college.
Have you had an interest in entrepreneurship

ventures?
What is the difference between violin and other string

instrument? (The question was asked because I play
the violin)
Elaborate upon the summer internship experience at

L'Oreal.
I described the project and the market stint.
Q4: How would you approach Retail sector client ?

What is current supply chain, associated consumer
behavior.
How GST is good to the country?

Explained the GST and its benefits( Added a few
points apart from the ones in Group Discussion)
Q 4: Asked about roles and responsibilities in the

previous organization.
Ans Explained the same.
What is your NPV ? Explain how will you calculate it.

I said I will divide this in two parts. One is the tangible
part of it and another is intangible part of it. The
tangible part would include the amount of money I
am going to earn over the years and my expenses.
Respect, Position, status, education would cover the
intangible part of NPV and is more difficult to
calculate.
Work experience was a major focus since I have IT

work experience so the interviewer was more
interested in technologies I had worked upon.
Some question regarding the work experience,

domain specific, your role in the team.
Try to put focus and convince them that your role
was related to client facing.
Question- Do you know of any recent M&A in the

banking industry in India? (this Q was asked since
my internship was in the Banking sector and project
was on M&A of 2 large European banks)
Answer- was aware of only 1 in the Indian Context
hence mentioned that.
Why Accenture? (study its core values from website)
What is your domain interest?
What do you know about the role?

General understanding of consulting role, skills
required.
Basic terms: STP, digital media and its importance in

advertising, BCG matrix.
Something about internship.
What are the major risks in power project ? What is

the cost of setting up a power plant ? ( I was from
Power sector background so these questions on
power sector. Will depend on the individuals sector
background).
Describe the academic projects you have worked on
What was your internship project and how did you go

about it?
Waterfall model and Agile testing basics.
Learning from Last Mile Project
Not Applicable
Give some applications and examples of biGroup

Discussionata adding value to business?
Explained few use cases in retail, e commerce and
social media use cases.
Why should we take but not other who are
participating in our process?
Q: Tell 3 arguments for and against solar energy
A: Told three arguments for and against.
A question on the academic project done in finance.

If you have done any valuation in the academic
projects that is definitely going to be asked.
I had a project done the Pfizer- Astrazeneca deal. I
could explain pretty much everything in the deal.
Tell me about Reckitt Benckiser distribution channel?

Told them about distribution channel, its conflicts and
the solutions for it.
4) Extra curricular activities
Do you think you are fit for this job?

I said Yes because I was interested in sales and as
this function is responsible for the top line and
bottom line of the company, I would get an exposure
to the entire operations of the firm and would make
me suited for the role of business leader.
What are the merits of Ola business model over its

competitors?
Ans. More innovative use of technology and more
stringent screening of cab drivers (only 40% initially
listed will be enrolled).
Q) Going forward, what opportunity do you see in the

lighting business, with a special emphasis on the
Indian markets?
Why consulting?
Told about how it would be a new responsibility
everyday and traveling and how this particular field
was coming into importance today.
Overview of summer project at Cipla - Inventory

management and demand forecast.
Explain the work you did in your first job.

Easy. Have a complete knowledge and be ready to
spill out some intricate details so that they know you
know well about what you did.
Guesstimate: Footfall at Kozhikode Railway Station
Who was the better leader - Arjun or Dronacharya.

Answered to the extent I could.
Question on academic project ( only IT )

- Just brief about project
Favorite subject?
International business.
Why do you think the private banks are doing

better ?
I directly quoted the NPA ratio, capital ratio and
funding profiles of Axis Bank itself which was highly
important information to discuss with the
interviewers. Secondly it also shows the sincerity of
the candidate to join the company.
Why operations in IT?

Asked about internship?
Described briefly
If you were to increase the turnout for Nostalgia'15 to

10 times the previous year, what would you do?
More Detailed questionnaire about summer

internship.
Drill down
If a company has high differed tax liability, what does
it mean??
Said it might have to pay more taxes in future- was
lucky.
Not Applicable
What was your role in your workplace and how did

you work with teammates?
Q- Suppose you are the HR head at Reliance. What

is the most important parameter that you would judge
your recruiting team on ?
My ans- The quality of people they recruit
Their answer- The number of people they recruit.
Q-4: Situation based on my work experience and

how differently I would handle it after my MBA.
Ans: Be thorough with the process details of few of
the projects as generally managers who take case
rounds have good amount of knowledge of industry
and they need specific details.
MBA often helps to get a structured thought process
and a overall view of value chain of an industry. I
tried reflecting these two when handling second part
of the question.
Given your background, do you think you will fit with

sales and marketing?
I replied with my work experience which is in telecom
industry. I also interned with the firm which was in
telecom industry. Based on the experience, I am apt
for the role.
Asked about how much I knew about credit rating to

determine the creditworthiness of the clients.
I talked about both the qualitative and quantitative
aspects. Interpreting from the financial statements
and Ratio analysis. Talked in detail
The governance mechanism and credibility of the
management as the qualitative factors.
Q. Take me through your CV

A. Run through CV in brief taking most time at points
you want to focus.
Tell one time when you managed to handle multiple
things at a go.
The main differences between project finance and

corporate finance?
Explained in detail
Not Applicable
Why not HCL (had PPI on my CV) ?
Questions on Summer Internship.
What qualities would you bring in to the company if

we hire you?
Leadership, People skills and creativity.
What do you think are the new opportunities in the

South Indian marriage market.
Talked about the difference in perspective of the two
generations, how the attitude changes with the
financial stability, with the location etc. how a
premium service can be provided to each of the
target group.
They asked me to do a role play, wherein I was the

ASM and the interviewer was one of the dealers.
This was the challenging bit, where I had to convince
him to push sales.
3. What is your field of interest in Management and

what's your favorite subject?
Ans: Marketing and Brand Management
Continuation question: As a marketing person, how
do you think the various tractor companies have
positioned and branded themselves? ( my internship
was in Mahindra Auto and Farm Sector and my
project was for the Tractor Segment)
Technical question. Answered as per my
understanding of each tractor brand.
Capacity expansion in a plant ?

Ways to increase capacity. When to go for joint
venture. Strategies and lean and six sigma
application.
Explain some of the academic projects.
Any past experience which make you worthy of the

role offered.
whether I was aware of the company and its

products?
Yes, need to know their basic presence in cancer
drugs, skin care and Horlicks is in GSK healthcare's
portfolio.
Not Applicable
Tell us about your family background??

Told about my father, mother and brother's
occupation.
Not Applicable
Asked me in detail about my hobbies- blogging

What do you write? Told them the different topics on
which I had written.
Details about Summer Internship project : Outlined

my summer project details, objectives expected from
the project, outcome and final recommendations.
Why Consulting?
I was interested in consulting during the time of my
job as a software engineer. I was impressed by the
work done by my client side functional consultant and
I want to do the same.
About Mphasis - what it does and what are the

services they provide?
Q. What, according to you, should be top 3 qualities
in a Sales guy?
A. (Took a slight pause, they repeated the question, I
asked for a minute to structure my thoughts)
1. Thorough with product and market knowledge
2. Keep your client interested, good and clear
communications
3. Zeal to achieve targets.
What will you do if you are given a completely new

project to do
I explained the process I will follow. How I can take
help from friends, colleagues and other people. I
convinced them of my eagerness to learn and good
grasping power through earlier instances in my life.
Q: Tell us about your foreign exchange experience

A: I spoke about the diverse crowd I interacted with,
the subjects studied, the places I travelled to and
what the experience taught me
About foreign exchange experience- Leeds

experience
Why sales with IBM then?

For working with an IT firm, we need to have basic
understanding of the work which the company is
doing, which I IT in this case. I have invested so
many years in IT with a degree and work
experience, I would prefer doing sales for IBM rather
than for any other sales company.
What's your least favorite ad and why?

This question is a must know and is asked in most
marketing interviews. Be prepared with an STP
analysis of how the add missed to combine the three
elements.
How do you handle situations where you get

irritated?
Your internship project at JSPL seems to be more of

common sense,
Answer: Operations management is nothing more
than common sense which needs to be blend with a
little technical knowledge. There is no rocket science
but a person needs to be able to see the processes
in holistic manner and apply the solutions in a
manner which improves processes. Also, ability to
manage change is critical.
Insights of South Indian market?

- described my experience of going all the way to lulu
mall in Kochi still finding nothing in women formals
and blazers. Basically telling south Indian market is
majorly male and Madura dominated, even in brands.
Explain your academic projects
Why do you want to work for Bajaj?
Q: How will you measure 4 liter using 5 and 3 liter

buckets?
A: Fill 5 liter bucket completely. Pour 3 liter in smaller
bucket and empty the smaller bucket. Pour remaining
2 liter from bigger bucket in smaller bucket which
now has space for 1 more liter. Fill 5 liter bucket,
pour 1litre in smaller bucket and you will have 4 liter
left in the bigger bucket.
Which platform will you release the app on and why?

Is, windows or android?
A bank want to shift to basel 3 standard from basel 2.

what would be the steps.
Q: With the e-commerce segment booming, how will

electronics retailers like Croma cope?
A: I said that they shouldn't venture into independent
e-commerce and reinvent the wheel, but should
rather concentrate on their core competence and
create experiences out of their service outlets. Took
examples of Heineken and Volkswagen who have
done similar things.
Q: In spite of having operations profile why do you

want to join in sales role?
A: Referred to marketing research summer intern
ship and linked earlier experience and said that now I
want to have first hand experience with customers.
Understanding customer is most important part of
any business. And after some time I might like to go
back to operations.
Any questions you would like to ask?
Ans: Asked details of the kind of work to be done.
Whether not being an IT person would be a
disadvantage. etc.
What are the broad functions of each division?
I gave Googled answers.
Asked about IBM products n services.

Explained. Recent trends.
Name one regret in your life.

I regret not standing up more for my animation
scholarship in NTU and instead joining engineering.
In hindsight, I feel that although I was indeed
specializing too early, I really didn't fight enough for
what I thought was my dream.
What would you bring to the table?

- Passion and enthusiasm
- Very adaptive and amiable
- Being a student of JNV always ready for new
experiences
- Have habit to work in a collaborative environment
What are major changes in you after spending 18

month in IIM Kozhikode?
Questions related to summer internship.
Family Background
the questions were technical for me, completely
based on markets and derivatives. They also asked a
lot of questions related to the personality test they
conducted.hence, no specifics.
Recent trends in Digital technology?
SMAC?
There are certain type of cards with alphabets on one

side and numbers on the other side. You have four
cards in front of you with 'A', 'X', '7' and '4' written on
it. How many minimum cards you have to turn to
verify the rule, "If one side of the card is a vowel then
on other side there must be an even number.
What was your summer internship project about?

My project was a strategy cum sales role - I laid more
emphasis on the sales part (B2B clients and
customer collateral standardization)
Q. What is the difference between digital, content,

mobile, affiliate marketing?
-> Discussed the concepts
Asked me about my hobbies and extra curricular.
One experience which has influenced you a lot?
Tell me what you learned in the CSCP certification?

This is Supply chain certification so I tell me some
concepts from supply chain subjects.
Porter's diamond
Nation's competitive advantage
What is the Relationship between yield and rate of

return?
It is inversely related.
How much support and independence was given?

I had mentioned I spent over 60k in travel, stay and
other things to study the market which I was working
on. I had to justify this expense in addition to my
stipend to them.
Draw the relationship between IRR and Cash Flow.
Give an example from your work experience where

you displayed leadership skills.
I talked about the new recruits that I had to mentor
and guide during the project deployment phase.
What is ICT?
Why this role?
Questions related to work experience, on the process

followed in the organization.
Why Vodafone?
What's is the problem with giving term loans against

short term deposits?
Not Applicable
Next round was taken by an alum and was more

technical. Started with internship - asked why no
offer? Discussed what went wrong, and if I went back
now, what would I do differently.
How can we monetize the app?
Q. Retained earnings %age in IT companies

A. I told them it's in double digits, but was told that it
is in single digit.
Leadership, Teamwork, Why Consulting?

3 things that changed my life.
Asked questions about my hobbies.

Gave brief history and connection of myself with the
hobbies.
You said you like travelling. Which places have you

been to?
<Mentioned I like going to off-beat places.>
Asked about e-governance?

explained with definition and examples such as
Bhoomi etc.
What are the different components that go in pricing

of a loan?
Tell me about your hobbies

explained the passion for guitar playing and cited
Jimi Hendrix as my role model.
Q.) Were you recommendations accepted and put to

use by the organization?
A.) They partly were, although I wasn't sure to what
extent. Hence, I gave an honest answer about the
ones that were put into use.
Why do you have no finance papers when you say

you liked Maths in school?
Tell me about your hobbies.

Explained the passion for Cricket and since
interviewer seemed to be interested we had little
debate over upcoming Worldcup.
While directing a play, how do you handle your senior

and more experienced cast?
Stressed upon the need of discussion and doing
what is the best rather than just giving the
commands.
Q: Few questions on family background and my

native place.
Not Applicable
Details about my summer internship

Needless to say how important this question is for
any interview. Be very sure about your summer
internship projects.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q4: Asked more details about internship activities

and projects.
Q. If you have to sell tissue paper in Varanasi, how

would you go about it?
A. I started with basic STP and 4P's. Then moved on
to Below the Line Marketing and the margins.
What has been the most significant achievement so

far?
What is core competency in you?
I was called for next round. CIO, a fin guy and HR

were panelists.
Again, Introduce yourself. (15 minutes!)
What are your strengths and weaknesses.

I built upon some of the important learning from
Leadership course and connected them with my
perceived strengths and weaknesses, all the while
emphasizing the point that a leader has to selfaware.
Some questions on products of the company, what
would you do if you had to sell this product in such a
situation etc
PS: reading about company and its products and
services is a must
What you now about Wipro?
They want to listen about cantor soap.
HR questions - why bluestone, strengths
Some CV based questions on summer internship
and work experience.
Where will you rank yourself amongst 10 students?
Tell us all the steps involved in DCF valuation, based

on my summer intern?
Know thoroughly how DCF is done and how to find
WACC.
Question: Why the interest in sales?

Ans: I have immense interest in the company
because of its reputation in the IT industry. And since
I have previous work experience in TCS, I would
understand the concepts well. And I am keeping my
options open, so that even if I want to shift later, I can
do that.
Being a woman, do you think you are suitable for this

role (They told me later there are currently no women
in this role).
How will you manage a sales role.
I emphasized on my committee work and the role
during internship.
Explain NPV to a layman.

Be creative in this. Layman seriously means layman.
They won't accept one jargon.
Questions on supply chain & manufacturing process?
Forecasting, Inventory turnover.
Fourth - they asked why I was not in any of the

committees or interest groups in colleges. I humbly
accepted and said although I applied I couldn't get
through it.
How would you segment customers on basis of their

association with Muthoot?
Tell us about your Tata Global Beverages academic

project. How would you sell tea leaves and tea bags?
Both have a separate market. Defined the consumer
for both and segmented then market. Talked about
consumer insight and preferences and suggested
marketing plans for both.
Estimate the number of SF6 Circuit breakers

required in 2015.
Approach: started by telling where circuit breakers
will be required most and approximately how many
will be required in each place then estimated the
number.
Summer Project
Answer - briefly explain your role and your project
and results.
Follow-up/ clarification questions on internship
project - during description.
Family background
Q. Any problems about the political environment

there?
Ans: No, any place whether it is in India also, there
are risks. And one cannot go up the ladder without
taking risks. and as I have talked to alums working
there, the environment is not as bad as its shown on
news.
4. Guesstimate
Are u comfortable in travelling across country?

Yes
What is your strength?
Asked about Fixed income instruments

Not answered properly.
Not Applicable
Will I be able to work in Delhi?
Will I be able to work on weekends?
What is the value addition for you by doing an

MBA?
What were the three main recommendation

from your side for your summer internship
project?
Explain how MBA made you suitable for

consultant role.
Be thorough with what you did in summers.
20 cigarette packets and each packet contain 20 n no of people are seated in a circle. 1st person
no of cigarettes. every cigarettes weight 10
have a gun and kill next to him and pass the gun
grams but by mistake one packet have cigarette to next person (say 5 person are in circle then 1
of 11 grams. their is only one electronic weighing will kill 2 and pass the gun to 3 who will kill 4
machine. how many times do you weight to find and pass the gun to 5 who will kill 1 and pass
the heavy packet.
the gun to 3). Who will b final survivor?
You interned at Malabar developers, is it so

because you are a civil engineer?
Answer: It was just a coincidence that I got an
internship there. my project was related to
market research. I looked at the residential
apartments as products and not as civil
engineering structures.
Tell us about your family?

Answer: told about my parents that they were
retired and sibling (educational qualification as
well)
Q. What jobs were your parents doing before
they got retired?
Answer: Told their designation and organization
they worked for.
Do you believe the leader should "Walk the

Talk". I asked him the meaning of the statement
and then reasoned it in affirmative giving
examples from daily life and internship.
Asked about my interest in astrology.

I explained from the basic stuff for him to
understand.
Comment on the statement, "Emotional

Intelligence is better than intelligence at Work".
For this too, related with personal examples
proving the statement.
HR Round What are my hobbies?
5.asked questions over location preferences that

I had filled in their application form
6. Normal chit-chat, about life of todays youth,
I filled Kolkata as first and Chennai last so asked their thinking etc.
reasons for both.
If you were to start The telegraph circulation in a

different state (say Jharkhand), what 4 most
important factors will you have to consider apart
What does a Sales and marketing role in Media
from marketing.
company involve according to you?
(The most important factor would be to start a
new printing plant or lease it)
Mention any recent financial news?

I spoke about oil price fall. I was asked about its Describe what all details are included in a pitch
impact on oil producing companies, what advice book.
I you give as an I-banker? Give a sample pitch.
5. Which company of Tata would you want to

get associated with and why?
Tata Motors because of my mechanical
engineering background. I wasn't probed further
on it though I expected them to.
6. Give an overview of your internship project

Explained my project in a structured manner
starting from the problem statement,
deliverables, methodology, primary and
secondary research, recommendations and
conclusion.
Asked about my POR from work experience

section. Explained that.L14
They asked me to explain any project which

could be in marketing arena. Discussed about
one project I worked on during my exchange
program.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What changes need to be made in the fee

collection process at IIM K?
Parties involved
What will be easier for each party?
How costly will that be?
Why consulting? Why did you chose such

combination of subjects? Are you willing to
travel? Can you manage such a stressful job?
I didn't have much to suggest so I told how an

And other HR questions.
ideal process should be and what is lacking in
current process. I just found that mess/hostel
billing system wasn't effective. So a prepaid card
should be introduced.
A lot many big competitors are already

What should our value proposition to the target contesting in the cloud space in India and
segment?
elsewhere. Why do you think Tata
Communications should invest more in this
Same old gyaan. Indian Company, invest in
area?
Private Cloud, On premise Data centers for
Government agencies, Tata Communications
Market is growing, Company's are trying to
was previously known as VSNL, Security and
reduce costs and increase operational
confidentiality issues plaguing the cloud industry. efficiency, Talked about Digital India Campaign
and e- Governance
Interview round 2 : After few questions on my

work experience was asked to design an app to
address the issue of people often forgetting to
service their consumer durables at home on
time.
Interview round 3 :
-Few questions on my work experience
- Few questions on coding languages I knew
( P.S: The job profile is not a coding job. )
- What is garbage collector in JAVA ?
- What are pointers ? Uses of it ?
Note : Start off with an approach. He will guide
- What is the use of threads in JAVA
you telling uses cases where your approach
- Name few Mobile architecture you know ?
might fail and refine your approach on the same
- What is Object oriented programming ?
lines.
Why CEAT?
It is important to connect the organization with
yourself somehow to answer these type of
questions. I related my love for cricket with
CEAT Cricket ratings.
What do you think you would be required to do

as part of this job?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Anything interesting about you.
A question was based on the answer that was

filled in their form.
What are your weaknesses?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years from

now?
What is consulting according to you?

According to me, consulting is where a client
Why CBC?
comes to you with some sort of problem. He
I quoted some facts that it is among top
may or may not be able to define the problem,
companies in Forbes, etc. Just read through the
he might only give symptoms. You need to
website which helped me.
define the problem and then solve it to achieve
the objective of the client.
Will you sell faulty products to the customer if

that will earn enormous profits for the company?
Tell me more about your work experience
No. Absolutely not. Even you I might earn some
I was Assistant Systems Engineer but I loved to
profit through the transaction, I will lose the trust
interact with the client. I used to pitch our
of the customer. Eventually, it will taint the image
solutions to the client.
of the company. Personally, I feel that being a
good guy always helps in the long run.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What is Ohms law, Kirchoffs law, Newton's law?

Didn't know the answer, but tried to guess.
Tip: I think they were just trying to stress me out.
Staying calm and smiling worked! Also I tried to
logically arrive to an answer.
You have done project on merger of Adidas &

Reebok. Explain the procedure for valuing the How comfortable are you with statistics? Explain
merger. How did you value the synergy? Was it any project you have undertaken related to
a profitable deal for Adidas from a financial
statistics in your curriculum or before?
perspective?
Many of the remaining questions were related to

'Digital Customer Experience' for which domain I
was being interviewed for. But, It was also
because I had written about having worked in
CRM Software related project during my work.
Here, questions revolved around gauging
whether I had a feel for the domain in terms of
thinking, applying the marketing concepts, and
explaining the same in words, etc. Some of the
questions are as below:
1. What are the different experiences of a
customer when buying a product say Bike for
example? Will color of the bike influence
buying?
2. What are the different touch points for digital
customer experience? How will it influence your
actual buying behavior?
3. Have you heard about Customer Experience
Management?
4. Do you know any recent trends in CRM
Software market? (Based on CV)
Not Applicable
Tell me about the competitions you won - I told

them about the work we did in Tata Steelathon
in which we were the national finalists.
What other sectors are you interested in? I told

them FMCG and gave justification for the same.
4. What am I expecting from Tata

Communications?
5. Asked about the joining date?
I talked about my aspirations, in the short and
long term - not very specific but in general. And
I said mostly June is what other companies give.
if Tata communications aligned with the same, I
would be more than happy to work for the
company.
Won't you switch to another field if you find

something else interesting?
Isn't your background in merchant navy and

your marketing profile in MBA, a waste if you
join an IT company?
On competitions about TBLA
Not Applicable
Conjoint analysis with example
Tell us about your project in the company you

worked for 1.5 years? What was your
contribution?
How to measure employee satisfaction in an

organization?
How to tackle late coming in office?
Subjects during MBA
Internship experience, about each white paper

written by me.
Why IT sales being a mechanical engineer?

Hobbies
Ans given was that in this age every movement
Questions on photography
is captured by IT. I would want to be a part of the
future growth.
Explain how marketing - consumer behavior and
in a government setup where the citizens are
customers and government is d service provider
CV specific
how do you differentiate?
Answer : government. is the only service
provider. Monopoly of the government.
Languages comfortable with
What do your friends say about you??
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

questions.

questions.
Why Pringles is not able to sell in India well?

core intern based question, know your project
inside out, all like you own it.
Findings of consumer interview/ consumer

insight?
core intern based question, know your project
inside out, talk like you own it
Concepts of Financial Risk
How will you structure a meeting with client who

wants to mitigate his risk.
Q) Preferred vertical
Ans) Retail
Q) Asked to explain my summer internship.
5. You mentioned that passions & hobbies

'complete' you as a person. I see a bit of
philosophy there- can you talk about that?
6. What is your goal in life?
Explained how I use my passion for creatively
To leave a positive imprint on the society, a
channelizing my energy, that it can be used for legacy to be cherished & carried on.
contemplation & reflection while going through a
difficult phase.
Situation 2- How to increase sales in retail store Situation 3- Regarding handling employees who
for their own manufactured and private labelled involved in theft in retail store. Addition in
goods? Addition in scenario.
scenario.
Which technology did you work on?- Explained

the platform and its components.
What was your role in the project? - Explained
Asked me one question about my hobbies.
As I have done NCC so he asked me some

questions on that.
as he asked about camps and what I have
learnt there.
then he asked Why did I join NCC?
I was asked whether I would be able to cope up

with life in Consulting given the kind of thankless
job it is and also given the number of working
Tell about an experience where you lead a
hours?
team.
I told I am aware of the life of a consultant from
my previous experience at Deloitte and I have
had similar situations where in I was able to
perform and meet the deadlines. So I said I am
a person who can adapt to the various projects
and work accordingly.
I told about my experience at Deloitte where I

was assigned the responsibility of working with a
new tool and then implementing the client
solution on it.
Do you prefer the insurance industry to other

industries?
Why did you come for an MBA?
I said that I find all industries equally attractive.
I gave the same answer I gave for IIMK

admission.
Case questions - Online portals are consistently

selling products at lower prices compared to
retail. Your partners are revolting that Lenovo as
Case questions - Mention the price bands you
a brand is giving unfair advantage to the online
will focus on in the states selected by you. State
players. Mention 3 key steps you would take to
the reasoning behind the same.
regain partner trust.
Had some logic for selecting the age group of
Ans - More benefits to consumer if he
20-39.. Used Census data extensively to prove
purchases from the retail stores viz. Extended
the point
warranty, Loyalty points
Exclusivity deals with one of the prominent eretailer in India.
Why not finance (as my CV showed interest in

that field too)?
I admitted of my interest in it and said I am
interested in both fields and took subjects of
both. internship was a marketing one in a fin
company so that did not help much too. May
look at fin opportunities in Vodafone too if
available.
What is RFP?
The procurement solicitation sent to potential
vendors when the Suppliers Vendors
relationship is going to be considered. Mostly it
is the response given by suppliers for Business
requirement, Performance measure, technical
and other training.
If given fin job in Vodafone and this one, which

one will I choose?
I said it depends on the particular domain of
finance that is offered, I may be interested in it.
How you relate your work experience with the

pre sales job?
I briefly talked about my client exposure and
Banking domain knowledge which will helpful in
understanding the client requirement and
analyzing the solution for them.
Efficient market hypothesis.

Told about the three forms of efficiency.
Performance measures of portfolio managers

Sharpe Ratio, Information ratio, trey nor ratio
Key learnings during your job
Elaborate about the internship project
I think u are more of an Entrepreneur then why

job?
Hobbies
I am interested in solving problems and that can Sports, music, writing etc.
happen in marketing also.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? Why ZS?
Tell us about the Russia-Ukraine issue and how

it is affecting economies.
Spoke about Crimean crisis, Elections etc.
The economy of Ukraine contracted by 8%
during the year 2014 as a result of the crisis.
Economic sanctions imposed on Russia by
Have you applied to CRG - why?
western nations contributed to the collapse in
No-I spoke about my previous work experience
value of the Russian trouble, and the resulting
in investment banking.
Russian financial crisis.
Proposed new pipeline to Turkey, with an annual
capacity around 63 billion cubic meters (bcm),
will carry natural gas to Europe completely
bypassing Ukraine as a traditional transit hub for
Russian gas.
Greece issue
E-commerce industry
Q5: What do you understand by the term

organizational development. Give scenarios.
Could not define succinctly so went ahead with
scenarios. Scenario 1: Increasing business, so
increasing headcount. Change in processes.
Improved machinery hence need for training
which results in better work force etc.
Case based question

A company makes diapers, recently it increased
prices but the sales also increased.
Q6: Client refuses to give project to company if

you are not handling it. But, you do not like this
client's but some other client's project. What will
you do? How will you serve client while pursuing
your interest.
A consultant can work on many projects at the
same time. So I had distribute my daily time
across the two projects based on requirement.
Location constraints if any?
Asked me to give three solid reasons why this

could happen.
Famous dish/drink of Kozhikode?

Dancing Masala Tea
Expectation from the role?

Inclination towards Sales.
Long term goals - Basic stuff
Why should we hire you? - Focused on my

positive side both academically and nonacademically.
5. One case was given to me. Suppose I am

director of one leading pharma company and I
have to decide target revenue of particular drug,
which factors would I should consider?
- One paper was given to me. I wrote down
steps.
6. HR asked me mainly about my family.
I started with history of drug, its revenue, growth
in market
Then talked about overall market, growth,
population
Lastly I focused on company's capability in
terms of distribution, production etc.
Technical questions of depreciation and how it

affects operating cash flow?
Technical question on ROE and leverage?
Use the formula for operating cash flow, and
common sense/logic to form an answer.
Department is non-cash expense so ideally
shouldn't affect the cash flow. But since you
already know this question, Google it around a
little bit to give a better answer.
I didn't know this question that well - again, find

out the relationship between them and how one
affects the other.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Are you a pessimist or optimist?

They had conducted a Personality Profiling test
and they were carrying the results with them
while conducting the interview.
Which role would you prefer?

Roles offered were Wholesale Banking, Markets
(Treasury), Risk Management & Small &
Medium Enterprises.
Q5) Both these hobbies are individual sport, are

you a team player?
A5) Apart from this, I am also into dancing, that
requires team player skills, Led the dance
troupe at BIT Mesra & IIMK both.
Q6) Why Idea?

A6) Being a telecomm engineer, working in Idea
would provide that opportunity to leverage
telecomm knowledge . Also my experience in
b2c sales would help me during initial sales
stint.
Why you don't want to join RPG( since I interned Who id your Idol? Tell me five qualities in
there) ?
him/her that you like?
Q: What do you know about Cloud computing ? Q: Can SBI use cloud computing and how cost
A: Explained everything (Enterprise Resource
effective it will be ?
Computing (ERC) paper from 5th term)
A: Again ERC
What is AIDA?
Are you risk averse, risk neutral or risk taker?
Q Brief me about your internship.

Explained what all I did during internship and
what the project was all about.
Q. Tell me about your hobbies and passions ?

Mentioned my hobbies and passion.
In second round:
I explained as did in previous round.
What have you done in TCS?

I explained my work experience and aligned it in
such a way that it was in sync with their
requirement.
Why do I wish to join RIL?

The answer can be very subjective but too
prepare this as it is an important question.
What in me I would like to change?

Basically they are hinting at stating your
weakness and how you wish to improve upon it.
Q: Why come back to TATA's ( I worked with

TCS)
A: Values, ethics, work culture, equal
opportunities.
Q: name two things you didn't like about TCS

A: Slow growth, pay scale lower than industry
average.
Q. If you are the representative of India in an

international conclave and you have to
showcase any five things that distinguish Indian
education system from the rest, then what would
those five be?
A. 1. Syncretism and the many religions and
how they are all intertwined and make children
grow up with greater tolerance and
understanding of other people.
2. Similarly with languages, food and cultures,
children grow up in a very colorful and varied
environment and hence are more open to new
people and new cultures.
Q. Puzzle: ( Last Question) Two two digit

number form a sum and a product. there are
two people. One of them knows the sum and the
other the product. One says I do not know the
two numbers and the other says I also do not
know the two numbers. Then again the first one
says now I know the two numbers and the other
also says that I also know the two numbers.
How is that?
A. Barely thinking time was given and they said

3. The curriculum tests the students on a wide
that we are done.
variety of subjects, thus opening their minds and
making them better prepared to take on the
world and the increasing competition.
Two more points that I cannot recollect right
now.
Impact of reducing prices in the Oil producing

nations and oil importing nations?
The points which I had spoken discussion was

done on those points?
I talked about 5 points in my group discussion

I talked about the taxes, inflation and consumer related to taxes, Indian Inflation, what weight it
sentiments. Pros and cons of this event.
puts on the consumer pockets and how deficit
can be benefited.
My CGPA and Rank
My Rank in engineering
Tell about your family?
Which profile in ICICI do you prefer?
Question on my academic project which I had

mentioned in my form.
HR type question- how did I manage people in

theatrics?
Q. Why media?
A. Diverse options.
Q. Location constraints?
A. No
Tell us what you know about RBS.

Why RBS?
Told about the bank's history and its acquisitions
Focused on the brand value of RBS and my
over the years. Also touched upon its current set
interest in investment banking.
of problems.
Why Bajaj?
Why sales and marketing?
Q. Any questions?
A. I asked about the training program at ICICI.
Not Applicable
Q) Tell us about "design thinking" (with

reference to something I had said in my intro)
A) Elaborated with some references to HBS.
Q) Asked me if I didn't like the way the Group

Discussion was turning why didn't I enter earlier
and try to take control? (I had entered after
about 2 minutes)
A) Agreed that I should have entered earlier but
I made up for it once I entered with relevant
points and turning the Group Discussion back
on track.
Q: "Explain what you did in XYZ B School

Competition"?
Q: Explain you Summer internship project

Tip : More than 70% of my interview time was
spent on this question as the interviewer went
on asking every little detail of my project. So you
must know your internship project thoroughly
and try to link it to the job profile in the best way
possible
How would you fit in our company?

Since they have teams in India who manage
clients in US I can contribute by helping them fill
in the gaps by reducing information asymmetry
between different processes
Would you enjoying doing presentations and

reports?
Yes, from the time I joined in IIM K one thing I
picked up easily is making exceptional
presentations.
Why do you wish to work with Vodafone?
Where was your internship and how did it help

you in developing your marketing skills?
Why do you think we should hire you?

I reiterated the points I mentioned in my
introduction and also some key points of S&M
points on my CV related to live projects and
competitions.
They explained the role in detail and asked

whether I have done something similar during
my internship.
I replied with details of my internship and how I
was also responsible for talking to retailers,
distributors, etc and how I enjoyed it. This was a
satisfactory answer for them as they wanted
someone with such an experience.
Field of interest- ERP (since I have 3 years of

How will you fit in consulting ? - Linked it with my
work experience in this field) be thorough with
previous work experience.
the field you select.
Q5: So another academic project you have done

is about consumer behavior while purchasing a
laptop. How would you increase a market share Q6: Then, why consulting and not a job in IT
of Sony? (Basically, the project was consumer company? (As I have an IT work experience so
behavior project and it was study between Sony he asked me rather that job in an IT company
and Acer and thus he asked me about Sony)
why you want to work as a consultant)
Answer: I asked him 1-2 minutes to think. I
Answer: In this question, I talked about me
asked him some questions like for this particular using my MBA knowledge and about the vast
product whom you want to your target
canvas consulting field offers than IT industry. I
population, what are the product features and
talked about various roles offered by consulting
about the competitors. He asked me to take
firms and plethora of opportunities available in
assumptions. Based on the assumptions, I
this field. Basically, I stressed upon the fact that
decided the target segment, the target market I am very much interested in a consulting job.
and devised strategy to increase sales of
laptops.
Greatest Achievement
Little on project I did
Tell us some regulatory changes that happened

Do you have any questions for us?
after the financial crisis.
Detailed discussion on my summer internship in

Pidilite which was relevant as both companies My long term career objectives
work largely in a B2B setup.
Why do you want to join HCCB?

I Initially told good things about the company
and said working in HCCB would be a great
learning experience. Secondly, explained my
interest toward the role offered (Sales).
what is the biggest strength of Coca cola?

Brand image (Coca cola is the 4th most
valuable brand in the world)
Is goodwill amortized or depreciated?
In how many years should the goodwill be

amortized?
In a maximum of 8 years after the goodwill is
capitalized in books.
Why Idea Cellular?

It is the third largest cellular company in India. It
is innovative in its campaigns and was the first
company to have a different campaign from
others. While others focused on the call rates
and other services, Idea focused on the social
issues. It is a part of ABG, one the biggest
conglomerates in India.
The big focus of telecom companies is rural

areas. How would you help in it?
I come from a small town and visited my villages
every time during the summer vacations. I've
seen how the rural regions have developed
during the last 10 years with government. roads,
electrification and shops coming up. I'm aware
of the behavior of the rural people and how
products have been successful in the rural
areas.
Q5 How will you take decision on basis of

location?
Ans Tried to identify key target audience and on
Not Applicable
basis of that identified spots like malls, busy
market areas, corporate houses etc. to witness
maximum footfall.
Is there anything you want to ask me?
Marketing projects done on campus
Do you think yourself as a leader or a manager? Not Applicable
Why do you want to join ICICI bank?

I told them about the opportunities it will give to
apply my knowledge in finance and also
Are you always aggressive and a go - getter?
mentioned that ICICI is the largest private sector I told them that I was not aggressive but yes
bank in India (I had gone through the annual
definitely a go - getter.
report of ICICI & told them how it was growing in
different areas)
What is your idea of leadership skills?
I supported my answer through the examples of
positions of responsibilities, which I have held in
during my student career.
Example of a situation where you have shown

entrepreneurial skills.
I tried to relate the answer with my summer
internship project.
Q5 : Could you apply concepts learned in pricing

subjects for Retail?
Q6: Current supply chain for FMCG products ?
association of pricing with consumer behavior,
Explained supply chain model
use of smart pricing in marketing, concept of
discounting and offers.
Most of the questions were about internship

(Mine was on Logistics so they grilled me on
that)
Most of the questions were about

internship( Mine was on Logistics so they grilled
me on that)
Q 5: "You have so many marketing subjects",

What is the reason behind this? and What is
your favorite subject?
Q 6: Strength and weakness.
Ans: I told him that I have subjects from other

Ans: Explained him with an example for each.
verticals as well. Have told favorite subject along
with the learning.
Tell me your most favorite and least favorite

subject.
Most Favorite- M&A
Least Favorite - OB
Asked me about M&A project. Whose WACC is

used to determine the value of the target ?
Explained the project.
I said the WACC of the target has to be used.
How to resolve the problem of selling apparels

Relevance of e-commerce industry(time and
online as there are lot many rejections from the
convenience) and how is the industry going to
customer side (use online kiosks and do costshape up in future (movement from price wars to
benefit analysis of returning the apparel on spot
consolidation and acquisition)
or delivering different sizes)
Some situation based questionsIf you are the CEO of Accenture then what will
be your decision in particular scenario (Mostly
Case study related scenario and leadership).
Some questions regarding your family back

ground
Please don't mention that like you are from poor
back ground or you are from village. Try to show
that you are very polished candidate, who
knows that how to behave with the clients.
Question- so what do you look at while merging

2 banks? How will you judge if a particular bank
is a good target?
Question- How will u value a bank?
Answer- Will look at particular ratios- NIM level,
Answer- Mainly comparable approach
loan losses (%), cost of risk, Basel III
(elaborate on it).
requirements, loans to deposit ratio, etc. (As a
follow up question was asked to talk a little
about Basel norms).
Problem solving skills with example. (quoted

from PoR)
Excel skills ( having an IT work ex, I could justify

this)
Asked almost same questions in Round 1 and 2

Why MBA?
and then they provided spot offer.
Why consulting?
Told about the pros of being in consulting role
and motivation from previous work experience.
Why not join Infosys?

Answered as to why I would like to join
Cognizant, favorable work culture, one of the
top companies etc.
Work ex related questions, most challenging

incident, one incident where you went against
your boss, how did you handle that, Positioning
map for Samsung mobiles, what learning from
your previous work would you bring forward to
Comviva.
Do you know about value added services in

mobile sector, money transfers? (gave
examples of Vodafone's m-pesa, it's positives,
negatives, opportunities) : Be well- informed
about the company's business, sectors it works
in, projects currently going on or about to start.
Explain one Academic Project
What was your role in TCS?
How is the financing of power project done?

How is it done for a new player in this sector?
What is the capital structure of power sector

companies? What is the debt level generally for
these companies during initial phase? ( these all
questions were asked because I had project
finance as an optional subject)
What did you learn from your Foreign Exchange

Questions from Mergers
stint?
How will you market a luxury product and a
FMCG product. Highlight 5 major differences
and why are they relevant for a marketer?
How will you promote a product which is on

shelf for 5 months and not selling.
Difference between Waterfall model and V

model, which is better?
Are you ok for any location, including

international stints?
What is Six Sigma process?
Where can you apply it?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Do you know what is K means clustering? How

is it done?
I have used K means clustering for my B.Tech.
project also studied in AMMR. So explained it.
Which all analytics tools you have worked on?

Mentioned some tools such as Datameer,
SPSS, Matlab etc.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q: Tell about summer internship

A: TAS, TPSS, Battery market analysis
Q: Why Crisil?
A: Told why I am interested in Crisil and why it is
a good company.
I was asked to chose a sector I was comfortable

talking about.
I chose automobiles. I had worked on this sector
in the summers so I had a fair bit of an idea on
this. He'll ask questions like:
1. Do you think auto is the sector to be invested
in right now and if yes prepare a pitch with three
points. Also give figures and numbers to
HR questions like if you are aware of the role as
substantiate your answer.
an analyst in CRG?
2. if I had to chose one potential buy in the auto
market, which firm would it be
if not they'll explain that to you in detail.
3. and how would want to structure the deal. All
cash, all stock or a mix of both and why.
I chose martin Suzuki as a potential buy in the
auto market, possibly because it is the Indian
leader in the passenger vehicle space.
however, since it is the leader, it would not allow
it o be acquired. You could then suggest to
hostile takeovers.
Tell me about your strengths?

Told them about my strengths.
Give me an example where you have shown

leadership skills?
Gave them an example.
5) NCC - I have won prize in rifle shooting so

asked me about my experience in NCC.
6) CGPA in graduation
My CGPA was 6 and thus asked me to justify
whether it is good or bad.
The job requires you to travel a lot. How do you

plan to manage that?
I talked about my experience in Dubai and the Not Applicable
foreign exchange trip to Europe and about my
love for traveling.
Tell us more about Ola Cabs funding

Ans, I tell them about the recent $220 mn they
have raised from Softbank in addition to the
earlier funding by Tiger Global and Matrix
Partners.
Who else has Softbank funded?

Ans. Snapdeal and UrbanLadder.
Q) Why Philips lighting? Why B2B/B2C?
Q) What insights can you draw from your

internship project that can be linked to Philips
Lighting?
What did you do in dramatics and how did it help

Asked about PPBM project I had done
you in your work experience?
Explained and was cross questioned if I had
Explained my role and told me that it helped me
used outdated analysis methods. I justified why
in donning different hats in L&T and helped me
and what I had done and how in a different
in dealing with people and putting my points
situation my analysis would have been different.
across effectively.
How the company could have contributed better
Things that could have done better in the
in your project?
summer project? not just number crunching but
More cross functional interaction to understand
visiting the plant and understanding of ground
the project better, a brief plant stint (for a week
reality of problem at hand.
may be 0)
Explain the work you did in your second job

Easy again. Being prepared with work
experience is the best thing one can do for any
interview.
Summer internship and relevance

I could map it to a strategy role at work and
hence it was not a problem. However, they took
many people who did not have relevant summer
experience also. It is not mandatory to have had
consulting experience.
Guesstimate: Size of diaper industry in India
The company's area of operations etc.
What are your strengths and weakness
Question on work experience

- Told in detail
Why it's your favorite?
How to do business in extremely different
environments is very challenging and I like to
know how it's done.
New trends in Technology

- Told about SMAC
Favorite project you have done?
Answered a project done for SMI
Why oil prices are moving downwards ?

This was the most popular interview and Group
Discussion topic to come up during our process.
I highlighted political and economic reasons
Not Applicable
behind the functioning of OPEC in a certain way.
Secondly the crisis in Russia was also
discussed and how Saudi Arabia was hurting its
political opponents like Iran with high oil prices.
Work experience of Tata motors
Summer internship project
Asked how will I manage a market like Bihar?

Told strategies for the same
Which is your favorite subject and asked about

that ?
Key learning from your internship
Various telecom products about which I had

gained knowledge during the course of my
internship (MPLS/VPN, Fixed line voice and
data etc.)
Why Vodafone?
Why S&M?
Which companies balance sheet have you

looked lately?
Said the names of companies mentioned in
projects.
What are components of Current assets &

current liabilities?
Answered correctly.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Technical Interview:
A case based question: Redesigning of network Asked to explain each factor that I mentioned to
of banks. Didn't look for the exact answer but
take into consideration for redesigning.
was interested in the steps.
Q- What is the Leadership Grid ?

A- It is a grid which has concern for people on
one axis and concern for production on the
Q- Describe a few valuation techniques.
other, and managers are classified into different A- DCF, Multiple based
categories (primarily 5) depending their
orientation.
Q-5: Case on demand fluctuations at a

manufacturer's end and how they can be
handled?
Ans: How sensitive is the product for:
- Cyclic nature of economy
- Seasonality of demand
- Substitutes in the market
- Competitor's demand patterns
Solutions like geographic expansion made
sense as the demand was seasonal in a
particular geography and the excess demand
fluctuations could me met by geographic
expansion.
Ask the right questions and structure your
thoughts.
Q-6: Build your case for a strategy consultant in

Auto domain.
Ans: Could do it as my work experience as well
as internship was in same industry.
Give 3 steps you would take to increase the

sales of prepaid cards in a village that is
assigned to you.
1. Giving maximum margin to retailer for number Why idea?
of Sims sold as he is the biggest influencer.
Talked about how the firm is 2nd/3rd in markets
2. Free talk time for a wall space of prominent and how I would enjoy with the tougher
places where ideas schemes can be displayed competition.
through competition.
3. Giving other products like Ariel or tide
pouches free with Sim card.
Industry related questions from Retail and

ecommerce.
As an investor what are the parameters that you
Why CRISIL?
would look at?
I talked about the exponential rate of growth of
the same and its future potential.
Q. What are your weaknesses ?
Q. What do you think is your greatest
achievement till date?
A. I said am not naturally very organized

person... but then told him how I took
responsibilities at job which helped me
A. It depends on your CV. I told my achievement
overcome it and now its the first thing I do, and I
from graduation.
feel I am ready to take up challenges at a
professional workplace.
asked about recent mergers and acquisitions
happened in financial sector?
I had followed only one which I could explain
partially

Explained
Two current topics and speak about it
One question about my significant achievement
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Talked about difficulties of consulting as a career

for women. Would you be able to handle it?
About myself
How?
Why MBA
Given a short case and was asked to analyze.
Family background?
Told them about my Father's occupation and a
brief picture about what everyone does in my
family.
What would you prefer? Creativity or

Compliance?
I prefer creativity. Being compliant does not get
you recognized but being creative gets you
recognized.
How will you deal with a situation when a sales

person is not able to meet his target. However,
How will you deal with a situation when a sales
the responsibility is on you to complete the task
person reporting to you has been caught for
within the stipulated time. The task if of highly
proxy signing.
critical nature.
Talked about inquiring into the topic by giving an
Talked about how I Will try to motivate the sales
opportunity to the sales person to hear his
person and give him guidance on how to
version of the incident, issue notice to the
achieve the target. However, taking into
employees citing the incident and the
consideration the critical nature of the task, I will
importance of the same, give a warning notice to
have to help him out for the time being. Further,
the employees on the first step. Further, check
he would be assigned he would be asked to
whether it is because of high work pressure,
show the reason for not being able to meet the
lack of work-life balance etc., ensure the
target and strict actions to ensure it does not
technicians to be alerted about the incident and
take place in the future will be taken. He would
steps to be taken to ensure that it does not
further be monitored to ensure he meets the
occur in the future.
mark and ensure he does not put the company
in a fix later on.
Why Britannia and why FMCG?

I was sure I want to go for fact, hence convinced Not Applicable
them that I will be good at it.
4. Challenges faced in my internship?

Ans: spoke about organizational and personal
challenges faced
5. How do you plan to survive in the industry

without knowing Hindi(this was one of my
personal challenges)?
Ans: Spoke about how I have never needed to
learn Hindi before and if need arises I can
definitely manage it.
Negotiating skills?
Talking to vendors, NGOs, bribe seeking
authority officials.
About pharma licensing ?

NLEM drugs, licensing. Patents, non patented
drugs, special category drugs.
What are your failures in life?
As I was having earlier experience in automobile

industry; why banking a crucial question for me.
Why consulting?
General HR questions
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Why are you interested in operations role?

Any locational preference?
Told that how well I could fit into the company in
this role and leveraged upon the subjects I read I said no. Open to all locations. But when they
here in IIM Kozhikode, also quoted my summer insisted more. I said one choice.
internship experience.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What about your PPI from Airtel? [Since I had a

PPI from Airtel (campus winners of a iCube)
Tell us more on your work for mPower.
during my internship]
Told in detail, mentioned the challenges I faced
Told them honestly that I couldn't convert it. It is
there and the accomplishments.
very important to be honest in such questions
and not beat around the bush.
What would you do to improve processes in a

given situation. The situation was modified with
each answer - required quick thinking and
presence of mind.
Why HUL IT and what would you contribute to

the organization?
Highlighted achievements, brought out strengths
with several examples and how I could be a fit.
Questions regarding work experience. IN

DEPTH
- Prepare this by heart. Every line was asked
and explored. If you fail to answers questions
here then you have no one else to blame but
you.
Detailed question about Insurance domain.

- I have worked in Insurance domain as a
software engineer plus I had done a certificate
in it so in depth discussion on the topic. If you
have something functional on your side the
prepare hard for that.
Level of inclination towards numbers and

finance?
Internet of things - Pros and cons?
Q. Any questions for us?

A. No
Not Applicable
Asked about my beliefs and values.
Asked about an incident wherein I handled a

moral conflict.
Q: You have lived in different places in your life

including foreign exchange. Did you face any
difficulty in adjusting? How did you deal with it?
A: I answered that language has been a major
issue but I have been fast in picking up
languages so I adjusted soon
Q: What if we send you to a remote village in

Tamil Nadu? Would you be able to adjust there?
A: Yes. I mentioned how I had learned Tamil
from some friends on campus and gave some
more similar examples from foreign exchange to
show how I adjusted.
About family
What do you understand about the role?
Give the details of the case competitions

mentioned in the resume.
I explained the work which we did during e-bay
Crack the case and TBLA.
Changes which I brought about being a member

of mess committee in college.
Explained the details. One of the panel
members was an alumni ans so he was more
interested in mess and asked me a few more
questions around mess.
HR Round:
What kind of a leader are you?
I answered by giving examples of the different
PORs I've held and how they have helped me
be a participative leader. Talk about your
experiences and tell them instances to prove
your point.
HR:
Describe yourself in a creative sentence. You
have 15 seconds.
I made something up and he asked me to rate
myself, I knew I had not been able to answer to
his expectations so I gave myself a rating of 5.
How was foreign exchange. Biggest takeaway

from foreign exchange.
Ans: How to adjust with different cultures?
Are you ready to travel

Ans: Yes
What exactly did you do in Essar Power.
How are you doing in academics?
Answer: I have been a consistent performer

Answer: I worked as power distribution Business
throughout the academic career. I was given
development manager. My job was to do duemerit scholarship from Ministry of HRD in class
diligence, analysis, financial modeling and
10th. I got scholarship in engineering. Also, I
calculate feasibility of the project.
was second in district in class 12th.
where do u stay and which location will you

prefer?
Will Bangalore be fine with you and also
- Mumbai.
relocation etc.?
They replied saying we are surely not giving you - Yes
in Mumbai.
What were the problems faced by you while you How did you overcome the above mentioned
where pursuing Automobile engineering (if any) obstacles?
Why Auto Industry?
What are the product lines of Bajaj?
Q: In a knock-out competition, if 31 matches

were played, how many teams were there at the
beginning?
A: 32. Summation of 2^n = 31; n =4; so 2^(n+1)
= 32 teams. Explained stepwise too. 32 teams
initially, so 16+8+4+2+1 matches.
Q: What if the tournament was round robin and

number of matches was 105?
A: nC2 = 105. n=15. (Round Robin tournament
is where every team plays with every other team
once. Just one round of matches and winner is
based on the points accumulated).
Round 2: design app for consumer durables.

Just that. And over half an hour discussion over
it - with him introducing new scenarios and
pushing me to think radical. Basically an app
that will track the life of all the consumer
durables in the house - with ease of inputting
What is the value proposition of the app that you
information and tracking when the service is
suggested?
required before it gets damaged. Which target
consumers. How will a housewife enter
information in the app. how will you continuously
monitor it? Is there a sensor required. If yes,
who will manufacture it. How will sustain it?
How would you advise a bank to adhere to

liquidity coverage ratio. what would be the
biggest challenge.
Question on banking sector, any recent new

development.
Q: What is the positioning of Himalaya bottled

water and do you agree with it?
Not Applicable
A: Talked about Himalaya's premium positioning
and justified it.
Q: Tell me something about Tata steel which is

Q: Why did you take marketing intern ship at the
not on website
first place?
A: Talked about experiences of friends who
A: That was the opportunity I got and I took it.
worked with Tata group
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What types of products a bank offers? Examples

Why you want to join ICICI Bank?
and details of it?
Gave some pointers 2nd largest bank in India..
Cash and non-cash based products and then
innovative products etc.
further classifications of it.
Asked to sell a can of red bull differently.
Did that
Asked for a negotiations exercise with they

being client and me IBM representative.
What do you know about Cognizant.

It is a technology firm in the IT industry and in
particular CBC is the consulting arm that is
currently into many sectors like retail, financial
services, IT and more. Their current goals
include looking into IoT.
Why did you choose consulting after a

marketing internship?
Although work was comprehensive, I desired to
go beyond marketing as it did not appeal to me.
I felt that I was not using many skills I felt I
possessed, also financials and strategic
decisions are not usually within the purview of a
marketing role.
Who all is in your family.
Not Applicable
What is six sigma and its phases?

is it relevant for service industry?
Do you think, IT will be useful in service industry

like in SIS? how?
Questions from my projects.
HR questions
Summer internship experience
About work experience

based on markets and derivatives. They also
asked a lot of questions related to the
personality test they conducted. Hence, no
specifics.

personality test they conducted.hence, no
specifics.
How has Big data/Analytics has changed the

way companies operate?
Not Applicable
Guesstimate: How many hair salons will be

there in a town with a population of 1,00,000?
You have to make your own assumptions and
come up with an answer.
Round 2 was based on CV questions. Some

questions were:
Why Vodafone?
Told them of the various initiatives Vodafone has
Would you be willing to travel to new places as
taken to ensure that it reaches out to the
part of our role?
masses and connects with them - emphasized
I replied in the affirmative.
on the M-pesa program tailored for the
developing world.
Q. What did you learn in Integrated Marketing

Communication?
-> Gave a general overview with examples, the
Promotion mix etc.
-> Talked about how IMC is all pervasive. It is
inevitable in almost all domains/disciplines.
Q. Was asked a lot of questions on Mr.

Narendra Modi & his actions/strategies.
-> Was prepared as one is inevitably asked
questions about one's native state.
Went deeper into my hobby of Cycling- asked

me about tour de france and other types of
cycling events.
The Alum still pressed me on question- why

ICICI?Why sales? Why insurance? He wanted
less dramatic answer I guess this time. I related
this to my competitions experience in BSchool,
why insurance was challenging industry.
Since you are a commerce graduate, do you

think you will be able to manage in an IT firm?
What was your main learning from your POR in

SRCC?
What you did in the supply chain simulation

which was carried out in one of event in the
college?
There were lot of work experience related
I explained the various factor impacting in that
questions.
simulation. Decision to be taken to build
manufacturing plant and appropriate selection of
transport channel depending on time and cost.
Gave a Text book question on MRP scheduling Why IMC India, not global
A is made of 2 B's and 3 C's and so on with lead - It will give me front end client facing at early
times gives.
stage, more challenges.
What will you decide bond rate of a company?

Under volatile Condition what kind of bonds will
It depends on the rating of the company. AAA
you prefer if you are risk averse person ?
rated company will give a lower return than a
Short term
BBB rated company.
What is possible new product which GSK-CH

can launch?
How is variants like Women's Horlicks

performing and what is future of such variants?
Cornflakes
I said with growing income, people prefer such

special targeted offerings.
Draw the relationship between IRR and NPV.
What is Cost of Retained Earnings? Explain it

with CAPM approach, bond-yield-plus-premium
approach, DCF approach.
Do you like to work as a team or individually.
I was asked to rate myself on 5 for team work,

leadership, communication and analytic ability.
I said I like working in a team and justified my

answer by giving examples from college and
work experience.
On an average I gave myself a 4 on 5 and

justified everything with examples and also
mentioned there is a scope for improvement in
every aspect.
Some situational questions on ethics
Family background
Why should we select you?
What do you think about the new government at

the center?
Which SDLC will you use if you do not have all

the project data in the initial stage?
Family background
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
A few questions on the way I selected stocks

A few questions on my hobbies (basically bike
before investing (basically I traded regularly and
riding and touring)
had mentioned that on my CV).
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
There were no directly technical questions but

some tangential ones. Was asked - use the
brand pyramid to analyze where Kellogg's (my
internship) strategy was lacking, and what would
you do to address it.
Next question was a scenario - Nestle tells you

to go 'talk' (fire) a distributor who has stopped
paying you for the last few weeks. However, this
distributor has been with Nestle for the last 50
years. What will you do? The solution was that
money was locked up in excess inventory that
was sitting unsold.
2nd round interview: About my project done in

E-business - redBus.in
My approach to the project. It was an individual
project in e-business
What all can be added to redBus for

sustainability in the long run?
1. Geographically huge scope in India
2. Extend to cab services
Q. My strengths and weaknesses

A. Gave my prepared answer
Q. Asked why I have changed my fields so

much, from engineering to IT to management
A. Told them have always been looking for
something to try and wants to have a 360degree view of the firm etc.
General HR related discussions
Not Applicable
Asked how would I fit in an IT culture.
Asked about my interest and knowledge about

IT
Told about the challenging situations faced by

me and how I tackled them.
A job with Raymond would mean you would

have to travel a lot. Probably to tier-2 cities as
well
<Yes. Don't have a problem with that.>
Why KPMG?
dream company, future prospects are high and
knowledge gaining experience etc.
I directly told about my little knowledge of IT and

my interest in marketing, and also requested
them to put me in a marketing division.
You seem so patient and calm. More suited for

HR, don't you think?
<Asked in detail why they would say so.>
What extra do u bring on table? How are u

different?
I am very comfortable talking to strangers in first
meeting , strong minded and determined ,
quoted personal experience and highlighted
academic achievements.
How would you determine what interest rate to

offer to two different individuals/companies (the Questions based on my earlier projects (mostly
interviewer gave two distinct scenarios and gave banking related)
any additional information I asked for).
Do you know about the organization?

I told them that I was not present for the
presentation but had some idea
regarding the business the company is in.
Do you want to know more about the

organization?
I replied that I would like to know more. The
interviewer
then explained me in detail how their business
works.
Q.) Why Samsung?

A.) Had Googled up basic stuff about the
company.
Q.) Why sales?

A.) Google up and prepare for such standard
questions.
What was the biggest mistake you ever did?
The HR asked for 4 words each which my

father, mother, friends and people who do not
like me would use to describe me. and asked
what I thought was missing.
Do you know about the organization?

Yes explained a little bit.
Location Constraint ?
No
Do you want to know more about the

organization?
interviewer then explained me in detail how their
business works.
Why Tata Communications?

Stressed upon the use of technology in the field
of communication (SMAC) and due to previous
association with Tata (TCS).
Q: Tell us something about your skating

Q: Why should Vodafone take you?
experience (I had mentioned skating on my CV).
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Questions from the application form

Go through the answer written by you in the
Why did I choose to intern with a start up?
application form and be consistent it terms of
Because of the lack of opportunity to intern with
answering. One on my answer (which I had filled
a well established firm and for my love for
a week back) was kind of gassy and lacked
football.
substance, so I had a small setback during the
interview.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q5: Why Mogae Media?
Q6: Are you a vegetarian or non-vegetarian?

Assume I am the opposite. Sell me your
[veg/non-veg] product.
Q. Sales requires a lot of teamwork. You will be

heading a team. How will you go about
maintaining good relations with your team.
A. Knowing them at a personal level would help.
Taking them out for dinners and providing them
with appropriate rewards in case of achieving
targets.
Q. What are the qualities that you are very

proud of?
A. Honesty, Perseverance and Humbleness. I
quoted a few examples of the same.
How much are interested for the job?
What if we make you sign a contract for 3 years
Do you know SPSS?
What do you think about outsourcing?
Don't you think you are over-qualified given the

Why finance? Why not IT even after being a CS
certifications you have? (CFA Level-1, FRM
graduate?
Level-2)
Some probing into the answer previously given

for strengths and weakness.
I answered them with conviction since I had
clarity in my mind about those shortcomings.
Given IRR and NPV, which is more reliable and

why?
I said NPV, and explained how solutions to IRR
depend on cash flow signs and how MIRR is
better than IRR, but neither being able to beat
the best, that is NPV.
Questions regarding internship? what did you

Question about work experience what all I have
learn? Tell me something that you did
done in my projects and some grilling on them.
exceptionally well there and how did you do it?
What is the job description of role you have
applied for?
What is the role of any business developer?
2 guesstimates, 3 puzzles
Not Applicable
Are you open to travelling in any location ?
tell us in detail what caused the 2008 crisis and

is wick different for different countries, how do u
what measures have been taken to avoid such a
adjust it for different countries?
thing in future?
Country risk premium.
Read up on the 2008 crisis.
Question: What were my job responsibilities in

TCS
Question: What were the job responsibilities as
Ans: As software developer, I got the opportunity module lead
to work with a big team and US clients. I have
Ans: I got the brief opportunity of handling a
handled many projects coordinating with US
team of 6 while the project was being set up. I
clients and Onsite resources. I have been part coordinated meeting with clients and onsite
of multiple functions in the project like
resource for requirements gathering,
development, implementation support,
development and implementation.
production support, testing etc.
An experience in internship where you had to
deal with a difficult customer
Not Applicable
How will you increase the sale of simcards inn a

location? Make a strategy.
Enquired about subjects
I talked along the lines of distributer margins,
I explained
benefits, value added services, bundled
offerings etc.
Why CRISIL?
Favorite subject at IIMK.
Discuss suitability, passion, the difference that u
Discuss learning from that subject and how it will
make, short term and long term goals and how
help u in that company.
CRISIL is the best platform for achieving those.
Questions regarding case study competitions.
Questions regarding telecom sector.
They gave me a situation where I had to choose

between an existing client and a potential high
value account. Choosing one meant losing the
other client for ever.
Not Applicable
I replied saying I would choose the existing
client citing reasons of loyalty and how the
existing client may bring me other business etc.
What are the key areas that need to be

How would you identify a customer from CRM?
analyzed to ensure a customer does not default
What should be the primary key?
on loan?
What did you learn from your project on Ravana

from the Leadership course?
I spoke about 3 traits of Ravana that proved to
be his folly and then cited 3 incidents in my life
which have taught me to over come those
follies.
Describe a time when you acted like a leader.

Narrated a life incident from Students' Council
and answered related sub-questions.
They showed me a graph:

What do you infer from the graph.. What is it
about?
It is a graph showing margins per match box in
the eastern region in India.
What can you do in order to increase the

average margins?
Stop sales in areas where margins are very low.
Why consulting?
Answer - Consulting is one domain where I
could keep all my senses 9Hr, Finance,
Marketing) alive.
Tell me your strengths and weakness.

Make credible mentions.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What other calls did you have for MBA

admission.
What has been your greatest achievement?
Ans: FMS, New IIMs- they asked why not FMS..
obviously because I didn't make the cut.
Q. Any problems with parents and how soon can

you shift?
Q. Why sales and marketing?
Ans: I said that my parents are all supportive in Ans: Normal gas answers that everyone
the decisions that I take and so I can shift as
prepares.
soon as they want me to.
5. Tell us about Summer internship experience
6. How would we know that after you join ABP,

you wouldn't switch to FMCG?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What is your weakness?
Some questions related to my project work of

different courses.
Not Applicable
Tell something about Mogae Media.
Summarize about certain subjects mentioned in CV.

Be thorough with the subjects you mention in your
CV.
Why e-commerce industry
Why should we hire you or what are your strengths,

do not give us answers such as hardworking,
adaptive, quick learner?
Answer: I am result oriented, a good leader and a
team player.
Explain two situations of your team-working

abilities. Noting much grilling here. However two
were unexpected as I was prepared for one only.
Why do I want Citibank?
7.Asked about my family.
Interview 2: Case Round

You are to start a dance class in your city.
Determine the market size.
(Specify which approach you are using Top-down or
Bottom-up. and clearly state whatever you are
thinking.)
Questions on multiplesa. What is the significance is P/E ratio is increasing

for a company every year
b. P/E and P/BV of two companies given- which
one will you invest in? what ratios can you calculate
from these figures.
7. So you interned in a consumer durables

company, what are the consumer durables products
of Tata?
I answered Voltas and Tata Swatch.
Why Banking?
Told them no prior experience in banks, but
developed an inclination towards Fin in first year.
Interned in Corp Fin treasury, and now working for
Banks seems like the best logical step next. Also,
like to interact with people, and I am sure that
working for a Bank will bring in ample opportunities
for me to be able to do that.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What do you know about the operations of Tata

Communications, Its presence world wide?
Told about its operations and the revenue share
world wide.
Interview Round 3 :
Question - Since I told I am a manager and captain
of a team in Kozhikode cricket league when he
asked about my interest in cricket, he asked me to
design an app to make the bidding process hassle
free and other features you can think of which
would be keep the app in use throughout the year
and not just when the League matches are
happening.
What do you know about CEAT?
Not Applicable
Tell about your strengths and weaknesses
Tell me more about yourself
You are a fresher and hence have no relevant

experience, where will you fit in the organization?
I think being fresher and open for all kinds of sector
would help you in placing me in whichever sector
the company needs. I love challenges and new
sectors excite me. Also I have no notion for any
sector since I don't have prior experience, I will be
able to bring fresh perspectives in all of these.
What did you do when you were in the Sports

Committee?
I pioneered Kozhikode Cricket League in the
campus to bring a culture of cricket. I also
organized Sangram '13 and Chakravyuh where for
the first time, staff and PGP & FPM students played
against each other in multiple sports.
Being from Bombay, how will you managed to travel

and adjust?
Gave examples of where all I have travelled in India
Q7) What do you mean by risk? How is risk

calculated and interpreted? How the financial risk of
any financial institutions or organizations are
managed? How important is the role of a Risk
Manager in any financial institution considering the
current and recent economic and financial
situations?
Not Applicable
Favorite FMCG company? Name their brands? I

told them ITC and named it's brands (Classmate,
dark fantasy, etc.)
Not Applicable
Tell me about your family background?
Not Applicable
Tell us more about the site customizer module

(something that I developed during my work
experience)
What is your career goal?
About cloud computing
How do you speak so many languages?
CV specific
Long term goal
Not Applicable

questions.
Despite having written a research paper on aircraft

design at IIT, why sudden inclination towards IIM?
Give a genuine reason...except money...you can
give your real reason...they appreciate it...be candid
about it and in the end just stick a couple of lines
from standard answer of "Why MBA?" in witty
manner.
Why Indus Valley Partners?

Q) Why CBC?
7. Tell us about Zumba & Karate (I had talked about

training sessions & classes I had conducted for the
same)
Gave them relevant details on both.
Which you give more priority people or task?

Ans- People when work is routine, to engage them.
Task when work is not routine or unique.
What was your B-Tech project about? - Explained
Then Finally he asked me Why Capgemini? and

Why this role only?
Key learning from the experience in Deloitte.

I told I was able to enhance my time management
skills, interact with people and learn from their
experience and the ability to work in a team and
lead a project.
Would you prefer to be a consultant?

Not really. I prefer general management to
consulting.
Case questions - The company traced a few

models selling online to one of your distributors.
You do not have any knowledge that your partner is
supplying to online partners as well. As per the
information your partner has been selling Lenovo
products to online portals at zero margin and
earning from the volume based schemes. What
action will you take?
Ans - Change the scheme structure
What if it is accounting?
I said I don't like accounting at all. Corporate
finance interests me and not accounting. I will
prefer marketing over it.
You have a experience in Banking domain, how

comfortable are you for the other domain?
I told that initially I will want to work the Banking
domain and have a good expertise in Presales,
learning both together will be very difficult but later I
want to move to other domain also, as I am very
much interested in Automobile and telecom domain.
P/E ratio and its application

Told the definition and the implications of high or
low P/E ratio compared to the industry average
Elaborate about the live project done with

Accenture Strategy
Not Applicable
Why consulting?
What happens when SLR is reduced? How does it

impact a company's accounts? What is good for the
economy- SLR reduction or increase?
Statutory liquidity ratio is the minimum percentage
of deposits that a bank has to maintain in form of
gold, cash or other approved securities. It is the
ratio of liquid assets (cash and approved securities)
to the demand and term liabilities / deposits. RBI is
empowered to increase this ratio up to 40%.
Spoke about different economic situations and how
this is used as a monetary tool.
Mentorship program at JPMC
Q7: Most of the times we work in As-is to To-be

scenarios. What is your understanding of that?
Explained with examples. Suppose we are having a
workforce of 100 employees (As-is), increasing it to
200 in 3 months (To - Be). The associated
modifications required in performance management
systems, top management structure, Role ratios,
compensation etc. I'm not sure if this was right and
I did not get any feedback.
Not Applicable
Strengths?
Stated my 5 strengths
Do you know anything about IGS - EDU? - Job

Description and gave few stats about the current
scenario of higher education in India(from personal
curiosity)
7. HR again asked me to describe job profile in

detail.
She was checking whether I have understood Job
Description well enough.
Lots of questions on current macroeconomic drivers

globally?
I read up a lot of current news and
financial/markets/economic scenario globally and
nationally. So, I had opinions about US, China,
Japan, Russia, Europe and was able to connect
what was happening in their economies and
markets on an overall basis. This helps in
answering a lot of questions that they ask.
(depends on you how you use this knowledge)
Not Applicable
Asked me if I had any question for them.
Q7) Why not HUL/ITC?

A7) Those were never my dream companies. Been
a loyal customer of Idea since childhood.
Why there are so many shifts in your career...first

an engineering in Electronics, job in IT, internship in
general management and now you want to do
sales?
Q: Should SBI move all its operation to Cloud?

A: Again ERC..
What are the 3 words in which the previous

interviewee would describe you?
Q Why consultancy ?
Linked the work and required skills with my
educational back ground.
Why do you want to join Tata Communication?

I explained its growing industry, said some facts
from industry, influence of Tata group etc.
They asked about their recent acquisitions and

wanted to check how informed I was about the
recent changes in their structures and businesses
they were trying to enter.
Q: Any problem in travelling?

A: No
HR Round: Q: Consulting involves a lot of

travelling, and a point will come when you will start
hating it, how would manage that?
A: I will try and find back my love for the work I am
doing and that will give me back the mental
strength to stop hating travel and just keep at it.
Role of Information Technology in banking?

Recent technologies used in the bank and to
provide services to the customers using IT.
Internship
What could have I done better?
Which subject did you like the most in IIM?
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses
Q. Favorite subject?
A. IMC
Ask any questions you might have.
Asked for more clarity on the role and what skillsets
are required for it.
Some instances where you have overcome
challenges?
Not Applicable
Q) A couple of questions on the most interesting

marketing campaigns in my opinion in recent times
A) Spoke about HUL's grassroots level marketing
as there was a lot of emphasis on entering rural
markets in the Group Discussion as well as general
sentiment. Very interesting campaign with lot of
potential learning. Had also featured recently in ET.
Did not speak of Vodafone's campaign since there
wasn't anything new and if I said it, it would just be
pandering.
Q: What did you learn in XYZ workshop that you

attended?
Where all did you travel in India?

I stayed in Bhubaneswar for 4 years during my
under graduation, stayed in Malaysia for 2 months
for an internship, Bangalore for 2 months for SIP,
apart from that traveled a lot with family to different
places across India.
Some questions about my family background and

their occupation.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Another rehearsed answer where I talked about
how I want to become a senior manager in repute
organization in the S&M division.
3 highlights of career.
Q7: What are your views about the Pradhanmantri

Jan Dhan Yojna?
Answer: I told him about the issues pertaining to the
process and how to overcome them. (I think, he
asked me this question because my whole work
experience was in Banking domain and thus this
one is a relevant question from current affairs).
How do you handle stress?

Why did you do MBA after engineering?
If I was prepared to do sales for some years
Do you have any questions?

Asked whether they have come across instances of
counterfeit drinks being sold as Coca cola and if
that happens how would they prevent it from
happening (I also told the interviewer that I found
the taste of coke different in a small village near
Tirupathi compared to what I drink in Chennai)
The interviewer explained why it is not possible to
sell duplicate coke (mainly because of their retail
penetration) and owed the difference in taste to
technical factors like temperature and other
environmental factors.
Why do want to join HP?
What are your interests?

Playing basketball, I'm in the institute basketball
team, reading novels and watching TV shows
Not Applicable
Strengths and Weaknesses
Not Applicable
Give an example where you took initiative to do

something innovative.
I gave an example from my work experience where
I had helped my team learn and use new tool for a
project.
Debate about yourself for two minutes.

Tried to elaborate upon the positive and not-sopositive aspects of my personality.
Q7: questions on internship projects

Explained project
Most of the questions were about internship( Mine

was on Logistics so they grilled me on that)
Q. 7: Achievement that you are proud of?

Ans: First, I took an example of my professional life.
In reply to that he said- "Is this how you reply to
your friend when asked about the thing you are
proud of?" So, I took the example of my personal
life.
How comfortable you are with economics ?

I said I am comfortable with macro economics, not
so with micro economics.
Academic project in detail as it was related to ecommerce industry.
Some questions regarding your academic project

and live project- mentioned in your CV
Try to relate that your role in the team was like a
Consultant.
Question- Y not a simple DCF for valuation?

Answer- talk about unsuitability of DCF for valuing
banks
Achievements during work experience apart from

social work being done
How will you contribute in our company?
What do you do in your spare time?

Told about my hobbies.
Questions on summer internship- projects done,

your approach, learnings, challenges.
Some trends in the Retail industry
How is the loan structure constructed for these

companies and how does it get affected by cash
flow projections? What are the risks involved ?
Not Applicable
When do you do conjoint analysis, factor analysis
and structural modeling?
What are their implications?
What do you know about the company Mindtree
(VERY IMPORTANT). Literally grilled me at this
stage.
What did you learn from your work experience?
Not Applicable
Briefly explain your internship project.
Not Applicable
Q: Do you have any locational constraints?
A: No
They asked me about their strengths and

weaknesses.
Be prepared with it. Usually they take a completely
technical interview. However they may ask you
these questions in the end.
Can you do sales in village areas?

Told them about my upbringing and justified my
answer.
7) Interest in demand forecasting and retail
Ans. They generally recruit for S&M but this year
they opened retail operations profile. And thus
asked me how much I am comfortable with
numbers and analytics. I told them about SCM and
other operations courses taken.
Not Applicable

Ans. (I assumed they want to know something
which is not on my CV) I tell them that my father
was in the Air Force and I had done my schooling in
different cities. I have also given my Air Force SSB
but did not qualify.
Elevator pitch for Philips' CEO
Asked if I would be able to work in a chaotic

environment and how?
I told giving examples of my previous work
experience.
How I would contribute to Cipla- use my knowledge
gained in SCM domain in the Group Discussion
coursework, introduce lean manufacturing, improve
supplier relationship, integration along the value
chain etc.
Other activities I was a part of.

Details on important aspects.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Why are you suitable for this role?
General question on ERP

- Told with example
Know any IBM products?
Only SPSS.
Not Applicable
CV based questions
Asked about extra-curricular activities
What would be your preferred domain if you were to

join Reliance? (I said either General Management
of Marketing)
Learning from college life
Asked about fathers occupation?
Not Applicable
Comparison of Lisbon and Delhi in terms of

similarities and dissimilarities (Went to Lisbon on
foreign exchange)
Q- Name an organization which is famous for

conducting employee surveys in India ?
A- Gallup
Q-7: You are taken to a meeting with Maruti's CEO

and he presents you with a situation where
employees at R&D are against moving to new R&D
facility at Rohtak. Present him with a convincing
solution.
Ans: Analyze the situation, ask relevant questions
and person will lead you towards the solution.
I segmented the employees into young adults,
Family Nest-I, Family Nest-II, Elderly. Then
presented their particular needs and how company
can address those to convince employees to the
new facility. Also gave an approximate cost heads.
Are you competitive?

Answered positively with examples of interests in
sports.
The biggest achievement at IIM.

I talked about the CYTL competition I had won.
Q. One situation where you feel you failed as a

leader or u could do better? Now if you are to
approach the same situation how differently will you
do?
A. An example from work experience.
Asked questions on ethics?

Answered
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
CV based questions:
- Project done at Oracle
- Technical fest management in my college
What are the new trends in IT?
Talked about the digital 5 forces.
Question related to my academic project.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
6. which industry in TATA would you like to work

for?
Ans: TATA motors or Titan- because of the
importance of marketing in those companies and
my field of interest being marketing.
Marketing for anti diabetic drugs?

Got to the public, educate them, bring them to
screening, advice treatment .Types of diabetic
drugs, how to market etc.
Which of the offered do you fit in?
Where do you see yourself 3-5 years down the

line?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Do you have any questions from us??

I asked about how is Cinepolis planning to expand
in the coming years.
Not Applicable
You wish to do Sales/Marketing or both, Sales &

Marketing?
Gave the generic answer that I would begin with
Sales as it is important to understand the customer
etc. etc. and then move on to Marketing.
It is very important you say this as all companies
offering S&M profiles have at least a 1-2 year Sales
stint.
Questions about the business process involved in

the projects I have worked on.
Prepare a policy for the IIMK students.

- Related to insurance. Answered. Expect such in
depth questions in such interviews.
Women are better manager - Asked for opinion?
Not Applicable
The 2nd round of interview was very different. He

gave me a lot of situations which were very unique
First was that I had ordered a bookshelf from IKEA
and now that it has been delivered what will be your
next steps.
I clarified what he is asking exactly and he said just
start saying what will you do next
I explained how I will unwrap it, assemble it find a
good place in my room, things like that and I kept
on speaking.
Q: Which other telecom company have you applied

for?
A: I'm sorry I am not allowed to divulge these
details. Request you to talk to the placement
coordinators regarding this.
Not Applicable
Explain the term project about Muthoot which you

have mentioned din the resume.
I explained the project in detail.
HR:
What have you learnt from your hobbies
(Photography and Theatre)
Explained is detail with a few examples.
Why Marketing?
Have you been able to save costs in Essar?

Answer: I led team in Mumbai licensee project
where I emphasized that we did not need external
consultant and I will be able to complete the project.
I was able to do a saving of 10% for that particular
project.
Family background?
You seem like a person interested in people and

cultural management so why marketing?
Define me as a brand.
Q: If you are travelling from Mumbai to Pune at

30kmph and returning at x kmph, and average
speed is 60kmph, what is x?
A: Tried all the combinations of speed-time
calculations, assuming distance D, but x was
coming out to be infinity. I said x could possibly be
90, but calculations don't suggest that. Interviewer
asked how to interpret such results. I said that
mathematical formula need not be ultimate, there
must be something wrong in initial assumptions.
This is one question where I thought I didn't
convince interviewer, because he wanted a value
for x. I came to know after interview that average
speed can physically never be double of one side
speed.
Directors' round - walk through the CV, questions

about work experience. Spoke at length about
Obama Care.
View on recent credit policy of RBI
Not Applicable
Q: So you want to use this sales profile to enter in

Tata group. You are not actually interested in sales.
A: At this point of time I feel I want to do B2B sales,
and anyway everyone has job rotation after some
time so I don't think there is anything wrong in
thinking of changing profile after few years.(They
smiled).
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Certain scenarios like services failure were given.

Summarized my CV.
Not Applicable
How will you manage huge workforce in SIS? They

might be older than you.
Guesstimates
About academic subjects

The questions were technical for me, completely
based on markets and derivatives. They also asked
a lot of questions related to the personality test they
conducted.hence, no specifics
Not Applicable
What did you do in your internship?
Not Applicable
Q. If during a presentation, your boss is not ready

to listen to you & insists on you re-working on the
whole thing even without looking at what you have
already done, what will you do?
-> Gave some random answer
They did not ask me any academics or technical

question.
What was the difference you felt in IIMK and SRCC

experience?
Why consultancy?
Gist of the answer is it provides lots of opportunity
in the career and lots of learning.
Indian Power sector- CEA last amendments
Did you do any certification in Finance?

Yes. NISM and FLIP
What does this high number of SKUs mean to a

sales guy?
This is always a nightmare as this adds more
variables and constraints for Sales guy to push the
products.
What is Reinvestment risk?
If a Pharmaceutical company was to launch a new

drug and we as ZS are providing consultation on a
go or no go decision, what all things would you
consider for making the decision?
The current market scenario, the competitors for
that particular drug, the cost of the drug, whether it
is a prescription or over the counter drug, the go-to
market time etc.
What's your permanent address?
Any location constraints
Strengths and weakness
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
At the end asked if I had questions, so I asked

about A+ milk. This worked well, as it turned out the
alum had worked with that brand, so spoke at
length about the conceptualization and the later
positioning and branding.
3rd round (director's interview):

Design an app for cricket match ticket booking.
Q. Asked why should they take me?

A. Told about my strengths and my skillset
Not Applicable
Asked about my role during internship

Explained about my work and the relevance of it
Your project seems more like an HR project. You

can get a brilliant job in HR with this kind of work.
<In retail operations, the front-end lever is most
important. Driving the sales-staff is not an HR
manager's job.>
Questions on subjects?
E-business what did you study and takeaways.
Basic questions relating to my background

(economics)
The interviewer asked what value addition will you

be to the organization?
I quoted my operations experience while working
for Bhooklagi as well as the perspective of looking
everything as a process which I got due to the
engineering background. This would help me in
improving the operations of the company.
Q.) What is ROI?

A.) Explained in basic terms what ROI means.
My parents' professions.
Do you want to know more about the Role being

offered?
interviewer then explained me in detail what Hall
expects us to do and what will be the job
responsibilities.
Your preference of roles?

Strategy, project management, corporate sales
Q: What do you know about the telecom industry

and what trends do you see in years to come?
Not Applicable
Situation question: How would you handle a labor

unrest related issue at one of the AP plants?
I tried to dodge this question because of my lack of
experience on the field, but an overall answer with a
decent amount of common sense is all thats
required for such answers.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q. Sales doesn't have an office setup. Do you think

you would be able to work in such an environment?
A. I talked about the various places I've been to and
the groundwork I've done in various committees.
What is your favorite subject in the given list?

What role you will be preferred ?

I asked about the role I would be offered.
Spot offer!
Follow up question: Then why is IRR used in

industry?
Because customers connect better with a "rate of
return" than NPV.
Location Preferences
How you will pitch to any company?
Not Applicable
Do you think you learn from your mistakes? we

don't think so. Convince us!
Current macro economic scenario of India, which

sectors are doing well and which are not?
Be up to date with the recent happenings
Question: In the CV it is mentioned about being part

of HR recruitment. Please elaborate.
Ans: As part of the TCS Maitree team, I used to be
actively involved in many activities including CSR,
HR recruitments etc. I used to devote some of my
weekends for such activities.
Not Applicable
Why sales and marketing?

Because internship subjects, CV, Interest
How did the Group Discussion go?

Do not brag just because you are sitting in the
interview.
Questions regarding ERP.
Not Applicable
What all features should an ideal relationship

management system have?
What is your biggest failure?

I said I don't think I've had a major failure but talked
about the drop year and said that it was one of the
most difficult times.
What are the three consumer trends you see

today?
Online shopping.
Premium brands
increased Rural penetration
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What de-motivates you?
Not Applicable
7. What do you know about ABP?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What will I do if my girlfriend leaves me?
Question about work experience

Again be thorough with what you did and highlight points
which might be important for consulting role.
Is it selling auto mobile on e- commerce is profitable?

How could e- commerce will benefit the auto mobile
sector?
How can you say that?

Answer: Gave relevant examples from job and school.
Explain the Housing bubble crisis in layman terms. They

wanted no technical words. So I came down to the person
owning the house and explained in simple words.
Will I be fine working in North India?
People from IIMs are boring, aren't they?
Your newspaper is not getting sold, and you have to

increase its circulation and revenues, what will you do.
Which has been the most challenging year of your life till
now and why?
8. Considering that Tata Swatch isnt doing well, what do

you recommend we should do?
I started with the competitors in the market and what they
are doing (competitive benchmarking). Looked at points of
parity and points of difference. Based on it, I gave a few
recommendations.
They gave me options for 2 roles and asked which one I'd
choose. Told.
Asked if I am okay with Mumbai, and if I am comfortable
with the city.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Any specific questions?

I had asked why had Tata Communications not invested in
emerging economies within Asia such as China because
they had no presence in China till then, I knew that they
had tried but they failed because of government policies.
Interview Round 3:
Question : Design an app similar to bookmyshow and
come up with better features to attract customers to shift to
this new app . How will you monetize the app?
Note : After sharing features of the app with him, was told
"say suppose you have very little time to design this app.
You might not be able to incorporate every feature you
have thought of. Prioritize them and state reasons for the
same"
Some questions from the work experience.
Not Applicable
How will you handle the situation if the suppliers are not
using the app built by you ?
Do you have any location constraints?
Since I was coordinator of Omega so he asked you

wanted operations which is a routine job, so how will you
manage consulting which is exactly opposite?
I used to think the same way when I was young that
operations is a routine job but my father is also an
operations manager and now I understand that everyday
some sort of problem occurs. They need to be sorted
quickly since 10 minutes of shutdown could cause losses
in thousands of crores.
I think you are a marketing guy. You don't seem to be a

salesperson. Convince me that you are a salesperson.
Even though my CV is that of a marketing guy but I want to
do sales. I believe that problems cannot be solved in the
office. I prefer to go out in the market and discuss any
issues with the people at the ground level. As I already told
you, I am an extrovert and I also do theater. So, I enjoy
working with the people.
Which one would you prefer - B2b or B2c and why

I mentioned B2B as I had done it during my internship,
plus it gives an opportunity to interact with individuals in
higher management positions.
Tell us about the current economic scenario of any one of

the regions specifically America, Europe, Japan or any
emerging economy? What factors are contributing towards
the recent decline in the oil prices?
Not Applicable
How do you think your interview has gone till now? I told
them honestly that it wasn't great but I felt the written went
really well and so did the Group Discussion.
Not Applicable
What do you hate about yourself?
Not Applicable
What did u do in the last mile project ( a project done with

esp. and government of Kerala)?
Why HR?
Why did you leave your job?

Why HCL?
HCL is one of the best Indian company with global
footprint. Its work environment is good and the
organization culture is very heard of.
CV specific
Are you planning for your own business??
Not Applicable
Have mentioned the summary in the above questions.
Why marketing?
if you really want to enter into this domain then you know
your answer well, else ask some die hard marketer.
If we make you stand on the stage of India's got Talent,

what will you perform.
Q) Why this role?
8. So you are a marketing major, looking at your electives.

I see a bunch of very interesting projects; takes us through
all of them one by one.
I had listed three projects - AMMR, MOS & Pricing.
Where you want to fit? in their retail or online business?

why? What you will learn from them and what you will
provide to them?
A few questions on project done at IIM K- key learning

from them.
Not Applicable
Work at Consulting is very dynamic so will you be able to

adapt to different roles?
I told that after having worked in Deloitte and the
experience gained at IIM K, I have developed the attitude
to work under uncertain environment in a structured
manner.
Would you prefer a job in a bank rather than an insurance

company?
I said I would prefer a general management role
anywhere.
Personal questions What do you do weekends? Don't you party?

Told them frankly that I'm teetotaler. Told about quizzing
and Bhooki
Tell about your family background.

I told about my parents, sibling, where I belong to.
So initially you are not comfortable in moving to other

domain?
No its not like that, I told that learning domain knowledge
and pre sales knowledge both together would be difficult,
so I want to start with Banking domain where I have
expertise.
PEG ratio and where is it used.

P/E divided by growth rate. To compare companies having
different growth rates in same industry
What do you think about education scenario in India?
Try to bring in RTE, ASER reports, some statistics. Bring
both national and international aspects ranging from
primary education to higher education to skill development.
Be thorough with various government programs currently
in place in the field of education.
Not Applicable
Situation where your team was in chaos and you gave a

direction.
Can NPA ratio for banks be greater than 100%? Why?

Yes.
Subjects studied at IIMK
R 2 Q1: What do you understand by change

management? Do you think people like changes or
changing? Can you give some scenarios? What is the
most important problem that you would face if you were
handling change management? How to solve it?
Managing the transition from as-is to to-be is change
management. Yes most people like change. People don't
like transition. Everyone likes to go from Bangalore to
London for a vacation but no one likes the flight travel or
the jet lag. We argued on this for sometime because the
interviewer held a different opinion. Then we concluded
that may be we can look at different age groups and what I
tell may not be true for all age groups. According to the
debate senior people who are also older are reluctant to
change. So, based on this I said major problem faced is
top positions are held by these senior people so it would
be extremely difficult to get their support and without this
support we can't progress. Solution: talk in their language.
Cost savings, revenues, industry benchmarks, competitors
activities to get them on board.
Not Applicable
Any question?
Asked about the leadership program and future with ICICI
Prudential
How will you deal with the bureaucracy due to interaction

with the government? - Family background and my value
structure
8. I were given package more than Cognizant in any other

organization with similar role, what would I do?
I spoke about leaning curve.
Questions on puzzles etc.?

Chain link puzzle, puzzles in which different colored balls
are sorted into different boxes.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q8) But you have also been a loyal customer of HUL &
ITC, using the products since childhood?
A8) Smile
Will you manage in small cities? we may post you in small

villages also?
Q: Solution for vendor locking in cloud computing

A: Again ERC
Role play- Where I was the manager and there was an

employee(named X)who wanted to leave the company and
I had to convince him not to leave.
Why CBC ?
Explained how CBC's no. 1 position in Healthcare
consultancy domain would help me in achieving my career
goals.
Not Applicable
CV based questions
Q: Want to ask any questions.

A: Is there a structured training program, fast track
programs for speedy growth.
Q: How do you handle pressure situations?

A: Prioritizing work and thinking of reaching the end with
maximum efficiency.
Academic project?
A Banking project on ICICI bank. Talked about what
analysis I did in the project.
My learnings in 2 years here at IIMK
Any location preference in job?

How will you convince your client on a certain solution you
proposed?
Q. Case based on newspaper industry

A. Case was verbally described.
Not Applicable
Your future goal?
Not Applicable
Q) (After spot offer) Any locational constraints?

A) None at all
Q) Can we send you to the Himalayas?
A) That's my preferred location
Q: Explain XYZ project done in your graduation

Tip : They can even ask your projects done in your
graduation college if they are related to the profile that you
are sitting for.
How comfortable were you in Bangalore?

Since my project areas was in sales had to roam all
around in Bangalore by buses and cabs so pretty much
covered entire Bangalore.
Asked me about my location constraints if any; the obvious

answer was NO.
What do you think about your performance in the Group

Discussion?
I felt that I could have made some better points but overall
I felt that was able to take the discussion forward wherever
the group was getting stuck. I also made some new points
in the discussion that caught on.
How will your friends and family describe you?
Q8: Tell me about your hobbies?

Answer: I mentioned the one which were there on my CV.
No further questions were asked after the answer. Then he
asked me if you want to ask anything to which I replied as
no.
If I were stressed in the interview

Not Applicable
I asked questions regarding the various Philips divisions

and their strategic plans. Demonstrated my understanding
of their business here.
Not Applicable
What is the least time period for which you want join HP
for?
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

I do not have any particular vertical in my mind. I would
like to rise up through the ranks may it be sales or
marketing to a position where I'm taking important
decisions for the company.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What are the roles you prefer?

Mentioned two roles among the 4 offered.
Was asked about my stand on 'net neutrality'?

Opposed this move by the Telecom service providers
Q8: Would Ecommerce survive in Indian markets for long

or just a hype?
Most of the questions were about internship( Mine was on

Logistics so they grilled me on that)
Q. 8: I have done my internship from the same company I

previously worked for, so he asked what I like and Dislike
about the company.
Ans: In liking told about the people and work culture.
Disliking .could not find any.
What is the difference between Group GDP and GNP ?

Explained.
Launch of an innovative product at snap deal drawing the

entire framework, calculating cost associated with it and its
feasibility.
In 2nd round interview

Question- What do you think of PPP projects in the Indian

context ( this Q was asked since I had taken PMF as an
elective in 2nd Year)
Answer- Talked about the model's suitability in the Indian
context especially roadways. (The Union Budget talked
about PPP model and how that is the way forward, since
had read up on that, mentioned some facts as well).
Partner round: in depth QnA on internship, Few on spot

one liner cases related to domain I worked on.
Explain in detail your work experience.
How do you like Kerala? Learned Malayalam?

Since I had been here during my B.Tech. also
B2B marketing: basic concepts like RFPs, bidding

procedure, sales pitch.. Make a sales pitch to us(gave a
Comviva product)
What you learnt at IIMK?
Thorough questions on balance sheet , profit & loss,

pertaining to credit rating and risks perspective, what are
the items important?
Not Applicable
Identification of right positioning for few products
NO HR Questions, However an HR guy sits there staring

at you for the entire interview and notes down every
answer you give, and perhaps checking how you react.
How can you implement your learnings from work
experience?
Not Applicable
What all you studied in QM? What is hypothesis testing?
Not Applicable
Q: Give your outlook on solar field
A: Told about reduction in panel prices etc.
Not Applicable
Tell me places in Jharkhand where you have done field

work?
Told them about it.
8) Asked about my role model and the reason for the same
Ans. My dad
Not Applicable
We see you have done your summer internship in sales in

Leo Coffee. Tell us, why is Leo lagging in Madurai
Ans. I tell them that despite being the market leader in
filter coffee in Chennai, Leo is lagging in Madurai because
of its late entry, the presence of the established brand
Narasu's and poor brand visibility.
Q) How would you go about promoting a new range of

products with new moms as the target segment?
How will you handle and deliver criticism

Told I would take it constructively and introspect. How I
would deliver criticism explained with an example.
Why MBA? Why not continue in the previous job?
Tell me about yourself

This was asked in 2 rounds. neat and crisp answer for 2
minutes would suffice.
Which animal do you relate to and why?
Introduce yourself?
Question on cloud computing.
Any projects done with the help of SPSS?

AAMP project. Explained it and the application of SPSS.
Not Applicable
Family background
Why Nokia to Samsung? Explained
How would you like to work for Reliance Jio Infocomm?
Not Applicable
Follow up
What are current problems in Agriculture sector?
Lack of mechanization, irregular irrigation, lack of supply
chain infra, etc.
Not Applicable
Reasons for Oil Crisis and its impact on India. ( Many

cross questions plus explanation for every answer given).
Q- Name the businesses that Reliance Industries is into

A- Petroleum, petrochemicals, textile, retail and soon to
enter telecom
Q-8: Few questions about Pharma sector competition I

participated in Accenture Strategy.
Ans: This was one differentiating point that could help me
show my interest in the company and give few examples of
their client projects.
Where do you see yourself in future?

Gave detailed and specific answer on 2 years from now,5
years from now,10 years from now and eventually what I
want to do.
Valuation techniques and about the valuation of a startup?

DCF and trading comparable in detail.
Q. There were CV based questions , from college projects,

live projects etc.
Questions on labor rigging scandal?

Answered
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What do you like and dislike about traveling?
Why mechanical engineering and now IT consulting?
Question related to my POR
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
7. What was my goal in life or long term objective?

Ans: To head a company, be the CEO
Follow up question: That's what everyone wants to be
professionally. Personally what is your objective?
Ans: Spoke about work life balance. Succeeding as a good
mother and also manage my corporate life. spoke about
breaking the glass ceiling and challenges women face in
organization. I had read some articles about maternity
leave in various countries, spoke about that. got some
further probing questions here.
Compulsory licenses? When where why how is it issued

and under what circumstances?
I negotiated for a role different than offered ones and could

convince them.
Other General HR questions
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Any location constraints?

Even if you have a preference, it is better not to mention it
and say that you are willing to go to any place. S&M roles
would be pan-India and initial stints may not be in
important markets like Mumbai, Delhi etc.
Questions about ERP systems applicable to HUL applications, technology and depth of knowledge
Questions about hobbies.

- Just make sure you know more than the interviewers as
long as they are discussing Your hobbies.
Are you career oriented or family oriented?
Not Applicable
Next was what will you do if the screw is missing in that

bookshelf
I told I will carefully look for it, if it's not there I will look with
me and my friends if someone has the same. If not
possible, I will call the customer care..
Then he asked what will you do if suddenly during your
assembling, lot of children enter the room
I said I will first play with them for sometime and then get
their help in assembling it like a jigsaw
He then asked what will you do if a plank is broken
So the trick behind all these questions was that, he wanted
quick response to completely new situations coming up
and see whether the person is flexible or not. How positive
looking the person is and how quickly I can think.
Q: Why Vodafone?
A: I referred to the tremendous growth prospects of the
telecom industry while stating that Vodafone is one of the
top players in India. I also spoke about certain marketing
campaigns of Vodafone that I liked and how I'd love to be
a part of these. I mentioned the good things I have heard
about Vodafone from friends and seniors.
Not Applicable
Explain the SDP project in detail.

Gave the details of the work which we did along with the
NGO.
Final Round:
Was again asked on my internship. But this time more on
the brand aspect and not just sales and distribution. He
asked me what was wrong with the brand Fiama Di wills?
I answered how its positioning wasn't clear and because of
which the communication to the consumer of its benefits is
not clear and visible. Added whatever understanding I got
from my project etc.
Why do you love marketing?
What kind of change management did you do in your

career.
Answer: There was a practice in my department to hire an
external consultant for conducting non technical aspects of
due-diligence and provide support in financial modeling. I
believed that we could do it using in-house capabilities and
could save a huge amount of money which was paid as
fee to external consultants. I pitched this idea to my team
when we were planning to develop business for a very
critical area. In order to convince them, I prepared a
presentation through which I showed the roadmap to go
about it. I gave examples of competitors who were doing
these things in-house and saving a lot of money. I led the
team which started from scratch and created final model.
We were not only able to save consultant fee but also
managed to save some expenditure on network layout. My
senior management and Head of Department were very
happy with my work and later, this became a practice in my
department to do all aspects of project in-house.
Not Applicable
How comfortable are you when it comes to travelling in

rural India?
How do you lead people? (Aggressive/Friendly/
Hierarchical, etc.)
Q: (I don't remember this question in detail) There are 4

cards with alphabet on one side and number on it's back.
To prove or disprove "Every vowel has even number on it's
back", which all cards will you use.
A: Initially I had told the wrong card. I corrected myself
after thinking again. There was another possibility, which
interviewer mentioned and asked if what he said was true.
I said it was true. (I am guessing I was right).
Database and queries related questions. Programming

related questions.
Question on profitability framework. ( cost and profit)
Not Applicable
Q: They asked few questions about chess (I have CV point

regarding chess)
A: Talked about it
Q: Asked about Nirvana (I was part of group, we used to
teach less privileged students during engineering)
A: I talked about my experience, challenges faced,
learning (they appreciated)
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Other scenario consisted of hostile environment.
More questions about the cases in the case study

competitions I won.
Not Applicable
Asked Basic questions from Finance related to B/S P&L

statement.
Not Applicable
Academic projects
The questions were technical for me, completely based on
markets and derivatives. They also asked a lot of
questions related to the personality test they
conducted.hence, no specifics.
Not Applicable
Tell me something interesting about yourself as a person.
Not Applicable
Q. You have worked for NGOs before. What do you think

is vaguely the budget of an NGO? What percentage of
their total expense is their operational expense?
-> Told them about how this differs from NGO to NGO.
There are some where people work on an honorary basis,
so not much funds are required there. However, there are
some others where the NGO is the only source of
livelihood for the owner etc.
-> Vaguely - 50%
-> Somewhere in between also talked about my SDP
Project
Overall they were seeing for enthusiasm and passion in

individual.
Do you have any location constraint?
How long will you stay in the IBM?

As long as I will get good project to work on which will
enrich my knowledge I will not leave the organization.
A case given on Project Management

A Transmission line scenario- used backward scheduling
What was your project during Internship?

-Studied and Modified Existing Business Model mainly
targeting Migrant Labor Segment
Conducted analysis and offered solutions to the
challenges faced by Migrant labor
Proposed New I-stars strategy pointing optimal
locations to increase Quality Customer Base- Q
Identified operational inefficiencies in their outsourced
call center Magus and proposed remedies
Proposed three New business Models for Utilities Bill
payment Segment and ran pilot programs
Identified new channels (Cable operators, Gas
distributors etc.) for better penetration
Acquired non-FCI (First Cash In) customers through
innovative Outbound Call Dialogs
Derived location wise electricity bill payment cycle,
conducted modified canopy activity on peak days
Tell me first difference which comes to your mind between

Chennai and Patna?
Attitude of the people towards outsiders.
What is Value at Risk?
Are you familiar with software like SAS, SPSS and Excel.
How proficient are you in excel.
I said I know SPSS and basic commands, macros in excel.
What is your BIS professor name?

Favorite subject and why
How will your best friend describe you - 3 good and bad
qualities?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Final interview was with a Sales head. Very conversational

- had not read CV in order to prepare. Started with saying I
could read your CV or you could tell me about yourself.
Then started talking about extroversion and introversion.
Questions on basic DBMS. Simple queries in context of

the ticket booking app. select and update queries.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Asked about my learning from the internship experience

Told that I learned the importance of streamlining and
prioritizing activities
What would you count as your strengths and weaknesses?

<Prepared answer>
Questions on competitions such as eBay ad what was the

learning.
Why should Citi hire me?
Tell me more about your Six Sigma certifications

Explained in detail the Six Sigma learnings and how it
could help in improving the operations.
Q.) How will you deal with sales people who aren't
responding to you?
A.) Spoke about some learnings that I had picked up from
Sales & Distribution Management course, offered by Prof.
Sridhar Guda in term 4.
My life back at home and how it helped me shape into the

person I am.
Do you think you are fit for the role of sales manager ?
I quoted my sales experience while working for Bhooklagi
as well as
the perspective of looking everything as a process which I
got due to the
engineering background. I also talked about my
experiences from Bhooklagi
this would help me in improving the operations of the
company.
Not Applicable
Q: Why sales and marketing?
Not Applicable
I had asked them two question. This was about what all
things I could have done to boost my chances in the
interview.
One was regarding how much chances a fresher has in
cracking a SCM interview and the second one was about if
the courses had taken in IIMK was good enough for the
role. I got positive responses in both answers.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Where do you see yourself in the coming 5 years?

What is relevant value you have for the company?
Not Applicable
What do you do for stress relief?

Talking to people and listening to Ilayaraja's instrumental
music.
Not Applicable
You don't have IT background then why you want to join

Wipro?
Not Applicable
Why sales and marketing ?
what caused the euro debt crisis?

EU is monetary union but not a fiscal union, for further
info. Google the difference between the two.
Question: What were my job responsibilities as SSA in

EPFO
Ans: We handled the provident fund of Private
organizations. In my brief stint of 2 years in EPFO, I was
rotated in many sections, hence I got a lot of exposure and
a good idea about most of the work that happens in the
office. I worked in sections like enforcement, accounts
branch, public grievances, IT, recovery etc
Not Applicable
Why sales before marketing?
Because you need to understand the market before you
handle products and branding, otherwise you wont be able
to do justice to the role.
Not Applicable
Questions on Internet of things.
Not Applicable
Is CRM necessary for a company like us with the high

costs involved. Justify.
Tell 5 differences between Kozhikode and Chandigarh (my

home city)?
I listed out the differences.
Estimate the number of tennis balls needed in Bhopal in

one year.
Population of Bhopal: 2 million
People who may need balls: say 50-60 thousand
Average how many in a year:6-7
Total demand is nearly 300,000.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Internship Project details
Not Applicable
8. How would you increase readership among youth?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

What will you bring to the table? You don't have any
prior fin experience?
Told about my tech experience and related it to
finance.
Which one is good smart work or hard work?
Three achievements from work experience not

mentioned in CV.
Most of the achievements we mention in CV itself so
you can tell about certain life learning which you
gained by working and why is it an achievement in
itself.
What is your GPA?

Answer: I think I suffer from commitment bias. When
I start working on a project I give 200% to it, many a
times it has affected my personal relationships.
Are you ok working anywhere? Shopfloor, retail,

refineries? Answered in affirmative.
Not Applicable
About extracurricular from CV
You are starting a newspaper, your top management

has clearly specified that you need good bottom-line
results. Just increasing the circulation will not help.
You have got the option of full first page ad for your
newspaper, however if you say yes to it, that ad will
continue at least for next 3-4 months. It will bring in
money but may affect your reputation of having less
content and more ads. And no ads means no money.
what will you do?
(Don't try to be politically right. Give one straight
answer choosing one of the options).
What have been your most important learnings over

the last two years?
9. Whats your opinion on leadership? How has

perception of a leader changed over time?
Based on styles of leadership which I learned in my
leadership course (Term V: delegate, coach, support,
drive). Initially I started saying something else but the
interviewer guided me and then I came on the right
track.
In the second round, there was another panel. They

asked me to explain some of the basic banking
terms, such as overdraft, credit line, etc. I did some
of those. When I couldn't I told them I didn't have indepth knowledge of core banking operations. This
round was mainly to gauge my interest so as to
determine which department I will be good in at Yes
Bank.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Asked me about Six Sigma (Certification) and what

subjects I had in strategy
Told something about Six Sigma, Process
improvement, and some strategy frameworks from
International Business and strategic management.
Interview Round 3 : Question : Don't you think work

experience is an important criteria to be considered in
hiring for the role being offered
Answer : Since I had only one year of work
experience, he was testing if I was confident enough
for the job profile.
Your profile is more suitable for operations role. Why

do you want to go into sales and marketing?
[Mechanical Engineer]
Not Applicable
How will you handle the situation if someone in your

team is not adhering to the deadline given by you
repeatedly ?
Tell about your family.
You contradict yourself by saying you are organized

and then you say you like challenges, you should go
for routine job?
According to me, being organized means planning for
next day or next week but it does not mean that you
do same work forever. That will make it monotonous.
Anything Corporation (the company where I interned

and trust me it does sound fishy) sounds funny but
interesting. Tell us about it.
Anything Corporation aims to provide solutions for
anything and everything. They have IT products &
services, HR services, financial, matrimonial, real
estate, training and other services.
Questions based on CV
Gave examples where my leadership, team working
qualities were highlighted.
What is Basel I II III? Can you explain Basel III

norms?
Not Applicable
Any location preferences?
Not Applicable
Tell me a situation when you overcome any of your

negative attribute.
Not Applicable
Tell us about your internship project in detail- spent

around 10 minutes on this
Why is change management important in an

organization?
Why MBA?
What did you study in Consumer Behavior?

Explained few important terms
CV specific
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

questions.
A point in life when you made a difference?

**give importance to your Konquest form, It helps
Questions on VaR
Q) Talked on location preference
Ans) I stressed on domain and not location.
9. Why do you think you need to start as a sales

person & then move to marketing?
Important to understand the DNA of any brand, not
from my perspective, but the customer's perspective;
which is only possible by being out there in the field.
Regarding family? My marriage plans? location

constraints?
Asked to design the architecture for setting up a

technology enabled system for distributors by giving
them a PDA etc.- asked about which OS to be used,
which features to be included etc.
Not Applicable
What did you do and learn as a member of Sports

Committee?
I told I had organized Sangram 2013 an inter-IIM
Sports Meet and the stint helped me become good at
managing different things simultaneously and also I
got the experience of adapting the way to work when
uncertainties come.
Not Applicable
Personal question Family details. what they do and where they're

Just a typical HR question
What is the best thing this college has taught you?

I said 2 things - art of planning and prioritizing as we
have multiple things to be done with given deadlines,
and, living away from family as this is the first time I
am out of my house that too so far.
What is the latest trends in Automobile sector?

I told about the different innovation such as electric
car, driverless Car and other new technology adopted
by Automobile sector
Advantages of mutual funds diversification, low

transaction costs.
They asked CGPA which I refused to disclose as per

Placement Committee policy.
Not Applicable
Situation on ambiguity
Not Applicable
Favorite subject and why?
R2 Q2: How will you restructure an organization if it

goes for a merger or acquisition?
Depends on purpose of merger. Product
diversification. Short term : Product division structure.
Long run: depends on performance in short term.
Market diversification: market division (geographical
division structure)
Acquisition: restructuring of top management
depending on their expertise and goal of the
acquisition.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
How flexible are you with the locations? - Affirmative
Not Applicable
Questions on CAPM, beta, correlation?

Technical stuff. Be crystal clear in your concepts.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q9) Since you have done so many activities in

college, why don't you start your own firm?
A9) I want to work in industry for some 20-25 years to
gain experience and knowledge and then may be I
would start something of my own.
How do you manage multiple things in your life?
Q: What software SBI use ?

A: Finacle (Infosys product) for overseas operation
and TCS (don't know what's the name) product for
Indian operation.
Role play- The above mentioned employee was give

a hike of 30%, this had upset another
employee(named-Y) as he thought he was a more
deserving candidate.
what are your expectations from the role ?
Described how I want to work in a conducive
environment where I can apply skills honed during
MBA to take up challenges and solve them through
'out of the box' thinking.
Not Applicable
Why I chose the specialization I am into in IIMK?

Considering we can choose diverse subjects so you
may not necessarily stick to the usual specializations
of Finance, Sales & Marketing, IT, HR, etc. I stated it
as Strategy & Marketing as they were my major
subjects so accordingly I could justify.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Tell me about your Extra Curricular activities?

My extra curricular activities during IIM K stay. What I
did and what learning did I gain from it.
About my family.
Any questions for us? Asked about IT in banking

How do you manage a team, mention examples from
your experience in theatrics?
Q. Long term goals?

A. Senior position in ABP.
Not Applicable
Past work experience
Not Applicable
Q) Any questions for us?

A) (did not ask any but please do - about role,
location, joining, anything)
Q: Explain XYZ social project done in your graduation

college.
About my family background

Told about my dad's business and how he inspired
me in different phases of my life
No further questions; got a spot offer.
Do you have any locational constraints?

No
Leadership achievements
Second Round: A five minutes of chat with the HR,

where he asked me about myself and then told me
about further process. He just said result will be
announced shortly and asked about if I have any
questions. There were no questions form my side. So
here the process ended.
If I plan on leaving the company in near future.

Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Do you have locational constraints?

Having never worked in a company, I think creating
relationship with customers quickly would be difficult.
I'm ready to work on it during the initial two months
itself so that it doesn't obstruct any growth
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Would you like to take up retail banking? Are you

open to any role?
Yes
Asked about a project on 'wireless networking' which

I did in B.Tech.
Talked about the significance of the project in natural
disaster management.
Q9: What if cash on delivery model is banned from

using by government?
Most of the questions were about internship( Mine

was on Logistics so they grilled me on that)
Q 9: The division I have applied for was AppSAP, so

he asked about my understanding of ERP.
Ans: Explained the same.
Why Crisil ?
Various reasons : The learning environment,
opportunity to work with top management of different
companies, a very good platform to start your career
and so on so forth.
Why brands sell through online portals like snap deal

when they themselves can sell through online
websites of their own or through brick-n-mortar
sellers? (because they get better margins more
visibility in online portal sales + they have not
discontinued their normal supply chain as they have
invested a lot already in setting them up)
They will explain you, your role in Accenture and then

they will ask you- are you comfortable with this role?
Question- How do you value projects using Project

Finance? Follow up question- How will you value the
Noida DND Expressway?
Answer- Did so (PMF students will know how to
answer)
Why switching from IT to finance and how is it a fit?

(molded my work experience into finance domain as
the client I had worked on was related to insurance
domain)
Tell me your extra curricular activities.
Which domain would you like to work in?

BFS
Extra curricular- how did you manage time, one

hobby you take out time for
Strength and Weakness
What are derivatives? What are various options? how

would you construct a synthetic options?
Not Applicable
Choose any product you want to offer and do

segmentation and targeting
Any further questions?

What do you think is more important - Experience or
competence?
Not Applicable
Why MBA? You were working on a technology which

have a great scope. why did you leave it and came
here?
Not Applicable
Q: Do you have any questions?
A: I asked about locations and kind of work
Not Applicable
Tell me about sorting and types of sorting?

Told them.
9) Fashion show - again won a prize and thus asked

about it.
Not Applicable
Tell us about your prior work experience in TCS

Ans. I tell them I worked on the Big Data framework
of Hadoop and the different technologies used.
Q) What does Philips mean to you? What does

Philips Lighting mean to you? What is Philips'
history? (Basically checking how well-versed I am
with the background, products, functions, core
principles of the company)
What did I do as a coordinator in Omega.

Explained my roles and responsibilities.
What interests you in supply chain?
Do you have anything to ask us?

Ask very generic things like training/work related
travel etc. Or get some specific industry related
question. They would not mind even if you don't have
anything to ask but it will be nice if you can ask
something since that shows you are interested in the
company.
Describe the most challenging thing that you

accomplished when you were working in previous
firm?
Internship work?
Location preference
Any locational preference?

Preferably south India
Not Applicable
Why IT?
Not Applicable
One thing you like about yourself.
Not Applicable
Is FDI good for agri sector?

Said yes and defended with improving storage and
decreasing wastage
Not Applicable
Riddle: If there are two doors- one leads to hell and
other to heaven and two door keepers. One always
lies and other always says the truth. You have to ask
one question that will lead to heaven. What will that
question be?
Q- Are you aware of the latest happening in France ?

A- Charlie Hebdo attacks
Q-9: Situations on supplier management, supply

chain examples, Alto 800 alternator development etc.
Ans: From my work experience, be clear on specific
details and highlight numbers if any.
Do you know about telecom auctions?

I answered positively and said they are due in some
time.
Internship in detail
I gave an explicit account of my internship.
Q. Any question that you would like to ask me?

A. I asked what is the immediate responsibilities if I
join.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
About family and childhood
Some questions about my background
Location preference
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
8. Why didn't I apply to TAS last time?

Ans: Didn't get a shortlist
Questions on ethics?
Approach to bribe. Approach to honesty.
Biggest Achievement
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Any questions for us?

Always ask a question. If you don't, it gives the
panelists a feeling that you are not interested in the
profile or company. Ask questions either on the job
profile of the panelist or on your career prospects
there or recent happening in the industry in which the
company is or simply some recent news about the
company.
Biggest regret in life and what I did about it?
What do you know about Cognizant.

- This was asked to know about one's knowledge
about what is going on in the company. As cognizant
is doing a lot of stuff in data analytics I was aware of
that.
Read about the company focusing specially on the
profile you were selected for.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
He then asked me what will I do if I am joining a

company and they are giving me some cash to
design my desk or an assortment from their side.
I gave very general answers and he was counter
questioning on them. He was checking whether I can
prioritize what I want in life.
Q: Why marketing?
A: I told my personal story for how and why I
developed an interest in the same.
Not Applicable
You have mentioned you got a very good rating

during your work with Capgemini. What do you thing
is the reason behind it.
I explained how I used to work diligently and finish
every work assigned beforehand and sometimes
used to handle the work assigned to other team
members as well.
Final Round:
This round was mostly a discussion. I had mentioned
E-commerce growing for FMCG in one of my
previous answers and thereon it was a one to one
discussion on the prospects of it serving as a channel
where the interviewer was trying to understand my
point of view and get across his own.
What do you know about Lenovo?
You were assistant manager in you previous job and

you are being offered the same designation. are you
okay with it?
Answer: I am more concerned about the quality of
work and my contribution. Moreover, organization
structures vary from organization to organization and
hence I am comfortable with the designation.
Not Applicable
Brief family background
What are your short term and long term goals?
Q: (Guestimate) There is a town with population of

100000. How many salons will be required? Make
suitable assumptions.
A: Assumptions: Every person uses salons in the
same town for haircut, once in every 20 days. Each
salon has 2 chairs or service stations. Each salon is
open for 10 hours per day and open on all days of the
week. Each haircut takes 15 minutes.
Population 100000, one person in 20 days, so service
rate required is 100000/20= 5000 per day.
Each salon can service 60/15*2 = 8 customers per
hour. Since 10 hours working, 80 customers per day.
Comparing per day numbers, number of salons
required = 5000/80 = 62.5 = 63
Explain photography to an amateur photographer.

Design an app and website for amateur
photographers. Very fruitful discussions on nuances
of photography and art.
Case based question. - An international bank wants

to start a captive unit in India. How would you select
an office place( 7 options given).
they wanted to check how do I break the problem in
small units.
Not Applicable
Q: Asked if I had participated in steellathon.

A: I said no.
Q: Do you know what were the cases?
A: I knew there were 3/ 4 cases talk about it broadly.
Q: Did you participate in any other competition?
A: I talked about other competitions I had
participated in.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Another scenario consisted of different interest at

stake between client and company. How to resolve it.
Mostly roleplay.
Any location preferences?
Not Applicable
Asked about Family background
Not Applicable
Why IT role?
based on markets and derivatives. They also asked a
lot of questions related to the personality test they
conducted.hence, no specifics
Not Applicable
Why marketing?
Not Applicable
Q. Name the biggest NGO of the World. (Had 3

attempts to guess)
-> Guessed 3 of which the final one was correct
I questioned them back as I had not attended the

presentation - if this was sales role or GM role. To
which they replied there will be 4-5 stints across
divisions. Even if the role might not be sales but
organization is sales driven.
Are you comfortable travelling abroad?
Expectation about pay ? (This was the question

during interview and before making final offer. Actual
negotiation I did during bargaining.)
Ans : Role, responsibilities and knowledge is
important. Money will follow.
FIFO and LIFO which is preferred in what condition
Do you have any location preference?

No
What would be my plan if I had not got any jobs from

Final placements?
I said I'll work with my friend in his entrepreneurial
initiative of hotel chain.
What is Return on Common Equity?
Do you have any experience of dealing with onshore

clients.
I had 2 years of experience in Accenture where I was
talking the clients directly.
Why ERC?
Any situation where you handled crisis
Why should we hire you?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Main topic revolved around innovation - whether

companies should spend on R&D to get a product
right or pick up a new product and spend on
advertising to make it a success.
1 very basic question on C++. I knew it but couldn't

recall at that moment, told him I wanted to try and
asked him to stop me if I am going wrong. I answered
wrong and he prompted me and told me the answer.
It was a pleasant thing to happen, so do try if there is
the slightest chance that you can answer right.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Asked about my strengths and weaknesses

Told my prepared answer.
What are favorite courses here?
Not Applicable
Questions based on my interest in banking sector
Tell me about the subjects in operations management

you undertook.
I told them about lean systems, its concepts and
philosophy. I also
explained how it can be used in the context of the
company.
Q.) How do you deal if the above problem in the

above questions persists for longer?
A.) Stressed on importance of understanding the
mindset of the sales person and then deciding course
of action. Again picked up inputs from SDM.
What is your favorite subject? and why?

Retail marketing
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q: What is your motto in life?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What was your internship experience?

Tell something about your family?
Not Applicable
Given that you have spent most of your life in

Bangalore in Chennai, would you be comfortable
moving to Mumbai?
I said I was happy to happy to move to Mumbai,
because one thing I miss from Chennai is beach, and
Mumbai has many beaches.
Not Applicable
Is Indian market is saturated when it comes to IT

services?
Not Applicable
What is your passion ?
How will you pick your portfolio?

Know about which companies and sectors are doing
well and know basics of IAPM and portfolio theory.
Question: What was the learning from EPFO

Ans: I got to interact with lot of higher officials while
working in the public grievances. I used to handle
even the public in adalath hearings. Also it gave me a
good exposure of how things work in a PSU.
Not Applicable
Regarding Family and background, general HR

questions
Not Applicable
Questions on how IoT can solve issues in

manufacturing sector.
Not Applicable
You have worked on Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle and

SAP. What do you think is better suited for a finance
company. Justify.
Refer to above question. Which do you think has

greater internet penetration? If you worked with
Facebook how would you increase number of users
in the low penetration city?
Defined Kozhikode as a rural market. Talked about
cellphone density in Chandigarh. I went on to talk
about consumer preferences and based on that
suggested a marketing plan.
What are your preferred areas of interest?

Strategy and marketing
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Apply your IT internship project to sales and

marketing ( I had defined certain KPI's as part of the
project, so the interviewer asked me to apply those
on sales and marketing and had a long discussion on
it). Although I got stuck many a times, the key was to
be relentless and keep going on, is what I feel.
Not Applicable
9. How would you revive print media?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Why do I want to work for others instead of my

brother's company?
Question about ease of working abroad and

ease of travelling and if I had any other
constrains ?
What are the subjects you had taken in MBA?
Any question you want to ask us?

Answer: No, not right now.
What are your long term and short term goals

and how does Reliance fit into it. Many
supplementary questions based on my answer.
Not Applicable
About one thing that I admire the most about

myself
Are you comfortable with staying in Kolkata and

travelling to Tier-2 cities of west Bengal?
You have a PPI from GS also. Which company

and role would you prefer. Why JPMC CRG?
10. Who is your idol when it comes to

leadership?
I took Sir J.R.D Tatas name and elaborated on
it. Thanks to a case on JRD Tata in my
leadership course, I had some idea.
While first round was majorly behavioral, second

was more technical. While sitting for Banks,
especially roles other than IBDs, it would really
help to brush up some common jargons as well
as latest policies, etc.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Asked me what kind of role I am interested in?

Gave me a list of roles to choose from?
I had asked for Strategic roles. International
business or new business development. Finally
he suggested me to take Business Excellence
role and told me to relate it with Six Sigma
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Few more questions on cloud computing.
How would you rate your interpersonal skills?
Are you comfortable with travelling?

Yes definitely, I have mentioned in my hobby
also. I like travelling and interacting with new
people.

No
When will you be ready to join?
15 days after my convocation.

Started with 3 key strengths and corroborated
them through examples in my CV.
You have 48 months Work Experience in

operations field. So why do you want to get in to
finance? What are your future goals? Any
specific reasons for NCFM & FLIP certifications?
In the near future are you planning to appear for
CFA or FRM? If so which one?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
You don't have an IT background. You will be

joining at a senior position than those who have
technical knowledge. They might not approve
you. Will you be able to handle the stress?
Not Applicable
Apart from your CV, what else have you

done/learnt in 2 years of IIMK.
In any merger, what all do you need to consider

before closing the deal?
Any question about us.
Questions on PORs?
CV specific
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

questions.
Questions related to foreign exchange, don't say

you went to Europe just to study. don't be afraid,
as an exchange student and while travelling
countries you learn a great deal of money and
time management, talk about these stuff.
General Knowledge about Hedge Fund

Q) If I would be comfortable working late and on
weekends
10. What do you know about Heinz? Take us
through its entire product portfolio in India. Also
name your favorite international brand under
Heinz(other than ketch-up)
Standard information as collected from
(company website, pre-placement presentation,
trade-briefs on FMCG)
Favorite. brand internationally: Heineken
2 minute to sell yourself? To tell why they hire

you?
What is your comment about the Asian Paints

website- gave my opinion, gave some
suggestions on how to improve it.
Not Applicable
How has IIM K changed you as a person?

I told that the rigorous curriculum and the
interactions with various people has helped me
develop an attitude to work in a structured
manner no matter how uncertain the work
environment is.
Not Applicable
Details about POR

Told the government projects I did and how I
helped in changing the situations. Also about
Bhooki, Microsoft Student Associate and Atharva
Will you be okay with working in a place like

Bihar for marketing as finance will give you a
chance to work in nice offices in metro cities?
I said, as already explained, I have become quite
independent and confident of living alone. Even
if its Bihar, I have no problems of working there
as long as I like the work and Vodafone, as a
company, will take care of the rest of the things, I
am told by my seniors.
Round 2.
Which location you preferred to work for?
I asked about the option and then answered
Hyderabad, but it hardly matters for me as I
worked for many location in my previous work.
Hobbies and other interests

Told about the same
About KPMG
Not Applicable
Mention about your significant achievements.
Not Applicable
Asked if any questions for them
R1 Q8: You have already worked in consulting

firm. Can you tell how and where the industry is
moving.
Answer: If possible read the material on
consulting and trends. But I did not, so told him I
have not read any document related to the
industry or trends but I can tell from general
observations while at Deloitte and from general
reading that PSU projects are increasingly
contributing to revenues of consulting firms.
Most of these projects look at strategy or
solution proposal + implementation +
Maintenance. E-commerce consulting,
transformational consulting and
entrepreneurship consulting are here to stay and
grow, most companies will outsource HR
operations and start concentrating exclusively on
core competency (based on news of Wipro
outsourcing hiring of sales people on 8 year
contract), Improvement and alternate ways doing
things especially in performance management in
consulting firms - Lisa Barry et. al. article on
Deloitte's performance management and the
proposed/ expected changes. McKinney and
KPMG moving away from forced fitting method.
Etc.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Do you have any questions? - Asked about the

role in detail and any recent initiatives taken by
IGS-EDU
Not Applicable
Questions on derivatives put/call/delta/gamma/theta and their graphs?

Technical stuff. Be crystal clear in your concepts.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q10 ) Are you comfortable working in Jhansi?

A10)
Yes , I love travelling so exploring new places
would be fun.
What is your long term/ short term goals?
Not Applicable
Role play- When X left the company you

appointed person z. Employee Y comes to you
and says asks why was he not promoted despite
his good performance and loyalty to the
company

No
Not Applicable
Both panels asked in detail about my work

experience and projects which includes projects
done in engineering as well. so be well prepared.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Explain your SDP project?

My SDP project was Waste Management
System in IIM-K. They asked my about the
project, details and what outcome was produced
from the project.
On B-school competitions.
Lastly, I asked about ICICI's leveraging the IT

and mobile banking.
Mention examples to illustrate that you will fit in
to the role offered.
Q. Anything you want to ask us?

A. No
Not Applicable
Will your age become an opportunity or a

challenge?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q: What are your hobbies

Tip : write genuine answers and relate it with
what you have done in your past
Discussed about my city Visakhapatnam and

what I like the most about it
Not Applicable
What languages do you know?

Hindi and English
Instance of working in a team.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Are you comfortable working with flexible time

schedules?
What is your impression about the Idea website?

The website is single consumer centric which is
different from others.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
What are some of the products in banking? Do

you know of any innovative product by ICICI?
I mentioned about the banking products in
general and talked about the recent customized
debit card by ICICI bank. The interviewer then
also talked about the RFID technology used in
debit and credit cards.
Why should I be recruited by Reliance?

Talked about my skills, qualities, experiences
and how I would be a fit for the organization.
Q10: How digital technology can be applied

more effectively for retail sector?
Virtual retail store, use of IT for effective supply
chain.
Most of the questions were about internship

(Mine was on Logistics so they grilled me on
that)
Q. 10: Asked me to rate myself in

Communication Skills, Analytical Skills and
People Management, followed by the reasoning.
Ans: Rated and gave the reason for the same.
Tell me why are not going to leave the company

in one year. I had said that I want to start my
own venture after few years.
I said I am not going to start my venture for the
next 5 years at-least. I want to give myself time
and earn knowledge before I start something
out.
Pros and cons of selling online.
HR round
Tell me about your self, work location
preference, salary structure.
Question- Follow up question on the previous

question
Why consulting? (holistic view of business, in

line to my internship experience)
Any Questions?
Tell me about your family?

Brief details about my family members and what
do they do.
Tell us about your family, what your parents do,

your siblings, location constraints.
What makes your friends get irritated with you
Explain about European and American options.

Difference between them . How are they priced?
What are the various models used to price them
and how are they different for these options.
Which pricing model is relevant for European
and American option and why ?
Not Applicable
Think-feel-do hierarchies for impulse buying
Why Mindtree and not any other IT firm?
How do you think you are fit for the role?
Not Applicable
Then a few basic HR questions and location

preferences.
Not Applicable
Q: Are you good with numbers?
A: Yes
Not Applicable
Tell me about your family?

Told them.
10) General questions nothing in particular to

knowledge of marketing or retail but about
myself and my various experiences.
Not Applicable
Your hobbies Ans. Poetry

Who is your favorite poet : Rabindranath Tagore
and Pablo Neruda
Please recite a poem you have written: I do so.
Q) Why the switch from a hardcore finance

internship (Investment Banking) to a sales and
marketing role in the finals?
Not Applicable
Any thing that I would like to ask them.

Asked about the management trainee program,
and expectations from me.
Not Applicable
Why consulting and why ZS Associates ?
Work experience details?
What you know about omega healthcare

- Told what they mentioned in presentation
Would you like to work for us?
Yes
Not Applicable
Extra curricular activities
Not Applicable
One thing that upsets you.
Not Applicable

To get absorbed into a task, said it is a strength
as well as a weakness.
Not Applicable
Telephonic Interview:
About yourself, Why did I do MBA and What was
my job responsibilities and why do I want to do
consulting. Also gave me opportunity to ask
question, if any.
Q- Name a person on the board of directors at

Reliance ?
A- Nita Ambani
Q-10: Discussion on travelling, base locations

etc. and if I have question for them.
Ans: I was flexible in travelling and asked
relevant questions about the company specific to
a few projects.
What is spectrum and what is being auctioned?

Which frequency?
I didn't know about band but told that since it
was 3g auction only 900mhz/1100/1800 could be
up for sale based on the specification of the 3g
phones(since I told them that I am big follower of
mobile phone and electronic device market)
AMMR project that I had mentioned on my CV

was asked in detail.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
All CV based
Not Applicable
Situation when you had to give negative

feedback and a situation when you.
Interview ended with them giving me an

opportunity to ask questions
Question from Group Discussion
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Future plans and how long in pharma ?

Excellence in Microsoft excel etc.
How do you see any problem when it appears?

What is the first thing you do?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Questions about the social work I was involved

in and my learning from it.
Any questions?
- Please ask questions. prepare first trying to
relate to your profile or work experience.
ex questions:
what is the growth trajectory in analytical
consulting?
How is CBC different that other consultancy
firms which are partnership based.
What is not so good thing about working in
cognizant.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Any incident which was very depressing

I told a complete story of foreign exchange of
losing passport etc. The catch here was that I
was very genuine, told the story as if I am telling
it to a friend, I also told how well I came up and
how strongly I handled the situation, I told the
story in detail and got him so interested that he
started asking questions out of it
Q: Do you have any questions?

A: I asked about the growth prospects of the
telecom industry in rural India and about the
work culture at Vodafone.
Not Applicable
When working for a client, if the payment from

the client gets delayed and you have to meet
your monthly deadline, and you have the option
of going for a new client, would you start
pursuing the new client or keep working for the
old one even if the payment is delayed.
I would keep working for the old one because it
takes lesser time and effort to retain an older
client than to acquire a new one.
Final Round:
Ethical Question:
There are two railroad tracksone is known to
be active and one is known to be not in use any
longer. Three kids are playing on the active
track. One kid is playing on the out-of-service
track. The three kids know that the active track is
active and frequently in use, and the one kid
knows that it is safer on the out-of-service track.
A train is suddenly speeding along on the active
track. All four kids get their feet stuck in their
respective tracks and cannot escape. There is a
switch that is able to divert the train from the
active track to the out-of-service track.
And here, alas, is your ethical dilemma. You
stumble across this scene and only have enough
time to do one of two things: A.) You pull the
switch, which moves the train from the active
track to the out-of-service track, thereby saving
the three kids on the active track and killing the
one kid on the out-of-service track. B.) Or you do
nothing, and let the three kids on the active track
die and the one kid on the out-of-service track
live. What would you do? And why?
Ans. It was a difficult question to answer, a
choice between more number of children or
saving the one who was doing the right thing by
playing on the un-used track. I said I would save
more lives. There is no absolutely right answer
but do consider all the possible situations while
answering such questions.
Case based questions
What are your strengths ?

My strengths include positive attitude, ability to
execute task as team leader and willingness to
work hard. My professional experience has
inculcated in me sufficient exposure to the
business problems. I have developed leadership
skills during my stint as executive member in
Thapar University and my work stint at Essar.
Not Applicable
Manufacturing process at daimler

Why do you want to enter Sales and explain the
career progression you have in your mind?
Q: Which is your dream company in final

placements?
A; Sir, I am yet to identify my dream exactly. But
I believe this role will be something of my
interest.
Ask them questions. What is it that they expect

from program managers. How is his day like at
Microsoft?
Are you comfortable in travelling?
Not Applicable
Q: Are you ready to travel anywhere in India?

A: I said I love travelling and I have travelled
quite a lot during summer intern ship so I don't
mind.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Hobbies.
Just we t through CV.
Tell me something not on your CV.
Not Applicable
I mentioned two projects, They grilled me on

both projects
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
personality test they conducted.hence, no
specifics
Not Applicable
Strengths and weaknesses..

Explain the academic project you did in your
marketing subjects.
Which skill of yours will you like to develop the
most and why?
Not Applicable
Q. Consultants have myriad of jobs to do.. one

of their jobs is to analyze, form strategies etc. &
the other one is to interact with customers etc.
Which role would you prefer? [Don't remember
the exact question]
-> Gave some random answer
Not Applicable
Any last question?

Yes Sir, I have an interview lined after this, so
shall I attend that or cancel it.
Tell me about yourself and typical day in the

previous job?
What was the one learning from Summer

Internship project
Are you ok with Delhi?

Yes
Some questions on competitions on my CV?

Had to answer based on the competitions and
level of achievements.
Why Do NPV and IRR Methods Produce

Conflicting Rankings?
Anything that you would like to ask.

I asked a few details about the role and
company culture. I also asked if the kind of work
I'll be dealing with was related to the case study
that was given.
Why Wipro?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
In the context of innovation, also talked about

main vs. branch brands. Example the interviewer
gave is that since Maggi is strong its a minimal
risk to experiment with branch flavors such as
Sambar Maggi or Oats Noodles Maggi etc.
Changing the main brand on the other hand
(Coke) is a huge risk.
2 Trick questions, thankfully I managed it, like a

boss :) Director said I wasn't suitable for the role
and I didn't have sufficient work experience and
may be I should try a few years down the line. I
convinced him that I had handled tough roles
and responsibilities in Oracle before and all the
self-praise, named a few technologies I learnt in
Oracle and boasted about my learning speed. By
EOD, I realized that I have max work experience
among the selected 3.
He also asked me if I was more interested in
Marketing than in IT because I was interviewed
somewhat on marketing as well. He tried to
convince me by saying he can out me thru to a
marketing guy for interview. I refused saying I
was totally into IT.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Asked about my expectations from the company

I told that it would enhance my knowledge
horizon and widen my challenge taking
possibilities
Not Applicable
What are your expectations from this role?

I asked them the detail about the job profile and
the probable location.
Q.) Any questions for us?

A.) Basic question about work roles &
responsibilities, life at Samsung, etc.
How is your interests in CB going to help you in

your job because the job is about data
crunching?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Q: How do you keep yourself motivated?
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Questions on some sales gimmicks

Do you have any question for us?
Not Applicable
Anything you would like to ask us.

I asked about the nature of projects our seniors
were working on and how soon we may be
expected to get international projects.
Not Applicable
Do you have any question for us?
Not Applicable
Why are you not good at studies?
What is the difference between value and growth

investor? Which are you?
Value investors look for undervalued shares and
growth investors look for future growth stocks. I
told I was value because warren buffet is also a
value investor
Question: What were the learnings from the

foreign exchange trip
Ans: Interactions with students of different
nationalities during classes, common courses,
projects etc, cultural experiences etc
Not Applicable
He took a string of names of prominent figures in
the marketing domain, academicians and brand
managers alike.
I honestly told about the ones I knew and those I
didn't I outright said no.
Not Applicable
USE cases on IoT in manufacturing
Not Applicable
Would you be interested in any other role?

Answer: No
How would you sell Fair & Lovely differently in

urban and rural market?
Again talked about consumer insights and the
different motivations to by in the urban and rural
market. Based on that suggest a marketing plan
for urban and rural markets.
Location preference?
Mumbai
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Any questions?
Not Applicable
10. Tell us one achievement you are proud of.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Any other relevant questions asked in the interview
Time slot for

interview
Not Applicable
55
Not Applicable
45
HR round was a formality, they just asked location constraints if

any, preferences if any and If Mumbai was fine with me.
55 minutes
Not Applicable
75
Not Applicable
45
Asked about internship company and ask its current share price
being traded. I wasn't able to answer. Then they asked if I invest in
stock markets, which I replied in negative.
35-40 minutes
Not Applicable
30
Just be thorough with profile and related subjects.
50
Not Applicable
Each interview for

25-30 minutes
Not Applicable
30
11. The Companies act of 2013 has come in recently. What do you
know about it? (I said I was not aware of the intricacies and would
have to get back to the books to learn about it)
12. So you made a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) in undergraduate college, what do you think of the business prospect of
drones in India? (Similar to what is shown in the latest idea ad
where a drone delivers eggs) Do you think drones can be used to
deliver pizzas?
13. What is your take on the hype regarding increasing pollution?
14. US and Europe have stopped using paints. Also they have shut
most cement industries and outsourced this work to developing
nations. What do you think India should do? Should we also follow
their path?
15. Any question you have? (I asked them the rationale for
entering into the cash-strapped airline industry)
30
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Round 1 - 54
minutes, Round 2 35 minutes
Mostly based on Cloud Services and its models as I had this

particular subject?
Where do you fit in the role and how will you be a value addition to
this company?
20 minutes - HR
interview, 25
minutes - Technical
At the end, please prepare yourself with a question to be asked in

the end of the interview process
Not Applicable
Round 1 & 2 : 4550 minutes each,

Round 3 : About an
hour
Not Applicable
40
Not Applicable
20-30 minutes each
Not Applicable
45 minutes
Not Applicable
15 minutes
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
30
Why did you intern at a startup?

I was honest and mentioned that I had applied for bigger brands,
but did not get shortlists and opportunities during the summer
internship process. The interviewer appreciated this and said it was
better than what the other candidates said (which was typically 'I
wanted to work at a startup!')
Also I mentioned the kind of exposure and learning I got during my
internship despite it being a startup.
20
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
30-40 minutes
Not Applicable
10
Be confident and talk about what you know. I mostly talked about
instances and examples from placements committee as that is
8 minutes round 1,
what I was most comfortable talking about and it helped and caught 20 minutes round 2
the interviewers attention.
One question on extracurricular, Some discussion on POR in

graduation,
Where do you see yourself after few years?
Where do you see yourself in Hexaware (out of 6 pillars of the
organization- Hunting,Farming,Delivery
Management,Practice,Overlay Sales,Competency)?
Are you comfortable with location Chennai?
Remember two things:

KISS- Keep it short and simple
KILL- Keep it long lousy
45
40minutes
Not Applicable
45 minutes
Not Applicable
60 minutes (both
interviews together)
Not Applicable
45
Not Applicable
45
All the questions were specific to my CV.
20-25
Not Applicable
10-15
Not Applicable
30 minutes
Not Applicable
20-25
Not Applicable
40 minutes
Not Applicable
30 minutes each
Not Applicable
20
11. Any other questions you'd like to askAsked about why Heinz is such a good place to work for from their
point of view.
55
What you prefer creativity or compliance?
90
Questions on IT subjects studied at IIM K, question on how I use

technology in day to day life.
30-45 minutes
Not Applicable
15-20minutes
Not Applicable
40
Not Applicable
20-25
Industry trends and where's the industry moving.
45-50 minutes for

each of the round
Not Applicable
20 minutes
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
25-30
Not Applicable
30 minutes
Not Applicable
10
Not Applicable
55 minutes
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
20
Generic - what did you do in this competition? Why Accenture was

asked four times by first four interviewers. I gave incrementally
personal answers. 1st time I was asked - Accenture has a well
established T and O. 2nd time: I just interacted with Sameer (who
was my first interviewer) and I was amazed by his knowledge. I
think working with him I will learn in a year what I would in 5. 3rd
time: Through previous interviews I got to know what kind of people
I will be working with and that Accenture has women friendly
policies and hence I look for a sustainable career in the
organization. 3rd time: summarize all above.
What did you do in the whole one year in Deloitte? Based on CV
With just one year of experience can be a good consultant? (was
working on multiple projects at the same time at Deloitte so could
justify - look for ways to show that you are actually looking at
breadth of knowledge).
Not Applicable
Common questions such as Tell me about yourself, about POR at

IIM-K.
Not Applicable
R 1- 35 - 40
minutes. R 2 - 20 30 minutes. R 3 15 - 20 minutes, R
4 - 10 - 15 minutes,
R 5 - 10 - 15
minutes
30 minutes
45
15-20
Not Applicable
20
Be prepared with your CV in all respects - internship, competitions,

projects, extra-curricular etc. Also prepare for usual HR questions greatest achievement, weakness etc. I was asked some of those in
this interview.
20
Not Applicable
10
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
10-12 min
Not Applicable
50 minutes in total.
one interview was
20 minutes and the
other was 30
minutes
Not Applicable
40
Not Applicable
100-120 min
Not Applicable
60
Not Applicable
20-25 minutes per

round
Not Applicable
30 minutes
Not Applicable
15
Not Applicable
30-45 minutes
Not Applicable
25
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
25
Not Applicable
30 minutes
Not Applicable
30-45
Not Applicable
20
I talked about Bajaj's clean fuel autos.
30
Not Applicable
15-20 minutes
Not Applicable
15 minutes
Not Applicable
40 to 45 minutes
Not Applicable
25
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
15
Not Applicable
15 minutes each
Not Applicable
40 Minutes
Not Applicable
15
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
30 minutes
They tested me on technical aspects while talking about the Marico

case study. They cross questioned me several times and asked me
to validate my approach and find alternative ways to do the same.
40 minutes
Not Applicable
60
Not Applicable
15
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
45 minutes
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
40 minutes
Not Applicable
40
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
25-30
PoR related questions
45
Not Applicable
150
Not Applicable
15 minutes (max)
Finance and Enterprise domain knowledge (read some published

articles on Accenture website). Questions over CGPA (I did not
have a very high CGPA so justified it with the committee work and
grades for subjects I was interested in).
45
Not Applicable
15- 20 minutes
each round
Not Applicable
45
Not Applicable
presentation- 45
minutes , Tech
Interview- 30
minutes. HR
interview- 15
minutes.
Not Applicable
30
Location constraint if any ?
40
Not Applicable
30
Questions on Interrobang case, Why marketing, Questions on

committee work, Why not Finance since you have good
academics? About hobbies, about family, my strengths and
weaknesses.
55
Not Applicable
50
Not Applicable
35
Not Applicable
20-30
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
30 min
Not Applicable
50
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
20-30 min
Not Applicable
15 minutes
Not Applicable
15-20
Not Applicable
30-45 minutes
Not Applicable
First interview was

half an hour. 2nd
interview for 1 hour
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
60
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
45
Not Applicable
15minutes
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
30 min
Not Applicable
20
CV based interview.
20-30 minutes
Not Applicable
15-20
Not Applicable
50
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
100
Not Applicable
20-25 minutes each
Not Applicable
120
Not Applicable
30 minutes
Not Applicable
There was question about roles.
25
2 hours
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
1 hour
Not Applicable
10
Situation in which you felt that your team was not effective. Why
was not it effective, what were the problems faced and how did you
handle those issues?
First interview: 15
minutes, Second
Interview: 45
minutes
Not Applicable
25 minutes
approximately.
Not Applicable
45
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
25
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
35-40
total duration 10 to 20 minutes average. Crisp answers, well

prepared HR questions and knowledge about Yes Bank's customer
offerings helped me get the role I wanted.
Not Applicable
20 minutes
20-30
Have to convince them that you want to join the pharma sector
instead of being desperate for any job. second round was stress
interview with same questions but different interviewer.
20-30
Not Applicable
45
Not Applicable
25-30 minutes
General HR questions, favorite courses and why, general behavior

based questions.
Be prepared with Questions related to statistical tests, probability
etc.
20-30
Not Applicable
25 min
Not Applicable
45 minutes for both

interviews
Not Applicable
50 minutes, 30
minutes, 10
minutes (HR)
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
20
About the role. Since they didn't give a presentation I said I don't
know much about it and hence he started explaining it. He
explained it in detail and I also asked a lot of questions from what
he was telling.
120 minutes
Not Applicable
25
Not Applicable
15 minutes
Asked about location constraints- None.
Not Applicable
How will you handle Cost vs. Penetration.
15
20+10+50
60
Not Applicable
60 combining all 3
rounds
Not Applicable
15-20 minutes
mainly about the previous intern ships and co curricular and how
can you relate it to marketing
Not Applicable
35-45
65
Not Applicable
There were some grilling moments - they tried to put you off in the
start but if you stay calm and confident the discussion that follows
is almost like a very interesting conversation
Not Applicable
Some generic questions from the TAS form.
30
40 minutes average
60
45 minutes
Not Applicable
35 min
Not Applicable
15-20 min
Not Applicable
25-30 minutes
Not Applicable
20-25
Not Applicable
20
Asked me if I have anything to ask about the firm..

I asked them about Samsung's plan to stop the declining market
share due to emergence of Xiaomi
15
Not Applicable
60
Not Applicable
15
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
60 minutes
Not Applicable
30 minutes
Not Applicable
around 30
I was asked to ask questions if I had any. I had two questions:

1. What did the role entail after the initial sales period? - They said
it will encompass everything from technology to operations as part
of the MT program, will send a detailed description if selected
15
2. What other new initiatives is Vodafone planning on after the
highly successful M-pesa program? - They said the main focus was
to increase the reach of this program, and that there were multiple
other initiatives in the loop
They'd asked a few more questions which required careful

intermingling of concepts not just of Strategy, HR & Marketing but
also that of Operations & Finance. Giving real life examples always
gives one an edge over others.
1.5hrs
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
15-20
Not Applicable
15
Not Applicable
120
Not Applicable
45
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
Round 1: 45
minutes, Round 2:
30minutes, Round
3: 15minutes
Not Applicable
60 minutes
Why MBA?
Not Applicable
45
30 min
Not Applicable
35 minutes
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
R 1 & 2 - 20 min, R
3 - 30 min
Not Applicable
1 hour each
Not Applicable
45
Just be clear in your thought. Articulate them properly.
30
Not Applicable
40
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
15-20
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
one technical question on statistics - about binomial distribution

based on an example
25+10
45 minutes
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
20-25 minutes
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
NA
Not Applicable
NA
Not Applicable
30 minutes
Not Applicable
30 minutes
Not Applicable
15
Not Applicable
last day
Not Applicable
20-25 minutes each
Not Applicable
25
Not Applicable
20-25 each
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
60
Not Applicable
15
Not Applicable
30-40 minutes
Not Applicable
30
Not Applicable
15
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
15-20
Not Applicable
1.5 Hour
They asked me my location preferences if any. I replied saying

anything other than Chennai would do to which all three of them
gave a hearty laugh.
Questions on project management, cloud, digital marketing

initiatives and CRM strategy.
20 minutes
75
Not Applicable
30 minutes per
interview
Not Applicable
90
Not Applicable
30 minutes
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
Total for both

interviews: 45
minutes
A lot was talked about how and why Nigeria. They basically want to
check if you are really interested in joining the company and not
leave early. As the growth trajectory is high, I answered all my
questions positively.
20
Not Applicable
60
Not Applicable
20
Not Applicable
20
Any positives about the entire

process?
Any negatives about the process?
The process is time consuming and is

focused on testing the knowledge of Was damn tired before the interview.
finance. I was lucky to get spot offer.
When told to sell chicken I started

immediately without thinking then got
I was very confident about what I was
stuck. Then I asked for a minute and
telling.
came up with a good answer which
convinced the interviewer very well.
The interviewer was impressed by the It was telephonic interview and there
game I designed and at the when I
was some disturbance in network so
asked a question about KPMG' s
difficulty in understanding. When this
aggressive hiring, he used my game happens always rephrase and make
to explain that to me.
sure you got the question right.
They were helpful and providing

support in puzzle solving. I was not No presentation so we had limited
able to solve the circle puzzle but in knowledge about the company. They
that process they told me that you are did not asked me to have any
going in wrong direction. In the set up question.
problem they helped me too.
No Group Discussion.
None
Presence of Alumni in the panel

helped. gave suggestions and
feedback in between interview. They
encouraged on questioning things
mindset as they were looking forward
to a change in culture in Reliance.
Heard panelists grilled others on

facts abut Reliance. But nothing to
me. Lot and lot of HR, being a
fresher tough to take up the
workplace questions.
It was a good informal interview.
None
If they were not satisfied with my

answer they tried to explain the
None
question further, so that I can answer
well.
No HR questions. However,
knowledge about how the newspaper Generally happens post midnight and
printing and distribution work is
is tiring.
important.
Panel was quite encouraging

throughout the process and were
willing to give hints when I was stuck
at some questions. All aspects such
None
as my background, career goals,
MBA learnings, extra curriculars,
current affairs and finance questions
were covered over the process.
Not the process per se but many

The process was spread over two
people in my Chairman's Group
days (interviews on early morning
Discussion explained the topic
next day). So there was time for us to
incorrectly. Even the moderator got
relax a bit (though not enough to read
pissed at a point. Take enough time
stuff as there were simultaneous
to read the topic and explain it as
processes). Each round is taken by a
articulately as possible. It benefits
different person.
the entire group.
The panel was very friendly, the sort

you'd like to work with.
It was a VC which doesn't go as

smoothly always. Also, the personal
connection which is present in a oneto-one interview is lost over VC.
It seemed like a very different

company & this was reflected in the
process as well. Was pleasantly
surprised when they stopped with the
Group Discussion in our case & didn't
even plan to hold interviews.. none of
the usual questions like why this
Frankly I loved the process. It was
company, why this job, tell me about very different from status quo &
yourself etc. All we did was discuss enjoyable & interesting. I wasn't able
the problem.
to figure out exactly why they
Initially in the written round, we had to selected certain people though. I
decipher a piece of code written &
think they're looking for interesting
write the output, basic knowledge of questions, perspectives, how deeply
C etc. would do. actually I had done you think of a problem, how well you
coding way back in engineering
listen to your team mates & take in
(many years ago) & was totally out of their views etc.
touch. I was doubtful if I would get
through because of this, but looks like
they gave good importance to the
other 2 parts as well, so you aren't
really at a disadvantage simply
because you don't know coding.
None
I still don't know who took my second

round of interview. The Skype
connection was bad. I couldn't see
interviewers face!
The interviews were re scheduled
three to four times. So be prepared.
Well organized Group Discussion

process where everyone was given
the opportunity to participate, lead the
discussion and steer the process.
At the end the final selected
candidates were called and the
leadership program was explained in
detail.
None
A video was shown where the existing
employees talked about the culture,
the work and the company
operations.
Finally replies to any queries and
questions which we might have.
Confidence, my work experience and

little coding I remembered helped me None
in the interview process.
Single interviewer in both rounds.
None
My interviews happened one after the

other. It was all coming with the flow.
You cannot predict how the interview
Some panelists make you
will shape up.
comfortable while asking questions,
some don't. Have to deal with it.
Short and quick process.
Group Discussion topic was

abstract , unrelated to the profile.
None
None
People were very chill. They were just

trying to know about you. Be honest None
and logical in your answers.
The IBM people were very humble,

polite and patient.
None
There was no presentation before so

Spot offers were given making it less
job role was not clear till I enquired
stressful.
about it in the interview.
It was a fair process. All applied for

the role appeared in the written test.
Shortlist for Group Discussion was
based upon the performance in the
test. Group Discussion topics were
not abstract, rather they were based
None
on current economic scenarios. In
interview they were only judging how
thorough you are with your financial
and economic concepts. My interview
was completely technical. The HR
guy did not ask a single question.
None
None
They value honesty is what I felt.

Also, you really need to be assertive
and justify any points you make.
Prepare your CV really well. Anything
None
you did, must have been done for a
reason! (be that choosing the
subjects you chose or participating in
a competition).
Looking at people who are

passionate to work with, and
energetic. Not looking for much
industry expertise.
Chairman's Group Discussion was

not as organized as TAS or
Mahindra.
I didn't find anything negative in

particular. Only thing being we were
not informed how many rounds of
Group Discussion was very smooth Group Discussion and PI will be
where they gave everyone a chance there.
to put across his/her point. Also, they After first Group Discussion we were
allowed to choose our own topic
told we will have a PI. Later we were
among the four choices that they
told we will have another Group
gave.
Discussion, from which they will
directly give offers. After second
Group Discussion we were told we
will have PI round as well.
None
None
Smooth process; good people.
None
It was a friendly interview.
None
Smooth interview.
Very less people wanted EBA. Most

were interested in CBC.
Process was not so stressful.
None
The entire round was smooth and

hassle free. The people were very
amicable and it was one of the best
processes. The interviewers asked
None
me questions to which I had very
straight and true answers. They were
as happy to place us as we were to
be placed.
None
None
It was a fairly easy process.
By the time I went in, 20 people were

already given out offers.
Everything ok.
None
There were a few people selected for

Only CV based short shortlist
the interview based on CV which
eliminated the chances of a few good
gave a fair chance for shortlisted
candidates.
candidates.
Well Balanced across Technical and

None
HR aspects.
Extremely easy procedure for CBC
role.
Your HR interview skills only matter.
The entire panel was friendly, the

None
process was very smooth & ordered.
Panel was very cool. They had not

wore formal in process. In Group
Nothing much but same package for
Discussion was not too loud. They
other B-school (apart from IIM)
were looking for 2 people but hired 3 candidates.
from our campus.
The panel was patient, gave time to
think and answer, questions were
straight out of my CV so I felt
prepared.
A long process, involved a long wait

time since around 20 candidates
were interviewed for both profiles.
They were very cool. It doesn't matter

you have IT background or not they
will judge you on the basis of your
Interview only. and people who had IT None
background and relevant work
experience were paid more that non
IT students.
The flip side of the work is told and

then you are asked if you will be able None
to work under such a situation.
They were open to my frank

statements and remained friendly
throughout the interview.
None
Very satisfactory. They tested the

individual through all the possible
None
angles before making the final offer.
One of the best process I've been to.
Though the Group Discussion was

too chaotic and hence, I did not
speak in it; the person gave
weightage to my only point which I
It was almost impossible for the
tried to speak once during the entire
people to speak in the Group
Group Discussion, even though no
Discussion.
one else heard it, and since he liked
the point, he selected me for the
interview and asked me about it as
the first question.
It was very smooth and only one

person to interview, so not much
cross question. The Interviewer
smiles when I tell something
confidently and correctly.
None
No stress interviews, they were

helping if you get stuck somewhere.
None
He interviewer was accommodating

and was giving ample time to think
and answer.
It was telephonic so could not gauge

the reaction.
Yes it was comprehensive through

rounds.
None
ZS is extremely punctual and

organized. they are highly focused
and helps candidates deliver the
best.
The interviews may go on for really

long.
I was placed through a PPO.
None
No pressure. Friendly.
Telephonic so can't get any cues on

their reaction to the answers.
It was very exhausting, but extremely

interesting because of the
interviewers' depth of knowledge and Demand for details about previous
the way the discussion happened.
offers and CGPA.
Also very well structured and
organized.
The interviewer was very cool

through out the process.
None
More of HR based interview with

some guestimates.
None
HR based.
None
Spot offers.
HR interview was on Skype.

Technical glitches caused lot of
distractions.
They appreciate your keenness,

interest and understanding - you don't
need to know everything (of course,
you should know most of what they
are asking but a cent per cent is not
expected; but also depends on other
None
candidates that are interviewing with
you). However, ask them questions
during their presentation and show a
sense of inquisitiveness to learn even
if you don't know something. Keep
your logic intact.
No non-sense process, they are only
what is relevant for their job profile. If
None
you are analytically good, process
would be a cake-walk.
The case given for Group Discussion
round was quite easy. Everyone could
contribute to the discussion. They
asked everyone to summarize at the None
end hence everyone received equal
chance to present their thoughts
before the panel.
For sales & marketing roles, they

were not looking for exact right
answer but probably an answer that
was convincing enough. Remain
confident throughout the process.
The facts & figures you use during

Group Discussion process or the
point you put in are again brought
back in interview round just to test
more on it.
So be sure to defend your points.
Panel was good. They were very

clear about their requirement and
tested each candidate on that.
Group Discussion results came really

late. People had spot offers by the
time results came for some other
panels.
I was lucky that most of the technical

questions were from ERC which my None
5th term paper.
The interviewers made me

comfortable and one of them was
guiding me during the role play.
The process was very long.
Was very systematic and well

arranged.
None
They came for the first time at IIM K

and didn't had any particular number
to hire for. So they were flexible in
None
giving in offers and gave spot offers
also.
The panelists were always very calm

and did not intimidate any candidate
even if the interview was not going
that well. They did not grill at all so
None
even if you did not get through, you
did not come out of the interview
hassled.
Direct interviews.
None
I was made to feel very comfortable. None. I liked the complete process,
The panel was not trying to create a both the Group Discussion and the
pressure situation.
interviews.
None
Group discussion was too long.
First interview was almost the

deciding factor.
Ending looked positive and I asked
them what role I am likely to get.
Group Discussion
Was my 5th Group Discussion and
the only one I managed to convert.
Very cool. Ample time given to think

and answer. Always keep smiling.
None
Structured process of three rounds.
Role offered and Job Description

provided were not clear.
Stay confident and focused. Listen to

questions clearly. Have a good idea None
about the newspaper industry.
The key was to seem interested in
the role and the fact that I had gone
None
through the Job Description properly
in advance.
Encouraging and positive.
None
General HR and resume based

questions. They were looking at
Case based Group Discussions can
strategic fit and had results of
be difficult. Little preparation
psychometric test to compare against beforehand might help.
the answers you give.
Was quick. Interview immediately

after each Group Discussion round.
Spot offers.
None
They were no tin a hurry to leave the

campus unlike many other processes
where the HRs had a flight to catch
None
and were thus interviewing only a few
students out of the shortlisted
candidates.
Very friendly and open conversation. Job role was not clear.
They were very good listeners and

too much interested in seeing you
talk.
None
The process was not very hectic and The aptitude test seemed
just right in the kind of rigor that was unnecessary and should have been
involved.
before the Group Discussion.
Be confident and talk as much as

possible and be energetic.
None
None
The whole process (i.e. both the

rounds were telephonic and so it is a
bit difficult to give telephonic
interviews. Also, as the round is from
your own mobile phone, you have to
search for a good and quiet place
where range is available and other
things. That's the only problem with a
telephonic process.
None
Very Generic.
Very positive throughout.
None
Completely from your CV. They test

you in your comfort zone so you need
to know how to tie up loose ends.
The Group Discussion provides
sufficient time for everyone to speak. None
If you've been attentive in marketing
elective case study discussions then
you can draw a lot of examples to
structure the discussion.
I started on a positive note and since

my approach for - 'Tell me about
yourself' was different, he was
interested in asking me more
None
questions related to the analogy I
gave. He then asked me to explain
how that will help in the sales role
offered by HCCB.
They were constantly saying that if

The interviewers were friendly. They
we take you and you leave HP in a
tried to put me at ease and make me
few years, we will blacklist you from
comfortable.
HP.
The interview questions were totally

related to the telecom sector so you
needed to have a proper
understanding of the current
scenario.
The Group Discussion topics were

generic and had around 10-12
people in each group. So, most of
the times it turned out to be a messy
affair.
Questions asked were specific to the

None
role offered.
No bookish knowledge needed to

clear the process. They were
checking for communication skills
and ability to sell.
None
None
None
The interviewers were very friendly

and the complete process was more
None
of a discussion than just questions
and answers.
Supporting points with illustrations is

More formal in their approach. Senior
important. No brownie points for
executives can be a bit intimidating.
simply speaking out anything.
They asked questions totally based

on the answers given for previous
questions , no separate questions.
Asked a lot of questions.
They are spot offers so do well with

the interview and you are through.
Too many people shortlisted.
Interviewer was a calm person who

tried to put candidates on ease.
Since it was a VC interview,

interviewer sometimes had more
focus on his laptop than candidate's
answers.
The process was smooth and the

interviewers were very co-operative.
None
Friendly interviewers, take as much

time as you need to think for the
answer.
Compensation details are not in line

with what they say in Job
Description.
It was more of a healthy discussion

than an interview.
Interviewers will check your thinking
process.
Very friendly, very less number of
cross questions, zero % stress
interview.
HR lady was not good.

Don't negotiate on salary.
Interviewers will give enough time to

explain your answers.
In a 120 minutes interview for almost
70-80 minutes they will talk.
1. Interviews although harsh, were

short and precise. Interviewers knew
what they were looking for and did
not beat around the bush.
2. Process once started, was quite
quick.
1. 2 shortlists were released- one for

the Group Discussion and one
directly for interviews. Wasn't really
sure on what basis this was done.
2. Stress interview.
Cooperative. Interviewers check your

suitability and fit to a particular
None
domain.
You were getting to know the result of

each round within next 5 minutes so
It didn't depend on other students
None
performance. It solely depended on
your performance.
The process was quick, not much

time in between rounds.
None
All the questions were to judge

whether you are a good fit for the
organization or not. The presentation
tested all the concepts and practical
None
understanding of the candidate. Even
though there was a lot of crossquestioning and probing, the
panelists were very encouraging.
Everyone was good.
It was too lengthy at times.
Thorough test of technical

knowledge, will be helpful to students None
who are diligent and sincere.
The interviewer was very patient.
None
The process was interactive.

Questions were scenario based and
linked to what answer you gave
Some stress questions were asked.
previously. They were giving you time
to think.
Very straight questions and in a
matter-of-factly mannered interview.
The offer they give is subject to many

loopholes. Please be very well
informed about their offer structure.
The whole process was conducted

like a conversation.
Tried to grill on experience and

competence question.
Even 1 good/logical point made in the

Group Discussion will take you to the None
interview round.
They shortlisted people looking at CV

and if they are convinced in the first
round that you have relevant
None
knowledge, then the remaining
process was a cake walk. Very chilled
out interview.
Good experience.
None
Comprehensive, people were kind.
Long and stressful, written test could

have been conducted before.
None
None
None
None
It was a stress free process and the

HR was very friendly
Group Discussion was a fish market

and must be avoided.
They were impressed with my CV

and most of the questions were
based on that.
I couldn't attend the presentation.
Reading of newspapers stood me in

good stead. They asked me
questions from a variety of topics
including prior work experience,
academic subjects, academic
projects, summer internships and my
hobbies, so it felt good to narrate
what I have done in my life. Also, the
Group Discussion was very thorough.
The process started 2 hours later
I, normally being a soft-spoken and
than the scheduled time.
reticent speaker, find it difficult to
make it past the Group Discussion
round. But, the people from KPMG
ensured that each got a chance to
speak and evaluated them based on
the substance and quality of the point
made, rather than the length/ duration
of airtime or the volume of the
individual.
1) Enough time given during Group

Discussion for candidates to
articulate, discuss and reach a
meaningful conclusion.
2) Some of the questions during the
interview are open-ended, which
provide a golden opportunity for the
candidate to steer the interview and
direct it towards her strengths or
things she wants to talk about.
Nothing in particular.
One of the 3 panelists for my
interview was not interacting with me
at all, but just intently observing my
body language. I made sure to
address him and make frequent eye
contact with him too while answering
questions.
None
None
To the point, crisp.
Got rescheduled lot of times as it

was a video conference and the
interviewee was a big shot (Global
SCM head).
They were really sweet people and

did not put me into stressful
situations.
None
Sufficient time was given to solve

each questions.
None
Good ambience and personality of

interviewers.
None
Very detailed interview on what I did

in the past.
None
Very relaxing interview. No stress

questions
Early morning 4 am.
The entire process was completed.

There was no instance of company
walking out as soon as direct
interview list was over. They went
None
through the entire process of Group
Discussion as well and selected one
candidate from there.
Thorough knowledge of role and

company required.
Not all roles offered.
Was very friendly.
Was little short and aptitude test after

Group Discussion is not that
relevant.
Panel was friendly. Group Discussion

None
topic was interesting.
Interview was simplistic and to the
point.
Group Discussion was a mess.
Summer internship project was asked
in detail.
They weren't expecting answers to all Hard drill down questions on
questions.
accounting.
None
None
Too much of waiting time after the

HR round. I waited for approximately
Structured process, Panel was helpful 5 hours before the technical
and was making people comfortable. interview. It creates situations that
may cause you to miss the other
process.
The interviewers were very cool and

None
put me at great ease.
Process was smooth and people

were eliminated after each round.
However, its your cumulative
performance that was seen till the
partner round.
None
After each round the recruiters were
communicating on their chat portals
about each candidate. Competitions
and high CGPA helped a lot building
my case.
It was fast for me. The moment the

Group Discussion was over, I was
asked to give interview.
None. May be presentation about the

role and program could have been
shared.
Know your CV well.
Wide industrial acumen is

imperative. Know about the trends
across multiple industries.
The interviewer was very friendly and

made the entire process very
None
comfortable and relaxed.
It was an informal discussion.

Interviewers were friendly.
Group Discussion process took a lot

of time.
HR questions well prepared.
Gestures because it was a VC.
Regarding the finance case study,

they observe the basic finance
knowledge.
None
All questions asked were answerable. Too many Group Discussions.
The interviewers didn't try to

pressurize or grill
were interested throughout.
None
My Interviewer made me feel

comfortable initially by asking few
general questions and then went on
into actual discussion.
None
Interviewer was very friendly. Sincere Poor quality of Skype connection

replies were appreciated.
affected the flow of the interview.
The role play was good, required

persistence and convincing power.
They randomly chose 9 CVs of the

people they want to interview, mine
was the 9th CV on priority basis.
Very long. Chairman's Group

Discussion drains you out. More than
speaking and analytical skills
Panelists were fully relaxed and
stamina is more important here.
made me feel comfortable. They are
Make sure you are fully involved in
very old people so I didn't try
the process till the end. Lots of
pretending to be something I was not.
people didn't make it through cause
Spoke for what I believed in and what
they were the last batch to go and
I thought was appropriate
were very tired by the end of the
Group Discussion to care about
being involved
Complete and comprehensive about

pharma, marketing, operations, HR, Odd timing of 1 am to 2 am.
and logic questions.
Really need good academics as
needed for any bank, being short and
No Group Discussion. Short process.
fast paced interview, quick and
Spot offers.
impactful answers should be ready
with you.
Relaxed process.
None
They want long term employee as

their program is looking for business Skype based interview.
leaders.
The interviewers were really nice and
patient. They actually helped you and
None
corrected you during the case solving
process.
Interviewers were very supportive

throughout the process.
None
Smooth and simple process. Easy

They did not give a presentation of
Group Discussion topics without fish
the company beforehand.
market and interview based on role.
Spot offers were being given. It was

fairly a very quick process with
interviews being taken immediately
after the candidates cleared the
Group Discussion.
None
Thorough interviews and Group

Discussion process, interviews were
distinctly different- one to test
None
patience and handling stress and the
other more technical.
Well managed.
Lengthy process. Takes the whole

day.
None
None
On-spot offers.
None
Very good HR questions were asked

and it was not very formal. They
made me feel comfortable and
None
confident. You can easily drive this
interview to wherever you want.
The recruiters valued quality over

quantity in the Group Discussion.
None
Very smooth.
Group Discussion had only 5

members.
The process went on very smoothly.

In spite of a big panel, questions
were not bombarded and questions
were asked one by one.
I was given a spot offer.
None
I was made very comfortable. The

interviewers were very receptive of
my answers and listened to whatever
None
I had to say. They frequently smiled
and carried out the interview mostly
like a discussion.
Direct interview based on Case

Mostly HR questions
None
They were very clear about the kind

of candidates they wanted and hence None
they kept the shortlist very short.
They will want to listen to you. so

speak more but speak sense. Only
then will they continue doing that else
you'll lose the control of your
interview in driving it in the direction
you want.
Just that sometimes the interviewer

will continuously go on and on and
you might have to interrupt and
speak, incase you want to.
Relatively easy going.
The order for interview wasn't told in

advance so chances of clash with
other processes.
They didn't give any spot offers

Questions were straight to the point,
though they had were making a list in
not a stress interview.
parallel.
I wasn't shortlisted initially. I told

Placement Committee member that I
was interested and to let me know if None
there was extended shortlist. I was
called later in the evening.
Very structured and organized - they The whole process was either on
know what they are looking for - no Skype or phone call which was a little
nonsense approach.
uncomfortable.
Very fair process. Question asked

were relevant to job profile.
None
Both the Chairman's Group

Discussion and presentation rounds
are fair methods of evaluation; the
Group Discussion will give everyone
a chance to speak and the
presentation round will focus on the
candidate's summer internship and
major learnings from the same.
It is unclear what is expected from

the candidate in the Director's round,
and it often seems like the decision
is up to the whims and fancies of the
person on the other side of the table.
Short listed students were called

randomly based on CV. Not all the
Interviewers were very friendly but
students were interviewed before
were cross questioning at every point.
process was closed because panelist
had to leave early.
Simple process with one round

interview.
None
You speak a few finance terms in

Group Discussion and you will easily None
get through that round.
Friendly nature. Reflects good about
IBM's HR policies.. Role offered was None
unique. Better explanations of role.
Room for candidates made the

process more refined allowing us to
collect ourselves.
The amount of time we were kept

waiting away from the control room
waiting for interview responses.
Tests you for nothing else but what

you do in the process.
None
Interviewers were top management of

the company.
They were very supportive, if you
Early Morning.
forget something, they will try to help
you out.
Be confident and thorough with the

company details.
None
It was a good experience. The panel

was composed and didn't put
None
pressure on the interviewees.
Very comprehensive.
Time consuming.
The panel was open for discussion.
None
The panel was very good.
Had to wait till the evening for the

results.
Quick and to the point questions spot offer.
The Group Discussion could have

been more structured, it was a fish
market!
The interviewers made me feel at

ease right from the beginning.
Unlike most other interviewers, they
heard me out patiently before crossquestioning.
People did not die of curiosity as they
were given spot offers.
The interviewers were constantly

being served refreshments (twice or
thrice during that one interview). This
proved to be a sort of a distraction.
None
None
Since the beginning I was confident.

They did not ask any technical
Basis of interview shortlist after the
questions. Moreover through their
Group Discussion round was
limited questions, I tried to keep them
random.
engage and tell all my strengths and
experiences through the same?
Separate time allotted to individual

candidate in Group Discussion helps
a lot. Interviewer was very friendly
and used to help during interview in
collecting thought process. Typical
None
process was very rapid and didn't
kept candidate waiting for too long.
Interview clarified role before start of
the interview itself.
2 separate shortlists for India and

Global role.
I was shortlisted for both.
Some Interviews were telephonic

and too long time over phone, people
lost concentration for case
interviews.
The screening process was better as

an exam on pure finance was
None
conducted.
Interview was not that serious and

grilling as expected.
Had to wait over 4 hours to get my

turn.
The panel made me comfortable with

them at first asking some silly GK
questions and then started asking
None
questions in depth which were highly
relevant for the role they were
offering.
It was an extremely structured

process and they displayed a lot of
patience to know every candidate
extremely well.
None
Smooth process.
Waiting time.
Smooth process.
Waiting time.
Interviewer tried to confuse me during

the technical round, but I answered
None
confidently and explained the
answers with proper reasons.
Very quick.
Fish market Group Discussion.
It was a panel of three. 1 HR and 2

from the India CMT team. Very nice
people. They were basically testing
the basics of finance and
communication skills and general
know how.
None
Summer internship experience.
None
The Group Discussion process was

conducted very well - 5 person
groups with 30 minutes - gave ample
time for everyone to talk without the
need for any intrusions. Once
discussion started getting repetitive,
they stopped us and gave a different
question: If you were the marketing
head of Nestle, and had to choose
one product to launch, would you
launch Bottled Water or Biscuits. This
wasn't a discussion, everyone had to
give their view in 1 minute.
Split between Group Discussion

(previous night) and Interview (early
morning of the following day) was
taxing but that is probably a limitation
of flight to Kozhikode.
Interviewers are very friendly and

they help you frame and think thru
the answers as well. Prefer
telephonic over Skype I would say.
Too heavy on the brain. My 3

interviews were back to back, and so
after the 2nd interview, I was totally
gone and had turned red having
used my brain like crazy. They will
dig a lot on whatever you answer.
"What else" was their usual reply to
whatever I answered to them. But
MS process was the most satisfying
of all.
The process was quite smooth and

the people who came to interview
were very friendly.
None
Interviewers were very encouraging

and will help you through answers.
None
The panelists were also involved in

the Group Discussion process and
None
showed interest in listening to all the
points.
Very humble people. Did not try to

stress me out.
It was a VC interview.
They asked any questions?

I asked them what are they looking in None
a candidate ?
Did not keep candidates waiting till

the end, helpful for those who had to Seemed slightly unstructured.
attend other processes.
Coordinated excellently. The

interviewer were friendly.
None
Didn't have a stress interview as

such. The panelist were judging
mostly based on your fit for the
company and your interest for the
post. The aptitude test is not very
complicated.
Group Discussion's do result in major

fish markets with all the imaginable
commotion possible.
The interview panel was very much

focused on the overall personality of
None
the person and not just on how much
knowledge a candidate had.
Nothing to be stressed about. they

were looking for entrepreneurial
interests which is HCL's company
vision also.
Nothing specific but a prior

presentation session might have
helped to understand role more
before interview.
Most of the questions were aimed in

None
gauging situation based reactions.
Vodafone is never a stress interview.

And they check more of your attitude
than your theoretical knowledge.
Smile a lot during interview.
Group Discussions are random and

tend to become a fish market. Use
lots of examples when making any
point.
None
None
The panel was very helpful during

both the process which didn't
candidates freak out particularly
Absolutely not. It was very fair. Try
during the Group Discussion round. not to over do during the Group
Even during the Interview round they Discussion,
were giving enough time to me to put
my thoughts on the table.
None
None
None
None
Well coordinated.
Laptop microphone was not working,

so audio transmission was being
done through handheld mobile
phone.
The company was keenly observing

people who genuinely spoke
interesting points in the Group
Nothing negative but the constant
Discussion. Also, they were not
grilling and the stress interviews can
focused on the final answers that the be taxing,
aspirants give but were more focused
on the thinking process,
Checks your confidence level.
None
Very relaxed.
None
Smooth process.
Candidates should be informed

properly about the role they are
being offered before the interview.
They made me feel comfortable. No

stress interview, and no
uncomfortable questions.
They could have tried bringing one of

our seniors so as to give us a better
understanding of the profile.
The process was smooth.
None
They just want to know about your

perspective.
None
Interviewer was not intimidating at all.

None
Comfortable Process.
Its not a stress interview, if confident

one can steer it the way one wants
but one has to be very clear about
where he wants to lead the
None
interviewer to. Don't fall into the trap
thinking you can handle everything,
better to have a plan and follow it.
it was a very well organized process,

interviewers knew what they were
talking about and gave ample time to None
think and also helped if you got stuck.
got stuck
The process well quite smooth.
It ran overnight, started in the

evening 6 pm, and I got my offer at 5
am; it was a continuous process.
Smooth and structured process.
None
They were very friendly. they valued

honest answers.
None
Faster than most processes.
None
The interviewers were patient to test

None
the domain knowledge.
The guys were very chill, trying to

make us comfortable.
None
Interview conducted by the MD, CGM

and CHRO of the organization. All
Very long interview.
questions asked are relevant to the
role you have applied for.
They weren't stress interviews and I

got sufficient time to answer.
None
Very structured.
Very long and tiring.
Smooth, interactive, no time

pressure. You can be yourself.
None
Was calm and composed, panel was

None
very friendly and encouraging.
Interviewers were warm and easy to

speak to.
None
It was a smooth process overall. No

hassles.
Not as such. But due to VC, you

aren't able to see the faces of
interviewers, so you have to try hard
to maintain eye contact.
Very professional. When we could not

answer a question, they took time in
The process started at 12 midnight.
helping us understand. Focus was on
learning, not mere recruitment
They asked relevant questions.
None
None
None
Feedback from/Questions asked to other candidates

shortlisted for the interview process
Mostly basics of finance.
I was the first one for the process and got the spot offer
hence didn't ask others.
Summarize CV.
Strengths and weakness.
Puzzles were asked to everyone. Prepare for that.
Generally everyone was asked about Reliance, its

origination, its share price, market cap. Feedback was to
smile and speak, not to keep a serious face.
Why should we hire you was a common question.
Everyone had case interviews.
Most of the candidates were grilled on core finance

questions especially from M&A topics such as valuation
multiples.
Mostly based on the form filled including achievements and

subjects.
Almost everyone was asked similar questions.
8-10 of us (I think 8, not sure) were selected after the

written test. they needed about 4 for a Group Discussion.
The first 4 of us attended the Group Discussion. The rest of
them had individual interviews, probably because they
couldn't get 4 people together at a time due to other
processes. I didn't ask what they were asked in the
interviews, sorry.
All other people too who went through process said it was
kind of stress interview.
Was entirely CV based even for the laterals.
Other Group Discussion topic: Swatch Bharat Abhiyan.
Depending on the panel, some had purely technical rounds

and some only HR as part of Round 1 and 2. But I had a
mix of both.
Based on resume mostly , HR questions.
Everyone had basic HR questions only
Similar questions were asked. Experienced people were

asked about their work.
Most of the questions were based on the CV only and a few

HR questions like Why Sales? Why IBM?
How would you increase sales?

Can you work and adjust in rural areas?
Some were asked on the concepts of NAV in mutual funds.

One candidate was grilled on derivatives while I was not.
Nearly everyone were asked about current world
economics.
It was essentially a CV based interview. So it all depends

on how you want to drive it.
My other batchmate who was selected for interview was

also asked a similar set of questions. Why IT, location
constraints?
Particularly projects and work experience.
Similar questions.
Similar questions.
HR questions.
Run through CV.
Similar kinds, mainly focused on summers and resume

based. They judged the fit to the role.
The panelists form there impression in the first round itself.

So if you ace the first round more than half the job is done.
They wanted a person with IT background having done

MBA in finance.
For CBC role interviews were very easy, even technical
round seemed like an HR round.
2. Internship project & related questions.
3. Questions on projects & electives.
4. Questions on company's India as well as international
portfolio.
5. Basic marketing questions.
6. All of us had questions on our hobbies , passions &
interests (whether we had followed them up or were they
simply CV points).
Almost same questions. Same situations.
Questions based on CV, questions like 'what would you

change about our website'.
For core technical roles there was a technical round as

well.
I have not discussed much with other candidates to be able

to answer this question.
Some students weren't asked about case questions which

didn't make it to second round. This might be they were
looking for a team fit through HR questions.
All similar HR questions.
About the work experience and their interest for the role.
Basic knowledge of portfolio management and risk

measurement.
Similar set of questions.
Positive, similar experience.
Similar questions.
Similar questions.
The generic questions were asked to most people. Most

candidates did not have many cases (mostly two to three).
Questions were primarily driven by which department you
want to work in and what kind of projects you are looking
at.
HR based questions. Checking clarity of thoughts.
Guesstimates.
1. Why this particular role.

2. Sell yourself for this role.
It was mostly the same line of questioning - puzzles, HR,

CV, technical and macroeconomic.
1. Reason behind choosing finance as a career.

2. Basic questions related to banking domain.
Why Idea?
Why Sales? Why you?
Q: Tell me about yourself.

Q: Questions from what they spoke in Group Discussion.
Q: Roles based question like for rural marketing- how you
will bring new customers etc.
Role play was the major part of every candidate's interview.
Why CBC ?
Why Consultancy ?
Domain Knowledge ?
Work experience?
Will you be able to sell in rural areas?
HR questions were similar. Interview was guesstimates and

situations so there was similarity only in that sense.
Turnover of the companies where they did their internships.
Mine was mostly HR while for others, they asked a few

technical finance based questions.
About the company.
About how will you contribute to the firm.
Almost the same things.
Project description.
General HR questions about you, your education, choices

and marketing questions.
Most of them were asked about their summer internship

project only.
In general asked about how they could contribute to their

company.
CV related questions, Basic HR.

Why this company and role, Walk me through your CV,
Leadership instance.
HR mainly.
1. Tell me about yourself?

2. Questions from CV (related to prior sales experience).
3. Why HCCB?
Location Constraints. This was the general question asked

to every candidate.
1. Why sales and marketing?

2. How would you help in the rural areas which is the area
of focus?
3. Why Idea Cellular?
4. What are your interests?
1. Summer internship project.

2. General conceptual marketing questions.
Summer Internship details.
Prepare your CV really well. and also know the details

about the role as they often give you the option of leaving
this role and sitting for the interview process of another.
In general, all the interviews were HR based, so it was

based on the profile of every student. No technical
questions.
Pretty much on the same lines. A lot of stress was put on

the candidate's knowledge of Reliance Industries.
Be thorough with internship project and subjects mentioned

in CV.
Mostly there are no technical questions, it would be entirely

based on your CV.
Interview was CV based.
In the financial aptitude section, you might not be able to

attend all the questions due to time constraint, so pick the
questions judiciously. Back yourself to do those.
Similar questions.
Almost same.
General Feedback- the interviewers seemed too

disinterested in the interview (at least they made the
candidate feel so). Seemed like they were testing our
patience, even to the extent of mocking, cutting in while
you are answering, talking/laughing while you are
answering. The speed with which questions were asked left
you tired after the interview (15 minutes and more than 1015 questions, not an easy feat!) Ergo, A stress interview!
Key is to not lose your cool.
Not aware of any common question apart from "tell me
about yourself".
The interview majorly revolved around each of the
candidates profile, strengths/weaknesses, areas of interest,
etc. Since the role is more on the lines of general
management, I believe they weren't looking for a specific
type. (Since its a bank, of course finance is the core but
were they looking for any specific skill set in finance).
Everyone was asked on their domain knowledge and

interests. Short cases during telephonic round.
Questions related to CV, work experience, internship,

marketing concepts.
About balance sheet, accounting principles, Finance

subjects in their CV.
CV based interview.
Introduce yourself, why marketing, why ITC, internship

project details, hobbies, questions on branding, etc.
All IT background questions.
Some ethical problem was given to them.
"Tell us about yourself" was the 1st question that was

asked to everyone.
They asked questions related to work experience in

general.
The questions were mostly CV based and it was a general

HR interview.
Some other candidates had stress interviews. All of us

were asked questions from academic projects.
Summer's experience
CBC would like to know if you can fit into any particular
industry they serve. So they asked about industry
relevance to many people.
We were strictly prohibited from sharing interview questions

with other candidates. So I believe all other candidates
were also given the same case.
Some puzzles etc.
Almost same.
HR questions mainly.
CV based and role based.
Why Sales and how do you fit in?
Mostly CV based.
Questions on derivatives, fixed income securities.
To other candidates in the technical round they were told to

choose any industry and questions were asked on it.
I was the first candidate to be interviewed so I do not know

about other candidates.
CV based questions.
Financial Management is important.
People asked about salary break up etc.

And about female leaders also.
They were generally positive.
Many students were not interested in the profile as the

compensation is low.
All the selected students were in the first panel of the
Group Discussion. Maybe the Group Discussion order was
their initial preference order.
It was almost same for everyone.
Situation based questions.
Which other companies are on campus and other such

details.
Many questions were repeated.
Academic projects and summer internship, clarity about

work experience and business goals.
They just want to know about you and how much clear
vision you have about the role, the company and your
future; Be thorough to your CV.
Why pharma?
Similar experiences.
Almost same set questions. They were also asked about

the company background.
Similar questions on statistical tests and SPSS.
Candidates were asked questions on their internship and

hobbies, extra-curriculars.
Similar questions in all interviews - HR and work related

technical.
Questions on prior work experience are almost asked well

in depth.
Mostly HR and CV based questions.
General questions from CV and HR.
Most candidates were asked questions based on CV in

addition to general HR questions
About yourself. Basically it was an HR interview.
Internship related.
About yourself.
Why Marketing?
Everyone was being asked about their work experience in

detail so that they can chose the person with right kind of
work experience.
No idea. But more or less similar.
Interview mainly revolved around the related work profiles,

projects and anything mentioned in CV.
Similar questions were asked to all the candidates.
Everyone was asked same puzzles for BA role.
In the presentation round, panelists mainly concentrate on

the learnings from the internship and the improvements
that can be made to the project.
Most of the students had interview based on CV only.
Interview was CV based for everyone.
Two three people where asked questions on similar lines.
Similar questions. Varied across roles.
Be thorough with the CV.
Similar questions asked.
Aptitude questions.
Why sales?
Why Vodafone?
They rejected students who could not convince them why

sales and why insurance. These were prominent driving
questions.
Others mostly had technical interviews.
Most of the questions are on favorite subjects of the

candidate.
Questions related to the work experience.
They were very happy about the process as it was well

structured.
The case study in not very tough, they expect you to take
decisions keeping in mind an overall perspective of things
and not just the given data.
What did you learn in MBA in 18 months?

Mostly similar.
One candidate was grilled about being competitive - and

whether it is good to always be ruthless and the importance
of team work.
Similar mostly! Basic IT knowledge needed.

2. Situations where you displayed leadership.
Almost the same
Similar questions.
Similar questions.
Pretty much the same flow of questions.
Confidence is the key.
Almost the same questions.
Tougher technical questions on statistics.
Questions related to interests and subjects. certifications

and few candidates were also asked to sell some virtual
products.
Mostly same questions asked.
Didn't interact with other candidates.
An impression that you will stay in the company will

certainly help. They don't want people who switch jobs
frequently. Also, they usually go for stress interview. If the
aspirants can keep their cool and think logically they will be
able to clear the process.
What are their future goals.

Positive.
Tell us about yourself, favorite subject, would you be happy

with Mumbai.
What is the job description?
Questions on supply chain.

What makes you think you will be good at Sales?
Strengths and weaknesses.
What do u know about the profile?

Why finance?
Multiples and DCF.
Mostly it was CV based. and why IBM and why Sales.
Questions pertaining to summer internship.
Why sales?
Why CRISIL was a common question.
Technical questions from Operations.
Be thorough with the details about your CV. Most of the

questions come from there.
Passions, Area of interest in academics, Achievements,

International Exposure etc.
Some people were asked guesstimates as well apart from

that I believe questions were similar based on the person's
profile. For example I had done swimming and theatre so a
lot of my marketing questions were based on that. If
someone was a dance they were asked to make marketing
plans for that setting.
They did not give enough chance to all the people. Rather
they gave more time to a few than the others. Similar
questions were posed on to everyone. Guesstimates were
their primary focus.
What is consulting?
Clarity on company, your goals, subjects and any relevant

projects (finance related in this case) you have worked on.
About hobbies, interests, their summer projects (one was in

FMCG, other in telecom).
Similar questions were asked from others too. They

basically want to check your willingness to work for the
company and in Nigeria and other locations.
Guesstimates and mostly about the technicalities of media

industry.
Suggestions to the next batch of students if any
Be ready with at least 2 favorite finance subject. Be confident before

and in the interview.
Whatever role you are applied for, prepare your intro that suits the
role and justify that in the interview.
For consulting interviews, take your time to answer, think and don't
blurt out what comes to mind. Talk sense. For cases, ask relevant
questions. And above all be confident.
Read about the company and think of some relevant questions to ask
in the end.
For the operation role, revise your operation concepts (concept of

OM I will be sufficient) and take deep sleep to keep mind open to
solve puzzle.
Brush up your subjects relevant to the profile offered.

HR questions are important, and have relevant examples ready for
your strengths and weaknesses.
Be thoroughly prepared about the company.
Go through the company profile thoroughly and speak to seniors in

the company. It will help a lot in showing your interest in the interview.
Be clear about why media industry.
For JPMC CRG, it is essential to be well prepared with M&A

concepts, especially multiples. You should be well versed with recent
financial news topics and have an opinion on them. You may be
given scenario based questions and asked to respond as an Ibanker. Be thorough with at least 1-2 sectors of your choice.
Most importantly, they look for confidence in candidates so try to give
crisp answers with utmost confidence.
I was asked questions on Leadership may be because I had

mentioned it in the TAS form where you need to mention subjects in
different domains. This means they go through the form thoroughly.
Hence you should be prepared.
For the presentation round, template would be provided to you. Try to
make it professional and highlight your individual contribution the
most. You can take help of those who intern with TAS as they make it
for their final review.
Be genuine, structure your answers and consider various
perspectives while answering.
Be very involved in the problem. Think deeply, think of interesting

correlations/ questions: basically how data can help you come up
with interesting observations. Be calm, sit back & relax.
Feel free to express what you are thinking, not just in words,
drawings graphs etc. are welcome.
Attend their presentation (which was just before the process) to get a
good understanding about the company, what they believe in, why it
was started, etc.
Prepare CV properly.
Don't write any project just because it looks good. Read it thoroughly.
Be prepared with the company profile and the roles applied for. A lot
of questions were based on that. They might ask you explain the
basic differences and the understanding of roles such as Business
Excellence and Business Development.(I had applied for General
Management)
Be prepared with the CV. Stay calm and justify your answers.
Be familiar with everything on your CV.

Read about the company.
Show your passion for the sales and marketing role.
Read the Job description properly. It will definitely help during the
interview.
1.) Be yourself.
2.) Highlight your key strengths, qualities when told to introduce. Give
examples to substantiate above qualities.
3.) Show eagerness for the job/role/company. Show
ability/willingness to learn. Too much of role/company fit checked.
4.) Personality is being judged at all times.
5.) Be friendly, calm, confident.
6.) Wrong answers do not matter. Everyone cannot know all. But
think aloud. Thought process checked.
7.) Keep up with the conversation. Communicate well.
Don't beat around the bush, give honest answers.
Prepare introduction very well and end it in a point where you want
discussion to be. They might not stop so prepare a long introduction
of yours.
Be confident.
Prepare your CV well. Prepare HR questions and answers. Read a

lot. And read about the company before appearing for the process.
And most important, be strong.
Be very clear with basic questions like:

"Tell me about yourself"
"Why Sales"
"Strengths weakness"
These make or mar an interview according to me.
Be emphatic while answering the question "can you do a rural stint
having always stayed in a city"= quote examples when you have
travelled/adjusted easily.
Be thorough with financial ratios, valuation methodology, derivative

concepts or any other financial courses and projects that you have
mentioned in the CV. They will ask which topics are your favorite and
start with it but will end up covering each topics mentioned in the CV.
If you are conceptually strong in finance then you will definitely be
able to convert.
Look at the Job Description and find what domain you are being
interviewed for. They were mainly keen on testing how well I can
think and how well I can apply simple consumer behavior concepts
for the domain I was being interviewed for (Digital Customer
Experience domain in my case).
Be calm in the interview and its ok to not know all answers, you can
always say, I do not know it doesn't offend the interviewers, at times
helps them understand you better.
The company was hiring only 20 senior management trainees across

top 10 B schools. They were looking mainly for attitude, background
in IT was not a constraint. Also, they emphasized on structured
thinking process.
Be prepared with CVs and some marketing terms as the role was
digital marketing.
Remember it about selling yourself so read some books like "How to
sell anything to anybody"- it's there in library.
Keep up with newest trends in technology; knowledge of Analytics

has become really important these days for any job.
Be confident and slightly aggressive for sales profiles.
Be real. Be truthful. They are looking for clarity in your thoughts and if
you give them the real reason or answers they will appreciate that.
For example I had an entrepreneurship background, they asked me
why not get into start up and develop your start up. I told them which
was the truth , that at this point in time I don't see myself working in a
start up. I need stability and focus. hence a corporate job.
Group Discussion is the determinant.
Be candid, don't back out once you take a stance, don't rush while
replying/talking; take your time answer smartly, even if you know the
answer perfectly take some time pretending to ponder.
Brush up fundamentals of Hedge funds, VaR.

Fill CBC only if you want to work there.
Thorough overall preparation - know who you are & be that person.
Future Group does not take interview based on CV. Have to know
how to handle HR and Marketing scenario.
Read your CV thoroughly and write down all probable questions and
answers. Be thorough about the profile offered, the company's
website.
Prepare your CV thoroughly. Interview was totally based on CV.
Prepare the CV very well. Also prepare the personality questions and
the key learning from various experiences.
Do thorough analysis of the case. Read recent news & industry

trends. Ask relevant questions when given a chance to ask. It
definitely creates an impact.
Be honest about everything, completely honest.

Say things confidently and with a smile, which will automatically come
if you will be honest.
Don't be stressed at all.
Please be aware about the each point of job description and try to
relate it with your previous Work experience if any. It also shows how
much interested you for the job.
Stay focused as it is bit rigorous.
Go through the company details and profile offered, solve

cases(Case in Point is a good book and highly recommended).
Prepare current affairs, particularly for such roles like credit. You
should be able to link them to credit.
For any consulting profile ask questions - different questions for each
interviewer. I asked two questions to each interviewer and the
discussion on the questions lasted 10 minutes. Some examples What are the travel policies? How important is CSR for the firm?
Recently I read such and such a thing (in my case: transformational
consulting) in news, articles, papers etc., with respect to consulting
industry what is your opinion on this? Do you think there is a better
way to do an XYZ process (eg. suppose consulting firms change
their compensation to ESOPS what would happen, suppose ecommerce is expected to boom do you think creating a new
dedicated division is the best option, what is your opinion on long
term work from home options)? discuss the practicality and the
benefits and costs. Sometimes bad answers can be completely
masked by good questions because you ask questions in the end
and this is where you have the maximum power to drive the
discussion the way you want, provided you ask right questions. If you
end with an interesting and impactful discussion then your bad
answers will most likely be forgotten. Again please be diplomatic,
tactical, and perceptive. Most consultant-interviewers like to talk, but
not everyone. Do not ask question on a topic that you can't speak
about.
Please be clear about which department you want and why.
Practice some
1. Pseudo codes
2. Guesstimates
Read about current happenings and situation of Indian economy.

Prepare all the HR questions such as Why this company, Why this
profile, strengths, weaknesses, etc.
Be confident.
Please go through the Job Description carefully. Form your own

understanding about nature of work.
Visit company web site and identify current hot trends in particular
company.
1. Tell me about yourself - prepare two version one for around 4-5
minutes and one for 1 minute.
2. Questions were very simple you have be just confident while
answering.
3. 6 member panel sitting from one corner of the table to another so
try to make eye contact with all of them.
Be yourself, take your time, think and them answer during the role
play. If you have taken a wrong decision don't hesitate to accept it.
Prepare your resume thoroughly.
More from your capability to join Tata Communication, they were

interested whether we want to join or not.
Reliance is very proud about their values and hold them in high
regard. So even if not directly but indirectly through the answers that
you give show that you possess those characteristics and your
thought process should reflect those values.
Study about the company, its products, recent M&A if any.
Think before you answer, it is exactly the opposite of a marketing

Group Discussion. It is not necessary that the first speaker gets
brownie points. The one who has thought though her/his answer and
answers well gets points.
Be assertive in Group Discussion and interview.

They look for people who can stand by what they say.
Do well in case based Group Discussion. Answer the interview

questions honestly.
Focus on you CV.
Know about company values.
It pays to take calculated risks.
Be confident and pleasant during the interview. Be calm during the

Group Discussion. Fish markets are not preferred. Even if you enter
the Group Discussion few times but calmly and relevant points you
have chance of making it to the interview.
Know your summer internship project inside out and try to relate it to
the job profile/company that you sit for.
Get to understand the business model of the company and how they
can fit into it for maximum output from both the parties.
It is very important to smile throughout the process of the interview.

They would make you talk and take the interview in any direction you
want. Bring them to your comfort zone.
Please be thorough with your CV. Read each and every word form
your CV and things related to it. Be confident and take time to
answer analytical question. Don't jump on it! and if possible ask for
some time to think!
Prepare HR well.
An understanding of marketing concepts through relevant examples

and not jargons is what will help.
1.Prepare thoroughly about the company and what they do (HCCB

takes care of bottling + S&D + BTL activities).
2. It is advisable to ask relevant questions to them at the end.
Knowledge of Project Finance and Accountancy is crucial. The whole

interview will revolve around it.
Clear understanding of internship project and the marketing projects

done on campus is needed. It is preferred if the student has an
internship in sales and distribution. No unnecessary marketing jargon
is required as the focus is on perspicuity of thoughts and work done
in projects.
Be aware of current trends of the role you are applying for.
Be well prepared with your resume.
Know your CV well.
Go through the industry.
Please try to be friendly, polite and humble as much as possible.

Role, work culture and work life balance is more important than
money.
Put more focus on your previous work experience role- which should
be related to client facing.
Please read up on Banking sector in India and worldwide. Various

ratios specific to banks. Whatever is there on the CV, make sure u
know it! Of all my interview processes, Axis was the one who grilled
on the CV. Read up on projects done in second year (those
mentioned on the CV). Do not lose your cool if u feel that the
interviewers are grilling you or are being unreasonably harsh! Like
with any stress interview, try to keep smiling during the process and
remain focused (even if you want to shoot the person in front of you!)
Very good profile for anyone who wants a good career in finance but
doesn't want to limit themselves to investment banking. Hence do
prepare well!
Be thorough through your CV and prepare some general instances

on leadership, problem solving skills, achievements and your
aspirations in line to your work experience and internship.
Be thorough with your CV.
They look for prior work experience, so be confident about what you
have done. Keep some information about your previous
company/domain and latest trends. Need to know about consulting in
general.
Be very well prepared with your CV and summer internship. Work on

your communication skills especially for Group Discussions(current
topics). Do a lot of mock Group Discussions and Pis. It will give you
confidence and help you know your weak areas.
Mainly try to relate real life experiences with the answers and for tell
me something about yourself try to speak about something outside
the CV for at least 3 minutes.
Prepare properly your subjects, summer internship, your background,

work experience.
Be genuine while answering the questions. Prepare your CV well.

Most questions were either based on CV or courses written on the
CV.
They clearly prefer IT work experience. So be very well informed
about their roles and their preference for min 2 years work
experience in IT.
Be honest, keep smiling. Prepare on the Telecom sector as a couple

of Group Discussion topics were based on it.
Just be confident and prepare your CV thoroughly. Be a little updated

about your area of work experience.
Please be thorough with the basic concepts of valuation. Also please

prepare completely on a particular sector you are comfortable talking.
This could be any, but you should have in-depth knowledge about the
same.
Just ensure you show interest in the company and make 2-3 relevant
points in Group Discussion. Do not go off the topic.
Remain calm and be honest.
Please be thorough on every point on your CV. Make sure you air
only relevant points in Group Discussion. Be specific.
Always be prepared with a couple of intelligent questions to ask at

the end of the interview. It creates a signaling effect and convinces
the interviewers of your genuine interest in the company.
It is a nice process. Very smooth. CBC would like to fit you into one
of their industry verticals. So try to match your CV with any industry
based on your work experience, summers or any projects that you
have done.
Thorough research on the company you are attending the process of,
and want to go into.
Prepare CV very well.
You should be aware about the economy as it directly co-relates to

the banking sector of the country. Secondly general information
about the ratios and numbers of the bank will only help in creating
positive impression further follow on topics to be discussed.
Be confident and don't lose your temper and be honest in your

answers.
Make sure you know a lot about RIL.
Be clear with basic HR questions. Confidence, thoroughness with

summer internship project and basic knowledge about the company
will help a great deal.
Be confident in what you say.
Prepare Guesstimates and Case based interviews.
Read up on Reliance thoroughly and be prepared for questions on

your summer internship.
Practice cases and be sure why do you want consulting.
Please do ask and clarify doubts if any, they don't take it in a

negative way.
Practice all HR questions properly.
All basic finance knowledge and show interest during the interview.
See the values of KPMG - helps in situation based questions.

Case in Point (book) is a must-do for any consulting interview.
Just be thorough with your CV. Answers to generic questions like tell
me about yourself and why IT consulting.
Be prepared and be confident.
Be confident and read about the company
Be prepared. Never assume you can make up stuff when situation

arises. I had failed before because of that.
Learn more of pharma, then basics of marketing, and operations. Be

true and confident.
If you are shortlisted; it's easy to crack if you are thorough with your
CV.
Remain calm, don't rush on to any question asked, take your time
which they will certainly give, think and answer
Show intent and willingness to join this sector.
Do read about the company extensively and also prepare well for
why you best fit in this role as compared to other candidates.
Be confident and prepare your CV and HR questions. They will test

your knowledge of statistics as it is role based.
Prepare thoroughly on your Summer Internship Project. Apart from

your project, you must also be aware of the overall industry (market
leader, approximate market share) in which the company where you
are interning is. eg. Apparel, Telecom, FMCG etc. Make sure you
prepare thoroughly on your academic projects. Apart from this, keep
a weekly account of your internship. It will help you later. Also ensure
that you have questions like 'the most important learning from your
internships', 'challenges faced during internship' well prepared. HR
questions are the most important and are often the deciding factor in
an interview. Be well prepared with them. It is better if you make a list
of those questions and write them down. There are several forms to
fill 2-3 days before the placements start and the answer to those
questions are more or less the same. So, this would save some time.
Practice the HR questions by saying them aloud. It gives immense
confidence and also helps you to improvise.
Thorough preparation of work experience if any, and clear ties to the

business of the company, preparing HR questions.
Prepare each line of the CV. If you falter here then it is hard to make
up for it later. Steer interview to the direction which you want to talk
about by highlighting what you have done which is related to the topic
that is being discussed.
Be well prepared with the company's business.
A good Group Discussion round and more than half the work is done.
Give your best in Group Discussion.
Be confident and open up. Be genuine and explain everything in

detail. Talk to them as if you are talking to a colleague It shows how
confident you are.
Do not create a fish market in the Group Discussion. The panel did
not select those who tried to dominate the Group Discussion.
Be confident.
Just be yourself and be ready with all the questions which an

interviewer can ask about your work experience, about your projects,
subjects, case competitions etc.
Be very sure about your CV, internship and what's happening in the
world of marketing. If you know what the company is recently done
and use that as an example, it will surly raise the eyebrows of the
interviewers and get you extra points. Ask relevant questions to the
interviewer in the end.
Take the case solution seriously.
Be thorough with your work experience and prepare to speak it in

presentable way to suit the Job Description.
You should have specific insights about the retail and Textile
industry/sector.
Be thorough with the CV.

Read about Bajaj Auto and the Auto industry in general and be very
careful in revising your academic projects.
Do apply if interested. They are flexible in terms of shortlist.
Stay updated with Technology news, design aspects, go through

Microsoft interview experiences of other candidates. Be very
structured in your approach.
They were not too much interested in relevant prior experience. They
were looking for general aptitude, attitude of a person and willingness
to take the job.
Just be confident and read a few banking terminologies (FLIP course

in brief) before interview.
Be confident. Wear a smile and be calm during the interview. While in

Group Discussion talk 3-4 times, make arguments with some
numbers if you can, which will substantiate your points. Try to bring in
new points. If Group Discussion is turning into a fish market try to
moderate the Group Discussion.
Read about company before going to interview.
Be well prepared with the general HR questions and your CV.
Keep it simple. Ask as many questions as possible before answering

the scenario based questions and guesstimates.
Be confident. It wont be stress interview just show them your

versatility.
Be confident. Just be yourself and yes in marketing don't forget to

speak lot.
Solve as many cases as possible.

Academically anything can be asked- Even if u have applied for Ops
role, You must know Finance basics too.
Quickmba.com: Learn all the frameworks.
Don't just be thorough about your internship. Also prepare well for
Company's portfolio, market you had worked on and other specific
aspect of your internship. That is definitely some points from which
extra questions would come.
They should have sound knowledge of financial modeling and

analysis, interdependence between P&L; Accounts, Cash Flow
Statements and Balance Sheets and a good understanding of the
impact of various factors on cash metrics (e.g. NPV, IRR, RONA).
Prepare follow up questions - it extends interviews by a long time,

and can start a conversation (as opposed to simple questions and
answers). Plus it shows interest!
Be articulate and sound calm yet enthusiastic. Respond to their calm

demeanor on the phone/Skype. Take it light. Take your time to
answer, they will give you sufficient time, it feels like you are working
in a team with the interviewer, so act like a team member, ask
questions like "I am not sure if this feature is good, what do you think
or may be we can think thru it later as we go." Application designing
was the basic question they built on.
Just Be Confident and know your CV in and out.
They looked for confident people and those who are good at
speaking.
Be open to all possible locations if you are asked a question about on

the same lines. They will look for fit & adaptability when it comes to
traveling and being comfortable in conversing in Hindi and other local
languages(if applicable) apart from English of course.
Show your presence in the Group Discussion all throughout. That's
the biggest eliminator.
I truly believe being honest with your attitude and answers is the key
to Asian Paints. Also don't be very aggressive, be very soft spoken
yet bold during the process.
Make sure that you know why you want to go in for the role offered.
Your passion for the role is what matters the most.
Prepare well and be confident.

I wasn't asked a single question about finance ! Just HR interviews!
Prepare HR questions well. They expect basic knowledge about
finance.( Except Investment Banking). One of the recruiters said 'We
check attitude, not aptitude because IIM students have good
aptitude). Show that you'll be happy to work for them!
Do read about the company you are going for. Be totally thorough
with your CV. Also its always good to use few jargons here and there.
Prepare puzzles and guestimates properly. All startups and

ecommerce companies ask.
Also prepare at least 2 subjects very thoroughly.
Read about Samsung.

Know your strengths and weaknesses, if possible have stories
illustrating how you exhibited them in crunch time.
Leverage on your associations with student bodies in campus; draw
examples from there.
Be confident, know valuations in and out, know bit of IAPM also,

most of all be aware of recent macro environment.
Be highly prepared with every point in your CV.
Know your summer internship project very well.
Be confident. Be you. Honesty is always appreciated.
A good communication skill give you a head start in Group

Discussion. I have seen many good candidates getting ousted in the
Group Discussion round, so whatever it takes to put your point
across do it with force and unabashedness.
Go through your CV thoroughly.
Just stay composed during the interview process and really talk out
your thought process. Try to start with consumer insights and
understanding of the consumer before suggesting solutions. I you are
going wrong in your assumption and the point out a different
perspective then don't be steadfast accept their view and based on
that continue your analysis.
Don't rehearse. Close your eyes. Find that answer which resonates
with your value system.
Prepare more on the HR questions and on yourself than anything,

especially for Sales and marketing interviews.
It is a very good opportunity if you want to start your career in S&M.

International exposure and growth prospects are high. So, go for it.

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