1

Team Disha
A repository of interview
experiences for companies that
came for Summers, 2020

COMPANY
COMPENDIUM
2021

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 2

c Table of Contents

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT .......................................................................................... 8

1.1 Amazon ........................................................................................................ 9
1.2 Bayer .......................................................................................................... 12
1.3 Flipkart ...................................................................................................... 13
1.4 Salesforce .................................................................................................. 17
CONSULTING............................................................................................................ 21
2.1 Accenture Strategy...................................................................................... 22
2.2 Alvarez & Marsal ........................................................................................ 54
2.3 Auctus Advisors .......................................................................................... 63
2.4 Bain & Company ........................................................................................ 64
2.5 BCG .......................................................................................................... 111
2.6 Deloitte India ........................................................................................... 133
2.7 Deloitte USI .............................................................................................. 140
2.8 Everest Group ........................................................................................... 151
2.9 FinIQ Consulting ....................................................................................... 160
2.10 Google ................................................................................................... 162
2.11 Hexaware Technologies .......................................................................... 163
2.12 Kearney .................................................................................................. 165
2.13 Marsh India Insurance ............................................................................ 168
2.14 Mastercard ............................................................................................. 171
2.15 McKinsey & Company ............................................................................ 192
2.16 PwC ........................................................................................................ 205
2.17 PwC US Advisory ..................................................................................... 224
2.18 Synergy Consulting ................................................................................. 228
2.19 TCS ......................................................................................................... 232
2.20 Traitri Consulting Group ......................................................................... 233
DATA ANALYTICS ................................................................................................... 234
3.1 Fullerton .................................................................................................. 235

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 3

FINANCE ................................................................................................................ 237

4.1 AB Inbev (GCC) .......................................................................................... 238
4.2 Amazon..................................................................................................... 242
4.3 Avendus ................................................................................................... 257
4.4 Axis Capital .............................................................................................. 260
4.5 Citibank .................................................................................................... 263
4.6 Citi TTS ...................................................................................................... 265
4.7 D.E. Shaw .................................................................................................. 271
4.8 Deutsche Bank .......................................................................................... 285
4.9 Edelweiss Tokyo ........................................................................................ 289
4.10 FinIQ Consulting ...................................................................................... 293
4.11 Goldman Sachs........................................................................................ 297
4.12 Hindustan Unilever Limited .................................................................... 304
4.13 HSBC ...................................................................................................... 307
4.14 HSBC (GLCM) .......................................................................................... 309
4.15 ICICI Bank ............................................................................................... 317
4.16 IP Ventures ............................................................................................ 319
4.17 L Catterton .............................................................................................. 320
4.18 Maersk .................................................................................................... 324
4.19 Marsh India Insurance ............................................................................ 325
4.20 Mondelez ............................................................................................... 326
4.21 Natwest Group ....................................................................................... 328
4.22 Pramerica................................................................................................ 331
4.23 Raintree .................................................................................................. 332
4.24 RPG - Ceat .............................................................................................. 334
4.25 Spark Capital ........................................................................................... 336
4.26 Standard Chartered Bank ........................................................................ 340
4.27 State Street ............................................................................................. 344
4.28 Yes Bank ................................................................................................. 347
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 4

GENMAN ............................................................................................................... 350

5.1 Aditya Birla Group..................................................................................... 351
5.2 Bajaj FinServ ............................................................................................. 359
5.3 Byju’s ........................................................................................................ 363
5.4 Capgemini ................................................................................................. 374
5.5 JSW Group ................................................................................................ 379
5.6 Mahindra & Mahindra .............................................................................. 385
5.7 State Street ............................................................................................... 390
5.8 TAS ........................................................................................................... 392
5.9 Vodafone Idea .......................................................................................... 407
5.10 ACT ......................................................................................................... 412
OPERATIONS .......................................................................................................... 413
6.1 Amazon..................................................................................................... 414
6.2 Asian Paints .............................................................................................. 425
6.3 Flipkart ..................................................................................................... 430
6.4 Grofers...................................................................................................... 447
6.5 ITC ............................................................................................................ 450
6.6 Marico ...................................................................................................... 456
6.7 Meero ....................................................................................................... 463
6.8 Natwest Group.......................................................................................... 467
6.9 PwC .......................................................................................................... 468
6.10 Uber ........................................................................................................ 469
6.11 Udaan ..................................................................................................... 476
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT ...................................................................................... 484
7.1 Amazon..................................................................................................... 485
7.2 Coalshastra ............................................................................................... 502
7.3 Creditwatch .............................................................................................. 504
7.4 Dr. Reddy Laboratories ............................................................................. 507
7.5 Electronic Art ............................................................................................ 510
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 5

7.5 Idobro ....................................................................................................... 519

7.6 Kubric ....................................................................................................... 521
7.7 Media.net ................................................................................................. 523
7.8 Microsoft .................................................................................................. 529
7.9 MX Player ................................................................................................. 555
7.10 Natwest Group ........................................................................................ 560
7.11 Optum .................................................................................................... 562
7.12 RPG ......................................................................................................... 564
7.13 RPG – Ceat ............................................................................................. 566
7.12 RPG - Zensar ............................................................................................ 569
SALES AND MARKETING ......................................................................................... 573
8.1 Adfactors PR ............................................................................................. 574
8.2 Amazon..................................................................................................... 576
8.3 Apollo Tyres .............................................................................................. 599
8.4 Bajaj Auto ................................................................................................. 600
8.5 Bayer ........................................................................................................ 601
8.6 Bayer Cons. Health .................................................................................... 605
8.7 BCCL.......................................................................................................... 608
8.8 Beam Suntory ........................................................................................... 611
8.9 Bosch ........................................................................................................ 617
8.10 Cipla ........................................................................................................ 620
8.11 Cloudtail ................................................................................................. 625
8.12 Coca Cola ................................................................................................ 629
8.13 Colgate Palmolive ................................................................................... 630
8.14 COTAAP .................................................................................................. 633
8.15 Dabur ...................................................................................................... 635
8.16 Diageo .................................................................................................... 641
8.17 Dr. Reddy Laboratories............................................................................ 644
8.18 FMC ....................................................................................................... 648
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 6

8.19 Google .................................................................................................... 650

8.20 Hexaware Technologies .......................................................................... 655
8.21 HUL ......................................................................................................... 657
8.22 Induscraft................................................................................................ 661
8.23 ITC .......................................................................................................... 662
8.24 Koo India ................................................................................................ 667
8.25 Kubric ..................................................................................................... 668
8.26 Mars ....................................................................................................... 672
8.27 Mondelez ............................................................................................... 680
8.28 Monster India ......................................................................................... 684
8.29 Nestle .................................................................................................... 687
8.30 Omnicomm ............................................................................................. 690
8.32 P&G ........................................................................................................ 691
8.33 Pidilite .................................................................................................... 697
8.34 Pramerica................................................................................................ 707
8.35 Puma ...................................................................................................... 708
8.36 RB ........................................................................................................... 713
8.37 Samsung ................................................................................................. 716
8.38 Stryker ................................................................................................... 726
8.39 Titan ....................................................................................................... 728
8.40 Vodafone Idea......................................................................................... 730
8.41 Wipro Health .......................................................................................... 732
8.42 Wonder Cement ...................................................................................... 734
MISCELLANEOUS .................................................................................................... 736
9.1 Adfactors PR ............................................................................................. 736
9.2 Ada Chikan ................................................................................................ 737
9.3 Chase India ............................................................................................... 738
9.4 IBazaar ...................................................................................................... 739
9.5 Medha ...................................................................................................... 740
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 7

9.6 MEL .......................................................................................................... 741

9.6 Simply 360 ................................................................................................ 742
9.7 Soulflower ................................................................................................ 743
9.10 TATA Sky ................................................................................................. 744

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 8

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 9

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Amazon

Arunachalam R

Background:
Undergrad – PSG College of Technology
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – Fresher
Prev Work Ex Domain – N/A

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

Focus on CV questions, internship projects and about how to sell ad space
on amazon site and make the vendors to invest more to do the same.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 10

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Amazon

Krishna Moorthy S

Background:
Undergrad – TNAU, Coimbatore
Field of Grad. – Agriculture
Work Exp – N/A

Round 1:
• Introduce yourself
• Tell about the year gap between UG and MBA
• Tell the Daily routine of those year gap days
• Why organic farming is not profitable
• Is it profitable in long run
• What are the risks in Organic farming
• You are saying it is profitable, but why farmers are not interested and
why they are relying on inorganic
• Tell me in financial terms, how much organic farming is profitable than
inorganic in long run. Asked to give the approximate money value

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 11

c
Amazon

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Session by Disha about those 14 principles.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 12

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Bayer

Snehavardhini K
Background:
Undergrad –TN Agricultural University
Field of Grad. – Agriculture
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
GD Round – Food for all Hunger for none.

Round 2:
Personal Interview

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interactions with seniors
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Company Website, Bayer Employee Interaction

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 13

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Flipkart

Ayurshi Kapse
Background:
Undergrad – SGSITS
Field of Grad. – BTech, EC Engg.
Work Exp – 23 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Business
Development
GD Topic:
How does Indo-China relations affect Indian companies (mainly startups)
Additional Question at the end of the GD: If you would have been the Prime Minister
of the country, what immediate reform would you bring in?

Round 1:
• Interviewer: Tell me about yourself.
• Candidate: Gave a generic 2 min introduction
• Interviewer: Few questions from work ex (What did you exactly do, what was
the entire process)
• Interviewer: If Flipkart wants to get into online vegetable market in the city of
your choice (Bhopal) what should be the step by step process
• Candidate: Asked for a minute to think, explained the entire plan that I came up
with.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 14

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Flipkart

• Interviewer: What do you think these vegetable Haat Bazaars (I mentioned haat
bazaars can turn out to be a good source) are for (business centric or consumer
centric), how can they benefit Flipkart?
• Candidate: Explained
• Interviewer: Do you have any questions?

Round 2:
• Interviewer: Take me through your CV
• Candidate: Told in brief
• Interviewer: Any incident where you provided innovative solution to a generic
problem
• Candidate: Told an incident from personal life rather than professional life
• Interviewer: What are you going to bring to Flipkart, in what ways that value
addition be beneficial for Flipkart
• Candidate: Elaborated on how my work ex in business development will turn out
to be fruitful as in intern at Flipkart.
• Interviewer: Suppose you’re in-charge of the inventory for cell phones and
other electronic goods, and it had been incurring losses, what would be your
approach
• Candidate: Explained
• Interviewer: Do you have any questions?

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Prepare your CV and HR Ques well

• Schedule as many mock GDs and PIs as you can
• Do not hesitate to take help from seniors

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 15

c
Flipkart

Additional Questions
• Guesstimate: the number of cars on the road
• Tell me you favourite app/service (chose Swiggy)
• Expanding Swiggy in your city how would go about doing it
• Design marketing campaign for apparel brand and for plants
• -How does Flipkart expand, how should it advertise
• You are a wholesale business and you are selling mobile phones, Tell the metrics
for internal dash-board
• You are Swiggy you have to charge delivery charges, what parameters will you
use to decide it
• Guesstimate: No. of TVs sold in India
• What is the impact of Covid in SCM
• Case: if another wave of Covid hits India how will you deal with it
• impacts of Lockdown in India on E Commerce Industry
• If you are an e-commerce head, what would be your biggest problem (As a small
ques towards the end)
• If you are PM - Reforms you will bring in next 100 days [As a small question
towards the end]
• Future of modern retail in India

GD Topics:
• Chinese App Ban: Did we lose more than we gained?
• What should e-commerce solve in the next 3-5 years?
• India China relationship and affect on startups in India? How will it affect
Chinese investments in India? How can as a marketeer how can you leverage
anti China sentiment?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 16

c
Flipkart

• Which US President is better for India? If you are PM of India how will you
approach Biden with a most pressing issue in next 30 days
• How to increase the digital transactions in India?
• Can e-learning become the new normal? What's the use of schools or
colleges?
• GST- Is it really delivered or not?
• How WFH is shaping future of workforce
• How can India become truly aatmanirbhar? Pick up one industry and how can
certain govt policies be implemented
• Is sharing on social media an authorised invasion to privacy?
• Electric Vehicles - Is it a possibility in the next 5 years

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 17

Salesforce
c

Snigdha Sahoo
Background:
Undergrad -NIT Rourkela
Field of Grad. - B.Tech (Computer science
& engineering)
Work Exp - 36 Months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Software
Development

Round 1:
The interviewer asked everyone to take an industry of their choice and
explain how it was affected due to COVID-19. The next part of the GD was
to give solutions as to how technology can be leveraged to revive the
industry

Round 2:
• Interaction round:
• What about technology excites you?
• How do you keep yourself updated with the current advancements in
technology?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 18

Salesforce
c

Round 3:
• Introduce yourself
• Questions based on e-commerce value chain (had mentioned e-
commerce in CV)
• Which parts of the value chain were hit due to Covid 19 and how can you
revive them?
• What can be some new business opportunity areas for salesforce?
• Why this role? (The role was Business Development Intern)
• Why Salesforce?

Preparation and Interview Tips and Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Company Website
• HR, CV, E-commerce value chain, Decode and conquer book for prod-
man cases, Disha compendium
• Always keep your answers structured, be it a technical, behavioral or HR
question

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 19

Salesforce
c

Additional Questions:
• CV Focused interview
• Panelist introduced themselves
• What is the value chain of ecommerce & what actors of ecommerce
have been hit by covid (Candidate had building ecommerce website in
CV)
• Why salesforce? Why this role?Why do you want to work with
technology?
• If you are selling CRM to customer what are the 3 key factors (USP)
that you would mention?
• Ashish – Panelist
• Explained about the processes that they have.
• Keeping Big data, ML and AI in mind how will you leverage these and
what matrices & data points can be used for ecommerce company
• One strength and one weakness
• HR round
• Mentioned values of salesforce
• Asked candidate for his values
• What was the work culture in your previous firm, what you liked and
didn't like?
• Three major metrics you will track as an ecommerce website
• What are your hobbies?
• Expected format - 30-35 minutes
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 20

Salesforce
c

• Expected questions based on other colleges

• What are your long-term goals? How will salesforce help you achieve
those?
• What is 1 subject in term 1 that you like? What changes would you
have made in your previous place of work had you gone there after
term 1?
• Candidate needs to go through the JD clearly. Panelists trying to get a
grasp of how well the candidate knows the company and role
• Topics from other colleges: 1) How to build a customer centric
company 2) Strategies to expand e-commerce into rural markets

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 21

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 22

Accenture Strategy
c

Anshul Topnani

Background:
Undergrad – IIT BHU
Field of Grad. – Mining Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
• Interviewer: Tell me about yourself.
• Candidate: Prepared answer. Included field of graduation rationale for
joining the undergrad college. Elaborated about workex and awards
during the same. Mentioned CCA at IIM Lucknow(Team Synapse)
• Interviewer: What exactly Team Synapse does?
• Candidate: Team Synapse is the knowledge management committee of
IIML. We manage internal portals that are used by the IIML fraternity.
We also built portals as per user requirements.
• Interviewer: You've mentioned you picked up Alexa skills development in
a very short period [CV Point]? Can you elaborate on the project and your
contribution?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 23

Accenture Strategy
c

• Candidate: Firstly spent a minute explaining the business use case. Then
mentioned what my contribution was. And a challenge I faced.
• Interviewer: Similar question on chatbot project from CV.
• Candidate: Answered in a similar structure

• Interviewer: How does a chatbot work? What are the different steps in
building a chatbot?
• Candidate: Mentioned intent utterance mapping, variables (slots), etc. I
took an example of a pizza ordering chatbot to explain better.
• Interviewer: If I want to build a chatbot in customer service, how would
you go about it?
• Candidate: Asked if the chatbot is for any specific industry
• Interviewer: Nothing specific. Choose any industry and design the bot.
• Candidate: Retook the pizza delivery example. Build a transcript first. And
designed the conversation flow in the chatbot.

Round 2:
• Interviewer: Asked about the business usecase of the chatbot and
whether it had anything to do with clinical trials [workex in the healtcare
industry]
• Candidate: Explained the chatbot use case. And mentioned a different
project I did relating to clinical trials.
• Interviewer: What are the problems faced while building a chatbot?
• Candidate: Mentioned the underlying Natural language understanding
models are not always accurate, which creates a problem during intent

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 24

Accenture Strategy
c

mapping. Sometimes words are not recognized by the algorithms[

mentioned I faced the issue and how I resolved it].
• Interviewer: These are engineering challenges. I want to know more
about the business challenges faced.
• Candidate: Told about how we need to imagine different scenarios and
develop sentences a user might say to build a reliable chatbot. And these
sentences must not have ambiguity in terms of what the intent of a user
is.
• Interviewer: How to resolve the issue?
• Candidate: The issue can be resolved only up to some extent by coming
up with less ambiguous utterances for each intent as the underlying
algorithm tries to map the sentence to every intent and scores it to get
the best possible match. You cannot have 100% accuracy every time.
• Interviewer: That is partially correct. I want you to think about it before
we meet again.
• Interviewer: What do you envision yourself doing right after MBA.
• Candidate: Mentioned I wanted to augment my work experience in the
technical domain with any business knowledge I would gain from my
time at IIML. I do not want to stray very far away from technology.

Round 3:
• Interviewer: You have a diverse background, UG from mining, workex in
IT, and now management. What would you like to do going forward if
you have the choice?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 25

Accenture Strategy
c

• Candidate: Answered that ideally, I would like to work in a techno-

functional role. Elaborated with some personal experiences.
• Interviewer: What sector would you like to work within Accenture?
• Candidate: I went through the descriptions of industries Accenture works
in and found the High-Tech sector most fascinating
• Interviewer: Consulting requires meeting strict deadlines and involves a
lot of travel. How would you tackle these challenges?
• Candidate: Mentioned that all tasks I did during my workex had short
deadlines. I had to deliver almost every task within a week. So I am
accustomed to it. And I see traveling as a perk rather than a challenge.
Mentioned I have worked in 4 locations in 3 years.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, In depth knowledge about CV points, Company
Website
• DO have thorough knowledge about CV points and their business use
cases

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 26

Accenture Strategy
c

Hemdeep Padalia

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Bombay
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 32 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Research and
Development

Round 1:
Interview with a senior manager
• Please introduce yourself?
• Can you please explain me your job profile at Mercedes-Benz?
• Case - An automotive OEM wants to enter Indian Market. What are the
factors it should consider while deciding its location strategy?
• Interviewer: An automotive OEM wants to enter Indian Market. What are
the factors it should consider while deciding its location strategy?
• Candidate: What is the objective of the client for entering Indian market?
• Interviewer: Capturing the new potential market

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 27

Accenture Strategy
c

• Candidate: What stages of supply chain does it want to enter in Indian

market?
• Interviewer: All stages (manufacturing to selling)
• Candidate: Does the client have a sister concern in India or is willing to
collaborate with existing players?
• Interviewer: No for both
• Candidate: I will consider the following factors while considering location
strategy: Macroeconomic (Favourable Govt. policy for certain locations,
tax exemptions, credit incentives, cluster development areas identified for
auto industry), Industry (Existing auto OEMs location distribution,
suppliers distribution, Human Resource availability), Company level
decision factors (Geographical market in focus, vehicle segment in focus,
distribution strategy, favourable terms with local governments)
• Interviewer: That is exhaustive. Can you tell me more about the factors
you will consider for distribution strategy in particular?
• Candidate: I will look for location (company locations, geographical
suitability), Available transportation modes, taxation regime for
transportation from location A to location B
• Interviewer: Good. We can close the case.

Round 2:
Interview with a senior manager
• Please introduce yourself?
• Why IIM Lucknow after having worked in Mercedes-Benz?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 28

c
Accenture Strategy

• Why Accenture Strategy?

• If you had an option to work for world's most innovative auto OEM,
which would that be?
• What was your job profile at Mercedes-Benz?
• What are the upcoming trends in auto industry - globally and in India?
• 3 use-cases of AI in auto industry
• Guesstimate: Estimate the annual number of travellers visiting to Delhi
Airport (domestic + international)?

Round 3:
Interview with a Partner
• Please introduce yourself?
• Discussion on currently prevalent themes in automotive industry
• Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric mobility
• Use-cases of AI in R&D in automotive industry
• General advice to CEO to improve their auto R&D capability

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs

• Company website, Public information, Casebook (IIM Lucknow), Case
Interviews Cracked Book, Victor Cheng Case Preparation Videos,
Interactions with seniors/PPO holders/Company allotted buddy

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 29

Accenture Strategy
c

• Be thorough with your previous work experience industry, if applicable -

Major discussion revolved around the same
• Give equal focus on delivery of CV/HR answers along with case interview
• Be prepared with future trends in technology, digital and business
• Showcase your research/prior conversations with others regarding
Accenture Strategy in your answers during the interview and in the
questions you get to interviewer

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 30

Accenture Strategy
c

K S Raksha
Background:
Undergrad – University of Madras & ICAI
Field of Grad. – B.Com & CA
Work Exp – 28 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Audit, Tax, and
Product Control

Round 1:
The questions were around my CV, knowing about Oil and Gas Industry in
detail. I was also asked about the DSO and the repercussions about
decreasing it from 50 to 40 days. There was a short discussion on the
Balance Sheet of an O&G Major.

Round 2:
This involved around Banking Industry and a short case on how the
technology can be merged into a Banking Industry.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 31

Accenture Strategy
c

Round 3:
HR Interaction, Why Accenture, Why consulting and general culture fit
questions ( Travel and work hours)

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Case books, Sector reports, News apps and general concepts from CA
final books.
• Have a thorough knowledge on the CV

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 32

Accenture Strategy
c

Pranav Ohri

Background:
Undergrad – VIT, Vellore
Field of Grad. –Electronics and
Communication Engineering
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Network
Infrastructure for telecom

Round 1:
Interviewer: Why Consulting and why Accenture?
Candidate: Had my responses prepared for both.
Interviewer: Currently teleportation is just a science fiction. If it became a
science reality what would change?
(Asked a few clarifying questions)
Candidate: How are we achieving this teleportation? Is it a machine?
Is it available only with industry players or can a normal person buy it?
How affordable is it?
Interviewer: It is a machine which costs about Rs. 10L. Anyone who can
afford it can buy it.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 33

Accenture Strategy
c

Candidate: Is there any specific area where you would want me to focus or
should I look at it from a broader view?
Interviewer: You can proceed with whatever comes to your mind.
Candidate: 1. Effect on general public - time saving, cost effective and safer
means of transportation
2. Effect on transportation industry - cabs and other personal/public
transports will be replaced
3. Effect on employment - loss of jobs for people currently employed in
transportation and logistics. But newer opportunities as we would require
people for operating the machines
Interviewer: Can you list down 3 more changes you would see in the world?
Candidate: 1. Effect on environment - We would be eliminating the
pollution effect from all kinds of transport. Also since we would not require
roads anymore, a lot of land can be taken under agricultural and forest
cover. This would also help boost the agricultural sector.
Logistics - Since the technology has been invented, it is not long that it gets
scaled to teleport larger quantities. Delivery of shipments becomes much
faster. We will face much lesser or negligible damage and loss of shipments
(gave example of product damaged during transit when ordered from
Amazon).
Interviewer: We can stop the case here.
(Gave me feedback on the case. I missed out on the security factor since
boundaries and walls might no longer have any significance. Could have
asked a clarifying question about the distance over which the machine can
teleport, can it cross borders.)

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Interviewer: How good are you will excel and powerpoint?

Candidate: Told that I had less experience in the same but was learning it on
the side.

Round 2:
Only asked me if I would be comfortable joining the Communication, Media
and Technology team

Round 3:
Interviewer: (Introduced herself first) Tell me some highlights about you.
Candidate: Talked about a few things from my CV and a few not on
theInterviewer: You are from an Army family so you must have travelled a
lot? Would you be comfortable with travelling?
Candidate: Talked a bit about travelling with my parents throughout my
schooling days. Talked about my time at Cisco where I was required to
travel to the customer’s location and the fact that I was looking forward to
the travelling part.

Interviewer: (Explained what I can expect and talked about the values at
Accenture)
Candidate: Asked a question on what she talked about.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

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• Team Disha Sessions, Various interview experiences in casebook, sessions

by CSC
• Be prepared with your HR answers and CV. Do not ask questions just for
the sake of it, might work against you.

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Rahul Das

Background:
Undergrad – IIT BHU
Field of Grad. – Electronics
Work Exp – 24 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Advance
Technology, Marketing

Round 1:
Personal Interview:
• Walk me through your work experience
• How was your two international conferences- what were your learnings, what was
your task in marketing role, Specific question on AI ML work projects

Round 2:
• Puzzle on game theory - There is a square and coins. Area of the coin is
less than the square. There are two players A and B. Now A and B have to fill
the square by coins. The person who puts coin in square at last place wins,

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ie there will not be any space to put another coin. Among A and B who can
go
first and what will be his strategy to win the game. (This was asked because
in my interview I mentioned that I have strong mathematical background)
Candidate: Can I use pen and paper please
Interviewer: Sure
Candidate: Coins can be of any size right?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: And A,B both have to use coins of same sizes, right?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: After taking 2 mins answered that whoever goes first will fill the
square with the area such that there is no space left for 2nd player. So
whoever goes 1st, wins.
Interviewer: Your solution is correct but think a generalized solution. The
first mover will place the coin at centre. Take this as a hint.
Candidate: Okay thanks for the hint. So basically in whichever position the
2nd player places the coin after centre placed coin, the first player will
always have a position of reflection of 2nd player. Thus the last mover will
be the player who had placed the coin first.
Interviewer: Correct!
If you have a machine which can move you to any place of the world in no
time, what changes will be brought to world?

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Round 3:
• Have you experienced a situation where you had to overcome an obstacle? How did
you react? What was your learning?
• Was there any situation in our workplace where you had to convince your manager
for a task?
• What was your most significant achievement?
• Was there any situation where you had to perform a task in an unconventional way?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions

• Team Disha resources, IIM L and IIM A casebooks
• Dos - Specific and short answers, being confident about answers and a
positive mindset, Specific and short answers, being confidant about
answers and a positive mindset

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Sanjana Gupta

Background:
Undergrad – Hansraj College, DU
Field of Grad. – Bcom Hons
Work Exp – 27 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Risk Assurance

Round 1:
Personal Interview - 40 minutes
• Tell me about yourself
• Work experience related questions on role, responsibility, scope,
approach and impact. Went line by line of CV and asked detailed
questions on every project mentioned.
• What was the extend of client interaction and take away from each of
them?
• How do you connect the dots from graduation to work experience to
IIM?
• Why consulting?

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Round 2:
HR Interview - 20 minutes
• Tell me about yourself
• Why Consulting
• Where you see yourself in 10 years
• Why Accenture
• Describe your work at the NGO (mentioned in the CV).

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• ISB case book, IIM-A Case book, & CFA Level 2 books
• Have in-depth knowledge of each CV point and be confident while
presenting your work.

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Saumya Gupta

Background:
Undergrad – NIT, Jaipur
Field of Grad. – Electrical Engineering
Work Exp – 47 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Technology
Consulting

Round 1:
• Tell me about yourself? Have you faced a conflict situation at work? How
did you resolve?
• Why Consulting after Deloitte USI?
• Guesstimate: Estimate Oxygen cylinders demand for next 6 months for
COVID 19 situation in choice of city or country?
• Answer: The question was triggered because I had covid-19 response
written on my CV.
• Candidate: Since I live in Bangalore, can I estimate the demand for
Bangalore city for 6 months?

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(Interviewer indicated to use choice of city/country but also said you may
take Allahabad/Jaipur which were on my CV. Since I was more aware of
Bangalore COVID cases and population, I chose that)
• Interviewer: Yes, go ahead.
• Candidate: Explained the pros of using Demand approach in this case as
opposed to Supply approach.
• Interviewer: Yes, makes sense.
• Candidate: I started giving the current cases in Bangalore and expected %
increase and then % decrease in coming months. Then I divided the cases
into Intensive Care and non-intensive care. Further, I divided the
Intensive care also into those requiring extreme oxygen, some requiring
medium oxygen, and some requiring less oxygen and assumed it to be
10, 5 and 2 cylinders per day.
• Further I calculated the value by assuming cases to go down in 6 months
and keeping a safe stock of Oxygen cylinders. Interviewer expected me to
talk the whole time and asked me to summarize. He also asked few cross
questions on my assumption.
• Interviewer: I think it is a fair estimate. Good job on choosing the
demand approach.

Round 2:
• Tell me about yourself? Why Consulting? Why Accenture? How to you
define success in consulting?

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• Explain more on the job you did and how will you train yourself for
Consulting? Do you think you are already there or is there something to
learn? If yes, what are those things?
• How will you convince someone to use technology for cost optimization?
What are few suggestions that you might give the person specially in
covid-19? Tell me financial suggestions and technical suggestions for
covid-19 support?
• Case: Client is Automotive Industry with both commercial and passenger
vehicles. Their commercial sales are 65%. Their market share is
decreasing every year since last 3 years. Suggest how to revive sales. It is
a market leader and assume no effect of COVID.
• Guesstimate: Total amount invested in mutual funds in India in a year?
• Answer: Started by rephrasing the Problem statement and clarifying
questions. Followed CPCC approach.
• Interviewer: Quickly gave all the answers and did not wait for me to
complete my questions.
• Candidate: What are types of trucks in the product mix?
• Interviewer: 16-ton, 22-ton, 30-ton, 40-ton, trailer.
• Candidate: How are the trucks sold.
• Interviewer: Typical truck selling.
• Candidate: Since these are trucks, can I assume that major sales are
happening rural areas and tier1/tier2? (It was a wrong assumption
completely. The product was trucks and not tractors)

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• Interviewer: Not at all, these are trucks being bought in fleets by

industrialists and given on lease/use to truck drivers. The major sales
happen in metro cities and tier 1 cities.
• Candidate: Do we have any offline and online distribution channels? Also,
has there been a change in the industry due to which sales are overall
declining? (Again wrong assumption, since the question clearly stated
market share was declining)
• Interviewer: Can you please ask question again? Also, can you tell me
what do you understand by market share?
• Candidate: Explained the answer correctly this time. And rephrased my
question to are there any changes in competitor strategy?
• Interviewer: No online sales. As per industry practise, 95% sales happen
offline. Also, there has been some new technologies introduced by
competitor but it has not affected our client. They are market leaders, so
we can assume that it cannot be basic issues.
• Candidate: Started asking some more questions.
• Interviewer: Okay, please tell me your overall approach, no need to
explain the entire case.
• Candidate: Summarised the situation till now and pointed out the key
areas where we can look to understand drop in sales and how can be
improved.
• Interviewer: Okay. I was looking for Region specific questions. The sales
only declined in the South Region. No problem. Let us solve a
guesstimate now.

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Round 3:
MD Round: How is your day till now? What are your hobbies? How do you
manage stress? What do you plant a tree? Why IB?
HR Round: Very long interview with almost all questions in the CV and
others. Line to line HR interview of CV. The idea was to know me better. No
technical questions.
• Why MBA? Why Consulting? How will you explain color green to a blind
person by birth?
• Why did you do startup? Any conflicts you handled? Will travel be an
issue for you?
• Why Accenture? IB or CN? What did you do in startup? What are your
hobbies? Dramatics?
• What did you learn from your venture?
• What did you learn from your parents?
• Key Values you possess?
• What do your parents do?
• About Deloitte?
• Deloitte vs Accenture?
• Why Accenture?"

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Company
PPT and website.
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• IIM L Casebook, Victor Cheng videos, Disha channel/Biztech channel for

Guesstimates.
• The first and last part of your preparation should be CV and HR.
• Do not lose hope till the end of preparation. In case of doubt, reach out
to seniors to help on preparation.
• Do a pre-research on the company and show keen interest in knowing
about the company. It was a long process of total 7 interviews (for both
IB and CN roles), keeping your energy high was important.

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Shubham Tiwari
Background:
Undergrad – NIT Calicut
Field of Grad. – B.Tech (Mech Engineering)
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – R&D, Operations

Round 1:
• Tell me about yourself
• Could you explain more about your work and the responsibilities you
had?
• Why Accenture Strategy?
• How would you previous work ex help us?

Round 2:
Interviewer: What would you like to do at Accenture (any specific
inclinations?)
Interviewer: What interests you the most about Accenture?

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Case
Interviewer: Single case statement at the end of which I was told to explain
my approach of how would I work on it
Interviewer: Case: Client is a container manufacturer who is seeing large-
scale damages to the containers when they are sent back after use. The
client wants to begin an incentive scheme awarding it to the user/customer
so as to encourage return of containers w/o damage. Design the incentive
program (factors to be considered). How would you approach the problem?
Candidate: Took a minute to think and then provided a step solution taking
an internal and external stakeholder approach. Internally, need to figure
how could processes be changed to reduce damage. Externally, have to
work on a process map, and work on understanding the problem's origin at
each step. The incentive scheme is designed after containing these issues so
as to reduce expenses.

Round 3:
• HR Questions
• Why Accenture?
• What would you like to do?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Mostly IIML Consulting Casebook, and interaction with seniors

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• Be straight forward with your answers, give your best to answer the
questions posed to you; the effort should be visible. Make sure you take
cases as challenges and smile and stay calm while talking to the
interviewers

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Additional Questions:

• Impact of Covid on current industry and business if it stays for 5 more

years
• Recent and disruptive changes in your industry of work ex
• How will you explain the color green to a blind person?
• Questions on Quizzing: CV based
• Expectations from the internship
• What will you bring to the table?
• HR based and CV based: Chatbot
• Case: FMCG companies, optimize the marketing spend
• CV HR, Case - In a company one division is more profitable than
another, why
• HR, general awareness, Work-ex based
• Work ex in detail, Guesstimate - Number of petrol pumps in Lucknow
• HR based, Work ex in detail, Domain preference
• CV Based, PORs, ECAs, Designing chatbot (CV based).
• HR - Why Accenture, Project on CV
• Case: Bike manufacturer - Sales decline
• Guesstimate: Air passenger traffic in Delhi airport.
• Strategies in covid to promote customer sales
• Case; Electric Utility provider- how can the company monetize the
customer data? Introduce customer loyalty and reduce churn rate.
• Case 2: Cost reduction for automotive clients
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• Case: Automotive mfger. Have to reduce the DSO (Days sales

outstanding)
• Workex, background, sector and functional preferences
• Case: Two wheeler who wants to expand the marketshare. Discuss the
approach.
• Changes in the banking industry, comfort level with payment
softwares
• Opinion about chatbots based on CV
• Teleportation case already mentioned
• Puzzle based on the interest
• Guesstimate; # of fuel stations in Noida
• Guesstimate: Annual passenger traffic in Delhi
• Disruptions in Automotive: Global, national
• Case: Reduce container return damages for a container mfger.
• Cloud related because of CV
• Which domain, which segment
• Technologies you wokred on based the CV
• Where do you see yourself in next 5 years
• Skills needed to build to be a consultant
• Agile implementation based on CV
• Most difficult project you worked on?
• Case: Automotive client, pre-covid situation, decline in Market
share.List out the factors

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• Case: Collection scheme in Retail bank. Agent talks to customer and

prepares the collection strategy. how can Analytics and ML be applied
here?
• AI/ML based ques because of CV and HR
• CN vs IB
• Finance based questions because of CV
• Case: Location strategy for a new car mfger. What factors for location
and distribution?
• Functional Preference in Accenture
• Why Accenture?
• Case: Construction (AC, plumbing business profit decline and growth
strategy) industry in Middle East
• Heavy focus on POR, ECA, Workex
• Limitation of VLOOOK and proficiency on Excel/PPT
• Case 2: Cost structure involved in manufacturing.
• Case 1: Plant in Western India wants to move into Sikkim. Decisions
they should make?
• Intro, CV based questions
• Deep discussion in the project from your CV
• GTM strategy basis the CV
• Gauging interest in digital space
• Guesstimate based on CV: # of hotel beds in Delhi
• CV based guesstimate: Estimate the # of oxygen cylinders during
COVID 19 sold in any city of your choice
• About candidate profile? Why consulting?
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• Case study: Warehouse storage and handling issue based on the

workex
• Workex based question. Exposure to tech sector.
• Case: Impact of teleportation on the world
• Why Telecom? Depending domain

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Shreshtha Mitra
Background:
Undergrad – BITS Pilani, Goa Campus
Field of Grad. – B.E. in Electronics and
Instrumentation
Work Exp – 49 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Consulting

Round 1:
HR Questions
• Introduction

Case:
Your client is Mumbai International Airport and the CEO has asked you to
suggest ways to increase earnings per passenger(Multiple quantitative
figures given during the case)

• Split into non-aero and aero revenue. Was told to concentrate on non-
aero sources only. Used the customer journey approach to solve. Came
up with three critical pointers - Passenger Mix, Placement of Retail

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outlets, Retail Mix. I was then asked to compare these three parameters
with four major airports
• Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore. Data points given during the
case: Retail spend per passenger, Retail Area, Passenger Mix
(International: Domestic). Lastly when the recommendations were
given, was told to calculate the monthly revenue of a Subway vs an
Apparel shop if placed near the boarding gates. Took Footfalls, and
average bill value. Split into the peak, non-peak, non-operational hours,
and calculated the final number.

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• What motivates you to work

• Why do you want to join A&M?

Case: Our client is a PE firm, looking to invest in a mid market player in the
Cement industry. How would you form a view on its pricing growth?

More information on the cement company. Competition details. Who are

the customers. Understanding of the PESTEL and PORTER framework with
respect to the case. After the factors, he moved to concept of pricing itself.
Discussed the three main ways of pricing - Cost, Competition and Value
based. Then the discussion went on to how would PE judge returns from the
investment. I explained the concept of Asset Turnover and also Return on
Investment.
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Round 3:
Guesstimate 1: Number of pressure cookers sold in a year in India

Domestic and Commercial Use. First started with Domestic. Population -->
Split by income groups --> Divide by average family size --> Take appropriate
percent of low income group who would have pressure cookers --> Number
of PCs per household --> Years of use --> To get the final number.

Guesstimate 2 : How many cricket balls are used in an IPL series?

Case: What are the factors to be considered while setting up a hospital on a

highway

Factors: Connecting places, frequency of vehicles, vehicle type, nearby

hospitals/clinics, nearby housing/hotels if any, utility factors such as
electricity, water, Historic record of accidents, Proximity to nearest
residential area, Transport facility for the hospital staff.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Cases on Profitability, Pricing and Market Entry are important. Sector

importance - Consumer, Logistics and Healthcare. Casebooks (IIM L,
ISB, IIM A)
• Keep conversing with the interviewer, to know whether you are on the
right track and what more is expected.
• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions
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Samarth Wahi

Background:
Undergrad – SSCBS
Field of Grad. – Management
Work Exp – 33 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Consulting

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Introduction
• Why Consulting?
• Why A&M?
• Why do you think you're a good fit?
• What are your interests outside of work?
• Tell me about your work with EY

Case:
Suppose you have a PE firm as your client, looking to invest in a company into
packaging business. The client has 2 options. • Company A : 200Cr in
revenues, 15 Cr EBITDA, Growth rate 10% • Company B : 150 Cr in revenues,

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18 Cr EBITDA, Growth rate 15% You have to assess the options. However, you
cannot ask for more than two data points from me/client

Case Transcript:

Candidate: (Reiterated the problem. Asked for time to think at the end.)
Candidate: I would ask for the following two data points. 1. Purpose of the
investment? I want to understand if the investment has a larger strategic
motive or if it is being done purely from an investment perspective. 2.
Considering we're looking at EBITDA numbers right now and not the net
profit, I would want to know the capital structure of the two companies -
debt/equity split and financial costs, if any.
Interviewer: The client is PE firm. They're only motive is to maximise their
profits. (I don't remember him mentioning that the client was a PE firm
initially. If he did, this was a blunder on my part.) Gave me numbers for
capital structure, interest costs.
Candidate: Based on the limited information available, Company B
appears to be the better option. Do you want me to explore the two
options further?
Interviewer: Yes, maybe we can dig deeper. What are some other factors
that would affect the decision?
Candidate: Listed factors like - revenue current and future, interest
burden, volatility of revenue (risks), diversity of revenue streams (to hedge
against risks), environmental factors, increasing costs, etc.
Interviewer: Asked me to think more. What would be that one piece of
information that would change your decision altogether?
Candidate: ROI to the firm (How much would I need to invest to earn x%
return) - this should've been mentioned before (ideally) - defended myself

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by saying that I had asked for the capital structure and as per his reply
capital investment was comparable
Interviewer: Gave me feedback. You could've thought about the total
capital requirement of the firm. Did not consider whether the companies
would need to raise additional capital to grow at the projected rates - apart
from the money they would be raising from our client.

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• What motivates you to work

• Why do you want to join A&M?

Case: Your client is an EPC company (construction business). They work in

construction of roads, buildings, water tanks, etc. The client has heard from
a friend that there are growing opportunities in water sector. The client has
reached out for your help to figure out whether they should pursue this.

Case Transcript

Candidate: Reiterated the problem, confirmed case facts.

Candidate: Started with CPCC to understand the context. Asked
questions on the motives.
Interviewer: Gave me facts about the company, competition, market
scenario for EPC players
Candidate: You initially mentioned that the client has a presence in water
tanks - you mentioned projects like construction of water tanks. What

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are these new opportunities that we're exploring now? Are they different
from the kind of work we already do?
Interviewer: Gave me a detailed description of water sector projects -
different categories
Candidate: Asked a few questions related to each category - customer
profiles, market size, growth rates, competition
Candidate: I believe I have got a good sense of the overall business and
the opportunity we’re analysing right now. I would now proceed to
analyse the factors that could have an impact on the decision. Asked for
time to think. (Took about 45 seconds) Started with PESTLE, Porter's 5
forces. However, he asked me to quickly list all the factors - did not give a
lot of information.
Interviewer: From our discussion so far, can you list the top 3-4 factors
that will be relevant to the decision? Candidate: Listed 3 factors.
Interviewer: Alright. So let's assume after all the discussion, we've
narrowed down on XX opportunity and it requires an investment of INR
1000 Cr. The project would give the client INR 100 Cr in cash inflows for
the next 15 years. Should the client go ahead with this?
Candidate: Asked questions about equity/debt split, cost of capital, cost
of debt. He gave me the numbers. I started with the calculation at this
point. I was 30-40 seconds into the calculation when he realised that the
calculation had become a little complicated (because of the additional
information he had just given me).
Interviewer: Let's not get into the entire calculation. That may take too
much time. Tell me the approach you were following

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Candidate: Explained IRR calculation. IF IRR> Weighted cost of capital -

profitable investment. If not, the client should not invest.
Interviewer: Alright. I think we're done here. You should be hearing from
us soon.

Round 3:
Guesstimate 1: Guesstimate on estimating the number of trees in Gurgaon

Guesstimate 2 : Suppose you have $ 1mn to invest and 3-4 stocks to choose
from, what are the factors you would consider for selecting any stock?

Case: What are the factors to be considered while setting up a hospital on a

highway

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Case Prep: Victor Cheng Videos, Casebooks - IIML, ISB, IITB, IIMA
• Industry Prep (Self + A&M Relevant): Industry reports, A&M website,
general internet research
• A&M's spread of services is a little different from that of a typical
consulting firm like MBB. Read about the company and contact past
interns/current employees to get a thorough understanding.

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• Prepare for market sizing (Especially for unconventional businesses for

which data is not readily available), guesstimates and some bit of
number crunching.

Additional Questions:

• Financial ratios and quant intensive case

• How would you balance work and personal life
• Discussion on why you want to join
• Questions around financial ratios
• Guesstimate: Organising cricket tournament, how many balls would
be required if you are allowed to order at once only
• Number intensive case
• Case: PE investment firm- how to analyse performance of company
• Which sector would you like to go into and why
• Discussion on workex, projects
• Walk me through your CV
• Case: How to increase earnings at airport

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Auctus Advisors
c

Questions:
Case:
• How would you decide between 2 brands (Nike & Zara) to rent out
space and how would you charge them?
• Spicejet looking to enter new route Kol-Goa, (Indigo already
operating-180 seater jet and avg load 93%)- Should Spicejet enter or
not?

Guesstimate:
• Revenue of duty-free shops in Delhi. What type of competitions do
they face and type f monopoly they have.
• Revenue for Delhi metro
• No. of charging stations per e-vehicle in Indore by 2025

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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c Bain & Co.

Asim Mehta

Background:
Undergrad – Mumbai University
Field of Grad. – Commerce
Work Exp – 32 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Finance

Round 1:

Case:
Interviewer: How will you value a broking / wealth management firm?
Candidate: As a financial services firm, we will have a number of services
offered.
Interviewer: Lets consider a broking firm. What business verticals can you
consider?
Candidate: Major services offered would include the following -
1. Broking services
2. Debt syndication
3. Commodities
4. Advisory - Investment banking, Portfolio services etc.
Interviewer: Good, lets consider broking firm into equities

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c Bain & Co.

Candidate: What is the geography where the broking firm is located?

Interviewer: Bombay and has clients with NSE
Candidate: Do we operate in Stock exchange across India?
Interviewer: Lets consider clients across India, operating in NSE
Candidate: What are the client base that we cater to?
Interviewer: HNI + General public
Candidate: When we are considering valuation of a broking firm, we can
evaluate the revenue and cost to determine the cash inflows.
revenue is based on value and % of brokerage.
Value = Price of shares * Quantity of shares * Mix of shares
Interviewer: Which parameter affect the quantity?
Candidate: No. of customers, type (HNI will trade more than general
people), exchanges traded in,
Also include the geography and penetration and competitors, and the life
cycle in stock exchange (gave relevance of 2008 stock crash leading to
reduction in number of people)
Interviewer: How to evaluate price over a period of time.
Candidate: We can assign a growth rate based on the growth rate of the
economy and performance of equities in relation to it
Interviewer: How will you value these?
Candidate: As these are a series of cashflows, we can have a DCF approach.
Interviewer: This is on an ongoing basis. How about if I close the business
Candidate: We will also consdier the terminal value.
It can be calculated based on tangible and intangible assets.
Tangible - Assets of the firm (computers, office etc.) and a broking card
(important and holds great value as a licence)
Intangilble - customer data and relations. The team will have access to
funds of customers which is valuable.
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c Bain & Co.

Interviewer: Good. Thanks

Round 2:

Case:
We are a steel pipe manufacturer and we are working on a cost
transformation program and wish to reduce our cost by Rs. 150 Crs.
Candidate: What is the time horizon where we wish to reduce the cost?
Interviewer: 12 months
Candidate: What is the product that we manufacture and whom do we
cater to?
Interviewer: Large steel pipe and we cater to B2B and large customers
Candidate: Do we deal in separate product SKUs?
Interviewer: We have different diameters and variants depending on the
process. But lets have one SKU for now
Interviewer: Hanjar port and import raw material from China and export
as its near a port
Candidate: Would it be safe to assume that our customers are
international?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: As we are looking at reducing cost, what would our current cost
be?
Interviewer: Rs. 6000 Cr. What are the various cost that I can incur?
Candidate: RM , production, distribution, marketing and support
Interviewer: RM is my major cost and it accounts for 60% of the cost.
Candidate: RM will include purchase cost and inbound transmission
Interviewer: Lets consider purchase cost
Candidate: Purchase cost = Price / tonne * Quantity
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c Bain & Co.

Interviewer: What parameters affect the price =

Candidate: The country from where we purchase, china ,South africa,
indoneasia etc.
Its a commodity and thus prices fluctuate,
Can consider domestic purchase also
Quality, grade of the RM is also to be considered.
Concept of EOQ i.e. ordering cost v/s storage cost tradeoff
Interviewer: Good, lets assume we have an order of 100 tonnes, and
efficiency is 95%, so we will roughly order 105 tonnes. We have 2 options,
order 105 in one go or in 2 parts, what would you recommend and why?
Candidate: Asked about the requirement in the start? As melting steel is
costly and thus advisable to be done at one go
Interviewer: Lets say 80% is needed in start
Candidate: Then it is advisable to order in one go as it will help to reduce
storage and transport cost and help to get a bulk discount.
Interviewer: Why would I consider ordering 20% in the start
Candidate: Maybe if it is a new supplier and we are not sure of the quality
or the manufacture process with our infrastructure.
Interviewer: What if I have options to order, 3/4/5 times
Candidate: We will consider the EOQ concept and evaluate independently
based on requirement.
Interviewer: We can also consider the confidence we have on supplier to
build a relationship.
Candidate: Yes.
Interviewer: Lets do a quick calculation. If I am able to save 2% of the RM
cost, what is it and how am I able to justify with my target
Candidate: Total cost is 6000 cr. RM is 60%, i.e. 3600 Crs and 2% is 72 Crs.
Our target is 150 Crs and thus we will not be able to achieve it.

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c Bain & Co.

Round 3:
N/A

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions

• IIM L Case book, IIM A Casebook
• Stay calm and trust your preparation

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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c Bain & Co.

Chinmay Jain

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Roorkee
Field of Grad. – Electrical Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Engineering
(Semiconductor)

Round 1:
HR Questions:

• Tell me something about yourself apart from your Resume.

• Why consulting? Why Bain?
• Are you a team player or an individual player. (Asked to give an example
of both)
• What is your biggest fear about consulting

CV/Resume Questions:

• Tell me about your experience in filmmaking, how did you go about

making a 12M+ views video?
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c Bain & Co.

Responsibilities held at Texas Instruments.

Case: My friend is a Financial Advisor. He is looking to buy a smart gallery.

How will you value it.

Interviewer: My friend is a Financial Advisor. He is looking to buy a smart

gallery. How will you value it.
Candidate: What is a smart gallery.
Interviewer: Smart Gallery is an art gallery portraying works of upcoming as
well as local artists
Candidate: What are the Revenue streams for the art gallery and where is it
located?
Interviewer: Located in Mumbai. It has three kinds of revenue streams: 1)
Buying & Selling of Paintings 2) Commission from tickets on Exhibitions
organised 3) Renting the space for private events like corporate parties.
Candidate: Number of paintings the art gallery currently has, the number of
exhibitions and private events that are organised each year and the revenue
from each?
Interviewer: Lets focus on the paintings for now, the art gallery currently has
50 paintings.
Candidate: We can value these paintings by looking at Competitors' prices of
similar paintings, or find out the cost of acquisition and use cost plus method
or even use value-based method depending on the product attributes to
value the paintings.
Interviewer: How will you use the value-based method?
Candidate: We can start with a Base price of paintings and add value to the
painting based on factors such as: price of artist's similar works, price of
similar style of paintings, price of paintings at similar art galleries.
Interviewer: Any other lever to value the painting.
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c Bain & Co.

Candidate: I m not sure which one i m missing.

Interviewer: You have covered all, apart from this there could be an X-factor
to each painting.
Candidate: Yes surely, it could be possible if the painting has some story or
historical incidence related to it.
Interviewer: Ohk we can close the case now. (Followed by one more HR
Questions and any question I had for him)

Round 2:
Case:

Bain has been hired by a PE firm who is evaluating investing in a hospital in

Gurgaon. Help them decide how much they should value the business if they
are looking at a 25% IRR in a 5 year horizon

Candidate: What kind of investments have the PE firm done before and how
long have they been operating?
Interviewer: Mostly invest in Healthcare industries only, have a lot of
ventures.
Candidate: Can you help me understand more about the hospital they are
currently evaluating, in terms of the services it provides and customers it
caters to.
Interviewer: Its a speciality hospital with premium services and serving high-
income individuals.
Candidate: What are the sources of revenues for the hospital.

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c Bain & Co.

Interviewer: It is a 1000 bed hospital with 80% Utilisation factor and

2Cr/annum revenue from each bed, having a 20% EBITDA. We can explore
other revenue sources.
Candidate: Based on the data given, calculated the Initial investment cost to
be done using NPV and discounting. Would next want to evaluate the
decision based on some Macro and Industry level factors.
Interviewer: Macro parameters are good, let's look at the Industry level
factors.
Candidate: (Asked about the competitors, supplier buying powers and
customers)
Interviewer: Faces competition from some of the known brands like Appollo,
Vedanta, etc. prices are similar. How do you think we can increase the
revenue of the hospital?
Candidate: We can break it down into factors such as No. of customers, the
customer mix, Average duration of stay for a customer and the price per
customer. (Suggested 2-3 ideas for each of these factors)
Interviewer: What can be some of the other sources of revenue for the
hospital?
Candidate: Listed down other services that the hostel can start, explore
treatment of diseases that are not covered till now, establish a loyalty
program with customers for consultations, launch health checkup packages,
extend the pathology services of the hospital, increase revenues from the
canteen, parking space.
Interviewer: Ok, can you quickly summarise the case for me.

Round 3
NA

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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c Bain & Co.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Case Slots with Seniors, ISB IIM-A, IIM-L case book, Case Interviews
cracked
• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Figure out what the recruiter is looking for in the case solution as soon
as possible

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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c Bain & Co.

DEEPAK JAIN

Background:
Undergrad – Delhi Technological
University
Field of Grad. – B.Tech - Mechanical &
Automotive
Work Exp – 47 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Consulting - BCG

Round 1:
Case:
You are working with online retailer focusing on the fashion industry. Their
private label business is 200mn USD. How will you further grow this.

Candidate: Reiterated the problem and said that we can assume this to be
Myntra to start with.
Interviewer: Sure. Go ahead
(went ahead with basic CPCC questions)
Interviewer: The company is 7-8 years old, based out of India and is in apparel
& accessories segment. No major customer segments. The company holds

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c Bain & Co.

25% market share and is among top 4 players in ecommerce, and top 2 in
fashion.
Candidate: Asked if there is enough demand in the market. Given its in the
India market, said there must be enough demand.
Interviewer: Yes, there is. We can focus on how to cater to the demand.
Candidate: So, we can expand in 2 ways- B2B and B2C. Gave example of B2B
– like giving clothes to big bazaar.
Interviewer: We need to make our brand name, so focus on B2C
Candidate: Sure, so in that case we have multiple options – (1) selling through
own website, (2) selling through third party websites, (3) from own new
stores or (4) from third party stores.
Asked Interviewer of what she wanted me to focus on and how to proceed
ahead.
Interviewer: Please size the market for each of these options after 3 years
Candidate: Sure. Started taking numbers on overall market size, growth and
estimated percentage that can be made from it.
Interviewer: Lets assume Amazon to present 1 bn USD opportunity with
growth rate 20% and amazon has 5000 brands.
Candidate: Calculated market size - 1.7 bn in 3 years. Assumed top 60% sales
from major brands, 20% from Private labels and 20% from others. Given 100
brands in private label, calculated 3.4 mn USD opportunity from Website
(Similarly got information for other 3 ways and calculated market for each of
them. Tried to catch on hints like own website growth would be more than
that on Amazon, and how to push own product on our website without losing
customers)

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c Bain & Co.

Interviewer: That will be it. Tell me in case you have any questions.

Round 2:
Case:

Q.2 You are working with IT service company and the profits are less than
those of the competitors. Identify the issues and also suggest possible
solutions.

Candidate: Tried to ask about the company and what all it does.
Interviewer: Sure, so company is like Wipro etc. who work across multiple
industries like consumer, Industrial goods etc. These company get projects
from the industry and work on it. Do you know about Hunter, Farmers, New
logo, win rate and close rate?
Candidate: No, since I am new to this industry, it will be great if you can
help me with these.
Interviewer: Sure. Hunters are sales team members, farmers are
accountants. New logo referred to new companies that were clients within
the past 1 year. Win rate is clients hat got converted divided by total
companies approached by hunters. While close rate was total potential of
the converted clients divided by total available pool.
(it was quite technical and interviewer had to spend 10-15 minutes just to
explain these terms, but it was very important to understand before
reaching any conclusions)
Next, tell me why are new logos important?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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c Bain & Co.

Candidate: It is because these are essentially clients that can will give us
lot of work in the future and have lot of potential.
Interviewer: Absolutely correct. So, our win rate is same as other
companies, but close rate is lower. Can you figure out the reason?
(took a minute to think)
Candidate: Sure, so it is important to understand this from a hunter’s
perspective. Broke the problem into 2 parts- if the hunters were willingly
doing this or not. Gave justification of willingness as motivation could be
less because of fixed pay or pay in terms of number of deals.
Interviewer: No, so they are paid 2% of the deal amount.
Candidate: There could be a few cases here, if the hunters themselves
selected these pools of people and didn’t realize the potential or they
were given a set of people.
Interviewer: They themselves choose to select the people.
Candidate: Hence that means they were not strategically approaching
these people and that is leading to the issue of lower profits and revenue
eventually.
Interviewer: Correct, but how will you solve this issue?
Candidate: Figured out multiple ways like – salary basis client size, fixing
the clients to interact, better training for good conversion rates,
allocating clients basis capabilities.
Interviewer: Yes, one more way is to pay more for bigger clients like 6-7%
for bigger clients in terms of opportunities, and 2% of deal for smaller
clients.

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c Bain & Co.

Candidate: Yes, got it Thank you.

Round 3:
Guesstimate:

Q3 Estimate the revenue of a museum in a day in a city in Europe?

(did CPCC to start with and got following information)

Candidate: Sure. It’s an art museum based in some city with population 0.5
mn. The museum is 200 years old.
We can consider it to be a weekend. The neighbouring cities also have
museums. The customers included household and people travelling from
outside.
Candidate: I think the revenue segments would ideally be – ticketing
revenue, gifts & souvenirs and F&B shops. Is there any source of revenue
that I’m missing?
Interviewer: Yes, so company has an exhibition space and earns from B2B
segment by giving it on rent
Candidate: Sure, thanks for this. I would want to look at this problem from
customer’s perspective and figure out how many people would visit in a day
(i.e. weekend)
(Listed factors like -age, interests, guests etc. to understand how many
people will actually visit)
Interviewer: what more will you consider to get to the figure?

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Candidate: I would want to see the number of households, and then

assume 40-50% people having the willingness to go to museum rather
than their next best options of entertainment, shopping etc.
Also considered facts like guests being at home and taking them along for
it and going to nearby museums,
Interviewer: I don’t need a number, just wanted to see your approach.
That will be it.
Candidate: Thank you.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions

• Case books across colleges
• Do's -> Be confident in the interview and keep a smile on your face.
Just remember that the interviewer is also a human. Apart from good
logical reasoning and case solving, he is looking forward for an
interactive and well spent 20 minutes.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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c Bain & Co.

Ridhima Anand

Background:
Undergrad – Delhi Technological
University
Field of Grad. – B.Tech
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Software
Engineer

Round 1:
Case:
Interviewer: Client is an Indonesian Food Delivery start up, like Swiggy and
Zomato. It is a market leader in South Asia. Now it wants to enter India.
Candidate: *Clarified the question* Before starting with the analysis, I
have some clarifying questions that I’d like to ask.
Interviewer: Sure, Go ahead.
Candidate: I see that the client wants to enter India, is there specific
purpose for this move?
Interviewer: Yes, the purpose is growth.
Candidate: Okay. Fair enough. And how can we help our client here?

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c Bain & Co.

Interviewer: The client would like to know if we will be able to make unit
economic profit in India.
Candidate: Sure. I would love to help him with the best of my abilities.
(Understood about the company, its USP and specifics about the revenue
model, consumer and competitors. Applied PESTLE to understand market
attractiveness. I was asked to focus on unit economic profit and profit is
function of revenue and cost. Therefore, I decided to deal with revenue
and cost separately.)
Candidate: We can do a market estimate to determine potential unit
revenue.
(The major revenue streams considered were delivery charges and
commissions from restaurants. After a detailed discussion, the interviewer
asked me to consider 20% of bill value as commission and 25 Rupees as
delivery fee. We also talked a little bit about the recent hike in delivery fee
by Swiggy and Zomato. I finished the market estimation and the
Interviewer nodded in approval after hearing the final number. Then we
moved to cost analysis.)
Interviewer: What type of costs would you consider while doing cost
analysis?
Candidate: For unit cost, I would like to focus on Labour cost and fuel cost.
Interviewer: You can ignore fuel cost for now. How would you go about
the labour cost?
Candidate: We have calculated total demand in the guesstimate. From
there, we can compute the total number of delivery persons by dividing
demand by total number of orders per driver per day. Total number of
orders per driver in a day can be found by incorporating peak and non-
peak hours.
Interviewer: You can continue with this approach.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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c Bain & Co.

(I calculated the total number of delivery persons which came out to be a

reasonable number.)
Candidate: Do we have any information about the salary given to delivery
persons?
(The Interviewer gave me an average salary paid to a delivery person. After
doing necessary calculations, I found that the company would incur losses if
it’ll enter Indian market.)
Interviewer: That’ll be all. Thank you.

Round 2:
Case:

Interviewer: Let’s begin our case. Client has a diagnostic lab, one of the
largest in the world. He wishes to get a good assessment of market in India.
Candidate: *Reiterated the question to make sure if I understand it
correctly.* The Client wants to enter the Indian market, I presume?
Interviewer: That’s correct.
Candidate: Before we start, I would like to ask some clarifying questions.
Interviewer: Sure, go ahead.
Candidate: What kind of operations does the lab undertake? Does it
specialize in any certain areas or is it a general-purpose health lab?
Interviewer: It’s a general-purpose health laboratory. It conducts 2 types
of tests – Prevention tests and tests prescribed by doctors.
Candidate: Okay. And what is the nature of technology used in these labs?
Interviewer: It is a high end laboratory, they use the latest technology.
Candidate: (Understood more about the company, about their
competitors and consumers.)
Candidate: May I take a minute to analyse the information?
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c Bain & Co.

Interviewer: Okay.
Candidate: (After reviewing the information) To assess the market, we can
look into the potential revenue generated from these tests. I would like to
analyse Prevention tests and Prescribed tests separately.
Interviewer: We can focus on the prescribed tests for the time being.
Candidate: Sure. Since we’re talking about one of the largest company, do
we have any data available on the proportion of revenue generated by
prescribed tests.
Interviewer: Yes, the past data shows that prescribed tests form 80% of
the revenues for the company.
Candidate: That’s great. That means analysing the potential revenue from
prescribed tests may give us a good idea about the Indian market!
Interviewer: That’s correct!
Candidate: For prescribed tests, we can analyse the market India possesses
by dividing it into urban and rural areas. Rural areas have a huge scope,
mainly because of two reasons. First, fairly high percentage of population
residing in rural areas. Second, rural health-care has seen huge
investments coming in in the past few years. However, there are some
issues with regard to operating a high end laboratory chain in rural areas.
Interviewer: And what are these issues?
Candidate: To start with, currently, there are very less number of
functional hospitals in rural areas. That means the number of doctors
prescribing the tests would be much less than in urban areas. In addition
to this, the sourcing of laboratory equipment and medical supplies would
need a well-developed road connectivity. These facilities may be available
in rural areas in future, say, in the next 10-15 years? However, if we are
assessing the current Indian market, we can ignore rural areas.
Interviewer: Good analysis. Let’s focus on urban areas.

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Candidate: Great! When we’re talking about prescribed tests, we mean

the tests prescribed to patients by doctors in case the former needs the
test to
be performed, is that correct? I mean, here we’re considering all doctors,
working at hospitals or clinics.
Interviewer: Yes. You have got it right!
Candidate: Okay. We can do a guesstimate to find the number of doctors
in urban areas.
Interviewer: No need to delve into that. You can assume that the number
of doctors are 0.7 per people pan India.
Candidate: Thank you! That will make the calculation much easier. We
know that the current population of India is around 1.3 billion people.
Using the data you just provided, it seems like there are around 9.1 lakh
doctors all over India. As number of doctors in urban areas are much more
than in rural areas, we can safely say that around 60% of the doctors are
working in cities.
Interviewer: That’s a reasonable assumption. And how many of them
would be eligible to prescribe laboratory tests?
Candidate: I believe a huge percentage of urban doctors in India would be
eligible to prescribe laboratory tests. Let’s say, around 60% doctors fulfil
this criteria. The final number comes out to be around 3.3 lakh doctors.
Interviewer: Good work. The number seems to be fair. How would you
calculate revenue from this number?
(This was followed by a discussion on average number of patients
attended by a doctor in a day, the number of tests prescribed per day and
an average cost of these tests in India. Both Interviewer and I were picking
instances from day-to-day life to back our values. We came to an
agreement that on an average a doctor prescribes 8 tests in a day with an
average cost of 100 Rupees per test. )
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c Bain & Co.

Candidate: From this data, the revenue derived from prescribed tests per
day is around 24 crores. Say, the laboratory is open 300 days a year, the
net revenue per year comes out to be 7200 crores. I presume that the
client would require the potential revenue in USD?
Interviewer: That’s correct. You can do the necessary conversion.
Candidate: Taking the current conversion rate as 1 USD = 72 Rupees, the
potential revenue derived from prescribed tests is around 1 Billion dollars.
Do we have any data on the present revenue generated by the laboratory
chain?
Interviewer: Sure, it generates around 7 Billion dollars a year. What do you
think, should the client enter the Indian market?
Candidate: India has always been a huge market for healthcare sector. A
market with a potential revenue capacity of 1 Billion is an attractive option.
It would also result in 14% increase in the global revenue. Moreover, this
market is growing at a fast pace of 20% in India. I believe the client should
consider this option. (Always back your opinion with number and current
scenarios)
Interviewer: Very well. A comprehensive analysis overall. We can close the
case now. Thank you.
Candidate: Thank you!

Round 3
Guesstimate:

Interviewer: Let’s take a small case. Client is the CEO of PVR Cinemas. Help
him in understanding the unit revenue of PVR Setup.
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Candidate: *Clarified the question*. The revenue stream would include

revenue from tickets, food and beverages, and advertisements shown
before the movie or during the interval.
Interviewer: That seems right.
Candidate: The size of a PVR Setup may vary with the size of the city/town
it’s being introduced in. Are we talking about a PVR Setup in a metropolitan
area?
Interviewer: That’s correct.
Candidate: Okay. A general PVR Setup in a metropolitan area has 4
screens. Each screen has a capacity of 150 people. The price varies from
place to place but we can take an average of around 100 Rupees. Do
these assumptions seem valid?
Interviewer: The numbers seem fair. You can move forward with these
values.
Candidate: Thank you. The next step would be to calculate revenue
generated from screenings.
Interviewer: And how would you go about that?
Candidate: We can use the simple relation that revenue generated per
show will be equal to (average number of screens)*(Percentage
occupancy)*(average price of each ticket).
(It was followed by a detailed discussion on how we’d calculate
percentage occupancy as it will depend on various factors like - day of
the week, any new release, holidays, festivals etc.)
Interviewer: You can take an average percentage occupancy of 60%.
Candidate: That’s great! So the number comes out to be around
150*0.6*100*4 = 36000 Rupees per show. We can multiply it by number
of shows in a day.
(We discussed the various factors to incorporate while calculating the
number of shows. I was coming up with values based on my experience.
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For example, the length of English movies is around 1.5-2 hours whereas
Hindi movies are generally of 2.5-3 hours. Further, around 20-30 minutes
are allotted between the shows to clean the theatre and allow people to
settle in for the next show.)
Candidate: We can take the average length of movie as 2.5 hours. As per
my experience, PVR Cinemas are generally operational for 14 hours in a
day. Also, around 20 minutes break is given between shows for cleaning.
After taking all this into account, we can say that around 5 shows are run
on each screen
in a PVR Setup. That means, in total, around 20 movies are shown in a day
in a PVR Setup.
Interviewer: That seems fairly accurate. No need to calculate the final
revenue. We can close the case here. Thank you!

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• IIML Casebook
• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• The interviewer is not looking for a right answer from you, they are
looking at your approach.

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Rishabh Bajaj

Background:
Undergrad – Kirori Mal College, University
of Delhi
Field of Grad. – B.Com. (Hons.)
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Venture-building
& portfolio management, Risk Advisory

Round 1:
HR Questions:
Tell me about yourself
Where am I from originally
How have I been coping with COVID's impact in Delhi

CV Questions
What's a Start-up Studio's business model like? (related to my most
recent work experience)

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Case:
The client is a billion-dollar IT services player (application and infrastructure
management). They have been lagging behind in profitability and need help
with this problem.

Complete Case Transcript

Candidate: What is the quantum of the lag in profitability? Is there any data
available for how short is the company falling of its targets? Also, since
when has the company been facing this issue?
Interviewer: Yes, the company has been clocking 12-13% EBITDA compared
to a 15-16% expectation. The issue has come to light in the last 3-4 years.
Candidate: Thank you. As I’m not too aware of the concerned industry here,
could you help me understand what do we exactly mean by ‘application and
infrastructure management’ services?
Interviewer: Application services is simply app development and
maintenance while infrastructure management services range from cloud-
based data management to ERP solutions to core system maintenance and
a few other add-ons.
Candidate: I would like to know a bit about the client to establish some
context here. Can you help me the following details? Location, Areas of
operations (client bases), age/maturity of company, size of the company (in
terms of workforce- as it’s an IT services company)
Interviewer: Sure! The company is based in India and has offices in
Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Trivandrum. It’s a mid-90s company and has
approx. 2500 employees. 80% of the client base is in US.
Candidate: Sounds good. To understand the offering better, is it safe to
assume that the company offers customised solutions to every client given
different scales of client firms?

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Interviewer: Yes absolutely. The requirements of every client would differ

based on its scale and specific solution needs.
Candidate: Also, I’d assume that there would be a fair amount of
competition in India in this industry. Can I get some information on the
competitive landscape here?
Y- Yes that’s correct. There are 3 tiers of companies serving as good
competition. Tier-I would be the likes of TCS & Infosys, we would be a
part of Tier-II followed by smaller local players.
Candidate: Thank you. I have sufficient information to dive into the issue.
Can I take another 20 seconds to structure my thoughts?
Interviewer: Sure, go ahead.
Candidate: As the company is experiencing a profitability issue, I can
define profits as Revenues - Cost considering a single stream of revenue
which is service fees.
Interviewer: Yes, ignore revenues for now, let’s look at costs for the
client.
Candidate: Sure! As it is an IT services company servicing mostly US-
based clients, people’s costs would be a major component of total costs
for the client apart from other operational and non-operational costs
like..
Interviewer: Yes, ignore other costs for now. Let’s focus on personnel
costs which forms 80% of total costs.
Candidate: To ascertain personnel costs, I’d like to use the following
equation=
No. of offices x No. of projects x Avg. no. of people per project x Avg. CTC
Moreover, Avg. no. of people and CTC will be different for different tiers
of employees
Interviewer: Yes, that seems fine but on what other ‘lever’ would the
costs depend?
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Candidate: Further, the projects would have different tiers of personnel

and their CTCs will be different based on level of skill/seniority.
Interviewer: Yes correct. Can you think of any other ‘lever’ that could
vary costs in this context?
Candidate: I have a few questions which I need more clarity on. Is the
employee structure top-heavy or bottom-heavy? Moreover, could
efficiency of certain tiers of employees also be a cost driver here?
(Struggling to come up with other ‘levers’ of costs.)
Interviewer: In such a firm, the structure is almost always bottom-heavy.
Also, what do you mean by efficiency, can you explain your thought
process behind this. You can also consider the office space available as a
factor of personnel costs in this context.
Candidate: Sure. By efficiency I meant the amount of time that an
average team would take to complete a project and benchmarking that
with that of other competitors, we could get an idea about the relative
efficiency of the workforce.
Also, I think I missed the space aspect earlier. Different office locations
would have different office space available and hence, the costs could
vary across these locations. Would you want me to explore this further?
Interviewer: Yes, that sounds good. How would you benchmark the
efficiency of employees when projects are customised and not uniform
across various clients in different industries?
Candidate: Yes, I agree that benchmarking wouldn’t be very accurate but
it is just to get an idea of relative costs. If we take a hypothetical project
and allocate a group of employees and compare across competitors for
the same, we might be able to assess if we’re less or more efficient than
them and get an idea of relatively higher/lower costs.

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Interviewer: Alright, that makes sense but like you said, it’s not possible
to have this data and hence is a hypothetical scenario. Also, we have ¾
mins. left with us. Can you quickly think of some additional points that
could drive personnel costs?
Candidate: (Asked for 30 seconds to brainstorm.) I have a few more
points which could be cost drivers. Firstly, we could look at benchmarking
the salaries of different tiers of employees with that of the competitors.
Secondly, we can compare the utilisation of employees per annum and
compare it with that of competitors.
Interviewer: Yes, that sounds good. Finally, what we wanted to arrive at.
Seems like our time is over but do you have any questions for me?
Candidate: What has kept you going at the firm so long?

Round 2:

Case: The client is a specialised chemicals manufacturer and is facing issues

with its profitability. They need us to help them figure the problem and
recommend solutions

Complete Case Transcript

Interviewer: (seemed to be in a rush right from the beginning and suggested

to focus only on structure and idea generation)
Candidate: Sure! Since how long has the client been facing these issues?
Also, I’d like to know a bit about the client and the industry it operates in
and the timeline in which the client is looking to resolve the issue.

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Interviewer: Let me help you with some initial information. The client
manufactures chemicals used further to produce plastics, paints, textiles
and leather goods. It has 400 different SKUs and clocked revenues of INR
160 Cr. last year. They require quick solutions which can be implemented
within a 2-3 week period.
Candidate: Thank you for that information. (Made some assumptions and
confirmed with the interviewer: B2B clients pan-India and business
model/value chain was from Sourcing-Manufacturing-Sales & Distribution).
Asked a few more questions about the competitive landscape
Interviewer: Yes, you can go ahead with that understanding. Ignore the
competitive landscape. Although, could you tell me the kind of clients this
company could have?
Candidate: Yes, I would assume consumer durables, apparel, lifestyle brands
to be key clients. Is that a good assumption?
Interviewer: Yes, that sounds good. Go ahead!
Candidate: I’ll break down profits into Revenue-Cost. Assuming multiple
revenue streams and cost centres for 4 different types of products, would
you like me to focus on any of these specifically or can I explore each one by
one?
Interviewer: Yes, that’s a good point. Leather products are driving down the
profitability primarily. Can you explain about the cost structure/heads of
this company?
Candidate: Sure. On the nature of costs, I could divide them into
Operational & Non-operational costs. On the basis of behaviour, I could use
a Fixed, Variable & Semi-variable classification.

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Interviewer: Good. Name a few operational & non-operational costs here

and let’s proceed with it then.
Candidate: Under operational costs, I would list down raw material costs,
labour costs, in-bound logistics cost, production process costs, warehousing
& storage costs and distribution costs including outbound logistics, R&D
costs, Administrative costs and technology costs. Under non-operational I
would consider depreciation and finance costs.
Interviewer: Alright, let’s move to the revenue aspect now. How would you
proceed?
Candidate: Before I dive into it, could you help me with an SKU distribution
across all 400. This is to determine how heavy is the leather products’ SKU
share among the overall SKUs offered.
Interviewer: Sure. Consider it as 50, 70, 120 & 160 SKUs for plastics, paints,
textiles and leather goods respectively.
Candidate: Thank you. As we can observe that leather goods form the
highest share of the overall SKU mix, the top line can be majorly affected by
leather goods. Following this, I would break the revenue as no. of leather
goods’ units produced * avg. price of leather SKUs. Do we have any
information on the quantity produced or the pricing policy/trends that the
client has observed for their goods in the past?
Interviewer: Good observation. So the client follows a cost + mark-up
pricing model. The quantity of production has not changed. Anyway, can
you quickly suggest some ideas for a company like this to improve
profitability?
Candidate: As we have a short timeline to improve profitability, I would look

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at the SKU mix offered. We would have to increase sales effort on certain
SKUs and reduce or phase out a few. Producing and selling larger SKUs could
reduce carrying costs and packaging costs. Since our clients are all B2B, if
the smaller SKUs are not very relevant, we could look at reducing sales of
these and reallocate resources towards larger SKUs. Would that be a fair
suggestion?
Interviewer: Yes, although the cost of producing the primary material is the
same across all SKUs, the other product costs could be tweaked. I like the
idea of pushing large SKU sales although phasing those out would not be
recommended as there are certain buyers for it who would not purchase
beyond a certain limit due to many reasons. If phased out, the revenue and
profits from that segment could get totally wiped out.
Interviewer: That’s it for our case discussion. Do you have any questions for
me?
Candidate: I would like to know what keeps you going in the Consulting
industry after 10 years of experience. Also, would be great to receive some
feedback on our discussion.

Round 3:
NA

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Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Case group discussions & case-solving with

seniors
• CaseBooks - IIML, IIMA, Case Interviews Cracked
• It's always better to pick specific cues from the interviewer's
interaction and focus only on what they're asking for rather than
sticking to a set approach for any case round.
• Answering HR questions with objective and crisp points makes the
interviewers follow up on their own, which provides a better recall
value, especially at the end of a round. Also, asking for feedback at the
end of a round helps set a quick strategy for the subsequent rounds.
• Using first principles always work in approaching any problem
statement and also make the candidate stand out.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Shivani Karnik

Background:
Undergrad – N M College, Mumbai; ICAI
Field of Grad. – CA; BCom
Work Exp – 33 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Finance

Round 1:

Case:
Interviewer: Your client is a Brick Manufacturer. A new player has entered
the market and slashed the price by 10%. The client is asking us what should
they do.
Candidate: (Clarified the problem statement and the objective) To
understand our client better, Can you tell me how old is the company?
Interviewer: The client is an old company in this line.
Candidate: Does the client also have other lines of business?
Interviewer: No. The client only manufactures bricks and sells it directly to
customers.

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Candidate: As we are selling directly to customers, can I assume that most of

our customer base is builders?
Interviewer: Yes. Most of our customers are small builders.
Candidate: Okay. Where is the Client located? Also, what is our scale of
operation?
Interviewer: The Client is located in East India. It has a single plant in a
catchment. It is one of the biggest players in East India.
Candidate: Who are our competitors? Also, is it a fragmented industry?
Interviewer: Yes. It is a fragmented market with 30 odd players in the market.
There are 2-3 big players in the market and our client is one of them.
Candidate: Okay. What is the price that we are currently charging for the
brick? Is that the price that our competitors are charging as well?
Interviewer: We are currently charging Rs. 10 per brick. Yes, the price
throughout the market currently is more or less similar. However, the new
player has entered and cut price by 10%.
Candidate: As we have to decide if we should cut the price by 10% or not, we
can consider the following before taking a decision. Our Market Share in the
current market, the current pricing of the product, the process of
manufacturing, our customer base and their perception of a price cut, the
quality of our product vis a vis our competitors.
Interviewer: This sounds good. Let’s look at the market share but I want you
do a few calculations for me first.
Candidate: Sure
Interviewer: Let’s say we are selling 100 thousand bricks. Should we reduce
our price? Is it feasible?
Candidate: I would like to decide the feasibility of price reduction on the basis
of our profitability. To understand more about it, do we have any information
about the costs incurred for production as well as the fixed costs?

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Interviewer: Yes. The variable costs are around Rs. 3 per brick and the fixed
cost is Rs. 20000 currently.
Candidate: (Asked for some time for calculating profit) Currently, we are
selling a 100 thousand bricks at Rs. 10 per brick. Thus, our sales are Rs. 10
Lakhs. The variable cost of producing 100 thousand bricks is Rs. 3L.
Contribution is 10L minus 3L i.e. 7L. The fixed costs are 2L thus our profit is
Rs. 5 Lakh. We have a profit margin of 50% currently. If we reduce the price
10% per brick for the same sale quantity, the sales would be 9L and the profit
would be 4L. Although our profit margin would reduce from 50% currently to
around 45%, it still seems a feasible option.
Interviewer: Sounds Fair. How many bricks will I have to produce and sell if I
still want to earn a profit of Rs. 4L without reducing the price by 10%.
Candidate: In this scenario, the price of the brick is Rs. 10. We need to earn a
profit of Rs. 4L. The fixed costs will not change due to change in quantity of
sales and production. Thus, the contribution will be 6L. Per brick contribution
is Rs. 7, thus, I will have to produce and sell around 85,000 bricks.
Interviewer: Yes, that makes sense. What does the contribution signify?
Candidate: The contribution is that portion of revenue which is not used up
by variable costs and used to cover the fixed costs. Contribution is also
considered while calculating the break-even quantity essential to keep the
business running in the short term.
Interviewer: Good. All the factors you listed while considering a price cut
make sense. However, as we are short of time, can you tell me why would
you consider customers while deciding a price cut?
Candidate: As we are an established player manufacturing since many years
and amongst the Top 3 players, can I assume we would be having a specific
loyal customer base since many years?
Interviewer: Yes, we do have some loyal customers who value our quality.

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Candidate: Customers might perceive price cut as reduction in our quality of

bricks. It can create a lower perceived value for the product and buyers might
consider our product less valuable.
Interviewer: That sounds fair. So, what do you think should we do?
Candidate: As currently the pricing in the market is more or less similar, 10%
reduction by one player will affect the pricing of other competitors as well.
Based on the calculations, a 10% price reduction will affect our profitability
by 5%. We are a big player in the market and we have the capacity to reduce
our prices and focus on increasing our volume to compensate for the
reduction in profit. Also, since most of our customers are small builders, a
10% saving in brick cost might also be an attractive opportunity for them to
shift to another manufacturer since the product offered by all players is
similar. Thus, we can also go ahead with reducing our price by 10%.
Interviewer: Correct. Seems good. That’ll be all.

Round 2:

Case:
Interviewer: Your Client is the manufacturer of fishing nets. These nets are
used in agriculture, fishing and construction. The growth has slowed down. It
wants to grow at 15%.
Candidate: (Clarified the problem statement). To understand the problem
better, I would like to ask a few questions first.
Interviewer: Sure. Go Ahead.
Candidate: What is the current growth rate of our client? Has there been a
fall in our growth rate?

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Interviewer: The client is currently growing at 5%. It is a well-established

player and was growing at 10% earlier but the growth has gradually reduced
to 5% over the last few years.
Candidate: What is time period within which we need to achieve this target
of 15% growth?
Interviewer: We need to achieve this target in the next 3 years. Let us only
consider the fishing industry for this problem.
Candidate: Okay. I would like to understand at what rate is the fishing
industry growing?
Interviewer: The industry is also growing at 4-5% and our growth currently is
in line with the growth of the industry.
Candidate: Okay. Where is the client located? Also, what is the distribution
channel that the client uses?
Interviewer: The client is located in India. It operates through dealerships and
has a distribution network all over India.
Candidate: I would like to understand a little more about our competitors and
their share in the market.
Interviewer: We are one of the major players in the market. Our market share
is about 70%. We have not been able to grow much as the market has now
stagnated.
Candidate: Okay. In order to grow at 15% I would like to explore the existing
market and also explore new geography or businesses.
Interviewer: Let’s consider the existing market for now.
Candidate: While exploring the existing market, I would look at increasing the
volume of sales or increasing the price of our nets.
Interviewer: I would like you to look at increasing the volume of sales first.
Candidate: The volume of sales can be increased by increasing our customer
base or increasing the quantity sold to a particular customer.
Interviewer: Can you help me estimate the size of the market for fishing net?
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Candidate: Sure. Fishing net can be used for sea water as well as fresh water
fishing. I would divide the population of the country on the basis of access to
coast or river and those with no water body around for fishing.
Interviewer: Let us consider only sea-water fishing here. Since we are short
of time, tell me the approach first and then you can calculate.
Candidate: Sure. I would divide population of India who live along the coast
and those who live in landlocked areas. Out of the people living along the
coast, I would divide them into those living in rural areas and those in urban.
The population practising fishing as a profession in urban areas would not be
much thus, I would first look at the professions practiced in rural areas along
the coast. On the basis of their professions, I would divide the population
majorly between agriculture/farming, poultry/animal husbandry, fishing and
other. Out of the population that practises fishing, I would consider the
number of households here and divide the population assuming 5 people per
household. This would give me a number of fisherman and assuming every
fisherman buys his own net, that would be the number of nets required.
However, the fishermen would not buy a new net every year so we also need
to factor in the number of years after which they would buy a new net.
Interviewer: This is a good approach. Can you also tell me what other
strategies can we look at to grow in the existing market?
Candidate: Firstly, we can increase the overall distribution network that we
have. Currently, we are only selling through dealership. We can increase our
distribution channels and also venture into setting up our own retail stores.
Or we can also increase the number of dealerships we have within the same
channel. Second, we can analyse the current market and try to onboard more
customers. Third, we can diversify our product. We can introduce different
sizes for the fishing net. We can also introduce a variety in the shapes of the
mesh. Fourth, we can market our product better. As most of the customers
we are targeting are from rural areas, we can market our product through
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radio or local bazaars and trade fairs. Fifth, we can also consider acquiring
other players in the market. However, that depends on two factors – their
willingness to sell and our capacity to buy. Sixth, we can look at the pricing of
the product.
Interviewer: This sounds good. I think you have covered all. We can stop here.
Do you have any questions for me?

Round 3:
N/A

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions

• Case Books and Case Slots with seniors
• Solve a lot of cases with your seniors as well as your peers

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Tanvee Mall

Background:
Undergrad – St. Xavier's College, Kolkata
Field of Grad. – B.Sc. (Hons.) Economics
Work Exp – 31 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Finance &
Analytics

Round 1:
HR Questions:
Interviewer:Tell me something about yourself

Case:
Interviewer: Client is a ropes and nets manufacturer. Their growth has
slowed down while margin is improving. They want to achieve full
potential. Help them.
Candidate: What is the current growth level?
Interviewer: Single digit
Candidate: What is the KRA for achieving full potential?

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Interviewer: Sales acceleration- double business in 5 years

Candidate: Who are primary clients and what is our product mix?
Interviewer: Primary industries are fishing, construction and agriculture.
Let’s restrict our analysis to nets
Candidate: Is it correct to assume our products include safety nets, fishing
nets and shade nets predominantly across the three industries?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Is it safe to assume that we operate across the value chain and
the distribution network is dealership module with region wise traders in
place?
Interviewer: Yes, distribution module is the most critical and works in the
dealership mechanism
Candidate: How much market share is captured by us and how is the
competitive landscape?
Interviewer: We are a dominant player
Candidate: Shall I analyse all the 3 industries and layout their sales
acceleration strategy or focus on any particular industry?
Interviewer: Let’s start with fishing industry
Candidate: How many types of fishing net do we have? What is the quality,
material and life of these nets?
Interviewer: Nylon and rayon nets. Average life 7 years
Candidate: I would like to analyse the product mix, pricing and distribution
aspects across the existing and new potential markets.

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Interviewer: That’s good. Asked follow up questions on what in each

bucket would you analyse. Asked to guesstimate the size of the fisherman
market.
Candidate: Discussed broad approach. Extrapolated Bengal population to
average out the population of coastal states. Divided population by
income levels and assumed proportion of population in the segment
involved in fishing industry. Estimated overall market demand considering
initial and replacement demand based on average years mentioned.
Considered market growth @5% lower than GDP owing to nature of
product. Selling Price of net given by interviewer.
Interviewer: Summarise the case and give key next steps to achieve full
potential
Candidate: Checked for any time or spending limit. Suggested
recommendations across product, contract-strategy and distribution
network. Product diversification into relatively lower grade and life of net.
Increase variants other than rayon and nylon and other use cases for the
product. Recommended long-term contracts with fisherman and rental
option. Streamline Distribution network across operations. With
dealership restricted to one player across prominent regions. Reduce
overheads and increases sales.

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Round 2:
HR Questions:

Interviewer: Tell me something that is not on your CV?

Interviewer: How has the virtual MBA experience been?

Case:

Interviewer: Your client is an OTA aggregator. It is growing really well at 20-

30% over the last 5-6 years. It wants to be IPO ready in 5 years but has
negative EBITDA. Chart out the strategy
Candidate: Since when is the client operating?
Interviewer: 10 years
Candidate: What is its current market share and how many competitors
exist?
Interviewer: 30% share and it is the 3rd largest player among the few
competitors
Candidate: What are key services. Are we like MMT with flights and hotels
as are key product offerings? Do we offer any other product?
Interviewer: Yes, while flights and hotels capture 80% and 15% of revenue
mix. We also offer train/bus booking and experiences with experiences
captures less than 1 %.
Candidate: Are we facing negative EBITDA across all segments?
Interviewer: Yes

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Candidate: Primary revenue sources would be commissions. Is my

understanding correct?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Is it safe to assume we are primarily catering to the upper
middle class and the rich?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Since a path to EBITDA positive is key consideration. I would like
to divide my analysis into understanding revenue growth opportunities and
secondly look at areas of cost minimisation. Is that ok and would you like
me to focus on any of the above analysis
Interviewer: Yes, let’s focus on revenue
Candidate: As our revenue model is commission based, I would like to
confirm if it is safe to assume that the commission is based on both value
and volume of transactions
Interviewer: No, it is based only on value.
Candidate: Since, this is a B2B2C operations, I would like to analyse revenue
growth opportunities through 2 key stakeholders the customers and the
retailers
Interviewer: Let’s start with retailers.
Candidate: Shall I focus on flight and hotel segment as they comprise 95% of
our revenue
Interviewer: Yes, can you give me suggestions on revenue improvement for
these two segments

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Candidate: Laid out my analysis across 3 segments: existing revenue model

and scope, and contract strategy, promotions. Suggested enhancing existing
revenue model by transition to commission model based on value and
volume to benefit from both open and click rates. Suggested push
marketing for low ticket purchases increase experience segment
contribution. Revamp contract strategy to ensure increase product
placement and bundled offers for improving commission paid by retailers.
Focus on revenue from advertisements on desktop, mobile website and
mobile application. Enter new segment and deprioritise segments with low
revenue potential. Discussed on bus and train segment. Increase experience
offerings to include products offered by likes of Thrillophilia.
Interviewer: We are planning on entering car rental. Should we do that?
Candidate: Broke down the cab rental space talked about existing players
like Zoomcar predominantly which has captured the market. Discussed
about time and resource constraint given negative EBITDA of existing
operations
Interviewer: Agreed and asked if we should acquire something like
Zoomcar?
Candidate: Suggested no and substantiated based on disadvantages despite
the benefits of the strategy keeping in mind the objective of IPO in 5 years.
Interviewer: Agreed with recommendation. Asked to summarise the case

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Round 3:
NA

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Don't force fit frameworks while solving cases.

• Approach through first principles and try breaking down the industry
value chain. This will help you improve your suggestion and
substantiate it with examples.

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Mayur Jain
Background:
Undergrad – SRCC
Field of Grad. – B.Com (Hons)
Work Exp – Quality Council of India, PRS
Legislative Research
Prev Work Ex Domain – Government
Consulting & Public Policy Research

Round 1:
Problem Statement: Your client is a fuel retail company. The revenues
have not been growing since the last 3 years. The client has hired BCG to
look at revenue generating options outside the fuel and energy space. How
should we go about this?
(Took a couple of seconds to come up with initial set of questions by using
the CCPC framework)
Candidate: Could you please elaborate on the scale of business of our client
here? Where do they operate?

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Interviewer: Sure, the client is a major fuel retailer in India. It distributes

petrol, diesel and CNG through its network of 13,000 pumps spread across
the country. It is among the top 3-4 players in the market.
Candidate: Understood. How does the client segregate these 13,000
pumps? By geography, products supplied, any other way?
Interviewer: By geography. You can assume that the pumps are segregated
into three categories: urban, rural and highways. All three segments are
facing this issue. The products supplied across these pumps are fairly
standard.
Candidate: How is the industry fairing at this time? Are the competitors also
facing this issue?
Interviewer: Yes, so what has happened is that a number of competitors
have entered the fuel distribution ecosystem in the country in the last 5
years. Some of them have adopted deep discounting policies as well. As a
result, the overall revenue growth has become stagnant. The client, thus,
wants to diversify its business.
Candidate: I see. One last question on the nature of business of our client,
they are not into crude oil extraction?
Interviewer: No, they just pick oil up from the refineries and use their
distribution network to sell fuel.
Candidate: Understood.
(Tried to structure the response by using the Ansoff Matrix)
Candidate: Since fuel is heavily government regulated, making changes in
the price is something we cannot look at. However, we can explore
promotional tie-ups with financial institutions for discounts. We can look at

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a combination of making modifications in the existing product portfolio and

the geographies we are catering to. Maybe tap into new geographies and
cater to B2B segments.
Interviewer: Makes sense. But for now, let us focus on non-fuel segment.
Can you list down a few factors and maybe come up with a model to decide
which businesses to enter?
Candidate: Sure, on a preliminary level, I would look at factors like
revenue/profit maximisation, ease of business expansion, competition in
allied sectors etc. All these factors would differ in their importance
depending on the geography.
Interviewer: Alright. Can you list down a couple of ideas by which the client
can increase his revenues?
Candidate: (After taking a moment to think) In the urban areas, we can look
at monetizing options by selling a couple of fuel stations which do not
contribute enough to our revenues. Urban stations will command a higher
land price. We can also look at integrating with allied services such as
vehicle repairs, retail stores and shopping centres wherever feasible. In the
rural areas, the customer segments will naturally be different so we will
have to look at revenue generating options for rural population. We can
leverage our distribution networks and create rural mandis and service
centres for trucks and tractors. For highways, the main customers would be
trucking and logistics companies. We can look at creating motels for them.
Large retail outlets can also be opened in busy routes. Service centres can
also be opened for vehicles.

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Interviewer: Makes sense. In addition to this, the client is also looking at

tapping into other allied services like insurance for vehicles and drivers.
Candidate: Understood.
Interviewer: Thank you, that will be all from my end.
Candidate: Thank you Sir.

Round 2:
You have been hired as an advisor to the Climate Resilience Officer (CRO),
Mumbai. Your first task is to create a vision for the next couple of years for
the CRO. How will you go about this?
(This case came up after an initial discussion on climate change as the
interviewer was a part of the climate change and environment practice at
BCG)
Candidate: Could you please explain to me the exact mandate of the CRO?
Is this in line with the BMC?
Interviewer: You can say that the CRO is an officer of the BMC. The CRO is
responsible on two fronts. Firstly, he is responsible for building climate
resilience which means preparing the city of Mumbai to absorb stresses
imposed by climate change (rising sea levels, increased temperatures).
Secondly, he is responsible for climate adaptability. The weather patterns
are constantly changing and the CRO is responsible for building any
infrastructure that may be necessary for coping with changing weather
patterns. You can imagine building ridges along the sea banks as in The
Netherlands.
Candidate: Understood.
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(After taking some time to think)

For the next couple of years, I think we can prioritise the action keeping in
mind the following two objectives:
• Saving lives of the population, particularly the vulnerable segment
living near the sea. Focus should also be on a large section of the
population living in slums like Dharavi who do not have the means to
support rehabilitation in case need be.
• Minimizing disruptions when creating climate resilience infrastructure
in the city for corporations and general population as well.
Interviewer: Alright. How would you categorize your response to meet
these objectives?
Candidate: I would like to break the response into two aspects, a couple of
initiatives which are fairly long-term and can be started now, such as
pushing corporations to build sustainable infrastructure and moving to
renewable energy. We can look at introducing legislations in this regard
over the next couple of years. In the short-term, we can create ridges along
the sea banks to prevent any immediate mishap that may happen due to
rising sea levels. We can also look at rehabilitation options for slum dwellers
in the short-term.
Interviewer: Okay. What is the kind of resources that you would need to
implement these points? Think in terms of competencies.
Candidate: Maybe technical and budgetary support. Technical staff would
include scientists, technology staff to monitor climate patterns, knowledge
transfer from international locations. Budgetary support can be sourced

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from government funds, international agencies like World Bank, UN,

International Solar Alliance etc.
Interviewer: Alright, I think we can end the case here.
(This was a small case and was largely conversational as an extent of the
earlier HR discussion)

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interactions with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs, PIs
• Casebooks (IIML, IIMA, Case Interviews Cracked), Buddy Cases & Senior
Case Slots
• Sticking to first principles and doing cases with seniors can be really
helpful. Don't fret on the number of cases solved, it is rather important to
revise cases which you have do so that you don't repeat your mistakes.

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Nikita Balaji
Background:
Undergrad – Lady Shri Ram College DU
Field of Grad. – Economics
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
We had many interactions with the firm. Some were interactive events where
partners and other senior people in the firm came to interact with us and
answer our questions. We also had a case solving session wherein IIML alums
solved cases with us to aid our prep. We had interactions with allotted
buddies as well who helped with our prep.

Round 2:
PI Round 1

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Interviewer: Let’s do a case. Client is an IT major in India. They are doing

well but have sub optimal top line growth compared to their peers. The
sales force productivity is declining. Help them increase the same.
Candidate: I wanted to ask some questions to get a better understanding.
When you mention IT major, can I assume a company like TCS? What
exactly do you mean by top line growth?
Interviewer: Yes, assume a company like TCS or Infosys. Top line is revenue
growth.
Candidate: What are the revenue streams for the company? What is the
role of the sales force?
Interviewer: The company provides IT services to other firms (B2B). The
salespeople are linked to accounts verticals. For large accounts, there is one
person who acts as the single point of contact. The more junior salespeople
are mapped to verticals like banking etc. The sales force is divided into
hunters and farmers. Hunters are responsible for bringing in new clients
while farmers are responsible for handling existing clients. They manage to
bring in a revenue of 8-10 million a year.
(Here, as I started diving into the case, I missed asking about sales force
productivity and how it is measured, which the interviewer pointed out. I
asked and he clarified the same.)
Productivity is measured as the amount of revenue per salesperson.
Candidate: Thank you. Now that I have a fair understanding of the situation
I would like to jump into the case. Since the revenue per sales person is
decreasing, this could be due to 2 reasons: we are not getting new clients

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(hunters) or we are not engaging well with or enough with our existing
clients due to which they are leaving us.
Interviewer: The hunters are producing okay but there are too many
hunters which is leading to lesser revenue per person (1-2 million per year).
Farmers have low productivity.
Candidate: If we were to focus on farmers, there could be two reasons why
their productivity is low. Either the existing clients are leaving us (account
churn rate is high) or they are unable to expand the existing accounts.
Interviewer: Right, they are unable to expand existing accounts. Why do you
think this is happening and what can be done?
Candidate: They can keep track of any new opportunities within their
existing clients, expanding into other areas not already covered by the firm.
The SPOC must keep track of any such opportunities that might come up.
Interviewer: Anything else?
Candidate: The salespeople must pitch the value proposition of the firm and
their USP in order to encourage the clients to give more business to the
firm. They can give incentives to the clients in terms of monetary or other
means as well. They should reach out to the right people within their client
firms in order to land the message well.
Interviewer: Alright. Let’s close the case here.

Round 3:
PI Round 2

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Interviewer: Let’s do a case. The client is a petrochemicals company. The

promoter is involved in the exploration and production of oil and produces
around 200,000 barrels of oil a day (a sizeable amount - about 25% of
India's production). The oil he produces is significantly discounted. Help him
add value to his oil.
Candidate: Sure. I wanted to ask a few questions to understand this better.
Where is our client based out of? What does the value chain of his business
look like?
Interviewer: The client is India based. He is involved in the production of
crude oil in India and transferring it to 4-5 refineries. His production facility
is present in Rajasthan and he delivers oil to one refinery in Mathura, two in
Gujarat, and one in the coastal area in Mumbai.
Candidate: In this case, is there a way to set up a production facility closer
to these refineries?
Interviewer: This process has a long lifecycle wherein it takes 3-4 years to
find the oil and then a few more years to start the drilling process. Hence,
this is a process of 3-7 years and not very feasible.
Candidate: Alright understood. Next, I want to understand, when you
mentioned that the is oil is discounted, how much is it discounted?
Interviewer: The known price of Brent crude is $55 per barrel and producers
can sell their oil at either a premium or discount to Brent. Our client sells at
a discount of $10 a barrel. This is not acceptable to him and he wants to
know how to monetise his oil better.
Candidate: Is there a particular reason for why his oil is being discounted?

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Interviewer: The oil that our client transports is heavy or medium oil. It is a
waxy oil which makes the transportation and receiving process
cumbersome. There is also a high presence of sulphur content.
Candidate: Thank you. I think I have a broad understanding now and would
like to dive into the case. In this situation, I think there are two areas we can
broadly focus on: looking at the current refineries that the client is
delivering to and how the transportation process can be improved or
looking at identifying and delivering to newer refineries.
Interviewer: Identifying new refineries will be tough to make practical. Is
there anything else he can focus on?
Candidate: He can expand his business into setting up his own refinery.
Interviewer: Yes, that is an option he can explore. In terms of the yield of
the crude slate, 45% is petrol and 20% is diesel. There is an additional
realisation of $20 for petrol and $30 for diesel. For example, for a crack of
$20 he will realise $75. What is the return per year the client can hope to
get? Assume the plant is closed for 15 days a year.
Candidate: Performed calculations. Total amount = $1.05 billion/year
Interviewer: Great. What are some other options the client can explore in
his existing setup?
Candidate: There are two issues with the transportation as you mentioned.
The first one was excess wax. Can we somehow modify the way we
transport the oil to fix this?
Interviewer: We deliver the oil through pipelines. What can we do to reduce
the wax?

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Candidate: We can maintain the oil at a certain temperature so as to

prevent wax from forming.
Interviewer: Right, so we can have heated or insulated pipes. What else?
Candidate: Can we use the sulphur content in the oil?
Interviewer: We can also create naphtha from the crude. We will get 10%
yield regularly. This can increase to 20% but will reduce the yield of petrol
and diesel by 5%. Each ton would cost $145. Would this be a feasible
option?
I started calculating but the interviewer stopped me in between.
Interviewer: We can close the case here.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interactions with seniors, Team Disha Sessions
• Casebooks from IIML and other colleges, doing cases with seniors and
batchmates
• Practice cases with seniors and form case groups with batchmates to
discuss the same. Most of all, be calm and confident throughout the
process, including during company or buddy interactions or dinners as
well as the final interview.

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Shravan Jain
Background:
Undergrad – Osmania University
Field of Grad. – Commerce
Work Exp – KPMG
Prev Work Ex Domain – Finance - Audit and
Assurance

Round 1:
PI + Case Submission:
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself.
Candidate: Answered with my educational and professional background,
Work Experience, Life at IIM Lucknow, Interest, and hobbies.
Interviewer: How has the journey at IIM Lucknow been until now?
Candidate: Pointed out the setbacks and advantages of the online setup,
how everything and everyone was adapting to the new normal.
Interviewer: Let’s do a case. The client is a bank in UAE looking to expand to
South Asia and seeks your advice on the same.
Candidate: Asked clarifying questions ranging from the objective, timeline,
past experience of expansions, if any, current operations, target audience
etc.
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Interviewer: Briefed about the above, mentioning that the banks major
clients in UAE are corporates, dealing in international transactions.
Candidate: Asked if the target audience is to be the same or can be different
and proposed to concentrate on India.
Interviewer: You may focus on India as the target. What factors would you
evaluate for different regions and businesses to be targeted?
Candidate: Since it was established that the Indian market was to be
entered, confirmed whether an evaluation of India as a country was
required.
Interviewer: Assume India is the best possible country to go ahead with.
Lets focus on the business plan.
Candidate: Evaluated the banking industry and confirmed if the related
regulations and requirements could be met by the client. Inquired regarding
competition and the presence in international transactions space.
Interviewer: Please consider the actual scenario of banking industry in India
and evaluate the competition accordingly.
Candidate: Given the presence of MNCs and the export intensive software
& IT industry, concluded existence of aggressive competition. Also, differing
nature of transactions compared to Oil and Gas industry would also be a
barrier preventing the client from using the expertise gained earlier.
Interviewer: Valid point. What could be the other alternatives the client
has?
Candidate: Suggested targeting Indian origin employees from the middle-
east countries with their families in India. As they would require assistance

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with money transfers, deposits, withdrawals., etc., this space could the
point of focus.
Interviewer: Sounds good, which parts of India do you think should be
looked at?
Candidate: Suggested the South-Indian states with special focus on Kerala
with reasons for the same.
Interviewer: Good case, lets end it here. Can you summarize the case for
me?
Candidate: Summarized the case and exchanged pleasantries.

Round 2:
Interviewer: Why Consulting over Finance given the background.
Candidate: Answered providing reasons and relating it to prior work
experience.
Interviewer: How was your experience while working in Europe?
Candidate: Answered.
Interviewer: Let’s do a case. Client is a cloth manufacturer with presence in
Europe and South Asia facing growth issues due to the pandemic. Help
them.
Candidate: Confirmed the exact timeline and was told it's a real time
scenario. Asked other scoping questions such as the operations, difference
in Europe and other regions.

Interviewer: Europe is primarily used for high end fabric processing and the
Asian manufacturing units are for the medium and low end.
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Candidate: Inquired regarding competition and was given to understand

that the one major competitor was facing similar low growth rates while the
other players experienced a fall in revenues.
Interviewer: What according to you could be the different strategies to
improve revenue numbers?
Candidate: Suggested reduced pricing and entering unexplored geographies
considering promotion and marketing actions wouldn't garner additional
demand due to the pandemic.
Interviewer: Let’s explore them further.
Candidate: Initiated with price reduction and suggested parallelly targeting
reduction in costs to be able to sustain margins. Had a discussion about how
the same could be achieved and I presented a few ideas for the same
exploring each section of the production and supply chain.
Interviewer: What factors would you consider for choosing a location and
the strategy to be adopted for that particular location to increase sales?
Candidate: Bifurcated the solution offered into two using Ansoff matrix i.e
1) New product in existing markets like Asia and Europe with price/product
modifications
2) Exploring new countries where the client currently does not have any
presence. Discussed briefly on each of the two.
Interviewer: That shall be all, thank you. Any questions for me?
Candidate: None, thank you.

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Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interactions with seniors, Team Disha Sessions
• Material from CSC, Case slots with seniors and buddies.
• Plan well in advance for a minimum of 2 domains.
• Constantly get the progress reviewed from specific seniors.
• Fair up cases (Consulting) regularly.

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Stuti Murarka
Background:
Undergrad – Lady Shri Ram College
Field of Grad. – Economics
Work Exp – Citi
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics

Round 1:
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself
Interviewer: Client is a hotel company and they are setting up a new hotel in
a metro town, estimate the number of water bottles consumed in a month.
(Pre-Covid)
Candidate: What kind of hotel is it and how many rooms are we looking at.
What is the size of the bottle we are talking about and does the hotel also
have halls given for corporate and other events?
Interviewer: It's a 100 room hotel, mostly for business use. Looking at 500ml
bottles and yes the hotel has halls rented out for events.

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Candidate: Decided to estimate room demand, restaurant demand and

corporate event demand separately. For rooms it was= No of rooms*
Occupancy rate per day* No of days (30)* People per room* bottles per
person per day
The interviewer helped with the numbers, he was satisfied with the
equation and wanted me to focus on the restaurant part.
For restaurant it was broadly = Operation hours of restaurant* no of tables*
seating capacity per table* occupancy of tables by the various operational
hours* No of bottles per person (also accounted for avg time spent per
person per table)
The business center/ hall part was fairly similar to the restaurant part hence
the interviewer wanted me to focus on factors which would affect the
booking of these corporate halls.

Round 2:
Interviewer: You are hired by a textile firm to create a post covid road map
for recovering their margins. Help them.
Candidate: Started with the basic preliminary questions to understand
about the clients textile business, their location of operations. What
margins they are looking at and how the same have been in the past. By
when they want to achieve this target and if there is any budgetary
constraint. Also tried to understand about the industry and the competition
present.
Interviewer: In the textile industry there are 4 major steps
• Getting the fiber, cotton or polyester
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• Spinning fiber into yarn

• Weaving or Knitting
• Garment Manufacturing

The client is in the 2nd step. They have 1000+ SKU's with plants in Europe,
South East Asia and India. They ship to 60 countries globally. They were
looking at a 7-8% EBIDTA margin by 2021 or asap and no such budgetary
constraints. The industry is very competitive with a lot of players
Candidate: Since we want to improve our earnings want to focus both on
how we can increase our revenue and reduce our costs. Asked if there was
any particular bucket I should start with.
Interviewer: Can start with revenues
Candidate: Wanted to understand how the quantity of production had
changed from pre covid to post covid and if we were able to sell our
produce
Interviewer: Initially the quantity had dropped but have restored to pre
covid levels now and are operating at full capacity so a lot can't be done on
this front
Candidate: Wanted to understand about the pricing and how it fared when
compared with competitors.
Interviewer: Because of a lot of competition there was a lot of undercutting
and the client had to reduce prices to sell.
Candidate: Suggested methods to improve our revenues. For instance out of
the 1000+ SKU got to know all don't sell well, so the focus can be on the
ones that do sell well. For some SKU's the client was known well in the
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market and had an advantage over competitors so it could establish itself

more in those areas. It could also enter long term contracts with the
weavers so that price-cutting wouldn't be required to be able to sell. The
interviewer was very satisfied and stopped me midway. Asked to focus on
the next bucket. Listed down the major cost buckets starting from raw
materials, inbound logistics, Plant related costs( labour, machinery, utility
ect), outbound logistics and any storage costs.
Due to paucity of time, he asked me to choose any 2 buckets myself and
analyse them further.

I chose transportation and plant because I felt after covid this was an area
which could be focused on first. Suggested methods on labour
management, analysed the wage structure as well. Also spoke about
ensuring that while transportation the most optimal routes were chosen in
terms of time and costs. Was more of a discussion with the interviewer

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Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interactions with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• IIM L Casebook, IIM A Casebook, ISB Casebook
• For consulting interviews its very important to stay calm and
communicate ones thoughts well. Even if one makes a mistake in any
assumption, it's alright to take a step back and let the interviewer know
about the same and make necessary changes.

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Deloitte India
c

Apeksha Gupta

Background:
• Undergrad – Jaypee Institute of
Information Technology, Noida
• Field of Grad. – B. Tech. (CSE)
• Work Exp – 41 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Domain: Tech Consulting

Round 1:
• This was a telephonic round. Started with a quick introduction followed
by a brief about my work experience. Asked about the DevOps cycle - I
explained what was followed in my last workplace.
• Then gave a guesstimate. Guesstimate: Estimate the market demand of
iPhone12 in India.
• Approach: Divided the population of India based on income level & age
group. Assumed a certain % of people in each category and calculated
the total demand of premium phones. Finally, factored the market share
of Apple to reach the final value.

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Deloitte India
c

Round 2:
• There were 2 interviewers. They started with their introduction followed
by mine.
• In my introduction, I had mentioned how I had work experience only in
startups.
• Interviewer: How is it like to work in a startup? How do you think things
would be different at Deloitte?
• This was followed by a case on cloud migration. (40 minutes)
• Case: There is a retail company that is growing tremendously for years.
Recently, there has been an increase in data center costs. As the data
centers are old, there have been a lot of outages lately. The owner has
heard a lot about the cloud from his friends and is thinking of moving to
the cloud. Should he move to the cloud? What will be the cost of moving
to the cloud?

Approach:

• Asked a few clarifying questions -

Candidate: Where is the company located?

Interviewer: India
Candidate: What is the size of the company and the user base?
Interviewer: Similar to Flipkart
Candidate: About outages - if it is a trend or a seasonal issue?
Interviewer: Seasonal/ Promotional

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Candidate: Since it is not a consistent issue, he can consider moving to the

cloud as the cloud allows the flexibility to upscale/ downscale storage as per
requirement. If he increases the data storage at the current data center,
that might become redundant at other times of the year, hence incurring
him extra costs.
Interviewer: Alright.
Candidate: What is the infrastructure/ platform of the data center?
Interviewer: Why do you want to know that?
Candidate: So this would have a huge impact on my decision to move to the
cloud. Certain cloud platforms are not compatible with some technologies.
For eg - AWS does not support Mainframe applications and Unix based
applications. They need to be refactored and re-platformed respectively in
order to perform the migration.
Since you mentioned the data centers are quite old, they might be using
one of these (obsolete) technologies.
Interviewer: Fair enough. What are the other considerations?
Candidate: I would want to do a cost-benefit analysis of moving to cloud vs
having an in-house setup with regular maintenance. I would also look at the
current employee expertise, data security, and compliance issues, also the
number of applications that we are looking to move to the cloud.
Interviewer: Let’s talk about the last point more. What do you mean?
Candidate: Say, we have multiple small applications which are not in use
anymore, we might not want to move those to the cloud, rather do away
with them or integrate them. Basically, do suitability and financial analysis.

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Interviewer: (Some back and forth on the above point.) Let’s talk about
costs now. What are the different costs involved in in-house vs on the
cloud? (Hinted me to think in terms of capital and operating costs.)
Candidate: Mentioned some costs under both the headers stating the
rationale behind them.
Capital costs - Hardware costs, labor costs
Operating costs - Maintenance costs

Round 3:
• This was an HR round (5-7 minutes)
• The interviewer asked questions about one of my work experiences and
then wanted to know more about that work industry. I asked a few
questions at the end.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs

• CSC Casebook to prepare for the company & online articles to read about
the cloud strategy domain
• Keep smiling. Have a pleasant disposition throughout. Interviewers do
not care about the technical jargons. Share whatever you have in mind
with assumptions and your thought process.

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Sai Chaithanya

Background:
• Undergrad – NIT Trichy
• Field of Grad. – B. Tech. , Production
Engineering
• Work Exp – 36 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics

Round 1:
• A 20 min interaction with the Manager before Day 0.
• Brief introduction and quickly jumped onto a guesstimate. Question was
to guess the number of students Deloitte will give offers on Day 0 in IIM
Lucknow

Round 2:
• Case round: Asked to explain the 3 year plan to reduce the IT costs of a
Investment banking firm with global exposure by 20%.
• Was not at all aware about any of the stakeholders involved in the case.
so couldn't do much.
• Was not shortlisted for the next round
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Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs

• Discussion with seniors
• Practice as many different domain cases as possible

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Additional Questions:
• Guesstimate: Calculate the number of air bridges for Hyderabad airport;
Case- Hospitality company in Tier 2 city wants to build hotel as there are
no quality hotels there and its an industrial area, find feasibility and
financial feasibility; Calculate using data points given, which pricing
strategy is good (choose one out of 3)
• Guesstimate repeated; Take through the whole CV
• Guesstimate: Number of tablets needed for class 8-12 for Byju's
• Farmer's protest justified or not? Fin based case- Bottling company- How
much sales you need to payback 100cr in 3 years (Data points given by
firm); Some CV/HR questions too
• Case: Pharma co. wants to enter hand sanitizer business during Covid
(Data points were provided) ; Case- Advise Shopper's Stop how and why
to acquire Brand Factory
• Guesstimate: Number of denims (jeans) for men sold in India ; Case-
Investing in Baskin Robbins- What will you consider as an investor?
• Introduction; Guesstimate- Number of people taking certification courses
for an edu-tech firm
• 1 hour interview: Introduction Guesstimate- How many barber shops are
in Lucknow? Case- Profitability- Profits declining for bottle manufacturing
company. Which subjects do you like? Asset turnover ratio, Cash Flow
statement

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Anurag Arora

Background:
• Undergrad – MIT, Manipal
• Field of Grad. –Engineering
• Work Exp – 36 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain - Consulting

Round 1:
• Started with a few HR questions
• Tell me something about yourself
• What are your aspirations?

Case:
Interviewer: We will give you a case now and you will need to evaluate and
give suggestions based on case fact
Candidate: Sure, works
Interviewer: So the case facts are as follows: Your client is Simga
Automotive. They have $10bn revenue and are the current industry leaders.
They have been facing growth challenges since the past couple of years. The
slowdown is industry wide. The industry is moving towards a consolidation
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landscape and smart vehicles. The growth beyond core offering is the
companies current target.
Growth Objects: Historically the company had 8 - 10 % growth. New target
is 5%
Geographical split of revenue: USA - 80%, Canada - 25%. Mexico - 5%
Margin - 10% ($1bn)
Sigma is open to expand to new markets
Revenue split by Products: Heavy Vehicle sales - 70%, Light Vehicle sales -
30%
Revenue by channels: Automotive sales - 75%, Services - 25%
Sigma lags in EV innovation and advanced driving systems
The competition is following cross border M&A and the norm is traditional
auto companies looking to acquire tech start ups in other countries.
Did you get all the case facts?
Candidate: I will just try to summarize all I could gather about the problem
statement and please fill in if I missed anything. *Repeated the summary*
Interviewer: Sounds good. The first question is what is the acquisition
framework that you would follow for this firm
Candidate: I would follow the following steps: 1. Identification - Do an in-
depth analysis of our requirements to have a clear understanding of what
we need from the start up and the acquisition 2. Market Research - Do
extensive secondary research to identify the start ups which fit our
requirements 3. Narrowing down options - Once we have a list of start ups
that fit our requirements, do a detailed analysis on the shortlisted

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companies about their financials and operations 4.The work towards the
mode
*Interrupted*
Interviewer: This makes sense. Now you have to meet with the CEO and you
have to give a summary of growth options. Please suggest.
Candidate: I would suggest 3 growth options: 1. Organic growth - We have a
strong foothold in the heavy vehicle market and we can use the brand name
to expand into the light vehicle market within USA. 2.
Inorganic growth - We are already looking into options for technology start
up acquisitions to drive innovations in EV and advanced driver systems. 3.
Expanding into other continents - We have a good name and market in the
US and we can explore international markets like Europe and Asia.
Interviewer: Okay now we will display three options of the start ups on the
screen and you tell us which one you go with and why. *Displayed 3 options
with details around the growth, revenue and net worth*
Candidate: I would go with option 3 since it is in Europe and Sigma is looking
for expansion into other countries. Additionally, the Revenues that the
startup generates align with the company's target and they have a fair
experience of working in the automotive industry
Interviewer: Alright great. Thanks. You can drop from the meeting now

Round 2:
Primarily HR questions:
• Tell me about your workex and why your left KPMG in 2 months

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• Would you go back to work there if given an option? Barely a 3-minute

round

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions

• Cases with seniors and the case book
• Try not to over fit the frameworks everywhere since each case is unique
in its own way. This gets even more challenging if you get an abstract
case.

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Gandhi Mihir Hiren

Background:
Undergrad – Sardar Vallabhbhai National
Institute of Technology
Field of Grad. – Chemical Engineering
Work Exp – 32 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Decision Science

Domain: Tech Consulting

Round 1:
• Below is the case that I was asked to solve in a buddy call:
• Our client is a sports manufacturer, and their business has been affected
by the ongoing pandemic. They sell fitness products and accessories to
the customers. What would be your strategy to increase the revenue of
the client?

• HR questions asked in a buddy call:

• Tell me about yourself
• Explain how do you pursue your hobbies and how do they help you?

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Round 2:
• My first interview on day 0 started with the below HR questions:
• Tell me something about yourself.
• Tell something about the Premier League and Liverpool Football Club
(Was a part of my hobbies)
• A detailed case on this problem statement:
• Our client has 20 fitness outlets in semi metro areas in the USA. The
company has been observing a decline in revenue for the last 5 years. Try
to analyze the case and find potential solutions to improve the situation.
• How I solved the case:
• I used a profitability and growth framework. I also used CPCC to get a
basic understanding of the problem.
• I divided the problem into the Revenue and Cost parts. Discussed
multiple components from both the branches. Identified multiple
bottlenecks in the costing part. After having a discussion for around 15
minutes, we could cover all the potential problems.
• I was then asked to provide a short term and long term solution and once
I provided that I was asked to perform A/B testing on 10-10 fitness
outlets. It was asked mainly to check what all factors I am able to come
up with. Post that, we discussed the potential growth strategy that the
company can implement in order to increase the revenue/profit.

Round 3:

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• This was an interview with the strategy consultancy partner. So, it was
mainly a company-fit check interview. Below are the questions he asked:
• Share your experience with online learning and the online placement
process.
• How was your case interview, what went wrong, what went well?
• Describe Data Science to Consulting journey

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Casebooks
with sample cases, oversaw multiple mock case with my batchmates
• Company website, Wikipedia, Sample cases on the company website. Try
to connect with buddies prior to day 0, it helps to understand the
company's POV. It also shows how serious you are for the role. The 2nd
interview round was a grilling one at times. They tried to put me under
limited time pressure; in these situations, try to keep them involved by
thinking out loudly so that they are aware of the progress. Try to design
different questions for different interviewers.

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Additional Questions:
• HR-Why consulting? Any instances where you led a team and what were
the challenges? Discussion on CV
• 2 types of cases - tech and business
• CV based question- ML based strategy
• Banking client, wants to reduce IT costs, operating in the IB space. 100
million customers. Company has 3000 applications in different layers,
data centres in multiple locations, and some external applications. How
would you approach the problem of cutting costs in the entire IT
department
• CV based discussion, what went well in Round 1 and what didn't, what
can you do better
• Financial services company wanted to change its tech and reduce IT cost
by 10% in 3 years. Give some suggestions for it.
• Work-ex project discussion, and detailed discussion
• Data heavy M&A Case- C
• 1) US company, wants to move to UK. So they want to increase revenue
and sales in the new market,- what kind of tech they will need? What
constraints will be applicable? 2) Guesstimate- No. of youtube videos
uploaded in a day
• Your client is a 10bn $ Automotive manufacturer. They are the market
leaders. Their revenues are declining since a couple of years. There has
been change in the market trends recently due to innovation. In order to
address such challenges, M&A is the path going forward. What factors

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• should they consider for choosing which company/firm they should

acquire?
• Fruit juice mfg. Own temp controlled warehouse operating at 55%, 5KM
from production plant. Nearer warehouses available nearby. Factors to
decide between the options.
• CEO of startup competing with Swiggy. Create pitch to investors to raise
funds.
• Guesstimate - food delivery company, guess the # of customer care
executives needed in Noida
• Food delivery wants to reduce cost by automating customer experience.
• FI client. million customers. 6 data centers, facing cost issues.. expecting
further growth. Advice on what should be done.
• 1. An Oil and gas manufacturer needs to cut down IT costs as their R&D
costs are increasing. They carried out an evaluation through an vendor
and found out that they have an over capacity of 50%. The client is
thinking about moving to a cloud platform. What should they check and
how should they go about it. 2. The same client is acquiring a new
organization. In this case would you still advice migration to cloud, how
would you go about it
• Grilling on work-ex industry domain and other industry related questions
• Recent happening in home town, Politics discussion, general discussion
• Cloud migration. Your client has one data center in US. They are facing
increasing costs due to purchases in IT infrastructures and also due to
labour costs. The customers for the client is facing delay in accessing the

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application and it reduces the customer experience. Suggest your client

about the advantages of moving to cloud from on-premises server.
• Fitness centre in tier 2 city witnessing declining membership of 6% and
other competitors were facing 3% growth. What factors will you look at
to ascertain the issues?
• Point sales company, makes PoS devices for the US, harge a monthly
subscription fee from retailers and transaction fee from banks. Want to
go for an IPO, so want to understand how the company could increase
their valuation. Then gave 2 Mn Valuation. Informed of 2 devices- smart
and android. Android not doing well so build a revival strategy.
• Cloud migration for an IT Client, What factor would you consider and
how will you go about it?
• IT firm- data centers across 3 geographies, cost increasing by 20% last
year onwards. How to go about decreasing it and what are your
recommendations?
• Previous Workex. What you liked, didnt like? What challenges?
• One page case statement with a page of information- mini case for M&A
for an automotive firm which is lagging in technology and needs to come
back to fight competitors. They need to merge with any other firm to
acquire technology. What all should they consider? Factors?
• Client is a film production co. Want to release a movie in 10months. 2
options: First is releasing via only theatre and second is releasing via
theatre and DVDs at the same time. Evaluate costs and risks.

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• The client is an online travel aggregator, we are engaging with its head of
customer dept. Covid has hit how will you respond? What issues will the
client be facing?
• Client is a phone co. in US whose R&D cost in decreasing, including IT.
Needs a cloud suitability offering (50% on premium discount identified
data centres). How to plan, prioritize and segregate?

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Vaisakh M N

Background:
Undergrad – College of Engg Trivandrum
Field of Grad. – Btech. EC & Telecom
Work Exp – 32 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
• PI
• Tell me about yourself
• There were two panelists, and they gave me 2 cases, one after the other.
• 1. A niche tech company based out of Gurgaon has been growing at a CAGR of
20-25% for the past five years. For the last year, they are struggling to fill the
positions in the company. It's taking more time to fill the positions as compared
to earlier. Please help them.
• 2.I'm the CEO of a hospitality chain based in India. I want to build another hotel
in a tier 2 city. I have narrowed it down to 5 different cities. What all different
factors would I consider for choosing one amongst them?

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• Case 1:
• A niche tech company based out of Gurgaon has been growing at a CAGR of 20-
25% for the past 5 years. For the last year, they are struggling to fill the positions
in the company. It's taking more time to fill the positions as compared to earlier.
Help them.
• Reiterated the problem to confirm and started with basic CPCC
• Candidate: May I know what technology does the company operates?
• Interviewer: The company is a software developing company. It also develops
android apps for its client.
• Candidate: May I know from which country do we have our majority client base?
• Interviewer: How does that matter?
• Candidate: I would like to know whether the employees have to take night shifts
if our client base is from the USA or European countries.
• Interviewer: Our clients are majorly from the US. But we don't have to take
shifts. Just weekly calls.
• Candidate: Thank you. And may I know which companies are our competitors?
• Interviewer: No companies. Since we work on niche technology.
• Candidate: Should I include the covid scenario?
• Interviewer: No. This is happening in 2017.
• Candidate: Please give me a minute to structure my thoughts.
• Interviewer: Sure.
• Candidate: Okay. I would like to approach this case in the following formats—
internal and external factors.
• Interviewer: Okay, go ahead
• Candidate: In the internal factors, I would like to consider factors such as work
culture, work-life balance, HR, facilities, Talent acquisition team, Training, and
recent changes.
• Interviewer: Alright.

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• Candidate: In the external factors, I will include the overall economy, skills reqd,
and Rules and regulations from the govt.
• Interviewer: Okay, please go ahead.
• Candidate: What is the culture of the company? Is it still working as a startup or
matured into a big company?
• Interviewer: It's in the transition phase.
• Candidate: Okay, thank you. May I know on average how many hours employees
have to work in the company per day?
• Interviewer: it depends. Sometimes less. When there are project deadlines,
employees may have to chip in some additional work hours as it is for every
other organization.
• Candidate: Okay, thank you. May I know about the HR regulations on a team
outing, bonding, or any other cultural events? Also, may I know the facilities
offered by us to employees such as Gym, swimming pool, etc.
• Interviewer: All of it is the same as any other software company. Like Infosys (I
have work ex in Infosys)
• Candidate: I believe we have two types of employee intake—freshers from
universities as well as Lateral entries from other companies.
• Interviewer: Yes, that's correct.
• Candidate: Are we seeing any drop in any of them? Also, may I know some
details about the talent acquisition team? Are they well trained for this activity?
• Interviewer: Drop in both of them. And yes, they are well qualified.
• Candidate: Do we have enough universities that teach our reqd skill set? Do we
visit all of them?
• Interviewer: Both the answer is yes.
• Candidate: Okay. Did we witness any change in the leadership of the company
recently?
• Interviewer: No.

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• Candidate: I believe this is not due to internal factors. Can I move

ahead to external factors?
• Interviewer: Vaisakh, I think we are wasting a lot of time. Just tell me
what all are the things (metrics/ numbers) you look at initially when
you hear such a problem?
• Candidate: Sure.
• Give me a minute to structure my thoughts.
• Interviewer: Sure.
• Candidate: I would look into the difference of the days reqd to fill the
positions now compared to one year before
• Interviewer: Now it takes 70 days to fill up a position. It was 50 days
earlier.
• Candidate: Thank you. Now I would take each step in the hiring
process and analyze each step. Let me go through each. When we
have a talent requirement, I believe the team manager will reach out
to the talent management team. Now, if there are employees
available inside the company, they will be allotted. Else, they will
notify the talent acquisition team. Then the company would post the
required notice on their website and shortlist candidates. Then
interviews will happen, selected candidates are put into training/KT
and then allotted to respective teams. Should I look into any step in
particular? Or go through the entire process?
• Interviewer: Okay. Take steps from the interview.
• Candidate: There are two dept management and technical. Is this
problem only for one section?
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• Interviewer: yeah, take managers.

• Candidate: Okay. Who takes the interview of a candidate? As per my
understanding, senior-level managers take middle-level and middle-
level managers to interview junior levels.
• Interviewer: That's correct.
• Candidate: which level is experiencing this issue?
• Interviewer: Middle and junior levels. Senior-level will anyhow take a
longer period.
• Candidate: Do we have any shortage of interviewers?
• Interviewer: No
• Candidate: Okay. Can I move on to the next step?
• Interviewer: Yes.
• Candidate: After making an offer, are we seeing any delays? In giving
out offer letters or in Training?
• Interviewer: No, we are not witnessing anything.
• Due to the interest of time, let's move on to the next case Vaisakh.
• Candidate: Sure, thank you.
• 2.I'm the CEO of a hospitality chain based in India. I want to build
another hotel in a tier 2 city. I have narrowed it down to 5 different
cities. What all different factors would I consider for choosing one
amongst them?
• When I started with basic questions, the interviewer asked me to go
directly to the factors that I should consider.
• Candidate: I would consider the following factors.
• Is it a tourist center?
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• The average income of regional people.

• Presence of business centers such as IT parks.
• Presence of cricket, football, tennis, or any other stadiums
• Presence of Railways/Airports/ NH.
• Interviewer: Vaisakh, you have only considered demand-side factors.
Please check supply-side factors too. Also while you are at it. Please
consider the general factors that could affect this decision.
• Candidate: Sorry. Please give me a minute to note down the factors.
• Candidate: Supply-side.
• Availability of labor (For building the hotel)
• Availability of water and other natural resources.
• Well-connected logistics
• Ease of finding employees.
• General factors:
• Ease of doing business in that state.
• Govt regulations
• Environmental laws
• Socio-cultural aspects
• Legal issues
• Interviewer: Okay. Good. Now tell me at what number I should
consider building it in one city.
• Candidate: Did a guestimate on breakeven taking parameters such as
population, no. of tourists visited per year. The number of
professionals/ Companies. Rooms in the hotel, restaurant seats.
Timings and slots
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• Interviewer: Thank you for your time Vaisakh.

• Candidate: Thank you, sir.

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Additional Questions:
• Case: Hiring time has increased by 50%. I am unable to fulfil my
project deliverables for past 2 years. Identify why my hiring time has
increased CEO of IT firm has asked
• Case: CEO of hospitality chain in India. I want to build another hotel.
Selected 5 cities in tier-2. Help me select 1. What all factors and
dimensions that you will look at.
• Case: Client is a mobile phone manufacturer and profits are declining
for last 2 yrs. Diagnose and suggest
• Case: Digital payment wallet player started in Jan 2017. Since 2019
their transaction volumes have decreased by 15%. Diagnose and
suggest
• Case: Client is a HR/CR coil manufacturer. Increase the realization per
unit? He clearly mentioned that he was just looking for different ways
and not a full-fledged approach
• Case: You are a PE firm. How will you choose among five firms for
financing?
Case: You have four competitors. How will you kill them?
• Case: You’re a brand manager of a Cola company. My market share is
declining, when mkt. size is rising. What will you do?
• Case: I am a toothpaste manufacturer and I want to improve my
growth. How do I do that?
• Case: The client, a passenger vehicle manufacturer is facing a dip in
Sales. He wants to export. How would you decide where to export?

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• Case: I am an IT firm, I want to establish a BPO in India. Should I

acquire one or build one?
• Case: Two equally important projects are available at the same time.
The resources are already engaged in various ongoing projects. How
will you tackle this situation?

• Guestimate: Estimate the market size of ISL (Indian Soccer League) in

India
• Guestimate: You have to launch an online platform for jewelry sale in
India. Estimate the demand
• Guestimate: You have to launch an app on which people can access
information related to playgrounds. You have to give an investor
presentation in which you need to show three year figures for
revenue. Estimate the same
• Guestimate: You are head of Municipal corporation if a city. You have
to ask for quote for the garbage pickup. Estimate the number of trucks
required
• Guestimate: Estimate the size of analytics industry in India
• Guestimate: Estimate the size of English Newspaper industry in UP
• HR: Why Everest Group?
• HR: General questions on hobbies and interests

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FinIQ Consulting
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Dipankar Jain
Background:
Undergrad – IIIT Hyderabad
Field of Grad. – Engg, CS
Work Exp – 25 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
Time : Around 15-20 mins.

Interviewer: Let's start with your introduction

Candidate: Went with my introduction. Tried to highlight my sports background and
position of responsibilities.
(Interviewer then went deep into each CV point asking questions on how did we get
the figures stated in the different points that I had mentioned. He tried to probe deep
into the points which were standing out so be clear with those points specifically)
Interviewer: Assume that you have promised your client a deliverable and one day
before the deadline an engineer comes and tells you that there are issues and you will
not be able to deliver. What do you do ?
Candidate: I related this situation to my work experience and gave solutions like
classification of the issue into categories, then involving the client and being honest
with him about the delay etc.

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FinIQ Consulting
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Round 2:
Context : I had my second round back-to-back after the first round. The interviewer in
this case had his video off the whole team which can be a little unsettling hence its
important to keep calm in this situation.
Time : 15-20 mins.
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself.
Candidate: Gave my introduction for 3-4 minutes.
Interviewer: Tell me something more about your work experience
Candidate: Went deep into my work experience. The team I worked with, the tasks I
performed, favourite project etc.
Interviewer: What do you know about the company and the role
Candidate: Told me whatever I knew from the JD, company website and Disha RG.
Interviewer: Do you prefer working in a very organised environment or are you okay
with things being unplanned ?
Candidate: I knew that FinIQ has a very informal culture and hence structured my
answer accordingly giving examples from my workex.
Interviewer: Technical question about computer science and mathematics
Candidate: Answered, got to know the answer was wrong afterwards.

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Have an in depth understanding of everything mentioned in your CV
• Try to highlight your achievements in sports in the CV since FinIQ gives
weightage to that.

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Google
c

Jitendra Jasnani

Background:
• Undergrad – BITS Pilani
• Field of Grad. – Chemical Engineering
• Work Exp – 33 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics,
Consulting

Round 1: Personal Interview

• Tell me about yourself. Deep-dived into one of the analytics projects I
had one.
• Pick any google product and suggest an improvement
• How would you approach in a teammate in a cross-functional team
leaves abruptly?

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions
• Google HR briefing, Documents shared by Disha, Online Videos
• Be thorough with HR and CV. Research about question types and
attributes Google looks for

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Hexaware Technologies
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Siddharth Yadav

Background:
• Undergrad – NSIT Delhi
• Field of Grad. – Engineering
• Work Exp – 34 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain –
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare

Round 1: Group Discussion

Topic: Profit making is the only motto of companies, agree or disagree?
Not a traditional GD. Everyone was was given 2 mins to share their
thoughts. I talked on the lines of CSR activities, Employee happiness and
retention, Nurturing talent etc.

Round 2: Personal Interview

Duration: 10 – 15 mins
Interviewer: Walk me through your CV focusing on work-ex
Candidate: Talked about educational background, work-ex and extra-
curriculars
Interviewer: Why Hexaware and how this summer internship aligns with
your goals
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Hexaware Technologies
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Candidate: (For this go through the company JD) I aligned my past work-ex
with the job profile and demands. As well as matched it to my short term
goal.

Round 3: Personal Interview

Duration: 35-40 mins
• Introduced himself and talked in length about his career trajectory. Then
asked me to introduce my self.
• Tell me about a time when you initiated a project, how did you go about
it and whose help did you take. What was the outcome?
• Discussions on football as the Interviewer was based out in London, He
followed premier league closely and so did I. Talked a bit about favorite
moments from world cups and about some great managers as well.
• Discussions on travel involved in work and amount of client interaction
and scale of projects. Finally I asked about the company culture and
expectations from interns.

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks

• Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• YT - CSC, D2C, InsideIIM

Do- Use good quality headphones, be confident, keep the interview

interesting for both parties and most importantly learn about the
company and role offered. Most importantly smile and be curious
throughout the whole process. You will learn a lot.
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Kearney
c

Manasi Ingle

Background:
Undergrad – ICT Mumbai
Field of Grad. – B.Tech (Fibre & Textile)
Work Exp – Nil
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Pre-Round:
Two interactions held apart from buddy interactions
Case workshop (~4 hrs): 4 people present. PPT on techniques to solve a case,
followed by a sample case solved by one of them. Then we played an
interactive murder mystery game. This was followed by Q&A in breakout
rooms.
Virtual Dinner (~3 hrs): 6 people present including principals and partners.
Each of them gave us their introductions. This was followed by Q&A in
breakout rooms.

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Kearney
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Round 1:
HR Questions:

• Introduce yourself.

Case: Your client is a paint manufacturer and has developed a new paint
which lasts three times more than regular paint. Devise a pricing strategy
for the same.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Apply first principle thinking
• Fare out all the practice cases in detail
• Tweak frameworks as per the case
• Quality > Quantity (Doing a case in-depth is more important than the no.
of cases you do)
• Structure is more important than final answer. Arriving at the final answer
by simply listing out problems is of no value.

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Kearney
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Satviek Goel

Background:
Undergrad – Shaheed Sukhdev College of
Business Studies, University of Delhi
Field of Grad. – Management (Finance)
Work Exp – Nil
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
Case: Guesstimate on market size of legal books in India.

Round 2:
Case: Increasing the international competitiveness of Indian football team.

Round 3:
Case: Cost reduction for a bus operator.

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Marsh India Insurance

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Ajay Yadav

Background:
Undergrad – NSIT Delhi
Field of Grad. – Engineering
Work Exp – 32 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Information
Technology

Round 1:
GD round among 6-7 candidates.
Topic: Do deadlines kill creativity?

Round 2:
Group Interview
6 People
Everybody was asked to give a brief intro about themselves. In addition to
this, panel asked everybody to give a walk through their respective CVs also.
There was a little cross questioning also regarding CV points. Having a clarity
of thought and short and crisp answers were the keys to crack this round.
Be thoroughly prepared with basic HR questions like tell me about yourself,

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Marsh India Insurance

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why us, long term short plans, etc. At the end, everybody was given 20
seconds to answer- Why Marsh?

Round 3:
Personal interview round with the same panel. It was more of a discussion
round again. Panel asked questions regarding interests, family background.
The panel again asked the question -Why Marsh. This time they wanted a
detailed and well thought answer. Little research about company really
helped in coming up with the answer and that's what they were looking for.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Be ready with HR answers. Team Disha will help in that aspect.

• Have a clarity of thought about long term and short term goals.
• Do at least 4-5 Mock PIs with seniors.
• Do a basic research about company and include those points in your
answers. IT will make all the difference.
• When asked to give a brief intro of yourselves, don't extend it beyond
2-3 minutes.

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Additional Questions:
• Why should Marsh hire you?
• Format- Friendly one on one discussion
• About your Interests
• What are your aspirations
• Tell me about your family background
• Share screen and present the CV. Walk me through your CV
• Tell me about yourself
• Why marsh?
• Do deadlines kill creativity?
• Is Corporate Governance- myth or reality?

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MasterCard
c

Aayushi Garg

Background:
Undergrad – SSCBS, DU
Field of Grad. – BMS

Round 1:
HR Questions:

HR Questions:

(The interviewer was an alumnus from my undergraduation college, so we

had a chit-chat regarding college for 5-10 minutes)

• Tell me something about yourself.

• Why consulting? Why do you think you will be good at consulting?
• Explain your internships and further questions.

Case:
Interviewer: JioMart is looking forward to launch a payments card. What
would be its target market/customer? What scheme do you suggest-
cashbacks or points?
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Candidate: I asked a few follow up questions regarding the features of the

payment card. Post that, I divided the market into rural, urban. I further
divided rural into places with and without internet penetration. Then, I used
Jio's mass appeal image alongwith behavioural and demographic elements
of the target population to finally guesstimate the market. I also did a
PESTEL analysis to ensure that launching the card is feasible.

I suggested going ahead with cashbacks in the short term in order to attract
the customers away from other competitors like Amazon. But since
cashbacks are really expensive, in the longer term, we can shift to points
system. I also did a customer and competitor analysis. The interviewer
asked me a few follow up questions post that, majorly to explain the answer
in more detail.

Question that I asked at the end of the interview:

MasterCard's biggest asset is its data. But now increasingly, countries are
getting cautious about sharing their data. How does MasterCard plan to
deal with this?

Round 2:
Guesstimate:

Interviewer: Guesstimate the number of characters on your CV.

Candidate: I told the number of sections in my CV. And then estimated the
number of lines with and without headings. Post that I estimated the
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average number of words in a line and average number of letters in a word.

I also estimated the number of special characters like commas used. The
interviewer was satisfied.

Case:
Inteviewer: I am a bank and I send reward points for redemption to my
customers. The site is 5 year old and we are planning to revamp it now.
Lately, we have noticed that customers are not redeeming the points. What
could be the reason and how to tackle it?
Candidate: What is our customer base?
Interviewer: Both high-end and lower-end customers.
Candidate: Are they both provided points in the same section?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: How are the points delivered?
Interviewer: Physically
( I took 5 minutes)
Candidate: I will map the entire user journey by assuming that I am the
bank's customer and point at various flaws through the process.
I am someone who is really busy and don't check my messages(SMS) very
often. I am used to Whatsapp and emails. If the bank sends me the points
through a message, I miss out. The bank should either call me via
Relationship Manager or email me.
I fear cyber attacks. If a message is not properly, formally drafted and looks
suspicious, I might not click on the link. So, the bank should make sure that
the message is carefully drafted.

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Once I click on the link, the site shouldn't take a lot of time to load because
I, as a customer, am not very patient. The process should be smooth and I
should not face any issues.
The site should be customer friendly for ease of use. The sections for
different levels of points must be separate as customers would want
different kind of points and services accordingly.
The deals must have a sufficiently larger expiry date as the points are
physically delivered.
The bank should transition to providing points online itself as customers are
increasingly transacting online and don't have to wait for a physical delivery.
I also said that the deals and offers that customers get should be
customised according to different target groups as lower and higher end
people have different requirements.
Interviewer: Okay, so how will you ensure this?
Candidate: We can have separate sections for both the segments. We can
float forms once in a while to understand what customers expect and the
kind of deals they want. Post that, we need to onboard the relevant
vendors. We need to ensure that client preferences are met. For example, a
higher end customer would want a spa appointment while a lower end
customer might just need shopping vouchers.
We also need to consider the covid situation currently as consumers are
increasingly availing services online. We can tweak the deals accordingly.
Example- customers are using Urban Company services over salons and spas
these days.

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We also need to ensure that the items/services we are giving points for are
suitable in terms of price as the customer would not want to pay the
balance amount (ie net of points) if its too costly.
Interviewer: Okay, I think I’m done. That was really comprehensive and a
great one.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• I was confident, calm and listened to the questions carefully. I took

any hints that interviewer threw at me and improved my structure
accordingly. The interviewer loved the question I asked at the end of
the interview as coincidentally, she was working on the same issue.
The interviewer was really amazed when I told her that I have a
YouTube dance video which has crossed more than 2 million views.
Thus, one should prepare a good introduction. It is also very important
to keep the answers structured.

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c MasterCard

Abhishek Bansal

Background:
Undergrad – Hindu College, DU
Field of Grad. – B.Com Hons.

Round 1:
HR Questions:
Interviewer: What projects have you done till now which makes you think
you are fit for consulting?
Candidate: Talked about a project for street vendors that I launched as a
part of Connecting dreams foundation in college and another project that I
did for a Singapore based company
Interviewer: Could you please explain the CDF project
Candidate: Gave a detailed explanation about the project; This was followed
with an in-detail conversation about the project, its impact and how could it
be made sustainable in the future at a larger scale, the discussion revolved
majorly around marketing techniques employed.

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MasterCard

Case:
Interviewer: Mastercard wants to launch a loyalty product for an e-
commerce player. Tell me how you would go about it and how we can
select the partner
Candidate: I asked some details about what kind of loyalty product did they
have in mind
Interviewer: She explained the idea with the example of Smart-buy which
HDFC and Mastercard have launched also told about the portal and the
card's benefits
Candidate: (Gave me a minute to structure my thoughts) I basically thought
of going by 4P approach and wrote down some factors to be considered for
each head. communicated this to the interviewer. Also explained the
benefits of launching the loyalty card and what forms of benefits could be
provided.
Interviewer: That's fine. let's just focus on how will you select the e-
commerce partner and which one
Candidate: I focused on scoping out the current offerings on different
platforms and then comparing them with some benefits that we could
provide. Here I talked about factors like Flipkart having its own loyalty
program- super coins, and said that this would cause difficulty in partnering
with them. I was at this looking only at retailer platforms
Interviewer: Why are you looking only at Flipkart or Amazon. Do you know
what an e-commerce platform means?

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Candidate: Explained the meaning of commerce and then accepting my

mistake listed out different aggregators in various categories like transport,
food and others, giving examples.
Interviewer: Right. Let's pick one and then see why that would be beneficial
for us
Candidate: I picked up Swiggy and gave some generic factors and also
explained that Zomato had a premium membership while swiggy did not
which made it a good partner
Interviewer: That's fine we can close the case here. That will be all from my
side. Good luck.

Round 2:
Interviewer: How are you doing? Introduce yourself while focusing on your
achievements.
Candidate: Talked about academics and the various POR's I had. Briefly
mentioned 2 live projects that I had worked upon.
Interviewer: That's great. Abhishek you wrote a research paper on UPI.
Could you explain what that was about
Candidate: Explained in detail about the research that I did. There were
follow up questions on the insights.

Guesstimate:
Interviewer: Abhishek you have stayed in Gurgaon, right? Let's calculate the
yearly revenue of a party place in Cyber Hub of your choice.

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Candidate: As I didn't know any place in Cyber Hub, I suggested some cafe in
Hudson Lane near my college in Delhi. We decided to go for Cafeteria & Co.
I took some time to write down my structure.
I broke it down into a formula: Avg. size of a group * Avg. spend per group*
Seating capacity* occupancy* No. of days, I then explained my reasoning for
taking a group rather than individual drawing on my own experience,
explained that occupancy would be low during summer and winter breaks
and exam time.
Interviewer: That's fine. Let's calculate the revenue for a single Sunday.
Candidate: Started assigning numbers to all the factors while explaining
them also telling about why occupancy would be low on a Sunday
Interviewer: Let's go by individual rather than groups
Candidate: All right. After doing the calculations I also included the time for
which the café runs and then divided it by the average time a person spends
in the café to arrive at the number of customers served. Arrived at a final
figure.
Interviewer: That seems fine

Round 3:
Guesstimate:
Interviewer: Let's do a quick guesstimate on the number of air purifiers sold
in India
Candidate: All right. Give me 30 seconds to come up with a structure
Interviewer: Yes, sure
Candidate: Started explaining the various filters.
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Interviewer: let's keep on assigning numbers as well and explain your

reasoning. You are free to make any assumptions.
Candidate: I started with the Indian population and then divided into urban
and rural; discarded rural stating my reasons, went on to calculate number
of urban households and then further divided them into income segments,
focused only on the upper-middle and high-income segment. Here I took an
assumed percentage for both the segments for households which would
buy an air purifier
Interviewer: Abhishek can you give me some more factors for this
percentage?
Candidate: Yes, give me a minute
Interviewer: Sure, take your time
Candidate: After some thinking came up with 2 factors- tier 1 and 2 cities
for income and level of pollution in them. Assigned percentages for both
income segments by making a 2 by 2 matrix and came up with a final
percentage for both.
Interviewer: That is fine. Give me a final figure.
Candidate: Did the calculations and gave a final figure.
Interviewer: Thanks Abhishek. That will be all. Good luck

Round 4:
Case:
Interviewer: Abhishek let's quickly do a very short case as we are short on
time. So ICICI bank has 1000 customers who use their commercial credit
cards. These cards are of 2 types- i) Purchase cards, ii) Travel & expense
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cards. I want you to give me factors to look into by which we can identify
which customers (companies) spend less using our cards and which have
the potential for more.
Candidate: Give me some time to think of factors.
Interviewer: Yes, sure
Candidate: We can look into the cash flow and income statements of all
1000 companies and then compare them.
Interviewer: That's exactly right. But it is difficult to get this data as all
companies might not be listed. Tell me how can we go ahead with the
internal data itself.
Candidate: Clarified that the internal data referred to spending is by
different companies or not.
Interviewer: Yes, that's right. We also can get a proxy of revenue for our
clients.
Candidate: Then what we can do is take out the ratio of revenue to
expenditure for all our clients and further the percentage of their expenses
that are made through our cards. We can then benchmark our clients
against some high spending companies within our portfolio.
Interviewer: That's great Abhishek. That is the right way to go about it. So
now ICICI has identified 200 such clients which have the potential to
increase their spends. Tell me how can we come up with a strategy to target
them.
Candidate: We can further divide the expenses into various heads and then
see which company is spending less where and come up with an
appropriate pitch for that particular client.

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Interviewer: That is great Abhishek. That is what is required to be done. It

was great talking to you. Best of luck and have a good day.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Be confident and more importantly be yourself.

• Show genuine interest in the company and role and don't try and bluff
any answer.
• It is very important to think out aloud; more so in a virtual setup as the
interviewer cannot see what you are doing on the paper. Always
explain your reasoning behind assumptions. It is also advisable to
know when to ask for numbers and when to have your numbers
validated from the interviewer.

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MasterCard

Jitendra Jasnani

Background:
Undergrad – BITS Pilani
Field of Grad. – Chemical Engg.
Work Exp – 33 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics, Consulting

Round 1:
Case:

Client is a rental company in the US dealing in furniture and appliances. It

has different revenue models. The revenue growth has stagnated. Identify
issues and suggest recommendations.

Round 2:
Guesstimate:

Estimate the amount of bottled water sold in India in a year.

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c MasterCard

Round 3:
How would you identify credit card customers in corporate segment to
increase spends. Focused on KPIs for identifying segments and then sub
segments.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Try to keep the guestimates simple by limiting to a few variables and

segments.
• Read about the credit card industry revenue model and types on
cards.

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c MasterCard

Pranjali Garg

Background:
Undergrad – Kirori Mal, DU
Field of Grad. – Commerce
Work Exp – 24 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Audit

Buddy Round:
Guesstimate:
Estimate the number of pizza sold in a dominos outlet in a day pre and post
Covid-19.

Case:
If the offline revenues for dominos are declining post covid, how will you go
about reviving that.

Round 1:
HR Questions:

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MasterCard

Interviewer: Ran me through the flow of the interview, gave a quick

introduction about himself and asked me to introduce myself.
Candidate: Focused more on the personal aspect and talked about what
inspires and drives me in life and how I have worked upon myself to get
better with every venture that I have taken up.

Case:
Interviewer: Your client is a bank issuing thin file cards that wants to launch
them in another geography. How will you go about it?
Candidate: Asked clarifying questions, Geographical Location? New
geography within the country or another country? Objective? More about
the product- how are they different from credit cards? Other offerings by
the bank? Launch for all the offerings or just thin file cards? Any specific
location that the client has already in favor?
Interviewer: India, want to expand to some other country, objective was to
expand and increase customer base. The card functions like a credit card
except for the initial limit offered on a thin file card is quite less which is
subsequently improved based on the usage. Mainly launch for only thin file
cards. No specific location.
Candidate: Drew the structure which had 4 components and gave a brief
overview of each of the element relevant in each component-

A) Country Selection (PESTLE): Political factors, legal factors, technological

factors and economic factors

B) Industry Analysis (Porter's 5 forces): Competition, Substitutes and Buyers

C) Market estimation
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D) The logical sequence of events

Interviewer: Reiterated the structure and was convinced with the flow.
Asked me to focus on market estimation, what will be the main idea behind
the estimation- can US be taken as an example
Candidate: Gave a brief that the main benefit will be in a country where
income is sufficient enough that people do not opt for loans/ credits and it
is thus difficult to ascertain the credit history of the population which will
divert them towards thin file cards. A country like US would be the right way
to go for it.
Interviewer: Was convinced with the reasoning and asked me to go ahead
with the structure of the estimation
Candidate: Went ahead with the standard % division based on the income
level with the main focus on the upper level and middle income group of
the total population.
Ended the case being satisfied with the overall approach and structure.
Interviewer: Asked me what excites me about mastercard?
Candidate: Talked about the focus on the booming payments industry

Round 2:
Asked to talk about a AI(document briefing) tool that I had worked upon in
my work experience.

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Case:
Interviewer: How will you scale the AI tool from your work experience to
multiple clients?

Candidate: Talked about the parameters that I will consider- nature of

client, purpose of the information required, years of operation. Took India
as an example and explained the parameters for developing countries.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Be very structured with your approach

• Practice with seniors and case groups
• Practice a few card launch based cases for Mastercard

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Additional Questions:
Guesstimates:
• Sale of packaged drinking water in India
• Sale of packaged juices
• Air purifiers sold in India in a year
• Imagine a standard airplane how many table tennis balls can be fit into it
• Number of people flying out of Mumbai (candidates city) airport every day
• Yearly revenue from flight ticket of domestic
• In a place called Cyber Hub (party hub) what is the average yearly revenue?
(Look at both demand and supply)
• Number of characters in your CV
• Number of spaces in your CV
• Total sales or air purifiers in India
• Retail giant like Jio mart, loyalty card with them, what is customer
base? Any preference to point or cashback cards
• How many tennis balls can fit in an airline?
• An airline has 4 aircrafts, estimate revenue for this airline
• Number of characters in CV
• Number of people flying out of Delhi
• Estimate number of trees in Lucknow
• Estimate total sales of package juice in India
• Market share of new card holders in India

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Case:

• Case on two-wheeler tire manufacturer losing market share in past

one year.
• Airline company Emirates wants to launch a co-branded card in South
Asia countries
• Credit card company wants to enhance its rewards portal. How to go
about it? No changes made to portal in past 5 years. So what changes
need to be made?
• The client is online travel aggregator and facing challenges due to
covid. What are the challenges faced by Customer service team and
how will you respond?
• Customer like ICICI bank who sells commercial cards(purchase and
corporate cards), based on purchase histories they need to figure out
how to increase penetration.
• Low-cost carrier is anticipating a 50% raise in fuel cost and want us to
provide suggestions on how can they maintain their profitability
• Mastercard wants to launch Cobranded card with shopper stop
market entry for the same.
• What factors would you look at when you want to enter into a new
geography as a credit card company?
• Bank is looking to launch a commercial card targeted at corporate
customers. How will you design it? What is your GTM strategy going to
be like?
• Suggest loyalty offerings by Mastercard in selecting partner and
promoting it. Look at all ecommerce spaces not just amazon, Flipkart,
Myntra.
• Rent to earn model in furniture (like pepperfry), revenue has dropped
what could be the possible issues? What are the recommendations
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• Credit card manufacturer how to work on improving revenue?

Focus on Transaction based revenue - Interest income revenue
specifically.
• Client is a middle east commercial card portfolio segment- Purchase
card, travellers' card. Client wanted to increase the penetration rate.
Identify the factors to identify the potential.

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McKinsey & Co.

Ayesha Hafeez
Background:
Undergrad – Hansraj, DU
Field of Grad. – Economics
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Consulting

Round 1:
Case:
Interviewer: The client is a large two-wheeler manufacturer in India. The
growth for the last 3 years has been flat, ~0-1%, while the market has been
growing at 5%. How can they grow at a rate faster than the market growth
rate?
Candidate: Just to reiterate the problem statement, our client is a large two-
wheeler manufacturer growing at ~0-1%. The client wants to grow at a rate
greater than the market growth rate which is 5%. So, I have to devise a
growth strategy for the client. Is that correct?
Interviewer: Yes, sounds good.
Candidate: I would like to begin with understanding the problem statement
further. Could you tell me about any other geographies that the client

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caters to, what the value chain coverage looks like and the number and
location of plants that the client has?
Interviewer: The client operates only in India and has 4 plants across the
nation. They manufacture as well sell the two-wheelers.
Candidate: Thank you. Next, I’d like to know about the revenue streams. Is
the sale of two wheelers the only source of revenue? Are there different
types of two-wheelers?
Interviewer: Yes, there are 3 types of two wheelers - scooters, motorcycles
with less than 125 cc engine and motorcycles with greater than 125 cc
engine.
Candidate: Great, could you help me with the market growth rate of these
separate segments? I’d also like to know the revenue split of the client.
Interviewer: Scooter sales are growing at 28%, <125cc motorcycle growth is
negligible and >125cc motorcycle growth rate is 10%. For the client, the
revenue split is 25%, 70% and 5%, respectively.
Candidate: Interesting! This is definitely an aspect we should look at while
devising the growth strategy. Before that, I’d like to understand the
distribution channels and the level of market fragmentation.
Interviewer: The client has a large dealership channel of 1500 dealers and
the market is consolidated. The client is the market leader with 3 other
players having similar market share.
Candidate: Thank you. There are 3 broad strategies we can consider here.
First, I’d like to focus on the existing market and offerings, and the
possibility of changing the product mix and promotion tactics. Next, we can

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look at entering new geographies within and outside India. Lastly, we can
diversify and introduce new products altogether.
Interviewer: Let’s start with the first. Can you elaborate what you mean by
the product mix?
Candidate: Maximum revenue of th e client comes from motorcycles with
<125cc engine, for which the market growth is negligible. I would therefore
suggest promoting the existing stock of products aggressively and changing
the product mix to push the sales of scooters since that segment is growing
at the highest rate of 28%.
Interviewer: How would you suggest promoting the sales?
Here I focused on the customer touch-point approach to suggest methods
for both scooters and piled up stock, and emphasized the importance of
dealership experience and incentives.
Interviewer: Good. Let’s say we come up with a new scooter for women.
Can you suggest ways to leverage digital and analytics to improve the
customer experience at a dealership store?
Candidate: I took a couple of seconds and laid down the customer journey
to suggest methods to digitize in-store as well as test drive experience.

HR Questions:
Interviewer: As you know, McKinsey is increasingly focusing on inclusivity.
Can you narrate an incident from your life where you, as a woman, had to
deal with multiple stakeholders from different cultural backgrounds? How
did you go about it and what was the outcome?
Candidate: I gave a personal example from my first workplace.

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Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Solve cases with seniors from the very beginning.

• Be confident during the interview.

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McKinsey & Co.

Sathya Sahay

Background:
Undergrad – Ashoka University
Field of Grad. – B.Sc. Economics & Finance

Round 1:
Case:

Interviewer: Good Morning Sathya, how are you feeling?

Candidate: Good Morning Sir. I'm excited but also a little nervous. I would
be lying if I said I wasn't sweating under this suit and my heart wasn't racing
at 100 miles an hour.
Interviewer: Haha! As you can see, I'm dressed in a t-shirt and I'm the one
taking your interview, so my vitals are just fine. I haven't had the chance to
glance through your CV yet, so why don't you tell me a little about yourself?
Candidate: Sure Sir! (introduced myself)
Interviewer: That's great Sathya. Why do you want to join McKinsey?

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Candidate: (An elaborate answer focusing on culture, values, people,

international exposure and aspirational value). I was getting cold feet about
ranking McKinsey first with all the hot calls flying around from other
companies so I had a really honest chat with my McKinsey mentor about
how he dealt with this dilemma and its associated feelings when he was in
my shoes and he really took the time to allay my fears over a 1.5 hour
phone call. The conversation really drove home the level of support that
McKinsey provides to its people - and it is exactly what I'd want in an
organization that I work with.
Interviewer: I would actually love to chat more about the risks and rewards
associated with ranking McKinsey first for someone in your position but in
the interest of time, let's dive into a case.

Case:

Interviewer: You are a consultant to the CEO of Hyundai sitting in March

2020. What would be your priorities/measures/concerns in the next 30 days
with the COVID19 lockdown having just been imposed?
Candidate: (Asked scoping questions about the company, its operations and
the situation) I think the way I'd approach this is to look at the value chain
of Hyundai and see where all one could face issues with the imposition of
the lockdown - right from procurement of raw materials to sales and
distribution.
Interviewer: I like the approach, but you're using a framework here. Let's
change up the problem. Your client is a large dairy product manufacturer
who is a market leader in India. They want to double their revenues in the
next 2 years. Suggest possible avenues available to them.
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Candidate: (Asked scoping questions about the company, products,

competitors, customers, market context and constraints). So here we could
look at multiple options. We could expand using our existing business and
grow organically. However, given that we are a market leader, we may be
unable to meet our growth targets. So we could look at new products like
frozen yoghurt or enter new geographies where we are likely or expect
similar success like at home. Alternatively, we could go with the inorganic
route and acquire a player in the existing or new markets that we presently
operate in. Would you like me to look into any particular idea?
Inteviewer: These are all good suggestions. Let's do another one - Your
client is a large FMCG manufacturer/company with multiple brands and
products under its ambit. It has seen a decline in profitability despite no
change in profit per unit or production costs. Why might this have
occurred?
Candidate: Broke down profitability mathematically. Could it be because
prices and costs are both increasing by the same amount, leading to a
decline in percentage terms?
Interviewer: Suppose that is not the case.
Candidate: Then it could also be because the product mix has changed?
Interviewer: Absolutely. Thanks Sathya, we can stop solving cases now.
Would you regret your decision of ranking McKinsey first if you get rejected
right now?
Candidate: I would certainly cry myself to bed tonight, but I would take the
same decision if given the choice once again.
Interviewer: I'm glad. It was great interacting with you, best of luck in case

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you have any other interviews lined up for the day.

Candidate: Thank you Sir!

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Keep calm on the final day and be confident.

• Your presence and communication matters as much as your problem
solving ability.
• Try to make the interview and case solving as conversational as
possible to engage the interviewer.

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McKinsey & Co.

Vedika Gulati
Background:
Undergrad – SSCBS, DU
Field of Grad. – BMS
Work Exp – 24 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Strategy and
Corporate Finance

Round 1:
Case:

Interviewer: The client is a PE firm and would like to evaluate an indian

asset portfolio of roads, railways, highways, ports etc. We have received the
cash flow position from target company. Suggest a list of risks to the cash
flows.
Candidate: Asked about the firm, its location of operations, any particular
asset they would like me to look at first and where does the firm lie in terms
of its value chain of managing the assets (i.e. whether the client is involved
in building assets, maintaining the assets, etc).
Interviewer: The client is an established PE Firm, operates Pan India, and no
particular asset is a priority at the moment. In terms of value chain, the
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client bids for an asset, and once the contract is won, client is responsible to
construct the asset (say a highway or a port), to maintains it for a certain
period and then hands it over to the government in about 35 years.
Candidate: Could you give me a moment to structure my thoughts?
Interviewer: Sure, go ahead.
Candidate: We can start by looking at multiple factors that could affect the
operating cashflows. The factors could be external to the firm and beyond
its control, such as any regulatory changes by the government (since one of
the major stakeholders in the contracts is the government), contractual
changes, any substitutes to the assets that come up ( alternatives to
highways, roads, etc) and could be internal to the firm, such as efficiency in
managing traffic, maintenance of assets ( allowing more users), rates of tolls
(if any), etc.
Interviewer: Good. What would be the operating inflow and outflow of cash
for acquiring or maintaining an asset, say a highway?
Candidate: Sources of inflow of cash would be toll collection, lease money
for renting out area in and around the highway, for instance - for petrol
pumps, small restaurants and leasing out advertising spaces. Sources of
outflow of cash can be looked at by considering the value chain. We would
pay out the bid money, outflow of cash for buying raw materials and
machinery, and to hire labour to construct the highway and cash outflow in
the form of regular maintainence of the highway until the asset is handed
over to the government.
Interviewer: Good, now let us consider that we won a bid for a highway
between Mumbai and Hyderabad. It's been 5 years since construction. We

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have projections of the cash flow for the next 25-30 years. Evaluate the risk
to this cash flow in term of revenue from toll.
Candidate: The way I would calculate the revenue would be as follows -
Number of cars x Frequency of visit x Toll per visit
Interviewer: Would only cars be paying the toll?
Candidate: No, the vehicles would include passenger cars, cabs, buses,
trucks, and two wheelers.
Interviewer: Right. Let's focus on trucks. What are the risks to toll revenue
from trucks?
Candidate: Could you give me a moment to structure my thoughts?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: Toll revenue would be a function of number of trucks and the
toll charges. We could have direct and indirect factors impacting the toll
revenue from trucks. In case of direct factors, we could have any alternate
routes available to the truck drivers (could be another highway) affecting
the number of trucks taking the highway. Changes in toll charges could also
affect revenue.
Since the trucks are travelling between two cities ( Mumbai and
Hyderabad), they would primarily be serving inbound and outbound
transportation for the companies. So the indirect factors could be inter-
state taxes, cost of raw materials within the two cities, and regulatory &
legal requirements especially with respect to transportation of trucks (for
eg- timings within which trucks can ply).
Interviewer: Take two industries - agriculture and automobile. Trucks
supplying to these two industries contribute maximum to the toll revenue,

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McKinsey & Co.

about 40%. Inter tax rates between the states have increased, toll revenue
from trucks supplying to which industry would be impacted the most?
Candidate: It is hard to switch supply from one source to another in case of
agriculture industry since its dependent on climate, soil, etc, while for
automobile industry it could be relatively easier to shift the source.
Interviewer: Good, thank you, Vedika.

Round 2:
Interviewer: Client is a financial institution (FI), estimate the number of
loans the FI would disburse in one month to customers buying a product
online via e-commerce platforms.
Candidate: By products being purchased on an e-commerce platform, do
you mean a platform like Flipkart and Amazon?
Interviewer: Yes, for simplicity, assume it to be Flipkart.
Candidate: Are we focusing on any particular region or is it Pan India? Do we
have any specific criteria for disbursing the loan?
Interviewer: Nothing specific.
Candidate: Okay, just give me a moment here.
Interviewer: I would like to calculate the number of online purchases and
then find out the proportion of purchases for Flipkart and finally the
proportion of loans disbursed by the FI.
So, number of online purchases = Population (130 Crore) x Rural / Urban
(~7:3) x Internet penetration (30%) x Income Classes (30% of rich and upper
middle class ) x Age ( 35% - 15-35 years) x Proportion of online purchasers

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(assumed 30%) x Frequency of purchase and taking up loans (Once in 3

months)
Then, Loans for purchases on Flipkart = number of online purchases x
Market Share of Flipkart (~30%)
(Fortunately, I knew the Market Share and took the interviewer's go-ahead
on this one.)
Finally, Number of Loans for FI in one month = Loans for Purchases of
Flipkart x Market share of FI
(For market share of FI, I asked the interviewer if we knew the marker share
directly or have information on the number of FI, and can take equal share
for simplicity. The interviewer told me that there were 4 close competitors)

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Getting industry specific knowledge is helpful

• Practicing guesstimates

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Gautham Anand
Background:
Undergrad – IIIT Allahabad
Field of Grad. – Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
HR Questions:
Introduction
Brief description of work-ex. No details or cross-questioning

Case:
Q) Evaluation of typical M&A process - How would you go about integrating
the IT divisions of two firms looking to go through a merger? What are the
different components you would take into consideration?

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Talked about the different buckets that should be considered. Applications,

Infrastructure, Organization, Suppliers/Vendor Management, IT Culture and
IT Operations
Faced further cross questioning on the applications bucket, in particular
ERPs. Was asked how I would go about deciding between two different ERPs
that were in use in the client and the target. Answered by mentioning
points of difference between the two in terms of capabilities, pricing, etc.

Round 2:
Case:
Q) A swimming pool manufacturer in the US is looking to acquire another
pool manufacturer. The combined entity is also looking to launch an IPO in
the future. Objectives are to assess risks, evaluate steps for IPO readiness,
look at how to integrate, and to implement an overall IT transformation.
Also tell me how you would order the three major tasks: IT Transformation,
IPO and IT Integration

Initially started with CPCC questions to get background on the two

companies, the areas in which they operate, an idea of what their value
chains look like, etc. This was more or less similar for both companies

Candidate: What kind of products does the target manufacture? Does the
target have any specific offerings that the client does not have currently?

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Interviewer: The target makes vinyl-liner pools which the client does not.
They also have a method of manufacturing these which are much faster
than the manufacturing process of the client.

Candidate: Right, so this is the reason the client is considering the

acquisition. Would you like for me to dive deeper into the different
synergies that can be achieved?

Interviewer: Yes this is why the acquisition is being considered. Before

moving further, tell me how you would order the three major tasks
mentioned before

Candidate: Alright. Before I can make a decision can you tell me what is the
timeline being considered for the IPO?

Interviewer: The client wants to launch the IPO in the next 5 years.

Candidate: And what is the reason the client wants to perform this IT
transformation? Do they have outdated systems or is it to streamline the IT
division?

Interviewer: The client wants to perform the IT transformation because of a

lack of uniformity in the applications it uses in it's two divisions.

Candidate: Then, I would put the IT transformation first to streamline the

client's IT processes and make them more efficient and coherent before
moving onto the acquisition and going forward with the IT integration, and
then finally the IPO.

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Interviewer: Alright great. How would you go forward with the IT

integration? Look at this from a due-diligence perspective. What are the
various considerations you would take into account while merging the IT
functions?

Candidate: I would look at the following broad buckets when considering an

IT integration : Applications (like ERP, CRM, etc.), Infrastructure (Hardware
infra like servers, Infrastructure software like OS etc.), Organization (it's size
and structure, capabilities, location, etc.), Suppliers/Vendor Management,
IT Culture and IT Operations.

There was slight deep diving into the Applications, Infrastructure and
Organization buckets in particular. Questions were around how the
integration would happen.

There was also a question on IPO readiness from an IT perspective. What

kind of IT requirements would be most important for making the client IPO
ready? I had given an answer with mentions of financial and accounting
software, and specialized software to prepare and publish financial reports,
before time ran out.

Round 3:
Questions:

• Why consulting? Why PwC IT?

• Was asked about my opinion on the impact of US Presidential election
results on India.

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• Was asked about the possible acquisition of IndusInd Bank by Kotak

Mahindra.

Case:

Q) Following on from the Kotak IndusInd discussion, how would you go

about integrating the IT functions of both banks?

Started with a standard M&A IT checklist. Listed out the different

components of the IT divisions that need to be looked at before a merger -
Applications, Infrastructure, Organization, Suppliers/Vendor Management,
IT Culture and IT Operations.

I was asked about the Applications and Infrastructure buckets - the various
components that would come under these, and the criteria I would use to
evaluate how integration was to happen.

I was also asked about cloud transformation - What IT components of a

bank could be moved to the cloud, and what could not? Why?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs,
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781118692028.app2
for a rough M&A IT

• Be communicative and clear at every step. Keep thinking about the

solution, and keep letting the interviewer know what you're thinking.

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George C Mundackal
Background:
Undergrad – NITK Surathkal
Field of Grad. – Computer Science &
Engineering
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Information
Systems

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Online articles related cloud strategy

and IT aspects in M&A
• Read about cloud services, benefits and migration strategy

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Kaustubh Sharma
Background:
Undergrad – Netaji Subhas Institute of
Technology
Field of Grad. – Manufacturing and
Automation Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Business
Intelligence, Product Analysis

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Case group discussions,
company PPT and company website.
• Practice guesstimates well and show your approach. Make sure you
know why you are applying for the role and what it entails.

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Sai Chaithanya
Background:
Undergrad – NIT Trichy
Field of Grad. – B. Tech. , Production
Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics

Round 1:
Two rounds of interaction before Day 0. First round had a market entry and
market size case and second round had a strategy case

Round 2:
This round was mostly about the projects I did in the past and deep dive on
a few projects.

Round 3:
• Tell me about yourself?
• Why consulting?
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• Why Pwc?
• What are your expectations from the Internship?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs

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Shinjani Jindal

Background:
Undergrad – MNNIT Allahabad
Field of Grad. – Electrical Engineering
Work Exp – 12 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations

Case:
Q) Part 1: A state in Southern India is facing the issue of drying up of its
lakes at a very high rate. An MP suggests that they should cover the lakes
with giant sheets of Thermocol since it is an insulator and would prevent
evaporation of water. They implement this at a particular lake, where they
find that the sheets keep getting blown away by the wind and the
thermocol is unable to serve its purpose.
How should the MP proceed if he wants to use these sheets? Devise a
business plan for him to present at the budget meeting.

Part 2: Guesstimate the total budget needed for implementing this across
10 lakes each being 200m wide and 1km long?

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Candidate
: Started with the harmful impact of thermocol on aquatic life. Suggested
that we could use some spacing between the sheets for sufficient oxygen
supply.
Asked questions around wind speed and general weather conditions.
Found out that it is a windy area. Therefore, suggested that we use floats or
anchors to keep the sheets in place.

For budget, assumed the sheets to be as big as the ones available in the
market. Found out the number of sheets required. Assumed a price for each
sheet and then found out the total budget for sheets. Further, found the
cost of the floats/ anchors based on the cost of per unit material they are
made up of.

HR Questions
• An incident where you were under a lot of pressure but had to deliver
results.
• An incident where you were required to adapt to changes very quickly.
How did you accept those changes?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha +CSC Sessions, Mock

GDs/ PIs
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• Practice enough cases for each type. In case you can't, at least know
the basic framework for each type. Be thorough with your CV and
practice possible questions on it

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Sruthy S Kumar

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Calicut
Field of Grad. – Chemical Engineering
Work Exp – 29 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations

Round 1:
• Tell me about yourself

Round 2:
• Introduction
• Why consulting
• Why Ops
• HR and CV questions
• 2 Cases- Market Entry, Profitability

Round 3:
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• Tell me about yourself

• What would you change if you go back to the organisation that you were
a part of?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs,
Company website/Case study booklets
• During the case discussion ask a lot of clarifying questions, Read about
the company and its working

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Utkarsh Anand

Background:
Undergrad – BIT Mesra, Ranchi
Field of Grad. – Industrial Engineering
Work Exp – 40 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Manufacturing,
Marketing

Round 1:
• CV Based Questions

Round 2:
• Estimate the market size for a new food delivery service in Pune
• What is the pricing this service should deploy for the business?

Round 3:
Case Interview with a senior employee :

Interviewer: What are the benefits of using cloud & why is there such a
huge market for cloud based softwares
Candidate: Gave advantages of mobility, storage , costs , feasibility etc.
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Interviewer: Price a new cloud based documentation software for microsoft

Candidate: Followed the cost based , substitute based & value based
strategy.

Interviewer: Guesstimate : How many liters of paint would it take to paint a

Boeing 747 jet ?
Candidate: Divided the plane into components & calculated the surface
area, assumed a certain amount of paint per unit sq meter & calculated
accordingly.

HR Questions:
• How do you resolve conflicts in a group
• Have you ever lead a team or people
• How do you ensure your point is heard in a group

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Casebook - IIML & ISB
• Be very thorough with the JD. Almost every round had questions about it

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Vignaesh
Muthukumaar
Background:
Undergrad – IIT Kanpur
Field of Grad. – B.Tech - Material
Science and Engineering
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Consulting -
Analytics

Round 1:
Case:
Cheese company wants to acquire Vegan company. Should it go ahead?

Round 2:
Case:
Chemical company is performing below financial benchmarks. Find out the
reason.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Additional Questions
• Kindly read about technology disruptions in finance and go through the
article shared
• Which area of ops consulting would like to join?
• What will you do if your voice is not heard in a work setting
• Any instance where you managed conflict at work
• US based wholesaler is trying to acquire organic food, identify cost
synergies
• How did you incorporated the feedback received during your work
experience
• Have you ever led a team
• In case of bank takeover, what should be taken into account from IT
standpoint
• Discussion on things to be considered from ERP application side when a
bank is splitting
• HR questions on team roles in the organization
• A client is moving from licensing based model to cloud based model for
MS-Word. How will you price it?
• Guesstimate - How many litres of oil will be required to paint Boeing 747
• What are the changes in the finance domain you have seen over the
years and how consulting is helping CFO's in such areas.
• Disruptions in Finance
• Candidate had worked in credit card industry - Guesstimate on how
many contactless credit cards exist in India. Discussion on credit card
industry in India
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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• Firm wants to migrate to cloud, what all things need to be considered

• Firm is divesting, how will you manage.
• Guesstimate: How many street lamps should be installed in Lucknow,
assuming there is none at the moment.
• A company has some IT platforms such as SaaS - some are vendor owned
and some are company owned and want to divest them. How they
should go about it?
• If an e-commerce want to expand, what are the IT considerations will be
taken into account to become a market leader

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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PwC US Advisory
c

Saurav Yadav

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Kanpur
Field of Grad. – Chemical
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Pharma R&D

Round 1:
Guesstimate:
Q) No. of disposed off masks on daily basis in the city of Mumbai

Case:
Q) Commercialization of an innovator drug in new geographies: how to go
about it (The case was pertaining to pharma related work-ex)

Candidate: Clarified about geographies to be targeted, drug type, the

targeted disease, the prevalence of the disease, innovator or generic drug
Interviewer: Asked me to summarize my approach
Candidate: Demand, supply, regulatory and pricing to be considered for a
economical & seamless commercialization
Interviewer: How to estimate the size of the market (demand)?
Candidate: Through disease prevalence, population size and the severity of
the disease
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Interviewer: What factors to consider in supply?

Candidate: Raw material cost (API is very expensive and inhouse
development can reduce the procurement cost), manufacturing plant and
its operations, warehousing and distribution channels
Interviewer: What goes in regulatory approval?
Candidate: FDA reviews the product dev report before approving the launch
of a drug, preclinical and clinical trials data also required.
Interviewer: What other factors?
Candidate: Pricing such that the incurred R&D cost can be recovered basis
projected demand. Launch generic version of the same drug if unaffordable
in underdeveloped countries. Covered product life cycle of an innovator
drug.
Interviewer: Further cross questioning on drug patent and other
stakeholders involved in the launch
Candidate: Answered

Round 2:
Case:
Same case as in Round 1. The candidate covered demand, supply, pricing
and regulatory side.

Round 3:
HR Question:
• Summarize self as a person
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PwC US Advisory
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• Likes and Dislikes, family and their traditional occupation.

• Strengths and weaknesses.
• Academic journey - ups and downs.
• A moment when I overcame resistance to accomplish something
significant.
• An instance where I followed an unconventional technique.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs,
Disha Compendium, Casebook 2020, Internet
• Prepare for HR questions, give plenty of mock GDs/PIs before D-Day

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 227

PwC US Advisory
c

Soumya

Background:
Undergrad – BIT Mesra
Field of Grad. – Information Technology
Work Exp – 43 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
• Tell me about yourself, questions on CV and work-ex
• Tell me about a situation where you had a conflict with your manager
• Tell me about a situation where your team members did not agree with
you- how did you handle the same?
• Since the role was M&A based, some terms used in M&A were also asked
like TSA, due diligence etc.
• Why PwC, why consulting

Round 2:
• Tell me about yourself, how will you carry out IT due diligence for an IB,
how will you proceed to integrate the IDAM system of two firms during
an M&A.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Synergy Consulting
c

Divyank Agarwal
Background:
Undergrad -BITS Pilani Hyderabad
Campus
Field of Grad. - Civil Engineering
Work Exp - 20 Months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Data Analytics;
Strategy & Governance

Round 1:
HR
• Tell us about yourself.
• Why are you interested in Consulting?
• Why do you want to pursue Finance?
• Why do you want to join Synergy?
• Did you speak to any of your seniors who interned with us last year?

CV
• Can you describe your project at PwC (relevant internship mentioned in
the CV)?
• What is Depreciation?
• What do you understand by Corporate Finance?
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• NPV vs IRR, which is better and why?

• What will be the Discount Rate used?
• What is Beta?
• What is Levered and Unlevered Beta?
• How would you calculate the relevant Beta for a listed company?
• How would you do that for a Start-up?
• What will be the value of Beta for a niche firm with no comparable
competitors?

Round 2:
HR

What do you know about Synergy Consulting?

Why do you think you are a good fit for the role?
Any reason you are influenced by Ikigai (mentioned it in one of my answers
earlier)?

CV
Which photography styles do you prefer (from the CV)?
How would you value a company?
What if the company does not pay out dividends?
How would you calculate FCFE and FCFF?
How to value a company which is not listed?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Synergy Consulting
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Preparation and Interview Tips and Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Disha RG
• CFA Level 1 Material for Finance
• Be thorough with Corporate Finance and Valuation concepts

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Additional Questions:
• 2nd round is HR
• 1st round is technical - Finance basics based on your background
• HR round - Expectations, what have you been able to gauge, few
things for past work-ex
• "Introduce yourself
• Work-ex related questions - valuation related work-ex (Valuation
methods)
• Discount rate - How do you calculate FCF from
• What is Beta in CAPM and how do you calculate it?
• Monopoly business - How do you calculate Beta?
• Linkages of Financial statements
• Case - Opening B/L sheet given, Prepare 3 statements
• What are Methods of Depreciation? (Straight Line, Units of production
method)

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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TCS
c

Questions:
• Who is an influencer or follower? who is more important?
• Define Product development, Procurement, Production, Distribution
• CV and work ex
• Work-ex related to supply chain?
• Basic understanding of role?
• Diff in SCM between amazon and local kirana shop?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Trariti Consulting
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Group

Questions
• Case: Profits of stationery store declining. Please ask scoping Qs and
then breakdown profits as per frame work.
• Why consulting?
• Long term goals? - Align with consulting
• Real life application of Game Theory
• Which projects do you want to do. Please go through JD and justify the
answer.
• Name one technology of the future. Please justify your answer.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 234

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 235

Fullerton
c

Ajir Bihari
Background:
• Undergrad – IIM Indore
• Field of Grad. – Statistics & Economics
• Work Exp – NA
• Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1: Personal Interview

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks
• Interaction with seniors
• Company website, Trello Board (Disha)
• It was a technical interview. Candidates are advised to thoroughly go
through their previous projects in data analytics for this role.
• Candidate should be confident with one programming language ( R,
python etc.)
• HR questions were related to the points on CV

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Additional Questions:

• Why Analytics and Fullerton? Talk about any of the analytical projects
• Situation: How will you prioritize your current customers (look at their
past credit score)
• Any project that you worked hard on it didn't go well
• Guesstimate: Number of smartphones sold in India in a year
• Past projects on consumer data analysis and research paper discussions
• Project-based questions: discussion on rural consumer behavior,
demographics
• How has the pandemic impacted the financial sector?
• How will you identify fraudulent transactions?
• Mission, Vision, Values, Product Portfolio of the organization

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 237

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 238

AB InBev GCC
c

Arunkumar D

Background:
Undergrad – Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University
Field of Grad. - Agriculture
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
GD - How do you increase diversity in the Alco-bev industry
Highly moderated GD for around 30 mins

Round 2:
Personal Interview- HR interview:

• Tell me about yourself?

• Why AB InBev?
• What's your biggest failure?
• 2-3 follow up questions based on each of them based on my answers
• Which role do you want to work in?

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AB InBev GCC
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• Do you have any questions for us?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Mock GDs/ PIs, Company specific prep ( PPT and
Company website)
• Internet
• Markopedia
• Prism materials
• Align your HR answers with the company values, Be thorough in what the
company is doing right now and what their future plans are.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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AB InBev GCC
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• If you are the PM of India, what is the one thing that you immediate
focus?
• Which one principle will you add to current 10 principles?
• You have lot of money and you are Operations manager, what will you
implement across the supply chain (candidates was asked to link it to
supply chain discussion in AbInBev GD round )
• What do you bring to the AB In Bev
• Discussion on work-experience
• What is your 5 year plan and where do you see yourself?
• Would you prefer role or brand?
• Questions on GD round discussion during AB InBev previous round
• Which company do you think will fail in future?
• Taboo surrounding this industry
• Why ABinBev?
• Questions from things covered in PPT
• HR focused interview - Strength & Weakness - CV interviews
• Strength and weakness
• Something that is not in your CV
• How would you distribute 1 million? (for the company)
• Guesstimate to calculate number of bars in Lucknow
• Why do you want to join AbinBev?
• What would be your dream start at AbinBev?
• What are you passionate about (in life) and how would you utilise it at
Ab inBev
• Guesstimate the number of bars in Lucknow.
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• What would you do if you are the Managing Director of AbinBev and
investors give you 1 billion Dollars.
• What did you like the most about your last organisation? the least?
• Tell us about your biggest failure/setback?
• What role would you like to work in AB InBev?
• Guesstimate: Number of Bars in Lucknow
• Pitch yourself in 30 seconds
• What’s your drive, describe a situation wherein you overcame an
obstacle successfully?
• Why AB InBev?
• Gender diversity (workforce) in alcohol industry and how will you
improve it?
• Breaking stigma among Indians regarding alcohol consumption
• Is India ready for E vehicle and how can AbInBev contribute to it?
• Map vs Compass
• Is India ready for e-vehicles and how can AbInBev contribute to it
• investors give you 1 billion Dollars.
• What did you like the most about your last organisation? the least?
• What would you do if you are the Managing Director of AbinBev and
investors give you 1 billion Dollars.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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c
Amazon

Khyati Masaun

Background:
Undergrad – Shaheed Sukhdev College of
Business Studies
Field of Grad. – Management
Work Exp – N/A

Domain: Finance

Round 1:
• Technical questions based on resume with focus on internships and live
projects

Round 2:
HR Questions:
• Values based and situational questions
• A situation where you received critical feedback ?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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c
Amazon

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Financial Management & Valuation books, Resources provided by Team
Disha, CSC, Prism & Sigfi.
• Do have all electronic devices in working conditions
• Be very thorough with everything written in the resume

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 244

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Amazon

Mahesh V M

Background:
Undergrad – Vijaya College and Vijaya
Evening College
Field of Grad. – BCom
Work Exp – 62 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Finance

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Introduction
• Questions revolved very much on 14 leadership principles
• Deep dive into CV related questions

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors and Team Disha sessions

• Try to match any and every answer to 14 values
• Same questions asked in multiple rounds to check consistency

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 245

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Amazon

Ria Gupta

Background:
Undergrad – Shaheed Sukhdev College Of
Business Studies
Field of Grad. – Fin & Investment Analysis
Work Exp – N/A

Round 1:
PI:
• Tell me about yourself
• Why MBA just after graduation
• Why Amazon
• Why finance
• Why did you go for actuarial science and how that is related to the field
you are in? (mentioned in my cv)
• Why aren't you pursuing actuarial as your domain?

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Amazon

• Explain the internship you have done at PwC. What was your role in it and
what red flags did you identified? How did you solved them and why those
red flags were important?
• How did you perform valuation benchmarking and what factors did you
considered? Further questions on factors like why that was important and
what suggestion you gave using that particular factor
• What was the method suggested by you to reduce the waste in
construction sector and how did you perform hypothesis testing?
(mentioned in one of my internship)
• Current happenings in telecom industry (did one internship in telecom
company)

Round 2:
PI:
• Tell me about yourself
• I didn't see any finance in your cv, justify why finance. (abrupt question)
• Explain what do you know about the role
• Give a brief about any one of your internship. Follow-up questions- Why
did you pick that, What was your role, do you think your
suggestions/conclusions were useful
• (did one internship in start-up) what is current situation of that start-up?
Were your changes implemented in the working of start-up? How did your
presentation to founder was different from that to senior manager?
• (project on trumponomics) How did you analyse the data? What were your
outcomes? How election 2016 different from 2020? What all sectoral
changes you identified? (mentioned in cv)
• Who will be more beneficial in financial terms to India? Biden or Trump?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Amazon

• How India is benefited from US-China trade war? Explain how you
identified the trade balances and what suggestions you gave? (project on
Indo-china and Indo-US trade)
• Explain how valuation of a company is done? (project on valuation)
• What is the overvaluation and how you explain it in your project?
• What is the current stock price of Airtel?(did an internship in Airtel) Why
so much fluctuations and how that is related to jio-airtel war? Whom do
you think is better Airtel or Jio? What were the KPIs you used to analyse
pre and post jio era?

HR Questions:
• Situation when you overperformed from what you were expected ?
Follow-up questions- what did you gained from doing that? Why did you
do that? How were you able to do someone else's task on time? How much
deviation you found in terms of quality in your work and the required
work?
• 2 Strength and 1 weakness which you just overcame and how did you do
that?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions and documents, Mock GDs/
PIs
• Amazon 14 leadership principles – session by seniors, youtube videos
about amazon and role
• Reading and analysing news articles
• Valuation by Aswath Damodaran and finance notes
• Go through the Amazon specific HR questions and industries mentioned in
your CV
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Amazon

Simran Kejriwal

Background:
Undergrad – SRCC
Field of Grad. – Commerce
Work Exp – 23 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Consulting

Round 1:
• CV shortlist and online test

Round 2:
HR Questions:
• Introduce yourself
• Why corporate finance
• Why Amazon
• What do you know about Amazon

Round 2:
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Amazon

PI:
• Questioned around my work-experience, asked conceptual questions on
IRR, NPV and financial modelling

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• CFA Level 1 books, Bcom books( Financial Management, Accounting,
Economics), news articles

• Your ethics and values will be tested majorly so, kindly remain calm and
confident and be honest. Know your CV thoroughly, prepare the HR
answers well

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Amazon

Additional Questions:
• Situation- Negative feedback of manager and how you worked on it
• Situation- where you have worked/contributed more than your
responsibilities
• Guesstimate market potential basis workex
• Situation - How did you incorporated the feedback received during
work ex.
• Project that required deep dive analysis?
• Situation - Innovative thing that you have worked on
• Situation where you have to forego short term goals to achieve long
term
• Marketing Strategy for Big Billion Day
• What is click per conversion, sponsored ads, organic ads?
• How can you prepare a better CV format?
• Talk about your professional achievements
• Case: If I want to open a sports arena, what are the factors to consider
and help me make a financial model? What data would you want to
ask the client? How would you fund the project?
• Why Marketing?
• Case: Amazon wants to start 6 hour delivery. What should the
consideration be?
• Extensive discussion on CV. Then Case : Luxury brand that has sales of
50 Lakh and to be moved to 1 Cr. How?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Amazon

• Asked about work experience and given agricultural background was

given case about pitching agriculture products and then a comparison
of organic and inorganic products.
• Case: I am a brand POC (candidate to choose the category); give me a
few performance metrics and how will you pitch vendor to invest
more
• When did you go out of your way to serve a customer.
• What did you do when you found out you wont be able to meet a
commitment.
• Asked about audiobits, Amazon live, Amazon posts
• Why you want to be in this role and why would you be a good fit?
• AWS competitors - Azure, Google Cloud suite, Oracle Cloud. Alternates
also include inhouse/self deployment.
• Ques being repeated
• MOSTLY HR & CV based on LPs
• Case - Zara is listing a new category on Amazon, how will you go about
it? One Plus launched on Amazon, Sales dropping how to go about it?
• What is the basis for NIFTY/SENSEX market cap computation?
• Situation when you implemented something new? Situation when you
received critical feedback? Situation when you failed and what did you
learn
• Round 2 - Deep Dive - Instance where you identified the root cause of
a problem
• Amazon wants to enter Pharmacy business in India (Data given)- What
factors would you consider?
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Amazon

• If you are a brand manager at Amazon, how will you pitch client to
invest more in advertising in next 5 years
• When did you find yourself getting critical feedback; What did you do
something innovative
• Amazon Grocery delivery constraints and how to overcome?
• KPI used in workplace to evaluate performance appraisals - candidate
specific
• Situation where one team member was lacking in effort, what to do? If
you were to make a decision, what would you have done, Situation
when you "Earned Trust", Sales of Physical books going down, how will
you strategize marketing?
• CV points - certifications, PORs etc
• Lots of 14 LP questions
• Intro, detailed discussion on workex, projects, data driven
recommendation you gave to client (Work ex based), Guesstimate -
Number of fairy lights sold during diwali, Shoe que repeated,
• Round 2 - Focused on CV + HR - Situational based questions
• Round 2 - Situation where you took initiative/responsibility during
work-ex,
• Accounting concepts- Revenue recognition, Ratios
• Finance concepts- DCF (Including assumptions), Financial statements
(BS/P &L), NPV, IRR and relative valuation
• Round 2- Questions from Round 1 are being repeated (Check for
consistency)

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an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Amazon

• Situation where you have to do data intensive analysis

• Situation where you have to do a lot of convincing
• What is you're favorite subject? (Follow up questions based on
answer)
• Round 2 - Detailed discussion on work ex, Instance where you received
constructive feedback and how did you react, Instance where you
went out of your way to work on something which was not your
responsibility (Ownership)
• What book have you read recently? What was your learning?
(Connected to the candidate tell me about yourself)
• Perform labor modelling for a manufacturing firm where the demand
is volatile (Amazon explained the case details)
• You are a finance partner at amazon. You want a new brand to sell
their products through amazon. It is a premium brand and no
competitor. They don't want to change price in offline and online.
How will you negotiate with them ?
• Why do you want to be in a CRM role
• Data driven decision, asked again
• You are the Finance manager of a FMCG company- You want to launch
premium biscuit, which exists in another country. What factors will u
consider
• SItuation- You have been given a task to advise vendor (apple
company), 1 lakh rupees each cost, SP: 95K, 5000 loss, customer traffic
is important, and window is 21 days, what will u advise him?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Amazon

• Examples of negotiation skills at work (Specific focus on cost aspect)?

Whether you did data analysis anywhere at work?
• Take us through your academic projects (Fin and marketing)
• If you want to introduce a construction equipment category in
Amazon. How would you identify that which vendors would be
interested in advertising on the platform and how will you keep them
engaged
• Diwali coming, the demand for lights guesstimate, how much
inventory must Amazon have, A particular shoe is not performing well
what can be the issue
• Case: Explain the process of Amazon grocery and challenges. Also
convince the investor why to go for it?
• Why are you interested in BD role?
• Deep dive on work experience - 2-3 mins on each CV point - deep dive
into each point
• Questions on work experience
• How will you go on developing business strategies
• Tell me about the most important project you did. How do you
measure the success metrics; Dive deep in the project; Situation when
you had to negotiate with a stakeholder. How would you measure the
importance of a project?
• CV based questions; Why Amazon? How will you add value to
Amazon? Questions on work ex using Dive-Deep
• What was it that you set to achieve through a specific project. What
did you actually achieve?
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an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Amazon

• Take us through a day at your workex place

• You are a finance manager working at amazon in audio category. New
sale manager approached you for a new premium headphone brand.
How will you assess it?
• What do you feel about the setup of course and internship in MBA
• The situation where you had to adjust to a project; How much
efficiency, did you increase etc. (All CV based questions and in-depth
knowledge)
• Why finance? (For non-finance personnel)
• Explain your understanding of the role. Why does the role excite you
• Tell me about yourself Why finance What is your understanding of this
role Tell me something about financial ratios - profitability ratios Take
me through your work ex as I have e-commerce background What do
you feel about the setup of course and internship in MBA
• What will you assess in profitability ratios?
• What did you learn in your FR course (Follow up)
• Tell me something about yourself
• What is cloud
• Why AWS, a client relation role instead of PM role
• How to sell AWS, competition client (Please read JD)
• Tell me about yourself, AWS product range
• Adventure site - Amazon is launching, how to promote, Any data
driven decision you had to take?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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c
Amazon

• Work ex, Intro, Issues/problems that come from customers and how
did you solve (based on work ex), 3 things you'll keep in mind while
launching a new category?
• 20 min interview: Have you worked on some complex problems?
Some probing questions on answers; Have you ever managed a team?
What size of team did you manage? How would you motivate a team
member?
• Guesstimate the shoe market size in India; Any situation when you
dived deep in your project

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 257

Avendus
c

Udhav Khanna

Background:
Undergrad – SSCBS
Field of Grad. – Bachelor's in Financial &
Investment Analysis.
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IB

Round 1:
Interaction with Buddy (1 Hour)
• Tell me about yourself?
• Finance v/s Consulting?
• Why IB? Why Avendus?
• In depth discussion on Automobile Sector (mentioned on my CV) -Current
Trends, Growth Prospects, Market Size of leading players etc.

Round 2:
Personal Interview 1 (25 Minutes)
• Tell me About yourself?

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• Questions about my workex in the Investment Banking Team at KPMG

India (Roles & Responsibility, Accountability, takeaway from
transactions etc.)
• In detail discussion about my favourite project during the 3 year tenure
at KPMG
• Why do I want to Join Investment Banking Again?
• Major deals done by Avendus in last 1 year and Rationale behind them

Round 2:
Personal Interview 2 (45 Minutes)
I was asked to pick up a sector of my choice and my entire interview for 45
minutes was on that. I picked up FMCG sector and the following points
were covered in detail:
• Provide in depth overview of the sector
• Market Size and Segmentation
• Value Chain & Distribution Network
• Policy Measures undertaken by the Government
• Impact of COVID-19 on FMCG Sector
• Key Growth Drivers
• M&A Deals in the sector (Deal Size, Deal Value, Enterprise Value,
Valuation Multiples)
• Vs ITC (Market Cap., Share Price, Revenue, Margins, Valuation
Multiples like EV/EBITDA, EV/Revenue, Price/Earnings)
• In detail analysis of HUL and its DCF Valuation (Projections, WACC
Calculations etc.)

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c Avendus

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Sector
Reports
• CFA Level 2 books (Corporate Finance & Equity)
• Focus on your CV points and build answers around that in order to be
confident about what you say

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Axis Capital
c

Anushya Parthiban

Background:
Undergrad – Christ University, Bangalore
Field of Grad. – Accounting and Finance
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Corp. Fin.

Round 1:
Buddy Call
A few days after the shortlist was released, I received a call from a Treasury
team member and the discussion revolved mainly around my background
and HR questions. Further probed by asking questions relating to a POR and
relating to my inclination towards Finance. To gauge my interest in the role,
questions relating to Axis Bank and operations of Axis Capital were also
asked.

Round 2
Company Interactions

All the shortlisted students had a brief interaction session on Day -1 evening
followed by opening the floor for questions. It is encouraged to participate

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by asking questions and to remember details from the session, which one
can include during their interviews.

Round 3:
Personal Interview
• Three-member panel
• Interviewer: Tell us about yourself
• Candidate: Gave my rehearsed answer
• I1: Why Axis Capital?
• Candidate: Answered by focusing on my interest to pursue a career in
Finance and the company culture (this is where inputs from the
company interaction comes in handy)
• Interviewer:What are your strengths?
• Candidate: Gave my prepared answer
• Interviewer:What is your understanding of the role being offered and
where does your interest lie if you were to intern with us?
• Candidate: Answered by correlating my interests and strengths with the
requirements mentioned during the pre-placement talk and company
interaction
• Interviewer:Would you be interested to join the Treasury team even
though it would entail high-pressure and intense work hours?
• Candidate: This is a trick question to check if one is genuinely interested.
Reiterate your interests and why you are interested in this particular
role.
• Interviewer:Do you have any questions for us?
• Candidate: Asked a question and I2 answered it.

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Axis Capital
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Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• For company-relating: Company website and Annual report

• For domain-relating: Vault Finance Interview guide, FRA basics, CRISIL
reports
• For Current Affairs use resources available through OpenAthens
• Be thorough and well-prepared with your HR answers
• Do not ignore company and role-specific preparation
• Do ask questions during company interactions or at the end of the
interview.

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Citibank
c

Radhika Rathi

Background:
Undergrad – St. Xavier's College, Kolkata
Field of Grad. – BBA Hons. (Financial
Management).
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Financial
Institutions Group
•

Domain: Treasury & Trade Solutions

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Buddy Calls: General understanding of the role to gauge my interest.

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• Meeting with the VP: Tell me something about yourself.

• What is your understanding of the role?
• Had work experience in the related field so questions about my past
work experience.
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Round 3:
HR Questions:

• D-Day Interview (Head TTS & HR): Tell me something about yourself.
• Work experience related questions.
• CV related question (talked about EXIM trade business, SWIFT GPI,
Bangladesh's economy).
• General HR questions such as why do you want to join CITI?
• My strengths & weaknesses?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Team Disha Sessions

• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Current affairs
• knowing your CV in & out
• Talk to a few people in the same job role (search on linkedin)
• Be calm and composed. Don't try to mug up your HR answers, try to work
them out as having a conversation over a cup of coffee. All the best!

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Citi - TTS
c

Mohammed Motiwala

Background:
Undergrad – BITS Pilani
Field of Grad. – Btech, Mechanical Engg.
Work Exp – 33 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Banking Analytics
Services

Domain: Finance

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• An informal telephonic chat with a mentor.
• The company wants to gauge your interest in the role and to give
shortlisted candidates a chance to understand the role better. One
presentation for shortlisted candidates had been conducted beforehand
to explain the role.
• The mentors assigned were usually with a few years of experience in the
same role. The mentor assigned to me was an IIML alumni two batches
senior.

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• It was an informal chat. Nonetheless, present yourself well in your

introduction and follow up questions on your background. Some HR prep
should be done. Expect these three questions: 1) Why Banking?, 2) Why
this role? and 3) Why Citi?
• Because the mentor was an IIML alumnus, there was some back and forth
on MBA experience.
• The call ended with a series of questions from my side about the mentor's
work, and on the role.
• Mentor gave advice on what to expect in the final interview, and asked to
contact her for more help. I did not speak to her again.

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• Final Interview (There was another short PPT with the meeting open for
questions about the role, about banking, etc. Candidates were definitely
evaluated on the questions they asked)
• Interviewer: Hi. Can you give us an introduction?
• Candidate: Introduced myself in around 2 minutes. I tried to align my
background with the role. There was a project in my work-ex that was a
little related to the role.
• Interviewer: Some follow up questions on the same project I had
highlighted in my intro.

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Citi - TTS

• Candidate: Talked about the project. I tried to show how it is related to

the role.
• Interviewer: Why Banking?
• Candidate: Answered on three lines: 1) Banking and finance is the
bedrock/foundation for all other businesses. 2) far-reaching macro effects
3) Assurance of smart and hardworking colleagues
• Interviewer: Why Citi and why this role?
• Candidate: 1) Citi is a global bank, so a plethora of opportunities, 2) The
role has a consulting aspect to it, as it's about helping corporate clients
with their payments and cash management.
• I did not give a very coherent answer and they didn't seem interested or
impressed

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• The company conducted a PPT for shortlisted candidates where the role
was explained. I used the web for more more understanding. The
buddy/mentor call also helped a lot.
• Listen to the PPT for shortlisted candidates, read the job description, and
do some research before the buddy/mentor call.
• Get a good idea about the role from your buddy call.

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Citi - TTS
c

Saee Mandlekar

Background:
Undergrad – BITS Goa
Field of Grad. – Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Finance

Domain: Finance

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• What are your long term goals?
• Why Citi TTS?
• Tell me more about your work at ZS

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• Tell us about an online product that you really like and why?

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Round 3:
HR Questions:

• What are your pet peeves (personal)? What are your greatest learnings
from work ex?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors

• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Resources shared by buddy
• Disha HR questions
• Participation in company's PPT

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Citi - TTS
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Snigdha Sahoo

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Rourkela
Field of Grad. – Btech, CS Engg.
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Software
Development

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Introduce yourself
• Why Citi
• Why TTS
• Why do you want to change your domain to the banking industry
• Do you like Mumbai Questions about family and background
• What are your top 5 strengths.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with senior

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D.E. Shaw
c

Aval Singhal

Background:
Undergrad – IIT(ISM), Dhanbad
Field of Grad. – B. Tech. - Civil Engg.
Work Exp – 13 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
Interviewer: (Pleasantries) Walk me through your CV
Candidate : (Does so)
Interviewer: So we know that you only have studied term 1. What are your
favourite subjects?
Candidate : FRA, Microeconomics, Behaviour in Organizations
Interviewer: So what have you covered in Microeconomics?
Candidate : Covers headers)
Interviewer: Given the current pandemic, how do you think the supply
demand curve has shifted?
Candidate: both supply and demand have decreased so curves have shifted
leftwards
Interviewer: What have you covered in FRA
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Candidate: Balance Sheets, PnL statements, Cash Flow statements, Financial

Ratios
Interviewer: So you worked for a bank, right? What will cash flow statement
for a bank look like?
Candidate: Deposits and lendings will appear in operational cash flow and
not financing.
Interviewer: Why do we split cash flow into components
Candidate: to better judge where the cash is coming from. A company may
have lot of cash but that may be coming from financing which may be not
good
Interviewer: Lets take any sector you like (Selects FMCG, explainng Bank
Balance sheets are werid and C has no experience there). How will you
judge this company financially
Candidate: Will look at RoI since that is the primary indicators. Will look at
account receivables and payables to see how much liabiliteis and hard cash
company has.
Interviewer: And is that it?
Candidate: We will also need to benchmark it against the industry
Interviewer: What do you know about DE Shaw
Candidate: It is a PE and Hedge fund company. India office is responsible for
providing tech and analytics support. Has been innovative, developing its
own libraries and unstructured DB
Interviewer: What is our business model?
Candidate: Raise money from investors, and invest/short at whatever place
you feel you can turn a profit.

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Interviewer: is that it? (Then proceeded to give a parallel about mutual

funds and how they earn money)
Candidate: so you take a commission of the profits and the rest go back to
the investors
(interview concludes)

Round 2:
(pleasantries)
Interviewer: walk us through your work ex
Candidate: (does so)
Interviewer: What did you do in the analytics team?
Candidate: (Explains)
Interviewer: so did you propose any metrics? How would you react if they
did not accept your recommendation?
Candidate: Yes, I did initially, but they did not accept because they were not
open to it. So couldn't help it.
Interviewer: What do you do if your client does not accept your
solution/recommendation?
Candidate: There are 2 possible scenarios - either I have not been able to
explain my solution well to the client in which case I can explain it to the
client better. The other case is that the solution does not meet the client
requirements in which case I will develop a new solution since client comes
first
(Few follow ups questions and interviews concludes)

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Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Team Disha Sessions, Discussions with peers

• Website was a goldmine. Rest was Term 1 preparation
• Be confident with Term 1 subjects and answers. Frankly say if you do not
something.
• First interview was nice. They were asking in depth questions but were
also giving explanations and hints and helping with the discussion. Felt
like a discussion than an interview - just that they wanted to get to the
bottom of your knowledge and functional understanding

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D.E. Shaw
c

Khyati Masaun

Background:
Undergrad – Shaheed Sukhdev College of
Business Studies
Field of Grad. – Management
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
• Resume based questions.
• Technical Round.
• Why this company ?
• My viewpoints on any current news.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Resources provided by Team Disha, CSC, Prism & Sigfi.

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D.E. Shaw
c

Tanay Kankane
Background:
Undergrad – IIT Gandhinagar
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 31 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Tata Motors: R&D,
Nikita: Operations Management

Domain: Finance

Round 1:
(Main panel member yet to join, meanwhile 2 other panel members started
the interview)

Interviewer: (After asking how I am doing) Have you researched about D.E.
Shaw and what are the roles it is offering?
Candidate: Yes (Talked about it in brief, just took the names of the roles,
total 5 were there)
Interviewer: Which role you are interested in and why?
Candidate: Pre-prepared and answered.
Interviewer: Suppose you don't get to work for that role, would you be still
interested in working in other roles?
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Candidate: Yes, told why I liked other roles as well and how I could
contribute to it and how it would help me grow as well. It's just if given a
preference, I had slightly higher preference for previously mentioned role.
Interviewer: Where did you researched about all these?
Candidate: Job description, researched about it further through google and
consulted seniors.

(Main Panel Members arrive)

Interviewer: So you have cleared CFA 1 and FRM 1, why did you decide to
enter into the core finance side being from an engineering background?
Candidate: Answered. (Already prepared and expecting since CAT
admissions :P)
Interviewer: What is VaR? (Straightaway entered into core finance)
Candidate: Value at Risk, explained in brief.
Interviewer: Limitations of VaR? and how could we overcome it?
Candidate: Answered using conditional VaR
Interviewer: Do you know about working capital? What is it and its
significance?
Candidate: Answered.
Interviewer: In what scenarios working capital can be negative? Is it
good/bad?
Candidate: Answered (Somewhere included terms like debt and equity
while mentioning ratios)
Interviewer: What is WACC? and how to calculate it?
Candidate: Answered using debt, preference shares and equity.
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Interviewer: What is CAPM and what it calculates/ what is its significance?

Candidate: Answered (To measure cost of equity)
Interviewer: What is beta? What are the range of values beta can take?
Candidate: Told the definition and formula. Slightly fumbled on range: told
any value, no limits. (As beta of market is 1 and it can go much more than
that and less than zero as well, so answered accordingly)
Interviewer: When can beta be negative and why it happens?
Candidate: Answered. (For physical assets like Gold, Silver, etc.)
Interviewer: Do you know about profitability ratios? Tell some
Candidate: Answered.
Interviewer: How do you decide a particular stock is over/under-valued?
Candidate: Intrinsic value (Explained)
Interviewer: How do we measure it?
Candidate: Through several models. Explained DDM model.
Interviewer: Are you familiar with fixed income securities? What are they
and how do we calculate their YTM?
Candidate: Answered.
Interviewer: How do we measure risk of fixed income securities?
Candidate: Using various duration measures (Explained)
Interviewer: What kind of risk does the investor exposed to while trading in
fixed income securities?
Candidate: Market interest risk and Reinvestment risk (Explained)
Interviewer: Is there any point of time when investor decide to sell and
exposed to no risk?
Candidate: Yes, at its Macaulay duration point (Explained)

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Interviewer: Okay, that would be all from my side. If anyone else wants to
ask something, can go ahead.
Interviewer: You still didn't properly explained how you did you research
about company and roles (in a teasing way)
Candidate: Sir, I went through the job description provided to get a basic
Idea, then went through website and consulted seniors about their
experience.
Interviewer: Do you have any questions for us?
C- Yes. Asked related to investment in renewable technologies.
Interviewer: Cannot reveal due to confidentiality issues, sorry. Anything
else?
Candidate: No sir.
Interviewer: That would be all. Good luck.

Round 2:
Round 2 just happened after 5 minutes. It was mainly based on profile and
HR questions. They called me in again immediately. Entirely different panel.

Interviewer: We know you just had a long 45 minutes interview with the
other panel. They just informed us. Are you tired?
Candidate: No ma'am. I am good.
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself.
Candidate: Already prepared and answered.
Interviewer: Good. We see you switched your company after just working 1
year. That too from a well known firm to a start-up. Can you explain?
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Candidate: Sir, I worked for 16 months in Tata Motors (corrected him, he

crosschecked and apologized). Explained the reasons. (Already prepared
from IIM Admissions)
Interviewer: Could you go us through your projects at Tata Motors one by
one as mentioned in your CV?
Candidate: I started explaining sequentially. As I mentioned about model I
developed...
*Interrupted in between*
Interviewer: What kind of model it was? What tools you used?
Candidate: A basic one. Explained.
Interviewer: How you ensured you get a good prediction accuracy?
Candidate: Considered various factors: Theoretical models as well as real
vehicle test data, did iterations and kept updating, etc.
Interviewer: What you did towards the knowledge development in your
previous company? (Mentioned in the CV)
Candidate: Answered.
Interviewer: How did you make sure people are aware of latest
technologies?
Candidate: Through daily short meetings and discussing about latest
developments. Told them I watch F1 and explained how F1 was closely
related to my job and how I kept researching about developments there
and discussed with team, etc.
Interviewer: What better you could have done?

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Candidate : Explained - example: I could have researched more software to

increase our robustness and teach others how to use. (I already did that but
just 1-2)
Interviewer: What are things in your life you are not good at? What are you
doing to improve it? (Asked weakness I think)
Candidate : Explained.
Interviewer: Tell us some more weakness. (In a teasing way)
Candidate : Told some very weird stuff: Although I can type decently fast on
keyboard, I am pretty messy and uses very few fingers. I could definitely
improve it as it is the need of an hour (Submitting assignments and projects,
exams on online mode, etc.)
Interviewer: (Laughed). Any questions for us?
Candidate : I asked one before and I totally understand the confidentiality
issues as I worked at R&D too.
Interviewer: Yes, we came to know what you asked. That's all then. Good
luck.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Finance
material online, my notes during finance preparation.
• I researched a bit about the company, talked to seniors what kind of
questions they ask and what they test.
• Revised my CFA and FRM curriculum. Read about company related news
(Recent 4-5), Bloomberg, Mint, etc.: For finance and economy related
issues and news (Recent).

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• Be very thorough with core finance domain knowledge. Although they

prefer not to dig in too deep, so at least cover basics of few subjects very
well: Corporate Finance, Equity, Fixed Income, Financial Reporting and
Analysis.
• Be very well prepared with whatever you have written on you resume
with proper numbers and justification towards the same. (Basic
requirement, don't fumble here). Prepare some basic HR questions as
well (Just in case, they don't ask much)
• Be confident and expressive. If possible, try to connect few of your
answers with recent news (just 1-2). I also did that and feel it gives a
good impression

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Additional Questions:
• Any recent financial news you've come across?
• Any recent business news that you've come across?
• Candidate had NPV IRR in an academic project - What is NPV/IRR, how is
it calculated?
• Questions around workex and projects only.
• You Led a team of 12, what was the most difficult part about it?
• Why finance? Why DE Shaw?
• Candidate had blockchain on his CV - 1) How can blockchain as a
technology be beneficial for Rural India
• What are the components of Cash flow statement?
• Walk me through your CV
• Why do you want to join DE Shaw?
• What excites you about finance? Why finance after civil engineering?
• What are intangible assets?
• What accounting ratios do you know?
• What is working capital?
• What are the products launched & failed for your company in the last 5
years? How well do you know your company?
• What all projects did you do as part of your work experience?
• Candidate had trading/investing experience - What factors do you look
for while investing?
• Challenges during the work that you did in the company?
• Any ambiguous issue you came across in life and how you dealt with it?
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• Candidate mentioned interest in FRA - How do you value a company?

• What did you like about DE Shaw's job description? Any function that
interested you?
• Candidate mentioned he has interest in Economics - How did Corona
impact the Demand and Supply of economies?
• What are your subjects in Term 1? Which is your favorite subject?
• Why MBA?
• What value due to you bring to the table for DE Shaw?
• What were the challenges faced in this POR?
• Which was the most challenging PORs that you've mentioned on CV?
• Last year experience: HR round: basic understanding of the roles and
hedge fund. Technical round: 1. How would you analyze an income
statement? What suggestion could make based on it? 2. Any sector of
your interest and briefly explain how would the industry drivers act? 3.
Question on workex but focus on data analysis 4. How would you identify
a normal distribution without plotting on graph 5. My career goals post
MBA. (Basics of FRA and macroeconomics will help)
• Candidate's work experience was in Food tech - If you were Agriculture
Minister in India, what are the top 3 changes that you will bring in the
country?
• Questions relating to candidate's previous company. PNB - What changes
will you bring about in the company's operations?
• Any recent news about us?
• What is a hedge fund?
• Read the JD and RG thoroughly to understand expectations
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Deutsche Bank
c

Jigar Doshi

Background:
Undergrad – BMCC, Pune
Field of Grad. – Commerce / Chartered
Accountant
Work Exp – 33 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Finance

Round 1:
Telephonic interview. 2 interviewers (including 1 buddy). Entirely technical
interview, mainly focusing on valuation concepts.

• Tell me about yourself

• What is DCF? How do you calculate it?
• How is cost of capital calculated?
• What is beta and how is it calculated?
• What happens to cost of capital as debt increases?
• What do you know about relative valuation?
• How do you decide which multiple is to be used for relative valuation?
• What is your support system? How do you overcome failures?
• When do you use EBIT vs EBITDA as a multiple in valuation?

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• What is P/E ratio? When is it used?

• One thing to be kept in mind while using P/E ratio
• Why IB? Why not consulting?

Round 2:
Zoom interview with director. Started with few technical questions and then
was mostly HR based.

• Initially, asked me to introduce myself and short discussion on online

MBA experience
• How will you analyze a company?
• What is return on equity? What happens to return on equity as the debt
increases?
• Will the ROE go on increasing forever as you take more debt? Or will it
follow any other pattern?
• Why MBA after CA?
• Why IB and Why Deutsche Bank?
• Discussion around work ex: 1 thing you excelled at and 1 thing that you
were not good at
• Why do you think you are fit for this role?
• 1 reason why we may not take you?
• Any instance of failure or anything that you would like to change
• What will you do if you do not get into IB? Will you change your career
goal?
• Any questions?

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Deutsche Bank
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Round 3:
Company Interaction:

• 5-6 people were there in each breakout room. General interaction about
role, about Deutsche Bank, sectors where there are M&A opportunities
due to COVID, Indian economy outlook and related news.

Personal interview Round 1: A short interaction based on points mentioned

in company interaction, Why IB and not consulting, hobbies, learnings from
hobbies, guesstimate on no. of pizzas made in my area of residence

Personal interview Round 2 :

Short back to back interviews with different panels. The questions revolved
around the following (in no particular order):

• Tell me about yourself, Why DB?

• Questions around work ex
• What would you focus on during internship?
• What are your expectations from IB role? Will the skillsets for IB role be
different from your earlier role?
• What matters more: soft skills or technical skills?
• Why MBA?
• How would convince a client for a deal?
• What will you do if a deal on which you had advised the client turned out
to be bad for client? How will you convince client to continue the
relationship?

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Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, CA books,
Aswath Damodaran Videos
• CA Final books
• Aswath Damodaran Videos
• Venture Intelligence for recent M&A deals
• SIGFI newsletters
• Reports on sectors / events by different firms
• Credence Capital sector reports
• Company preparation: Company website
• Be prepared with your set of questions to be asked to the interviewers. It
is asked in almost every interaction and interview.
• Actively participate in company interaction sessions
• Substantiate HR answers with examples / instances
• Be thorough with each point on your CV
• Be calm, composed, and confident
• Be ready with your own personalized answer for why finance/why
IB/why MBA. You may want to link it with your experience, qualifications,
skills, interests, or career goals

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c
Edelweiss Tokio

Aval Singhal

Background:
Undergrad – ISM Dhanbad
Field of Grad. – Btech, Civil Engg.
Work Exp – 13 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
Interviewer: Walk me through your Work Ex
Candidate: (Gives details of the training, languages learnt, and the work ex functions)
Interviewer: Why finance and not marketing?
Candidate: Marketing is way too abstract for my taste. And I feel comfortable around
numbers. Finance is real life application of numbers, so it is exciting
Interviewer: (Agrees that she also finds it abstract) So you have learnt python? How,
much have you worked?
Candidate: Worked in Cloud Ops for 3 months, built various services so have
experience with Python, and some HTML, CSS, JS. So have good knowledge.
Interviewer: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your Python Skills?
Candidate: Given access to Stack Overflow, 7
Interviewer: (Agrees and relates, then proceeds to ask details about the analytics work
ex)
Candidate: (Explains roles and responsibilities)
Interviewer: How much do you know about finance?

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c
Edelweiss Tokio

Candidate: not much. Covered some things during Term 1, and a little reading when I
newly joined RBL
Interviewer: Do you know about CAPM model?
Candidate: (Gives answer as per Disha KT - used to find the rate of return of a stock
based on sensitivity)
Interviewer: Do you know how beta (Sensitivity) is calculated?
Candidate: No.
Interviewer: What are systematic and unsystematic risks?
Candidate: (Answers as per Disha KT)
Interviewer: How would you find the average return and standard deviation of a
portfolio of stocks?
Candidate: For mean we can directly take average, but for standard deviation not sure
- but definitely cannot take average.
Interviewer: (Agrees and goes on to explain)
<Interview Concludes>

Round 2:
<Round with CIO. Was intimated to be prepared for the same - about 10min after the
first round>
(Exchange pleasantries)
Interviewer: Walk me through your work ex.
Candidate: (Explains the work ex.)
Interviewer: Can you elaborate on the analytics part?
Candidate: (Elaborates roles and responsibilities)
(Other generic QnA)
Interviewer: I want an honest answer. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate
yourself in Python, Finance and Quant.

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Edelweiss Tokio

Candidate: Python I would say 7 given access to Stack Overflow - since I worked quite a
bit. Finance a 2.5 because we haven't really covered anything substantial in classes.
Quant a 5 since engineering. But a little brushing up should help.
Interviewer: So if you were to come here, by the time can you bring the number for fin
up to 6?
Candidate: (instantly) Yes.
Interviewer: (Goes on to explain work profile) Any questions you have?
Candidate: Nothing right now. If any will probably ask you in person.
<Interview concludes>

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Be confident - and have a smile/lively attitude. Do exchange pleasantries - sets a

good tone
• Be honest about what you say and be confident about your CV - trust your work
to be good, and revise it a bit to be ready for any stray questions
• Be comfortable with term 1 as interviewers know you would have knowledge
from there only

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Additional Questions:

• What is your long term goal? Align it to finance and Analytics

• How good are you in the following? Rate yourself 1. Coding 2. Stats 3. Finance
• What's enterprise value?
• Please revise your projects related to R or Python on CV
• Questions regarding difference between Python or R from other languages.
Specifically how certain algorithm is different in Python and other languages.
• Detailed questions based on CV
• Why do you want to join as an Investment Equity Analyst?
• Questions on Python or R if you have any background.
• Questions regarding CAPM and Portfolio risk assessment seem to be repeated.
• Interview revolves around the technical projects mentioned on CV.
• Difference between R2 value and adjusted R2 value? How to calculate?
• How do you assess portfolio risk?
• Questions regarding what is CAPM model? Factors affecting the same - Check
link in Description
• Difference between systematic and unsystematic risk. Check link in description
• Discussion on projects in CV and learnings from that
• Tell me about yourself!

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FinIQ Consulting

Jitendra Jasnani

Background:
• Undergrad – BITS Pilani
• Field of Grad. – Engg, Chemical
• Work Exp – 33 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics &
Consulting

Round 1:

• Tell me about yourself.

• What is a call and put option?
• Which option would have a higher premium given other things constant. One
with the strike price of INR 150 or 190.
• Are you a risk-taking person?
• Any questions for me.

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

Try to understand the work the company does. Show enthusiasm and willingness to
learn.

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FinIQ Consulting

Kriti Bhadada
Background:
• Undergrad – MDSU, Ajmer
• Field of Grad. – Commerce
• Work Exp – 17 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Accounting &
Taxation

Round 1:
• How was your day?
• Is this your 1st interview?
• Give me a short intro?
• How were your past 6 months of virtual college?
• You worked for 17 months, what was your role?
• What do you know about FinIQ?
• Which kind of role do you want to do? Pure Finance or product management?
• Do you think you wasted your time by doing CA?
• What are your long term and short term goals? And what are you expecting
from your internship?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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c FinIQ Consulting

Rishabh Bansal

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Roorkee
Field of Grad. – Engg, CS
Work Exp – 37 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
Interviewer: Introduce yourself in 2-3 mins
Candidate: Gave the prepared intro
Interviewer: Tell me your JEE rank and Cat percentile.
Interviewer: You have worked in Samsung for 37 months. Can you any explain 1
project to which you contributed significantly and was a success.
Candidate: Told about 1 project in detail for around 3 mins.
Interviewer: What do you know about FinIQ and its product
Candidate: Talked briefly on the 3 products that FinIQ offers and briefly about its
operations overseas
Interviewer: Why FinIQ?

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FinIQ Consulting

Interviewer: Do you play sports, and were you part of any sports team?
Candidate: I used to play cricket regularly during my undergrad. I also organized various
sports events for my team at Samsung.
Interviewer: Do you have any questions?
Candidate: Asked about the work culture at FinIQ.

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Read about the company you are interviewing and give more focus on HR answers.
• Be confident and clear in your communication.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Goldman Sachs
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Kumar Suraj

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Kharagpur
Field of Grad. – Aerospace Engineering
Work Exp – 37 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Data Science (Risk
Analytics)

Round 1: Personal Interview

Questions around work experience

Interviewer: Tell me about your work, initiatives

Candidate: Talked about my work experience, credit risk modelling
Interviewer: What factors would you consider to measure risk associated
with loans?
Candidate: Discussion around liquidity, insolvency, loan moratorium

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Round 2: Personal Interview

• Discussion anround Risk mitigation strategies
• Impact of loan moratorium, industries affected by COVID, loan
recoveries, interest rate
• Discussion around the job profile

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, SIGFI Sessions, Internet

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Goldman Sachs
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Unnati Pankhaniya

Background:
Undergrad – Ahmedabad University
Field of Grad. – BBA Finance
Work Exp – 26 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Derivatives trading
and wealth management

Round 1: Personal Interview

Walked through the CV and focused more on work-ex. The interviewer
started asking questions about derivatives.

Technical questions:

• Explain what you did as a derivatives trainee. What is calendar strategy?

• Asked option Greeks but wanted answers very briefly, parameters that
affect the premium of option, what will be the change in the price of a
call option if volatility goes up or down, strategies to take a position in
different market scenarios, what will be the spot for any put option?

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Goldman Sachs
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• If 1 USD = 70 INR, what will be the spot price for the call option with
strike price of 74.25? (Please note, the spot price will be future price as
on the expiry date and not 70. It was very simple question, but may trick
you if you have only theoretical knowledge)

HR questions:

• Why MBA? What are you looking forward to do in these 2 years?

• Post-MBA plans or area of work preference, whether I will be interested
in consulting in the long term or want to work in finance only?
• Then the interviewer asked me about the role being offered by them and
if I have any doubts. I asked a few things and got it cleared.

Round 2: Personal Interview

The interviewer was pretty chill but wanted to know more about me. I had a
very normal chit-chat for 5 minutes about how an MBA is working out for
me, how the first term is going when we will be called to campus, and
normal things.

Then again, technical questions - detailed discussion on option greeks and

its effect on pricing, delta range, and what is gamma and everything. How
are the portfolios of calendar strategy made, which expiry is to be which leg,
the types of portfolios, parameters based on which positions to be taken,
how do you neutralize the delta, etc.

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Then he started explaining the role and asked if I would be interested in

taking it up. I again had doubts, so he clarified those.

The same HR questions of why MBA. Will I be interested in working in the

derivatives area again, given that I had shifted to wealth-management
earlier?

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, CFA books

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Goldman Sachs
c

Varun Teja GVV

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Roorkee
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 23 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Domain: Finance

Rounds 1, 2, 3: Personal Interviews

• Tell me about yourself. Your work ex and why Finance from Tech/Engg
background.
• What is WACC. Explain DCF model. What parameters do you need and
how they affect final value?
• Questions on Work Ex – went on for about 10 min. Asked about every
project in detail and cross questioning.
• What is VaR. How do you calculate. How it is useful in assessing risk?
• You hold Corporate bonds of Apple. What sort of risks are you exposed to
and how?

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• CAPM and Multi Factor models.

• Where are Nifty and Sensex currently. One recent interesting thing you
observed in Markets.

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha and Sigfi Sessions, Newsletters of
Credence and Sigfi.
• Damodaran Videos on YouTube, Finshots and ET.
• Know every aspect of your past work extensively and be prepared for
extensive grill. It is okay if you don't know some concepts in between you
can just say to the extent you know but don’t lie or give out wrong
answers
• Prepare your CV well and particularly Work Ex/Intern/Projects you did.
Expect a lot of questions on projects you did and relating them to
Business/Finance. Answer only if you are sure and if you are taking a
guess/blind shot tell it upfront that this is what you think.

Additional Questions:
• Explain calendar strategy of options. What is delta? What would be the
impact of interest change on premium of call option?
• CAPM, Basis for Nifty volatility, Beta = 1.5 is it risky or not risky? NIFTY
currently?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Hindustan Unilever Limited

c

Rohan Wani

Background:
Undergrad – Sydenham College of
Commerce and Economics, CA
Field of Grad. – Accounting & Finance
Work Exp – 30 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Taxation &
Finance

Round 1: HR Questionnaire
• Tell us about moments in your academic history that give you a sense of
accomplishment
• Let us know about any niche skills or advanced knowledge in a subject
that would be relevant to this internship
• Share highlights about your professional achievements and in your
assessment, what differentiated you amongst your peers
• What have you been deeply passionate about, how much time do you
spend on it and what has been the outcome?
• What is the only value that trumps over honesty for you and why?

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• Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback that you

have received. What was it and how did you act on it?
• How have you grown as a person in the last 2 or 3 years

Round 2: HireVue Interview

3 questions were asked. 2 minutes to read and think on the question post
which 5 minutes are given to record your video answer to that question.

• You are a distributor of FMCG products. The advent of E-commerce has

changed the way people order and this is hurting your business as well.
What steps you will take to maximize your Return on Investment?
• You want to start selling a new product for hairs which is unique for its
trend formulation (the formula with which the product is made). You
have 3 options: (a) Import the product and sell; (b) Purchase the
formulation and manufacture locally; (c) Get the product manufactured
from some other manufacturer but market and sell the product on your
own. What are the Pros and Cons of each option and Which option you
will choose and why?
• Tell 3 enablers and 3 blockers for the 5 trillion Dollar Economy dream of
India.

Round 3: Personal Interview

2 interviewers. Both with 15+ years of experience in FMCG

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• Tell us about yourself

• You were already an entrepreneur. Why MBA then (Linked it to career
aspirations)
• What do you like or What is that interest you in Corporate Finance (Told
M&A)
• Any recent deal of HUL you are aware about (Horlicks deal with GSK)
• What were the valuation multiples used (Told PE multiples)?
• Why not Revenue Multiples. Where can they be used
• Why not use PE multiples for start-ups
• What PE multiple is a good PE multiple to acquire a company
• What other Relative Valuation methods you can use
• What do you look in a company while investing or acquiring a company?
• Any questions for us

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Company
Prep - RG, JD, recent news
• Damodaran Valuation Videos, Company Annual Reports
• CA books, Credence Capital Sector Reports, Sigfi Sessions on Finance
• Current Affairs

Say No if you don't know an answer, its fine. The interviewers come with a
lot of experience and they would know when you are not up to the mark.
Most Important - Smile.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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HSBC
c

Kaustubh Sharma

Background:
Undergrad – NSIT
Field of Grad. – Manufacturing and
Automation Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Business
Intelligence, Product Analysis

Round 1: Online Test

Round 2: Personal Interview
Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks
• Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Company website, company PPT
• Keep yourself updated about the news, show a willingness to learn and
an understanding of why you want to join the company

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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HSBC
c

Mohammed
Motiwala
Background:
Undergrad – BITS Pilani
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 33 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Banking Analytics
Services

Round 1: Telephonic Interview

• One week before placements, Informal Telephonic Interview with a
senior HSBC person in the same job function. This was to gauge the
candidate's interest in the role. A short introduction was taken for other
candidates, not for me.

Interviewer: You're a mechanical engineer, you've done a few operations

courses recently (six sigma, inventory mgmt.) Why are you interested in this
role?

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Candidate: Ignored her points about mechanical and operations

courses.Mentioned two things I liked about the role: 1) Consulting
aspect as the role requires one to help corporate clients with their payment
and cash management, 2) Not a pure finance role - one has to develop and
implement products and solutions. I told her how I have worked on a similar
project during my work-ex which interests me in the role.
Interviewer: What is this project?
Candidate: I was in a team building a digital debt collections product. I
explained about the product and my role in it. What I liked about this work.
Interviewer: Are you an introvert/extrovert?
Candidate: I'm kinda midway, gave my answer. There was a pause so I
elaborated more on the two points about the role that I had mentioned
before.
Interviewer: What will HSBC do for you?
Candidate: Talked about the obvious: global bank, rich experience, and
opportunities. I had done my research. So I also spoke about 1) HSBC is
renowned for its training programs. There is a culture of improving oneself.
Important for me as my career has only just started. 2) HSBC has vowed to
become a sustainable bank. Something about zero carbon footprint. I said I
was admired by this vision. Coming from a bank it was unexpected. I
actually asked her about it and she elaborated that.
Interviewer: Okay. Any questions for me?
Candidate: Had a couple of questions about the role. I remember one: Is
cross border payments in the scope of the role?
Interviewer: She explained about it.

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Candidate: I ended the interview by telling her that I really admire the
architecture of the HSBC headquarters at Mumbai :P (I really do, I live close
by)

Round 2: Personal Interview

Interviewer: Can you give us a short introduction?
Candidate: Gave my introduction. Ended the interview with a project that is
related to the role. Mentioned that and left it there
Interviewer: Asked about that project.
Candidate: I was in a team building a digital debt collections product. I
explained about the product and my role in it. What I liked about this work.
There was some back and forth on it.
Interviewer: (HR person mostly) - Tell us about your family and where you
are right now? (was at home due to COVID)
Candidate: Talked about my family. My father is an investment advisor.
Since this was a finance role I ended with how my father's work influenced
my life and career choices.
Interviewer: Tell us your 3 weaknesses.
Candidate: Had a prepared answer. Lack of charisma, inability to motivate &
tendency to get frustrated with laggards and lazy people, don't reach out to
people for help easily. A little cross-questioning
Interviewer: Why are you interested in HSBC and this role?
Candidate: Gave a similar answer as before on the following three points: 1)
Consulting aspect as the role requires one to help corporate clients with

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their payment and cash management, 2) Not a pure finance role - one has
to develop and implement products and solutions

Round 3: Personal Interview

Interviewer: Short intro
Candidate: Given
Interviewer: What are your other interests?
Candidate: Talked about reading, cooking, swimming, playing cards,
traveling. The works.
Interviewer: Why banking?
Candidate: 1) Banking and finance is the bedrock/foundation for all other
businesses. 2) Far-reaching macro effects, 3) Abstract work, hence
mathematical and quantitative, for which I have an aptitude, 4) Assurance
of having smart and hardworking individuals in the banking world (they
were amused by this)
Interviewer: Tell us about an experience when you did something new and
different
Candidate: Described a couple of my initiatives during work-ex.
Interviewer: Why are you interested in HSBC?
Candidate: Same as before. Started with the obvious: global bank, rich
experience, and opportunities. I had done my research. So, I also spoke
about 1) HSBC is renowned for its training programs. There is a culture of
improving oneself. Important for me as my career has only just started. 2)
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HSBC has vowed to become a sustainable bank. Something about zero

carbon footprint. I said I was admired by this vision. Coming from a bank it
was unexpected.
Interviewer: You said you like reading and some books have influenced your
life. Tell us about one such book.
Candidate: Talked about Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. I wasn't globing so it
came out well.

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks

• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Citi's TTS role is the same as this one. Their PPT for shortlisted
candidates, which explained the role, was a major help. I used the web to
understand some things better. The informal interview, a week before
the placements, allowed me to clarify some things about the role.
• A basic understanding of the role is a must, so read the job description
properly and do some research before the informal interview itself.
• For the interview, be relaxed and candid. It is usually an HR interview
only so prepare those HR questions, and your CV, very well. (This is not
necessary) If possible, try to align your background, especially work-ex,
with the role.
• Have good answers for these three questions: Why Banking? Why this
role? and Why HSBC?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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HSBC (GLCM)
c

Neha Agrawal
Background:
Undergrad – Shri Ram College of
Commerce, University of Delhi
Field of Grad. – B. Com (Hons)
Work Exp – 26 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Tax Consultancy

Round 1: Personal Interview

HR Round (2 panelists)
• Overall life journey and the learnings along with that. (90% of the
interview was around this)
• Asked about my interest areas

Round 2: Personal Interview

Technical Round (2 panelists)
• Introduction
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Mostly around my previous work-ex and my understanding of the role
offered. Why MBA? Why finance?

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Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs

• Be honest and confident in your responses

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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HSBC (GLCM)
c

Snigdha Sahoo

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Rourkela
Field of Grad. – B. Tech. Computer
Science & Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Software
Development

Round 1: Personal Interview

• Introduce yourself
• Why HSBC? Why GLCM?
• Why do you want to change your domain to Finance?
• What are the current trends in the banking industry?
• How would you pursue your hobbies alongside a demanding job after
MBA?

Round 2: Personal Interview

• Introduce yourself
• Why HSBC

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• Why GLCM?
• Why do you want to change your domain to Finance?
• What has been your biggest disappointment in life?
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Short term/long term goals

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Company website

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c
ICICI Bank

Interview experience 1:
• CV Specific questions
• Hobbies
• Team leading incidents
• Projects undertaken during work
• Why Finance?
• Why ICICI?
• What roles are you targeting?
• Are you interested in sales? Why sales?
Interview experience 2:
• What do you think about a bank's job?
• Why are you interested in finance?
• What do you think about a sales job in banking?
• What according to you is an interesting profile?
• Tell us about your family
• Location constraints?
• What do you know about ICICI?
• Is there any position that you're looking at for this internship?
• What do you think about the sales profile?
Interview experience 3:
• CV based questions about any finance related topics mentioned
• What are the different types of banking, differences between them and
which type are you interested in?

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c
ICICI Bank

GD Topics (3-5 mins time to read | 15-20 mins to discuss | Webex platform)
• Social media: How is it impacting our lives and nature of social relations?
Medium of social media has potential for disruption unless regulated
positives and negatives
• Digital transformation India 2025: Future of work in 2025; What changes
can be incorporated? and what is the scope?

Case (15 min to think and 20 mins to discuss)

• Two healthcare firms and decision as to which to choose. Figures like
gross margin, gross profit, etc for each of the firms is given and the bank
has to answer 2 major questions:
o Which firm to extend the loan to?
o What key parameters to use to decide the same?
• Two cement companies available and bank has to decide on whom to give
loan. Details given about the companies: Operating profit margin, Net
profit margin, Sales turnover, Capacity utilization, Debt Equity Ratio.
Details given about the industry - Capacity installed, Demand trend, Trend
of freight prices, Power costs trend.

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c
IP VENTURES

• What do you know about IPV?

• CV based questions
• Tell me about yourself
• Expected process:
o No. of interview panels - 2
o No. of rounds - 2
o Duration of each interview – 20 mins (max)

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an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 320

c L Catterton

Yagyaa Goyal
Background:
Undergrad – Shaheed Sukhdev College of
Business Studies
Field of Grad. – Business Studies, Finance
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – PE/VC

Round 1:
• Online Test with questions on FRA and Valuation - Moderate to High
Difficulty Level

Round 2:
• PI with Ruchi Seth, Senior Associate (35 minutes)
• Introduction & Why PE
• She gave an intro about the company, their investment philosophy,
history
• She invited questions from me - I had been reading extensively about
their investments and recent deals. I had a few good questions prepared -
primarily about their recent investments - certain aspects of their deals

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c L Catterton

which I could not get any info about on the public domain - things like
valuation, investment rationale, how it fits with their investment
philosophy. It ended up being a very insightful discussion and lasted for a
good 15-20 minutes. I could ask 5-6 questions.
• She gave a mini case about market entry for a new product - asked about
what factors I would consider.
• I talked briefly about market size, competition, degree of industry
fragmentation/consolidation and internal operational feasibility (Capex,
Expected Margins, break even)
• She gave some quantitative data on market size, selling price, variable
cost, fixed cost - asked to calculate break-even level of output and market
share at that level. Some numbers were in $ terms, some were in units of
output. I could solve it in ~2 minutes and could get the correct answers.
• She again invited questions from me. I asked about the kind of work I can
expect to get in the internship. She gave a brief overview of the different
work streams I might get aligned with depending on their needs.

Round 3:
• PI with Ketki Paranjpe, Partner and Saurabh Mehta, Principal (30 minutes)
• Asked for my introduction, why PE and why L Catterton
• Asked me about my work-experience - dug deep into some projects I had
mentioned on the CV
• Asked me to talk about some trends in the Consumer space (L Catterton is
a consumer focused PE Firm) - I drew upon the discussion I had with Ruchi

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c L Catterton

in the previous interview to answer this question - tried to align my

answer to the their current investment philosophy.
• Further asked about how post-covid macro changes would impact the
consumer sector
• Asked me about what I hoped to gain from this internship - I said I want to
learn to make truly informed investment decisions like they do. I also tried
to bring up briefly some ongoing events around their portfolio companies
- changes in growth strategy for one company, one in-process exit deal - I
had been reading up on them.
• The idea was to talk to them about things that they would probably
already be working on these days - to try and establish myself as an easy
fit into their team.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interactions with seniors

• Team Disha Sessions
• Daily news reading and analysis ~2hrs. everyday
• Brush up of Macro-eco, FRA, Valuation, Corp Fin
• Study guides shared by Disha were quite useful
• Venture Intelligence and Press Releases for studying company specific
deals
• Don't skip news reading, or postpone it for the last few days. Keep track
of it daily for at least a month leading up to the placement week.

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c L Catterton

• Ask seniors about their interview experiences early-on in the prep process
- align your prep accordingly right from the start.
• Most interviewers in Finance domain let you drive a major part of the
interview. Know how to present your experience well.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 324

Maersk
c

Akshay Sinha

Background:
Undergrad – Patna University
Field of Grad. – Commerce
Work Exp – 14 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – BFSI

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Introduction
• Questions about my social media channel
• What 3 things I learnt from past work experience
• What new things I’d like to learn from summers
• Questions, if any

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 325

Marsh India Insurance

c

Ajay Yadav

Background:
Undergrad – NSIT Delhi
Field of Grad. – Engineering
Work Exp – 32 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Information
Technology

Round 1:
GD round among 6-7 candidates.
Topic: corporate organization

Round 2:
Run through the CV

Round 3:
Personality questions

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 326

Mondelez
c

Tarang Mehrotra

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Warangal
Field of Grad. – ECE
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Business Intelligence

Round 1:
Case Based Group Discussion:
Case with a balance sheet of a snacking company was given and goals were
mentioned like EPS had to increase by 8-9%. 12 people were divided into 2
groups of 6 each. In each group, we had to discuss the observations in the
balance sheet and case questions like whether to expand using the e-comm
route or not - in 10 mins. After discussions within our group, the 2 teams
were given 4 minutes each to conclude their discussions in front of the
other team and 1 minute each was given for cross-questioning.

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c Mondelez

Round 2:
Interviewer: Introduce Yourself
Interviewer: Why Finance?
Interviewer: Why Corporate Finance?
Interviewer: Few questions around my CV
(Told prepared answers for all the above questions)
Interviewer: Tell us something about you not mentioned in your CV.
Candidate: Told that I follow markets.
Interviewer: Have you observed any trends around IPOs?
Candidate: Mentioned about the recent IPOs and a common trend around
them.
Interviewer: Which ratios do you think are the most important in FMCG
setup?
Candidate: Talked about the operation ratios and why they are important.
Interviewer: Do you know about valuations?
Candidate: Talked about DCF and multiples.
Few questions were asked around my projects in the previous organization
where I had saved costs for my organization.

Round 3:
• What do you know about Mondelez?
• Any recent initiative by us that you are aware of?
• Why FMCG?
• Mondelez products?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 328

Natwest Group
c

Jayesh Warjurkar

Background:
Undergrad – IIT, Bombay
Field of Grad. – Metallurgical Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics

Round 1:
Personal Interview

Quite relaxed panel of two, I started with general pleasantries and they
enquired about my day so far and how I felt.
• Interviewer: Please introduce yourself
• Candidate: Gave a practiced story-like introduction
• Interviewer: Tell us about a time when you solved a difficult problem at
your workplace, how did you approach it and what did you learn
• Candidate: Spoke about a project of mine which fit into this question
• Interviewer: Tell us about a project where you brought some kind of
automation.
• Candidate: I gave instances of two projects from my work-ex in analytics
which involved automation

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Natwest Group
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• Interviewer: Talk about an instance when you resolved a conflict at

workplace
• Candidate: Gave the practiced HR answer
• Interviewer: Tell us about some project where you did something out of
the box, how it benefitted you and the company?
• Candidate: Gave the practiced HR answer, about how I leveraged my
professional network to complete a difficult project at my previous
organization. Here, the interviewer deep dived into my project.
• Interviewer: What do you know about Natwest, and the role?
• Candidate: I had read about the role and attended the company PPT, joked
about the Natwest series.
• Interviewer: Any questions you have for us?
• Candidate: Asked two questions, which I had decided already.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors

• Team Disha sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• HR questions document shared by Team Disha
• Business and financial news
• Company compendium shared by Team Disha.
Tips:
• Preparing HR answers well in advance helps a lot! Do not ignore or leave
HR answers till the last few days.

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Natwest Group
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Additional Questions:
• Have you solved any complex problem?
• Projects done related to automation; A project where you had to change
your approach and how did you tackle it?
• Situation where you handled conflicts. People management example?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 331

Pramerica
c

Tilak Pathe

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Gandhinagar
Field of Grad. – Electrical Engineering
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
• Interview

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with Seniors
• Disha Sessions and materials
• Mock GDs/PIs
• CV preparation

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 332

Raintree
c

Somya Bhandari

Background:
Undergrad – SRCC
Field of Grad. – Commerce
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
• Personal Interview

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Disha material + Shubhendu's KT
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Being confident, clear is the key. Preparing well in advance and narrowing
down to the probable domain well in time will be helpful to gain an edge
over others. Don't overdo, don't panic.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Raintree
c

Additional Questions:
• Questions relating to work experience (candidate had worked in
AI,Blockchain etc.)
• What do you understand by Industry 4.0?
• What do you know about Healthcare sector?
• If you were to do market research for the company, what would be
the steps to judge whether you want to invest or not?
• What do you know about Raintree?
• What do you know about Private Equity? Why PE?
• Out of the 3 sectors that we work in, which sector do you see yourself
being part of?
• Do you invest?
• Tell me about yourself

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 334

RPG Group- CEAT

c

Shardul Kanvinde

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Bombay
Field of Grad. – Metallurgical
Engineering and Materials Science
Work Exp – 24 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Technology
Consulting (Business Intelligence)

Round 1:
GD:
Is secularism in India under threat?
The GD was quite calm, everybody got a chance to contribute in the
opening round, and towards the end, the panelist called upon every
participant to give their final thoughts.

Round 2:
Q) Was asked what information I had about CEAT.
The interview was for CEAT Ltd under the RPG Group, so I had read upon
CEAT specific details under the RPG Group. Details like full form of CEAT,
values of CEAT mentioned on their website.
Interviewer: So we went through your resume, can you describe your work
experience in detail for us?
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RPG Group- CEAT

c

Candidate: Answered
Interviewer: So what are the different revenue sources a tire manufacturing
firm can have?
Candidate: The biggest would be of course tires. Second would be selling of
scrap rubber and other waste to processing plants. (These 2 were the only
sources I could think of)
Interviewer: So I want to procure raw material for manufacturing process,
how would I calculate the quantity of rubber I should procure, so that my
costs are minimum?
Candidate: You should have enough raw material on hand so that
manufacturing processes can continue uninterrupted, but you do not want
to order excess raw material and tie up too much of your cash in inventory.
(Mentioned the concept of economic order quantity EOQ, but did not
recollect the formula)
Interviewer: Do you think demonetisation was a success or a failure?
Candidate: Answered
Interviewer: Who would be better for India: Joe Biden or Donald Trump?
Candidate: Answered

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs,
Team Disha sessions on how to interpret balance sheets, cash flow
statements, corporate finance, DCF and valuation ratios

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 336

Spark Capital
c

Rishabh Goel

Background:
Undergrad -Ramjas College, DU
Field of Grad. -BCom (Hons)
Work Exp - 35
Prev Work Ex Domain - Auditing

Round 1:
PI
Interviewer was a VP from the Company. 30 minutes interview over zoom
call.

Interviewer: Tell me about yourself

Candidate: Answered
Interviewer: What were some of the projects you worked on at Deloitte?
Candidate: Talked about a couple of audit and non-audit projects
Interviewer: Why finance after audit?
Candidate: Talked about the monotony in job after 3 years and the need for
education in management.
Interviewer: What did you study in CPA?

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 337

Spark Capital
c

Candidate: Talked about CPA curriculum

Interviewer: These subjects do not include valuations and other finance
concepts that would be required for this role. How would you manage that?
Candidate: Talked about my interest in finance and how I've been reading
about all these concepts. Mentioned that I'm aware of the valuation
concepts.
Interviewer: What are the different valuation techniques?
Candidate: Intrinsic (DCF) and Relative valuation (Comparable Companies
and Comparable transactions)
Interviewer: Walk me through CAPM
Candidate: Answered.
Interviewer: How do you calculate Cash flows in DCF?
Candidate: Explained FCFF and FCFE
Interviewer: How is Beta calculated?
Candidate: Covariance between return on asset and return on market
portfolio divided by the variance of the market portfolio
Interviewer: Based on this, can Beta be negative?
Candidate: Yes, when the return on asset moves in the opposite direction to
that of the market.
Interviewer: When can that be? In what case?
Candidate: Gold.
Interviewer: What is Deferred Tax?
Candidate: It's the difference between tax as per P&L for financial reporting
purposes and for taxation purposes. It can lead to a deferred tax

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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 338

Spark Capital
c

asset if a Company has paid more tax than what it is required to as per IRS
and vice versa for the deferred tax liability.
Interviewer: Are you aware of Offshore Leaks?
Candidate: No, I'll go back and read about it.
Interviewer: What are some of the measures taken by RBI during pandemic?
What are your views on it?
Candidate: Talked about moratorium and changes in CRR and repo rate.
Interviewer: Good. Thank you and all the best.
Round 2:
PI
Telephone interview by AVP:
Interviewer: Why finance? Why Spark Capital?
Candidate: Answered.
Interviewer: How do you value goodwill? (CV related)
Candidate: Talked about qualitative and quantitative steps.
Interviewer: Who records goodwill in a purchase? Buyer or seller?
Candidate: Buyer.
Interviewer: Explain with an example.
Candidate: If you buy my business at Rs. 100 and my net assets are worth
Rs. 80, the Rs. 20 extra paid by you will be recorded as goodwill in your
books.
Interviewer: How do you plan an audit?
Candidate: Answered

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Spark Capital
c

Preparation and Interview Tips and Tricks:

• Disha Sessions/RG’s
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Interaction with Seniors
• Two small groups of 2-3 batchmates to important concepts to each
other
• Domain - SIGFi and Team Disha sessions, Damodaran Youtube videos
• News - Business Standard and Economic Times
• Company - Company website, company deck, news articles

Do’s and Dont’s

• Prepare why finance and why "this Company" answers very well. It is
asked in almost all interviews
• Be regular with Finance current affairs. Pick 1-2 good newspapers and
follow them regularly even if finance is your secondary domain
preference. It helps a lot in GDs and interview discussions.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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c
Standard Chartered

Manasi Ingle

Background:
• Undergrad -ICT Mumbai
• Field of Grad. - B.Tech. (Fibre and
Textile)
• Work Exp - NA
• Prev Work Ex Domain - NA

Round 1:
Brief interaction on Day -1 (5-7 min, 4 people). We were told about the
company and the role (corporate finance). No questions taken. It was
immediately followed by personal interactions.

Round 2:
PI

• Personal Interaction Round 1&2 were more or less the same: (2

interviewers each and lasted for 10-15min each) No finance related
questions were asked maybe because I am a fresher. They wanted to
know how passionate I was about IB and whether I would be able to
put in the efforts required for the same. Given below is a combined list
of questions in both rounds as most of them were repetitive.
• Q1. Tell me more about yourself, things which are not in the CV. (ANS:
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Standard Chartered
c

family, hobbies, awards, research experience, why chose MBA)

• Q2. Why do you want finance, particularly IB? (ANS: good with
numbers, love research and have a good deal of undergrad research
experience, college incident-startup idea but no knowledge of
managing finances, realized how important it is for any business,
wanted to learn more etc)
• Q3. Which of these 4 words would you use to describe yourself: good
natured, punctual, etc (Can't recall)
• Q4. You do realize how hectic IB is right? Are you taking an informed
decision? Do you think you will be able to cope? (ANS: I do realize how
hectic it is...in fact, I personally prefer a demanding job and I perform
better under high work load.... challenging work is a huge motivator
for me...)
• Q5. If I as a recruiter want to be convinced that you will be able to do a
demanding job like IB, do you have any incident to support it? (ANS:
incident- TY Btech, responsible for organizing 2 major events very
close to each other, work load immense, managed acads side by side.
In that month I worked x hours a day, told about the worked- event,
judges/HODs coordination, etc; managed studies, have priorities
sorted, managed time well etc etc)
• Q6. The work you will do in IB would be an everyday thing for you but
it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing for your client. Would you be able to
handle something this demanding on a regular basis? (ANS: I agree
that it is a demanding work but it's worth putting in the efforts
because at the end it is going to be equally rewarding. And the fact
that my work would create a huge impact on the client is not a
deterrent. In fact, it's something that would motivate me to give my
best and keep going even if it gets difficult. In my opinion, when it
comes to a job as demanding as IB, your motivation behind doing it is
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Standard Chartered
c

what makes all the difference. And I believe I will be able to do justice
to this job because I have all the right reasons to do it in the first place.
• Q7. Why would you choose this role above consulting? (ANS: Both
provide a huge learning potential...consulting gives business
overview.... but finance is equally important if not more....and IB
provides a mix of both etc)
• Q8. Biggest failure. (ANS: I have seen plenty of failures. And if I am
given a chance to go back and make things right, I would not. Because
each failure has taught me something valuable and has made me what
I am. Incident: while managing an event, realized of a huge mess up
right before the event, somehow made arrangements, kept my cold
and handled it well. Learning- no matter how prepared you are, any
last moment problem might spring up, hence it's important to be
prepared to face such uncertainties, have your presence of mind, think
on the spot, keep calm and take care that it does not happen again)
• Q9. Biggest achievement. (ANS: Round 1 incident: IAS research
fellowship and went to Trivandrum for 2 months for internship. New
place, new people, was a little apprehensive. But accommodated well,
made lifetime friends, blended in, learnt a little Malayalam.
Achievement because I overcame my fears and pushed myself out of
my comfort zone. Round 2 incident: Served in scouts and guides for 7
yrs., received rashtrapati puraskar, the experience shaped my ethics
and values, social service taught me the importance of giving back to
society, living in camps made me realize the value of luxuries we live
in, etc etc)
• Q10. At your workplace, how would you deal with a situation if
someone finds an error in your work? (ANS: If it's a misunderstanding,
then I would clarify so that we are on the same page. If the person is
right and I have committed an error, then by all means I would rectify
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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c Standard Chartered

it and thank the person for their inputs)

• Q11. What would you do if your boss starts shouting at you angrily?
(ANS: The best approach in such a situation is to remain calm. When a
person is angry, they are not in a state to listen to you and understand
your pov.... hence, it’s better to remain silent so as to not promote
counterproductive argument. Once my boss has calmed down, I would
have a conversation to sort things out.)
• Q12. Any questions? (Q asked: In the frontend IB role that you are
offering, what percent of my work would involve interacting with
client, doing research, and doing regular fin work?)

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Interaction with Seniors

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 344

State Street
c

Shrestha Das Munshi

Background:
• Undergrad -Hansraj College
• Field of Grad. -Bcom Hons.
• Work Exp – NA
• Prev Work Ex Domain - NA

Round 1:

PI

• 50 min Test. Like a mini-Cat with an additional section on Accounts. 50

min Test. Like a mini Cat with an additional section on Accounts

ROUND 2
Interviewer: Tell us about yourself.
Candidate: Brief about bachelors and hobbies, which included reading
about novels on Feminism and Women Empowerment
Interviewer: Why State Street?

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State Street
c

Candidate: Divided the answer into two parts: Professionally, linked it to my

previous internship in a Fintech Company. Personally, I read up about State
Street and the many initiatives they have taken for diversity and how I
wanted to be a part of an organization that was involved in similar
initiatives.
Interviewer: Why MBA and not MBA in liberal science since I looked more
inclined towards that?
Candidate: Talked about my background and comfort level with finance and
that is where I saw myself in the future. By working in finance, I would be
able to give my best and thus, reach the higher levels of management,
wherein I would be in a position of power to make change in the lives of
people around me. And bring change at a much larger scale.
Interviewer: What have you done about the things that you believe in till
now?
Candidate: Talked about the types of conversations I have had with people
and stakeholders.
Interviewer: Tell us about something that has deeply impacted you
Candidate: Talked about my father's depression when I was 18 years old
and what it taught me about being kind and open to listen and observe
people around us.
Interviewer: Do you have any questions for us?
Candidate: Asked about the Chief Diversity Officer initiative and their Alpha
softwar

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 346

State Street
c

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks

• Team Disha
• Company Website

Do’s and Dont’s

• Just knowing about who you are and what are your beliefs helped me
slide through. But for a Fin Company, it is always a good idea to brush
on basics of Finance, Accounting, and Economics.
• Just be yourself. A cliche advice but holds true most of the times.
Cannot comment on other Companies but the panelists for State
Street just wanted to know me. No technical questions. Know about
yourself, your life journeys, what are your beliefs very well. Cannot
reiterate this enough.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 347

Yes Bank
c

Mohit Dhiman

Background:
• Undergrad – PGGC, Panjab University
• Field of Grad. – Science
• Work Exp – 34 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Finance

Round 1: Personal Interview

Interview (3 panelists, ~30 minutes):

• First introduce yourself and based on your response we'll take it further
• What do you know about digital banking? (I had mentioned it in my intro)
• What did you do to promote digital banking in your branch?
• You have mentioned that you achieved 100% targets and it was never
done before in your branch. What did you do to achieve this?
• We want to know what "Mohit" did specially to achieve it.
(In previous answer I had exhausted all my points so I was not sure what
else I could say, so, I gave a detailed explanation of what I did focusing on
things that previous managers failed to do, what were the implications
and how my actions improved things)

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Yes Bank
c

• Did you face any difficulties during your job as compared to HDFC bank
branch which was nearby? What things do you think PNB (my previous
employer) lacked comparatively?
• What is the scope of digital banking in India going forward?
(Spoke for about 7-8 minutes on that giving detailed analysis starting
from 2016 and touched upon various factors including govt. contribution,
literacy, infra, behavioral aspects & inculcated things observed personally
on the job; failed to talk about shortcomings like frauds and use of
blockchain to avoid it which I immediately realized after completing the
answer)

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Internet
• Be ready with stories, HR answers and don't lie (they'll cross-question
extensively to catch you). I think they just want to know if you're
confident about what you are saying and if you can defend it

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an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
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Yes Bank
c

Additional Questions:

• GD Tip: Looking for the kind of points you make and how it is articulated
• Interview Tips: Please prepare financial statement analysis properly,
would be asked for all 3 CF roles; Current happenings in the
macroeconomic world for eg gst impact, oil prices, etc. There could be
industry specific questions. Study about recent initiatives taken by Yes
bank
• Group Discussion: 90sec to think followed with 10 min GD+ Interview: 2
rounds of interview
• CV based question + HR questions
• What all banks do you have account with? What differentiates them?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 350

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 351

Aditya Birla Group

c

Adarsh Kundal

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Calicut
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 39 months
Prev Work Ex Domain -Banking

Round 1:
• GD Topic: Retail Operations and how to improve efficiency and reduce
inventory wastage due to excessive production
Round 2:
• Personal Interview: Situational and HR Based Interview

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Google, Company website, Disha material
• Aditya Birla Group conducted a lengthy interview with focus on past
achievements and failures and how candidate was able to handle them.
• Situations were Presented and measures or initiatives were discussed if
any taken by the candidate to improve the current situation.
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 352
c
Aditya Birla Group

Jalathota Anusha
Background:
Undergrad – IIT Guwahati
Field of Grad. – Btech in ECE
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain - NA

Round 1:
Online Assessment
Round 2:
Group Discussion
3 Panelists
Topic - Case Based. Reinvent Supply chain for a fashion brand which needs
to launch its products in 2 weeks. The production process for the designs
already started ( usually takes 6 months for the output). Due to change in
trends, the brand is now launching new designs which needs to be ready in
2 weeks.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 Aditya Birla Group 353
c

Format - Discussion, 8 students, 30 min. 10 min to read the case, 2 min to

think and then discuss"

Round 3:
Personal Interview

5-6 Panelists - Each asked 2 or more questions

(Greeted everytime a panelist asked questions for the first time)

Interviewer: Hi, Good Morning. How are you feeling today?
Candidate: I'm feeling good. Thank you. I am pretty excited and looking
forward to see where this goes.
Interviewer: Great. Let's start with the interview.
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself. Any 2 major things which are not on the
CV and you would like us to know.
Candidate: Answered the question in STAR method. Gave 2 points which
highlights the qualities of loyalty, cultural inclusiveness, discipline and
responsibilities.
Interviewer: Biggest achievement in life. Apart from getting into IIML
Interviewer: Sky is Blue. Why?
Interviewer: What do you believe in? ""Do as I say or Do as I do""
Interviewer: Are you a team player or a team leader
Interviewer: What is your passion?
Interviewer: I do not have any questions apart from 2 silly ones.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 Aditya Birla Group
c

Interviewer: A person is pushed from a plane. He did not have a parachute

and yet he survived how?
Candidate: Maybe the plane was on the ground. ( Right answer :P)
Interviewer: 2 twins were born in May. But their birthdays were in June
how?
Candidate: My answer was based on timelines on birth.
Interviewer: May can also be a place. These are just silly questions you
know.
Candidate: No, they are not. I think they question our perspective. It's
actually a great question.
Interviewer: Do you have any questions for us?
Candidate: Asked about how Company's progress has been with the
pandemic compensation plans for their employees. ( Read about the
company before the interview and stated a few things I recalled to ensure
they know I'm interested in them)
Interviewer: Answered the question.
Interviewer: Great Anusha, I think that's all from us. It was nice talking to
you. All the best.
Candidate: Thank you. It was a nice conversation. Have a great day.

There were 5-7 follow up questions on my answers. They were rushing at a

point of time and also they were shooting the questions continuously. It is
important to keep calm and not get stressed. "

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 Aditya Birla Group
c

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

Did not Prepare for GenMan roles. However the HR prep done with the help
of DISHA mentor was very helpful, Company RG and Website
• It is important to keep calm and smiling.

• GD - Do not cut others. Be patient. Make valid points and pay attention
to the conversation. Please address fellow students with their names or
atleast by ""my friend"". Do not use ""someone or somebody"".
PI - Even if you do not know the answer, don't get stressed take a few
seconds while saying something like ""Good question or interesting
question"" and then answer. It is important that you have evidence for
every word you speak. There will a lot of follow up questions based on
the answers.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 Aditya Birla Group
c

Parth Shah

Background:
Undergrad – BITS Pilani, Goa
Field of Grad. – B.E. Electronics &
Instrumentation
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics

Round 1:
CV, Psychometric and Games (some similar to P&G test)

PI : Multiple panelists, each asking questions separately

• Introduction (tell me about yourself). I mentioned Parth = Arjun and like

Arjun I am focussed on my goals. They asked me to give an example of this
which I had already prepared from my workex
• 1-2 questions on workex (CV)
• Guesstimate – Number of jeans sold in India in a day (I only mentioned the
approach and skipped the numbers since I was not comfortable with
guesstimates – they did not ask for numbers later)
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Aditya Birla Group 357

• HR questions – How would my ex-colleagues describe me? What would

they say are my strengths?
•Asked me if I had read the Mahabharat (because of the Arjun reference), I
said no but I had seen the TV show. Asked me about the positives of
Shakuni. I mentioned that he was a good manipulator and persuader. They
asked me if that was a good skill and I said with the right ethics unlike
Shakuni, it was. Then another point struck me which I said – He loved his
family and sacrificed his kingdom for his sister and nephews"

Round 2:
Case based GD, given 5 mins to read and then 15-20 mins to discuss:
Case: Retail chain involved in fast fashion products
Two main problems to be discussed: -
• inventory lead times for fast fashion products and how to control
inventory
• tracking inventory at various touchpoints beyond the storage locations"In
my introduction, I had mentioned how I had work experience only in
startups.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, CV and HR
questions, Disha RGs
• Keep smiling, be confident and energetic

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Aditya Birla Group 358

Additional Questions
• In GD's they watch the behaviour, so stay focussed. Rather than number
of entries, content is important.
• Walk us through your work in previous company. ( and other work ex
based quesiotns)
• work in place which will be very far from the city and also you would be
• Something about you which is not there in your CV
• Any questions you want to ask us?
• Who is ur favourite CEO and why?
• If given a chance, which industry would you pick to work in ABG?
• If you were given a chance to work in manufacturing industry, You need
to work in place which will be very far from the city and also you would
be the only girl working in it. Would you still like to choose it? (This is
because I chose manufacturing industry in one of my previous questions)
• Why did u choose ABG? Why ABG?
• If I ask your previous manager, what will the negative points that he will
say about you
• Tell me about yourself
• Where do u see yourself in 5 years?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 359

Bajaj FinServ

Avin Sadamate
Background:
Undergrad – IIT(ISM) Dhanbad
Field of Grad. – Electrical Engineering
Work Exp – Coal India Limited
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations

Round 1:
A panel of 2 interviewers
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself?
Candidate: Responded with the prepared answer
Interviewer: How did I manage to lead the House to overall championships?
(I had a POR as House Captain at school)
Candidate: Talked about team building sessions, interaction sessions.
Interviewer: What are your long-term goals?
Candidate: Answered
Interviewer: Why Bajaj Finserv?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 360

Bajaj FinServ

Candidate: Talked about the role how genman will let me explore multiple
domains. Explained how Finserv being a new bajaj venture there will be
great scope of learning. the JD really helped.
Interviewer: You reduced power fault rectification by 60% how did you go
about it? Were there any difficulties? (this was the follow up question)
Candidate: This was a CV point. Well prepared answer. He went deep trying
to explore if I was bluffing.
Interviewer: What are three qualities of a good leader according to you?
Candidate: talked about honesty, leading by example and sincerity. (These
three things just came to my mind)
Interviewer was silent all this time listening. It was his turn now. He asked
just one question.
Interviewer: What are the three things that you liked and disliked about
your previous workplace?
Candidate: (I believed they were trying to judge if finserv was a good fit for
me here, I thus aligned the answers with points from JD and linked them to
my workplace)

Round 2:
One panelist

Interviewer: Introduce Yourself?

Candidate: Introduced.
Interviewer: So you conducted Lok-Sabha Elections in 2019? How was the
experience?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 361

Bajaj FinServ

Candidate: Answered. How I was excited, the experience was a great

learning curve.
Interviewer: You said the training wasn't upto the mark. How did you deal
with it? (I wasn't satisfied with the training program and had included that
in the previous answer)
Candidate: Talked about how other people from my workplace helped me.
Also talking with other presiding officers who had conducted elections
earlier during the bus journey helped.
Interviewer: 03 things that you would change if you were to conduct the
procedure?
Candidate:

• Better Training programs which would include interaction sessions with

experienced people who had already conducted elections.
• Considerations for female candidates with kids at home.
• Better provisions at election centre.
Interviewer: Gave me a candle puzzle.
Candidate: Answered

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Stay calm
• Interactions with seniors
• Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Job Description, HR Answers
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 362

Bajaj FinServ

Additional Questions:
• Tell me about yourself. What are your interests?
• What is disposition?
• Why Bajaj Finserv? About the internship (read JD)
• General Awareness: about the global and Indian economy (slowdown and
US China trade war)
• How will you implement new policy in India as WHO head?
• What’s your monthly expense? Bajaj wants to finance it and earn 20% how
will you go about it?
• Any idea you pitched which got implemented at work?
• What will you bring to the Company?
• Any questions for us?
• Why Finance? (Repeated a lot), Impact of tech on finance?
• Detailed understanding of candidate's workex, Major challenge you faced
at work and how did you handle it? (Many follow up questions)
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Three takeaways from college
• What is you're understanding of the role?
• Impact of COVID on financial services sector? On economy as a whole?
• What did you do in the last 6 months during COVID?
• Career goals- before and after COVID- any change?
• How is consumer behaviour going to change in the next 5 years?
• How would you as GOI- use the 20 lakh crore package to ensure proper
economic growth?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 363

Sachin Jangid

Background:
Undergrad – DTU
Field of Grad. – Btech, Mechanical
Work Exp – 46 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Public
Procurement

Round 1:
HR Questions:
CV Shortlist

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• Tell me about yourself

• Which domian you are interested
• Lot of Question from CV, understanding your role and responsibility

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 364

• Lot of Question from CV, understanding your role and responsibility

• Why Byju's
• Why Ed-tech
Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors

• Team Disha Sessions
• Disha Company compendium
• Understand the role for which you are willing to take up after joining.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 365

Sindhuja Pathivada

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Madras
Field of Grad. – B.Tech, Civil Engg.
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Domain: General Management

Round 1:
HR Questions:
Tell me about yourself.
Why byju's?

Guesstimate:
You are providing online tutoring for class 4 -10, how many new people can
you get on board in one month from your city with a salesforce of 20?
Considering their salary is 50k (include any other possible expenses), is it a
profitable business?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 366

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• Why ed-tech?

Case: gave details of 3 offline coaching centres like their profits, offline
network etc. asked to choose which would be the best choice if Byju's wants
to acquire one of them.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Disha material
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Interactions with seniors
• Be confident during the interview

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 367

Sudhan P

Background:
Undergrad – College of Engg. Guindy
Field of Grad. – Btech, ECE Engg.
Work Exp – 37 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself
Candidate: Sure. I am Sudhan and I belong to Tamil Nadu……..<Work ex
brief> <UG brief>……. I had a pivotal moment in my work ex which made me
to pursue the managerial career in the first place. <Personal interests,
hobbies, short term & long term goals>
Interviewer: You said there was a pivotal moment which made you chose
the managerial career, right. I am so interested to know what was that
moment?
Candidate: Yeah so, initially I had plans to develop my career in the
technology, you know, to be a technical developer or a project architect in
the long run. But as days passed, I got admired by the roles and

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 368

responsibilities of my project manager < Justified which roles and

responsibilities admired me and how it made me think on the business side
of the technology I was working with> <Questions from CV>.
Interviewer: You’ve mentioned in your CV that you had achieved cost savings
of 2L rupees for the client by automating script monitoring. Explain what kind
of automation and how exactly it led to cost reductions for the client.
Candidate: Explained the type of project I was working with and justified why
automation was needed there and how it helped in cost reductions. Also gave
them the calculation break up of 2L.
Interviewer: So, you have worked on cloud migration projects, right. Explain
about it.
Candidate: Explained about the cloud migration project, the need for
migration, costs involved, advantages of moving to cloud and challenges
involved and explained the overall business impact of the project more than
the technical aspects.
Interviewer: Good. So, you’d conducted training sessions for your project
teams about agile project management, right. Explain about it.
Candidate: Explained about the training sessions,.. < as the project teams in
our account was shifting from waterfall model to agile model, What tool was
used, the processes involved in agile management>
Interviewer: Okay. We will provide a link for you to join round 2. Please join.
Candidate: Sure, and thank you so much.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 369

Round 2:
HR Questions:

Interviewer: Walk me through your CV.

Candidate: <I focussed more on my work ex and explained about the
projects I worked in detail>
More questions on CV
Interviewer: Explain about the critical application failures that you’ve solved
and how resolving them impacted the project.
Candidate: Explained about the processes involved in resolving the
application failure and the tools and defect workflow used in our project.
More follow up questions related to defects, application failure resolving,
priority and severity of the defects, root cause analysis and its process.
Interviewer: I can see you’d scored very well in 10th and 12th grades, but
very low score in UG. May I know why?
Candidate: < Explained briefly about the exposures that I needed off from
participating in different activities and briefed about how various
responsibilities that I held ( Secretary of department, President of college
dance team, marketing lead for an international tech mgt fest) gave me a
different learning curve altogether and for these, I had to trade off my
acads, but concluded by saying that I could have balanced both if I look back
and I took that as my major learning)
Interviewer: What is your greatest strength and your greatest weakness?
Candidate: < Answered >

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 370

Interviewer: Yes. What is the one thing that you love about working at
Byju’s?
Interviewer: He explained about Byju’s work culture and how it motivates
the employees.
Candidate: Thank you.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Disha sessions
• Company website and Internet
• Interactions with seniors

Be thorough with all your CV points and always focus on the business
impact of the work rather briefing about the technicality.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 371

Sumit Anuse

Background:
Undergrad – RGIT, Mumbai
Field of Grad. – Btech, Electronics and
Telecommunication Engg.
Work Exp – 39 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT/BFSI

Round 1:
HR Questions:
There were basic questions which you expect in an HR interview e.g. Tell me
about yourself? Why MBA? Strengths and weakness? The answer that I gave
led to the follow up questions. Major part of the interview revolved around
CV. Then finally there were company specific set of questions e.g. Why
Byju's? According to you, how well you'll be able to fit into the culture? Why
do you think so?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 372

Round 2:

This felt like a technical round. It started off as a casual conversation about
my upbringing, schooling, college, my life at TCS etc. Then I was asked to
come up with an idea to onboard a well recognised CAT coaching institute on
Byju's platform. What are the parameters that I would consider and what
would be the USP of the solution?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors

• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Company Presentations
• Interactions with seniors
• JDs and Internet
• Prepare CV HR answers thoroughly. Take as many mock PIs as you can. Be
vigilant during the company presentations. It helps in framing the last
question in an interview - "Any questions for us?" (An additional chance to
impress) Don't forget to prepare the company specific answers. Complete
your 7 - 8 hours of sleep. Always smile :)

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Byju’s 373

Additional Questions:
• Sales centric company. Sales force forms an important part. For a product
K12, 20% of the revenues go to the salaries of the employees. Price K12
• 1 lakh of product X. Help in setting operations for the. Where will you
place the warehouses and why?
• Suggest any changes on Byju's business model
• Please ensure you join KT link after getting scheduled for interview
• Platform for interview - Zoom
• What should Byju's do to expand into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities?
• Experience of online learning at IIML
• Questions around CV
• HR questions- Introduce yourself, strengths, instances where you worked
in teams etc.
• Chill panel - be energetic!

Guesstimates:
• No of students who prepare for UPSC exams in a year.
• number of Air conditioners in India
• Number of ATMs in India

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 374
Capgemini

George C Mundackal

Background:
Undergrad – NITK Surathkal
Field of Grad. – Computer Science Engg
Work Exp – Bharat Petroleum
Prev Work Ex Domain – Information
Systems

Round 1:
Case Based GD and Guesstimate question

Round 2:
Personal Interview
• Guesstimate (Customer base for Uber in your hometown)
• Questions related to CV and earlier Workex
• General HR questions (Leadership aspect would you want to improve)

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 375

Capgemini

• Interaction with seniors, Mock GDs/ PIs

• Read up on Capegemini E.L.I.T.E program, align answers according to the
role

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 376

Capgemini

Additional Questions:
• Aiman Ezzat - CEO, Serge Kampf – Founder
• Why Capgemini? One thing about Capgemini that you like
• Why IT services after startup (basically trying to analyse the interest of
candidate in role)
• Guesstimate: Uber wants to launch in Lucknow, what is the market size
• Are you are team player or a team leader
• Discussion on projects in CV
• How you handled conflict in POR's and work
• Why IT sector (candidate did not have work experience in IT domain)
• Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years
• Discussion on GD round's case and guesstimate. What was your
approach?
• Explain the Guesstimate from GD round.
• Substantiate your assumptions.
• What is alternate way to solve this guesstimate?
• Why Capgemini? Why E.L.I.T.E?
• Why Genman?
• CV based questions
• Summarise your CV in 60 seconds
• What are your expectations from this role?
• Guesstimate 3 - Follow-up on the case. 2 kinds of cellphone options.
Estimate the cellphone sales in Diwali

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 377

Capgemini

• Calcuate monthly cost savings based on the data points mentioned in the
case.

• Mode of entry for an bank in insurance tech sector. They want to enter
Life insurance and general insurance sector. Prior experience in finance.
How to go about it?
• Airline manufacturing company wants to manufacture aircrafts with
electric engines.
• Evaluate 3 options
1. End to end process to be done in USA
2. Manufacturing in China, Assembly in USA
3. End to end in China with a joint venture
• Case based GD
Topic : Old Legacy Bank. Should they go for digital payment solution or
not 5 min to read the case, 8 min to discuss,2 minute per person for
individual solution.Important pointers:Presentation, Pay attention to
others as well, Identify root problem and come up with innovative
solution
• **Case based GD + Guesstimate ( 20 + 15 min)**
Case: Small software company trying to expand in emerging technologies.
Also discuss ways to reduce fixed expenses.
Guesstimate - Guesstimate the reduction in rent expenses if seating
arrangement in office is changed [removing cabins/cubicles , flexible
seating]
• GD Topic: Automation in vehicles and its sustainability. [ Discussion a little
more on the technical side]
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 378

Capgemini

Guesstimate along with GD - A multimedia system software/hardware for

cars. Identify the potential profit for the first year.

• ELITE is Capgemini group's flagship global leadership development

program for fresh MBA talent from top tier
• Capgemini is a global leader in **consulting, digital transformation,
technology and engineering services**. It is at the forefront of innovation
to address
• Guesstimate - Please evaluate the daily passengers that go to New Delhi
airport if the Indian Government wants to make it their hub airport.
brief introduction of each candidate, 5 min to read the case, 8-10 min to
discuss, 30 sec conclusion for each candidate, 15 minutes for guesstimate
(Preferably have A4 sheets handy. You will be asked to take a picture and
submit the solution)

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
JSW GROUP 379

Ashwini Bagde

Background:
Undergrad – VNIT Nagpur
Field of Grad. – Chemical engineering
Work Exp – 33 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations
/Consulting, ABG

Interview format:
• Online Assessment (Proctored, around 2 hours CAT level + Psychometric)
• Personal Interview (25-30 mins)

Interview:
• Walk me through your CV
• What were your job responsibilities at ABG?
• Tell about one challenging project you did at ABG?
• Why did you leave a big firm and join a smaller organization?
• What do you think ABG does to survive at par given the diverse
businesses it is into?
• If you are to change three things about your city what would that be?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
JSW GROUP 380

• Any questions you have for us? - Asked a few questions and made it
interactive

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Know about the recent news
• Keep an answer prepared on the type of projects/domain you'll be
interested to take a project in
• HR answers
• CV prep

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
JSW GROUP 381

Sachin Jangid

Background:
Undergrad – Delhi Technological Univ.
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 46 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Public Procurement,
HPCL

Round 1:
• Tell me about yourself?
• Which domain you are inclined to?
• Asked about famous supply chain case study - which revolutionalised the
supply chain i.e. packaging boxes and containers - relation to Maersk.
• Which is your favourate supply chain you came across?
• How that is different and beneficial over other supply chain that pre-
exists?
• Are you into reading, which book, what its about and main character

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
JSW GROUP 382

Soumya

Background:
Undergrad – BIT Mesra
Field of Grad. – Information Technology
Work Exp – 43 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – UBS, Infosys

Round 1:
• Tell me about yourself
• Family background
• Questions on PORs of CVs
• Career goals
• Would you rather work in a big firm or start your own business.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
JSW GROUP 383

Vijay S

Background:
Undergrad – SSN College of Engineering
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 26 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Information
Technology, LTI

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Do have a look into all the business JSW present in
• Be prepared with your academics, Projects, Extracurricular and Co-
curricular activities which you have written in your CV.
• In case you have mentioned that you have won some specific competition
browse and collect more news about it (For example: If you have
mentioned shotput the question can be, who is currently representing
India in shotput?, etc.).
• I was also asked whether I read books and which author do I like the most
etc. and some basic questions from Mechanical Engineering subjects.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
JSW GROUP 384

Additional Questions:
• Prepare at length on the 15 second video uploaded during Round 1 of
application
• What is your strength and weakness- answer in point of view of a
business student?
• Personality , attitude, situation related questions
• What are short term and long term goals?
• What are your hobbies?
• Some basic technical questions based on CV.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 385
Mahindra & Mahindra

Kushagra Purohit

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Hamirpur(HP)
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations and
Maintenance

Round 1:
Group Discussion:
Topic: "Smart is the New Beautiful". All people were told to give their
opening remarks about the topic in two minutes in a sequence and were
told to conclude the GD in one minute in the opposite sequence
All GD members behaved politely and there was no shouting whatsoever. It
was not like a typical GD. I opened up the GD and added two or three
entries in between and gave some generic points. I tried to give structure to
the GD as well. Overall, it was a mediocre GD and not a clear cut selection

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 386
Mahindra & Mahindra

Round 2:
Interviewer: Hope you had a good night's sleep. What were you thinking last
night before sleeping? Are you nervous? Any special thoughts?
Candidate: I wasn't thinking anything special. Just like every other night. I
slept early because I wanted to be fresh before the interview.
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself but not something that's on your CV?
Like where did you grow up, who is in your family etc. How are you as a
person? Leave the work ex and education part we can figure that out from
your cv.
Interviewer: From your CV I see you have worked at a lot of cost-cutting
drives at Vedanta. Tell me if you were working in a bank, what cost-cutting
measures can you employ?
Candidate: Told some generic ideas.
Interviewer: Why have you filled strategy as your first preference?
Candidate: I haven't. I have filled in Farm Equipment as my first preference.
Interviewer: Ok. Tell me, why have you selected farm equipment as your
first preference?
Candidate: Told about how Mahindra is the leader in this segment and how
this sector is going to grow very fast in India in the coming years. Also
globed about my previous work experience with maintenance of heavy
earth moving machines.
Interviewer: Tell me ways in which you can increase the income of farmers
in Himachal Pradesh while working at Mahindra.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 387
Mahindra & Mahindra

Candidate: Increasing the market of walking tractors as most of the farming

is done in small fields. Increasing the market of irrigation tech and a few
small ideas.
Interviewer: What would your friends and colleagues say about you?
Candidate: That I'm an easy-going and cheerful person. Like to keep the
mood light.
Interviewer: Tell me about a big risk you have taken in your life? Both
professional and personal life?
Interviewer: Tell me about an incident that changed your perspective
towards life?

HR:
They asked a few more HR questions. They looked like very senior people in
the organization (of the level of VPs). The interview went on for 25-30 mins
and it was more like a rapid-fire. They didn't give me a lot of time for any of
the questions. And within one-two minutes they said, "I got my answer" and
moved on to the next question. I thought it was very difficult to globe about
anything in front of them and they were expecting straightforward and real
answers to every question.

Round 3:
HR Questions:

• What are your strengths?

• Can you handle the responsibility?
• Tell me about the Position of Responsibilities you have held?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 388
Mahindra & Mahindra

• How do you behave in crisis situations? Give me an example from your

work ex?
• Don't you think you made a mistake staying in that small town for that
long time? and a couple more behavioral questions about leadership.
• Went on for 15-20 minutes.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors

• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Company prep
• Prepare the HR questions given by team Disha. Prepare your CV to the last
word
• Stay cheerful during the interview. Make them laugh if you can.
Confidence is the key. They will definitely remember you after the
interview if you are ultra-confident and cheerful throughout the interview
• The most important thing is to be genuine. I felt they were very
experienced at this and they could've smelled a lie or bs very early so I
kept all of my answers genuine

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 389
Mahindra & Mahindra

Prashant Gupta

Background:
Undergrad – IET Lucknow
Field of Grad. – Electrical Engineering
Work Exp – 19 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - IT/SAP

Round 1:
• GD: everyone is given chance first, then open floor and then all get to
conclude

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• For PI, be prepared for the form you fill for Mahindra

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
State Street 390

Sakshi Rana
Background:
Undergrad - Dyal Singh Clg., DU
Field of Grad. -Economics
Work Exp - N/A
Prev Work Ex Domain - N/A

Round 1:
PI
Interviewer: We already have your CV but we'd like to know about you.
Who you are? What inspires you and what brought you here? We aren't
expecting a short answer. So, go ahead
Candidate: Started with my story by introducing the person who has made
me who I am today, how their failed attempts at starting a business acted as
an inspiration for me to do something in this domain and how
circumstances led me to do an economics hons from DU and then a bit
about how I transitioned from the shy me in school to one of the most
hyperactive kids on campus. A brief discussion on what all I was involved in
and how I decided to leave a few societies.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
State Street 391

Interviewer: So, you are like this hummingbird who wants to try everything
but I am still unsure of what you'd want to do in long run? Have you
planned it yet?
Candidate: A line or two on my immediate plans and how they're related to
my ultimate objective. And that having tried my hands on these many
things, what intrigued my interest in finance and banking industry, and why
is it something that I'd like to explore more.
Interviewer: Do you know about the work you'd be supposed to do as a
summer intern?
Told about the JD and my understanding of it and how it is related to my
previous answer.
Interviewer: Any questions for us?
Candidate: Asked a question which really interested them and both the
panelists gave a 2 min monologue each on how they think it's one of the
major shifts and how statestreet plans to adapt to it.

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks

• Interactions with seniors
• Disha Sessions/RG’s
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Company website, JD
Do’s and Dont’s
• Try to avoid revising anything at the last minute. Just be confident of your
HR answers. Prepare your introduction and career goals very well.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 392

Anant Gupta

Background:
Undergrad - DTU
Field of Grad. - B.Tech in Engineering
Physics
Work Exp - 30 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Analytics,
Consulting

Round 1:
Chairman GD
Follows a very specific format where each participant is asked to explain a
small case (usually based on ethics/values/business scenario) and rest of the
members have to find a solution. This goes on till each member has
moderated the GD once in capacity as a chairman/CEO/head etc.
Question
You are the CEO of a 2-year-old startup selling handmade soap and beauty
products. Your products are organic, natural and use the best quality
materials.
They are handcrafted and used by top tier luxury hotels and few
international firms. The business is currently B2B and the company is

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 393

planning to expand to B2C. Convene a meeting with top executives on how

find the target market and develop a positioning strategy

Round 2:
HR Questions
Interviewer: Hi Anant, can you elaborate on your major degree (B.Tech in
Engineering Physics)?
Candidate: Started with the difference between Applied Physics and
Engineering Physics and named few subjects specific to EP.
Interviewer: What kind of jobs does this stream entail after graduation?
Candidate: Explained where all my friends had got placed and other
research/higher study options available
after undergrad
Interviewer: Walk us through your work experience (mentioned analytics
and BI)
Candidate: <answered>
Interviewer: You mentioned Business Intelligence - tell us few instances
where you derived insights from data for the management
Candidate: <mentioned a couple of instances in detail>
Interviewer: What kind of insights does the senior management look for?
Candidate: Mentioned a couple of instances and then gave a general
conclusion
Interviewer: What is your passion
Candidate: <mentioned reading books on self-improvement>

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 394

Interviewer: Who is your favorite author? Name their books

Candidate: <mentioned name of 2 authors and their books>
Interviewer: <picked one book from above answer> What was this book
about? What did you learn?
Candidate: Mentioned 2-3 key takeaways
Interviewer: Which is your biggest accomplishment?
Candidate: <answered>
Interviewer: That’s too generic (Lol). Tell us another one.
Candidate: Thankfully had another one prepared. Mentioned that in detail.
Interviewer: Okay, thanks Anant. We’re done.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Internet- Company website, latest news
• Interactions with seniors
• Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs

Do’s and Dont’s

Do's
• Always take the ethical stance in GDs, even if it might hurt the profits in
the short run
• Make relevant, crisp and quality points in the GD
• For PI, try to communicate your answer in a concise manner.
• Prepare CV and basic HR answers well

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 395

Karri Holini
Pravallika
Background:
Undergrad – GITAM university
Field of Grad. –Computer Science
Work Exp – 13
Prev Work Ex Domain – Professional
Services

Round 1:
GD
First round is chairman GD. We were 8 members and there were 2 panel
members. They conducted 8 GDs where one person is the chairman for
each GD and everyone will get a chance. The panel members read the topic
twice and then chairman had to greet other 7 members and ask them to
start discussion by giving a brief intro about the topic and the discussion
was about 5 minutes, post that chairman has to summarize all the points
discussed in one minute.
Few cases
• Women in managerial positions. How do you go about it? Are they
capable?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 396

• You are a manager where collecting money for social relief fund where
some members were not willing to donate due to 2 reasons, one being
• they already donated and other not interested or cannot afford? How do
you deal this situation?
• You run a company, where company hires many engineers and MBA
students but most of them are resigning in few years? What could be the
issue? How do you deal?
• You are head of a panchayat in a village and there is a well which is used
for all farming and other uses for the whole village and there comes an
initiative to launch a bottled water plant in the village which will destruct
the well? What will you do in this case, will you accept? And how you will
go if you accept?

Round 2:
PI
• Second round was Personal Interview. There were 2 panel members.
Following are the questions asked to me:
• Tell me about yourself
• Why can't you work for one or two more years and then do MBA (I
worked for 13 months only)
• Can you please tell me how cloud is very important for Indian companies?
(I am from CSE branch during my graduation)
• Do you think Elon Musk can be a good president when compared to
Trump for USA (random)

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 397

• About LG Polymers, what could be done what's my view? (As I am from

Visakhapatnam)
• Do you think that all the members in the corporate should do social
service? Can they? (I started an NGO so this was a follow-up for that)
• What do you think why China is actually fighting for a piece of land from
India? (Random)
• Why did you start gardening?
• Do you know about hydroponics? (Follow-up for the above question) Tell
me about yourself and don't tell me what's already there on your CV, I
have already read it.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Disha Sessions/RG’s
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Company website and their recent initiatives and also checking any
articles published about the company recently.
• Current Affairs

Do’s and Dont’s

Do's
• Try to keep urself updated with latest news and trends.
• Be confident
• Show your presence in any GDs
• Be honest
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 398

• Be consistent in your prep

Dont’s
• Don’t get tensed
• Don't feel low by comparing with peers
• Don't cut anyone in GD

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 399

Parth Shah
Pravallika
Background:
Undergrad - BITS Pilani, Goa
Field of Grad. - B.E. Electronics &
Instrumentation
Work Exp - 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Analytics

Round 1:
CV, HR questions (in application) and KnackApp games

Round 2:
GD
• Chairman GD- Chairman chosen in alphabetical order, topic dictated
twice by the panel. Chairman need not repeat topic and sometimes only
gave the initial greetings. Panel discussed for 15 mins including last 1
minute for conclusion the chairman (they told chairman that it was time
and was not expected to keep time)
• Topics were situational related to Tata businesses

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 400

Round 3:
HR Questions
• Introduction
• 1-2 questions on worked (CV)
• 5 qualities a leader should have – I mentioned the first 5 that came to
mind, but forgot something I mentioned in the application form earlier.
Had to justify why I said something different
• Business situation: Opening a new business under the group and I am the
lead. What should I look out for? – I mentioned revenue model, costs,
building a team (hiring + internal), and I would check what I can leverage
from inside vs what we would need to source

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Internet- Company website, latest news
• Interactions with seniors
• Disha Sessions/RG’s
• Mock GDs/PIs

Do’s and Dont’s

Do's
• Be honest with the application and ensure you read it before the
interview to not have inconsistencies. Be energetic and smile.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 401

Prashant Gupta
Pravallika
Background:
Undergrad - IET Lucknow
Field of Grad. - Electrical Engineering
Work Exp - 19 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - IT/SAP
Services

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interactions with seniors
• Disha Sessions/RG's
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Wikipedia

Do’s and Dont’s:

• In chairman GD, make necessary entries and be respectful. PI will be
around work ex and scenario based

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 402

Additional Questions:
• Chess - from CV, passion or time pass?
• immediate short-term goals
• Biden's coming to power changing the shape of global politics
• Introduction, satisfaction, customer satisfaction, failure definition,
leadership traits, 2025 - 2030 goals, how you will choose a team, how will
solve bottlenecks in a team
• You have a lot of consulting heavy words on your CV? Did you want to go
for consulting but couldn't make it through?
• Would you travel after COVID? If yes, why? If no why?
• Are you a jack of all trades or master of one?
• What is strategy?
• What should countries have done in COVID?
• About Tata Steel, Vistara, TAS? What should they improve upon?
• Long term goals?
• Tell me something about yourself?
• Screen time issue - how will you tackle? - tech improvements?
• Candidate had E-Sports on his CV- E-Sports - scene in India,
• Physics major, full on science, then why MBA?
• How will you nurture this E-Sports sector?
• If you were to setup a new business - 5 years into TAS, what will you focus
on?
• 5 qualities in a leader
• Whom would you rate higher - Avg performer team player, high
performer not a team player?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 403

• Candidate had a UPSC interviews experience background - Write OFI

(opportunities for improvement) for mains and interviews
• Questions revolved around work experience, what I did, what was the
impact I created through my work.
• Topic 16 - You hired 20 members in the team in the last 3 months, after 1
month you notice that there is lack of collaboration and there is groupism.
These members don't have a reporting manager. Suggest ways to instill
camaraderie among them while focusing on the employee engagement
programs. Suggest an action plan.
• Topic 15 - You are the chairman of an ethics company and you have been
provided an anonymous tip that the CEO was involved in a stake sale of
shares. However, this was done in a way that he circumvented some
taxation laws. What would you do?
• Topic 14 - You are the CEO of a consumer product company and are about
to retire in the next 2 years. The company has thrived under your
guidance in the past years. 4 out of 10 members of your leadership team
is also set to retire in the next 3 to 4 years. You have called in a senior
management team meeting to discuss how to go about the future of the
company. Set an organizational perspective and have a succession-
planning discussion.
• Topic 13 - You are the manufacturing head of your plant. You have a long-
term contract for raw material with the state government. The union
government has increased import tariffs on that product to improve the
local industry. Discuss this issue with your management team and make a
decision on your next course of action

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 404

• Topic 12 - You are the CEO of a 2-year startup selling handmade soap and
beauty products. Your products are organic, natural and use the best
quality materials. They are handcrafted and used by top tier luxury hotels
and few international firms. Our business is currently B2B. Company
planning to expand to B2C. Convene a meeting with top execs how to
target market and positioning strategy.
• Topic 11 - You are the digital marketing head of a major electronics
retailer with a loyal customer base. Half of your business comes from a
single search engine. The search engine offers a deal where they are
willing to put your search results first, in exchange for customer data and
user demographics data. Discuss with your marketing committee and
arrive at the next course of action.
• Topic 10 - We are the head of an NGO working with a tribal community
that gathers forest produce and indulge in shifting cultivation as their
livelihood. Forest officials are against shifting cultivation as they feel this
leads to ecological disruption and deforestation. The tribal community is
not ready to abandon their practice of shifting cultivation. You have held a
committee to discuss how to approach this.
• Topic 9 - You're the principal of an esteemed school, looking to introduce
a non-graded Sex education subject in the curriculum class 5 onwards.
Have a staff meeting on how to progress and handle this disagreement
• Topic 8 - You're the dept. head having a meeting with sectional heads
about the donation of their 1-day wage to riot relief work in the city. It
was mentioned by the MD. Majority of workers are ready to donate
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 405

• but some are refusing saying they have already donated and some are
saying that they cannot spare money. Decide if we should go with 100%
compliance from the dept. or not go with it at all?
• Topic 7 - We are big in men formal wear. came in woman wear too. Less
revenue than anticipated. Wants to be customer centric. Designing a
strategy for that. What all factors should we consider?
• Topic 6 - You are training head of electronics repair dept. And you have
maintenance executives, indulging in malpractices under the guidance of
a supervisor. Supervisor is conning by quoting higher repair prices or
recommending to buy new models. Discuss with other heads course of
action?
• Topic 5 - You are XYZ Ltd. and for last 4 years you are trying to recruit
young blood in the company from top engg and B-schools. But attrition
rate is higher for trainees compared to regular employees. Reasons given
by trainees are low comp, future prospects and job mismatch. Course of
action by HR dept?
• Topic 4 - I am a sarpanch. A new bottle water manufacturing company
wants to set up a plant. There is one well- major source for agricultural
water. Informed that the company can lead to drying well. But company
will bring in new jobs. Course of action?
• Topic 3- CEO of electronics retail chain, and senior management consists
of only men. You want to introduce women in sr. management but
women are less at manager level itself. Concerns raised by men in board
whether women will be able to contribute as they have family
commitments and other issues. As a CEO, discuss and decide on future
course of action
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
TAS 406

• Topic 2 - You have a high-performing employee, Hema, in purchase dept.

who does not participate in group activities and is not
• collaborative. Need for reducing man-power; should we remove or retain
Hema?
• Topic 1 - MD of an auto company, introducing luxury cars. Decide target
market - developed country or developing country among India, China,
SEA

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Vodafone Idea 407

Akshay Maywade

Background:
Undergrad – VNIT, Nagpur
Field of Grad. – BTech, Mech Engg
Work Exp – 24 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Ops & SC

Round 1: Personal Interview

CV and HR based interview (3 panelists):
• Tell me about yourself
• Family Background
• Why MBA?
• Have you ever led a team in your past? Challenges faced? How did you go
about it? (10 mins interaction around this)
• Things you have learnt in the past 6 months during lockdown which were
not helpful in your work experience?
• Why VI?
• Application of six sigma in the telecom sector?
• Questions on inventory modelling?
• Explain Kaizen

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Vodafone Idea 408

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Company JD, material provided by Team Disha
• Be confident and thorough with CV and HR answers

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Vodafone Idea 409

Arunachalam R

Background:
Undergrad – PSG, College of Tech
Field of Grad. – BTech, Mech Engg
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
PI, Video submission of HR questions
CV and HR based interview:
Interviewer: Tell about 3 areas in your CV that you think as your strengths
Candidate: I spoke about my academics, internships & POR
Interviewer: State one instance in your life where you feel that you could
have done better
Candidate: I spoke about the challenges I faced during my internships and
how I realized that a thorough groundwork is required before starting any
project or activity
Interviewer: What groundwork you did before coming to this interview?
Candidate: I spoke about the background prep about the company. I said
that I spoke with my seniors who interned in Vodafone Idea and also spoke

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Vodafone Idea 410

about the current issues going on in the telecom sector like the AGR issues
and the VI merger.
Interviewer: (since I have done some courses on digital marketing) How will
you analyse customer behaviour on the VI app and the website and how to
increase user traffic?
Candidate: I spoke about some concepts like bounce rate and conversion
rate and the marketing funnel concept to understand customer behaviour
Interviewer: Tell me how covid 19 has impacted any 3 sectors or industries
Candidate: I spoke about the hospitality, FMCG and the pharma sectors and
the impacts on it by covid

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Before going to interview, reading some news about the current
happenings in the sector and the company helps. Some recent viral
campaigns of the company as well
• Kotler for marketing basics, material and ppt by disha and prism
related to marketing, disha materials for HR answer prep (very
essential for marketing interviews and CV related prep)
• Actively participate in sessions conducted by disha and prism to get
some insights about the interviews. Also attend as many mock
interviews and gds as possible to gain confidence

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Vodafone Idea 411

Karri Harika

Background:
Undergrad – GVP College of Engg. (A)
Field of Grad. – BTech, Mech Engg
Work Exp – 19 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1: Video assessment

Round 2: Personal Interview
Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Mock GDs/PIs
• Internet and company JD
• The interview was mostly based on HR questions, so HR prep would be
the differentiating factor

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ACT 412

Questions:

• CV - Predictive vs preventive maintenance

• About the company
• Why ACT - please show interest in company
• Why ACT over other companies
• What differentiates you from other candidates
• Why Management after engineering
• Favorite management subject
• Fin concepts
• Accounting - fin ratios, Balance sheet P&L, Cash Flow
• How do you lead a team?
• What is good about you and bad about you?
• About Family
• About you
• Learnings at IIML
• Walk through CV
• One of Projects - how you did? Why you did?
• Case - If we give you a live project, how will you approach it?
• What would you like to do in your career?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 413

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 414

Annepu Sravya

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Calicut
Field of Grad. – Electrical Engineering
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Operations

Round 1:
• Situation based assessment and psychometric test

Round 2:
Interviewer: Describe a situation when you had to work outside your
comfort zone
Candidate: Spoke about the situation when I took responsibility of an area
which required technical knowledge other than my educational background.
I spoke about the learnings gained from working in this area. Mentioned
about 2 projects that I handled during this time and how I managed the
respective vendors for making improvements. Spoke about the impact of
the problem on customer and the improvements carried out.
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 415

Interviewer: Describe about a project that required your in-depth research

analysis
Candidate: Spoke about a complaint that was leading to customer
dissatisfaction, How I formulated a procedure to study in-depth about the
problem, carried out benchmarking excercise and studied past history of
design releases. Apart from solving the primary complaint, identified other
areas for improvement in the interactive system and initiated the change in
specifications of parts.

Round 3:
Interviewer: A situation where you provided an innovative solution for an
existing problem
Candidate: Spoke about a innovative suggestion given for reduction in
customer complaints and how we pursuaded for its implementation with the
help of our seniors.
Interviewer: What was a critical piece of advice you received at your
workplace or your personal life? How did you respond to it.
Candidate: Described about 2 situations at my workplace when I recieved
advice from colleagues and manager and how I improved my working style
based on the feedback received.

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• e-commerce supply chain model, amazon specific terms and practices, 14
leadership principles

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 416
Amazon

Birari Aman
Abhiman
Background:
Undergrad – MIT Pune
Field of Grad. – Engineering
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Manufacturing

Round 1:
Written exam, Psychometric test

Round 2:
PI- CV based questions, Amazon role specific questions, BOLD role- supply
chain questions

Round 3:
PI HR based Amazon leadership principles based questions

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 417
Amazon

Rahul Kumar

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Kharagpur
Field of Grad. – Chemical Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Manufacturing

Round 1:
Discussed in depth about my role and responsibilities during my workex

Round 2:
• Give an instance in which you let go short term success for long term
goals
• Project in which you dived deep
• Instance when you failed to meet deadline

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 418

Additional Questions:
• Situation- Negative feedback of manager and how you worked on it
• Situation- where you have worked/contributed more than your
responsibilities
• Guesstimate market potential basis workex
• Situation - How did you incorporated the feedback received during work
ex.
• Project that required deep dive analysis?
• Situation - Innovative thing that you have worked on
• Situation where you have to forego short term goals to achieve long term
• Marketing Strategy for Big Billion Day
• What is click per conversion, sponsored ads, organic ads?
• How can you prepare a better CV format?
• Talk about your professional achievements
• Case: If I want to open a sports arena, what are the factors to consider
and help me make a financial model? What data would you want to ask
the client? How would you fund the project?
• Why Marketing?
• Case: Amazon wants to start 6 hour delivery. What should the
consideration be?
• Extensive discussion on CV. Then Case : Luxury brand that has sales of 50
Lakh and to be moved to 1 Cr. How?
• Asked about work experience and given agricultural background was
given case about pitching agriculture products and then a comparison of
organic and inorganic products.
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an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 419

• Asked about work experience and given agricultural background was

given case about pitching agriculture products and then a comparison
of organic and inorganic products.
• Case: I am a brand POC (candidate to choose the category); give me a
few performance metrics and how will you pitch vendor to invest
more
• When did you go out of your way to serve a customer.
• What did you do when you found out you wont be able to meet a
commitment.
• Asked about audiobits, Amazon live, Amazon posts
• Why you want to be in this role and why would you be a good fit?
• AWS competitors - Azure, Google Cloud suite, Oracle Cloud. Alternates
also include inhouse/self deployment.
• Ques being repeated
• MOSTLY HR & CV based on LPs
• Case - Zara is listing a new category on Amazon, how will you go about
it? One Plus launched on Amazon, Sales dropping how to go about it?
• What is the basis for NIFTY/SENSEX market cap computation?
• Situation when you implemented something new? Situation when you
received critical feedback? Situation when you failed and what did you
learn
• Round 2 - Deep Dive - Instance where you identified the root cause of
a problem
• Amazon wants to enter Pharmacy business in India (Data given)- What
factors would you consider?
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an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 420

• If you are a brand manager at Amazon, how will you pitch client to
invest more in advertising in next 5 years
• When did you find yourself getting critical feedback; What did you do
something innovative
• Amazon Grocery delivery constraints and how to overcome?
• KPI used in workplace to evaluate performance appraisals - candidate
specific
• Situation where one team member was lacking in effort, what to do? If
you were to make a decision, what would you have done, Situation
when you "Earned Trust", Sales of Physical books going down, how will
you strategize marketing?
• CV points - certifications, PORs etc
• Lots of 14 LP questions
• Intro, detailed discussion on workex, projects, data driven
recommendation you gave to client (Work ex based), Guesstimate -
Number of fairy lights sold during diwali, Shoe que repeated,
• Round 2 - Focused on CV + HR - Situational based questions
• Round 2 - Situation where you took initiative/responsibility during
work-ex,
• Accounting concepts- Revenue recognition, Ratios
• Finance concepts- DCF (Including assumptions), Financial statements
(BS/P &L), NPV, IRR and relative valuation
• Round 2- Questions from Round 1 are being repeated (Check for
consistency)

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Amazon 421

• Situation where you have to do data intensive analysis

• Situation where you have to do a lot of convincing
• What is you're favorite subject? (Follow up questions based on
answer)
• Round 2 - Detailed discussion on work ex, Instance where you received
constructive feedback and how did you react, Instance where you
went out of your way to work on something which was not your
responsibility (Ownership)
• What book have you read recently? What was your learning?
(Connected to the candidate tell me about yourself)
• Perform labor modelling for a manufacturing firm where the demand
is volatile (Amazon explained the case details)
• You are a finance partner at amazon. You want a new brand to sell
their products through amazon. It is a premium brand and no
competitor. They don't want to change price in offline and online.
How will you negotiate with them ?
• Why do you want to be in a CRM role
• Data driven decision, asked again
• You are the Finance manager of a FMCG company- You want to launch
premium biscuit, which exists in another country. What factors will u
consider
• SItuation- You have been given a task to advise vendor (apple
company), 1 lakh rupees each cost, SP: 95K, 5000 loss, customer traffic
is important, and window is 21 days, what will u advise him?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Amazon 422

• Examples of negotiation skills at work (Specific focus on cost aspect)?

Whether you did data analysis anywhere at work?
• Take us through your academic projects (Fin and marketing)
• If you want to introduce a construction equipment category in
Amazon. How would you identify that which vendors would be
interested in advertising on the platform and how will you keep them
engaged
• Diwali coming, the demand for lights guesstimate, how much
inventory must Amazon have, A particular shoe is not performing well
what can be the issue
• Case: Explain the process of Amazon grocery and challenges. Also
convince the investor why to go for it?
• Why are you interested in BD role?
• Deep dive on work experience - 2-3 mins on each CV point - deep dive
into each point
• Questions on work experience
• How will you go on developing business strategies
• Tell me about the most important project you did. How do you
measure the success metrics; Dive deep in the project; Situation when
you had to negotiate with a stakeholder. How would you measure the
importance of a project?
• CV based questions; Why Amazon? How will you add value to
Amazon? Questions on work ex using Dive-Deep
• What was it that you set to achieve through a specific project. What
did you actually achieve?

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Amazon 423

• Take us through a day at your workex place

• You are a finance manager working at amazon in audio category. New
sale manager approached you for a new premium headphone brand.
How will you assess it?
• What do you feel about the setup of course and internship in MBA
• The situation where you had to adjust to a project; How much
efficiency, did you increase etc. (All CV based questions and in-depth
knowledge)
• Why finance? (For non-finance personnel)
• Explain your understanding of the role. Why does the role excite you
• Tell me about yourself Why finance What is your understanding of this
role Tell me something about financial ratios - profitability ratios Take
me through your work ex as I have e-commerce background What do
you feel about the setup of course and internship in MBA
• What will you assess in profitability ratios?
• What did you learn in your FR course (Follow up)
• Tell me something about yourself
• What is cloud
• Why AWS, a client relation role instead of PM role
• How to sell AWS, competition client (Please read JD)
• Tell me about yourself, AWS product range
• Adventure site - Amazon is launching, how to promote, Any data
driven decision you had to take?

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Amazon 424

• Work ex, Intro, Issues/problems that come from customers and how
did you solve (based on work ex), 3 things you'll keep in mind while
launching a new category?
• 20 min interview: Have you worked on some complex problems?
Some probing questions on answers; Have you ever managed a team?
What size of team did you manage? How would you motivate a team
member?
• Guesstimate the shoe market size in India; Any situation when you
dived deep in your project

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 425
Asian Paints

Ayush Soni

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Kharagpur
Field of Grad. – Chemical Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Manufacturing

Round 1:
GD: Supply Chain Pre and Post Covid

Round 2:
• Biggest challenge you faced in the previous work experience
• Picked up a project from my CV and went in-depth. Also asked about Six
Sigma and its applications.
• What do you know about lean manufacturing?
• What is 5S and how it can be applied in a typical shop floor. Applications
in day to day lives.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Knowing yourself well is extremely important

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 426
Asian Paints

Pradeep R

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Trichy
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engg.
Work Exp – 24 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations
Round 1:
GD: 6-7 member panel, TopicANDIDATE: Impact of Covid-19 on supply chain

Round 2:
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself
Candidate: General intro about myself, Teams I have been part of, skills I
gained being part of different teams, Explained about work ex, what impact
it had on my life, and talked about my hobbies.
Interviewer: Can you explain the " Cost saving project ", what did you do ?
Candidate: Explained about the role played by me in implementing project.
what work did i do, explained about design changes in process that was
implemented by me.
Interviewer: You have written Industry 4.0 on your CV, can you explain how
its related to your project?

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 427
Asian Paints

Candidate: Explained on automation part involved in project , how the

project used Industry 4.0 to bring value to the product.
Interviewer: You have written Lean manufacturing in your CV, what do you
mean by that?
Candidate: Lean manufacturing is the framework used by manufacturers to
remove product, process features that are non value adding to the customer.
Interviewer: How do you do lean Manufacturing
Candidate: We analyse the design and evaluate the product and process to
understand how different parts add value. We focus on removing parts that
have high cost component and doesn't add value. We also try to bring in new
technology to remove redundant processes.
Interviewer: You have written that you have reduced the quality complaints
by X% ? Can you explain?
Candidate: Explained about using "Root Cause Analysis" to get to the root of
the problem. After identifying the problem, I made changes to quality control
procedures to avoid repeat occurrences and hence reduced quality
complaints.
Interviewer: What did you learn in the ML course ?
Candidate: It was an introductory course on ML. The course talked about
supervised & Unsupervised learning. We also saw how to do a classification
problem. We looked into the mathematical model like backward
propagation, logistic regression. Factors involved to tweaking models. Talked
about gradient descent approach.
Interviewer: Did you do develop any new algorithm ?
Candidate: No sir, developing algorithm is a complicated task, since this was
a basic course I haven't done that.
Interviewer: If you have any questions you may ask that.

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 428
Asian Paints

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Reached
out to Alumns from AP.
• Company Website, Disha KT session, Company compendium, Disha Ops
Pocket Book, Youtube Videos
• Dos:
o Focus on 3 domains but do prepare for all domains
o Reach out to seniors to get an understanding of what company
expects.
o Be thorough with your CV Inside Out.
o Take every advice from seniors or classmates with a pinch of salt.
• Don’ts:
o Pushing domain prep to 11th hour.
o Fretting over things you can't control

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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 429
Asian Paints

Additional Questions:
• Have you talked to any seniors who interned at Asian Paints? Do you
know about the role we are offering?
• Difference between: sales, marketing, advertising
• Choose a product from any brand, and do a 4P analysis for that.
• Difference between needs, wants and demands
• 3C's of marketing
• 4P's of marketing
• GD: Business managers and labor leaders are two sides of the same coin;
Will OTT platforms replace traditional TV channels?
• What do you like best in IIM Lucknow
• What is your dream company
• GD: How will Kirana stores survive E-commerce in India?
• What is your dream company and why, every single person was to
answer in 1 sentence?
• GD: Supply chain Pre and Post Covid

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Flipkart 430

Anurag
Background:
Undergrad – VIT,Vellore
Field of Grad. –Btech. Biotech
Work Exp – 22 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT Services

Round 1:
GD Round:
Topic: Penetration and rise of Digital Payments in rural sector

The GD started with demonetization and how digital wallets is now in reach
of small vendors across geographies (urban +rural).

After a brief moment, I spoke for the first time and mentioned that the
panel is missing one core issue – Bank accounts penetration in rural/ lower
tiered city is major problem and needs to be tackled first. We need to bring
the people into organised financial structure before speaking about digital
transformation. Went on to say about PM Jan Dhan Yogana and how it has
generated way bigger impact than demonetization and how it has laid
foundation for sustainable shift towards digital payments.
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Flipkart 431

The GD then moved in this direction

I added one more point of how simplified UI of payment application can be

crucial for digital payment adoption in India, gave example for GPay. <The
panel was already discussing different payment apps>

Round 2:
Interviewer: Hi Anurag, how are you feeling right now?
Candidate: Bit nervous, <Smiled>, but mostly excited and feeling fresh
Interviewer: Had your breakfast?
Candidate: Yes <Smiled again>
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself?
Candidate: Spoke about my school days, college PORs, bit struggles and
turnaround in job, IIM Lucknow experience and hobbies
Interviewer: Anurag, what do you think would be the next phase of growth
in E-commerce?
Candidate: In terms of geography or product line?
Interviewer: both?
Candidate: I personally believe that rural sector is an untapped market.
There has been a significant rise in income levels there but people do not
have access to variety. The affordability in smart phones and data packs will
further boost the growth
Interviewer: And which product lines do you think?

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 432
Flipkart

Candidate: here, I think we should be looking at broader perspective of

connecting rural and urban areas as a two way street. While most of the
FMCG and agri related products are readily available in rural areas, variety
in electronic appliances, and clothing is missing. <Spoke about Flipkart
Samarth Initiative with Govt of Jharkhand>
Interviewer: What do you think would be the greatest barrier in Rural
expansion and how to solve it?
Candidate: The biggest challenge would be Acceptability of new platform in
rural areas as people look for trust. <Explained it in bit detail> Can be
resolved by hiring local people who can help them shop and deliver the
goods as well.
Interviewer: If given an opportunity to go back in time, what life event will
you change?
Candidate: I would like to go back in class xth and tell my younger self to do
carrier planning and avoid taking a year drop after 12th. <Explained in detail
about the entire life experience around taking a year drop and how it
changed me as a person>
Interviewer: Tell me how much degree is in between hour and min hand
when it is at 6:30pm
Candidate: Quickly gave wrong answer <calculation error>
Interviewer: are you sure?
Candidate: Explained the process <but was still thinking my answer is
correct – interview pressure>
Interviewer: <Smiled>, we are done Anurag, thank you

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 433
Flipkart

Round 3:
Interviewer: So you don’t like Marvel?
Candidate: Sir, Marvel has definitely built a great Marvel Cinematic Universe
which I really appreciate and it will take time for DC to reach that level, but
when it comes to characters and story arcs based on comics, I personally
like DC
Interviewer: Who’s your favourite DC character?
Candidate: Sir, Green Lantern
Interviewer: <Bit curious> Green Lantern? Why?
Candidate: Explained about GL for next 5 mins <entire spectrum of lanterns
and why I like it - mentioned the major source of their power is Will, as they
believe that’s the strongest emotion in universe and I said I believe in having
will is very important to accomplish any task
<I realised that I was going too deep in GL story arc>
Candidate: Sir, I guess I have spoken a lot on GL and probably could go on
forever, but I will bring the conversation back to my own story <Smiled>
Interviewer: <Laughed> yeah sure
Candidate: continued about my college days POR, work, IIM L journey and
hobbies
<The interviewer then asked 3 small cases. Important point to note is that it
was not pure Ops related but he wanted to check my thought process to
tackle a particular problem. Important advise is to ensure you’re
communicating with the interviewer, and do not have any filter between
your mind and mouth. Do not take assumptions on your own, or if you take,
inform the interviewer and ask if it is ok to consider your assumption>
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Flipkart 434

Case 1:
Interviewer: So Anurag, out of all the categories that we have, which
category excites you the most and why?
Candidate: Sir mobile phones. I feel the industry has re-invented itself since
they started their R&D in smartphones. The smartphones since then, have
become cheaper and more affordable for masses and have enabled people
with lesser resources to do greater things. While at the same time they are
continuously releasing flagship phones with unimaginable features and
aesthetics.
Interviewer: Which is your favourite smart phone brand?
Candidate: Oneplus in Android segment has been a game changer. While
they started as “flagship killer” offering high end features and low price
point, through years, I believe they have developed the best version of
Android OS in the industry. They are now competing in the “flagship” arena
with other brands. They have also built a community of tech enthusiasts
which has definitely helped them build a brand loyalty. I also appreciate
Apple for their bold changes in their products which later become industry
standards
Interviewer: Imagine, you want to buy a smartphone and you visit an e-
commerce website, any website, not just Flipkart. What major change you
would like to bring there, which could improve consumer experience
Candidate: Sir, as a frequent e-commerce customer and tech enthusiast,
most of my decision is based on online reviews - blogs, and youtube. But if
you go to any e-commerce website’s product page, they feel as an extended
part of product company’s website. The page do not create any value
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 435
Flipkart

addition by enlisting phone features and basic video. The decision is already
made before logging onto that page. I feel we should collaborate with
Indian tech youtubers (to cater the masses) and put their videos on the
page. This will help in decision making for regular customers

Case 2:

Interviewer: In terms of delivering product what major change you would

like to bring?
Candidate: I bought a phone 6 months back and it was with exchange
option. I don’t know why it happened but delivery guy 1 collected my
mobile phone first and delivery guy 2 delivered the new phone after nearly
2 hours. This brought a sense of insecurity in my mind as there was a brief
period when I was without a phone. For someone who frequently buys
online, if I can get that feeling, I can only imagine the case with first time
buyers. We also have seen many cases where the correct product was not
delivered or things like stones were delivered inside box. As an e-commerce
company we should ensure trust building and deliver products with 100%
accuracy as one bad experience translates to one lost customer.

Case 3:
• Interviewer: We have Delivery hubs from where our wishmasters deliver
products and start their every morning. Sometimes we do face delays
due to more number of cars on road. How would you solve it?
Candidate: Sir, is it road congestion or more number of cars we are looking
at. Because there might be situation where there are multiple lanes and
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Flipkart 436

even with large number of cars, the traffic is moving smoothly. or even with
fewer cars due to some construction or repair, there is a congestion. And
should we get info before the delivery vehicle leaves hub or after leaving
hub (real time) for re-routing
Interviewer: Assume all scenarios
Candidate: We can use google maps
Interviewer: Imagine google is one of our competitors and we cannot use
their products
Candidate: So incase, one of the delivery vehicle is already out, we can fit in
a GPS tracker and use previous data of time taken on a particular route to
check any delays. This data can help other delivery vehicle who are yet to go
on that route. This will solve traffic congestion issue
Candidate: I think this might not be economically feasible, but just for a
solution, we can install sensors on major routes to count the number of cars
on road and give us real time info
Interviewer: What kind of sensors are we looking at based on current
technology
Candidate: Use of cctv cams with AI that can pin point individual cars and
count them

Case 4:
Interviewer: Suppose you have been asked to accomplish a task in a group,
as team leader. How would you go ahead?
Candidate: I believe the most important part is to hire people with required
skill sets.
Interviewer: No, you cannot hire, you already have a team
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 437
Flipkart

Candidate: Ok so there are few aspects of running a team to achieve a

target. As a team leader, I need to first understand the strengths and
weakness, and skillsets of each member. Ensure that they are given task
accordingly. Knowledge transfer would be encouraged to lower resource
dependencies. My idea has always been to improve the performance of
weak members to improve overall team performance rather than focussing
only on high performers. I also understand that each member has its own
career aspirations and as team leader I should ensure that individual goals is
aligned with organisational goals.
Interviewer: Well we are done from my side, do you have anymore
questions?
Candidate: Yes sir, so one of you competitors offers a lot of products who
do you go by competing with such situation and become market leader
when they provide greater value proposition to customers?
Interviewer: I understand Amazon provides a lot of services like AWS and
we do not want to walk that path. Our core business is in logistics and
supply chain
Candidate: Sorry sir, I guess I was not able to put my question correctly. I
was asking about Amazon Prime services. Prime delivery, video, music,
kindle all bundled together provides a better value proposition for
customers. How do we compete?
Interviewer: So as I said, if we are able to perfect our core operations of
supply chain and logistics and provide better customer experience in e-
commerce, we think we can capture greater market.
Candidate: I would like to add one more thing, I always hear about the
Great American dream, and not just the American kids, but kids across
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 438
Flipkart

globe grow up thinking about it. Achieving something great in USA. For me
all the Indian startups, not just flipkart, but in every domain, is a hope for
Great Indian dream and I hope we are able to compete against global forces
and capture the Indian market and then look for global expansion. Success
of today’s startups are very important for dreams of next generation.
<smiled>
Interviewer: <Smiled back> well said, Anurag. Have a great day.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

Have a continuous conversation with interviewer. Ask questions. Don’t
become blank at any point. Stay confident and consider interview as a
general interaction where the person wants to know more about you

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Flipkart 439

Kushagra Rawat
Background:
Undergrad – NSIT
Field of Grad. – BTech, CS Engg.
Work Exp – 20 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Product Mgmt

GD Topic:
"The long term effect of India - China border skirmishes on the ecommerce
industry" and " What policies can the Indian government introduce to
promote entrepreneurship in India"

Round 1:
Personal Interview - Entire interview revolved around my startup
experience, asked in-depth questions like unit cost margin for a single t-
shirt, how many days to deliver to different pin codes, how much
clickthrough rate on advertisement campaigns.

Round 2:

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Flipkart 440

Personal Interview - "Why did you leave your last organization", "What
categories on Flipkart are going to drive the growth for the next 100 million
users"

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

One interview mistake - I mentioned that I was put off by the constant
firefighting in my previous company which rubbed the interviewer off in the
wrong way, Flipkart management explained that firefighting is a big part of
their job and they are looking for candidates that are comfortable in that
aspect of working for a startup.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Flipkart 441

Siddharth Yadav

Background:
Undergrad – NSIT
Field of Grad. – BTech, Engg.
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Healthcare

GD Topic:
Has GST been successful so far? What can be added going forward?
1 min to think, 10 mins of discussion

Round 1:
Interviewer: Walk me through your CV in next 5 mins
Candidate: Talked about educational background, work-ex and extra-
curriculars
Interviewer: Case- A restaurant is only 50% occupied, while customers are
waiting outside, what could be possible reasons?
Candidate: gave 5 possible reasons including longer wait time while dining
etc.

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an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Flipkart 442

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

Do- Use good quality headphones, be confident, keep the interview

interesting for both parties and most importantly learn about the company
and role offered.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Flipkart 443

Additional Questions:

• Guesstimate: the number of cars on the road

• Tell me you favourite app/service
• Expanding Swiggy in your city how would go about doing it
• Design marketing campaign for apparel brand and for plants
• BD having Round-2
• How does Flipkart expand, how should it advertise?
• You are a wholesale business and you are selling mobile phones, Tell the
matrices for internal dash-board
• You are Swiggy you have to charge delivery charges, what parameters
will you use to decide it
• Guesstimate: No. of TVs sold in India
• What is the impact of Covid in SCM
• if another wave of Covid hits India how will you deal with it
• Tell me about yourself, CV related questions
• Previous Year Question: tell me about yourself, how has marketing
evolved
• Journey after order is placed
• Work-ex related questions
• Can learning be completing e-learning
• Lockdown in India
• If you are an e-commerce head, what would be your biggest problem
• If you are PM - Reforms you will bring in next 100 days [As a small
question towards the end]
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Flipkart 444

• If you are PM - Reforms you will bring in next 100 days [As a small
question towards the end]
• Future of modern retail in India
• Topic: Impact of India-China relationship on Indian startup ecosystem
• Topic: Chinese App Ban: Did we lose more than we gained?
• Topic: What should e-commerce solve in the next 3-5 years?
• India China relationship and affect on startups in India? How will it affect
Chinese investments in India? How can as a marketeer how can you
leverage anti China sentiment?
• Topic: Chinese app ban: Did we lose more than gain
• Which US President is better for India?If you are PM of India how ill you
approach Biden with a most pressing issue in next 30 days
• Topic: How to increase the digital transactions in India
• Topic: Can e-learning become the new normal? What's the use of schools
or colleges?
• Topic: GST- Is it really delivered or not?
• How will future of e-commerce look like? What interventions? What can
be the omnichannel strategy, competitive strategy. Post pandemic, use
of technology in e commerce
• How WFH is shaping future of workforce
• Panel Details: Vikas- Structured, 30 sec conclusion (raise hands),
Muttukumar- Random, 1-2 min before anyone can conclude, Shilpa- No
instructions

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Flipkart 445

• Format : Can be Moderated(Panel-Ashwin/Anurag) or

unmoderated(Srijit), 10-15 mins. Most likely everyone is getting 30 sec to
conclude. Can get 1 minute to think. Move in a
structured fashion. Try to devil's advocate, interviewers might appreciate
• How can India become truly aatmanirbhar? Pick up one industry and how
can certain govt policies be implemented
• Format- 10-15 mins. Most likely, everyone will get 30 sec to conclude in
end.
• Topic: How is remote working shaping the outlook for work in future
• Topic: Are the media outlets overdoing their roles
• Topics: Are the media outlets overdoing their roled
• eCommerce for high-value purchases - https://tinyurl.com/y4k5bmag
• Future of eCommerce - https://tinyurl.com/yxu2lw9q
• Rural India propels digital revolution - https://tinyurl.com/y5ulggez
• For the first time, India has more rural net users than urban -
https://tinyurl.com/y4hco2tw
• Topic 10- Is sharing on social media an authorised invasion to privacy?
• Does advertising affect long term perception of consumer(IIMK)
• What will ecommerce do in the next 3-5 years?
• As a consultant, how can you improve Customer experience on
ecommerce?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Flipkart 446

• 2 companies. Small company- manufactures a product but market share

is low. Big company- manufactures the same product using state of the
art technology. As a consultant, what would you advise the small
company to do?
• Flipkart is not as successful as Alibaba. (Tip: Define what is success here)
• Ecommerce penetration in tier 3 cities
• What will ecommerce do in the next 3-5 years. 10 min GD. Panel
expecting practical innovative ideas
• As a consultant, how can you improve Customer experience on
ecommerce? Note: please define the structure in the beginning.
• Flipkart is not as successful as Alibaba. Tip: Define what is success here.
Panelist appreciating a healthy discussion.
• Flipkart has 100 million downloads but only 40million regular users - How
can we increase the conversion?
• Private labels are a key to profitability & scalability
• How can online channels help increase sales in the Grocery market. How
can it be profitable and scaled up?( Tips: How to improve conversion,
loyalty programmes)
• Electric Vehicles - Is it a possibility in the next 5 years
• Is AI the future of mankind?
• Flipkart has 46 million users; how would you add 100 million more users
in 2 years. 15 minutes of group discussion, followed by 30 seconds
suggestion by everyone.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 447

Grofer’s

Sachin Jangid

Background:
• Undergrad – Delhi Technological
University
• Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
• Work Exp – 46 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain - Public
Procurement

Round 1: Personal Interview

• Tell me about yourself
• Logial Questions like - Do airoplane have reverse gear? Why public toilet
gates are open from below?
• Train track change dilemma, 2 tracks both having people on which track
you turn the train as a train driver?
• Case – Rubik’s cube to be delivered to customers and should be pre-
solved condition. Design whole manufacturing, sourcing, delivery
strategy?
• Some CV based questions.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Grofers 448

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Disha Compendium
• Be Logical and explain you approach to question. Approach is important
rather than answer.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Grofers 449

Additional Questions:
• Case: How would you design a supply chain to ensure customer receive a
fully solved rubiks cube
• Tell us some memorable thing from CV
• Case: Was Lockdown successful? What steps would you have taken
before Lockdown if you were in the planning commission?
• Situational Questions similar to Trolley Dilemma. Objective is to
understand your logic
• Long case based on logistics - Diligently listen to the details. It was
related to launch of an e-commerce platform and you had to give some
recommendations related to logistics.
• Questions based on projects in CV

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 450

Prachet Prakash

Background:
Undergrad – IIT ISM Dhandbad
Field of Grad. – B. Tech. (Chemical)
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations, HPCL &
ABG

Round 1:
Round 1 was case-based GD round with 7 people in a panel.

• Case: Mrs.X on finding the deteriorating condition of her husband in the

morning, called the hospital where the staff told her that the symptoms
as described by her were not very serious and she can handle the
situation at home. At 1 A.M, she called the doctor, who asked her to
contact the hospital rather than calling him as he was just back from duty
and was doing over time duties over the past month. When she reached
the hospital, the staff told that she needs to pay the amount in order to
start the treatment, but Mrs.X could not afford it. We needed to decide
on who was responsible for the death of Mr.X ( Mrs. X, Mr. X, Doctor,
Policy makers, common people who voted for them, staff)

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 451

Round 2:
Personal interview:

This was based on the form which we had filled a month back.

• Tell us something about yourself

• Tell us an incident where you identified a problem and analyzed it in
depth to come to a solution
• Interviewer: Tell us an incident where you suggested something
new/innovative
Candidate: Shared an incident from my workplace, where I had suggested
an improvement in an idea shared by technical department
Interviewer: But the idea was not yours, can you share something where
you had to do the initial thinking
Candidate: Shared an incident from my college experience
• Why operations and why SCM?
• Tell us about your family background
• Do you have any restrictions to work in remote locations ?
• Why ITC?

Round 3:
Personal interview:

Interviewers were much more senior. One was a HR manager and other was
Operations Head for Classmate notebooks

• Tell me about yourself

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 452

• You have done a minor in operations management, what all do you know
about it?
• Gave a LPP of 6 variables and 10 constraints, asked to define the
optimization function, constraints etc
• How would you design a new oil storage tank? what are the parameters
to be considered?
• What were the fire protection systems installed in your plant?
• What kind of pumps were used in your plant, why centrifugal pumps?
• How did you carry out priming of these pumps?
• You have mentioned in great detail about a project in the form, please
share what was it about?
• How does a situation like COVID affect the Oil & Gas Supply Chain
• Apply the same analogy to the notebook supply chain and explain the
effect on it due to COVID
• Interviewer: Any other questions?
Candidate: Will the projects being allotted to me be on the basis of my
previous work experience or everybody is at par after selection? Please
share any of the projects which we might have to do ?
Interviewer: Shared three to four examples and asked - Do they excite
you?
Candidate: Yes they do, especially the first one ( It was based on the
Transportation Problem concept, which I had studied, I showed a lot of
interest and passion to apply the learnt concepts in reality)
• Tell us about your family background
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 453

• Asked few questions on career choices of family members

• Why ITC?

• ITC is not only about Aashirvaad and sunfeast, will you be proud to
associate yourself with cigarette?
• What is your view on smoking? Will you ever smoke?
• How can you persuade others to buy something which you consider not
fit for consumption?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Fill the form very carefully and religiously. The entire interview is based
on it.
• Don't deviate from the facts mentioned in the form.
• Show interest in the company and the role offered.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 454

Reeves Abel Henry

Background:
Undergrad – SVNIT Surat
Field of Grad. –Mechanical Engg.
Work Exp – 24 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Supply Chain

Round 1:
Situational GD Round:
A situation-based around the death of an individual. We needed to rank
people in the order of their responsibility towards his death based on
certain statements given by the people (person's wife, doctor, hospital
admin, etc.)

Round 2:
HR Interview Round:
Basic HR round revolving around understanding the individual's
expectations from the summer internship, short-term and long term
objectives, roles and responsibilities held during previous work experience,
etc.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 455

Round 3:
Technical Interview:
Interview testing the technical skills. Small cases also discussed aimed
towards understanding the ground realities of Supply Chain, and also
analytical as well critical thinking skills. Also asked to compare the
automotive supply chain (previous work-ex) with FMCG.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• GD: Try to think logically before having a strong opinion in the GD. Many
candidates made the basic mistake of jumping to conclusions in their
very first statement itself. Try to listen to the view points of other
individuals and appreciate wherever necessary. Have an open-mindset.
Plenty of time to come to a conclusion and ample opportunity was given
to each candidate to express.
• HR Round: Try to link previous work-ex/current objectives with the job
profile the company is hiring for. Prepare well around the HR answers
submitted before-hand as same questions were also asked in the
interview. Have clear and firm opinion about things and answer
rationally. Ask for some time to gather your thoughts in case you don't
have an answer to a question but do not keep speaking without having
clarity of thoughts.
• Technical Round: Read the basics of Ops/SC beforehand thoroughly as
questions related to them can be asked in the interview. Prepare well
around your CV.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Marico 456

Aboli Patil

Background:
Undergrad – VJTI, Mumbai
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 26 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Supply Chain

Round 1:
It was a case GD wherein 5 mins were given to read the case and to note
down solutions. After that the panelist randomly called candidates and
were asked to present their solutions in 2 mins

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• Introduce yourself.
• Why MBA?
• Asked about some project from my cv related to work experience which
was related to demand forecasting.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Marico 457

• What are the industry standards for demand forecast accuracy in paints
industry and how it can be improved?

• What is the key difference between supply chain of Asian paints and
Nerolac paints?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• CV Prep
• In-depth CV preparation is very important, read about basic concepts of
operations and supply chain

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Marico 458

Rajarshi Lahiri

Background:
Undergrad – Jadavpur University
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 27 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations

Round 1:
Case based GD:
• Marico for one of its edible oil product imports 80% of their raw material
crop from Argentina and Mexico. Rest 20% from India, market of which is
completely dominated by middlemen. Due to flood in Argentina and
Mexico raw crop supply disrupted. The company has raw material stock
of only 3 months. The supplier of those countries communicated that it
will take 6 months to send new lot of material. What are your
suggestions to face the issue in short term and long term. (Everyone can
speak for 2 minutes)
• Points presented:
• Short term:
o Increase the profit margin of middle men
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Marico 459

o Deploy own logistics arrangement (ship) to import from Argentina

and Mexico quickly
o Slow down the production rate so that the market supply of the
product will not stop after 3 months. Supply to the areas with loyal
customers mainly
o Reduce marketing of this product and increase a nearly substitute
product of Marico itself, so that less supply of this product will shift
customers buy the substitute one
• Long term:
o Restructure the supply chain and procure directly from the farmers
o Explore some other tropical countries (in Africa) where this
particular crop is generated. Develop suppliers there
o Research and develop an alternate product having ingredients
available in India, with same nutritional value

Round 2:
Interviewer 1: (Technical) Is this your first interview, are you familiar to
wake up this much early (interview started at 6:45 AM around)
Candidate: I worked in a running plant as an area-in-charge. Need to be
alert 24x7 basis. Early morning is not at all a big deal.
Interviewer 1: You are from manufacturing industry, what attracted you to
choose a future career in SCM
Candidate: Linked with my Mechanical Engineering study. Then in work ex
the successful achievement of monthly production target because of my
inventory planning satisfied me.
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Marico 460

Interviewer 1: Have you thought about the case of GD further, what are
your solutions?
Candidate: Described. Crossed at some points. Gave examples of such
instances with my previous organization and how I dealt with that.
Interviewer 1: We have production units and office works both. Where do
you want to work?
Candidate: I worked at a naxalite influenced area for 2.5 years (Kalahandi of
Odisha). All of your locations are luxury to me. I want to work in site to
know more about the detailed operation, otherwise I can't do office work
Interviewer 1: Briefly describe your work ex.
Candidate: Described
Interviewer 1: Tell us about your favourite Marico product? Why?
Candidate: Gone through a recent press release of Marico about launching a
new product. Told about that and Parachute.

HR:
• Did you directly manage a lot of people in your previous organization?
How to motivate a person in your team who is spoiling the team?
• What are the qualities you will look for your team mate and what are the
qualities you will refrain to look for?
• You seem to be very passionate about work. Share about one of your
failure? You will fail a lot in Marico. How will you overcome?
• Do you have any question?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Marico 461

• Candidate: Asked about the possibility of getting on site operational

projects

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Very strong CV back up and HR answers
• Operations Pocketbook 1 & 2
• Marico upcoming products press release (Day before interview)
• Put a smile and face the interview with full confidence

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Marico 462

Additional Questions:
• Achievements pertaining to your previous work experience
• Why SCM?
• Any failure encountered? How did you handle it?
• Questions from the company's 'Getting to know you' application form
section
• Why should Marico hire you?
• Marketing or Sales? Why?
• Why Marico? Why FMCG?
• Asked about the GD case- Have you thought of any new
approach/solution for the case?
• Any challenging events in your life? How did you handle them?
• Why Marico? why FMCG?
• New Product Launches
• Keep in mind the answers you submitted in the company's application
form on D2C.
• Why SCM/S&M?
• Any leadership positions? Any risks taken in past?
• Strengths & Weaknesses
• Why Marico?
• Long term goals
• A huge chunk of questions on CV/work experience

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 463
Meero

Kaushik Sudra

Background:
Undergrad – LD College of Engineering
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 59 months
Prev Work Ex Domain –Supply Chain
Management

Round 1:
Group Discussion:
Topic: Impact of ban of Chinese apps on India.
Pointers: Value creation, low investment industry, India has good numbers
of engineers, challenges - to create user friendly apps, perception is
important in app industry, govt initiatives to introduce coding at early
stages

Round 2:
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself
Interviewer: You have substantial experience. Why MBA after long work
experience?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Meero 464

Candidate: To gain knowledge, novel ways to tackle problems - gave

examples of OB
Interviewer: What can a fresher learn from you?
Candidate: Real-life business constraints and processes, industry practices,
benchmarks in operations
Interviewer: What can you learn from fresher?
Candidate: New ways to approach problems.
Interviewer: What value you can add to Meero?
Candidate: Value engineering, past experience in operations, network
analysis, cost function analysis knowledge
Interviewer: Any questions?
Candidate: How does a day in operations at Meero looks like?

Round 3:
• Tell me something about yourself.
• Why meero?
• What are your future plans?
• Target company?
(Avoided the answer by saying I am targeting business models that connect
buyer-supplier. Eg - Amazon, Flipkart, Uber, Ola, Meero etc. They are
booming. Asset free business model.)
• Why will you not join Amazon or Flipkart?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Meero 465

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Ops Prep strategy - PESTEL, Porter, SWOT, vision mission value, business
analysis, value chain, product analysis, formulate strategies around
company vision
• CV specific guesstimates, data around those guesstimates, and mock
interview are important to overcome gross limitations in content,
delivery and presentation.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 466

Meero

Additional Questions:

• Have ONE preferred role in mind and have SOLID points as to why do you
want to go for that role. Refrain from saying that anything works.

Group Discussion:
• Plastic Ban in India, Economic vs Environment variables affected?
• Will AI eat up jobs or create more?
• Pros and Cons of Online Learning, except internet issues.
• Impact of COVID on Indian economy.
• How can you incorporate AI in the corporate world? What sectors can
you implement this in?
• Does the Chinese app ban create an opportunity for Indian developers?
• Your thoughts on Aatmanirbhar Bharat"

HR Questions:
• Why Meero?
• How do you relate to Meero's culture?
• How do you convince an aggressive team member for a task?
• Any particular framework you use to solve day to day problems?
• How do you want to see yourself after some years? Case solving
• Why Startup? Why not the conventional way?
• If I say I would be funding your startup idea would you leave Meero and
work on that project or would you work simultaneously?
• Why should we select you when there are xx members waiting outside?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Natwest Group 467

Juthika Das

Background:
Undergrad – IIT, Guwahati
Field of Grad. – Civil Engineering.
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Disha Resources
• General news (NDTV)
• Dos: Dedicate 1 hr. daily & carefully select and leverage seniors to
practise cases and mock interviews with

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
PwC 468

Kaustubh Sharma
Background:
Undergrad – Netaji Subhas Institute of
Technology
Field of Grad. – Manufacturing and
Automation Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Business
Intelligence, Product Analysis

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Case group discussions,
company PPT and company website.
• Practice guesstimates well and show your approach. Make sure you
know why you are applying for the role and what it entails.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Uber 469

Monika Bhardwaj

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Kanpur
Field of Grad. – Economics
Work Exp – 43 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Political consulting

Round 1:
• Tell us about yourself
• Briefly explain your work experience and any challenging project
• Share 3 challenges you faced while executing the project and how did
you overcome those?
• Any question you have for me?

Round 2:
Case:
• How much driver partners are earning from Uber in a day, is it sufficient?
• Share a plan on how would you recruit 300 drivers in 20 days after
lockdown?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Uber 470

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Team Disha Sessions
• Team Disha and CSC materials
• Practice case studies and guesstimates
• Go through Uber Operations structure

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Uber 471

Dimple Budhwani

Background:
Undergrad – MNIT Jaipur
Field of Grad. – BTech, Electrical Engg.
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations

Round 1:
Guesstimate: How much does an uber driver earns per month.
(This one was detailed because it formed a basis for further questions)
Approach: For calculating fare, consider both normal pricing as well as surge
pricing, find the total distance traveled; Expenses: Maintenance, Petrol,
EMIs, Commissioning
*have a rationale for each & every value*
• What can we do to increase the driver's income.
• Situational-based question on what will you do as an operations manager
in case of a driver's strike.
(Was given four options; none of the options looked feasible, was asked
to provide reasoning for each one of them)

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Uber 472

Round 2:
• What problems does a customer face while booking a cab?
• How are you going to solve these problems if you are working in Uber?
• What will be the criteria for deciding the priority of a project?
• Have you ever analyzed any data in the past?
• What are the different types of analysis you can perform on Uber's
dataset?

Round 3:
• Tell me something that is not in your CV.
• Five improvement points for the Uber app.
• Who are the different stakeholders for Uber?
• What are the 5 measurable values that are important to the customer &
the driver?
• What are the fixed & variable costs for Uber?
• How can uber expand its services without investing anything extra?
Provide a plan of action for 2 such services.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors; Ops study material
• Team Disha Sessions; Mock GDs/PIs
• Take your time if you don't know much about the questions & try to think
from all the stakeholders perspective; If you do not know the answer you
can humbly state that.
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Uber 473

Ayurshi P Kapse
Background:
Undergrad – SGSITS, Indore
Field of Grad. – Electronics and
Instrumentation Engineering
Work Exp – 23 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – BD (sales) &
Market Research

Round 1: Excel based written test

Round 2: Personal Interview
• Basic tell me about yourself
• A few cross questions from work ex
• Tell me two problems that you have faced while using uber
• How would you rectify those problems?
• More cross questioning on the same topic

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors; Disha study material
• Team Disha Sessions; Mock GDs/PIs

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Uber 474

Sarvana Kumar S L

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Trichy
Field of Grad. – BTech, ECE
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT & Consulting

Round 1: Online Assessment

Round 2: Personal Interview
Round 3: Personal Interview
Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks
• Interaction with seniors
• Company recent news
• JD; Company details shared by Disha
• They are highly data driven company. Even operations was more like
Operation Analytics
• They concentrate on metrics that needs to be looked at various
scenarios. 85% of my interview was based on what metric will you look

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Uber 475

into or consider to evaluate this particular scenario you are facing while
using Uber
Additional Questions:
• Situation when you had to persuade someone?
• Case: How do you define whether demand is overestimated or
underestimated? How would you onboard drivers in a new city?
• Guesstimate: Number of Uber drivers in Kolkata.
• Factors for driver churn rate and how would you stabilize?
• Guesstimate: How will you launch Uber eats in Lucknow (profitability
analysis); What are the 4 metrics on the basis of which you will evaluate
Uber eats (Now vs After 1 year)
• How will you market Uber? Which segment should we enter considering
COVID scenario?
• Guesstimate: Factors while launching Uber in XYZ city
• HR: Challenges faced in previous role.
• Which scientific principle is used for swinging the cricket ball?
• Work ex questions- in-depth questions
• Guesstimate- How do you calculate pricing for drivers?
• Case: How would you launch Uber in Tirupati?
• Guesstimate: How many people in Tirupati own smartphones
• Guesstimate and situation based questions based on Uber's existing
businesses
• Guesstimate repeated: Launching Uber in Rishikesh
• Guesstimate repeated with different city name; Why Operations?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Udaan 476

Ashish Arya

Background:
Undergrad – GBPUAT, Pantnagar
Field of Grad. – BTech, Mech Engg
Work Exp – 38 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations
(Manufacturing)

Round 1: Group Discussion

Topic: Whether Udaan should expand its business in other countries? If yes,
how?
Duration: Total 20 minutes (use company related jargons)

Round 2: Personal Interview

• Introduce yourself
• Asked work & internship projects related questions, any new initiatives

Guesstimate: Number of pan shops in Lucknow (2 minutes to solve)

*Asked for extra time to get to a number*
• Discussion on the Approach

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Udaan 477

• Any questions for me? *Asked questions on the future plans and is
Udaan planning to expand in other countries (GD topic)*

Round 3: Personal Interview

HR Interview (2 interviewers):
• How are you? and where from Uttarakhand?
• Asked on work-based situation (people management related issues - HR
based)

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Internet, About the company, HR and CV prep
• Team Disha Ops pocket book, E commerce articles, Disha material
• Prepare well for guesstimates and case studies; HR and CV preparation
should be thorough; if something goes wrong during the interview,
accept it, and correct it

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Udaan 478

Birari Aman
Abhiman

Background:
Undergrad – MIT Pune
Field of Grad. – Engineering
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Manufacturing
(FMCG)

Round 1: Group Discussion

Topic: Normal Udaan related topics

Round 2: Personal Interview

Case: Supply chain in COVID era
Puzzle

Round 3: Personal Interview

HR Interview: Leadership, team-player qualities

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Udaan 479

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Company website
• Government reports on Sector
• For PI, Structuring the answer is most important

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Udaan 480

Rohan Jangid

Background:
Undergrad – BITS Pilani
Field of Grad. – BE in Manufacturing
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Automation
Consulting

Round 1: Group Discussion

Group size: Around 10
Panel: One HR and the other from the Udaan Ops team
Topic: Discuss loyalty programs to develop Udaan's business
(For this, one should know about Udaan, what it does, stakeholders, etc.)
Format: 2 minutes to think, 12 minutes to discuss, 40 seconds given to each
for summarizing. They were stringent about the time limit, pressing the
buzzer to alert.

Round 2:
Technical Interview (1 interviewer, 25-30 minutes):
• Tell me about yourself

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Udaan 481

• Puzzle 1: There are multiple-colored balls in a bag, and you are

blindfolded. How many trials to be sure about two different colors if
taking out ball one at a time without replacement?
• Puzzle 2: In a village, the probability of getting a boy or a girl is equal.
However, if they get a girl, the process will be repeated unless they get a
boy. The process will go on till 5 trials. How will the gender ratio shift,
given there are only 10000 couples in the village currently?
• What do you know about Udaan? Explain the business model.
• Case discussion: Tackle the problems faced by Udaan and its stakeholders
in the early months of Covid in Bangalore
• Any questions for the interviewer?

Round 3:
HR Interview (2 interviewers, 25-30 minutes):
• Tell me about yourself
• Why Operations & why this role? (Focused on my previous role, as it was
very different)
• About work-ex
• Tell me about an instance of failure at your job
• Why this was a failure, how the company was impacted, and what you
did after that?
• Explain this project thoroughly (they picked a project from my 2nd-year
internship [Robotics-based])
• Questions on team dynamics (not a direct HR question, but just wanted
to understand it from a conflict resolution point of view)
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Udaan 482

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Disha Compendium; basic research on the company
• For Company: Internet research, company PPT, Disha material
• For Domain: Disha material on Basics of Operations
• Do’s:
o Read about the company and how you can help the company grow
in certain areas
o Prepare HR answers well
o Solve some cases to get an idea of how to structure the problem
• Don’ts:
o Don't hog the GD time, 2-3 points are more than enough (for this
GD). It's always about the content and not how long you spoke
o Also, if you have many points, try to speak for a max of one minute
and then enter later in the GD with other points
o Don't show that you are feeling the pressure or are stressed. Just
smile and answer

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Udaan 483

Additional Questions:
• As a supply chain manager how will you planning waste management of
your company?
• HR questions on team dynamics
• Puzzle on probability
• Expansion into international markets
• Udaan is a B2B business model, so will you be able to negotiate with
small suppliers personally since they are not really educated and aware
about systems and technology
• If you have 20 crore rupees to enter into the market how will you go
about it. How will you use consumer insights into the business?
• Puzzle - If there are 10000 couples in the town and you have to conceive
for baby boy upto 5 trials. So what will be the boy - girl ratio?
• If your company is similar to Udaan operating in FMCG sector, how will
you manage COVID situation?
• GD topics are same for Ops & BD
• How to focus on non - essential business in COVID times
• Udaan expansion strategy in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 484

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 485

Aditya Prakash
Background:
• Undergrad – Shiv Nadar University
• Field of Grad. – B.Tech., Electrical Engg
• Work Exp – 33 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Software engg.

Round 1:
At the start of the interview there was a 15 mins casual interaction with the
interviewer where he told which team he was working for and what
projects they were looking at. I asked a lot of questions on that and
candidate also suggested some of the changes that can be done.

Interviewer: What can be done to tackle the problem of return of products

for Amazon?
Candidate: Created a journey map of the product delivery life cycle and found
out the loop holes and points because of which the products were returned
and then provided solutions for that. Then created a priority matrix and
success matrix. Finally came up with the tradeoff and recommendations.
Interviewer: Suggestion to Improve Amazon Prime?
Candidate: By Amazon prime do you mean prime video or music?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 486

Interviewer: Prime Video

Candidate: Selected user persona and went through the user journey and
then solutions. CIRCLES framework is quite helpful in these cases.

Round 2:

Interviewer: Introduce yourself

Candidate: Gave my introduction in which I slipped the point that I had won
Microsoft PM Challenge this year. (Had followup questions on MS PM
Challenge)
Interviewer: Design WhatsApp for kids.
Candidate: Who will be the main stakeholder here? Kids or parents?
Interviewer: Take whatever you like..
Candidate: Took parents and designed the application taking care of user
persona and defined all the required matrix.
Interviewer: Design agriculture town.
Candidate: Took farmers as the primary persona and defined the user
journey, requirements and solutions. Defined all the required matrix and
came up with the recommendations.

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Give as many mock case PIs as possible

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 487
Amazon

Megha Priya

Background:
• Undergrad – BIT Mesra
• Field of Grad. – Computer Science
• Work Exp – 37 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Software
Development

Round 1:
• Introduction + Explain a project of your choice in detail
Case - Consider an e-commerce platform. It has 100 million customers. How
will you onboard another 100 million customers? How will you analyse the
situation and what changes would you suggest as a product manager?
Candidate: Using 4P, gave ideas for improvement of every P. Further they
asked questions and guided the interview towards the solution.

Round 2:
• Q1: Introduction + Explain a project of your choice in detail
• Q2: Several HR questions on the project discussed and also independent
questions based on their 14 LPs.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 488

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Focus on the HR answers a lot. They should be critical and significant.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 489

Payal Jain

Background:
• Undergrad – MNIT Jaipur
• Field of Grad. – Metallurgical and
Materials engineering
• Work Exp – 23 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – IT Consultant

Round 1:
• Duration - 1 hr
• Attitude of the interviewer - Very friendly and casual
• Time of the interview - 5 AM
• Tell me about yourself (spoke for more than 5 min - formal and informal
both)
• Why Product Management when you have consult background? convince
yourself not me - Involve as many examples as possible to support your
points
• Interest and Hobbies discussion which lead to a case
• Case - Design a website from the base, exclude marketing because that's
obvious
• Metrics to gauge your website
• How can Amazon help you with your goals (USE 14 Leadership Principles
as much as possible)
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 490

• A situation when you achieved something big ( with reference to my

work-ex project)
• CV based questions (Inculcate Leadership Principles)

Round 2:
• Duration - 1 hr
• Attitude of the interviewer - Formal but friendly
• Time of the interview - 7 AM
• CV discussions (mainly work-ex)
• Why Amazon and Prod man
• Follow Politics?
• Case on being a campaign manager for Rahul Gandhi design a proper
strategy considering his current reputation
• Situation of crisis?
• Situation when your idea was good but not accepted
• Communicating and convincing skils usage

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Just be ready with an explanation of whatever you are doing currently.
• Talk to seniors as much as possible.
• Be confident and keep smiling

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 491

Sneh Sparsh

Background:
• Undergrad – NIT Jamshedpur
• Field of Grad. – Btech, Civil Engg.
• Work Exp – 25 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain - Analytics

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Introduction and tell me about yourself
• Generic discussion on introduction
• Questioned around work ex mentioned in CV and end-to-end explanation
• Tell me about an instance out of your work ex, where you did something non
traditional. (Answered one of the PORs)
• How do you think you can improve Alexa? (Answered around personalized feature
addition and discussed in detail)
• What do you think are 3 KPIs to evaluate the proposed additions.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 492

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• Introduction
• Picked up points from work ex mentioned in CV and asked for end-to-end
explanation
• Tell me about a project you took up voluntarily and worked on it E2E.
How did it pan out.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Team Disha sessions
• Thorough CV preparation
• HR based on 14 leadership principles
• Senior interactions

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 493

Sneha Priya

Background:
Undergrad – IIT-Varanasi (BHU)
Field of Grad. – Electronics Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Artificial
Intelligence

Round 1:
PI:
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself
Candidate: Spoke about college, club , my startup, company, and projects I
wanted him to focus on, my hobbies
Interviewer: Ask about the first project from my work ex section of CV.
Candidate: Explained in STAR format. I had worked on improvement of
response rate of inhouse chatbot using Natural Language Processing.
Interviewer asked many questions on this project.
Interviewer: What is the response rate of Chatbot?
Candidate: I explained this using an example
Interviewer: We have domain based chatbots and multi/general purpose
chatbots, which one is better

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 494

Candidate: There is no binary answer for this. Depend on the use case. Took
example of Alexa and chatbots available on ecommerce site for customer
support
Interviewer: You have mentioned Reinforcement learning in your CV. What
is it?
Candidate: Explained using example
Interviewer: Which is your favourite app, what do you like in it and what you
don’t?
Candidate: Clarified, it can be any app or amazon’s app. Told about Telegram
and compared it with Watsapp (First told about my personal pain points then
covered the feature)
Interviewer: 1 killer feature of Watsapp, you want to implement in Telegram?
Candidate: Watsapp is simple to use and is more secure than telegram, but
don’t consider it as killer feature. But safety is one feature (I already had
talked about it in previous question, so told can’t think of anything apart from
this)
Interviewer: You have quite interesting technical background, why MBA?
Candidate: Told that I had 2 options either job switch or higher education.
Covered details of choosing MBA over job switch. Talked about experience at
my startup (during college, I had launched an startup), need to know more
about several business domain.
Interviewer: Why ProdMan?
Candidate: Among all the roles offered under MBA programme, Prodman
closely aligns with my interest. Told my inclination towards technology. Like
comparing/ analysing features of apps. Also, like ambiguity, then explained
that there is no right or wrong answer in prodman
He asked a question on Active learning. He was working on that problem. It
was related to manually checking the accuracy of a machine learning model
by comparing the output of model and product listed on the website of
Amazon. He asked is there a way to automate it.
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 495

Later he mentioned the challenges of this ongoing project and explained why
it can’t be automated.

Round 2:

PI:
Interviewer: Gave a brief introduction of himself. Walk me through your
Resume in brief
Candidate: Covered main points from work ex, POR, ECA
Interviewer: Can you please summarise your workex in 3-4 lines?
(In round-1, interviewer had given feedback to give answers in crisp manner,
probably that’s why he asked me to do this)
Candidate: Gave the summary
Interviewer: Can you further summarise it?
Candidate: Reframed everything
Interviewer: Why Prodman?
Candidate: Gave the prepared answer
Interviewer: I will give you a scenario, tell me how to solve it. Create an app
for children
Candidate: Followed the circle approach.
Interviewer: Do you have any question for me?
Candidate: What challenges do you face as a PM?

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

Started with Decode and Conquer book, Material given by Team Disha,
Biztech team
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 496

Sumit Pal

Background:
Undergrad – Jadavpur University
Field of Grad. – Computer Science and
Engineering
Work Exp – 37 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Software

Domain: Product Management/ IT

Round 1:
• Discussions on different aspects lasting 20-25 minutes
• 2 panelists in the interview

Round 2:
• Interview with group Product Manager
• Time duration for 35-40 minutes

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Be really thorough with CV and 14 leadership principles.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 497

Shruti Nambiar

Background:
Undergrad – University of Hyderabad
Field of Grad. – Chemistry
Work Exp – 30 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytical Research
and Development

Domain: Program Manager

Round 1:
• Duration: 30 min
Interviewer: Walk me through your CV
Candidate: Gave them brief details about myself and started talking about
each section in my CV in brief. Ensured that I highlighted any major
achievements I had and the consequent learnings from them. Also tried
to include any points that could be related to their leadership principles.
Interviewer: Picked up a point in my CV and deep-dive questions about it
Candidate: Since seniors had warned beforehand that this is something
typical of Amazon interviews, I had ensured that I had at least a few minutes
to talk about every point on my CV. While preparing, I also tried to
understand what kind of cross-questions may be asked and was prepared

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 498

with answers for that. Know every number, every word in the CV and have a
good backing to it.

Interviewer: A time when you proposed a simple solution to a complex

problem
Candidate: An expected question based on the 14 LPs of Amazon. I had
prepared for this question. Be as detailed as possible and know as many
perspectives on the problem as possible. When the project took place, who
were the stakeholders involved, why didn't it work before, why did it work
with the solution you provided, what was your exact role in the project- and
this was the most important part. Your contribution and what impact it had
on the organization as a whole. I did know the financial impact of my
project, so I clearly stated the same.
Interviewer: Have you ever been in a position of leadership at work? (Did
you lead a team)
Candidate: No. I had led the training for a new recruit, but other than that,
no.
Interviewer: Any questions for me?
Candidate: This was one question that is asked almost in all interviews but
somehow I wasn't prepared for this. But one's interest in the company is
gauged by this question. I asked the interviewer about what she liked about
Amazon the most, what kind of a role she worked in, and whether Amazon
gave her the opportunity to explore different roles during her stint there.
During this time I also told the interviewer what parts of her answer excited
me the most. This gives them an insight as to what kind of a personality you
are and what you expect from the organization.

Round 2:
• Duration: 30 min
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 499

Interviewer: Walk me through your CV

Candidate: Almost a similar answer. Some clarification questions regarding
my role were asked and I answered them accordingly
Interviewer: One time you proposed an innovative solution to solve a
problem
Candidate: Again an LP question. I was asked for a lot of details about the
project on this one. Why the solution worked? Why wasn't the idea not
given before? What let you to come to the solution?
Interviewer: One situation where you disagreed with your manager and you
were wrong
Candidate: Again an LP question. Kept the answers as detailed as possible.
Interviewer: Why Amazon? Why transition from sciences and research to a
company like Amazon?
Candidate: Spoke about the day-1 culture, why Amazon as a company
excites me. Spoke about why I wanted to keep learning (an LP of Amazon's)
and want to understand the different roles that Amazon has to offer.
Interviewer: Any questions for me?
Candidate: Asked about his role in the company

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Focus entirely on the Leadership Principles, Shareholder's Letter and
Amazon's Flywheel.
• They like people who are obsessed with Amazon, the way that they are
obsessed with their customers, so familiarizing oneself with the current
news and its culture helps tremendously. Every answer should preferably
have some elements of these.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 500

Sumit Kumar Rout

Background:
• Undergrad – IIT Guwahati
• Field of Grad. – Civil Engineering
• Work Exp – 21 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics
Consulting

Round 1:
• Basic Intro then entirely based on workex. Interviewer asked how I used
"Dive Deep" in my job.
• The round went on for around 40 minutes where I went into detail of the
project, what new I brought to the team and how it was beneficial in the
long term for the project.

Round 2:
• Case based round where I was asked to improve the delivery of Amazon
grocery keeping the time constraint of 2 hours in mind.
• I was asked to find out the areas where customer might have problem
with the final delivery and address them.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 501

• The important thing was to go sequentially and identify the pain points at
each step, suggest multiple ways to address them and give the most
optimum solution.
• Also spent around 10 minutes discussing the interviewer's work, what
challenges he had been facing, how Amazon has coped in the recent time
in other countries etc.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Take the domain priority order for Amazon very seriously. Talk with
interns to get an idea in case you are confused. Be prepared for
questions on the LPs. Ask question at the end.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Coalshashtra 502

Asher Ner Tenzing

Namchyo
Background:
Undergrad – National Dairy Research
Institute
Field of Grad. – Dairy Technology
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Was asked about different aspects of apps and how to make it more
efficient for customers. Also many technological aspects. I dont have a
tech oriented background, but was confident so they took me.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors

• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GD/PIs
• Interaction with Seniors

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Coalshashtra 503

• Be confident. Even if you dont know about a thing, just tell them
something that relates to the question they ask.

Additional Information
• What things you see while creating an app
• How would you go ahead creating an app
• News on Coal Sector
• Coal Sector in India
• CoalShastra was founded in 2014 with the goal of bringing in
transparency for the SMEs in the Coal trade. The company started off as
an information aggregation portal, providing sector related news,
commodity prices, freights, auctions data among other things. Eventually,
they transformed into the world’s only dedicated solid energy
marketplace

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Creditwatch 504

Tarun Kaneria

Background:
• Undergrad – OIST Bhopal
• Field of Grad. – B.E.(Mechanical)
• Work Exp – 35 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
• Did a course on design thinking. Was asked question around the same.
• Why Product Management?

Round 2:
Prod Man Case: Redesign Uber App for college students

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Disha material
• Be familiar with CIRCLES for attempting Prod Man cases

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Creditwatch 505

Additional Questions:

• Case: Design Uber from scratch

• Suggest some improvements in your favourite product
• Why this role (trying to gauge interest, confidence of candidate)
• Questions around previous workex
• Why CreditWatch
• Why product management
• What are you looking forward from the internship?
• What is your favourite product?
• CV based questions
• Three topics: 1 minute given to each candidate to express their views on
one of the assigned topics
1. Functionality vs look and feel
2. Is AI hyped
3. Is alternate data best for present
• What do you know about enterprise sales vs retail sales?
• Why Business Development
• Tell me about yourself
• About Fintech industry and KYC
• If you have any past experience in AI/ML, questions can be expected on
that. Read about company products and clients
• Start to end life cycle of a Product, PM’s role in that cycle. (Questions
regarding different stakeholders at various stages in life cycle)

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Creditwatch 506

• Why do NPA occur- is it due to intelligence of fraudster or due to

loophole in system/ software?
• Product Management vs Project Management
• Case: Design an elevator.
• Winners of PICUP 2020 Fintech for the Artificial Intelligence category
• Winners of the 3rd edition of Digital Innovation Summit 2018
• Founders: Meghna Suryakumar, Sandeep Anandampillai
• Products, Platforms, About CreditWatch

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 507
Dr. Reddy Laboratories

Kunal Vijayant

Background:
• Undergrad – IIEST Shibpur
• Field of Grad. – BE in Metallurgy and
Materials Engg.
• Work Exp – 30 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain - IT

Round 1:
• GD Format: A case topic was given and then everyone had to give the
solution to the problem based on their approach.
• GD Topic: A long case with information was given, in which multiple
departments was having problems and a blame game was going on. So,
how to approach this problem and what should be done? (Role was DPE
so digitization was expected)

Round 2:
Personal Interview: 2 interviewers (1 asked question and other observed)
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself in 1 min
Candidate: Told

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 508
Dr. Reddy Laboratories

Interviewer: Follow up question on hobby. Tell me a poetry.

Candidate: Started but interrupted in between.
Interviewer: Why did you not join a Steel Industry after Engg.? (Since BE was
in Metallurgy)
Candidate: Stated the market scenario and the opportunities available at
that time
Interviewer: Which type of role do you want to pursue after MBA?
Candidate: Told, cross-questioning done but convinced
Interviewer: Do you have any question for us?
Candidate: Asked about a recent interview of their CEO about their imports
from China
Interviewer: Answered
Candidate: Sir, can I ask one more question
Interviewer: Sure
Candidate: Asked if they are doing any digital innovation in the field of
Cancer?
Interviewer: Explained company's approach
Candidate: Thank you for your insights, Thank you!
Interviewer: All the best.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Recent news about company
• Disha provided materials
• Be consistent about the answers, they try a stress interview but do not
deviate from your purpose as you have projected about yourself

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 509
Dr. Reddy Laboratories

• And they also love if you are completely aware of, what the company is
doing currently and what are their future plans.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Electronic Art 510

Akarsh Jain

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Kanpur
Field of Grad. – Btech, Aerospace Engg.
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – FinTech

Round 1:
Pre Round: App Analysis - we were to submit a PPT breaking down the
Game loop of Plants vs Zombies FREE app, suggesting changes to the app to
increase revenue/retention and list metrics that one would use to find
reasons for decreasing D2 retention

Round: Mostly questioning items in the submitted PPT and domain specific
questions
Interviewer: (Domain) You have mentioned difficulty spike in the D2
retention slide, what do you mean by difficult and how do you identify that?
Candidate: Generally, a player will only feel that something is difficult if they
fail a level. If they are going through levels without a hitch, they will not call
the game difficult. So, if a person quits the app due to a difficulty spike, i.e. a

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Electronic Art 511

failed level, which is called rage quitting, we can qualify that as the primary
reason for them quitting the app and dropping out before D2.
Interviewer: What is your favourite game and what is its core game loop?
Candidate: I mention Rimworld, a colony management game, and describe
its core game loop (this game is too complex for a simple loop - I do not
recommend it for this question)
Interviewer: (Prodman + Domain) How will you price the coin packages in
the PvZ app?
Candidate: I was not able to completely explore the app, since some
features were locked behind progression. Since singleplayer and multiplayer
experiences have very different monetization models, I want to confirm, PvZ
is a singeleplayer app, right?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Generally, singleplayer games are valued by the entertainment
they deliver, so I would value as a customer a 10 hour game differently than
a 60 hour game. So one thing we should consider is the value the app
delivers to the consumer. To find this out, we can look at the current
industry standard for pricing games and extrapolate that to our coin
packages.
Another thing we can do is find the price elasticity of our customers - we
can decrease/increase the price of the packages and see how does the
adoption rate change. If its inelastic, increasing it will increase revenues, if
its elastic, decreasing it will increase revenues. We can go ahead with trial
pricing to find the sweet spot.

Round 2:
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Electronic Art 512

Interviewer: (Prodman) Our game app has been experiencing a 5% week on

week drop in revenues, find out why.
Candidate: I'd first like to know the monetization model of the app, is it a
paid app, or a freemium app, or drives its revenues through ads?
Interviewer: You can assume its a freemium app
Candidate: Okay,
some important metrics for a freemium app are # of players regularly
playing, session time/rounds/number of levels a player plays on average
and number of players who buy paid features. Have we seen a change in
any of these metrics?
Interviewer: Just list all the questions you will ask to diagnose the reason
Candidate: Has there been a new competitor in the market which has been
growing in the similar genre as the app? Has the number of players
decreased? If not, has the type of players changed or change in their
spending and playing behaviour? Have we made a change in our app which
has decrease the value of paid features against free features?
Interviewer: (Guesstimate) Estimate the number of photos uploaded on
instagram daily
Candidate: (After taking a moment) Should i consider both posts and status
uploads?
Interviewer: Consider only posts for now
Candidate: Can i assume that total number of accounts on instagram is
known?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: I'll proceed by splitting the accounts on Instagram by function,
broadly into two categories: Personal accounts, Business Accounts and Dead
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Electronic Art 513

accounts. I'll start by splitting personal accounts into different categories or

buckets by usage: high activity users, low activity users and no activity users.
Does this sound good? Shall I proceed with breaking down Business
Accounts?
Interviewer: Yes, please do
Candidate: I'll split business accounts further by usage: celebrities,
individual creators/blogs, corporates and meme/motivation pages. With
these splits I can identify the frequency of posts uploaded for every group,
should I proceed with the same?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: (I further talked about the categories, approximates of how
many posts a daily or a month, and gave quick reasons for each) Should I
plug these numbers for a final solution?
Interviewer: No thank you, this is enough

Interviewer: (Company + Domain) As you know, Plants vs Zombie has a big

following in North America, but they haven't been able to make
breakthroughs in India. Any suggestions why and how should it adapt for
the Indian audience?
Candidate: A common and growing trend among Indians is that they are
highly culture and price sensitive. While america has a horror themed
festival - halloween, India afaik does not have such a festival. I was also a
little surprised that PvZ did not have any halloween specials, but that aside,
let us look at how the app can fit Indian culture better. One option I would
suggest is to have festive specials, like Diwali is coming up so we can reskin
the app with more Diwali themed visual.
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Electronic Art 514

Indians are also used to smaller SKU sizes in the products they buy - 60
rupees and etc. are too highly priced for the Indian Market so introducing
smaller sized less priced options will help increase the revenue from the
Indian market also. This will help tackle the price sensitivity of this market.
Interviewer: (Domain) There has been significant growth in gaming during
recent times because of COVID and lockdown periods, do you think this
trend will continue after lockdowns are lifted?
Candidate: Gaming is filling a holes that was created during lockdown. 1st is
entertainment, and 2nd is social connect. Respectively, I'll split the influx of
players into two categories: casual gamers, who are playing games primarily
for the entertainment it delivers, and social gamers, who are playing games
as a means to enrich the experience of socializing online. Both of these
segments will experience a different retention period. Casual gamers will
see a decrease in retention since most will seek out their previous
recreational habits post covid, this would be primarily driven by whether
the games were better substitutes to their previous behaviours. On the
other hand, Social gamers will see a high retention rate since they will build
many memories and inside jokes they have built around the online game
they were playing - post covid they will continue to interact with these
games, even when there are now meeting in person!
Interviewer: (Domain) Amongst the
games you've played, which game had the best UX?
Candidate: (Was asked to answer immediately and briefly since due to
paucity of time) Mass Effect 3 because of its seamless integration between
fantastic plot, engaging gameplay and UI cues

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Electronic Art 515

Interviewer: (Domain) If you are given infinite funds and resources, what
game will you build for India?
Candidate: (Was asked to answer immediately and briefly since due to
paucity of time) I'd like to build a Strategy game based around Indian
mythology

Round 3:
Mostly HR Round, CV related questions, some Domain related questions
are:
Interviewer: Which games do you play?
Candidate:Talked about games and genres that I like
Interviewer: Which is your favorite game?
Candidate:Picked Rimworld, discussed why

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

Since this is a video games publishing & development company, they are
primarily interested in people who have a passion for gaming, including
mobile app games. Do exhibit passion for the same and some experience
with a larger variety of games, rather than just a popular few. Be brief, prod
man prep & metrics are definitely a bonus.

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Electronic Art 516

Ajay Yadav
Background:
Undergrad – NSIT Delhi
Field of Grad. – Btech.
Work Exp – 32 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
Round 1 was a case submission round after release of the first shortlist.
We were supposed to submit detailed app analysis of the famous game-
Plants vs Zombies Free.
The case covered all types of Prod Man cases and specifically asked us for
metrics to gauge performance of every suggestion made by us.

Round 2:
Round 2 was a personal interview. Following were the questions asked:
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself.
He cut me in between my answer and talked about my interests.
Interviewer: Tell me the size of the pharma industry.

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Electronic Art 517

He then asked me to take a shot at the size of the gaming industry in India
and asked me to calculate an approximate number. Was more interested in
the approach part.
Interviewer: Discussed questions on
probability. What's the probability of getting selected in one of the
companies at campus for a Prod Man role?
Again, he was more interested in the approach and asked me to share the
solution on screen.
Interviewer: Tell me about your experience so far at IIM Lucknow.
Interviewer: What does interest you more - Marketing or Prod Man?
Interviewer: Now you ask me questions.
I asked 2 3 questions regarding the company and profile.

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Always back your suggestions with metrics to measure their performance

• It is the approach that matters more than the solution itself
• Do solve all the cases given in Disha Case book in a group of 2 people
• Do prepare your CV well

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Electronic Art 518

Additional Questions:

• Market Size - who would install Road Rash Mobile

• Why should we hire you
• If people are finding the game tough, which metric will tell you so. Also
how will you solve for this without reducing game difficulty.
• Case - How to launch PVZ Hindi version
• Case - Design a camera for old age people
• Design a camera for old age people
• CV point drilling - especially percentages
• How would you collect data to measure reaction time on FIFA
• D2 retention, PVZ monetization, how would you price a game or
subscription.
• Questions on probability - Bayers/conditional
• Domains being targeted about IIML
• COVID - caused a boost in gaming - will it continue post covid
• If you have infinite resources - what game would you build for India
• Guesstimate - how many photos uploaded on Instagram in a day.
• Guesstimate - how many smartphones in Hyderabad
• App you use the most these days - revenue model for it.
• What's your favorite game - what is its game loop.
• How to generate revenue in gaming market like India?
• EA games popular titles

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
IDOBRO 519

Ankit Bilung

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Rourkela
Field of Grad. – CSE
Work Exp – 23 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Software Developer &
Automation Tester, Reliance Jio Infocomm

Round 1:
• Tell me something about your work ex.

Interviewer: Why do you want to work at an NGO

Candidate: (gave my past experience and motivation and donation and

social work I had done )

Interviewer: There are many volunteers across Maharastra how can you use
technology to map them with relevant social works.

Candidate: (I was talking as I was developing the solution in my head, so let

the interviewer through my thought process ).

Interviewer: Would you develop an app or a website.

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IDOBRO 520

Candidate: (I said that using frameworks like Angular and React native we
have to write only one code and the framework would build different code
wrt to different platforms)

• Will you be able to come to Mumbai after the COVID situation is over.
• Do you have any questions?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Reach out to seniors even for little things and as frequently as possible we
are here to help you.
• Start practicing to structure all problems and solutions from this point on.
It's the most important.
• Do take GD preps of Tema Disha and don't miss even one. GDs are the
most brutal part of the placement you should be very concerned about
mastering GDs.
• Do actively take part in class-participation and don't miss any chance to
speak, from this point on. It will help you the most if your communication
skills are not good.
• Don’t miss prep session organized by different clubs, they are very
relevant to what is asked in the interviews.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Kubric 521

Gaurav Meena

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Roorkee
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Sessions by Biztech
• PM casebook

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Kubric 522

Additional Questions:

• Draft an email for customer who is a free customer right now and you
want him to buy a premium. [Candidate was asked to either post the
writeup on chat or present his screen]
• What excites you about Kubric? If you join Kubric, what two things will
you develop as a marketeer?
• Favourite app? features that you would want to implement in the app.
How would you go about marketing that app?
• You have a budget of 5 lac, How will you promote the app Canva.
• Why marketing?
• Why do you want to join kubric?
• Favourite app? 1 feature that you would want to implement in the app.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Media.net 523

Sumit Kr Paul

Background:
• Undergrad – Jadavpur University
• Field of Grad. – Computer Science and Engg.
• Work Exp – 37 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain –Software

Round 1:
Case submission:
• Make a good structure, don't blindly follow CIRCLES. Talking to seniors
helped a lot in this front.
• Define METRICS. It is the most important things.
• For every step, show calculations and reasons behind taking that step.
• Try to include some facts if you can. (Ex. some result from published
market research data to support your assumption.)

Round 2:
Interview 1: 2 panelist, 3 cases. Only cases, no other questions were asked.
• Design a content recommendation engine for Swiggy. What kind of
features are 'must have'? Suggest some features which are not there.
How would you design metrics for this?
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 524
Media.net

• 2. What is your favorite application? What do you like about it? What do
you think should be improved? How to reduce detect spam messages
related to marketing? What are the metrics?
• How would you design a P2P car renting app? What will be the customer
journey? What kind of features you would include look for best matches?
Define metrics.

Round 3:
• 1 panelist, 3 cases.
• Only cases, no other questions were asked.
• 1 hour interview

Cases:
• You are a PM for YouTube mobile application. Average watching time is
getting decreased from last three months. There are no changes in DAU
and MAU. How would you solve the problem?
• You are the PM of Google search native ads. How would you detect
spam clicks? Design metrics for the same.
• You are the PM of Facebook Likes. Design metrics.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interviews will be really grueling; they will push you to think. Expect
minimal help from the interviewer.

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Media.net 525

• DO NOT talk about things you are not sure of. You will be asked to dive
deep into that for sure. Rather ask for help.
• Think MECE (Ex. Facebook like might include reactions, page likes,
comment likes etc. It also might be embedded in blogs, videos in other
websites.)
• Come up with negative metrics also. (Ex. Count unlike in case of FB likes)
• Clarify doubts (Ex. P2P car renting might include commercial vehicles,
transport vehicles, bikes, luxurious cars)

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Media.net 526

Additional Questions:
Guesstimates
• Guesstimate the number of badminton racquets sold in Delhi in a day
(related to candidate's hobby)
• Guesstimate the total number of orders delivered by BigBasket in Kolkata
• Guesstimate the number of samsung phones sold in India
• Guesstimate - Number of flights that land at Delhi Airport.
• Guesstimate the footfall of people at Delhi International Airport at any
point in time
• Guesstimate the number of schools in Mumbai
• Guesstimate how many cabs are currently on the road in your city?
Cases
• You have premium chocolate from Cadbury, of the likes of Lyndt. What
promotions/ marketing techniques would you be aiming for. Budget of
$100,000. How would you do the budgeting? What is the Price that you
would be willing to pay?
• Design a B2B car renting app
• How would you go about designing a spam detection mechanism in ads
• You are the PM of Facebook Lite. Analyse and improve any aspect of your
choice.
• Design the recommendation engine for Swiggy.

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Media.net 527

• You are the PM of facebook. With regards to false news being circulated,
How would you reduce it and minimise non verified category.
• You are a PM at Amazon . Delivery charges are applicable on orders
below Rs 500. How will you price an yearly subscription model so that
users can do away with delivery charges?
• You are the CEO ofYyoutube. What metrics would you like to watch?
• Devise a MVP to meet professors of your campus given the virtual
scenario.
• In one week, number of youtube views have decreased. What could be
the possible reasons for this?
• You are the PM of Amazon. Cart Abandoning rate has gone up in the last
1 hour. What data point that you will consider?
• Case related to Swiggy. Every externality is constant. But for past two
weeks, conversion rate is reduced by 15%. What can be the possible
reasons? (Past year question).
• What different types of ads do media.net have? How does ad auction go?
• What is the cost per acquisition for each new user of zomato. Cost for
hosting an ad on Youtube. What can be the optimal cost can you set?
• You are the PM of whatsapp. Messages have gone down by 30%. Perform
an RCA on it.
• Case study submission - think about a negative metric. How will you
measure this?

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Media.net 528

• You have to build a dashboard for Jeff Bezos. What metrics would he like
to see. (Previous year question)
• The number of users on Bookmyshow have drastically decreased. Provide
the rootcause.
• You are a PM at Facebook. Likes on Facebook are decreasing. People are
not using the like feature much. How will you investigate it?
• Case - video platform similar to youtube. How will you go about adding a
skip ad feature?
• Case - There is a 50% increase in users coming to Myntra, but there is a
decrease in sales. We have data about entire company. What data points
to check to gain insights about the same
Tech
• What is an API & how would you explain it to a 5 year old?
• How does DSP, SSP and DMP work?
• Cookies/ Caching. What are these and their uses. what are parameters
for SEO?
• What are the steps that happen when you type www.facebook.com in
your browser?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Microsoft 529

Aditi Pawar

Background:
• Undergrad – NIT Raipur
• Field of Grad. – Electronics and
Telecommunication Engineering.
• Work Exp – 38 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
• Tell me something about yourself

Case:

• Design something to help people who travel to offbeat places and have no
sense of direction. How will you help them locate a spot and travel
around?

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• Design a mask by Microsoft (include tech elements)

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Microsoft 530

Round 3:
• New feature in whatsapp: Customized privacy setting for blue ticks

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs, Case groups with friends
• Book studied: Decode and Conquer
• Resources Used: company website, recent news, interaction and slots
with previous year interns, RG, JD
• Tips: Be confident and talk while thinking

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Microsoft 531

Debapriya Chhotray

Background:
• Undergrad – NIT Rourkela
• Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engg.
• Work Exp – 21 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain - IT

Round 1:
• Group Discussion Round: In the growing age of WFH (Work from Home),
what should Microsoft (known for its wide variety of Productivity
software and cloud services) invest in to make this work from Home more
productive than it is today! This could be a new product line or
enhancements to an existing product line for Microsoft to win this new
age of remote working.

Round 2:
• Tell me about yourself

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Microsoft 532

• Considering the current Covid scenario where people have shifted to a

work from home/study from home model, How can you as a product
manager improve the customer experience?
• Considering the two models, I chose the study from home model where I
would improve Microsoft teams for improving the classroom experience.
• I took two customer segments that are teachers and students and stated
personas for each of them. After which I figured out pain points around
notes, exams/quizzes, attendance and doubts. I moved forward with the
doubts pain point and decided to bring some 5-6 features around it after
which I had to prioritize some and decide on some metrics that would
help me gauge the success of my proposed features.

Round 3:
• Q: How would you re-design the privacy settings for Whatsapp?
• A: I did not get the problem statement at the first go. I talked about
encryption initially. The interviewer nudged me to rethink on the privacy
features. Then I picked up “Last seen”/”Blue ticks”/”Online status”. I
talked about how I can customize all this in a manner where a user would
be able to selectively apply these features for some people. Example:
This would help an user to show his/her last seen to the people he/she is
comfortable with and it is not shown to the rest of the people from
his/her WhatsApp contact book.

Preparation and Interview Tips and Tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Case groups with friends
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Microsoft 533

• BizTech sessions
• Microsoft Case Workshop
• Resources used: Disha Compendium, BizTech case book, Disha case book,
www.tryexponent.com
• Tips:
1. You can take your time during your interview. They are ready to give
you time to think. Do not rush through your solutions.
2. Follow a structured approach to solve the problem.
3. Try to make the solution as exhaustive as possible.
4. All the best!

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Microsoft 534

Gaurav Rajan
Background:
Undergrad – IIIT Raipur
Field of Grad. – Computer Science
Work Exp – 42 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
• GD + Case Submission

Round 2:
• Personal Interview

Round 3:
• Personal Interview

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs

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Microsoft 535

• Disha Prodman Handbook

• Exponent
• Cracking PM( Gayle Lackmann McDowell)
• For Prodman interview try to approach a case with a strcuture in mind,
• Identify the TG, user needs and then proceed with listing solution
• Always prioritize your top solution.
• Keep the interview more engaging, think out loud would be good strategy
• Be calm and relaxed in interviews, mostly panelists are friendly and
helpful. You can ask any doubts/clarifications during the interview

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
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Microsoft 536

Mannam Sindhura

Background:
• Undergrad – Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetam
• Field of Grad. – B.Tech
• Work Exp – 42 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Telecom

Round 1:
• GD Case

Round 2:
• Interview

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors

• Mock GDs/ PIs

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Microsoft 537

Mayank Bharti

Background:
• Undergrad – NSIT
• Field of Grad. – Electronics and
Telecommunication Engineering.
• Work Exp – 40 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Strategy,
Program Management

Round 1:
• Skipped GD round, as Mayank had scored a PPI from PM engage

Round 2:
• How will you ensure a seamless message consume-ability of the Inactive
user? (Scenario when he is joining back after inactivity of 6months)
• Design youtube for the elderly

Round 3:
• Case 1: Design an app/portal for the Delhi government, so that they can
curb the spread of Covid 19? (This was related to defining of various
stakeholders)
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Microsoft 538

• Case 2 - How will increase the adoption of Arogya Setu?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Microsoft 539

Megha Priya
Background:
• Undergrad – BIT Mesra
• Field of Grad. – Computer Science
• Work Exp – 37 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Software
Development

Round 1:
• Group Round Question: Question - How would you change a current
product/ introduce a new product at MSFT to increase the productivity of
employees during COVID pandemic. (Mention your top 3 features and how
would you measure their success)
• Answer – Steps followed:
• Identified the users - Students, Professionals, teachers
• Identified the need of each user segment- like what they would require to
focus more on their work and become more productive. For example,
students, to focus more they would need some kind of interactive
platform, as online classes get extremely boring and difficult to focus.
• According to the needs suggested solutions. Of the several solutions, one
which he picked was adding a quiz/poll icon in MS-Teams.
• Interviewer cross questioned the solution and asked how I would actually
implement it and why not just use other quizzing websites link in the chat
to conduct a quiz or a poll to check if people are active or not.

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Microsoft 540

• Answer to that was to get an edge over meet & zoom and include it as an
icon for the host to create a real time quiz to gauge the interest of the
people attending a meeting or a class. Posting a link to other websites
would only increase their visibility, causing no good to Microsoft and also
not many would know about the websites and how to create such quizzes.
• We had to write and mail the solution. After all submissions, Interviewer
would open the solution and discuss with the candidate one by one.

Round 2:
• Duration: ~45 minutes
• Q1: Introduction + Explain a project from the CV
• Q2: Case - Consider an e-commerce website which has the highest number
of visitors but has lowest sales among all e-commerce platforms. What
could be the reasons behind this?
• A2: Using customer journey tried to identify the issues at each step
• Q3: Design a mask by Microsoft (include tech elements)
• Any questions for the Microsoft team?

Round 3:
• Duration: ~70 minutes
• Question: Introduction and Project based questions
• Case 1- Design Swiggy app for sellers. what features should it have ?
• Case 2- How will you analyse the current Covid-19 situation in a country as
a government official ?
• New feature in whatsapp: Customized privacy setting for blue ticks

Round 4:
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 541
Microsoft

• Duration: ~40 minutes

• Design Case: Due to WFH, employees are feeling frustrated and losing
motivation. MS is planning to introduce a new product for providing
counselling/mental wellness services. Design this new product. What
features should it have and explain end to end customer experience &
customer journey. Use word/paint to draw the design or process flow of
the product.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha sessions
• Conversation with last year Interns
• Few chapters from Decode & Conquer
• Tips:
• Take time and use a structured approach. Interviewers will guide you
through the case and help you reach the solution. Think out loud.
• Key is to think and come up with impressive ideas and solutions, they
will guide you so that you follow a structured approach so don’t worry
about any framework.
• Got enough time to think & explain. Just don’t stress about the result,
you will enjoy the process and the interaction.

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 542
Microsoft

Mridul Verma

Background:
Undergrad – Punjabi University
Field of Grad. – Computer Engineering.
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Software
Development

Round 1:
• Group Round: In the growing age of WFH (Work from Home), what should
Microsoft (known for its wide variety of Productivity software and cloud
services) invest in to make this work from Home more productive than it
is today! This could be a new product line or enhancements to an existing
product line for Microsoft to win this new age of remote working.
• 11 of us were in the group. We were given 15 minutes to prepare our
solution in a doc file for the following case, email them the file & later later
present our solution to the group. Each of us had a 5-7 Q/A session with
the moderators after our presentation.
• Note: All the rounds were eliminatory.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 543
Microsoft

Round 2:
Interview lasted ~55-60 minutes
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself
Candidate: Given the prepared answer.
Interviewer: Mridul, where are you right now?
Candidate: Chandigarh, Sir.
Interviewer: it's a UT and capital of both Punjab & Haryana, if I'm not
wrong?
Candidate: that's correct sir
Interviewer: great! Suppose you are a PM & have been tasked to design a
COVID tracker app for the Chandigarh administration. How would you go
about it? Since we already have Aarogya Setu app, please don't suggest a
similar app.
Candidate: asked for a couple of minutes to design the approach.

• I defined the objective of making this app. What, where, why, who &
how this app will be used.
• Divided the users into 5 personas viz. the administration, media,
health care professionals, security forces & the general public.
• Identified 2-3 pain points of each of the personas.
• Listed 8-9 features & explained how each feature would help solve the
identified pain points.
• Evaluated trade-offs & impact of each feature.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 544
Microsoft

• Identified features to be included in the MVP. Gave the sequence in

which rest of the features should be implemented in the successive
iterations.

Summarised the case.

The interviewer digged 3-5 levels deeper into each of the suggested
features, trade-off evaluation & MVP.

Round 3:
Interviewer: which is the app you've used recently.
Candidate: Whatsapp Sir, since there was some issue with the Skynet portal,
I was shared the interview link over whatsapp.
I: fair enough. How often do you use this app?
Candidate: sir it is one of the most used apps on my phone.
Interviewer: For how long have you been using this app?
Candidate: 8+ years.
Interviewer: wow! Since you have been using this app for that long & it is
one of the most frequently used apps, can I assume that you love this app?
Candidate: that's a fair assumption sir.
Interviewer: what do you love in this app?
Candidate: explained most of the features of the app & how they impact the
users.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 545
Microsoft

Interviewer: let's not talk about the users in general. Explain me how these
features impact you?
Candidate: described the same.
Interviewer: since you love this app, do you think this app is perfect?
Candidate: no sir. No app can ever be perfect.
Interviewer: is that so? Tell me 3 areas which you think could be improved
in this app.
Candidate: sir can I take a couple of minutes to note down my thoughts?
Interviewer: sure.
Candidate: Thank you sir.
• (After 3-4 minutes)
• Explained the objective of the app.
• Identified 8 personas.
• *Interrupted*
Interviewer: All this is not required. Just tell me the 3 improvement areas.
Candidate: sir, first & foremost is the privacy, then...*Interrupted*
I: whatsapp already has end-to-end encryption, what else do you need?
Candidate: Gave 1-2 pain points for each of the personas. Suggested
features to resolve these pain points and their impact.
Interviewer: Impressive! (Didn't ask for the other 2 areas). Okay Mridul, tell
how do you prioritize things?
Candidate: sir in an app or how do I prioritize things in general?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 546
Microsoft

Interviewer: No, not in an app; in general. Suppose you have 3 tasks at hand
like a case competition at IIML, commitments with your parents and a plan
to go out with your friends. How would you prioritize among these?
Candidate: Explained my thought process about evaluating each task based
on how much it contributes towards my goals & ambitions.
Interviewer: some counter questions
Candidate: answered
Interviewer: tell me just one evaluation criteria you will use to measure the
success of a product?
Candidate: user satisfaction. Provided supporting arguments as to why I'll
use this as the sole criteria & trade-offs I'm willing to let go in order to
increase user satisfaction.
Interviewer: some followup questions.
Candidate: answered.
Interviewer: do you have any questions for me?
Candidate: asked about Microsoft's plan on contribution to increase the
business of MSMEs.
Interviewer: answered.
Candidate: follow-up questions regarding use of MS tools like HoloLens &
Kaizala for the same.
Interviewer: answered.

The interviewer digged at least 4-5 levels deeper on each feature. He even
focused on each & every word I was saying like could, should, might & must
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 547
Microsoft

etc. and asked me why I was using that word & why not some other word
(Ex: why must and not should have this feature)
The round lasted for more than 70 minutes.

Round 4:
Interviewer: okay Mridul, let's try to solve a situation. As most of the
organisations have shifted to the WFH setup and the employees are
spending almost all their time at home. This has led to a decrease in the
productivity levels of the employees and a sharp rise in anxiety &
depression among them. Imagine you are a PM at Microsoft, design an app,
bot, portal etc. to increase productivity and decrease anxiety/depression &
other mental health issues of the employees of the partner organisations of
Microsoft.
Candidate: Sir, do I need to design all the three or any one of these?
Interviewer: you can design any one of these of your choice.
Candidate: okay. Also, would it be correct to assume that by partner
organisations it means the ones which use Microsoft business suite?
Interviewer: yes, that's correct.
Candidate: sure sir. I propose to design a bot.
Explained the objective.
Identified 4-5 personas.
Described 1-2 pain points of each of them.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 548
Microsoft

Started listing features to improve productivity.

*Interrupted after suggesting 3-4 features*
Interviewer: let's focus more on the mental health issues.
Candidate: started listening features to improve the same.
*Interrupted after listing 4-5 features*
Interviewer: these mainly focus on preventing the mental health issues.
Suppose an employee is already suffering from anxiety or depression. How
would you identify that & decrease the extent of it?
Candidate: talked about leveraging the immense data which Microsoft holds
& analysing pattern of the employee & the change in it. Integrating the bot
into applications like Outlook, office applications & skype/teams. Using
Microsoft's expertise in data analytics to identify the extent of the mental
health issue & based on that, suggest solutions.
Interviewer: some follow-up questions.
• The interviewer digged 3-4 levels deeper into each of the suggested
features.
• The round went on for about 50 minutes.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Team Disha Sessions

• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Solving cases & app analysis among peer groups

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 549
Microsoft

• Interaction with seniors

• Resources shared by Team Disha & Biztech
• Follow a structured approach to each & every case. NEVER deviate from
the same.
• Choose your words wisely.
• Have a solid thought process behind every argument.
• Don't suggest feature/app improvements directly. Explain your rationale
and then make suggestions.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Microsoft 550

Tarang Mehrotra

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Warangal
Field of Grad. – Electronics and
Communication Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics

Round 1:
• GD Round: Question - How would you change a current product/
introduce a new product at MSFT to increase the productivity of
employees during COVID pandemic. (Mention your top 3 features and
how would you measure their success)
• Everyone was given around 20 mins to prepare a document and 2-3
minutes to speak.Tell me something about yourself

Round 2:
• Introduction and a few questions around CV
• Case-1: How would you promote your city as a top heritage city around
the world. The expectation was to identify stakeholders and pain points in
the current situation (focus was on structure and communication)
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Microsoft 551

• Some new stakeholders were introduced by the interviewer.

• Case-2: Design a mask by Microsoft (include tech elements)

Round 3:
• Introduction and a few questions around CV
• Case: While your e-comm site is having the same number of visits
compared to other top players, your purchases per visit is very low. How
would you go about identifying the problem?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors

• Team Disha sessions
• Cracking the PM interview book
• Do - Be confident and clear with your answers.
• Don't - Give a random guess to a question. Follow a structure and think
out loud.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Microsoft 552

Vaisakh M N

Background:
Undergrad – College of Engineering
Trivandrum
Field of Grad. – B. Tech. in Applied
Electronics & Intstrumentation
Work Exp – 32 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
• Duration: ~ 2 hours
• Product design case followed by case discussion

Round 2:
• Duration: ~ 1 hour
• 3 product cases

Round 3:
• Duration: ~1.5 hours
• 1 product case: ~ 1hour

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Microsoft 553

Additional Questions:
• E-Commerce player - Visit vs Purchase ratio is less. How to handle?
• Case: IOT based app for women safety in Delhi (Candidate had IOT on CV)
• Increase productivity and help overcome anxiety for work from home
employees
• Create an app to track COVID cases and to ensure media news
authenticity.
• Microsoft has to design a mask. What aspects will you include
• You are a budding entrepreneur. You need to design a raincoat.
• How would you go about integrating payments on IRCTC
• Case: Design refrigerator for blind
• Airport has four runways. How will you manage traffic? How to prioritise?
• Design uber for elderly
• Design a bot to manage anxiety
• Case: Design a security system for Satya's new house.
• Case: Design an alarm clock. Pick you own customer segment.
• Metrics to analyse COVID situation in country
• Case: Swiggy app exists for end-users. Should there be Swiggy app for
suppliers as well. What features would you consider
• Application to handle COVID pandemic
• Case: Design something to change the privacy settings of WhatsApp. Ideas
on how to customise it?
• Case: You are PM of a website. Traffic is expected to be increase during
festivals, 3 ways in which you will manage
• Describe a problem that you solved at work
• CV related discssion
• Discussion on Microsoft acquisition of Tiktok and value proposition around
same
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Microsoft 554

• Case: How can you add value due to changing scenario of COVID in
classroom
• Design a TV remote for the elderly.
• Design an air traffic control schedule for an airport with one landing strip
• Design a social media app for the terminally ill
• Design an update for Microsoft Word. Changes you would like to see.
• How would you implement the whatsapp seen status show to all except
and hide from all except
• Any application installed in your smartphone; As a product manager what
are the metrics, you would track to monitor the app performance?
• Design an alarm clock for the visually impaired for the global market
• How can youtube be improved. Prioritise top 3 features among
suggestions made
• What can be done about hate speech on facebook
• Case: Amusement park for 2-7 year olds, facing complaints of high waiting
time for a ride. How will you address?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
MX Player 555

Kushagra Rawat

Background:
Undergrad – Netaji Subhas Institute of
Technology
Field of Grad. – Computer Engg.
Work Exp – 20 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Prod. Man.

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Tell me about yourself
• Tell me about yourself apart from your CV
• How was your startup experience? Answer in detail
• Why MX Player
• Any questions for us

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Be aware of recent trends, product offereings and the important metrics
(MAU, Growth %) of the OTT market.
• Study company’s USP, Strenghts and Weaknesses
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
MX Player 556

• Tailor answers for the eventual "Do you have any questions for us?"
question
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Online Resources, Yourstory articles, Twitter

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
MX Player 557

Mayank Bharti

Background:
• Undergrad – Netaji Subhas Institute of
Technology
• Field of Grad. – Electronics and
Communication
• Work Exp – 40 months
• Prev Work Ex Domain – Strategy/
Program Management

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Tell me about yourself
• Why MX Player
• Which team will you be willing to join and Why
• Do you have any questions for us

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Be aware of recent trends, product offereings and the important metrics
(MAU, Growth %) of the OTT market.
• Disha Prod. book, ISB case books, IIM B case book
• Interactions with seniors

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
MX Player 558

• Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Decode and Conquer to get basic about the Product cases/Watch videos

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
MX Player 559

Additional Questions:
• Coming from tech why would you want to go into entertainment
industry?
• Major players in entertainment industry
• Entertainment industry in India
• Read about entertainment and OTT industry
• Work ex related questions? Type of problem solved; how did you
measure its success?
• Why MBA?
• Tell me something not there in your CV? Tell me something
interesting about yourself? Walk me through your CV?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Natwest Group 560

Rashmi Kundu

Background:
Undergrad – NIT, Jaipur
Field of Grad. – Civil Engineering.
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Domain: Product Management/ IT

Round 1:
• Personal Interview
• The company interaction majorly revolved around Rashmi’s work
experience at Oracle. The job role specifically mentioned involvement of
ML/AI for achieving goals and hence questions primarily revolved around
the basics of ML and why ML over any other technology.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Mock GDs/ PIs with batch-mates

• IIM Lucknow Compendium
• Please stay relevant and true to the interviewer. Do not try to force feed
something to the interviewer which you are not confident about

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Natwest Group 561

Additional Questions:
• Have you solved any complex problem?
• Projects done related to automation; A project where you had to change
your approach and how did you tackle it?
• Situation where you handled conflicts. People management example?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Optum 562

Soumya

Background:
Undergrad – BIT Mesra
Field of Grad. – IT
Work Exp – 43 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Tell me about yourself
• Describe 3 features that you would like to improve in the Netflix app
• Why Product Management
• Difference between product management and project management
• Favorite app and three improvements in it. How would you measure the
success of your new feature
• Optum has a lot of data. Suggest ways to monetize the same.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Optum 563

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with Seniors
• Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Know your CV thoroughly. Should be able to explain each point.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
RPG 564

Tanushree Saha

Background:
Undergrad – West Bengal University of
Technology
Field of Grad. – Computer Science &
Engineering
Work Exp – 25 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
GD:
Plane crashed in rain forest. 6 survivors with some injuries and a list of 17
items. 1 minute for each person to pick 4 items that they will keep and 6
minutes for group discussion and finalize 4 items as a group.

Round 2:
HR Questions:
• Introduction
• Detailed questions from work experience (IT)
• Questions on situations where persuaded seniors, went through a failure.
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 565

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs,
Disha and other AIG sessions, casebooks
• The crux is CV and HR preparation

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
RPG Ceat(IT) 566

Rishika Jaiswal

Background:
Undergrad – Madan Mohan Malaviya
University of Technology, Gorakhpur
Field of Grad. – BTech, CSE
Work Exp – 0
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
GD:
Each member of the panel was given different clues for a murder mystery.
We were required to collate the clues and reach to a conclusion as a group
to identify the murderer.

Round 2:
HR Questions:
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself
Candidate: Prepared answer; more focus on my internship and the project

Interviewer: Where do you see yourself 5-6 years down the line.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 567

Candidate: Talked of learning about the company and industry. Being my

first experience at a job, I wish to know the nuances of the corporate
culture. In years ahead, I wish to position myself as a product manager,
where I can take lead and make decisions for the development of product I
am responsible for.

Interviewer: What was your project about during your internship?

Candidate: Explained

Interviewer: asked questions based on the culture & language of the place I
visited during my internship (It was abroad)?
Candidate: Answered

Interviewer: How will automation affect the employment rate especially in

India?
Candidate: Talked about how it is going to affect employment in the short
run, but will stabilize in the long run. Cited a few examples from the past.

Interviewer: What role would you like to work in upon joining the company-
IT or Business and why
Candidate: Would like to go for business for better understanding the
company's working and culture. Later on, would like to take up a role where
both IT and business are involved.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 568

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs,
Undergrad intern related preparation, company website and company
ppt
• Be thorough with the previous internship/workex - About the projects
and their impact

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
RPG Zensar 569

Deepthi Akella

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Bhubaneswar
Field of Grad. – Computer Science and
Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Health
Insurance

Round 1:
GD:
Q) Assume that you are travelling on a plane via Brazil where the plane
collapses and you land in the densest rain forests. You can carry only 4 out
of the 15 given objects with you. What would be your preference and why?

Initially each candidate was asked to give their choices and their reasoning
behind their choices. Then, 5 minutes was given for the team to discuss and
come up with 4 items which they as a team feel are necessary for their
survival in the forest.
Suggestion - Try not to be very adamant about including one's views and try
to come up with a solution before the time is up.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
RPG Zensar 570

Round 2:
• Introduce yourself.
• Detailed discussion about candidate's work experience
• What is Cloud and the types of Cloud? (Since Candidate has Cloud
mentioned on the CV)
• Why Zensar?
• Candidate asked about the company, the scope for domain switch within
the companies under the umbrella of the group and feedback about the
interview.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs,
Disha's company compendium, Job description, Company website
• Be thorough with CV, mainly the domains and technologies mentioned
under the work experience as most of the discussion would be centered
around the work

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
RPG Zensar 571

Tania Saha
Background:
Undergrad – Swami Vivekananda
Institute of Science and Technology
Field of Grad. – Engineering
Work Exp – 13 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
GD:
Q) Imagine yourselves in a situation and given a list of items decide on the 4
most essential items that candidates would require with reasoning.
Firstly, each one of us was given a minute to voice our own personal
opinions after which the group was given another 6-7 minutes to discuss
and mutually come to a consensus. Coming to a consensus was mandatory.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Sources: Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs,
company JD
• Since my work experience was in IT I had idea about the industry, or else
I would have read up on it

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
RPG Zensar 572

• It is very important to be confident during the interviews. Candidate

introduction holds significant importance during interviews.
• Be thorough with CV, mainly the domains and technologies mentioned
under the work experience as most of the discussion would be centered
around the work

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 573

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Ad Factors PR 574

Questions:
• Why PR [IMP] = they seem looking for long term candidates
• Short Term and Long Term goals
• How would you analyze the need gap in bike segment
• CV – internship
• What do you know about analytics and statistics
• In post COVID, how would you address the need gap in transport industry
• Did you go through our company website - what did you read
• CSR- Adfactors PR donates Rs 50 lakh to PM-CARES Fund
• Believes & Culture [IMPORTANT]
• Interesting article showcasing the rise of Adfactors - <link>
• Leadership
• Experential and Events
• Media Relations
• Consumer Communications
• Digital and Social
• Public Affairs
• Frontier Technologies
• Crisis communications
• Capital market communication
• Corporate reputation
• Job Description
• Services to government
• Startups and unicorns
• Sports, Travel, hospitality, leisure, education, Pharma and healthcare

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Ad Factors PR 575

• Te

• chnology and telecom, Automotive and allied sectors, Transport and

logistics
• Infrastructure and construction
• PR Agency of the Year awards:
• PRovoke Agency of the Decade, 2020 (nominated)
• PR Awards Asia, South Asia PR Consultancy of the Year, 2018
• PR Awards South Asia PR Consultancy – 2015-16-17-18
• ICCO APAC Independent Consultancy – 2016
• Holmes Report Global Corporate PR Agency – 2016
• Holmes Report India Consultancy – 2014 and 2016
• Report Global Financial Consultancy – 2015
• About Adfactors PR

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 576

Asher Ner Tenzing

Namchyo
Background:
Undergrad – National Dairy Research
Institute
Field of Grad. – Dairy Technology
Work Exp – Fresher
Prev Work Ex Domain – N/A

Round 2:
• Interviews were asked based on my interest. Was asked to make a plan
increasing the sales of guitar.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 577

Akash Sreekumar

Background:
Undergrad – Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Marketing

Round 1:
Interviewer: He introduced himself and asked me to introduce
Candidate: I gave the intro which I have prepared over the mocks I had.
Interviewer: How frequently do I tour? What bike I have? What bike I dream
to own? (Since I mentioned I like touring on the bike)
Candidate: Answered them.
Interviewer: Design a campaign for an adventure website to be launched by
Amazon?
Candidate: I had a few clarifications like how Amazon is going to operate in
this area - Is it aggregating people who want to go to a single place or
having tour packages.
Interviewer: It is open-ended and up to my imagination
Candidate: 1. Digital marketing targetted people with search/browser
history for touring equipment on amazon 2. Search Engine marketing based
on the less frequent words associated with adventure equipment

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 578

used on amazon. 3. Digital marketing targetted people with watch history

of adventure or touring movies on amazon prime video 4. Partnering
with car rental companies for marketing amazon for people renting cars
Interviewer: Summarized my answer and asked if I have any questions?
Candidate: I asked about what is a Hardline category? (he mentioned this
during his intro)
Interviewer: He gave a long explanation regarding the same.

Round 2:
Interviewer: tell me about yourself
Candidate: I gave the intro
Interviewer: He asked me what topics I studied in MM1? What was the
most interesting topic for me? What topic would have been useful for me in
my workex? (Since my workex was in marketing)
Candidate: Answered them.
Interviewer: Tell me an incident your workex where you took a data-driven
approach?
Candidate: I have listed a few incidents from my workex for situational HR.
Picked one which matched with the data-driven approach.
Interviewer: An incident where I gave a suggestion to my manager which
was implemented in the task or project? What was the result?
Candidate: Answered them based on workex incident.
Interviewer: Do you have any questions for me?
Candidate: I asked if mobile accessories come under the hardline category?
(He mentioned mobile accessories in his intro) I read an article where it said
that how Hotstar made a tremendous amount of revenue through
advertising, why amazon prime video didn't look into the same?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 579

Interviewer: He explained how categories work in amazon and how it is

structured in Amazon. Regarding the prime video, he explained how prime
video was introduced in line with the values of Amazon prime which's why
advertising was not introduced yet.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Don't be nervous, the interview was more like an interaction
• Do smile - this was the first thing interviewer highlighted about me since
most people didn't smile when they joined their interview

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 580

Ishan Parmar

Background:
Undergrad – Ahmedabad University
Field of Grad. – Btech, Chemical Engg.
Work Exp – 17 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Digital Marketing

Round 1:
• Asked for a business simulation

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Amazon Resources shared with the JD
• Get thorough understanding of 14 leadership principles and subtly add
them to your HR answers.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 581

Oindrilla Roy

Background:
Undergrad – R.V. College of Engineering
Field of Grad. – Computer Science
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Sales & Marketing

Round 1:
• Tell me about yourself.
• Tested cloud knowledge. Why should we move to cloud ?
• Asked about AWS. How would you sell AWS to a customer? Products of
AWS. Situation based questions

Round 2:
• Situation based questions

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Be clam and confident. Read up about the company. Align with company
values (very important). Prepare HR questions well.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 582

Pragya Chansoriya

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Guwahati
Field of Grad. – Civil Engineering
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT Consulting

Round 1:
Duration: Around 35 minutes
The Interview began on Amazon Chime Web App, I couldn't see the
complete face of the Interviewer or his name. I asked him to adjust his
camera a bit if possible. He did that and it was a bit better. Since I
couldn't see his name too, I didn't have any name to address him, he
didn't even introduce himself. Later I realized it was an issue with the
Chime WebApp, so its better to use the browser that I did in Round 2.
This round was a stress interview where the Interviewer mostly gave
negative and doubtful expressions, as if he didn't trust me or my
answers.
Interviewer: So Pragya, I can see you don't have any marketing
experience, and its been just 2-3 months that you started with your MBA,
maybe you had just one course on Marketing - MM1 yet. Then why
marketing?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 583

Candidate: Gave him the Why Marketing HR answer prepared already

linking it to my PORs
Interviewer: Could you please explain your role as a Consultant at FICO.
C: Answered
Interviewer: You've studied the MM1 course recently. Mention 2 or 3
things about the course that you really liked.
Candidate: The course was really interesting. We learnt the basics of
marketing like STP etc, We also had a really interesting Marketing
Project......(I realized I shouldn't have spoken this as soon as I did)
Interviewer: Ohh Okay. Let's talk about your project. What was it about?
( I had submitted the project just 4-5 days ago within 2 hrs and barely
remembered anything)
Candidate: So In our project we basically tried to understand consumer
behaviour in shopping electronics online. We had a questionnaire that
we floated online and analysed the responses that we received to come
up with insights and conclusions.
Interviewer: Can you mention what kind of insights?
Candidate: Mentioned 2 really silly insights that I could remember
Interviewer: Okayy. Let's talk about the project in a bit more detail and
then we can move to how it could have been improved
Candidate: (dying inside) Globing my way through the answer, I talked
about the various types of questions that were mentioned in the survey,
how due to the online mode we couldn't interact with people face to
face etc. Moving to how it could have been improved......
Interviewer: Pragya, I'll pause you here, let’s first talk about the project in
detail then we'll move to this part
Candidate: (dying inside and thinking I am done with all I had) Somehow,
more globe on the project

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 584

Interviewer: Did people prefer the app or the website for buying these
electronic products?
Candidate: According to our analysis, it was the app that people preferred
and its understandable since people love shopping on the go, its much more
convenient.
Interviewer: Are you sure people preferred the app? Even for expensive
products like Electronics?
Candidate: Yes, they did (Doubtful inside but displaying confidence) At least
this is what we concluded from the responses.
Interviewer: Okay, now let’s talk about how it could have been improved
Candidate: Talked about offline interviews, and the methods that our
professor actually wanted us to implement but we couldn't
Interviewer: Okay. great. What was the feedback that you received?
Candidate: Umm, we’ve submitted it just a few days ago, haven't received a
feedback yet (Honest answer)
Interviewer: Okayy (Again more like really? Doubting the truthfulness of my
answer)
Candidate: Yeah
Interviewer: You must have read Kotler for MM-1. Can you talk about a few
concepts of Kotler that you used in this project?
Candidate: Sure. (By this time, I was 100% sure the Interview wasn't going
well. I tried to remember some unique things but I was sort of blank, so I
continued with the basics) Mentioned things like STP: Demographics: How
we've used them to categorize people while analyzing the data, how we've
included questions covering 4Ps, 4Cs, Brand Perception etc
Interviewer: Ohh
wow. You remember a lot of Kotler. I don't remember anything much. (I was
sure this was sarcastic)
Interviewer: Okay Pragya so now I'll introduce myself, you must be
wondering who I am
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 585

Candidate: Yeah, I was waiting for this. (I couldn't even see his name on the
screen due to the app issue)
Interviewer: My name is Angad "as you can also see on the screen", I
am......... I: Thanks for your time Pragya. I think we're done. Any questions?
Candidate: I am really amazed by the concept of Amazon Go Stores. When
can we expect this in India?
Interviewer: Wow Pragya that's a really nice question, because you know
what? One of your seniors asked me the same exact question last year
Candidate: (Dying inside since this was an original question, I just smiled)
Ohh is it
Interviewer: Yeah. I think there's a lot of time for that. Also, I think it’s not
needed in India since there will also be a loss of unemployment associated
with it and we don't want that happening in India
Candidate: Surely there would be a loss of employment which is something
negative Angad, but I lived for 3 yrs in Bangalore and I think the concept of
Amazon Go can be really useful there. Because its the weekend and you go
to More but then there are so many other people since its the weekend and
those long billing lines are cumbersome. It would be amazing to just buy
and walk out.
Interviewer: Ohh yes I have to agree. In cities like Bangalore, it would be
really successful. Any other questions?
Candidate: Our seniors worked on projects like Amazon food last year
during their internship. Is there something specific planned for us too
Interviewer: Explained how things at Amazon worked in detail, we may be
assigned anything as of now etc.
Candidate: Thanks Angad for all those details
Interviewer: Thanks Pragya for your time

Round 2:
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 586

Duration: 45 minutes
The interview began and I could see just the forehead of this person too
Interviewer: Good Morning Pragya
Candidate: Hi, Good Morning. Sorry but I think there’s some issue, I can see
just your forehead
Interviewer: Okay, do you want to rejoin?
Candidate: Yes I’ll do that, Thanks I tried joining through the browser and it
worked well, I could see his face and name finally
Interviewer: Hi Pragya, Can you see me now?
Candidate: Yes Arshad, I can now.
Interviewer: (Smiling) I was wondering how you gave an entire interview
with Angad’s forehead (Both laughed)
Interviewer: Let’s start with a small introduction. I am Arshad Mohammad. I
work………….. Why don’t you tell me something about yourself now?
Candidate: Answered the well-prepared Intro Answer
Interviewer: Can you tell me about some situation at work when you
handled a conflict
Candidate: Answered
Interviewer: Can you tell me about a situation from work where you earned
trust
Candidate: Answered
Interviewer: Let’s proceed with a small marketing Case. The sales of physical
books on Amazon are continuously falling. What marketing strategies will
you come up with to improve the sales?
Candidate: Are we talking about the Indian geography here?
Interviewer: Yes, you may consider India
Candidate: Since when are the sales going down?
Interviewer: Since last 2-3 yrs
Candidate: Okay, Thanks for answering these. I’ll take some time to organize
my thoughts before I answer
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 587

Interviewer: Sure
Candidate: I mentioned penetration pricing as the pricing strategy that we
should use for atleast few days till we drive sales back to high numbers.
Marketing Strategies: a) Leveraging Prime OTT platform to show ads related
to books. Mentioned growth and future scope of OTTs due to increase in
phone and Internet Penetration. India is expected to become the largest
OTT market in a few years. b) Placing discount vouchers for other products
inside books c) Using influencers to advertise books by posting videos on
their offline reading experience in creative ways on channels like Insta,
having direct Amazon buying links on their pages. Quoted statistics like an
observed increase of 11% in the ROI and 5% in purchase intent by using
influencers to market a product. d) Having online games to increase
customer engagement e) Identifying customers buying items like
Journals/Diaries etc through shopping data and showing them redirect links
for books on Amazon when they search for other products.
Interviewer: That was helpful Pragya. You may take some more time and
think about more ideas. I want to understand how much you can think on
these lines
Candidate: Sure Mentioned things that would make more people atleast
land on the Books product page like placing banners on the home page in a
relatively higher position for a few days, sending customized mails and
SMSs, Bundling books Also mentioned about highlighting how reading a
physical book is one of the greatest offline experiences a person can have in
the Covid scenario where we are forced to stay glued to our screens
mostly. How its also healthy for our eyes and can serve as therapy for the
depression many people are facing due to being locked in their homes.
Interviewer: Thanks for these Pragya. How will you convince the team to
place a banner for books on the main home page when we have other
profitable products like Electronics?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 588

Candidate: I’ll ask them to place it relatively lower but at a position which
has much more visibility as compared to now. Also, Amazon started out as a
bookstore so we have a special attachment to books and profits aren’t our
sole motive here. We don’t want to lose out on an entire product category
by ignoring books.
Interviewer: Okay. But Netflix started out as a DVD rental store. So should
they start selling DVDs? (Both laugh)
Candidate: DVDs are something that have become obsolete. Today, we can
have a much better watching experience without a DVD player. But physical
books and the associated reading experience is something that can never be
replaced by E-books.
Interviewer: True. That was really helpful Pragya. Thank you so much for
your time. Any questions?
Candidate: I guess I already asked Angad all the questions that I had. So no
questions as of now. Thanks Arshad.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 589

Vyom Wadhwana

Background:
Undergrad – Pandit Deendayal Petroleum
University
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Sales & Marketing

Domain: Sales & Marketing

Round 1:
Interviewer: Introduced himself
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself
Candidate: Shared the prepared answer
Interviewer: Shared an immediate feedback on keeping it brief in future.
Also laid down the structure to follow for answering the upcoming
questions (STARK). Asked me to take as much time as I want to think and
then also for answering the question
Interviewer: Any situation wherein you used data for making a strategic
decision
Candidate: Shared the prepared answer (Work-Ex). Incorporated certain LPs
implicitly in the answer.
Interviewer: The sale of books on Amazon are down. How will drive the
demand?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 590

Candidate: Started with clarifying whether the impact was also on kindle e-
books to which he replied affirmatively. Suggested several marketing
strategies along with my reasoning for driving sales and reaching the target
customers such digital marketing, leveraging the Amazon ecosystem,
Content driven promotions etc.
Interviewer: Could you come up with more ideas? I just want to see how far
can you think.
Candidate: Divided the books into categories. Laid out specific strategies for
each categories based upon the target audience.
Interviewer: Any questions for me
Candidate: No. Discussed on how I was in close engagement with seniors
who interned last year and have received relevant inputs from them.
Interviewer: How is the online mode going?
Candidate: Normal conversations on how the situation is different with
different people.

Round 2:
Interviewer: Introduced himself. I have gone through your CV so we don't
need any introductions. Could you clarify on your job role at IndianOil -
Adani Gas?
Candidate: Brief clarification on role
Interviewer: Could you explain your current POR in Alumni committee
(Marketing Head)
Candidate: Explained how the kind of work I do reflected on the role rather
than the role leading to the kind of work. Explained the work done as a part
of SAMVAAD 2020.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 591

Interviewer: If you had to pick one concept from Kotler and apply it in your
current POR at ALCOM, which would be that concept, why and how would
you execute it?
Candidate: Chose Branding as the concept. Provided relevant reasoning
based upon the importance of the committee and its work. Provided
execution strategies.
Interviewer: Why Marketing?
Candidate: Shared the prepared answer.
Interviewer: Explain the challenges you faced in the business development
of your segment in Daman. How did you approach them?
Candidate: Shared the experiences. Incorporated certain LPs implicitly in the
answer.
Interviewer: Any questions for me
Candidate: No. Discussed on how I was in close engagement with seniors
who interned last year and have received relevant inputs from them.
Interviewer: Further asked to elaborate on those.
Candidate: Shared my understandings and appreciations for the
role/company.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Do's: Prepare Amazon LPs and HR answers. Answer with your hearts. Be
genuine. Think from a broader perspective and answer.
• Prepare well with basics of marketing so that those could be incorporated
in your answers.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 592

Additional Questions:
• Situation- Negative feedback of manager and how you worked on it
• Situation- where you have worked/contributed more than your
responsibilities
• Guesstimate market potential basis workex
• Situation - How did you incorporated the feedback received during work
ex.
• Project that required deep dive analysis?
• Situation - Innovative thing that you have worked on
• Situation where you have to forego short term goals to achieve long term
• Marketing Strategy for Big Billion Day
• What is click per conversion, sponsored ads, organic ads?
• How can you prepare a better CV format?
• Talk about your professional achievements
• Case: If I want to open a sports arena, what are the factors to consider
and help me make a financial model? What data would you want to ask
the client? How would you fund the project?
• Why Marketing?
• Case: Amazon wants to start 6 hour delivery. What should the
consideration be?
• Extensive discussion on CV. Then Case : Luxury brand that has sales of 50
Lakh and to be moved to 1 Cr. How?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 593

• Asked about work experience and given agricultural background was

given case about pitching agriculture products and then a comparison of
organic and inorganic products.
• Case: I am a brand POC (candidate to choose the category); give me a
few performance metrics and how will you pitch vendor to invest more
• When did you go out of your way to serve a customer.
• What did you do when you found out you wont be able to meet a
commitment.
• Asked about audiobits, Amazon live, Amazon posts
• Why you want to be in this role and why would you be a good fit?
• AWS competitors - Azure, Google Cloud suite, Oracle Cloud. Alternates
also include inhouse/self deployment.
• Ques being repeated
• MOSTLY HR & CV based on LPs
• Case - Zara is listing a new category on Amazon, how will you go about it?
One Plus launched on Amazon, Sales dropping how to go about it?
• What is the basis for NIFTY/SENSEX market cap computation?
• Situation when you implemented something new? Situation when you
received critical feedback? Situation when you failed and what did you
learn
• Round 2 - Deep Dive - Instance where you identified the root cause of a
problem
• Amazon wants to enter Pharmacy business in India (Data given)- What
factors would you consider?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 594

• If you are a brand manager at Amazon, how will you pitch client to invest
more in advertising in next 5 years
• When did you find yourself getting critical feedback; What did you do
something innovative
• Amazon Grocery delivery constraints and how to overcome?
• KPI used in workplace to evaluate performance appraisals - candidate
specific
• Situation where one team member was lacking in effort, what to do? If
you were to make a decision, what would you have done, Situation when
you "Earned Trust", Sales of Physical books going down, how will you
strategize marketing?
• CV points - certifications, PORs etc
• Lots of 14 LP questions
• Intro, detailed discussion on workex, projects, data driven
recommendation you gave to client (Work ex based), Guesstimate -
Number of fairy lights sold during diwali, Shoe que repeated,
• Round 2 - Focused on CV + HR - Situational based questions
• Round 2 - Situation where you took initiative/responsibility during work-
ex,
• Accounting concepts- Revenue recognition, Ratios
• Finance concepts- DCF (Including assumptions), Financial statements
(BS/P &L), NPV, IRR and relative valuation
• Round 2- Questions from Round 1 are being repeated (Check for
consistency)

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 595

• Situation where you have to do data intensive analysis

• Situation where you have to do a lot of convincing
• What is you're favorite subject? (Follow up questions based on answer)
• Round 2 - Detailed discussion on work ex, Instance where you received
constructive feedback and how did you react, Instance where you went
out of your way to work on something which was not your responsibility
(Ownership)
• What book have you read recently? What was your learning? (Connected
to the candidate tell me about yourself)
• Perform labor modelling for a manufacturing firm where the demand is
volatile (Amazon explained the case details)
• You are a finance partner at amazon. You want a new brand to sell their
products through amazon. It is a premium brand and no competitor.
They don't want to change price in offline and online. How will you
negotiate with them ?
• Why do you want to be in a CRM role
• Data driven decision, asked again
• You are the Finance manager of a FMCG company- You want to launch
premium biscuit, which exists in another country. What factors will u
consider
• SItuation- You have been given a task to advise vendor (apple company),
1 lakh rupees each cost, SP: 95K, 5000 loss, customer traffic is important,
and window is 21 days, what will u advise him?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 596

• Examples of negotiation skills at work (Specific focus on cost aspect)?

Whether you did data analysis anywhere at work?
• Take us through your academic projects (Fin and marketing)
• If you want to introduce a construction equipment category in Amazon.
How would you identify that which vendors would be interested in
advertising on the platform and how will you keep them engaged
• Diwali coming, the demand for lights guesstimate, how much inventory
must Amazon have, A particular shoe is not performing well what can be
the issue
• Case: Explain the process of Amazon grocery and challenges. Also
convince the investor why to go for it?
• Why are you interested in BD role?
• Deep dive on work experience - 2-3 mins on each CV point - deep dive
into each point
• Questions on work experience
• How will you go on developing business strategies
• Tell me about the most important project you did. How do you measure
the success metrics; Dive deep in the project; Situation when you had to
negotiate with a stakeholder. How would you measure the importance of
a project?
• CV based questions; Why Amazon? How will you add value to Amazon?
Questions on work ex using Dive-Deep
• What was it that you set to achieve through a specific project. What did
you actually achieve?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 597

• Take us through a day at your workex place

• You are a finance manager working at amazon in audio category. New
sale manager approached you for a new premium headphone brand.
How will you assess it?
• What do you feel about the setup of course and internship in MBA
• The situation where you had to adjust to a project; How much efficiency,
did you increase etc. (All CV based questions and in-depth knowledge)
• Why finance? (For non-finance personnel)
• Explain your understanding of the role. Why does the role excite you
• Tell me about yourself Why finance What is your understanding of this
role Tell me something about financial ratios - profitability ratios Take me
through your work ex as I have e-commerce background What do you
feel about the setup of course and internship in MBA
• What will you assess in profitability ratios?
• What did you learn in your FR course (Follow up)
• Tell me something about yourself
• What is cloud
• Why AWS, a client relation role instead of PM role
• How to sell AWS, competition client (Please read JD)
• Tell me about yourself, AWS product range
• Adventure site - Amazon is launching, how to promote, Any data driven
decision you had to take?

• Work ex, Intro, Issues/problems that come from customers and how did
you solve (based on work ex), 3 things you'll keep in mind while
launching a new category?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Amazon 598

• 20 min interview: Have you worked on some complex problems? Some

probing questions on answers; Have you ever managed a team? What
size of team did you manage? How would you motivate a team member?
• Guesstimate the shoe market size in India; Any situation when you dived
deep in your project

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 599
Apollo Tyres

Aditi Pawar

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Raipur
Field of Grad. – B.E. in Electronics
Work Exp – 38 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Tell me about yourself.
• Questions from workex and past POR.
• Strengths and weaknesses.
• What kind of a person are you?

Other
• How does OTT platforms work?
• What is a business model?
• What is platform business model?
• How can you use AI and ML in marketing?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

Be friendly and take it as an interaction.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Bajaj Auto 600

Questions:

• Why Bajaj Auto?

• Why Sales & Marketing?
• Why choose Bajaj Auto? Any marketing work you may have
done?Discussion on Marketing/Sales related Internships Why sales?
• What drives you?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 601

Bayer

Monika Bhardwaj
Background:
Undergrad – IIT Kanpur
Field of Grad. – Economics
Work Exp – IPAC and Reify Consulting
Prev Work Ex Domain –
Political Consulting

Round 1:
GD Round –
• Interactions Topic : You have 2 crore budget, design tangibles for the
objective "health for everyone, hunger for none".
• Format : Group of 5-6 people. Looked for good discussion and no Fish
Market situation.

Round 2:
Interviewer: Tell us about yourself
Candidate: Talked briefly about childhood and College and how that journey
shaped me. Gave main emphasis on work experience and ended with talking
about hobbies.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 602

Bayer

Interviewer: (intrigued by work ex) Which company you said? IPAC? and
what was your role?
Interviewer: Did you get to work with the leaders, have you met them? How
difference was your experience with each leader?
Candidate: Described personal instances with the leaders
Interviewer: You have worked closely with Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul and all
these leaders. Give us brief on the methodology you follow to expand their
brand.
Candidate: Asked for 2 mins to write down GTM Strategy
Interviewer: We see, you have diverse experience, how do you think, you
will fit into corporate environment?
Candidate: Aligned my experience with my interest in the domain field.
Established the analogy between political campaign and other marketing
campaign. Also shared my long term career vision.
Interviewer: Describe an incident when your team didnt agree with you and
how did you go about it

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Smile and be confident. Knowing about the company really helped me
clear the GD as the topic was on the recent campaign they did, which
provided me lot of talking points.
• Interactions with seniors, Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/PIs
• Company Website, YouTube Channel and News

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 603

Bayer

Additional Questions
• HR Ques- Which Industry you're sure you don't want to work in? Which
you want to surely work for? A situation where you had any conflict
between your teammate
• What's your Favorite brand?
• Marketing strategy for any product you like (consider covid context)
• Any brand campaign that you liked on covid
• As a brand manager for a footwear company if the sales are growing at -
25%, what will you do to increase sales?
• They asked about mechanized farming, drones, hybrid seeds, supply
chain logistics, APMC mandis, 3-4 years prediction of Agri sector
• Weaknesses and 5-year plan for you?
• Why sales & marketing as work-ex being biotech grad?
• Work ex related ques and details
• How do feel Agri sector will grow in future? What are the growth
prospects?
• How does Biotech connect with Agriculture
• Most difficult decision taken in Work-ex and life?
• If a company is given entering a new market, 10 years down the line they
want the growth trajectory to be 10X. How will you position and steps to
increase growth?
• What are you expectations from the job?
• Why marketing
• Give details about where you have led the project? What was the process
and stakeholders?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 604

Bayer

• CV and Work-ex related questions

• Why Bayer?
• Key learning from Agri related village visit projects in undergrad
• Mostly technical aspects of agriculture graduation
• Bayer has vision of "Health for all, Hunger for none". You have 2crore
budget, how would you go about allocating it?
• New Farm Bill - boon or bane?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 605
Bayer Cons. Health

Sunita Udai

Background:
Undergrad – IIT-BHU
Field of Grad. – Ceramic Engineering
Work Exp – 24 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Research and
Development

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Tell me about yourself
• Any data driven project or analyzed data in a project
• After this all questions were based on project, even technical aspects, the
interviewer wanted to know how I arrived at the result for the project.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Don't be nervous. They do not want people who will get nervous in front of
their clients. And be honest with your answers.
• Interactions with seniors
• Disha Sessions

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 606
Bayer Cons. Health

• Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Internet

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 607
Bayer Cons. Health

Additional Questions
• What's your Favorite brand
• Marketing strategy for any product you like (consider covid context)
• Any brand campaign that you liked on covid
• As a brand manager for a footwear company if the sales are growing at -
25%, what will you do to increase sales?
• They asked about mechanized farming, drones, hybrid seeds, supply chain
logistics, APMC mandis, 3-4 years prediction of Agri sector
• Weaknesses and 5-year plan for you?
• How do feel Agri sector will grow in future? What are the growth
prospects?
• How does Biotech connect with Agriculture
• Most difficult decision taken in Work-ex and life?
• If a company is given entering a new market, 10 years down the line they
want the growth trajectory to be 10X. How will you position and steps to
increase growth?
• Give details about where you have led the project? What was the process
and stakeholders?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 608

BCCL

Jay
Background:
Undergrad – Mithibai
Field of Grad. – Management
Work Exp – Maru Shirtings Pvt Ltd
Prev Work Ex Domain – Marketing
Vendor Management
Facility Management

Round 1:
GD Round – Ad analysis. Was not moderated unlike most of the other GDs.
Also, we were warned if 3 people spoke at once, the entire panel would be
scrapped. Were shown the ad. Went on for 10-12 min. Use of the ad
analysis framework was essential. Stuck to the framework even when the
group was deviating. Made 3-4 good entries. Everyone was listening
because I was speaking content instead of globing. Don't globe. These are
very experienced people and would understand if you were doing so. Also,
concluded the GD in less than 30 sec.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 609

BCCL

Round 2:
Interviewer: introduce in 1 minute.
Interviewer: why do you want to work at BCCL and in this role
Interviewer: deep dive into work exp
Interviewer: A case. How would you increase the sales of print media?
Interviewer: Tell us one strength and 2 weaknesses.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interactions with seniors
• Team Disha material. Saw the role description 2 minutes before the
interview and the work that Disha did in compiling and summarising
important points was brilliant. Also, the KT was really really helpful and I
would like to thank Disha for it.
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Be confident. Don't appear to have mugged up answers. Be clear with the
basic marketing framework of "STP, Need gap analysis, 4 Ps". This is more
than enough if prepared well. Also please please prepare HR answers
really well. They are of the utmost importance in marketing interviews.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 610

BCCL

Additional Questions:
HR Questions:
• How would you convince a client to advertise in newspaper?
• What are your strength and weakness?
• Physical print is facing decline, how will you revive it?
• Why do why to join BCCL?
• Why do you want to do marketing?
• Why MBA after Engineering?
• In which portfolio would you like to work in?

GD:
• OTT vs Multiplex: long term vision
• Ad Analysis: Apple – Perspective (video was shown): 5 mins to think, 9
mins GD, 1 min conclude.
a. Discuss -Messaging -brand personality -target group

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 611

Beam Suntory

Manisha Karelia

Background:
Undergrad – IIT BHU
Field of Grad. – Engineering
Work Exp – L&T Defence
Prev Work Ex Domain – Metallurgist

Round 1:
Two interviewers
• Interviewer: Tell me about yourself.
• Describe your role in the previous organization.
• What approach will you follow while innovating something?
• Candidate: He was looking for the word need.
• Interviewer: What is the thought process behind any business in terms of
time?
• Candidate: He wanted to hear any business would want to continue as
long as it stays relevant & is able to cater to the customer needs.
• Interviewer: Why Beam Suntory?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 612

Beam Suntory

Round 2:
• Again, two interviewers, different than round 1
• Interviewer: Tell me about yourself
• What is your biggest achievement in life?
• What was the most challenging part of your previous job?
• What Part of your work you did not like? What did you do?
• Why Marketing?
• What qualities make you suitable for marketing?
• Give me an example of a marketing blunder?
• Why Beam Suntory?
• Any questions for us?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interactions with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs, PIs
• Disha material, Internet, RG
• Do take GD/PI slots & prepare for your HR answers well.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 613

Beam Suntory

Mannam Sindhurra
Background:
Undergrad –
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam
Field of Grad. – B. Tech
Work Exp – Ericsson
Prev Work Ex Domain –
Telecommunication

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Mock GDs, PIs
• JD and interaction with seniors
• Full HR and CV preparation

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 614

Beam Suntory

Sunita Udai
Background:
Undergrad –
Amrita Vishwa vidyapeetam
Field of Grad. – B. Tech
Work Exp – Ericsson
Prev Work Ex Domain –
Telecommunication

Round 1:
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself.
Candidate: told
Interviewer: one project where you took the ownership
Candidate: work-ex related
Interviewer: what challenges you faced and how did you overcome those
Candidate: I told more on technical side, shouldn't have
Interviewer: some more questions on work-ex (from HR perspective)
Interviewer: sales or marketing

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 615

Beam Suntory

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Went through company's profile, mock PI from section-mate
• googled about it and Disha trello board
• Full HR and CV preparation
• Do- Prepare every work-ex related questions from the perspective of
what are the learnings, challenges, etc.
• Don't- be clear with preferable sales or marketing role

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 616

Beam Suntory

Additional Questions:
• Case - Product doing less than national average in a particular region in
terms of sales, what could be possible reasons and how to improve that
• Questions from CV basically asking from achievements section or some
highlighted key words

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 617

Bosch

Gauri Singh
Background:
Undergrad – Jaypee Institute of
Information Technology
Field of Grad. – Computer Science Engg
Work Ex – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself.
Candidate: Basic normal introduction about my family background,
academics, hobbies, and interest.
Interviewer: Asked about the project- Smart Shopping Cart mentioned in my
CV.
Candidate: Briefly described the project and my contribution.
Interviewer: How will you sell this smart shopping cart in the market.
Candidate: Started by talking about the differences between B2B and C2B
market that should be kept in mind when making the sale. Tried to include
the highlights of B2B market.
Interviewer: Tell me one negative feedback that you have received from
your superiors.
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 618

Bosch

Candidate: I have been told that I overthink a lot.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Reference Guide given by Disha
• Just Be confident. Even if you think that what you are saying might be
wrong, just say it confidently and if they call you out, try to give your
reasoning for the answer confidently. If they sense that you are nervous,
they will not recruit you even if you have given them the right answer.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 619

Bosch

Additional Questions
• How will you associate yourself with technology? How will you sell B2B
and B2C?
• How will you expand the market in B2B segement for a Bosch's product;
Other CV/HR related questions
• Introduce; If Bosch wants to enter a new industry- How will it achieve
this? Where will you fit in the three roles mentioned on JD? How will you
get data of Bosch competitors which are small and unlisted?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 620
Cipla

Shubham

Background:
Undergrad – DTU
Field of Grad. – Btech, ECE
Work Exp – 24 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Intellectual
Property Consulting

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• 2 interviewers.
• Started with Intro. Then, I was asked to explain my workex and its overlap
with Sales & Marketing responsilities.
• Questions around IP (my workex industry).
• Slightly indirect versions of Why Cipla?
• Why Sales & Marketing?
• Why pharmaceutical industry?
• Long term and short term goals?
• What are your top 5 strengths?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 621
Cipla

Case:
A case regarding a company, holding a patent to a drug, planning to enter a
market.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors

• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Interaction with workex managers/seniors Interactions with seniors
• Kotler, Disha & Prism resources for Marketing
• Interaction with seniors.
• Most importantly interact with someone for each of your CV point. E.g.
your office manager or senior for workex points.
• Your undergrad college mates or seniors for PORs, etc. Mock GDs/PIs
• Keep tell me about yourself interesting and should be a conversation
builder. You'd put exaggerated points in CV, but don't put those in your
Tell me about yourself. Get your HR answers reviewed as soon as possible
and keep iterating them through mock PIs.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 622
Cipla

Mayank Shekhar

Background:
Undergrad – BIT Mesra
Field of Grad. – Btech, Civil Engg.
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Consulting; IT

Round 1:
HR Questions:
• Tell me about yourself.
• The panel had 2 interviewers. They moved on to the points on my CV and
were greatly interested in knowing about a couple of projects and asked a
number of follow-up questions on them. 10-15 minutes of discussion on
both the projects.
• A short discussion on the entire experience of online learning, its pros, and
cons.
• Why do you want to join us?' and a couple of follow-ups.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 623
Cipla

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors

• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Disha RG
• Company website and PPT
• Make sure that you are aware of the company, any recent news about
them as well as be thorough with your CV points. Be prepared to talk in
detail about any projects that you have worked upon, especially if it is
something unique or extremely relevant to the role/company you are
interviewing for.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 624
Cipla

Additional Questions
• Why Pharmaceutical Industry?
• Challenged faced by the Pharma Industry?"
• What are your hobbies?
• 5 qualities that you bring to the table
• Explain a project that you did - in detail\
• How will interning with Cipla fit in your career path?

Group interview: 2 other candidates, over Skype.

• To begin, the interviewer introduced himself. Then candidates were
asked to introduce themselves quickly - 30 second elevator pitch. Post
that, the interviewer asked a few questions from their CV and work
experience.
• Difference between Marketing and Distribution?
• How will you segment Pharma products?
• What do you know about Cipla Waste Management?
• Things you would look at while deciding to give a 1000cr loan to a
company.
• What is going on in the Indian Economy?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 625
Cloudtail

Sai Chaitanya

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Trichy
Field of Grad. – Btech, Production Engg.
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics

Domain: Vendor Management

Round 1:
Candidate: Good morning, Sir
Interviewer: Good morning
Interviewer: Walk me through your CV
Candidate: Started with my education and ended with my work ex
Interviewer: Can you talk about the projects you did during your time at
Swiggy
Candidate: Explained a few of the important projects I worked on. Grilled me
on the work ex and asked questions about the LPs
Interviewer: What are the factors that you'd check if a particular SKU profit is
reducing
Candidate: Looked at different factors and kept the Interviewer engaged in
the conversation

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 626
Cloudtail

Interviewer: Ok. Guess the number of cups of tea required in IIM Lucknow on
placement day
Candidate: Started with different sets of users and the factors that might
impact the tea consumption and arrived at a number
Interviewer: Ok. You may leave now
Candidate: Thank you, Sir

Round 2:
HR Questions:

Interviewer: Good morning

Candidate: Good morning, Sir

Interviewer: Walk me through your CV

Candidate: started with education and started explaining the projects i've
done at Swiggy. The interviewer started asking for more details and asked a
few questions related to LPs. There were 3 questions on LPs and how i've
displayed them during my past experience. Have answered those in detail
around 3-4 mins for each

Interviewer: Ok. That's it. You may leave.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 627
Cloudtail

• One of my friends got placed in the same company a few days back. So
had a detailed discussion with him regarding the company and the
interview experience which helped a lot.
• Interview totally revolves around the LPs. It'll be really great to have a
good story for each LP and how good you displayed them in the past.
Guesstimates and domain specific knowledge is must to solve the cases
they ask in the interview.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 628
Cloudtail

Additional Information
• All Cloudtail candidates will be receiving interview links on WhatsApp. All
must be active on WhatsApp once scheduled in Skynet for interviews
• What do you think is your biggest achievement in life?
• Tell me about a time when you had to deepdive and do a lot of data
analysis.
• Tell me about a time when some peers of yours was struggling and asked
you for help. What did you do and how did you feel about it?
• Area where you have used data. How did you go about it?
• Leadership principle – Describe a time you proposed an idea, and people
didn’t like it and negated it. What was the outcome?
• Tell me something about your workex
• Different steps launch a product

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 629

Coca Cola

Questions
• Internship projects
• Basic Intro
• Greatest learning which you had till now
• Discussion about personal interests
• What have you done till now at IIML?
• Why marketing and not Ops (CV based)
• Projects in CV
• Brand extension idea - Product line depth V/S Width extension (line of
thought)
• Journey from schooling to IIML
• Workex points discussion
• How a leader should be and any past leadership experience
• Situation where you modified a conventional process and your learnings.
• Personality, attitude, situation related questions
• What are short term and long term goals?
• What are your hobbies?
• Some basic technical questions based on CV
• Which of the 4Ps of marketing appeals the most to a company like
HCCBPL?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 630
Colgate Palmolive

Shreya Agrawal

Background:
Undergrad – Lady Shri Ram College
Field of Grad. – BCom (Hons)
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
GD:
• Around 11 candidates per GD.
• Topic: Case based - An established company planning to enter the
detergents market, what are the considerations and how do you go about
it.

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• PI - 2 panelists Basic HR Questions/CV based

• Why Sales and marketing
• Which one among them
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 631
Colgate Palmolive

• What do you think are the requisites of this role and how do you fit into
it
• Career goals
• Describe any project you worked on and learnings from it
• Asked to elaborate on a point from my internship during college

Case - Suppose you are in April 2020 (pandemic has just hit), which product
of colgate would you focus on as a marketer and devise a strategy for it.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors

• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs
• Team Disha RG's, Prismags
• Just show that you are confident, are really interested in the role and the
company and be extremely cheerful and positive

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 632
Colgate Palmolive

Additional Questions
• What are your career aspirations?
• Picked up a point from the previous answer and asked questions on that
• Why Colgate? Why not any other marketing company?
• Tell us about one project where you worked hard but failed
• Tell us about your biggest weakness with an example
• How is the Colgate product differentiated?
• Introduce yourself
• List down one major achievement of your life
• Tell us about an incident where you failed
• How has your journey been so far?
• How was your IIML journey? Mention 2 positive and negatives about
studying in a virtual world.
• Which is your favorite term 1 subject and why?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
COTAAP 633

Aman Kumar

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Ropar
Field of Grad. – Engineering.
Work Exp – 33 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Automobile

Domain: Treasury & Trade Solutions

Round 1:
HR Questions:
Interviewer: Introduction
Candidate: General Introduction
Interviewer: About company
Candidate: About video from website
Interviewer: Why this company?
Candidate: Opportunities to connect to masses, direct contact with senior
leadership, ground level understanding of working
Interviewer: Willing to shift to Mumbai? High living expense?
Candidate: Yes opportunities offered are good

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
COTAAP 634

Round 2:
HR Questions:

• General discussion on current movies, politics, etc. It was a general

interaction round, not relevant for placement.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Company website, Disha guidelines
• Be Energetic

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Dabur 635

Ishan Gautam

Background:
Undergrad – Shri Ram College of
Commerce
Field of Grad. – Economics
Work Exp – 11 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Operations

Domain: Sales & Marketing

Round 1:
• GD Topic: Sales dilemma of whether to focus on going with immunity
products sales for the coming year, considering its sale boost in the past
year, or focus on healthcare products?
• GD will be very short. You will get to speak max only once.8-10 mins
(including reading time)
• Try to speak and try to speak the best and the most different point in
your first attempt.
• I went to different direction from my group, and spoke about the points
like market saturation, leading to lesser opportunities in future, and
justifying the unpopular decision. Through this, I was able to clear the GD
for the process
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Dabur 636

Round 2:
The interview is just an interaction. no technical questions. They want you
for sales. So, talk like a salesperson. And more important, talk!

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• Ads, company website, Disha KT, Senior who interned with Dabur

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Dabur 637

Jay
Background:
Undergrad – Mithibai
Field of Grad. – Management
Work Exp – 11 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Marketing,
vendor management, Facility
Management
Round 2:
Interviewer1: How are you? How many interviews have you already given?
Interviewer1: Tell us about yourself focusing on what different members in
your family do?
Interviewer1: Since you have been in Mumbai all your life, would you be
comfortable working in tier 3 or lower tier cities?
Interviewer1: Where all have you travelled within India?
Interviewer2: Situation. You are a sales manager of a territory. There's a
person in your team who is achieving his personal goals. However, he is not
a team player. It is near the month end. This person has achieved his
monthly target and is now chilling. However, the entire sales team is
struggling to achieve the overall team target. How would you motivate this
person to help your team out?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Dabur 638

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Prism
material and sessions
• Prismags and Disha company material
• For this company, you cannot prepare for the interview. You have to be
honest. You have to be confident. There will be no domain specific
technical question asked. It is a purely sales role. The entire interview will
be HR based.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Dabur 639

Additional Questions:
• How will you handle someone who is not team player but delivers targets
• Share an instance, wherein you displayed leadership skills, stood up to
seniors
• What makes you fit for Dabur sales?
• One time when you had to handle a very tough task
• Willing to travel to tier 2, 3 cities. Will family be okay with it?
• Asking about family
• How will you handle diverse teams - 22 years, 45, 55 years?
• Situation based HR Questions: If you have 55 year old in your team, how
will you manage him as he is not ready to accept you as manager
• Why Sales? Quote instances
• Is tv still a primary channel of communication
• Other people are imitating honey as a product - which celebrity use
• Rural distribution is more challenging than Urban distribution
• Is e commerce a way forward for Dabur.
• Case: Honey being copied by local companies. How should the consumers
differentiate. Low on budget. What should Dabur do. Local or nationally
acclaimed actor to endorse
• Case based GD: Dabur wants to launch its Soap and detergent category
how should they go about it - Herbal/Ayurvedic way (their area of
expertise) or beauty and premium way.
• Case Based GD: You are a sales manager increase sales of immunity
boosting product or personal care products. Strategy for 1 year. You

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Dabur 640

were given data that because of pandemic immunity products were on a

boost. Asked one person to summarize

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Diageo 641

Rishika Jaiswal

Background:
Undergrad – Madan Mohan Malaviya
University of Technology, Gorakhpur
Field of Grad. – BTech CSE
Work Exp – 0 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - NA

Domain: Sales & Marketing

Round 1:
• GD Topic- How retail has changed post covid times

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs
• KT and RG provided by Disha; through their website and company ppt
• Attend a lot of GDs
• Bring in the company or the industry in which it operates during the GD

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Diageo 642

Additional Questions:
• Situational Question: If you see a person who has already consumed one
bottle of alcohol in a store and he going to buy another one. What will
you do in that situation? Will you explain the responsibility factor to him
or let him buy the next bottle to help your company sales?
• Discussion around alcohol being a taboo in India, surrogate marketing
• If you have to introduce a new product for us, what will it be and how
will you go about the analysis
• Current challenges in the Alcohol beverage industry
• What will be your role if you join the firm? What are the values and
uniqueness you will bring to the table?
• Why marketing?
• Why Alcohol beverage industry and not FMCG?
• How do you handle setbacks?
• Which is your favourite Diageo brand and how will you promote it
• Situational question: If you have to give CAT exam at 7 am but can only
reach the centre by 7:30 am, then what will you do?
• Situational question: If you get to know of a project submission in the
office on Sunday evening and the deadline for completion is Monday
afternoon, how will go about it?
• What has been your biggest achievement in life till date and why?
• CV based questions- Acads, Projects
• Why sales and marketing
• Changing landscape of liquor consumption in India
• US Election's impact
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Diageo 643

• Indian Economy in 2021

• GD Topics from last year:
1. Diversity in workplace
2. Advertising in Alcohol Industry
3. Rising seats in colleges, how does it affect economy

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 644
Dr. Reddy Laboratories

Soumesh Dehury
Background:
Undergrad – NIT Delhi
Field of Grad. – Engineering
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Consulting

Round 1:
There was one round of GD after initial CV shortlisting. The topic of the GD
revolved around the pharmaceutical industry. It was a case based GD with
you being the manager of a pharmaceutical company tasked with the
decision to whether hire more salesperson for an upcoming cancer drug.
The discussion delved deeper into the workings of the pharma companies,
their various stakeholders and the approval of drugs from relevant
authorities.

Round 2:
The second round was a normal PI with questions being asked from CV,
work experience, new product launch strategy in the pharmaceutical

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 645
Dr. Reddy Laboratories

market. The interview was chill but the interviewer continuously tried to
dove deeper depending on the responses.
HR Questions:

• What other projects have you worked on at ZS?

• Which one did you find most challenging?
• How is pharma targeting different?
• Had it been a different product, what would be your approach?
• What was your project at Tata Steel?
• Why did you form an NGO?
• What challenges do you face?
• Who is running it now that you are here? How do you finance it?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Don't be nervous. They do not want people who will get nervous in front
of their clients. And be honest with your answers.
• Interactions with seniors
• Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Internet

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 646
Dr. Reddy Laboratories

Additional Questions:
• Family background
• Asking about GD- Summarise the points again
• CV Based - If any technology mentioned, then how will you use in Pharma
• Asking a lot of healthcare - what do you know about healthcare industry
• What are your goals?
• Explain your work-ex
• Why Pharmaceuticals industry
• Case Based GD:
Indian Pharma Industry is going through a crisis, instances of US FDA export
ban at various manufacturing locations in different organizations. Orgs
finding it hard to sustain.
A company (the key character in the case), leader in the sector, remained
clean till date. Major operations in the US and spread across Europe, Asia,
South America. Planning to expand to new geographies to mitigate
dependence on one geography. Consider some nuances
1. Manufacturing facility needs country approval to supply and market -
long process
2. Manufacturing facilities will come under pressure
3. Complexity of operations would increase
Scenario: Team has been assembled by the CEO for a decision on whether
they should go ahead or not and potential pitfalls of embracing the decision
• 7 minutes to read the case, 25 minutes to discuss and conclude. 10
members per panel. Cases are a little lengthy but you get sufficient time,
please make sure you skim through them entirely and structure your
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 647
Dr. Reddy Laboratories

• answers using frameworks so that you can reach a definite decision as a

group.
• Summer process at other colleges - Case 2 : New drug in last stage (not
approved yet). Competitors have similar product in the market and are
doing good. The company wants to promote the drug even before
approval so that when it is procured, the doctors are familiar beforehand
and they get maximum prescription. Is this the right step? if yes, how to
promote. Planning to increase sales representation from X to Y number,
still a right step?
• Summer process at other colleges- Case 1: Indian Pharma Industry is
going through a crisis, instances of US FDA export ban at various
manufacturing locations in different organizations. Orgs finding it hard to
sustain.
A company (the key character in the case), leader in the sector, remained
clean till date. Major operations in the US and spread across Europe, Asia,
South America. Planning to expand to new geographies to mitigate
dependence on one geography. Consider some nuances
1. Manufacturing facility needs country approval to supply and market -
long process
2. Manufacturing facilities will come under pressure
3. Complexity of operations would increase

Scenario: Team has been assembled by the CEO for a decision on whether
they should go ahead or not and potential pitfalls of embracing the decision

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
FMC 648

Soumyashree Dash

Background:
Undergrad – College of Agriculture, OUAT,
Bhubaneswar
Field of Grad. – Agriculture
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1: Group Discussion

Round 2: Personal Interview
Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks
• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs,
Newspaper
• Current Affairs from The Hindu and Drishti IAS (Specifically Agriculture
and Economic news)

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
FMC 649

• Sales or marketing? Why?

• Precision Agriculture?
• Comfortable with field visits?
• Any experience with data analytics? Comfortable with handling data?
• US Election: Impact on Indo-US relations
• Farmers Bills

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Google 650

Anjali
Background:
Undergrad – Miranda House, University
of Delhi
Field of Grad. – B.A (H) English
Work Exp – 12 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Category &
Accounts Management

Round 1: Personal Interview

Role: Capability Development Intern (Large Customer Solutions team)

Duration: ~45 mins

• Tell me about yourself

• How do you deal with differences in your team?
• What are the things that you would keep in mind while selecting a team?
• Tell me an instance when instead of panicking you took charge and
solved the problem.
• How will you deal with a teammate who took all the credit for something
that the entire team worked on? How will you tackle the rest of the team
who might feel demotivated because of this?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Google 651

• You've worked with cross functional teams, how do you convince people
who aren't necessarily working under you, to help you out with your
work?
• What is it drives you and you are really passionate about?
• Favourite google product, what do you like about it, what you don’t like,
some suggestions to improve the app? (Use personal experience to back
this up as further questions were asked based on what I suggested.)
• Any questions?

Round 2: Personal Interview

Role: Capability Development Intern (Large Customer Solutions team)
Duration: 50-60 mins

• Tell me about yourself.

• An app that you’d like to introduce, how will you go about it, why did you
select that particular app, what will be its USP, how will it be different
from its competitors? Formulate a GTM strategy for the app. Further
questions on the app's functionality, the market that I chose and how will
I convince investors to invest in the app.
• How has digital marketing/ads changed in recent years? Some new
trends that you have observed? What do you think will be the future of
digital marketing, how will it change? (Give examples)

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 652
Google

• Suppose Airtel is launching a product targeting teenagers, how will you

convince them to use YouTube, instead of television for their marketing
campaigns?
• What are some of the challenges that you faced while starting an MBA
program, online? How did you cope with it? The internship might also be
remote, what kind of challenges do you think you’ll face? How will you
build connections in 2 months, in a virtual setup?
• Suppose a teammate of yours takes a route which is unethical but gets
the work done, how will you handle it? Tell me some resources that you
would refer to, in this situation. (Resources on Environmental, company
ethics etc)
• Suppose a new intern is joining the team, what will be your suggestions
for them?
• Suppose a person in your team does not believe in accommodating
people with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints in the team, how will
you convince them?
• Pick any product of your choice and suggest ways to increase its sales.
Focus on digital marketing aspects as well. (Chose shoes as a product
and laid out both offline and online marketing strategies to boost sales)
• Any questions?

Round 3: Personal Interview

Role: Partner Consultant Intern (Global Partnerships team)
Duration: 60 - 65 mins

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Google 653

• Tell me about yourself.

• Do you have questions related to the new role? (Asked a couple of
questions on the role and what would it entail)
• What according to you is the most striking point in your CV?
• How can you monetise Google chrome? Further questions on the
measures that I suggested.
• Now that you have mentioned these measures for monetisation, do you
think Chrome should be monetised? I said no. Further questioned on
why do I think Google hasn’t monetised it, yet? Why would Google make
a product and not earn money from it?
• Showed some data with 5 different segments (A, B, C, D, E) with
customer reach, Google’s revenue and total market size, then asked
questions like, in which of these segments is Google weak, where are
they strong and which segment provides maximum growth opportunity.
(Further questioned on how did I arrive at the conclusion and what was
my approach) Shared a dataset with a firm’s CPC, CTR and number of
impressions from a particular digital campaign and asked questions on
how to calculate the revenue generated.
• In which case is the ROI better? How did you arrive at that conclusion?
• An instance where you took up a risky project, how did you get other
members of the team on-board. What was the outcome?
• Suppose you have a list of publishing websites (websites which use
Google ads and Adsense) ex: TOI, what will be some of the metrics that
you will judge these websites on? How will you convince them to use
google products? Formulate a strategy. Any questions?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Google 654

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks

• Interaction with seniors, Team Disha Sessions, Mock GDs/ PIs, Internet.
• Resources shared by Google recruitment team about the role, interview
type etc. Markopedia by Team Disha, Marketing case prep sessions with
Team Disha and PRISM mentors, Marketing compendiums/pocketbooks
by PRISM and other B-Schools.
• Read up on Google and Google products Current affairs and recent
trends in digital marketing. Knowledge about google products and digital
marketing terms is important for case based questions.
• Major part of the interview revolved around situation based HR, hence
preparing HR questions using STAR method, is really important.
• Each interviewer introduced themselves in great detail at the start of the
interview and asked if I had any questions for them at the end of the
interview. So apart from the questions that I had in mind, I also asked
specific questions based on their introduction, about working in Google
and their role which they seemed really keen on answering and showed
my interest in the company and the role.
• They don't pick up points directly from CV, but the kind of questions they
probed into, required me to include stories from relevant CV points, so
stories around CV points helps a lot.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Hexaware Technologies 655

VIJAY S
Background:
Undergrad – SSN College of Engineering
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engineering
Work Exp – 26 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Information
Technology

Domain: Sales & Marketing

Round 1: Group Discussion

Topic – B schools are equipping students to deal with the volatile world of
tech

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks

Mock GDs/ PIs

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Hexaware Technologies 656

Additional Questions:
• How you are fit for the role?
• GD Topic - Social media influencers are good marketing techniques for
brands

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 657
HUL

Rashmi
Subramanian
Background:
Undergrad – VES Institute of Technology
Field of Grad. – Electronics & Telecom engg.
Work Exp – 23 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Client analytics,
Entrepreneurship

Round 1:
HR Questions:

• Introduction
• What are you most passionate about?
• Skillsets that will benefit HUL
• Work experience brief, awards and achievements
• What value according to you trumps honesty?
• Any other information you would like to share that may interest us?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
HUL 658

Round 2:
Case video interview:

• Time to think - 1 min | Recording time - 4 mins | Total 3 cases/ scenarios

• Disassociation between kwality and its 3 ice-cream sub brands (feast,
magnum and cornetto). Mention 3 pros and 3 cons.
• Average adoption of an app among distributors, analyse the reasons of
low adoption.
• Favourite advertisement, explain its strategy and impact

Round 3:
Personal interview:

• Detailed discussion on work experience

• Discussion on success metrics in digital marketing
• Case 1: Promotional strategy of an app with unlimited budget, a case
• Case 2: Convincing lux to advertise on your app.
• It was a stress interview.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Be extremely confident in the interview.
• Think from different perspectives and try to be creative in cases.
• Run your HR questions through a senior into marketing.
• Do not listen to every suggestion given by people you run into, chart out
your plan yourself.
• Apply first principle thinking
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 659
HUL

Shubham Dhanuka

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Warangal
Field of Grad. – B. Tech. (EEE)
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Software
Development

Round 1:
Got into HUL interview through LIME competition. There was only one
round of conversational interview with two panelists.

HR Questions:

• Which one would you prefer, HUL or P&G? (P&G was mentioned in CV)
• What are the criteria based on which you decide company to work for?
• Highlight any example from your past work experience of the ownership
you took.
• Why marketing after 3 years of work experience in software domain?
• Case 1: Business plans for family business with 500Cr. investments
• Case 2: How will you go about branding lux in mumbai locals?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
HUL 660

• Case 3: Analytical question on conditional probability

• Any questions for us?

Although the questions written here might seem very blunt and dull, but
interview was filled with laughter, jokes and cross questionings.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Keep it natural. Don't rush to answers.
• Take time to think and analyse.
• Think out loud at times

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Induscraft 661

Interview experience:
• Do u know about Indus craft ?
• B2C Hardwood furniture
• What do u know about digital marketing ?
• Have any new ideas for this field in digital marketing ?
• Have any prior experience in digital marketing ?
• What is your thought process about your future ?
• What do you want to do in future ?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 662

Karri Harika
Background:
Undergrad – Gayatri Vidya Parishad College
of Engineering
Field of Grad. – Mechanical engineering
Work Exp – 19 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT, TCS

Interview format:
• GD Question
• Interview Round I
• Interview Round I

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Do company prep.
• Do HR prep.
• Be thorough with guesstimates

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 663

Sneh Sparsh
Background:
Undergrad – NIT Jamshedpur
Field of Grad. – Civil Engg.
Work Exp – 25 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics, Tredence
Analytics

Round 1:
Round 1 was case-based GD round with 8 people in a panel.

• Case: A man died and 7 characters were described with the scene in hand.
We were supposed to analyse who out of the 7 was most and least
responsible for the death. Ranking to be done. Since, the GD happened
online for us, we were each given 30sec to name our top and bottom 2.
Then, we were all given 4 minutes to explain why we chose what we
chose. Then, we were each given 2 minutes to summarise the group’s
discussion.

Round 2:
Personal interview:

• Tell me about yourself.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 664

• Tell me about a situation that had a great impact on your personal life.
• Tell me about a situation where you had to try hard to get something
done.
• Tell me about a situation where you failed and how did you overcome
that.
• Why MBA?
• Why S&M? Why do you think S&M aligns with your personality?

Round 3:
Personal interview:

• Tell me about yourself. Detailed conversation on family and dogs. (Part of

intro)
• Why MBA? Why S&M? Why not consult?
• Why Team Disha?
• Favourite ad. Followed by ad analysis.
• Guesstimate the number of cigarettes sold in India in a month.
• Effect of Covid on Marketing.
• How do you think Savlon is positioned currently?
• Why ITC?
• How do you think sales & marketing are related?
• Why do you think S&M suits your personality?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Be thorough with HR.
• Go through current ads and campaigns of the firm
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 665

Additional Questions:
• Case: Guesstimate the number of cigarettes consumed in India in a month
• Case: SWOT analysis for IIM L
• Case: Rehydrated onions GTM strategy
• Case: Repositioning of brands/ cost-cutting strategy
• Case: Which P would you change due to COVID for your favorite product.
• Case: Guestimates the no. of cars in NCR
• Case: Favourite ITC brand and how would you launch it in a new market.
• Case: Estimate profit of a restaurant in your home town.
• Case: Cigarette Manufacturer wants to get into the mouth freshener
business (analyze demand and suggest ways)
• Case: How would you go about marketing for the following products:
o Premium bike
o Premium chocolate
o Organic foods
• GD Topic: Who is most preferred for a townhouse flat allotment? 5
people given, decide who is the most suitable for the flat. Divided the
group into two, everyone summarizes in the end.
• Cases being given are contextual to the discussion you are having. Take
the discussion to topics/ approaches you are comfortable with. Why
marketing or why this role can be the starting point.
• Long Term and Short Term Goals
• Location preferences
• Interview experience 1:
o Questions around work responsibilities
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
ITC 666

o How did you create impact in the company?

o How are Automotive and FMCG Supply Chains different & similar
o What are the avenues for cost reduction in FMCG
• Interview experience 2:
o Situation where you failed at convincing others
o Tell me about yourself
o Why marketing?
o What developed curiosity in you about marketing?
o Difference between ATL & BTL
o Covid impact on marketing

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Koo India 667

Shashankajyoti
Brahma
Background:
Undergrad – Assam Engineering College,
Guwahati
Field of Grad. – Chemical Engineering
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
• Video Answer Submission

Round 2:
• Personal Interview

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• JD and recent news related to the company
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/ PIs

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Kubric 668

Saket Narayane
Background:
Undergrad – NIT Warangal
Field of Grad. – Btech, CSE
Work Exp – 37 months
Prev Work Ex Domain - Analytics and
Business Development

Round 1:
• Interaction

Round 2:
• Email Marketing Case

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interview being taken by the founders directly
• Team Disha Sessions
• Company Website

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Kubric 669

Additional Questions:
• Draft an email for customer who is a free customer right now and you
want him to buy a premium. [Candidate was asked to either post the
writeup on chat or present his screen]
• What excites you about Kubric? If you join Kubric, what two things will
you develop as a marketeer?
• Favourite app? features that you would want to implement in the app.
How would you go about marketing that app?
• You have a budget of 5 lac, How will you promote the app Canva.
• Why marketing?
• Why do you want to join kubric?
• Favourite app? 1 feature that you would want to implement in the app.
• Promoting an app
1. Website
2. Social Media: Organic and Paid
3. Public Relations
o Press release
o Host a launch party and invite the local media and tech industry
o Interviews with local newspapers and tech bloggers
o Guest blogging
4. App Store Optimization
o App name – Is it unique?
o Keywords -Include relevant keywords but be careful not to
‘keyword stuff’
o Description
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Kubric 670

5. Search Ads
6. Influencer/ Celebrity Endorsements
7. Word of mouth/buzzworthy
• Tell me about an app that you use. 2 features about it that you like.
• Tell me about yourself; CV specific questions
• Clients
1. Currently headquartered in San Francisco, California, Kubric has
offices in Toronto and Bengaluru. Along with startups like Swiggy
and Dunzo, the startup has companies across North America and
Singapore subscribing to its services
2. The startup also worked with e commerce giant Amazon for the
annual The Great Indian Festival sale last year. While working on a
project of that scale was exciting, Kausambi (Founder) says they
have learnt a lot with regard to their products and processes
• What Kubric does?
1. For each original work of a design made on software such as Adobe,
the startup leverages AI to automate the process and create as
many versions and adaptations of the same design. Thus, it can be
easily deployed across platforms with various formats like an
Instagram feed or a YouTube thumbnail.
2. By filling the gap of design operation, Kausambi says, the creative
minds can work on developing new contents rather than looking
after operational tasks of “editing the same set of banners and
videos all the time.”
3. The entrepreneur says that while platforms like Image Relay and
Sigma which specialises in the UX/UI design space, the startup
prides itself on being able to bring all the content including images,
text, and video on a single platform.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Kubric 671

4. Operating on a subscription-based model, the services are

packaged into three categories of starter which can be availed for
free, followed by Pro, and Enterprise at $399 and $1299,
respectively.

• Innovations Kubric is working on

o Smart Gallery -- Search by content
o The “smart” gallery is a storage space which allows users to search
their data not only by the filenames but also by the contents of
their media. For example, “black women dress” will return all the
“female models” in “black dress”.
o The Smart Gallery supports a variety of media formats for images,
audio, video, fonts, etc., (including mov, webm, mp4, avi, mp3, jpg,
png, pdf, svg, ttf, otf along with raw design formats like sketch, psd,
ai or aep). It also provides advanced editing capabilities such as
stickerize, background removal, just to name a few.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Mars 672

Divisha Gupta
Background:
Undergrad – NIT Raipur
Field of Grad. – Electronics and comm.
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain –Big Data Developer

Round 1:
• Round 1 was GD with a group discussion among 7 students followed by
debate between two groups of 7 each. Topic was- there are funds which
needs to be allocated to one of the 2 products of the company- pedigree
and whiskars. Determine the factors why they should give you the funds.
MARS look for values a lot in a candidate so whenever you a pitching
your arguments, think of the whole company and its values.

Round 2:
• Round 2 was personal interview. Interviewer asked me questions like tell
me something which is not there in resume. Why sales and marketing?
Convince me that you are sure of mars. Are you ready to be located
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 673
Mars

across India? One tip here would be to be as honest as possible and be

sure that you want to go to sales and marketing

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Look at company website very thoroughly. Their products, values,

research field.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 674
Mars

Kumar Vibhor Agrawal

Background:
Undergrad – DIT University
Field of Grad. –Mechanical Engg.
Work Exp – 32 months
Prev Work Ex Domain –Web Development

Round 1:
Two teams representing Pedigree and Whiskas were formed. Mars
management has to decide for future investment in one of the brand.
Teams have to pitch ideas on why their brands should be selected and at
last both the teams should come at a particular conclusion.

Round 2:
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself
Customer: told prepared answer
Interviewer: Questions on workex (brief)
Customer: Told
Interviewer: why sales and Marketing?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 675
Mars

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

Do: Read about Mars, bit of research about their Operations in India will
help
Don'ts: Don't try to show of you are interested in any other fields

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 676
Mars

Krishna Moorthy S.
Background:
Undergrad – TNAU Coimbatore
Field of Grad. –Agriculture

Round 1:
Divided two teams of 7 persons and separate cases were given to two
teams in round, we have to discuss within our group why it is important and
what are the benefits and disadvantages in the case.

Round 2:
Here we have to pitch in our idea and case to other group. For that we have
to prepare a powerpoint of one slide.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

Do attend all the Mock GD session organized by Disha. It will be very
helpful.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 677
Mars

Laxmi Kumari
Background:
Undergrad – BIT Durg
Field of Grad. –Engineering
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain –Healthcare Consulting

Round 1:
Group Discussion:
Very intensive GD with 3 phases total time around 50-55 mins A group of 14
people were taken for panel at once Topic - Budget allocation of specified
amount for sales and promotion strategy of pedigree and wiskas. Phase 1-
students were divided in 2 groups of 7 each. time 10 mins Phase 2 - sub
group were asked to make a ppt about the discussion on budget allocation
to different promotional strategies. Needed to pitch this to other group and
tell why that budget should be allocated to your product. Time for ppt 6-7
mins. Time for pitching to other group- 10 mins. Phase 3 - GD among all 14
to come on a common consensus of budget allocation for a specific product.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 678
Mars

Round 2:
10 mins short HR oriented interview. 2 Interviewer
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself
Candidate: Gave a pre decided short intro.
Interviewer: tell me one thing u would like to improve in your resume or
any section you feel is lacking.
Candidate: I told them that my POR could have been more diverse.
Interviewer: few questions around POR and clubs and committee of IIM L,
my interest towards those, Am I a part of some committee.
Interviewer: How will I manage my personal & professional life (I am
married which I told them in intro)
Interviewer: why should we choose you, tell one unique thing about you
which differentiate you from others.
Interviewer: Answered this by giving context from my work ex and personal
life both

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• RG doc only, and I had attended ppt of Mars so it also helped a bit.
• self-confidence is the key, just be clear about what you want to
express.
• Take as much mock GD and PI possible it will always the best way!
• Never underestimate yourself and it’s never too late for preparation

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 679
Mars

Additional Questions:
• Tell me about yourself
• Why marketing?
• About workex project
• Tell me about your family and where you are from
• Why do you want to join MARS?
• Tell me about yourself
• One thing on your CV you are very proud of
• One thing on your CV you are not very proud of
• How will you deal with a free rider?
• Why should we hire you?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Mondelez 680

Tarang Mehrotra

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Warangal
Field of Grad. – ECE
Work Exp – 36 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Business Intelligence

Domain: Finance

Round 1:
Case Based Group Discussion:
Case with a balance sheet of a snacking company was given and goals were
mentioned like EPS had to increase by 8-9%. 12 people were divided into 2
groups of 6 each. In each group, we had to discuss the observations in the
balance sheet and case questions like whether to expand using the e-comm
route or not - in 10 mins. After discussions within our group, the 2 teams
were given 4 minutes each to conclude their discussions in front of the
other team and 1 minute each was given for cross-questioning.

Round 2:
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Mondelez 681

Interviewer: Introduce Yourself

Interviewer: Why Finance?
Interviewer: Why Corporate Finance?
Interviewer: Few questions around my CV
(Told prepared answers for all the above questions)
Interviewer: Tell us something about you not mentioned in your CV.
Candidate: Told that I follow markets.
Interviewer: Have you observed any trends around IPOs?
Candidate: Mentioned about the recent IPOs and a common trend around
them.
Interviewer: Which ratios do you think are the most important in FMCG
setup?
Candidate: Talked about the operation ratios and why they are important.
Interviewer: Do you know about valuations?
Candidate: Talked about DCF and multiples.
Few questions were asked around my projects in the previous organization
where I had saved costs for my organization.

Round 3:
• What do you know about Mondelez?
• Any recent initiative by us that you are aware of?
• Why FMCG?
• Mondelez products?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Mondelez 682

Additional Questions :
• What are the things that companies should emphasise during COVID times?
• What is your leadership style?
• How is your time at IIM Lucknow so far?
• Any situation where you resolved a conflict?
• International issues - US-China relations, India Pakistan issues
• Biggest failure?
• How are you as an individual?
• Strengths - weakness?
• Why mondelez
• What do you know about markets?
• Why should I hire you?
• What is your take on Joe Biden selected as President?
• Tell me something not on your CV
• Questions based on DCF, payback, relative valuation etc. Why do you want to
work in the domain of finance?

Group Discussion:
• There was huge capital invested by the company already and the
candidates had to come to a consensus about what needed to be done
• Balance sheet given of X company. Capacity is underutilized. Should
we get into e-commerce or not? How? (From the financial viewpoint)
• The company is only into snacks, wants to enter desserts and sweets
market. Assess the market from a consumer and customer point of
view
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 683
Mondelez

• Sales decline while the market is stagnant. What can be done?

• There's a snacking product priced at ~Rs. 10 and is targeted towards
the 5-13 age group. Sales are declining in urban and rural areas due to
some reason. How will you revive the growth? How will you target >13
yr old? How will you plan sales and distribution?
• Balance sheet given of X company. Capacity is underutilized. Should
we get into e-commerce or not? How? (From the financial viewpoint)
• There was huge capital invested by the company already and the
candidates had to come to a consensus about what needed to be done
• A new product is to be launched. Launch date is final. A sudden quality
issue comes up. Any delay in launch will not go down well with the
distributors or the consumers. Discuss whether or not to launch the
product.
• 3 plants for bournvita. One plant will shutdown in Nov. Supply
capacities and demand requirements given. How much extra will you
produce? Which plant will you use to cater the shortfall of the 3rd
plant?
• A new product is going to be launched, launch date is final. A sudden
quality issue comes up. Any delay in launch will not go down well with
the distributors or the consumers. Discuss whether or not to launch
the product.
• Transportation problem. One of the manufacturing plants has been
shut down. As a group, decide how to meet the total demand.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Monster India 684

Ishan Gautam

Background:
Undergrad – SRCC, Delhi
Field of Grad. – Economics
Work Exp – 11 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Operations

Round 1:
• Interview with HR and Busines Head
• Questions on CV
Interviewer: Why Monster?
Candidate: Monster has had a wide presence with operations in more than
21 countries. It also has leading innovative initiatives like collaboration with
CII for creating job portal for the specially abled people.
Interviewer: You seem to be very attracted towards brands. Why so?
Candidate: Branding is vast! it creates an entity (i.e. brands), that is fictitious,
yet it is powerful for e.g. branding Kerala as God's own country

Round 2:
• With the marketing head of Monster India

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Monster India 685

• Questions asked on ‘re-branding’ (since one of the offered projects was

'rebranding of monster in India')

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• RG and reading about the company’s ongoing activities in India

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Monster India 686

Additional Questions:
• How does Monster align with your long term goals?

• Why should we pick you over others?

• What are the domains that you would like to work in?
• If you were to rename Monster – what would it be?
• What new initiatives can be taken by Monster.com?
• How could you rebrand Monster.com?
• Why would you want to go to startup?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 687
Nestle

Shivdeep Singh

Background:
Undergrad – IIT BHU Varanasi
Field of Grad. – Chemical Engineering
Work Exp – 26 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics

Round 1:
Case Based Group Discussion:
Setting up a tent in a weeklong local fair with 40k footfall as a restaurant in
the city.
You are a restaurant owner in city XYZ and this year in your city for the first
time a fair will be setup which has an average footfall of 40,000 over a
seven day period . It will be a good opportunity to setup a food tent within
the premises to sell your food. However, you are also aware of the vastness
of the Fair and the competition from the multiple food stalls. Before setting
up your restaurant in City XYZ and kick starting your entrepreneurial journey
you had completed your MBA with specialization in Sales and Marketing
and you decide to apply some of the same principles you learnt on campus
to maximize your profits.
Discuss the action plan to make your venture a success.
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 688
Nestle

Round 2:
Group Discussion:
Same case as Round 1 but each member to assume a role among CEO,
Advertising Head, Menu and Planning, Digital Marketing Head, Customer
Insight Specialist etc. I picked up Digital Marketing and stated a plan as per
the RACE framework of Digital Marketing.

Round 3:
Personal Interview:
Interviewer: Why Nestle?
Interviewer: Favorite Nestle product?
Interviewer: Suggest an extension for your favorite product (Maggi)?
Interviewer: What would be your sources of consumer research for the
suggested extension?
Interviewer: How will you find the authentic local flavors for extensions?
Interviewer: An instance where you showed leadership skills
Interviewer: An instance where you resolved a conflict and brought a
consensus (or were not able to), what did you specifically do
Interviewer: An instance where you ensured good gelling within a team as a
leader
Interviewer: An instance where you stood up to a superior and your
learning

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 689
Nestle

Additional Questions:
• Walk me through your life
• 2 Challenges you faced. How did you go about it? What lessons did you
learn?
• Initiatives that you took up in your workex.
• Different occasions where you displayed leadership skills
• What is your Favourite Nestle brand?
• What are 3 big innovations you can expect in this brand in the coming 3
years
• Brand analysis of your favorite brand
• Favorite ad and analysis of the same
• Jr. emp very rigid, not aligning to your plan, what is the career path you
have for him?
• Product of nestle affected a kid. How will you talk to his family, what will
you do?
• Launching a product - organic selection - GTM strategy
• Difficult situation you faced, what did you learn, what did you do?

Group Discussion:
• You are a restaurant owner in city XYZ and this year in your city for the
first time a fare will be setup which has an average footfall of 40,000 over
a seven-day period. It will be a good opportunity to setup a food tent
within the premises to sell your food. However, you are also aware of the
vastness of the Fair and the competition from the multiple food stalls

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Omnicomm 690

Birari Aman Abhiman

Background:
Undergrad – MIT, Pune
Field of Grad. – Engineering
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Manufacturing,
FMCG

Round 1:
• Personal Interview – CV & HR Questions
• Case on Sales & Profitability

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Company preperation including competitors, products, strategy, govt.
policies affecting company operations etc.
• News articles
• Government Reports on sectors

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
P&G 691

Adarsh Kundal

Background:
Undergrad – NIT Calicut
Field of Grad. – Mechanical Engg.
Work Exp – 39 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Banking

Round 1:
• Interaction with Co senior
• Talked about work culture and opportunities at company

Round II:
• Interview based on job experience and future prospects with the
company.
• The interviewer tried to understand what the candidate thought of the
company and how he/she was aware of what the company does

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
P&G 692

Round III:
• Final round - Day 0.25. This was an HR and situation based interview.
• The sole emphasis was on how adverse situations were handled by the
candidate and measures adopted to rectify if any mistakes were made.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with Seniors
• Disha Sessions and materials
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Google, Company site, Social media handles, Ad analysis
• Dont mug up factual information but work on the company principles and
how your long term goals align with the company. Tell them why would
you make a good fit.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
P&G 693

Additional Questions
Situation where you came up with a new initiative and how did you
implement it?

Focused around leadership

• HR
• Situation where you had limited data and had to take a decision. (
follow up questions for answers )
• Situation where you had past trends and had to take a decision.(
follow up questions for answers )
• Confusion/Conflict in the team how would you go about it?
• Situation where you went out of your way to do it.
• Leadership position / style
• How did you help with collaborating a team with conflicts.
• Have you processed large data in a small time? What were the issues
that you faced?
• Any situation where you came up with a simple solution for a complex
problem?
• Situation where you took initiative?
• What are the things that you consider while making any decision?
• Situation
• There is a team member who is always late to the meetings and
always has a difference of opinion. How would you deal with it.
• Deadline for projects ( 1week, 3months, 6months ). Due to change of
leadership you need to redo all the work how would you go about it? -
Checking prioritization
• Dates for product launch have been fixed but there is a glitch in
manufacturing due to which the launch was delayed how would you
go about it
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
P&G 694

• You are appointed as manager of new team and team has completed
50% of task and there was a lack in the efficiency of the process. How
will you go about it when the team is not listening to you?
• How will you use data analytics in cricket(candidate mentioned
something about cricket in data analytics)?
• Have you worked with big data?
• Have you used data before to make a decision

• A situation where you innovated something.

• Team oriented situation based questions.
• If you need to convince someone about your approach what are the
factors that you consider
• Sometimes, we may find a group of people disagreeing with our
beliefs/point of view. Give us an instance where you had to convince a
group of people on your point of view.
• Describe a situation where you have achieved something significant in
life after overcoming obstacles.
• Describe a situation where you had to persuade others to achieve a
goal, overcoming resistance. How did you go about doing it?
• Can you think about a time when you thought there could be a better
way of doing things and you thought of an improvement to an existing
idea or process that made it significantly better?

Case
• We have 2 sachets of shampoo(5ml &8.5ml) rs.2 and rs.4 there has
been reduction in market share from 35% to 15 % in market share of
the rs.4 sachet find the possible reasons?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
P&G 695

• Most people go to barber and how do we bring them to the self shave
category.
• Do you have any questions for us?
• Situation based questions
• P&G / Mark specific
• Changes in retail space due to covid
• What do you know about P&G?
• What is your favourite p&G brand?
• Framework ( Context , Outcome and action )
• How will you kickstart the economy?
• Conflict resolution
• Went into a group and achieved something as a new member there
• One time where you made a major change in organisation.
• Identified need for improvement and you implemented the same
• Overcame a major obstacle to achieve something big.
• Situation where you showcased leadership.
• 3 Biggest achievements.
• Conflict with superiors and peers.
• Non traditional approach to achieve something.
• Situation where you had to adapt to change.

Situation
• You are handling a team in your country and another country and
lately
• there have been a lot of disagreements with the overseas team. They
are willing to work with your team only if their Terms and conditions

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
P&G 696

are met. How would you go about that situation?

• The Indian team collaborates with Singapore team for data and inputs.
But the inputs from singapore team are not upto the mark. This is
affecting the productivity of your team and the organisation as a
whole. How will you go about it?
• You have been assigned a project with a deadline of 7 days. Manager
calls and says it now needs to be delivered in 2 days. How will you go
about it?
• Project will lead to profit of $10 million. But you realise your
calculations are wrong and it would lead to $5 million losses. What
would you do then?
• We have invested heavily in the promotion of a product and launch
date is approaching and the production team informs you that launch
needs to be pushed by 2 months. How will you go about it?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pidilite 697

Aniket Gupta

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Guwahati
Field of Grad. – Chemical Engg.
Work Exp – 22 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Oil & Gas

Round 1:
• A video submission round where there were 5-6 HR based questions.
30 sec thinking time. 3 min recording time. Mostly from Disha HR
resources.

Round II:
HR Questions:
• Tell me about yourself
• Follow up questions related to family background, hobbies, and
professional experience
• Why Marketing
• Why Pidilite
• Do you any questions for us

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pidilite 698

Round III:
HR Questions:
• Tell me about yourself
• Why Pidilite ? Follow up question on the same
• Asked about the favorite case, I did in the marketing course - Long
discussion on the case.
• Do you any questions for us.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with Seniors
• Disha Sessions and materials
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Reading Guides, Prism Material
• Just focus on the company values and come up with HR answers based on
that. They focus on company values a lot.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pidilite 699

Aravind A

Background:
Undergrad – PSG College of Technology,
Coimbatore
Field of Grad. – B.E.
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics -
Intellectual Property

Round 1:
• Initial psychometric assessment was conducted for all SL candidates.
• Then, a video submission round was conducted wherein candidates had to
answer 7 HR questions - 30 secs to think & 3 mins (max) to answer the
questions.

Round II:
• Personal Interview Round 1: (~30 mins)
• 2 interviewers - 1 HR (I1) & 1 sales & marketing head (I2)
• The interview was very interactive
Interviewer: How is your day? Is it so long & tiring?
Candidate: No, it is just started and going well
Interviewer: Please introduce yourself to us
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pidilite 700

Candidate: (answered for a minute)

Interviewer: You have unique work-ex & looks interesting to me. Can you
explain your role?
Candidate: (Explained it clearly – related to the S&M role subtly)
(few follow up questions - answered)
Interviewer: Tell us 5 brands of Pidilite? (“BRANDS”)
Candidate: (answered; talked about latest acquisition of Huntsman
corporation)
Interviewer: Why do you want to join S&M role?
Candidate: (related my business experience to the role)
Interviewer: What’s your business venture about? How you go about it?
Candidate: (Explained it)
(discussion about the business went for some time)
Interviewer: What do you look into a company before joining a company?
Candidate: (answered)
Interviewer: Why do you want to join Pidilite?
Candidate: (related the previous answer to this)
Interviewer: Do you’ve any questions for us?
Candidate: (asked three questions)

Round III:
• Personal Interview Round 2: (~30 mins)
• 1 interviewer - 1 senior leader (I1) but mid of interview 4-5 people joined
the call & stayed for sometime
• Interaction started with greetings and his introduction

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pidilite 701

Interviewer: How’s your business going?

Candidate: (talked about business model & challenges faced due to COVID
19)
(more questions about business & he was so interested on numbers/
percentages)
Interviewer: How do you see the positioning of ‘sanitizer’ producing
companies in few years?
Candidate: (asked for a minute to think, then answered the question,
offered short-term & long-term strategies)
Interviewer: If you’ve any question for me, you can ask but only two.
Candidate: (asked)
Interviewer: (answered & wished good luck for the business)

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with Seniors
• Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Pidilite website, Markopedia
• Be calm, interactive & smile during the interview

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pidilite 702

Krishna Moorthy S

Background:
• Undergrad – TNAU, Coimbatore
• Field of Grad. – Agriculture
• Work Exp – NA
• Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself
Candidate: introduced myself
Interviewer: asked about my PORs
Candidate: told them what i did in my UG
Interviewer: What are the 3 important values that guide your thoughts
Candidate: Gave my answers
Interviewer: why sales? what is the difference b/w sales and Marketing
Candidate: Gave my answers
Interviewer: Short term and long term goals
Candidate: Gave my answers
Interviewer: Why pidilite
Candidate: Gave my answers
Interviewer: Recent ad campaign of pidilite and what do you know about
pidilite
Candidate: Gave my answers
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pidilite 703

Interviewer: How will you handle stress

Candidate: Gave my answers
Interviewer: What makes you angry
Candidate: Gave my answers
Interviewer: What makes you happy
Candidate: Gave my answers.

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with Seniors
• Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Disha KT and interaction with Pidilite interns
• Prepare your HR questions well.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pidilite 704

Prasanjitkumar
Praful Bala
Background:
Undergrad – Theem College OF
Engineering
Field of Grad. – Civil Engineering
Work Exp – 20 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Construction

Round I:
• It was completely based on HR questions & CV which went on for 7
minutes.

Round II:
• The initial few questions were again HR based which then shifted to
marketing concepts including consumer market analysis in my residing
city.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pidilite 705

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interaction with Seniors

• Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Disha materials, Company website to have a brief idea about all the
product categories & google its ads
• After the 1st initial screening round, try to apply marketing concepts
wherever possible. Prepare HR answers well which was also tested in the
initial video screening round.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pidilite 706

Additional Questions:
• Why MBA? Why S&M
• What you look for in a firm Situational
• HR questions on CV
• Family background

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Pramerica 707

Mewan Cajee

Background:
Undergrad – North-Eastern Hill University
Field of Grad. – Economics
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1:
• Tell me something about yourself
• Explain marketing in simple words
• What do you know about our company
• Have you gone through the company website
• Role of marketing in a company
• Which domain are you inclined to and why
• What is your specialization
• Why is this internship a good fit for you

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Disha Sessions and materials
• Go through the company's website before every interview

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Puma 708

Aditya Kumar

Background:
Undergrad – BIT Mesra
Field of Grad. – B.E. Electrical and
Electronics
Work Exp – 17 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Media &
Entertainment

Round 1:
• Video Submission: 1 minute video submission on the following:
• PUMA currently has a footprint of about 400 retail stores around the
country. Given that people are increasingly preferring to stay at home,
how should PUMA rethink it’s offline retail strategy so as to maximize
revenue and minimize cost burden in the short term
• I designed a campaign to solve the problem by involving Puma's social
media reach, current brand ambassadors, minimizing the operational cost,
applying COVID measures while clearing the inventory, along with
enabling a promotion for the span, targeting the fitness seekers and
sportsperson. The pilot for this campaign was designed around Bangalore.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Puma 709

Round II:
• Basic HR questions, directed towards your goals.
• Incentive to mention your involvement with sports.
• Your Favourite sports?
• Explain your campaign again?
• Cross question on the campaign, picking flaws.
• Your favourite city? Why? (Since I have been travelling a lot)
• Why Puma? What do you gain? How do you fit at Puma?

Round III:
• Cross questions on you submission campaign.
• Design a new campaign around ISL (since I prefer football) to promote
the merchandise.
• Your favorite campaigns run by Puma?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interactions with Senior
• Disha Sessions
• Company website: Campaign info, vision, goal
• YouTube: Advertisement analysis
• News about the company
• Read about the company and their recent involvement, understand how
they differ from their competitors

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Puma 710

Aravind A

Background:
Undergrad – PSG College of Technology,
Coimbatore
Field of Grad. – B.E.
Work Exp – 34 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics -
Intellectual Property
•

Round 1:
• Initial round was a recorded video submission round. Candidates had to
offer strategies for a problem (how to improve sales ) faced by PUMA
currently - 60 secs video to be uploaded.
• 1 Minute Video Submission On The Following: Puma Currently Has A
Footprint Of About 400 Retail Stores Around The Country. Given That
People Are Increasingly Preferring To Stay At Home, How Should Puma
Rethink It’s Offline Retail Strategy So As To Maximize Revenue And
Minimize Cost Burden In The Short Term

Round II:
• Personal Interview Round: (~20 mins)
• 3 interviewers (I)
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Puma 711

Interviewer: Briefly introduce yourself

Candidate: (done)
Interviewer: Explain strategies that you provided in the initial video
submission round
Candidate: (listed out – few follow up questions from those strategies)
Interviewer: Why do you like to join Puma?
Candidate: (related childhood memories with my answer)
Interviewer: Why S&M role?
Candidate: (related work & business experiences to the role)
Interviewer: What new product line should Puma enter?
Candidate: (suggested Puma shall enter sports product given Puma’s strong
brand value in sports segment)
Interviewer: What specific sports product should Puma venture?
Candidate: (told cricket bats as Puma isn’t manufacturing its own cricket
bats – still not sure whether this is correct or not!)
Interviewer: How will you position this new product?
Candidate: (quality & affordability – Puma bats for the best in class game)
Interviewer: Do you’ve any question for us?
Candidate: (asked about Puma’s offline retail business in future)

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks:

• Interactions with Senior
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Disha's company compendium, Prism's marketing sessions
• Be calm, interactive & smile during the interview

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Puma 712

Additional questions:
• Devise a campaign around ISL to promote Jerseys and Shoes, keeping
Covid in mind
• Questions about you as a person, your interests, why puma?
• Asking about the company PPT they have conducted at the campus so
make sure you guys know what all they covered (they are assuming that
you must have attended; and since they are looking for candidates
extremely interested in their company, you should know this)!
• Process: Only one round expected (20-25 min)
• Situation based - Team work
• Three words friends would describe you
• One thing you have learned in term 1 that you will apply to internship
• Questions around your performance in GD - they have feedback from
yesterday for each candidate, hence questions around that
• Why Puma?
• Importance of challenging tasks for you? Do you get bored with
repetitive tasks? What do you prefer and why? Do you always want
challenging tasks?
• Intro, Why Puma, Case - In Covid times what new product can be thought
of, CV based que, One ad campaign you remember
• Questions on submission, Puma's campaigns, Discussion on influencers,
General HR ques

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
RB 713

Parth Shah

Background:
Undergrad – BITS Pilani, Goa
Field of Grad. – B.E. Electronics &
Instrumentation
Work Exp – 35 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – Analytics

Round 1:
• CV + Psychometric

Round II:
• GD: Case based - Dettol branding and sales promotion in covid times

Round III:
• Company interaction - This was an unofficial interaction but was like an
usual interview.
• Introduction
• Some questions on workex (CV)
• Why Sales and Marketing? Why RB and what I like about them? - Told
them about how I loved their products and they made an impact in
people's lives + global exposure

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
RB 714

• What do I think a S&M job in FMCG entails? Why would I fit in? - I was
not very clear on what exactly FMCG sales entailed.
• Any questions for them? - I asked about what they are looking for in an
intern?

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with Seniors
• Disha Sessions and materials
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Disha RG, PRiSMag's, Website
• Be thorough with the S&M HR questions, company related info

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
RB 715

Additional Questions
• Process
• Competitors
• About RB
• Dettol Hand sanitizer case
• Moov Case

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 716
Samsung

Akash Chakraborty

Background:
Undergrad - NIT Durgapur
Field of Grad. - Btech ECE
Work Exp – 24
Prev Work Ex Domain - Consultant
(Fintech)

Round 1:
GD: “Boycotting products for political reasons are justified”

Round 2:
PI
• Tell me about yourself and don't tell me what's already there on your CV,
I have already read it.
• Case: Launch Samsung television in the tier 2-3 cities
• How would you rate Samsung as a company?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 717
Samsung

Preparation and Interview tips and tricks:

• DISHA compendium
• Disha Sessions/RG’s
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Markopedia

Do’s and Dont’s

Do’s
• My interview was a rather short one and I felt like the only thing they
were looking for was a lively conversation, so having good
communication skills and being enthusiastic throughout would be very
important in my opinion.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 718
Samsung

P Nanda Kishore

Background:
Undergrad -College of Engineering,
Trivandrum
Field of Grad. - Btech ECE
Work Exp – 24
Prev Work Ex Domain -Semiconductors

Round 1:
GD: "Is the world ready for automatic electric vehicles?" - Unmoderated GD
with standard 12min format

Round 2:
PI
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself
Candidate: Gave basic background information. Focused on passion for
robotics and technology, and work experience in semiconductors from the
usual answers.
Interviewer: Consider a city like Bangalore, how will you market a product
like Samsung Note 10 or any premium smartphone.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
•
 719
Samsung

Candidate: The consumer of this product are tech enthusiasts, college

students and people who are salaried employees in MNCs. Since I fall into
this segment and I am someone who would probably buy the phone, it
would be easier for me to think in that way. I'll focus on different aspects
from awareness of product, decision making, availability, buying experience,
post purchase, feedback and reviews and then the service center.
Awareness - digital marketing would be the key element - Advertisements in
magazine both digital and paper, TV, YouTube ads - Hoardings and
billboards through the high-density areas like metro stations and malls -
Experience stores can be improved in malls and tech park vicinity -
influencer marketing can also be done - upcoming trend of gaming can be
leveraged to organize a smartphone gaming championship - sponsoring live
streamers - office employee marathons etc sponsoring. Decision Making -
use online media for making their decision - tech youtubers and reviewers
like MKBHD and Jerry Rigs - given a sample and then their review can help
us due to their credibility - not particularly for Bangalore, global or Asian
budget - particular aspects like the camera can be done by online
photography campaign - featuring the best ones on Instagram page handle
or small rewards.
Availability - sales channels - online + ecommerce - retail stores and
exclusive stores. Omnichannel can be introduced - Strategies used for
improving awareness can also be used to send this message. Buying
experience and post purchase - NA for online. exclusive showrooms to
experience rooms - sell experience also not just product - some services also
- takes around 20-30 min to buy, can be optimized and that can be
advertised - preordering and pay + pickup only mode - all payment modes
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 720
Samsung

and financing options - bundling other products like BT earphones, wireless

charging adapter, Gear, etc - additional warranty, theft warranty, etc - also
exchanging in old phones can be done. Reviews and service centers- word
of mouth and online - project reviews, offer a platform for genuine buyers.
Improved response at service centers - prebooking slots - transparent repair
charges - pickup and drop using existing retail network
Interviewer: In your opinion, what is the future, online sales or offline sales.
Candidate: India rural ecommerce penetration low - retail stores large
number for Samsung - tier 1 and 2 cities online can boom - takes time in
others, can’t lose opportunity - focus retail also. ecommerce - not
sustainable long term - margins might come down when Amazon, Flipkart
renegotiates prices. considering other factors, 40% online and 60% offline.
Interviewer: Do you have anything to ask us?
Candidate: No
Interviewer: Thankyou

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks

• DISHA compendium,
• Disha Sessions/RG’s
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Recent News, CES 2020 highlights, The Verge
• Interaction with Seniors

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 721
Samsung

Do’s and Dont’s

Do's
• Although the question sounds simple, make your answer structured. It
helps yourself in not repeating, keeping track of what you said, and
makes it clear for the interviewer as to what all you have covered so far.
• Disha KT session was very very useful in preparing to approach the case
given in the PI. GD proved helpful due to repetition of similar general
problems and understanding differences in online GD.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 722
Samsung

Dibya Prakash
Kushwaha

Background:
Undergrad -IET Lucknow
Field of Grad. -B.Tech
Work Exp - 25
Prev Work Ex Domain - Education &
training

Round 1:
GD: “How to increase the quantities of the mobile phones being sold via the
Samsung physical stores during this covid period?”

Round 2:
PI
• Positioning strategy for positioning Samsung against Xaomi for Indian
marketing.
• State two competitors of Samsung? what threat they currently pose
for Samsung in Indian market?
• HR specific question? Three words in which your friends can describe
you and why?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 723
Samsung

• Personal question (You come from a defense family background. How

do you think it has influenced or groomed your personality?)

Preparation and Interview Tips & Tricks:

• Disha Sessions/RG’s
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Interaction with Seniors

Do’s and Dont’s

Do’s
• Avoid irrelevant (Globe) responses

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 724
Samsung

Additional Questions
• Case: How's sales different in online and Offline?
• Case: How would you sell premium phone (Note series) in Tier 1
cities?
• Case: How would you position Samsung against Xiaomi?
• Case: How would you increase sales of Air purifier?
• Case: How would you generate sales in mid segment, tier 2 city?
• Case: 20-40k segment is growing. How will you ensure Samsung 's
market share? Give 3 strategies.
• Short 20 mins interview - HR Qs: Introduce Yourself, what do you
know about the role? (Read JD), Any questions for us?
• Previous Year Interview Experience
o CV based Q's and HR. Be spontaneous with answers. Try bringing
out the Business/Customer angle of the Work Experience even if
it's technical. Show enthusiasm and justify why you want to do
sales and marketing.
o Q's: What do you know about Samsung?
o Q's: Roles you have applied.
o Q's: Conflicting situations you have faced in life.
o Q's: How do you motivate people?
o Q's: What's your Vision in life?
o Q's: Difference between Sales and Marketing
o Q's: Parameters you set to understand sales progress

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 725
Samsung

o Q's: Take a product of your choice and give Customer journey;

Factors to look from the Company angle for the same.
• Topic- World is ready for automated e-vehicles
• Topic- Digitisation of the sales process
• Topic- Boycotting a brand due to political enmity. Justified or not?
• Topic- How is Samsung as a brand? What makes Samsung a loyal
brand among the millennials?
• Topic- How to build an offline presence in Covid times
• Topic- Age of internet; Death of Privacy
• Topic- Mobile phone market in 2020
• Topic- Managing customer experience in social distancing
• Format- 1.5 to 2 mins to think on the topic and then the discussion is
open for everyone to pitch in
• GD Topics asked in another college this year:
• Chinese brands vs Samsung Brands in Mobile Category
• Management schools should teach entrepreneurship and not
management
• GD Topics Summers 2019
o Borderless organisation is an illusion
o Managing millennials in an organisation
o Indian economy in 2020
o Corporate governance and CSR norms
o Does India need a democracy?
o Donald trump good for the US and world?
o As a group - decide your topic

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Stryker 726

Rahul Kumar

Background:
Undergrad -IIT Kharagpur
Field of Grad. -Chemical Engineering
Work Exp - 36
Prev Work Ex Domain - Manufacturing

Round 1:
HR:
• Tell me about yourself
• Why Stryker?
• Specialization you want to prefer
• Biggest achievement
• After 3 years of work-ex, why MBA?
• How to increase the quantities of the mobile phones being sold via the
Samsung physical stores during this covid period?

Preparation and Interview Tips and Tricks:

• Disha Sessions/RG’s
• Mock GDs/PIs

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Stryker 727

• Interaction with Seniors

• If high work-ex keep your justification for MBA handy

Additional Questions

• Why Stryker?
• Biggest competitor- Medtronic (Others: Danaher, Mckesson, Boston
Scientific)
• Situation where you made an action plan and followed it thoroughly
• Failures/achievements
• Why did you do biotech?
• About the company
• Difference between Stryker and Stryker India?
• Competitors of Stryker
• What do you know about Stryker?
• If made to choose b/w FMCG and MedTech company (marketing role)
• Time when you achieved something big and how did you take the
opportunity to achieve it.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Titan 728

Sunita Udai

Background:
Undergrad – IIT BHU
Field of Grad. – BTech, Ceramic Engg.
Work Ex – 24 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – R&D

Round 1:
Mix Questions:
• Tell me about yourself
• Why quit job for MBA (I have a core profile)
• Favorite ad
• Favorite brand
• How would you launch a new product for one of titan's brand

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Titan 729

Additional Questions:
• Questions related to work ex
• Case - Automobile industry - e vehicle (Candidates past work ex industry)
- STP analysis of that
• Why Titan?
• Tanishq ad controversy. Did you think that TITAN should have thought
better?
• Tell me about yourself
• Why move out of your old workex?
• Which type of marketing would you want to do?
• Why S&M?
• What is your favourite ad?
• What is your favourite brand?
• New product launch of your favourite brand in titan.
• What is your favourite brand of titan?
• STP for sonata
• How will you leverage digital marketing to promote Titan (candidate
interned in digital marketing platform)?
• Sponsorship team head; How will you get sponsorship from us?
• Internship experience
• Launch a product and how do you promote a sonata product?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Vodafone Idea 730

Arunachalam R

Background:
Undergrad – PSG, College of Tech
Field of Grad. – BTech, Mech Engg
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Domain: Sales & Marketing

Round 1: PI, Video submission of HR questions

CV and HR based interview:
Interviewer: Tell about 3 areas in your CV that you think as your strengths
Candidate: I spoke about my academics, internships & POR
Interviewer: State one instance in your life where you feel that you could
have done better
Candidate: I spoke about the challenges I faced during my internships and
how I realized that a thorough groundwork is required before starting any
project or activity
Interviewer: What groundwork you did before coming to this interview?
Candidate: I spoke about the background prep about the company. I said
that I spoke with my seniors who interned in Vodafone Idea and also spoke
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Vodafone Idea 731

about the current issues going on in the telecom sector like the AGR issues
and the VI merger.
Interviewer: (since I have done some courses on digital marketing) How will
you analyse customer behaviour on the VI app and the website and how to
increase user traffic?
Candidate: I spoke about some concepts like bounce rate and conversion
rate and the marketing funnel concept to understand customer behaviour
Interviewer: Tell me how covid 19 has impacted any 3 sectors or industries
Candidate: I spoke about the hospitality, FMCG and the pharma sectors and
the impacts on it by covid

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks

• Interaction with seniors
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Before going to interview, reading some news about the current
happenings in the sector and the company helps. Some recent viral
campaigns of the company as well
• Kotler for marketing basics, material and ppt by disha and prism related
to marketing, disha materials for HR answer prep (very essential for
marketing interviews and CV related prep)
• Actively participate in sessions conducted by disha and prism to get some
insights about the interviews. Also attend as many mock interviews and
gds as possible to gain confidence

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Wipro Health 732

Vijay S

Background:
Undergrad – SSN College of Engg
Field of Grad. – BTech, Mech Engg
Work Exp – 26 months
Prev Work Ex Domain – IT

Round 1: Group Discussion

Topic: Corona black swan on the global economy and its impact on India

Round 2: Personal Interview

Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks
• Mock GDs/PIs
• The interview was more about my work experience and my interest
towards the job role which they were offering and some common
questions like why Wipro ? Expectation: To know about their company,
chairman, culture, JD and basic knowledge about the role

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Wipro Health 733

Additional Questions:
• Tell me about yourself
• Future Strategies for Wipro?
• What do you know about Wipro?
• Tell me about your home city
• What are your interests?
• Discussion around football and leg sprain as the guy had a ligament tear
• What is the point of difference of Wipro and its competitors?
• How do you evaluate a project (NPV and IRR)?
• Samsung S7 advertisement is a marketing gimmick?
• Questions from work-ex project & related aspects
• Questions around start-up business of the candidate
• Theoretical questions around Financial ratios & Financial Statements
• Questions around GST, its implementation, RBI Key Rates
• Choose an industry – Questions about key drivers, key ratios to assess
the selected industry
• Which technology you follow; what are the technologies you are
comfortable with - Will you be interested in core coding role? What will
you choose - 4 hrs of client interaction vs 10 hrs of coding?
• What are your weakeness & strength? Tell us about a situation where
you resolved a conflict; How can wipro help in providing bank?
• GD: 2 panelists, 2 topics given (20 min GD)
Have we reached the full potential of AI or we do need more years
Pros and Cons of the newly elected US President
• GD: 2 panelists, 12 min discussion + 3 min conclusion
Is India ready for the new normal?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Wonder Cement 734

Tilak Pathe

Background:
Undergrad – IIT Gandhinagar
Field of Grad. – BTech, Electrical Engg
Work Exp – NA
Prev Work Ex Domain – NA

Round 1: Group Discussion

Round 2: Personal Interview
Preparation and Interview Tips & tricks
• Team Disha Sessions
• Mock GDs/PIs
• Team Disha Material
• CV Prep

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Wonder Cement 735

Additional Questions:
• Did you attend Wonder Cement PPT? Tell me what do you know? Follow-
up questions on this
• CV based questions
• How did you land up in Engg college, and then IIM Lucknow?
• Tell me about yourself but nothing professional? Family background?
• Ad campaigns from Wonder Cement
• What do you think about your performance in GD?
• HR: Greatest learning experience of your life. If you were hiring what
would you look for in a candidate?
• Porter Analysis of Cement Industry
• Challenges faced by Cement Industry
• If you intern with us, how will you contribute in Marketing Dept.? How
will you engage with people?
• How do you work in a team? Followed up with situational questions.
• What will your contribution be towards the problems of Cement
Industry?
• Why are you fit for Wonder Cement?
• (Repeated multiple times) What do you know about Cement industry and
Wonder Cement? Size of Wonder Cement. Did you go through our
website - what do you think about us? What is our production capacity?
• Group Discussion: 7-8 people in a panel ; 2 mins for prep, 15 mins to
discuss and 2-3 mins to conclude
o Topic 1: There are no facts, only opinions
o Topic 2: Should there be a limit on media freedom?
o Topic 3: Nepotism in corporate
o Topic 4: Are space missions in the time of pandemic justified?
o Topic 5: Social media and unreal world

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Ad Factors PR 736

Questions:
• Short Term and Long Term goals
• How would you analyze the need gap in bike segment
• CV – internship
• What do you know about analytics and statistics
• In post COVID, how would you address the need gap in transport industry
• Did you go through our company website - what did you read

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Ada Chikan 737

Questions:
• CV based questions
• Previous experience at start-ups/IT & Analytics preferred
• How can you add value to e-commerce website
• Have you gone through the website? What do you like about it?
• Tell us something special about you

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Chase India 738

Questions:
• Tell me about yourself? P.S: Do highlight CV strengths and stakeholder
management initiatives
• What do you know about Chase India
• Questions on workex/internship related to policy work/NGOs etc.
• Our services help our partners adopt compelling strategies to engage with
relevant stakeholders on a range of regulatory issues.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
IBAZAAR 739

Questions:
• Tell me about yourself
• Why are you interested in marketing?
• Why digital marketing?
• New application launch - how will you help in marketing?
• What channels you will use?
• You got that right they have an app for visitor management so they want
someone to promote that app using different methods
• What is marketing campaign?
• Can you build trust easily with online marketing
• Limitations of digital marketing
• Tools used in digital marketing like Google analytics, SEO, Google
Adwords.
• Build long-term relationships with new customers and follow-ups.
• Advertisement lead handling
• Why do you want to be sales executive?
• Can you describe a past incentive that motivated you?
• What qualities make you good at sales?
• What area challenged you the most in sales & how did you overcome it?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Medha 740

Questions:
• What is a business bootcamp? Lot of field work involved, will you be
comfortable with that? If you have to approach a layman and explain to
them about the business model or bootcamp then how will you go about it?
• BCM Model?
• Different ways to increase engagement on digital platforms?
• Difference between mass and niche marketing
• What are the 5 factors you will consider for customer profile?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 741
MEL

Questions:
• Agriculture value chain from production phase to selling in the
markets
• Impact of agri reforms
• At which stage in value chain MEL should tap in to help farmers
• Challenges that farmers face
• Take us through your profile. How you have been involved with
agriculture.
• Agriculture or Recyclables industry
• Company is diversifying its business operations through a subsidiary
(Matterhorn Projects LLP), with a leaning towards agriculture and
environment friendly alternatives
• Mineral Enterprise Limited (MEL) is a Mining Company engaged in
international standard iron and manganese ore recovery. Well-known
for its in-specification quality ore and on-time delivery, MEL is a
Preferred Vendor for many prominent international steel
manufacturers.

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Simplify 360 742

Questions:
• Who is an influencer or follower? who is more important?
• How many people have positive or negative sentiment and what does
that signify?
• Excel Question: Find out reviewers who have maximum followers on
Twitter?
• How can a company leverage a person who has 7000 followers?
• Do you have any background in programming language?
• Do you know Python, R?
• Why data analysis?
• What is a pivot table?
• Any experience of data analysis?
• VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP Functions?
• Achievements?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Soulflower 743

Questions:
• How can you do to make the presence felt of a new brand?
• Brands you like and why?
• Why did you buy a particular brand of phone and not some other brand?
• How can you use Digital marketing in real life?
• Frequently used apps? What is future of e commerce?
• Discussion on US elections and Bihar elections
• For BA intern- What do you think Covid numbers are underestimated or
overestimated?
• Interested in which profile?
• Social media which startups you like and discussion around it
• What do you know about Soulflower? Have you used any such vegan
products (may not be Soulflower)?
• How the consumer behaviour has changed- Pre Covid vs Post Covid?
(define the industry you're going to talk of)
• Why do want to join our company as an intern?
• What learnings are you expecting from us?
• How did you come to know about us?
• What do you know about Soulflower?

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Tata Sky 744

Questions:
• Projects managed in virtual set-up (work-ex related)? How would you
have done things differently if things weren't virtual?
• What is the need for naming the Tata Sky offering- Binge Plus?
• Need for Advertising for established brands?
• Fav ad in recent time? All Time Fav Ad? Why?
• How will you market Tata Sky Binge Plus for students group as the Target
group?
• Domain preferred in MBA, Why marketing?
• Target audience for Tata Sky Binge Plus; How will you communicate and
promote it?
• Long term goals
• If you were to make any content for OTT platform for your hometown-
what would you do differently?
• Discussion around bollywood and media industry
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
• Latest Ad that you really liked and Why?
• What entertainment do you indulge in?
• What was the best feedback you got from seniors from Tata Sky?
• Why Tata Sky?
• Extempore on a random topic for 2 mins
• Questions related to interests and ECAs
• Questions on CV and academic background and proejcts
• What are your learnings from your work-ex that you're applying during
MBA as well?
• Sales & Marketing vs Content & advertising- What is the difference and
what will you prefer?
• B2B vs B2C- What's the difference, and what will you prefer?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
Tata Sky 745

• Mostly HR, conversation about caselet submitted

• Target audience understanding for Tata Sky
• How will you manage conflict in virtual scenario
• Will OTT platforms kill TV? How will you market OTT+TV service bundle?
• Why are Brands advertising during Covid time according to you?
• What do Ethics mean to you?
• What do you like about Tata Sky?
• No technical questions, mostly based on CV and hobbies.
• Experience- Almost 20-minute discussion happening with no specific
instructions just asked to elaborate on the case-let pointers. No specified
time for summary/conclusion specified.
• Case discussion format details- MS Teams platform(Download the App-
Gallery mode)- Max 2 people to speak at one point of time- Have more of
a discussion, rather than stating individual points- No upper time limit
• Caselet Based GD topic- Company A is a DTH company with offerings in
over the top content as well. While Company A enjoys a majority share of
premium subscribers (majorly in Metros & Tier 1 cities), it also has a fairly
large subscriber base in rural India. How can Company A ensure that it
remains equally relevant to the subscribers of the rural India and grow in
rural markets with dominance
• Caselet Based GD topic - These days brands are commonly present on
social media platforms to drive a stronger connect with consumers.
Should a brand like Tata Sky use social media platforms for opportunities
beyond consumer engagement. Which opportunities exist and which
ones should Tata Sky consider
• Caselet Based GD topic- The govt is pushing make in India. Company X is
a DTH Company whose set-top boxes are imported. Should Company X
procure these set-top boxes from India? if yes, what are the business and
financial implications?
*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds
 746

TEAM DISHA
SEPTEMBER 2021

*The document is created using past year experiences of candidates and is for reference purpose only. It does not represent
an exhaustive list of companies, rounds