Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai
Mumbai, Maharashtra
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Filter interviews byIndian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai Placement Interview Questions
Updated
22 Dec 2024
293 interviews found
4 Interview Rounds
Interview Preparation Tips
Round: HR Interview
Experience: 3 interviews, Went extremely well, better than McK as far as I was concerned. Resume questions, very curious about my technical projects.Why consulting? Future plans? Case. I am the director of a firm and am giving out an award for Best Salesman of the Year. How will I choose?
Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: Something about yourself. We talked a lot about my background, family, etc. Case – don't remember, was simple. After 2 interviews they called me back and told me they were very interested and that I should hang around.
Round: Other Interview
Experience: Case – Asked for three independent solutions : I am a large firm and I am trying to decide whether or not to buy a smaller one (some details on the technology patented by the smaller firm were given). I laid out the bones for three evaluation strategies. He stopped me from going into details and encouraged me to ask questions about the firm. Finally I was asked - before we make you an offer, where do your priorities stand : McKinsey or BCG? Since I had given a written choice and preferred Mck, I did not lie. I tried to give a diplomatic answer but ended up being frank in the end. It was a risk.
General Tips: As per the limited feedback I have received, no particular mistake. I personally felt that i should have responded slower and surer to avoid the numerical mistakes in my third McK interview. Also, should have written more during case studies. One specific point – While solving case studies, make sure you listen carefully to the question. Do not present a recommendation unless asked for one. You might just be asked to list out the issues and not the solution. If you make a mistake here, it reflects extremely badly on your personality in general. Also, do not interrupt the interviewer. Ever. Don't shop alone or at the last minute. I don't think too many girls make this mistake, but guys!! Take help. Look the smartest and the best you can to build confidence.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Experience: 3 interviews, Went extremely well, better than McK as far as I was concerned. Resume questions, very curious about my technical projects.Why consulting? Future plans? Case. I am the director of a firm and am giving out an award for Best Salesman of the Year. How will I choose?
Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: Something about yourself. We talked a lot about my background, family, etc. Case – don't remember, was simple. After 2 interviews they called me back and told me they were very interested and that I should hang around.
Round: Other Interview
Experience: Case – Asked for three independent solutions : I am a large firm and I am trying to decide whether or not to buy a smaller one (some details on the technology patented by the smaller firm were given). I laid out the bones for three evaluation strategies. He stopped me from going into details and encouraged me to ask questions about the firm. Finally I was asked - before we make you an offer, where do your priorities stand : McKinsey or BCG? Since I had given a written choice and preferred Mck, I did not lie. I tried to give a diplomatic answer but ended up being frank in the end. It was a risk.
General Tips: As per the limited feedback I have received, no particular mistake. I personally felt that i should have responded slower and surer to avoid the numerical mistakes in my third McK interview. Also, should have written more during case studies. One specific point – While solving case studies, make sure you listen carefully to the question. Do not present a recommendation unless asked for one. You might just be asked to list out the issues and not the solution. If you make a mistake here, it reflects extremely badly on your personality in general. Also, do not interrupt the interviewer. Ever. Don't shop alone or at the last minute. I don't think too many girls make this mistake, but guys!! Take help. Look the smartest and the best you can to build confidence.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
7 Interview Rounds
Interview Preparation Tips
Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: The rule of thumb I used while writing and formatting my resume is that the most important things should be clear at a cursory glance. Your resume must be extremely well organized and should read like a “story”. (The definition of most important here is “what the company is looking for”, not what you feel is important. I read a couple of resumes (those of people who had been recruited by the companies I was sitting for) and then made my own. It improved a lot due to the feedback I gained from iitian and non-iitian friends & family. It is advisable to make your resume early for this very purpose. I talked to many people and asked them why they had chosen to work for their particular firm and whether it was living up to their expectations. I also found about what future options each firm/job provides.
Round: HR Interview
Experience: 2 levels with 2 interviews each. Out of the 28 people short-listed for level 1, 8 made it to level 2. Final offers were made to 3.I had 4 interviews. Each one was supposed to be 30 minutes long only, but usually went on for longer. When my turn came to ask a question, I asked the same one to everyone – Whatn has been your highest moment and your lowest moment in Consulting? It was very interesting to note the variety and the personal nature of the answers I got.The quintessential something-about-yourself. I had a story planned but I didn't want to start off with it. So I just talked about some of my recent work in the department and my future plans. He commented on the technical strength of my resume, noticed the initiatives I had taken and asked why I hadn't been a part of Mood Indigo. He asked me a lot of questions about its structure to check my general awareness. (And maybe to see if I get flustered when asked questions I am not prepared for) He asked me whether I knew what EBIDTA was (he worked with fin co.s mainly). I talked about EBIDTA for a couple of minutes
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The Case. It was based on a IT firm. He commented that being an iitian, I must be well aware of issues in the IT sector. The case itself was on profit maximization. The key issue was that of difference in labor costs (offsite and onsite) and how the IT sector uses this difference to make supernormal profits. Case was done in a hurry (we ran out of time) but completed well. Session II (Extremely friendly interviewer, ate Pizza while asking Case) The two most fulfilling moments in my life as a leader The two most memorable moments in my life of personal success Note: Justification is important. For the first, its advisable to choose something which reflects your qualities as a leader, and the trust that people put in you. The achievement itself need not be big. For the second, bigger the better :) A company manufactures tankers and wants to go global. What are the issues confronting them? This interview went extremely well for me.
Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: Session III Talked about some of my resume points. He commented on being impressed with some aspects (including fluency in English) . One event which you consider your life's biggest success
Round: Guesstimate Interview
Experience: The number of cricket balls in Mumbai. I made some calculation errors but incorporated very good structure. Ended up doing integration also. (To include continuously changing rate of population) Ended very well.
Round: Other Interview
Experience: This was with an extremely senior guy, reputed (in McKinsey) to be a ball-buster. He looked at my file (including all the interviewer comments from my previous 3 interviews) and said that he would not be asking me any case studies. This was either VERY good news or very bad! We talked about every HR aspect in the world. It was a long interview. He encouraged me to ask a lot of questions and finally talked about the kind of projects he is proud of and why. Why consulting? Your resume reads technocrat. (He was a PhD in Chem. from Stanford) What's your dream? What happens 10 years from now? 20 years from now? What do you think about academics in IITB. What has been your best performance and why? What kind of companies do you want to work with? Why?
General Tips: I. Cases – Focus on your presentation. The most important things are:
a) Ask the right questions (and lots of them). LISTEN to the interviewer
b) Ensure that they know WHY you are asking each question as soon as you do.
c) Build a mental tree of possibilities and take time off to think wherever necessary
d) Practice your style of summary and conclusion – this can make or break the case.
II. HR questions – Not even one single answer should be immature or unnecessarily cliched. This is your chance to be poised and eloquent.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Experience: The rule of thumb I used while writing and formatting my resume is that the most important things should be clear at a cursory glance. Your resume must be extremely well organized and should read like a “story”. (The definition of most important here is “what the company is looking for”, not what you feel is important. I read a couple of resumes (those of people who had been recruited by the companies I was sitting for) and then made my own. It improved a lot due to the feedback I gained from iitian and non-iitian friends & family. It is advisable to make your resume early for this very purpose. I talked to many people and asked them why they had chosen to work for their particular firm and whether it was living up to their expectations. I also found about what future options each firm/job provides.
Round: HR Interview
Experience: 2 levels with 2 interviews each. Out of the 28 people short-listed for level 1, 8 made it to level 2. Final offers were made to 3.I had 4 interviews. Each one was supposed to be 30 minutes long only, but usually went on for longer. When my turn came to ask a question, I asked the same one to everyone – Whatn has been your highest moment and your lowest moment in Consulting? It was very interesting to note the variety and the personal nature of the answers I got.The quintessential something-about-yourself. I had a story planned but I didn't want to start off with it. So I just talked about some of my recent work in the department and my future plans. He commented on the technical strength of my resume, noticed the initiatives I had taken and asked why I hadn't been a part of Mood Indigo. He asked me a lot of questions about its structure to check my general awareness. (And maybe to see if I get flustered when asked questions I am not prepared for) He asked me whether I knew what EBIDTA was (he worked with fin co.s mainly). I talked about EBIDTA for a couple of minutes
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The Case. It was based on a IT firm. He commented that being an iitian, I must be well aware of issues in the IT sector. The case itself was on profit maximization. The key issue was that of difference in labor costs (offsite and onsite) and how the IT sector uses this difference to make supernormal profits. Case was done in a hurry (we ran out of time) but completed well. Session II (Extremely friendly interviewer, ate Pizza while asking Case) The two most fulfilling moments in my life as a leader The two most memorable moments in my life of personal success Note: Justification is important. For the first, its advisable to choose something which reflects your qualities as a leader, and the trust that people put in you. The achievement itself need not be big. For the second, bigger the better :) A company manufactures tankers and wants to go global. What are the issues confronting them? This interview went extremely well for me.
Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: Session III Talked about some of my resume points. He commented on being impressed with some aspects (including fluency in English) . One event which you consider your life's biggest success
Round: Guesstimate Interview
Experience: The number of cricket balls in Mumbai. I made some calculation errors but incorporated very good structure. Ended up doing integration also. (To include continuously changing rate of population) Ended very well.
Round: Other Interview
Experience: This was with an extremely senior guy, reputed (in McKinsey) to be a ball-buster. He looked at my file (including all the interviewer comments from my previous 3 interviews) and said that he would not be asking me any case studies. This was either VERY good news or very bad! We talked about every HR aspect in the world. It was a long interview. He encouraged me to ask a lot of questions and finally talked about the kind of projects he is proud of and why. Why consulting? Your resume reads technocrat. (He was a PhD in Chem. from Stanford) What's your dream? What happens 10 years from now? 20 years from now? What do you think about academics in IITB. What has been your best performance and why? What kind of companies do you want to work with? Why?
General Tips: I. Cases – Focus on your presentation. The most important things are:
a) Ask the right questions (and lots of them). LISTEN to the interviewer
b) Ensure that they know WHY you are asking each question as soon as you do.
c) Build a mental tree of possibilities and take time off to think wherever necessary
d) Practice your style of summary and conclusion – this can make or break the case.
II. HR questions – Not even one single answer should be immature or unnecessarily cliched. This is your chance to be poised and eloquent.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
5 Interview Rounds
Interview Preparation Tips
Round: Test
Experience: Capital One conducts a DI/DS type quiz which contains questions ranging from compound interest to inflation, before announcing a final shortlist of 200
Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: After that there is an online psychometric analysis plus resume based short listing which leaves around 50 candidates for the interview.
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: ROUND1:
CASE STUDY: The first study lasted for as long as 20 min. My case was that of dominos evaluating a new scheme wherein they would offer a discount of 30% instead of 100%, in case wherein pizza could not be delivered within 30 min. I was asked how this would change the revenue and the profit. They stressed on the reasoning that I gave in the first half of the study and the calculations in the second half.
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: ROUND 2:
CASE STUDY: The second was harder and very extensive. It was a customer acquisition scenario in which a credit card company has to choose from amongst three strategies. They gave me a set of data such as cost of sending out fliers, lending rate, default rate, average spending per customer, annual percentage return etc. and I had to evaluate all the three strategies in term of long term and short term profit and then choose one of them.
Tips: The thing to be kept in mind with the cap one studies is that there is no end point for any study and they will keep asking questions after questions as long as there is time. Hence those who answer correctly and quickly will get to solve more of the case. This is were knowing the jargon really matters, because otherwise a lot of time will be lost trying to understand what each term actually means.
Round: HR Interview
Experience: The first question for me was to describe an experience wherein I proposed a creative idea in front of a team and then how I went about convincing people about that idea. Next I was asked to describe a crisis situation which I faced and also my response to it.
The reason for success in this round for me was choosing the right incidents and then reporting them exactly.
Tips: 1.Rehearse with friends for all expected questions such as Tell us about yourself? Why this job? Why this company?
2.Do not cook the script and mug the answers.
General Tips: 1.PPTs:
The best way to start is by getting to know all the jobs that are out such as consulting, analytics, tech, banking and financial services etc. and then deciding about the nature of job that suits you the most.
2.RESUME:
Going through the resume of your seniors is a good way to start. Try to convey variety, team work and leadership and try not to overdo it!
3.CASE STUDIES:
Apart from the routine case studies which the consultancies ask, you might also need to prepare the ones that some of the financial firms love.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Experience: Capital One conducts a DI/DS type quiz which contains questions ranging from compound interest to inflation, before announcing a final shortlist of 200
Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: After that there is an online psychometric analysis plus resume based short listing which leaves around 50 candidates for the interview.
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: ROUND1:
CASE STUDY: The first study lasted for as long as 20 min. My case was that of dominos evaluating a new scheme wherein they would offer a discount of 30% instead of 100%, in case wherein pizza could not be delivered within 30 min. I was asked how this would change the revenue and the profit. They stressed on the reasoning that I gave in the first half of the study and the calculations in the second half.
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: ROUND 2:
CASE STUDY: The second was harder and very extensive. It was a customer acquisition scenario in which a credit card company has to choose from amongst three strategies. They gave me a set of data such as cost of sending out fliers, lending rate, default rate, average spending per customer, annual percentage return etc. and I had to evaluate all the three strategies in term of long term and short term profit and then choose one of them.
Tips: The thing to be kept in mind with the cap one studies is that there is no end point for any study and they will keep asking questions after questions as long as there is time. Hence those who answer correctly and quickly will get to solve more of the case. This is were knowing the jargon really matters, because otherwise a lot of time will be lost trying to understand what each term actually means.
Round: HR Interview
Experience: The first question for me was to describe an experience wherein I proposed a creative idea in front of a team and then how I went about convincing people about that idea. Next I was asked to describe a crisis situation which I faced and also my response to it.
The reason for success in this round for me was choosing the right incidents and then reporting them exactly.
Tips: 1.Rehearse with friends for all expected questions such as Tell us about yourself? Why this job? Why this company?
2.Do not cook the script and mug the answers.
General Tips: 1.PPTs:
The best way to start is by getting to know all the jobs that are out such as consulting, analytics, tech, banking and financial services etc. and then deciding about the nature of job that suits you the most.
2.RESUME:
Going through the resume of your seniors is a good way to start. Try to convey variety, team work and leadership and try not to overdo it!
3.CASE STUDIES:
Apart from the routine case studies which the consultancies ask, you might also need to prepare the ones that some of the financial firms love.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
1 Interview Round
Interview Questions
- Q1. CASE: Making recommendations to a telecommunication firm on the efficiency of it's distributed network
- Q2. What I would consider my most significant achievment
- Q3. Why consultancy
- Q4. CASE: About a cement company setting out to buy off another firm
Interview Preparation Tips
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The trick was here to recognize that even though the firm had several hundred client in each city, it was a few big clients who contributed to most of it's revenue and a distributed network targeting these few clients was the expected recommendation.
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The task was to explore possibilities of synergy in this acquisition. The case was based entirely on common sense and elementary mathematics. The interviewer wanted me to write equation showing how costs would reduce if the two companies merge.
HR questions were about strengths, weaknesses, MI etc
General Tips: 1.Pre placement preparation:
Work on your communication skills! It's absolutely necessary to be able to speak fluently with good diction
2.Resume:
Consultancies look for spikes in your career. Spikes are the areas in the resume where you have shown outshining performance.
3.Case Studies:
Practice them in groups. Avoid technical jargon and frameworks.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Experience: The trick was here to recognize that even though the firm had several hundred client in each city, it was a few big clients who contributed to most of it's revenue and a distributed network targeting these few clients was the expected recommendation.
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The task was to explore possibilities of synergy in this acquisition. The case was based entirely on common sense and elementary mathematics. The interviewer wanted me to write equation showing how costs would reduce if the two companies merge.
HR questions were about strengths, weaknesses, MI etc
General Tips: 1.Pre placement preparation:
Work on your communication skills! It's absolutely necessary to be able to speak fluently with good diction
2.Resume:
Consultancies look for spikes in your career. Spikes are the areas in the resume where you have shown outshining performance.
3.Case Studies:
Practice them in groups. Avoid technical jargon and frameworks.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
1 Interview Round
Interview Preparation Tips
Round: HR Interview
Experience: The interviewer had given pre placement talk and I was really impressed by him as well.
He was impressed with my AIR. Since the job required quantitative skills, he started off with a few calculations, for which he wanted quick answers, following up with a puzzle .
The major part of the interview was concerned with Why Lehman? my ideal job? my future plans, why not an MBA? why investment banking and a few hypothetical questions which I might face in my career, etc.
I was made an offer immediately which I accepted.
General Tips: 1. Spend time on your resume:
Draft the points well. Don't use flowery language.
2. Brood about yourself:
Prepare HR questions
Prepare resume questions
Be honest about yourself
3. While in the semester:
Attend PPT's seriously
Do DI those who aren't preparing for CAT
Start reading ET, it helps in moulding and making a decision.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Experience: The interviewer had given pre placement talk and I was really impressed by him as well.
He was impressed with my AIR. Since the job required quantitative skills, he started off with a few calculations, for which he wanted quick answers, following up with a puzzle .
The major part of the interview was concerned with Why Lehman? my ideal job? my future plans, why not an MBA? why investment banking and a few hypothetical questions which I might face in my career, etc.
I was made an offer immediately which I accepted.
General Tips: 1. Spend time on your resume:
Draft the points well. Don't use flowery language.
2. Brood about yourself:
Prepare HR questions
Prepare resume questions
Be honest about yourself
3. While in the semester:
Attend PPT's seriously
Do DI those who aren't preparing for CAT
Start reading ET, it helps in moulding and making a decision.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
4 Interview Rounds
Interview Preparation Tips
Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Collected all my certificates I received in school and IIT. Went through the resumes of my seniors with similar credentials to check how people have presented their positives. Went through a guide saying Do's and Don ts of a Resume. Consulted my seniors and incorporated their valuable points. I attended PPTs. They are very useful as they tell us about the company, the job profile and other useful information required. All the doubts about the company or the profile can be cleared at this time. I did talk to the employees of the company (mostly last years) to get better info about the company and the job.
Round: HR Interview
Experience: Test and then 2 rounds of interview. For the first round of interview around 60-70 people were shortlisted, for second round 25(approx.) and finally 14 offers were made. It was a general HR interview. The interview started with an informal introduction about the people in the panel. Actually the interview was for 2 profiles 1. Technical 2. Associate Analyst. In this first interview they wanted to know the profile for which the candidate was more suitable. In the panel there were two people, one from Tech. and other from non-Tech. I don't remember much but they surely did ask about my perspective about technology and which profile I want to enter and why? They asked me a guesstimate and it is important that you use paper while solving such a problem. I think the best part about the interview was I was myself and they liked they I was. In fact after the interview I was sure that they'll call me for the next round.
Tips: I think you should be good in case study problems and he should really be interested in consulting. You might not be the best but if you can show how passionate you are about your work, it is enough. I think if you really feel of joining a profession in consulting then you should go for it.
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: In my final round, he asked me to run through my resume and life in IIT. There I had to perform a small drama for him. Then there was a case study problem where he was looking for my approach and I guess he liked it, that's why I got recruited.
General Tips: Most important thing I realized in my first interview is that when you are going for an interview you are going to be recruited and if that is true then you need to be sure if you want to enter the company. I mean prepare well, this includes:The general questions which are asked in any HR interview. Prepare every minor thing about resume. Think about the doubts you have about the company or the job and clear them when the interviewer gives you the chance. Be yourself in the whole process and just have confidence nobody can stop you.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Experience: Collected all my certificates I received in school and IIT. Went through the resumes of my seniors with similar credentials to check how people have presented their positives. Went through a guide saying Do's and Don ts of a Resume. Consulted my seniors and incorporated their valuable points. I attended PPTs. They are very useful as they tell us about the company, the job profile and other useful information required. All the doubts about the company or the profile can be cleared at this time. I did talk to the employees of the company (mostly last years) to get better info about the company and the job.
Round: HR Interview
Experience: Test and then 2 rounds of interview. For the first round of interview around 60-70 people were shortlisted, for second round 25(approx.) and finally 14 offers were made. It was a general HR interview. The interview started with an informal introduction about the people in the panel. Actually the interview was for 2 profiles 1. Technical 2. Associate Analyst. In this first interview they wanted to know the profile for which the candidate was more suitable. In the panel there were two people, one from Tech. and other from non-Tech. I don't remember much but they surely did ask about my perspective about technology and which profile I want to enter and why? They asked me a guesstimate and it is important that you use paper while solving such a problem. I think the best part about the interview was I was myself and they liked they I was. In fact after the interview I was sure that they'll call me for the next round.
Tips: I think you should be good in case study problems and he should really be interested in consulting. You might not be the best but if you can show how passionate you are about your work, it is enough. I think if you really feel of joining a profession in consulting then you should go for it.
Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: In my final round, he asked me to run through my resume and life in IIT. There I had to perform a small drama for him. Then there was a case study problem where he was looking for my approach and I guess he liked it, that's why I got recruited.
General Tips: Most important thing I realized in my first interview is that when you are going for an interview you are going to be recruited and if that is true then you need to be sure if you want to enter the company. I mean prepare well, this includes:The general questions which are asked in any HR interview. Prepare every minor thing about resume. Think about the doubts you have about the company or the job and clear them when the interviewer gives you the chance. Be yourself in the whole process and just have confidence nobody can stop you.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
1 Interview Round
Interview Preparation Tips
Round: HR Interview
Experience: UBS had shortlisted about 12 candidates. Out of which 5 were shortlisted after round 2, final offer was made to only 1 candidate.
Round 1: Was asked only 2 questions: Why IB? Why UBS? I coudnt answer both satisfactorily as I never wanted banking. At the same time I was not very formal. Always remember that banks DO NOT tolerate informality at ALL! Round 2: He was American and was basically testing my communication/leadership skills. He asked me to explain my DDP in plain English. He asked me about my interest in Development Economics. He also asked me about my GOA trip..FINALLY! At the end of the two rounds, I think, UBS realized that I wasn't really interested in IB. I wasn't shortlisted further.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Experience: UBS had shortlisted about 12 candidates. Out of which 5 were shortlisted after round 2, final offer was made to only 1 candidate.
Round 1: Was asked only 2 questions: Why IB? Why UBS? I coudnt answer both satisfactorily as I never wanted banking. At the same time I was not very formal. Always remember that banks DO NOT tolerate informality at ALL! Round 2: He was American and was basically testing my communication/leadership skills. He asked me to explain my DDP in plain English. He asked me about my interest in Development Economics. He also asked me about my GOA trip..FINALLY! At the end of the two rounds, I think, UBS realized that I wasn't really interested in IB. I wasn't shortlisted further.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
3 Interview Rounds
Interview Preparation Tips
Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: A) I put a lot of thought into it. A LOT. I started top-down. In a sense, I always knew I was gonna target only 2 types of companies: Consulting and Banking. So made my 2 resumes accordingly. Basically I conveyed what needed to be conveyed. For this, I talked to a lot of people in Oct/Nov and researched a bit from previous editions of BePrepared. Being a DD helped. And then I spent a lot of time thinking how best to convey it. For example, I knew that my success in strategy competitions was crucial for Consulting Firms, hence I put those above my projects/extracurrics.
b) Sent it to many people for feedback. Some of the points were accepted, some not. Its always our call in the end. But more often than not, external views make up the MOST important part of Resume Making.
Tips: Advice: Make a rough copy first and then start thinking. If you think without it, it will take up a lot of time. DON’T LIE IT WONT HELP YOU IN THE INTERVIEW. Be very serious in your resume. Avoid any kind of humor. Also don’t try to squeeze in too much.. you wont be coherent. Know what you want to convey and convey exactly that. At the end of it.. Look at your resume page by page. And see what it conveys at a VERY MACRO level. For ex: In my resume, Page 1 conveyed Decent Acads with Success in Strategy Competitions and Page 2 conveyed A lot of positions of responsibility with decent results and excellence in dramatics.
Round: Interview
Experience: BCG was 4 rounds, 30 people shortlisted initially out of which 14 were shortlisted after round 2. 4 offers were made.
BCG was very collegial in interviews. The partners were warm. In my first interview he asked me about my DDP andsummer internship. Then jumped on to a case wherein a cement manufacturer was losing profit. I had to dig around and realize that ultimately the costs of power were increasing due to the government’s load-shedding. I was also then asked to solve a basic LP optimization problem (the manufacturer had different plants at diff. locations. He wanted to know how much should he make at each plant). He told be a bit about BCG and the kind of work they did.
Round: Interview
Experience: I got 2 cases in this one. One was pertaining to a tractor manufacturer whose revenues in Maharashtra were very low. The key was to recognize that Maharashtrian soil is harder which causes the pin connecting the plough and tractor to break. The second case was about why amongst 2 refrigerator manufacturers in Pune, ones transportation costs were much better than the other. Again a LP problem was formed. He asked me if I had any questions. I asked a few. I got a case about a realty developer tying up with a bank for home loans in his project. The bank wanted to know how much should they pay him. I did finally solve this. I recalled the concept of Opportunity Cost right at the end. I kept blabbing a lot about risk/return/maturity in general. He steered me back on track every time. He spend 40 minutes trying to convince me about BCG. I was very tired by now. The case was about a retail chain who wanted to enter India. I had to advice on the potential. I analyzed the case. I tried to structure my thoughts and delve into different sections. He wanted precise, specific answers. I gave some of them. The interviewer appeared disinterested. Being tired myself, I think I kind of messed up this one. I was told that I would not be given an offer by BCG.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Experience: A) I put a lot of thought into it. A LOT. I started top-down. In a sense, I always knew I was gonna target only 2 types of companies: Consulting and Banking. So made my 2 resumes accordingly. Basically I conveyed what needed to be conveyed. For this, I talked to a lot of people in Oct/Nov and researched a bit from previous editions of BePrepared. Being a DD helped. And then I spent a lot of time thinking how best to convey it. For example, I knew that my success in strategy competitions was crucial for Consulting Firms, hence I put those above my projects/extracurrics.
b) Sent it to many people for feedback. Some of the points were accepted, some not. Its always our call in the end. But more often than not, external views make up the MOST important part of Resume Making.
Tips: Advice: Make a rough copy first and then start thinking. If you think without it, it will take up a lot of time. DON’T LIE IT WONT HELP YOU IN THE INTERVIEW. Be very serious in your resume. Avoid any kind of humor. Also don’t try to squeeze in too much.. you wont be coherent. Know what you want to convey and convey exactly that. At the end of it.. Look at your resume page by page. And see what it conveys at a VERY MACRO level. For ex: In my resume, Page 1 conveyed Decent Acads with Success in Strategy Competitions and Page 2 conveyed A lot of positions of responsibility with decent results and excellence in dramatics.
Round: Interview
Experience: BCG was 4 rounds, 30 people shortlisted initially out of which 14 were shortlisted after round 2. 4 offers were made.
BCG was very collegial in interviews. The partners were warm. In my first interview he asked me about my DDP andsummer internship. Then jumped on to a case wherein a cement manufacturer was losing profit. I had to dig around and realize that ultimately the costs of power were increasing due to the government’s load-shedding. I was also then asked to solve a basic LP optimization problem (the manufacturer had different plants at diff. locations. He wanted to know how much should he make at each plant). He told be a bit about BCG and the kind of work they did.
Round: Interview
Experience: I got 2 cases in this one. One was pertaining to a tractor manufacturer whose revenues in Maharashtra were very low. The key was to recognize that Maharashtrian soil is harder which causes the pin connecting the plough and tractor to break. The second case was about why amongst 2 refrigerator manufacturers in Pune, ones transportation costs were much better than the other. Again a LP problem was formed. He asked me if I had any questions. I asked a few. I got a case about a realty developer tying up with a bank for home loans in his project. The bank wanted to know how much should they pay him. I did finally solve this. I recalled the concept of Opportunity Cost right at the end. I kept blabbing a lot about risk/return/maturity in general. He steered me back on track every time. He spend 40 minutes trying to convince me about BCG. I was very tired by now. The case was about a retail chain who wanted to enter India. I had to advice on the potential. I analyzed the case. I tried to structure my thoughts and delve into different sections. He wanted precise, specific answers. I gave some of them. The interviewer appeared disinterested. Being tired myself, I think I kind of messed up this one. I was told that I would not be given an offer by BCG.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
3 Interview Rounds
Interview Preparation Tips
Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: a) I put a lot of thought into it. A LOT. I started top-down. In a sense, I always knew I was gonna target only 2 types of companies: Consulting and Banking. So made my 2 resumes accordingly. Basically I conveyed what needed to be conveyed. For this, I talked to a lot of people in Oct/Nov and researched a bit from previous editions of BePrepared. Being a DD helped. And then I spent a lot of time thinking how best to convey it. For example, I knew that my success in strategy competitions was crucial for Consulting Firms, hence I put those above my projects/extracurrics. b) Sent it to many people for feedback. Some of the points were accepted, some not. Its always our call in the end. But more often than not, external views make up the MOST important part of Resume Making. Advice: Make a rough copy first and then start thinking. If you think without it, it will take up a lot of time. DON’T LIE – IT WONT HELP YOU IN THE INTERVIEW. Be very serious in your resume. Avoid any kind of humor. Also don’t try to squeeze in too much.. you wont be coherent. Know what you want to convey and convey exactly that. At the end of it.. Look at your resume page by page. And see what it conveys at a VERY MACRO level. For ex: In my resume, Page 1 conveyed Decent Acads with Success in Strategy Competitions and Page 2 conveyed A lot of positions of responsibility with decent results and excellence in dramatics. I attended some of PPTs. Basically, from the beginning my focus was only on Consulting and Banking companies. In all I attended about 6 PPTs. But they do help. I know some of them are more than 90 minutes long. But its worth it in the end. There are some 5-6 important lines in every PPT and a wasted 90 minutes is worth those lines. Do catch the opportunity to talk to the presenters after the PPT informally. I found it to be quite valuable. Ofcourse, this meant less pizza consumed by me. But that’s okay.
Round: Interview
Experience: 2+ 2 rounds of interview after resume short-listing. Total 22, After 2 rounds: 6 Final Offer: 3 (out of which 2 accepted). My McK interviews were scheduled immediately after my 2 BCG interviews. So I was not tense going into them. Round 1: It started off with general HR. Which is how all interviews typically are. This is to make the interviewee comfortable. I was asked about my dramatics and my economics project. He was looking for short, precise answers. Then came the case: I was asked my sport of preference. I said Football. He asked me to Guesstimate (Guess + Estimate) the number of footballs in Europe. (For those of you who are not familiar with guesstimates: It basically involves coming to a number logically. You can either approach it from the supply side (involves estimating the total capacity and multiplying with a capacity utilization kind of a thing.) or the demand side (estimating the number of users and then multiplying by the frequency of use). I told him about how I can approach from the demand and the supply side. I said I would like to use the demand side as I thought it was easier. He asked me to instead use the supply side. This came as a shock as I had hardly practiced anything from the supply side (Lesson: Be prepared to think about novel problems – which you have never practiced). I made a hash of this one. I made a lot of mistakes. But the good thing was I was speaking aloud whatever was going inside my mind. So if I said: “costs at all London shops will be the same”, my interviewer would interject and ask “Would they”.. after thinking for a bit I would realize that they wont be since the transportation costs are different for different shops (unless they are competing) . I think he got impressed by my ability to recognize that I have made a mistake and the ability to rectify it. After this he asked me if I had any questions about McK. I had a few and asked him the same. .
Tips: Lesson Learnt: Don’t have any conceived notion of an interview. You can be asked anything. Go with an open mind. For Cases, Speak aloud. Don’t be stubborn on your findings. You could be wrong.
Round: Interview
Experience: Immediately after round 1, I was whisked away for the round 2. This was a senior partner. He grilled me about how my CPI was low (8.48) . He asked me whether I was against McKinsey taking up govt. studies. I said No and explained him the reason. He was happy. Quite literally. After that came the case: “A and B are the two top Cement manufacturers in India. A foreign cement behemoth C has bought both of them. C is now wondering how to integrate the HR of the two purchasing departments of A and B. What are the possible options? What should it do?” The case was 2-pronged. I had to identify the possible options first and then suggest one. An important learning was that I established the various “parameters” on the basis of which C must decide which one is the best first. I thought I did pretty well with this. The interviewer seemed very happy. After the 2 rounds, I was called by McK people for feedback. I was told that sometime I come across as too Assertive and that should be avoided. I found this feedback very helpful. And later on I realized that a consultant is typically a quiet, analytical, serious character and not a bubbly, flamboyant one.
Tips: Lesson Learnt: Don’t be overtly aggressive against some of the firm policies (govt. work in this case)
Round: Interview
Experience: It Was with a partner, again. I was told in this interview that my temperament and way of speaking was to b observed. He asked if I wanted some tea since I looked tired. I said yes. He jumped straight to the case. “A boiler co. wants to go global. Advice.” I didn't have much information about the boiler industry and hence clarified a few doubts. Every second I nagged myself to be less assertive and be more open and unbiased to information. He didn't let me solve it completely. Stopped in between and said I did okay. Ambiguous statements, very typical of consultants. :)
Tips: Lesson Learnt: Respect the client (in this case the interviewer). He knows much much more than you do.
Round: Interview
Experience: Was with a German partner. As I entered the room he said how everyone is very keen on me.. but then said he was not sure and had to see for himself. There was no case in this interview. It was mostly fit. We talked about cars and football. I have never had so much fun in an interview. It was awesome. In the end we agreed that Germany played some kick ass football in the world cup and deserved to at-least reach the final. I was told in the interview that I would be made an offer.
Tips: There are no ready-made formula. However, to get shortlisted he/she must have spikes in his/her resume/CV. The person should be hyper-analytic, open to ambiguity, a person who never gives up and above all should be able to communicate well. You need to also present yourself very professionally in front of this company. It tolerates no informality. Know why you want McKinsey/Consulting etc. Prepare case-studies well. Don’t over-prepare. And you definitely need some luck. Looking back, you realize its only one or two statements that you make which makes you unique.
General Tips: I think the biggest learning was the fact that each company has a different work culture. You should do some research on this also before. I hadn't done much research on UBS and it showed. You will also need to prepare the “Why XYZ?” type of questions from the bottom of your heart. You cant fool the interviewer. Also, always always respect the interviewer. I was down in energy later on. One should have a proper meal before coming for placements. Always be in touch with your seniors (wherever they may be). They can really throw gems of advice at the important instances. Do not worry about your interviews. Its futile. I think overall, I could have researched a bit more on the company cultures. Carry Red-Bull if you have more than 4 interviews. Also keep a sophie/thirdie always at your disposal. Switch off your cell phones when inside. I would prefer that you wear a suit. It gives a good impression. Don’t wear it for the first time on that day itself though. Do check if its good morning/good afternoon/good evening.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Experience: a) I put a lot of thought into it. A LOT. I started top-down. In a sense, I always knew I was gonna target only 2 types of companies: Consulting and Banking. So made my 2 resumes accordingly. Basically I conveyed what needed to be conveyed. For this, I talked to a lot of people in Oct/Nov and researched a bit from previous editions of BePrepared. Being a DD helped. And then I spent a lot of time thinking how best to convey it. For example, I knew that my success in strategy competitions was crucial for Consulting Firms, hence I put those above my projects/extracurrics. b) Sent it to many people for feedback. Some of the points were accepted, some not. Its always our call in the end. But more often than not, external views make up the MOST important part of Resume Making. Advice: Make a rough copy first and then start thinking. If you think without it, it will take up a lot of time. DON’T LIE – IT WONT HELP YOU IN THE INTERVIEW. Be very serious in your resume. Avoid any kind of humor. Also don’t try to squeeze in too much.. you wont be coherent. Know what you want to convey and convey exactly that. At the end of it.. Look at your resume page by page. And see what it conveys at a VERY MACRO level. For ex: In my resume, Page 1 conveyed Decent Acads with Success in Strategy Competitions and Page 2 conveyed A lot of positions of responsibility with decent results and excellence in dramatics. I attended some of PPTs. Basically, from the beginning my focus was only on Consulting and Banking companies. In all I attended about 6 PPTs. But they do help. I know some of them are more than 90 minutes long. But its worth it in the end. There are some 5-6 important lines in every PPT and a wasted 90 minutes is worth those lines. Do catch the opportunity to talk to the presenters after the PPT informally. I found it to be quite valuable. Ofcourse, this meant less pizza consumed by me. But that’s okay.
Round: Interview
Experience: 2+ 2 rounds of interview after resume short-listing. Total 22, After 2 rounds: 6 Final Offer: 3 (out of which 2 accepted). My McK interviews were scheduled immediately after my 2 BCG interviews. So I was not tense going into them. Round 1: It started off with general HR. Which is how all interviews typically are. This is to make the interviewee comfortable. I was asked about my dramatics and my economics project. He was looking for short, precise answers. Then came the case: I was asked my sport of preference. I said Football. He asked me to Guesstimate (Guess + Estimate) the number of footballs in Europe. (For those of you who are not familiar with guesstimates: It basically involves coming to a number logically. You can either approach it from the supply side (involves estimating the total capacity and multiplying with a capacity utilization kind of a thing.) or the demand side (estimating the number of users and then multiplying by the frequency of use). I told him about how I can approach from the demand and the supply side. I said I would like to use the demand side as I thought it was easier. He asked me to instead use the supply side. This came as a shock as I had hardly practiced anything from the supply side (Lesson: Be prepared to think about novel problems – which you have never practiced). I made a hash of this one. I made a lot of mistakes. But the good thing was I was speaking aloud whatever was going inside my mind. So if I said: “costs at all London shops will be the same”, my interviewer would interject and ask “Would they”.. after thinking for a bit I would realize that they wont be since the transportation costs are different for different shops (unless they are competing) . I think he got impressed by my ability to recognize that I have made a mistake and the ability to rectify it. After this he asked me if I had any questions about McK. I had a few and asked him the same. .
Tips: Lesson Learnt: Don’t have any conceived notion of an interview. You can be asked anything. Go with an open mind. For Cases, Speak aloud. Don’t be stubborn on your findings. You could be wrong.
Round: Interview
Experience: Immediately after round 1, I was whisked away for the round 2. This was a senior partner. He grilled me about how my CPI was low (8.48) . He asked me whether I was against McKinsey taking up govt. studies. I said No and explained him the reason. He was happy. Quite literally. After that came the case: “A and B are the two top Cement manufacturers in India. A foreign cement behemoth C has bought both of them. C is now wondering how to integrate the HR of the two purchasing departments of A and B. What are the possible options? What should it do?” The case was 2-pronged. I had to identify the possible options first and then suggest one. An important learning was that I established the various “parameters” on the basis of which C must decide which one is the best first. I thought I did pretty well with this. The interviewer seemed very happy. After the 2 rounds, I was called by McK people for feedback. I was told that sometime I come across as too Assertive and that should be avoided. I found this feedback very helpful. And later on I realized that a consultant is typically a quiet, analytical, serious character and not a bubbly, flamboyant one.
Tips: Lesson Learnt: Don’t be overtly aggressive against some of the firm policies (govt. work in this case)
Round: Interview
Experience: It Was with a partner, again. I was told in this interview that my temperament and way of speaking was to b observed. He asked if I wanted some tea since I looked tired. I said yes. He jumped straight to the case. “A boiler co. wants to go global. Advice.” I didn't have much information about the boiler industry and hence clarified a few doubts. Every second I nagged myself to be less assertive and be more open and unbiased to information. He didn't let me solve it completely. Stopped in between and said I did okay. Ambiguous statements, very typical of consultants. :)
Tips: Lesson Learnt: Respect the client (in this case the interviewer). He knows much much more than you do.
Round: Interview
Experience: Was with a German partner. As I entered the room he said how everyone is very keen on me.. but then said he was not sure and had to see for himself. There was no case in this interview. It was mostly fit. We talked about cars and football. I have never had so much fun in an interview. It was awesome. In the end we agreed that Germany played some kick ass football in the world cup and deserved to at-least reach the final. I was told in the interview that I would be made an offer.
Tips: There are no ready-made formula. However, to get shortlisted he/she must have spikes in his/her resume/CV. The person should be hyper-analytic, open to ambiguity, a person who never gives up and above all should be able to communicate well. You need to also present yourself very professionally in front of this company. It tolerates no informality. Know why you want McKinsey/Consulting etc. Prepare case-studies well. Don’t over-prepare. And you definitely need some luck. Looking back, you realize its only one or two statements that you make which makes you unique.
General Tips: I think the biggest learning was the fact that each company has a different work culture. You should do some research on this also before. I hadn't done much research on UBS and it showed. You will also need to prepare the “Why XYZ?” type of questions from the bottom of your heart. You cant fool the interviewer. Also, always always respect the interviewer. I was down in energy later on. One should have a proper meal before coming for placements. Always be in touch with your seniors (wherever they may be). They can really throw gems of advice at the important instances. Do not worry about your interviews. Its futile. I think overall, I could have researched a bit more on the company cultures. Carry Red-Bull if you have more than 4 interviews. Also keep a sophie/thirdie always at your disposal. Switch off your cell phones when inside. I would prefer that you wear a suit. It gives a good impression. Don’t wear it for the first time on that day itself though. Do check if its good morning/good afternoon/good evening.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
4 Interview Rounds
Interview Preparation Tips
Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: For resume preparation I took help from my seniors as well as batch mates. A very effective method which I got to know from a senior was to first make a list of all the different activities I have done in my life and then writing down, corresponding to each of them, what quality of mine is getting highlighted and what would I like to get highlighted. After preparing this list I could clearly see what are my strengths and how can I highlight them. Then came the writing part, generally there is a perception that you should first write your academic projects and then extra curricular activities. But what I have learnt is that you need to show on your first page something that will make the person look at your second page also, otherwise the resume reviewers don’t have much time that they can go through every resume completely. You need to show something interesting may be academics or may be extra curricular activities. Also, a very important consideration is the company you are applying to. You should show in your resume what the company is looking for. For instance if a company is looking for a technical profile then obviously they will be more interested in your academic achievements and not extra-curricular activities.
Tips: Taking help from the resumes of some successful seniors is a nice way to start. Later on you can mold it according to yourself .Also, it is very necessary to get the resume reviewed at least 3-4 times by someone.
Round: Group Discussion
Experience: It had a GD first and then an interview. For GDs I had a few practice sessions with my friends and since I had joined TIME for CAT coaching, so I had some GD sessions there also. The first round was a GD session. There were eight people in my group. The topic given was “Role of Media in the society”. The judges of the GD session were also a part of the GD and it was made clear that no shouting and no stopping others is acceptable. So overall it was a nice discussion for about 40-45 minutes. After the session judges called a few people in the room one by one. I was also called and asked my opinion about the company and would I like to join.
Round: Interview
Experience: The second round was an interview. I was asked general HR questions like “why I came to IIT” and “what are my future plans” and then one or two resume based questions. Then they asked me 2 puzzles, one was a probability related puzzle with fair and unfair coins. Overall I had a very small interview of only 20 minutes compared to few other people’s interviews. I though I was going to make through but it was the other way round.
General Tips: If someone is appearing for any of the Data Analytics and Consulting firms, he should be very nicely prepared for the typical HR questions, just feel confident and speak what your heart says. He should be very thorough about whatever he has written in the resume. Also, puzzles are very important part for such interviews, so practicing general puzzles from internet would be very helpful. And if someone is appearing for a core company, be ready for very basic technical question of your field.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Experience: For resume preparation I took help from my seniors as well as batch mates. A very effective method which I got to know from a senior was to first make a list of all the different activities I have done in my life and then writing down, corresponding to each of them, what quality of mine is getting highlighted and what would I like to get highlighted. After preparing this list I could clearly see what are my strengths and how can I highlight them. Then came the writing part, generally there is a perception that you should first write your academic projects and then extra curricular activities. But what I have learnt is that you need to show on your first page something that will make the person look at your second page also, otherwise the resume reviewers don’t have much time that they can go through every resume completely. You need to show something interesting may be academics or may be extra curricular activities. Also, a very important consideration is the company you are applying to. You should show in your resume what the company is looking for. For instance if a company is looking for a technical profile then obviously they will be more interested in your academic achievements and not extra-curricular activities.
Tips: Taking help from the resumes of some successful seniors is a nice way to start. Later on you can mold it according to yourself .Also, it is very necessary to get the resume reviewed at least 3-4 times by someone.
Round: Group Discussion
Experience: It had a GD first and then an interview. For GDs I had a few practice sessions with my friends and since I had joined TIME for CAT coaching, so I had some GD sessions there also. The first round was a GD session. There were eight people in my group. The topic given was “Role of Media in the society”. The judges of the GD session were also a part of the GD and it was made clear that no shouting and no stopping others is acceptable. So overall it was a nice discussion for about 40-45 minutes. After the session judges called a few people in the room one by one. I was also called and asked my opinion about the company and would I like to join.
Round: Interview
Experience: The second round was an interview. I was asked general HR questions like “why I came to IIT” and “what are my future plans” and then one or two resume based questions. Then they asked me 2 puzzles, one was a probability related puzzle with fair and unfair coins. Overall I had a very small interview of only 20 minutes compared to few other people’s interviews. I though I was going to make through but it was the other way round.
General Tips: If someone is appearing for any of the Data Analytics and Consulting firms, he should be very nicely prepared for the typical HR questions, just feel confident and speak what your heart says. He should be very thorough about whatever he has written in the resume. Also, puzzles are very important part for such interviews, so practicing general puzzles from internet would be very helpful. And if someone is appearing for a core company, be ready for very basic technical question of your field.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
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