BARC Scientific Officer C Interview Questions and Answers

Round: Test
Experience: Written exam: This section contains basic aptitude questions – logical reasoning, math and english (vocabulary and comprehension). It is an outsourced test conducted by Aspiring Minds
Tips: NA

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: A 10-12 page case study would be given with a lot of data, tables, graphs and you need to solve it in 40 mins. Total 3 segments with 2 questions per segment. Later you need to debrief the case study to the interviewer and need to defend your answers. To answer these, you will have to apply basic Math and logical reasoning.The catch here is the debriefing interview where you will have to explain your reasoning and math behind each answer. The interviewer will try and point out flaws in your approach. You should be able to defend your reasoning by providing answers to the pointed-out-flaws. The interviewer will also ask other questions around the given case to test some more of your logic.
If you are able to defend your case, you would have rocked the round. The round is to simply test the application of data and rationale.
Tips: NA

Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: Behavioral. Resume based questions, questions on your 4 years of college life, questions on your final year project. Guesstimate, brain teasers, puzzles etc. are also asked
Tips: NA

Round: HR Interview
Experience: This round is taken by one of the seniormost employees in India. In this round, the interviewer will ask you questions about your personal and professional lives. About your hobbies, strengths, weaknesses and so on.
Tips: NA

College Name: NA

Round: Test
Experience: It was good , needed a bit of thinking in the logical reasoning part .Fifty minutes of tough experience
Tips: I suggest the students to work really smart and hard on logical reasoning part
Because the cut off for the written round shortlisting is very high .
Duration: 50 minutes

General Tips: As the old saying goes , talent is natural , skill is developed by hours and hours of practice .Believe in yourself that you can make it.yes of course , luck does play a key part , but as long as u fight to the finish , you're guaranteed to be the winner
Skill Tips: Students are strictly advised to improve their skills in management areas .Doing a management project would be highly useful .Participate yourself in many club activities like entrepreneurship development , etc.
Skills: Management skills, communication skills, Team coordination , case study solving, puzzle solving
College Name: NIT TIRUCHIRAPPALLI
Motivation: I was basically into management /software and zs associates are a reputed firm who have been operating more than a decade across pune , gorgaon. There are many perks being an employee in the company
Funny Moments: The interviewer asked me which profile I was more into : management or software .without a doubt I said software .Then he said which company would you choose if zs rejected you .I said Oracle ! .We both laughed

Round: Test
Experience: Test ( Quant, English, DI, Attention to detail) + Group discussion

Round: Interview
Experience: I was given a booklet describing a case involving a shoe manufacturer and his supply chain system. In addition there were a few other glitches in his profit generation. A total of 30 mins was allocated to solve the case, followed by an interview to discuss the case and suggest changes. In the second round of the same section basic math puzzle involving the surface area and volume concepts of a cube was asked. In round 3 of the same section. A role play wherein I was meeting a potential customer in an elevator and had 60 secs to inform him about what ‘We at ZS’ do. I lacked proper knowledge of the firm and had to do with limited information I had. I ensured I don’t go wrong on the little information I knew.

Round: Interview
Experience: The interview was by and large about my experiences in campus and how I had responded to different situations. Questions like “3 instances wherein you worked in a disordered environment and came out with flying colours“ , “ What is the most important quality in a team leader and why” etc . The round lasted for around 40 mins.

The interview was again primarily about my experiences in campus and how I had managed time etc. Questions like “ Why ZS” , “ 3 most valued principles of your life” etc were put forward. The round lasted for about 30 mins. At the end I was given time to ask questions and clarify my doubts about the kind of work, culture etc at the firm

General Tips: Make sure you read the cases VERY carefully. I learnt that a couple of my fellow students messed up the understanding part. Make sure you relate each and every significant achievement of yours to a particular quality or trait that defines you. This would help you answering HR questions effectively. Be thorough with each and every line of your master resume. HR interviews are all about knowing yourself and what you have done so far in life.
Skill Tips: My calculations were neat and I invested more time in understanding the problem which made the Q/A session with the interviewer a cake walk. I was relaxed during the entire conversation and was able to substantiate my answers with examples from my life experiences.
College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I mentioned about all my credentials in my resume in a very compact and precise manner, so that more information could be conveyed in as few words as possible. This I hoped would also impress the evaluators.
I had previously prepared a resume for my internship; I prepared my job resume with the help of this resume. I applied for only 2 companies and while applying in these companies I used the same resume but only ameliorated my areas of interest.

Round: Test
Experience: The first round was the interview round. The test was divided into three parts: aptitude, verbal ability and mathematics. All the three sections were very simple. The aptitude questions were very similar to those found in CAT preparation books. The only section that some found difficult to negotiate with was the verbal ability section.
Tips: Preparation for CAT or any other MBA entrance exam will help you ace the written test.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The second round was conducted in 4 phases. The first phase was the case study and the second phase was an interview based on the case study. The case study was about a shoe company that wanted to optimize their output and we had to suggest measures that can be implemented to do the same. Since I had no experience in the case study I was eliminated after the second phase itself.
Tips: Prepare for Case Study before appearing for ZS Associate for interview.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: ZS Associates is a consultancy firm which uses quantitative skills to solve business problems for their clients(cases). It deals with various industries but has majority of clients from pharmaceutical sector. Learn more about the company by visiting its site.

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I used to discuss about the preparation of the resume with my friends, which is how I learnt to prepare a resume. I also received some valuable insights from my seniors for the same. I also made sure that I get thoroughly acquainted with whatever I mention in my resume so that I am able to answer any questions that I’m asked pertaining to the resume.

Round: Test
Experience: I purchased some study materials for the CAT examination (MBA entrance test for IIMs) for the preparation of the written tests. I and my friends would also at times discuss some difficult questions which helped a lot.
The first round in the recruitment process of ZS Associates was an aptitude test. The paper involved sections on quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning and English. The paper was similar to the CAT paper.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: The second round was the GD. The there were 10 candidates in my GD. The topic under scrutiny was ‘Dirty Picture: Good Entertainment or Bad Entertainment.’ During the GD I was seated 2nd to the last and before me all the candidates had gone for the motion except for one. Before my turn arrived to speak I had decided to speak for the motion, but I realized that all the points for the motion had exhausted and I speak for the motion my points would certainly clash with someone else’s thus there would be no novelty in my points. Hence at the last moment I decided to speak against the motion. This improvisation seemed to have helped me. From my group 7 to 8 marched into the next round.
Tips: Everyone would tell you to keep your aggression under check while participating in a GD which you may tend to forget; I would particularly stress upon this do not let aggression get loose.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: There are huge numbers of books available in market which discusses about dealing with interviews. I read some of these books. I studied some of the questions frequently asked in the interviews and while framing answers to these questions I looked back at the years that I spent in the institute and tried to remember some instances which if included in some answers might make them more presentable.In HR interview the interviews asked me to brief them on my resume. They inquired about my internships and projects. Since they interviews were unaware of the biotechnology they were particularly inquisitive about my projects. This was not an elimination round.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The case study was about a shoe company who had both retail and wholesale clients. We had to suggest how the company should spread its representatives across the city. The constraint was that there were a limited number of representatives and maximum sales had to be achieved. The representatives had to be allocated to different areas considering the transportation, communication systems available in that area and the buyers in that area. I did not qualify for further rounds.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: They kept a minimum CGPA criterion of 6.5, which is not hefty at all.

Round: Test
Experience: The written is taken by AMCAT and is really easy, so it is important that you perform exceptionally well to make it into the next shortlist. Also, although the company people don't admit it, I'm sure that there is an upper cut-off, so keep that in mind too.
Tips: Don't worry! It's not that difficult to perform well in the test. Brush up your aptitude a little. Data Interpretation is usually easy. Take help of your MBA aspirant buddies to help you with the preparation.
Total Questions: 60

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: GD is a fish market! Everyone would want to speak, no matter if they really have the points or not. Show some leadership, and keep a calm head, speak when you're absolutely sure of what you're saying.
Tips: GD is supposed to be a very dilute filter. You will definitely make it through unless you perform exceptionally bad.
Duration: 15 minutes

Round: Problem Statement
Experience: The case study is pretty straightforward, and mostly simple math is involved. It would help a great deal if you practice a few case studies prior to this round.
Tips: During the interview, the main focus is not on how correctly you solved the case study, but rather on your approach. So make sure that you take the interviewer through a detailed path of how you approached the case study and reached conclusions.

Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: In this interview, your entire resume would be scanned and questions and guesstimates would be asked based on that. So make sure that you write only what you know in your resume.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: This interview is taken by one of the principals of the company. Now these are people with mounds of experience so don't even try to bluff them! It is a pretty straightforward and cool interview where they'll ask you about your family, hobbies, and other general things.
Tips: It is a myth that the interviewer decides the course of the interview. In fact, that is always in your hands. Focus the interview on your skills and golden areas, and try to avoid speaking about your shortcomings. The interview will automatically flow into that direction.

Skills: Logical Reasoning, Analytical Skills
College Name: NIT BHOPAL
Motivation: One of the best companies visiting campus.

Round: Test
Experience: Written test was on the CAT pattern. Verbal section and Quant section, level was also
comparable to CAT.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: A well organised GD, everyone was given time to start and conclude. The topic
was "should films like dirty picture be allowed in India". Marks were given for points given in the discussion.

Round: Problem Statement
Experience: first, a case study. It was mainly calculationbased, doable problem. had to understand some graphs for the calculations. It was more like a DataInterpretation problem in CAT.

Round: Interview
Experience: Second interview had parts of HR, was asked questions like 'strengths, weaknesses, way of doing work,how do you ensure your work is correct, any difficult situation faced, how do you cope with them, extracurricular activities' etc..I was also asked a guestimate, had to estimate the demand for a professionalmusic school all over india. This was asked because my extra activity was music. I guessed first the no. ofschools in india and then on that basis calculated no. of students that may be interested in music as aprofession.

Round: Interview
Experience: Third one was again mostly HR related.

Skill Tips: For the interviews, prepared basic HR
questions like 'tell me about yourself, strengths and weaknesses' etc.. Prepared for guesstimations from
random sources, available easily on the net. Prepared for case studies from vault guide for case interviews,
available on the net.
College Name: IIT Roorkee

Round: Guesstimate Interview
Experience: poor performance in the guesstimates

Skills: Case Analysis, Economics
College Name: NA