Cairn Energy Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: They first asked me to tell me about myself. Then I was asked to briefly explain what I did in my internship at SAIL in summer'16.Then they asked a few technical questions on the project (Modelling of a bio refinery using Indian agrowastes for energy and environmental analysis) that I was doing in that semester under one of my professors. Then they asked me about my favourite subject to which I answered, "Heat Transfer". So they asked me some basic questions on heat exchangers and related graphs.
Then one of the HRs asked me to tell about my career objectives followed by a few other questions like my strength, why CAIRN, what I would have pursued if not engineering,which location would I prefer- Rajasthan(where there is main plant of CAIRN) or Gurgaon(where there is main office of CAIRN but no plant).
Then they asked me if I had any questions to ask to which I asked them a few internship related queries. And this way, the interview ended.

College Name: Jadavpur University, Kolkata

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: There were 10 candidates in each group and I guess there were around 5 such groups, and all are from chemical engineering department. Group discussion for the GG students were held separately. Duration of the group discussion was only 5 min and so each candidate will get a chance to speak for less than 1-2 min. During the GD I made good conclusion which was also supported by the whole group which gave an added advantage to my points. GD's with my batch mates really helped me because discussing with your friends gives you broader perspective, better understanding of the topics, get to to know your weaknesses, reduce fear and stress during the GD's.The Key is ' be confident, put relevant points and try to convince the group in a smart way'. FInally only 2 students from each group got shortlisted and around 12 students were selected for the final Technical & HR Interview.
Tips: Be updated with the recent topics and better to do some group discussions with your wing mates or batch mates. This really helped me. Do not shout in the GD, put your points in smart way and make a good conclusion... :)
Duration: 5 Min minutes

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: My Interview started with ' Tell me about yourself' and then they grilled me on my internships. I did my third year Intern in Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. Q1. What are the different types of pumps and their parts? (Centrifugal, positive displacement pumps and their parts) Q2. Different types of valves and their application? (Like gate, globe, butterfly, Non return valves (NRV)- check valves, ball valves etc.) Q3. Calculation of pressure drop through a pipe in turbulent flow (Not hagen poiseuille equation,it is for Laminar flow)
Q4. Pinch temperature Q5. Temperature profiles for cold fluid and hot fluid in cocurrent and counter current heat exchanger. Q6. Advantages of counter current heat exchanger over co current heat exchanger. (Other than LMTD, Check DQ Kern)- Ans. Hot fluid outlet temperature can go below cold fluid inlet temperature in counter current HEx which is not possible in case of co current HEx.
Q7. JT Expansion. MY 4th year internship was in U of S, canada where I developed two processes for manufacturing of glycerol carbonate and propylene glycol using Aspen hysys. They asked me regarding mass, energy balance (utilities) involved in the process and how I applied pinch analysis for the processes.


Tips: Be Confident, Be completely prepared with your projects, should be strong in your core concepts and try to answer logically.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: These are all basic standard questions
Tips: Be yourself, state real life examples and make some good stories.

General Tips: Be positive, keep smiling and make proper plan for the placements and work accordingly.
Skills: Chemical Engineering Basics
College Name: IIT Kharagpur
Motivation: I am interested to pursue my career in core chemical engineering and CAIRN is one of the best options available in oil and gas industry.