CLSA Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Don't waste time. Fools din't read JD or my CV before asking questions. Waste of time.

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I had a standard resume for this company as per our institute placement cell norms. For an analyst profile at Capital One, they do look for a consistent academic performance, scholarships, Olympiads etc. So I did make sure to include all my academic achievements in my resume.

Round: Test
Experience: This was the first round and was conducted in September itself, well before the final placement process held in December. The test was based only on Data Interpretation (DI), quite similar to DI questions asked in CAT. It was a 35 minute test comprising of 30 questions. The questions were divided into sets of 4-6 questions, each set based on different data. Typically a set used to have 2 bar graphs/pie charts/line graphs and questions were based on them. Most of the questions were easy but were calculation intensive. Use of calculators was permitted. The cut off was about 22-23 questions. About 80 students were shortlisted for the first case study interview.
Tips: Be accurate. Often it might not be possible to attempt all the questions. So do not spend much time on a particular question.
Duration: 35 minutes
Total Questions: 30

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The first interview was relatively short – a one to one case study interview was held on the next day of the written test. The case study was mainly quantitative in nature and was based on calculation of break-even point (concept from Profit and Loss). In the case study given to me, a kiosk owner providing delivery of products to dial-in customers wished to expand his operations by setting up an e-commerce platform on the kiosk’s website. Data about the existing number of customers, new distribution of customers, profit per customer, and cost for setting up the e-commerce platform and scaling up the operations was given. I was asked to carry out break even analysis for different cases.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: 24 students got shortlisted for the next interview round which was again a one to one interview. Like the previous interview, this too was mainly focused on the analysis of the quantitative data in the case.
In the case given to me, a bank had two types of credit card customers – ones who paid off their due balance completely within the due date and those who paid only the minimum amount required before the due date and carried forward the remaining amount to the next month. There was a short discussion with the interviewer to identify the sources of revenue and costs for the two types of customers. After all the sources had been identified, I was given the data for all the costs and was asked to calculate the profit/loss the bank makes on each customer. The interview concluded with a short discussion on the possible ways of marketing the credit card. The interview lasted for about 40 minutes and because of a couple of calculation mistakes during the quantitative analysis, I couldn't make it to the next interview round.
Tips: Go through some sample case studies. Get a basic idea of how to prepare for a case study interview. Prepare well for the written test. If you are preparing for CAT, that should be more than enough in almost all the cases.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE

Round: Test
Experience: This was a test based on Data Interpretation. There were 6 passages with various questions, Each passage had 2-3 charts which had to be analysed and then questions had to be answered on the basis of that. Because each passage had so many charts, anyone could easily be confused by the amount of data thrown at them, it is key to keep yourself calm and go through the questions without missing anything important. The devil is in the details.
Tips: Practice Data Interpretation Problems. I solved the CAT Data Interpretation book by Arun Sharma, The ten minute papers were really nice as they give a feel of the time constraints that you have in solving such a paper. You could also solve Data Interpretation Manhattan GRE.
Duration: 35 minutes
Total Questions: 30

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I had 4 case Interviews, The first case interview was a small one - It went on for about 15 minutes, The second was about half an hour long, the third was also half an hour long, and the fourth case was 1 hour long. It was a really nice experience. Key to cracking a case interview is to interact a lot with the Interviewer. Ask meaningful questions, Give logical hypothesis and feasible solutions. You can be slow, but do not make any math mistakes. Ask clarifying questions, Understand the problem correctly and then give answers, Do not hurry
Tips: for case Interviews - You should read Case in Point, other than that, you should see the sample cases given on Capital One's website, and read cases from IIM A,B , Wharton Casebooks.

Skills: Data Interpretation
Duration: 2
College Name: IIT Kharagpur

Round: Test
Experience: There was test which was purely data analysis and calculator was allowed. So the procedure that they follow is that first they shortlist 50 people and a small case interview is followed. The case I was asked was to calculate the change in the cost of a grocery store if it has changed its model from cash on delivery with a physical store to an online portal which has cash on delivery option. As I had practiced it already I took some time to give structure and then gave 3-4 reasons for change in cost and then he gave me some numbers based on which I had to calculate the break even time period or amount . But I think he expected a little bit different approach or was searching for a different solution as I wasn't selected for the final interview sessions. I think 22 people were selected for the final interview session out of which 2 people were finally selected in Cap One.

College Name: IIT KANPUR