Gartner Data Specialist Interview Questions and Answers

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Be prepared

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Dual Degree students with decent CPI, relevant projects and extras
Tips: Highlight subjects and projects involving data mining, machine learning, marketing research

Round: Test
Experience: PST had 26 questions to be done in an hour (3 cases) and 20 QUESTIONS in 30 mins general apti (level: 2-3 of Arun sharma)
Tips: practice!
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Questions: 46

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: Since my resume was filled with

College Name: IIT Kanpur

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Based on a cut off of 7.5

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: 5-7 minutes.Abstract topic, so open ended. Within logical boundaries you could be as creative as possible. The discussion went from  importance of binary system to philosophical bearings of "its all relative".  We had to sum up key points discussed towards the end of GD with positives and negatives of "life without zero".
Tips: Don'ts:Never look at the moderator while making your point, always engage your colleagues.Never interrupt other person midway, if the moderator is sensible enough, everyone would get chance to make their point.Dos:You don't always have to jump to start the GD, but try to put across your points articulately when your turn comes.Always bring a pen and Paper to GD (In case they don't provide) to note down your point of view on the topic.If possible, try to set the tone of the GD in the beginning by pointing out different aspects that can be discussed. (You might get brownie points for that)

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: This round was lasted for around half an hour. I had interned in a Private Equity Research firm focusing on greentech. So they picked up a case from my resume. (This might happen, so be thorough with your internships). They will look for you ability to break-down a problem statement to smaller streams, multidimensional  approach and clarity in thought process.
Tips: 1. Reiterate the problem statement before you start solving the case 2. Think out loud with possible approaches, solutions, etc and pros and cons for each one3. Summarize at the end

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Lasted for almost an hour.Typical questions like1. Tell me something about yourself2. Why consulting and KPMG3. Long term goals and how KPMG fits in 4. 3 things you feel you need to improve upon
Tips: "Tell me something about yourself" sets the tone for this round so be prepared with a quick 2-3 minutes response to steer the discussion towards the points you want to highlight from your resume. 
A few stress interview questions. Make sure you take your time to answer without panicking.

General Tips: 1. Be clear on what type of companies you want to apply (Core, Consult, Fin, etc) and why2. Don't fall pray to peer pressure. Company-candidate fit is the most important thing from long term perspective.
3. Be thorough with your resume and story line4. Practice HR questions with your wing mates
Skills: Problem Solving
College Name: IIT MADRAS
Motivation: I was interested working in consult to begin my career, as it gives you good exposure across companies, sectors, you get to interact with different kinds of people and yea you get to travel.
Funny Moments: One of the consultant who had come down for tech rounds interacted with me outside the room and we had a chat on Saarang and Cricket for a while. Helped me settle down quickly during the interview.

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: We were given a sample resume and asked to submit ours
Tips: Make it as quantitative as possible. Show the impact of your work

Round: Guesstimate Interview
Experience: I told the wrong approach twice only to realize later how stupid it was. Third time my approach was decent.
Tips: The tip is to not lose confidence and keep trying. Even when you are wrong initially.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I was not able to solve it properly. And got stuck multiple times and even ended with a stupid advice.
Tips: The case was very unconventional which I hadn't done before. The tip is to just keep trying and try to ask the right questions.

College Name: St. Stephen's College

Round: Test
Experience: General aptitude questions such as speed-time variables, quantities, etc were asked
Tips: Practice is the key to crack this round
Duration: 1 hour
Total Questions: 40

Round: HR Interview
Experience: For me, they asked questions based on my CV. Asked me a little about my low CGPA and the rest of the time, we discussed Manchester United Vs Liverpool rivalry since the interviewer turned out to be a football fan.
Tips: Be thorough and honest with what you write on your CV.

College Name: Manipal Institute Of Technology, Manipal

Round: Test
Experience: Questions were time consuming but not much tricky. About 50% students were shortlisted for next round
Duration: 45 minutes
Total Questions: 60

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Initially a normal gd took place and at last they gave 15 seconds to each candidate to conclude (this part was crucial in selecting shortlisted candidates). In our group we had 10 candidates out of which 3 were shortlisted.
Duration: 15 minutes

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: A little about technical knowledge mostly hr questions were asked

Round: HR Interview
Experience: General he questions were asked

College Name: Jaypee University Of Information Technology, Solan

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: They are looking for confident candidates. One who can speak out (ofcource logical stuffs).
Tips: dnt act oversmart.. dnt use fake accent.. be smart n confident
Duration: not fixed minute

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: speak freely.. be ready to travell.. if u r joining ITRA team.. make sure u hv good knowledge of all d developmnt model.. waterfall model etc.. good knowledge of telecom.. n if u r joining now in kolkata team.. u must hv good knowledge of cyber secutiry..

Skills: skils, Confidence, 1)communication
College Name: B.P.Poddar Inst of Mang and Sc
Motivation: package
Funny Moments: i didnt want to join ey but now i dnt want to leave ey

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Out of total 380 applications 120 were called for group discussion. Basic cutoff for B.Tech was 70%
Tips: Prefer a one pager resume in case of fresher.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Out of total 120 applicants shortlisted after resume screening in total 60 passed the group discussion round. GD panel consisted of two judges from EY and number of candidates were 15 in one group.
Tips: If you missed your chance to be the first speaker then try being the moderator. If you missed that too then last speaker i.e. summary maker is the good way to crack a GD.
Duration: 25 minutes

Round: Technical & HR
Experience: Interview lasted for 50-55 minutes. Panel consisted of two person one from HR and other from technical.More or less it concentrates on the activities you have done in past both academic (minor) and extra curricular (major) activities.
I was later served with a case study related to risk advisory (since I have applied for risk advisory services and related to civil engineering as I am a civil engineer), "If I were a consultant from EY and assigned a project to go to a bridge construction site then on meeting the contractor what all types of risk can I identify there and what measures should be taken to mitigate them or to reduce their frequency and impact."
Tips: Have a grip what all you have write in your CV.Why EY and why you is the sure shot question you must be prepared for.
If asked for questions do show your interest and ask one or two questions even if you know about that before hand.All the best

General Tips: All the best.
Skill Tips: One must learn to present himself.
Skills: Good Communication Skills
College Name: JAYPEE UNIVERSITY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, SOLAN
Motivation: EY is a good brand and one of the best firm to launch your career being one of the big fours.