Harsha Abakus Solar Deputy General Manager Business Development Interview Questions and Answers

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: This year, there was an actual resume shortlist since there was no group-discussion round and therefore, a lot of students didn't make it through to the shortlist.
Tips: A decent 'consult resume' should be enough to get shortlisted

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: There were four rounds of interviews - the first one was just a screening round where I was asked to explain about my projects, internships and extra-curriculars with some basic HR questions in between.

The second round was taken by the VP of Business Development and was to gauge how genuinely I am interested in working for CleanMax Solar. There were few 'trap-questions' like 'What are the things that you are good at but hate doing?', 'Tell me about an instance when you failed at something',etc. to test if I'll be a good cultural fit for the company and suitable for the work profile being offered. Also, I was asked about one of the courses that I had mentioned on my resume with a few follow-up questions as well.

The third round of interview was with the Managing Director of the company, which again had a mix of technical and HR questions. There were questions about my family background, the places I have been to, my view on the solar sector growth in India, my long-term goals, internships, instances where I organized some event, etc. The interview was chilled out to the extent that there was a short discussion about having a pretty girlfriend vs. having a smart one :P Also, he was quite impressed by my systems engineering minor.

The fourth and last round lasted only for 5 mins where I was extended the offer and was told about my responsibilities, job location, etc
Tips: They are looking for people who are genuinely interested in the Business Development profile and have the ability to deliver accordingly

Skills: Interest In The Job, Clear Communication
College Name: IIT Madras

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Around 55 people shortlisted.
Tips: In my understanding, the shortlisting was done on the basis of performance in different kind of engagements shown in the resume. I made a separate section of 'Policy Engagement' which was unique and which could have drawn the attention. So play by your strength and be different.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: First interview involved going through a few of the resume points and getting tested for some market estimation problems. My interview got direction from 'Describe Yourself' question where I spoke about one of my hobbies and how I am planning to take it to the next level. Then I was asked what kind of topics I follow in current affairs as I showed it as my interest.
I was then asked to run through my resume and the interviewer got interested in an internship which was related to GST. Then I was asked a simple Case related to GST which involved segmenting, structuring and guesstimating.
From the, the discussion went into my Conferences and Position of responsibilities where the interviewer was trying to understand what kind of person I am. So I crafted my answers around some of my qualities and took reference of the elements from conference/competitions/PoPs to support it.
Overall interview went very smooth and lasted around 30mins.

Tips: For case, bring out new dimensions related to the case
'Tell me about yourself' type icebreaker questions are very crucial in such kind of interview as they set the direction for the rest of the interview. So do practice it and develop a few pointers around which you can create your sentences then and there. Never mug it word by word. Let it come naturally.


Round: HR Interview
Experience: What are the things you like to do?
What are the things you are good at?
What are the things which you are good at but you don't like to do?
Amidst these fancy questions, the HR round was chilled out with the interviewer just trying to understand me as a person and what qualities I have. He also introduced me to the various domains available in the company and asked which one would I like to choose and why. I related the profile to some of the work I have done in Insti and said that I would like to test many waters. Then he asked me why I want this company and other such questions

Tips: Don't piss off the HR by showing attitude or acting stupidly.
At the end, every interviewer will give a chance to ask questions. So ask smart or generic questions. For example, I asked primarily about the work culture in the company.


Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: This interview was with the MD of the company, Mr. Kuldeep Jain. He was more interested in going through my resume closely by himself then me explaining my points. So it was peace. I was asked why my CGPA is low and how would I fit in the company. He asked me about the location preference and reasons for it. He was also interested in knowing a project I did before for a course

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: The final one with 2 other panelists. The person asked me to describe myself. Plus he explored a few technical questions as well but very easy ones like future technologies in Solar and 3 sources of renewable energy. They also tested if I would like to do a job which require pitching and convincing clients. For that I gave a positive reply supporting it with a reference to my constitution committee related work which I have done previously.
Tips: They are looking for people who are fun to work with. Not the serious ones. Hence it is important to project yourself as a dynamic person with different interest areas. You must also reflect that you welcome travelling and interacting with unknown people.

Skills: Dynamic Personality, Creative Thinking, Extra-curricular Activities, Speaking Skills, Logical And Structured Thinking
College Name: IIT Madras

Round: Other Interview
Experience: A candidate had to broadly go through 3 interviews before the company decided to take her/him. Like most interview processes, the interviews had sequential importance and one had to clear the 1st to get called for the 2nd and clear 2nd to get called for the 3rd.

There were several panels (mostly single-person) with some senior officials from the company and some with just a year's experience.

My first interview was with a senior official. He asked questions based on my resume and particularly focused on my internship. He was genuinely interested in my project there and that eased the process for me. I gladly explained it and he immediately decided to promote me to the second round. 2 things that I believe were key to this were:
1. my project and level of contribution during one of my summer internships
2. my ability to communicate, connect with him and explain a complex project in the matter of minutes

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The second round was with one among the Leadership of the company. He was very clear, open and straightforward in his approach. He stated that there would be 3 quick segments to the HRish interview:
1. Telling about myself
2. Him asking me questions
3. Me asking him questions

Thus, it started with the routine "Tell me about yourself" and an overall gauging of my accomplishments and matching it to my resume. He was jolly in mood and asked what position I play as in football and made a couple mood-lightening comments.

The second segment. He asked me what I believed were my strengths. Then, he asked me to describe qualities of the ideal environment that I would like to work in. I took this opportunity to build on my answer about my strengths and match it with the kind of work the job offers. The next question was slightly offbeat, 'describe qualities of a place you would not want to work in'. I took a moment and answered carefully. His comment on my response was that it was 'Politically correct'

He was thoroughly satisfied with my interview, told me that he didn't want to waste any more time and immediately moved me to the next round.

Round: Other Interview
Experience: The final round was with the MD of the company. It was necessary for him to interview a candidate before he/she was selected.

All through the process, he ran through my resume. I believe he was looking for one and only one quality: Can the candidate communicate with highly experienced, senior officials and convey complex ideas?

College Name: IIT Madras