ITC AUT - Assistant Under Training Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Two types of profiles are generally shortlisted by ITC. Either good tech profile. Or good non-tech profile with lot of team work, different experiences etc. So choose one of the two. Half in one and half in the other would be a gamble.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Standard points of a GD apply. Most of the GDs are to rank the stakeholders in a situation in a particular order. Be polite to others and appreciate their inputs too but make sure you make a couple of strong points or at least drive the discussion forward.

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: General Resume Shortlist. The company was open for EE, ME and CHE departments. If you have a decent CPI(>8) with a some extra curriculars, you can expect yourself to be safely go through this round. There is an application for with few HR questions , which they use if you reach the interview round,
Tips: Try to cover all aspects in your resume. And make sure whatever you write, you must have the ability to defend it,

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: A person dies and various reasons were mentioned of his death from different perspective. We need to rank those reasons on the basis of discussion.
Tips: In our group. 3-4 odd guys started fighting just in order to prove their point. Therefore those guys that gave 2-3 good points in between, went through the next interview round. Its not about speaking more, but about speaking sensible.
Duration: 20 minutes

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: First Interview was taken by management of the committee, who did not have great experience at the firm. It was mostly resume based. So you must know each and everything about your resume. In my case, since I have done considerable research, their focus was why I am not going to go for research as this would be managerial. The trick was to convince them that this is what I want to do.
Tips: Be confident in what you answer. Always keep in mind that you know yourself more about your projects that anyone else. So even if you don't remember completely. just speak with confidence. This gives them the expression that you know what you are saying,

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: I was given the second round just after my first. They stopped the next candidate going in the panel. and sent me first. That gave me an indication that they are really very serious about taking me. This one was held with the senior management officials of the company. They were more interested about the work I have done earlier in the internships, along with how I can contribute to the organisation. Also they were quite impressed by my answers in the application form.
Tips: If you believe that you have done enough work during your undergraduate, you will yourself feel confident about your chances.

College Name: IIT Kanpur

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Plane crash scene - 15 items given - 8 survivors (GD group). Task to rank the items in the order of importance, first individually and then discuss in group to rank it again. Try to convince other members why your ranking is more accurate based on rational arguments.
Duration: 25 minutes

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: Time:45 minutes
Mostly grilled on resume projects and internships. I had couple of onsite/factory experience that caught their attention. Also asked my favorite engineering subject and asked me in detail about it.

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: Time: 20-30 mins
Again asked on some projects and my inclination towards working in a factory. Asked about my Final Year Project(DDP).
I had other company's offer so they asked why ITC over that?
Tips: Converstional skills doesn't matter much. Your ability to communicate your point matters.

College Name: IIT Madras

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: It was a resume based shortlist.Around 50 were selected for G.D. GD was conducted with 8 members in a group, of which 4 were selected. They were looking for people who could consider multiple options and arrive at a solution.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: There were 2 rounds. 1st round:Technical and HR questions asked details about projects/internships. Was asked questions like "would you be comfortable with working places far from city" etc? Looked for candidates with a sense of social responsibility.















2nd Round: Technical interview( Questions were on power systems, opamps etc. Even Mech question were asked)

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Questions on PORS were asked, to elaborate on what the POR is about. Questions about internship was asked.

College Name: IIT MADRAS

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: The Group Discussion happened in groups of six. We were also given five minutes of prep time. We were presented with five different energy sources available in a hypothetical region.
Tips: The objective was to choose the best alternative to solve the energy crisis in the region.
Duration: 20 minutes

Round: Other Interview
Experience: This round was primarily core based. The first few questions were a set of typical HR introductory questions. Next thequestions were primarily about my interships and projects. I found this round pretty fast paced and rapid. They would randomly pick something from my resume and would ask me to briefly explain it. Then there were tons of follow up questions. There were also a few HR questions which were behavioural in nature - wherein you would be asked to give an instance from your life that illustrated a competency like people skills conflict resolution etc.
Tips: Be through with everything on your resume.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Reasonably laid back and chilled out. I was interviewed by the CEO and an MD of the ITC Paper and Packaging division. I also got to ask a couple of questions in the end.

General Tips: Interviews are nothing but a story telling competition. Pick a unifying theme and prepare a story for yourself. This should come out in the first two/three minutes of the interview. Make sure you have a rationale behind having done everything you have put in your resume. The interviewers look at your resume in its totality and not as bunch of independent spikes. Google the company. Check out their latest corporate news, product lauches etc. Have answers ready for the following questions - Introduce yourself (2-3 minutes pitch. Clear, concise and well bucketed as acads/interns etc), Strengths & Weaknesses (Pick 3 each and back them up with instances from ur life) and Long term and short term goals (Make sure they are alligned with the firm's culture). Follow the STAR approach (Google it) to answer HR questions. DO NOT mug up answers to standard HR questions. You'll sound unnatural and fake and won't strike a chord with the interviewer. Have a set of bullet points ready and go over them in a way you would when you meet someone on a train.
Skill Tips: Make sure you are able to speak constructively about every line in your resume. Have a clear understanding of every project/internship. Revise all your courses from a practical standpoint. I would highly recommend going through the Lab experiments and their respective chapters in McCabe & Smith. Apart from Core, I was focusing on Finance. I had cleared CFA level 1 and so I revised the syllabus once. I would recommend reading the Econ, CorpFin, Portfolio Management and Derivatives portions of the level 1 syllabus. Reading ET everyday can be of great help in the interview andGD. Also pick and read about any five major Fin/Econ episodes in the world. Apart from that practice puzzles regularly. And MOST importantly prep for CAT. Almost all the companies beyond Day 1.1 have CAT based tests as a shortlisting criteria.
Skills: Confidence while communicating., Clarity in arguments., Practical application of concepts.
College Name: IIT MADRAS

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: the resumes were given in November. We were given a ​questionnaire form with general HR questions­ answers to which will reflect our personality.
Tips: ​Do mention all the PORs, co­curricular,extra­curricular activities done by you. Take care of typos that might creep in.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: 30 to 40 people will be shortlisted for this.It was  around 1 hour.If you have a good cg, then you might get questions like "why don't you app?".
Tips: You should be through with your projects; be confident with your theory. Familiarize yourself with supply chain, handling projects, things about handling people, optimization, production cycles, etc.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Selected 10 to 12 people will be called for this.The questions depend on your interviewer.General questions like even on your family or whatever the interviewer is interested in you. Only 4 to 5 people will be selected.
Tips: Don't black out at any point of time.They expect honesty in your answers.The questionnaire will be compared to what you say during interviews. So don't try to exaggerate.

College Name: IIT MADRAS

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: You are shortlisted based on your application & resume. I feel more importance is given to the application. You are asked to list out and briefly explain your internships, projects, extra/co-curricular activities and any Positions of responsibilities you have held. You also have to give in a couple of short essays highlighting your short and long term objectives, achievements and an instance where you applied your mind over matter.
Tips: You are rated on five different aspects - CGPA, Internships, Projects, Extra/Co-curricular activities and PORs. Be sure to bring out your strengths in a clear and concise manner.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: The GD happened in groups of six and was for 30 minutes which included the five minutes of prep time. We were presented with five different energy sources available in a hypothetical region. The objective was to come up with a consensus the best alternative to solve the energy crisis in the region.
We came up with a couple of key parameters and  rated each of the projects based on those. We weren't able to reach a conclusion.
Tips: The moderator looks for a structure in your analysis and the manner in which you present it to the team. It'll be great if everyone agrees with your point which reflects your natural leadership skills. Your body language counts a lot. Stay attentive and look engaged and passionate about the discussion. You get points for starting a GD but do so only if you have a good point in mind. Never put any disagreement to a vote - try reaching a consensus.
Duration: 30 min minutes

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: The first round went on for about 45 minutes. The first few questions were a set of typical HR introductory questions. Next the questions were primarily about my interships and projects. I found this round pretty fast paced and rapid. They would randomly pick something from my resume (So be through with everything on your resume!) and would ask me to briefly explain it. Then there were tons of follow up questions, for example, why did you use this pump, why did you limit your model to these inputs etc. There were also a few HR questions which were behavioral in nature - wherein you would be asked to give an instance from your life that illustrated a competency like people skills conflict resolution etc.
Tips: Make sure you are able to speak constructively about every line in your resume. Have a clear understanding of every project/internship. Revise all your courses from a practical standpoint. I would highly recommend going through the Lab experiments and their respective chapters in McCabe & Smith.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The second interview was reasonably laid back and chilled out. I was interviewed by the CEO and MDs of the ITC Printing and Packaging division. The interview went on for about 20 minutes and was HR based.
Tips: Interviews are nothing but a story telling competition. Pick a unifying theme and prepare a story for yourself. This should come out in the first two/three minutes of the interview. Make sure you have a rationale behind having done everything you have put in your resume. The interviewers look at your resume in its totality and not as bunch of independent spikes.

DO NOT mug up answers to standard HR questions. You'll sound unnatural and fake and won't strike a chord with the interviewer. Have a set of bullet points ready and go over them in a way you would, when you meet someone on a train.

Skills: Technical Knowlegde, Communication, Confidence and ability to deal with stress, Leadership skills, Taking initiatives , Ability to deliver on a project, Team skills, innovating
College Name: IIT Madras

Round: Resume Shortlist
Tips: 1 or 2 page Resume. Stress on your positions of responsibilities, internships and your academic projects. Try to highlight the mathematical values about your project (eg: 50 lakh investment, 20 lakh returns, 20% efficiency increase etc etc)

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Some story with different characters and their involvement in the situation was given. The story revolves around work ethics and maintenance of confidential information about the company. At the end we need to discuss and come to a conclusion as to who is main culprit or the person responsible for causing the problem in the company.
Tips: Don't be too demanding or too easy going in the GD. If you don't know how to start just wait so that someone will catch up and u can definitely join in. It's good if you can start first but make sure you have enough content to be put up bcoz u started first. Don't try to cut other's while they speak but try to remain in the conversation as much as you can. Try to give a proper conclusion from your end as much as possible because I feel that the reviewers will be very attentive towards the end than in the middle. Even if your GD doesn't go well don't worry bcoz there are points both for your application and GD so if you have a strong application then you can easily be shortlisted.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: I had an internship in P&G. ITC being an FMCG too most of my interview revolved around the work I did in P&G. It was easy for me bcoz I just had to explain all the stuff which I already did. They asked a bit about my POR's and sports and I explained them briefly..that's it :)
Tips: be thorough with ur resume. They will mostly be asking points from ur resume itself so if you are thorough with ur resume points you can easily get through this round. Prepare some basic core questions from your subjects like thermodynamics, strength of materials etc bcoz they are definitely going to ask you questions about them.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: This interview is mainly to understand whether u r a right fit to ITC or not. They will ask u questions as I stated above. Try to be honest as possible but make sure u don't say anything which is not in line with the company (For eg: When they say about factory work say them that u like it ..if u r honest and say u dont like factory work then there are high chances that u wont be selected bcoz they are mainly looking for people to work in factories in supply chain profile)
Tips: When they questions about other interviews (and if u r actually attending other company interviews) be honest and say them the truth. Don't say that u r not attending others bcoz they will have the list of all companies u r shortlisted on Day-1..
As you know ITC is an Indian FMCG so try not to focus on other things abroad. They might ask some trap questions like ..Do u like working in foreign countries etc..here u should not say no but yes either..try to put in a good way which favour them the most. (u can say that India is a developing country and there is a lot of potential which can be tapped here so focusing in India can definitely be good in the future..something like that..:P)
Finally I want to say that its not about ITC or any other company whenever u attend any interview try to be yourself and use your words properly which will give a positive impact to the interviewer that you can actually profit the company a lot than anyone else.
Hope it helps :)

Skill Tips: GPA (good if u have 8.0+)
Skills: Internship work, Positions of responsibility , Leadership skills, team work
College Name: IIT MADRAS
Motivation: Good FMCG..great growth (if u work straight for 15 yrs in ITC u can easily reach the top positions of the company)..nice pay :P
good hours of work like may be max 10hrs per day...

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Pointer and decent CCA.

Round: Group Activity
Experience: Similar GD topic every time. Consult online to get an idea

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: Mostly about your projects and internship. Basic questions related to subject. Be confident and be ready to answer regarding the application of your work.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: A normal basic HR round

College Name: NIT WARANGAL

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Making a resume is a vital step in for placement preparation. Resume is your first impression.
Tips: Try to make it as impactful as possible. Align your resume according to the needs of the company.

Round: Group Discussion
Tips: Practice a lot since it is an inevitable part of the process. Improve communication skills by speaking inpromptu on as many topics as you can.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: This is the final step for many companies. You simply can't afford to lose here.
Tips: Take mock interviews. Moreover, well prepared answers to these questions will give you the confidence to crack the personal interview.

General Tips: Choose your career option early. Do not run after monetary benefits while selecting your career option.
Skills: Engineering Chemistry, Core Mechanical Engineering topics, Specific Electrical Engineering topics
College Name: IIT KANPUR