KPMG India Functional Consultant Interview Questions and Answers

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The trick here was to recognize that even though the firm had several hundred clients in each city, it was a few big clients that contributed to most of it's revenue and a distribution network targeting these few clients was the expected recommendation.
Some standard HR questions were asked, about what I would consider my most significant achievement, why consultancy etc.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The task was to explore possibility of synergy in this acquisition. The case was based entirely on common sense and elementary mathematics. The interviewer wanted me to write an equation showing how costs would reduce if two companies merge.
HR questions were about my strengths, weaknesses etc.

General Tips: 1.Work on your communication skills.
2.Consultancies look for "spikes" in your career. spikes are the areas in your resume where you have shown outstanding performance.
3.Practice the case studies in groups. Avoid technical jargon and frameworks.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: My resume was shortlisted only twice but thankfully that was all I needed. First for Deutsche Bank (Corporate Finance summer internship, August 2013) and second for Boston Consulting Group (October 2014). I was confident about my academic interns, projects and position of responsibility. However, I was little bit unsure about my CPI which doesn't stand well among my peers. Overall, my experience for resume shortlisting has been plain and uneventful.
Tips: In order to overcome this section, one can find the following advice useful:Your resume should convey a story about you. At least, you should be able to narrate a story about yourself during HR interviews. When I say 'story', it means that your resume points shouldn't contradict each other. For example, if you are/(show in your CV) a research oriented student, then every POR you took should be justified and shouldn't reflect that you were simultaneously interested in pursuing corporate career. There should be at least one pillar in the resume which can catch the interest of the interviewer (obviously during the short listing because I believe resume isn't of much use during the personal interview).Stringent Editing ( CV 101) - Minimize the blank spaces and resume should look ordered; Things important to you (Foreign internship/positions of responsibility/summer internship/publications) should be mentioned in the 1st half of the page. You can change the order of the heading (Scholastic Achievements/Position of responsibility/Summer Internships/Publications).If you have more than 2 points under a sections then it's better to use tabular presentation format i.e. use tables Usually, I have noticed in many shortlisted CVs that it would be beneficial to show your interest in particular subject either via 'Courses undertaken/Area of interest/Academic projects'.
Get your resume reviewed by at least 3-5 distinguished seniors excluding Placement cell guides etc. It is of utmost importance.

Skill Tips: Case in point is best for Case study. Guesstimate problems can be easily found on internet. However, I learnt guesstimates from my wing mates and it was the shortest way to gain the knowledge
Skills: Case study Solving, Leadership, HR skills, Finance Current affairs, Guesstimation, Macroeconomics
College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: This part is frustrating; especially while getting reviews after you've made a draft. However, after heavy editing based on advice from seniors, it gave me a good head-start and confidence to move on to future preparation towards placements.
Tips: Management consulting shortlist is very strongly resume based. Hence the resume is the most crucial asset for getting a shortlist in the first place. When you know the success rate for getting shortlisted is less than 10%, you better make sure your resume makes the cut.

Detailed instructions and tips on how to make a good consulting resume can be found in many books(I referred to 'Killer Consulting Resumes' by Wetfeet which is good to get your basics); It is too extensive for me to elaborate here hence I will avoid the commonly available knowledge about peaks, focus, etc. 

Summarizing the most important aspect which according to me is - Make sure every bullet-ed point has three things - 'WHAT you did, WHY/HOW you did, and the RESULTS'. All 3 should be included in one single line of text in the most robust use of words making sure you convey these. Another extremely important step in making a resume is getting reviews from seniors and alumni in firms where you are applying. This part is irritating and frustrating at times because you will need multiple iterations till the resume is refined. The key is not to get affected while getting reviews from different people and stay as objective as possible - trust me, this is not that easy as it sounds, it gets demotivating when people are critiquing on what you did in your life and how should it be portrayed on paper. This process of getting comments will never stop even after multiple iterations because of difference in opinions among the reviewers; you need to stop when you have knowingly turned down several comments keeping your own perspective in mind till you are content with your resume.

Finally make sure you complete your resume well before deadlines to avoid blunders and dissatisfaction and make sure a printed copy looks aesthetically appealing.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: General format for all the case study rounds was: (1) Tell me about yourself : I had prepared a list of what I wanted to speak about and memorized the key points to present a 2 minute monologue. However, I very keenly made sure to strike a conversation on any part where the interviewer interrupted me out of interest to ensure it sounded more like a conversation between two colleagues rather than a speech by a candidate to an interviewer. (2) Case: Coming back to the case mentioned in the question above:I considered 3 factors:(1) Market size for each geography and their growth rates(2) Market capture from competition(3) Profit per unitInterviewer: Using 1 graph each and nothing else, represent all of the 3 factors mentionedI drew the 3 most relevant graphs that came to my mind for each of the 3 factors mentioned. (3) Questions for the interviewer: I used to generally ask the guys outside the interview room to give me a brief introduction of the interviewer before the interview started. I used to use that information to ask a question to the interviewer in this part of the interview hoping to strike a chord with him before leaving.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Ask objective of driver? – Higher returns

·        
Calc returns (profits) for each case as your driver and as a Meru cabs driverSalary 15000 per month + bonus of 1 month salary annually.

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Meru cabs: Aggregator (no cabs of their own)
Driver need to get his own car and register on Meru cabs.

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Cost on EMI: new car – 30000 p.m. Old car –
15000 p.m.

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Cost of maintainence of old car: Rs 1.5/km

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Meru promises 15 pickups of 20 km each day at Rs
30/km. There is an additional 50% driving distance which is not paid by client

·        
Cost of fuel = Rs 72/L. Mileage 12 kmpl

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I typically had never expected a case of this sort as it was too broad and undefined to give in an interview. However, it clearly looked like a case of organisational reconstruction and portfolio management. In the little time I had, I decided to give an idea of how I would proceed to solve such a case rather than really solve the case by using the BCG matrix. I clearly explained the matrix making sure I had conveyed that I knew what is actually was rather than just throwing jargon around.

I don't really know how the interviewer took my approach(as it was too text-bookish);he could neither object since it was an established case solving technique nor appreciate it as there was nothing creative in it.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Use costs and discuss – final problem was increased R&D costs for customization of various gears while adding new clients

Skills: Problem Solving, Pressure Handling, Communication , Logical Thinking, Hardwork, Presentation skills
College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Interview 1: This was a good case study and it did take me some time and help to get to the answer. The client was in the air conditioning business. It was barely break even while the competitors were making profits. Why and what could be done about the situation? Initial discussions revealed that the client had 2 products ; room air conditioners & central air conditioning systems. The central air conditioning systems were profitable but the room air conditioners were making losses. We went into a lot of details but whatever cost cutting we did, could also be achieved by the competitors in course of time. So there was no core differentiation that would give our client the edge. The competitors were multinationals like LG, Samsung etc. but the reason they were making profits were not because of economies of scale but because these companies have much lower marketing costs as they normally market a brand (eg LG) and not a product alone. This edge could never be achieved by our client as he was only in the air conditioning business. So it was a good idea to exit the room air conditioning market and focus on our strength in the central air conditioning market. Interview 2: The second interview had a case on valves. But we never got to the end because of shortage of time. Interview 3: This was a very interesting case study. The client is a cement manufacturing company which has to choose the best sales person of the year. There were four candidates A, B, C & D. Now what criteria should we use to choose the best sales person? The interviewer explained me how the sales business works in the cement industry. You have dealers who do the selling. The sales people negotiate deals with the dealers who have a commission on every sale. This gave us multiple criteria for judging a sales person ; total sales, best deals, maximum % of sales in the city, incremental sales since last year, presence at best dealers, good margins etc. The interviewer made sure that every criterion gave a different answer. So in the end there was no clear answer to the question. So we decided it would be a better idea to state the criterion in the beginning of the year and choose the best sales person accordingly.

College Name: IIT BOMBAY

General Tips: Just be yourself. They mostly see in a candidate behavioural instincts required for consulting. How much pressure and travel you can do ?
Skills: Communication, Body Language, Problem Solving, Leadership, Decision Making Skills
Duration: >3 Months

General Tips: If you are into technology and aiming to get into big 4’s then you must also have a good hold over the business/ process related aspects apart from the technical knowledge.

Skills: Process analysis , Communication, Body Language, Problem Solving, Analytical Skills, Leadership, Presentation Skills, Decision Making Skills
Duration: <1 week

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I think they mostly look for a well rounded profile with a decent PORs and Internships. Be sure to quantify whatever you have done and show the impact you have made.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: They look for people who can speak out well and express their opinion in a clear concise manner. Try to start the GD by introducing yourself and structuring the GD. Express valid points. Appreciate others if they have made a valid point. Overall make sure you stand out.
Duration: 15 minutes

Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: It was situation based interview. Took around 20 minutes. Try to connect whatever you have done with the questions. For example, if they ask you 'Tell me a time when you had to face a challenge and how did you overcome the challenge?'. SO connect it with your past experiences during an internship and then convince them how you overcame it.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It was more like an general HR interview with the partner at E and Y. Don't be nervous. Talk clearly and try to connect with him.

Skills: Communication, Proficiency In English, Organisational Skills
College Name: IIT Madras

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Wish you all the best for your placements. 395 students applied for the profile. There were 3 profiles of Asscociate Consultant, Exceutive, Executive PFI open for the placements during December 2016. 7, 2 and 8 students got placed in each profile. 95 students are shortlisted for GD out of 395 students applied for this profile.

The students were allowed to apply for all the 3 profiles but were asked for preference later among these 3 profiles. Students are shortlisted for only 1 profile based on their 1st preference so be careful in choosing your interested profile. I don't know the criteria for resume shortlist exctly other than the preference selected out of 3 profiles
Tips: 1. Choose your profile preference with utmost care as it decides the final shortlist for GD of each profile.
2. Be careful in writing your RESUME as the interview is completely on Resume and HR questions. There were no puzzles/ guesstimates/ anything else other than resume and HR in interviews

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: There was a group of 10. We were asked to choose our own topic. As the topic trending is Demonetization everyone unanimously agreed with the suggested topic by one of the group members. This was a very big advantage as compared to other groups where the topic was given by the moderator and were very difficult to speak. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR OWN QUESTION BY SUGGESTING THE ONE YOU'RE BEST AT. YOU'LL LOSE IF YOU'RE AFRAID.

I've started the discussion by structuring and spoke moderately during the GD. It was difficult due to a good group and tough competition. Please get proper GD fundaes as it's very important to get selected for the interview.

It's very important to note the points during discussion. In our case, moderator asked everyone in the group to conclude and you can't do it without writing down points from discussion
Tips: 1. Sit back relaxed. Never lean to front on your chair and never slouch.
2. Try crossing your legs as it shows your confidence to the moderator and highly increases your chance of shortlisting.
3. Always keep smile on your face. Remember it's just a smile.....don't laugh/ smile very wide. Smile reduces the tension/ stress in you and gives a lot of relief to everyone.
4. Take note of the points spoken by all to give a conclusion.
5. SLIGHTLY RISKY BUT PAYS OFF A LARGE DIVIDEND - Try taking a stand different from everyone in your group. It makes the moderator think you add a different perspective to the team in general and you'll get shortlisted. But be careful that you need to have such stance during discussion and also need to mention points supporting your argument.

Ex: In the end when moderator asked to conclude I said "I'm not in support of Demonetization" whereas everybody else said they were in support of Demonetization

Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: It began with a minute of silence which stressed me but don't speak random things to start. Let the interviewer start the interview. You just wish him, shake your hands, give your resume and take a seat. Then he asked, "Tell me about yourself which should be very well prepared if you want this job. MOST OF MY INTERVIEW WAS BASED ON POINTS MENTIONED IN TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF. So, include the best of resume in this question. I've included my intern, operations management course, PoR with an initiative, my best project BTech Project (BTP).

Then he asked about my BTP which involved lot of Data analytics. I've explained the tools used and the entire process briefly including all the techniques used. He was satisfied with my answer due to the confidence levels even though he doesn't know a lot about data analytics.

Next he asked me about Market Research internship which I almost explained for 10 minutes. This was my best pitching point and I've prepared well. It has caught lot of interest in him. It was similar to the work I would be doing after I get this job. So he liked it and asked more about it.

Later he asked about innovation. In this I mentioned one of my project where we designed a new mechanism. Giving examples is the best way to answer any interview question. It means you've done something regarding it than just preparing the answers.

Stregths - Of course everyone needs to prepare it. MOST IMPORTANT Question. Mention the qualities given in skills required along with Job description provided by the company in portal. Again give examples for the qualities mentioned.

Weaknesses - There are several answers available online. Choose the one that suits you best and is not a problem to the company. Try not saying routine answers like too hard-working or too perfect. I said that I used to struggle working on multiple projects in my 1st year. And I've improved a lot by planning and did 3 PoR's in my 3rd year and have given very good results.

Future 5 years- Divide it into short-term(2-3 years) and long-term(5 years). Mention you'll explore and develop expertise in 2-3 years. Then you'll choose the domain of your interest and lead a team to offer best solutions to clients giving a larger impact on the society.

He asked about instances where I was a team-player, when I did social service. He also questioned me about my views regarding turning into a farmer and also about organic farming.

Finally he asked me if I had any questions. My question was "What's the role of analytics in Consultancy copmanies as we don't see lot of information in this sector?" He has explained it for quite some time which is a good sign of asking a good question and lands you brownie points.
Tips: 1. Be thorough with your Resume. He may ask anything from it and you should be able to answer. He didn't go anything out of it so better write a good resume to drive our interview
2. Prepare an exhaustive set of questions by doing good ground work online using Ambition box, Glass door.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It began with the same question Tell me about yourself. Please maintain consistency in giving this answer at every round as they will definitely cross-check your qualities for evaluating you in their evaluation forms. I've mentioned 3 main points in this answer which were asked during the interview. Nothing else was questioned much.

I've explained about my intern, project etc. from the resume.

I've given an example of my competition being converted into course project for my innovative and creative skills. Later I've mentioned my social service activities. I have given many projects of mine as examples to prove that I'm a team-player.

Be best prepared with questions like Why consulting? Why not a start-up? Why corporate job? Why this company? You can use sources like 64 HR Questions.

Be prepared with your list of qualities for strengths. It has helped me in mentioning different types of qualities for each part of the question regarding parents/ friends/ team members/ mentors/ teachers etc.

Of course, I've prepared for only one question to ask and I've been asked if I had any questions in every interview. The interviewer was kind enough to let me go saying that it's not necessary to have questions. I was so happy with the situation. I was quite sure that I'm placed with the end of this round as they kept on taking me round by round for each interview continuously without any gap.
Tips: 1. Be prepared with all the possible HR questions based on ground work using Ambition Box, Glass door. Don't overprepare which will give a feeling that you've by-hearted the answers. Just list out the points for each question and go through them several times so that you can fit that point at any time during the interview just like I've used strengths for the question about my qualities.
2. Be confident and don't bluff
3. Be thorough with your resume
4. Have questions in the end to ask

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It was a job fitting round. I'm sure about my offer after 2nd round of interview. So, I was more confident. However, you shouldn't mess up at any stage before getting the offer letter at least. So you need to do this well too.

Regarding location, say you're okay with any place. Regarding sector ask them for options and choose what interests you more. Also say that you would like to explore and then decide the interested domain in 2-3 years but as of now you would like to begin in that particular sector.

Skills: Integrity, Interest In The Job, Areas Of Interest, Knowledge Of Your Resume Points, Ability To Handle Situations, Adapting To Many Situations, Team Player, Self-Awareness
College Name: IIT Madras