Merilytics Senior Business Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

Round: Test
Experience: The questions were of moderate difficulty level
Duration: 1 hour

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: We were given a case study. Revenues and all sorts of data for each of 5 outlets of a company were given. We were asked to thoroughly study the data and come to a conclusion about which of the outlets should be shut down.

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: Questions were asked from concepts of statistics and econometrics. They asked me about my studies, my internship and my future plans. The interviewers were friendly.

College Name: Jadavpur University, Kolkata

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: The selection process was open for students from all branches. Around 70 students were shortlisted based on their resume. Shortlisting was mainly on CGPA basis and on an average 5 top students were shortlisted from each branch.

Round: Test
Experience: There was a written test conducted for shortlisted candidates. The test was primarily based on the CAT pattern where questions were asked from verbal reasoning, logical reasoning and quantitative aptitude. The test comprised of 2 sections. First section comprised of 3 HR questions:
Why do you want to join this company?
Tell us about yourself.
Describe a situation where you displayed leadership skills.
These 3 questions were to be typed out in 150–200 words each in a total of 20 minutes. Second section started immediately after this. 25 minutes were given to answer 35 multiple choice questions from various sections including 10 coding based questions. The difficulty level was medium.
Duration: 45 minutes
Total Questions: 38

Round: HR Interview
Experience: They asked me to tell them about myself and also some puzzles and core field related questions. Interview was conducted using Skype. It started with basic HR question and then the interviewer asked me about my area of interest. He asked two questions from that field and then asked me to solve one guesstimate case. There was another question on the definition of data analysis.
My area of interest was Operations Research. First he asked me to explain transportation problem and second question was about solving a transshipment problem using Excel solver software. Other candidates were also asked some puzzles and several other HR questions.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE

Round: Test
Experience: The tests are held using the platform of Cocubes. First section has HR questions such as "why Axtria?" and other stuff. I don't think its really necessary and I presume that nobody looks at it. The sections 2, 3 and 4 are fairly easy. But since the test is easy, you should also keep this in mind that the cutoff might be high. The coding section had basic question of C, C++ and Java. Don't worry even if you don't know java. All in all, the questions are very "do-able" and one should easily crack them.
Tips: I'd advice aspirants to go through the concepts of OOPs; just a brief glance at it, not necessarily mastering it. There's no negative marking, so try attempting all the questions. Also the test is of 2 hours with 60 minutes for sections 2, 3 and 4.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: The GD round is quite simple. A group is formed of 8-10 people. Everyone gets a chance to speak, unless it's your bad day with a cartoon character in the same group with you.
One person didn't really want, but was forced to appear for the selection process. So from the very beginning, he was trying for a "suicide". So there was a bit of negation in arguments which might have killed us all. But the interviewers really want everyone to put up their points and gave equal opportunities.
Before proceeding with your points, each of us had to introduce ourselves and then put up our points. There was a lot of desperation in my GD, so there were moments when people were actually arguing. So one really had to grab their chance when speaking.
The other groups had topics like, "Social media in daily life", "Pros and cons of using Cloud", etc. Their GD was very methodical, everyone speaking turn by turn and in the end anyone was asked to conclude the session.
In the end, about 2 people are eliminated, so in order to fail, you really have to suck at public speaking. Otherwise, take it for granted that you're going through for the next round.
Tips: I'd suggest people to have a go at number 3 or 4, once you've gauged the nature of the discussion. Try to put up all your points very briefly, giving an example or two. Don't negate other people's arguments and agree with people who's thoughts are in line with yours. Even if you want to negate others, do it very subtly. Try to be involved as much as possible. Be the best listener, moderate the GD when you're not active and when you're speaking, be very confident.
Duration: 10-12 minutes

Round: Guesstimate Interview
Experience: Since I did not have any background in analytics, the interviewer had to ask me other questions. At first she asked me about statistics, which I was not really confident about. At this point, I was almost certain to crash out. But luckily, the next question she asked me was the above guesstimate. This being one of my stronger skills, was quite OK for me, and I handled this question well enough. The interviewer was quite impressed with my approach and was smiling as if advertising for Colgate, at the end of the interview. This instilled some confidence in me, that I was going through, at least for this round. But this was, as one would say, lady luck, saving me. Other candidates, who had a background in analytics, were asked only about their previous internships (not too technical).
Tips: If you have a background in analytics, then just go through all your projects. If you do not have any such skills, then brush up your guesstimates. Other person who was like me, was asked to estimate the time after which a boiler needed maintenance (he was from Mechanical). Another guy was asked how would one determine that a person is fraud or not; if he withdrew about 10K in first three months and then 50K in the 4th month, from his credit card. So case-study and guesstimates are a must if you don't have analytics on your CV.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: There was a panel of 3 interviewers. Other candidates (analytics guys) were simply asked to convince them that they would work for the company for the foresee-able future. I, on the other hand, was asked to convince them, why I am the guy for Axtria. I had to defend myself, for having internships in different backgrounds and how would I be suitable for analytics. Then they asked me that since I had worked in an logistics company, why did not I go for my own start-up. Again I said a few things, which was basically running around, why do I want to work for Axtria. Luckily, I managed to convince them in the end. But still I did not have that good a feeling about this round. When asked about higher studies, I told them that I had plans but not in the near future.
Tips: This one was pretty dependent on how you'd defend your CV. But otherwise, it should be a very simple experience for analytics guys. Axtria goes for elimination rather than selection in its process. So unless you really suck at giving interviews, you can give yourself a fair chance of getting selected. Also, since they have a 3 month long training period, it is not really necessary that you have analytics on you CV. But for a guy like me, you have to be very convincing about yourself and make them believe that Axtria and you are a match made in heaven.

General Tips: If you're confident with conversing in English and are convincing enough, it shouldn't be really difficult. Also, the conversion rate is about 0.5 i.e. half of the shortlisted people are going to get selected. So there's no need to be nervous.
Skills: Data Analysis, Probability And Statistics, Guesstimation Cases
College Name: IIT Kharagpur
Funny Moments: After selection was complete, a girl asked: Sir, do we have to work on Sundays?

Round: Test
Experience: LR, DI, Verbal (Not very tough, speed is important)

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Topic for debate - Role of social media in present day revolutions

Round: HR Interview
Experience: 1. Internship and college projects

2. Reason for choosing Analytics as career over technology jobs

3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

4. Did not ask puzzles in my interview although they were asked in some of the interviews (basic puzzles)

College Name: NA