Mu Sigma Trainee Decision Scientist Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Round: Test
Experience: It was a very different and exiting test as compared to other company aptitude tests. It was more of a fun test rather than a quant test. Negative marking was present. The test was divided into two parts: 60 mins and 30 mins.
The 60 mins part consisted of 4 sections:
1. Quant and Logic
2. Language
3. Creativity
4. Personality Assessment
Here, you need to use your time well. You can switch between these sections.
Quant was only 10 questions, which were quite easy.Main questions were based on Number theory, probability, profit & loss.
Then there were logical reasoning questions where you need to put in proper thinking, which requires time. Personality assessment had tricky questions like "would you lie for the company", "would you use office stationery for personal home use", "What is the joke made of you often and how would you rate it?".Answered these quickly and truly.
The 30 mins part also consisted of 2 sections:
1. DATA ANALYSIS(Write what all you infer from the given table)
2. Picture description(What do you infer from the image below)
These sections were very easy. No preparation required as such. Just apply the common sense and linguistic skills. Make sure grammar is correct. Be precise. Long essay not required.
Tips: Do not panic.
The time alloted is plenty. Use it well.
Most of the Personality assessment and quant questions had come from the Mu Sigma sample question list, which is available online through mu apt.
Answer only those questions which you are sure about.
Duration: 90 minutes
Total Questions: 55

Round: Video Synthesis
Experience: A video will be played for 17 minutes. The requirement was to note down in points, what I had inferred from the video. The video played would be of any genre. It may be a short inspirational movie scene or the CEO lecture. For me, it was a promotional and summarizing lecture given by the CEO. I was given 10 minutes and I had to write what I had inferred from the video on a small card, provided by the recruiters.
Tips: Note here that it was expected that we write 3 main takeaways and NOT the summary. Do not fill the card with an essay. Put down three strong bullet points. Do not write what was already there in the video.


Round: Group Discussion
Experience: We were a group of 10 and the GD went on for about 20 minutes.We were told that we would be judged on how much we speak, our understanding of the topic, the amount of factual data we put in etc. The recruiter was observing us all the time and noting down his observations,each time we said a point. At the end of the discussion, the recruiter himself stopped us and asked each one of us to conclude the discussion.
Tips: 1) Use the time given to think properly and formulate proper set of points.
2) Stick to your points and put them forward convincingly.
3) Be loud and confident. Look at your group members while speaking and not at the recruiter.
4) Listen to what the others have to say. Make a mental/written note of all the relevant points discussed, which will help you while concluding. If you disagree with anyone's point, convey it politely.
5) Do not dominate over others.
Duration: 20 minutes

Round: HR Interview
Experience: My personal interview was a combination of HR and a bit of technical. Basic questions like "tell me about yourself", "hobbies", "tell me about your family","are your comfortable coming to Bangalore", "what do you feel about our package" were asked. Apart from that, I was asked how many branches does my college have, Why I chose Information Technology, Which subjects are different between Computer Engineering and Information Technology. The recruiter also asked me what was my favorite subject. He told me to introduce the contents of the subject to him and asked a few technical questions on it. I was also asked "If I am the store manager of McDonald's what will be the day to day decisions I will be taking?". I had already thought of an answer for this question since I had read it on ambition box before the interview day. I thank ambition box for making me acquainted with it.
Tips: 1. Relax. If you have reached this level, you have very high probability of being selected. PI is the easiest and the most fun round in Mu Sigma.
2. Use the "tell me about yourself" as a star question. Cover all the basic things like Name, current ongoing education/job details, strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, family introduction, your goals and your values.
3. There is no need to be very formal but maintain politeness and honesty while answering.
4. Be sure that you know why you want to work with an Analytics company. Specially if you are a coder, they ask you why you chose Analytics over Software development.
5. Make sure you are comfortable going to Bangalore, before telling them that you do.

Prepare these basic questions:
1. Tell Me About Your Self?
2. What are your Strengths?
3. What are your Weakness?
4. Why you want to join our company?
5. Why I Should hire you?
6. Are you willing to Relocate or travel?
7. What is the Difference between Hard work & Smart Work?
8. What is the difference between Confidence & Over Confidence?
9. What are your Short term and long term plans?
10. Can you work under pressure?
11. Would you lie for the company?
12. Give me an example of your creativity.
13. What makes you angry?
14. Who is your role model?
15. What was the toughest decision you ever had to make?
16. If you won a lottery of Rs 1 crore, would you still work?
17. On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself?
18. On a scale of 1 to 10, rate me as an interviewer?
19. If not selected what will you do?
20. Are you overqualified for this position?
21. Are you already placed in any company?
22. Are you satisfied with the Placement Procedure?
23. How much salary are you expecting?
24. Do you have any questions?


General Tips: Be confident
Go through the MuSigma website to find out their work culture, values, customers etc.
Have patience

Skill Tips: Practise Quant and Logical Reasoning on a regular basis

Skills: Smartness, Personality, Logical Thinking, Analytical Skills
College Name: Vidyalankar Institute Of Technology
Motivation: Fastest growing company, Young and smart peer group, Opportunity to solve the problems of customers belonging to different domains like Technology, Pharma, Banking, Retail etc.
Funny Moments: The presentation showed during HR talk consisted of a section called "why would you join Mu Sigma", which was quite funny. A guy was shown, whose thoughts on the left side said "Fastest growing company",Young and smart peer group","good values" etc, and the thoughts on the right side said "Great package", "girlfriend", "big house, car", "travel round the world" etc. While explaining this, the recruiter said "the left side is why you should join Mu Sigma, and the right side will automatically come haha!"

Round: Problem Statement
Experience: They actually let me think about a real time problem to judge me and I enjoyed the experience
Tips: Don't rush into providing a solution without thinking about the problem at hand

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It was a good experience as I was made to feel comfortable in the interview and was asked very general questions about my past. They've looked into my responses in the previous rounds and had a constructive discussion around my responses. I've been given an offer letter at this stage
Tips: Relax

General Tips: You either fit in or you don't. Being yourself and dealing with pressure are a couple of things that will help your chances though
Skill Tips: Don't let pressure get the better of you
Skills: Verbal Communication skills, Thought Process
College Name: NIT Warangal
Motivation: No previous motivation. The way they described their company was good though :)

Round: Test
Experience: The aptitude test was conducted as a part of the CoCubes online exam that we were supposed to attempt. It was different than most of the aptitude exams that I have given so far. It consisted of negative marking, so I had to be cautious while attempting each question. They tested us mostly on our English skills and how well could we interpret a particular scenario or a picture followed by basic quant and logic questions. It was interesting yet challenging.
Tips: Since the exam contains negative marking, it's best to attempt questions that we absolutely know the answer to. Any wild guesses can cost us a lot. I was very cautious while attempting the questions. In fact, I left a few questions from each section. It really doesn't matter until you are pretty confident about the questions that you've answered. Make sure that the questions that you answer are 100% correct.
Duration: 90 min minutes

Round: Video Synthesis
Experience: Once I was shortlisted, I was called for further rounds and the first one was video synthesis. I was told that in this round, we would be shown a clipping and we would have to interpret it and that's exactly what happened with me. It was a 17 minute video where the CEO of the company was taking a lecture session. Once the video ended, we were given 10 minutes to write 3 strong points that we understood from the video. I was told before hand, not to explain about what you saw in the video but, what you understood from it and that's exactly what I did.
Tips: There's a reason why it's called video synthesis and not video summary. Best keep your points crisp and to the point. Do not repeat what you've already seen in the video. Write what you understood from it and just keep it short.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: We were a group of 10 students. The duration of the discussion was about 45 minutes. We were given 3 topics. Each spread over 15 minutes. They were all based on general topics. Nothing too fancy or difficult. We were told before we begun the discussion that we would be judged on how well we articulate our thoughts and not based on how much we speak or how many fancy words we use in the discussion.
Duration: 45 minutes minutes

Round: HR Interview
Experience: My HR interview went pretty well. I was not very tensed as my interviewers made me feel comfortable. It was just a basic HR round and I made sure that I put my best foot forward.

Skills: Logical Thinking, Proficiency In English, Ability To Analyse
College Name: GITAM University Hyderabad Campus

Round: Test
Experience: The test was conducted by cocubes.com. I didn't even clear the aptitude during the on campus process. It's fairly easy though. Attempt at least 13 questions. I think the cut-off was around 10. Around 450 students passed this barrier.

Round: case study
Experience: Some details were provided about a pharmaceutical company. We were expected to write down 3 questions that we deemed important regarding the details provided. Also we were to ask 3 additional questions that would give additional details about the problem statement. (10 minutes). These two rounds were combined and then there was an elimination. Around 100 people cleared these rounds.

Round: video synthesis
Experience: A video featuring Mr.DhirajRajaram (CEO of Mu Sigma) was screened. In the video, he explained the core values of Mu Sigma. We were expected to synthesise the video. Write down three main points about what we got from the video.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Our GD was initially based on the video itself. After 10 minutes, our monitor gave us a new topic- Iron Man vs. Super Man. 3 from 8 people were selected. The selection was based on the quantity as well as quality of the matter you spoke. Again, these 2 rounds were combined and then an elimination. At least 50 cleared this round.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: There are scores given to you based on your performance in each round. So after the GD round, if you pass a certain threshold, you'd have only one interview with the senior HR. I didn't, so had to go through 2 interviews. My 1st interview lasted for 65-70 minute. The other half of my interview was based entirely on my resume. Questions about my experience as the Head of Finance for IETE and Udaan'14 were asked. I had to tell him in great details about what did I actually do. What did I learn from my experience and would you recommend your juniors taking up such positions.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: I had to wait for 3 hours for the final interview confirmation. The last interview was a kind of a formality I suppose. Questions like tell me about yourself and my hobbies were asked. Then again resume based questions were asked. I was asked to ask some questions about the company. (Always ask). I asked two questions and I was done.

College Name: IIT MADRAS