Nalco Management Trainee Interview Questions and Answers

Round: Test
Experience: The written round consisted of 200 questions in 2 hours
1> Technical section (100 questions)
2> Numerical aptitude (25 questions)
3> Logical Reasoning (25 questions)
4> General Awareness (25 questions)
5> English (25 questions)

The level of difficulty of the technical section was quite easy. Most of the questions were for checking the overall concepts and none of them included lengthy calculations. Though time is a factor as you have to solve 100 questions in about 1 hour.
One interesting fact about the exam was that both unanswered questions and wrongly answered questions would cost you negative 1/4th marks and thus it is better to attempt all questions. Some of the questions were from ‘uncommon’ sections like Polymer processing, materials of construction etc.


The mathematical aptitude and logical reasoning questions were very easy and practicing R.S Agarwall level questions would be sufficient. Unlike other PSU exams like ONGC, EIL etc., the general awareness section of SAIL’s exam consisted mostly of contemporary ‘hot topics’ and current affairs rather than generic topics like history, geography.
Tips: For the Technical section I would recommend solving :
1> Chemical engineering objective questions by Ram Prasad
2> Indiabix.com
3> 1 marks questions from previous year GATE papers.

I would recommend the following books for the general awareness sections
1> Lucent’s General Knowledge
2> Monthly current affairs magazines like Pratiyogita Darpan, Competition success etc.
Duration: 120 minutes
Total Questions: 200

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Around 40 people were selected for the GD-PI round for a total of 11 general seats in chemical engineering. Among all the PSU’s, the GD round of SAIL was the most interesting and unique. The GD round itself consisted of 3 separate rounds which continued for about 2 hours.
There were about 10 people in each group and about 5 judges.

Round 1
A general topic was given to the group for discussion. The discussion continued for 20 minutes and the group was not directed to present a final conclusion.
The judges scored each participant on the basis of how they were able to communicate and present their point of view

Round 2
10 qualities like honesty, integrity, knowledge etc. were listed and the group was given a task to order the qualities on the basis of which is most requisite of a politician. Initially each individual had to give his order and submit it to the judges and then the topic would be up for discussion for a period of about 20 minutes. At the end of the discussion, the group was asked to present a final conclusive order.
The judges scored each individual on the basis of
1> How well he was able to communicate his point of view
2> Whether the final order varied from the order that he had submitted initially. That is whether he was able to justify his point of view and persuade others or else he was himself swayed by others in the discussion.

Round 3
The group was presented with a case study. The scenario was that the CEO of a bank was going to retire and his replacement was to be selected out of 5 probable candidates. The profile of the bank and its future path was given to us and also the profiles of the 5 candidates in a 5-6 pages long document. Each individual was given 20 minutes to read the document and present his choice. The topic was then open for discussion for about 20 minutes. At the end of the discussion, the group was asked to come to a final conclusion.
The judges graded each candidate on the basis of
1> How well was he able to communicate his point of view
2> Whether he had read the case study in detail and was clear about his choice.
3> Whether he was able to justify his choice to the other members of the group.
Tips: The judges graded each candidate on the basis of
1> How well was he able to communicate his point of view
2> Whether he had read the case study in detail and was clear about his choice.
3> Whether he was able to justify his choice to the other members of the group.
Duration: 120 minutes

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: The technical interview was of very short duration of about 15 minutes and wasnt tough either. The interviewer might try to confuse you a bit.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The HR questions were mostly directed towards the extracurricular activities that I had done during college

College Name: NIT DURGAPUR

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The focus was

College Name: K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research

Round: Test
Experience: Basic Aptitude and Verbal Test - Easy Questions
Tips: Improve Speed and Accuracy
Duration: 30 minutes
Total Questions: 35

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Two sects formed; one supporting the argument and other opposing it. Wage gap, Indian Mine Law, social pressure, patriarchal mentality and crime against women were discussed.
Tips: Communication skills are more important than content. Show confidence and speak fluently. Factual and grammatical errors can be ignored.
Duration: 15 minutes

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: They were chilled out and were giving time to speak. Little hints were also being given.
Tips: Be thorough with basics and don't give nonsensical answers if you don't know.

Skills: Technical Knowledge(ML
College Name: NIT Raipur

Round: Test
Experience: There were 4 sections related to quant, logical, verbal and technical. The technical part was above par especially if you are mining engineer as most of the question in technical section will be based on course of 6th & 7th semester while company visits after 5th semester.
Tips: The part of aptitude and logical is usually very simple and most of the people easily scores in these sections. As I said technical is tough. So, the main difference is due to marks you get in the verbal ability part.
Do LOD-1 of Arun Sharma and questions from Indiabix.com which will be sufficient for aptitude part. For technical, you can refer some basic notes of u/g coal, ventilation and mine legislation (for mining engineering)
Duration: 120 minutes
Total Questions: 95

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: The GD was little bit unusual as they allowed every one to put forward their points one by one and then counter the points of other if you want. It may depend on the HR guy visiting the campus.
Tips: For GD, just focus on the basics like don't be too dominant, open yourself to points put by other, do not right away take a single side in case of GD with debatable topic.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: It was the 3rd & the last round the Personal Interview. They may have a look at the CV (as was case with me). Usually kept the questions strictly related to the technical and management aspects of mining especially focuses on your projects and papers. They also posed some genuine and general HR questions towards the end of the interview. The main focus in HR question is to find out that will you be adaptable to the remote location of the job.
Tips: Focus on your CV. Never put a false point in it. Be yourself and stay focused in whichever way you can. For me, I listen to music in any such situation and that's what I was doing half an hour before interview. Be dressed up properly as it gives you a lot of confidence boost. Prepare for some basic HR question. Make sure that you put the point where you want interviewer to focus on in the introduction in the best way possible so that interview can take a better and your preferred pathway.

General Tips: Be focused on your goals especially short-term. If you want to prepare for CAT then I would say you should say NO to internship. In case of MS, you can surely grab it. Be sure about this at the start of the 5th semester. Interact with your seniors and colleagues and based on your interest make a suitable decision for yourself.
In case you want the job in core sector then start improving the technical knowledge. Give importance to your B.Tech. project. Adapt yourself to the condition that you will get a remote location if you are a mining engineer
Skill Tips: Start focusing towards building skills from the 5th sem. Getting an intern at any company will help you improve your technical skills. Prepare for aptitude skills as a leisure activity. Form a serious group who are ready to do a GD daily. Get as much technical knowledge as you can and keep your concepts clear. Also maintain a decent GPA as the company usually prefers people with higher grades.
Skills: Technical Questions, Group Discussion Skills, Aptitude
College Name: Indian School of Mines
Motivation: I was not that sure at that time between doing MBA or to remain in the core sector, so for me there was no motivation. I was just going with the flow and BAMM!! got intern. Then i started taking real interest in the technical aspects.
PLEASE DON'T BE LIKE ME!!!
Funny Moments: During interview, I addressed my father working as Govt. Servant instead of employee. The HR wrote that point and asked me about it later after all the technical question. I was left embarrassed and giving lame excuse that it is the word we use in day-to-day language and the whole panel was laughing on me..:P
Thank GOD!! it didn't create too much negative impact

Round: Group Discussion
Tips: be calm and composed, make only meaningful entries
Duration: 30 minutes

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: They'll try to guage your understanding of the steel industry, your interest and your understanding of the TATA culture
Tips: Be truthful and highlight the TATA Values

College Name: MDI

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: SINCE IT WAS A CAMPUS PLACMENT .. SO WHAT U NEED IZ NLY 6 GPA AND 60% CAREER WITH NO BACKLOGS.
Tips: TRY TO KEEP THE ABOVE CRITERIA AT THE TIME OF RECRUITMENT.

Round: Test
Experience: in apti and logical sections ..question were easy...formula based..speed is needed....dnt rely on others...dnt attempt lenthy questions..leave it..for last ..mark them for reviw...solve easy questions first . And in technical section .. u need ur technical knowledge clear which cant be done in 1 day..u need to study them from handbook ou whatever material ..from way back ..say 3-4 months back.
Tips: have faith on urself..dnt rely on other..keep mind cool during exam..foolow certain strategy.
Duration: 120 mins minutes
Total Questions: 120

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: ENOGH OPPURTUNITY WAS THERE FOR EVERYBODY TO SPEAK..ALL U NEED IS TO CAPITALIZE,,,,
Tips: IF POSSIBLE ..START THE GD....DONT SPEAK MUCH..ALLOW OTHER TO SPEAK..LISTEN TO EVERYONE...MAKE POINTS OUT OF THEM...DONT SHOUT..TRY TO WRAP UP....
Duration: 20 MINS minutes

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: TOUCHED EVERY IMP PARTS OF MECH.....DEEP KNOWLEDGE IS NEEDED...SUMMER TRAINING WAS VERY IMP.
Tips: DONT MAKE HR PEOPLE FOOL...THEY HAVE VAST EXPERINCE OF INTERVIW..IF U DNT KNOW THE ANSWER SAY IT ...DNT GIVE FOOLISH ANSWERS.....HAVE DEEP KNOWLEDGE ABT UR SUMMER TRAING..EVERY MINUTE DETAILS ... ITS TOUGH TO MAKE HR PEOPLE CONVINCED EASLY..U NEED TO CONVINCE THEM TO UR ANSWERS.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: I GAVE HONEST ANSWER..
Tips: GIVE HONEST ANSWER..

General Tips: BE SURE.. BE CONFIDENT..BE POSTIVE. DNT THINK OF SELECTION OR REJECTION...ONLY BE HONEST TO UR WORK.
Skill Tips: MAKE SURE U R GOOD AT CORE . IF U PREPARE FOR GATE N U HAVE GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS ..ITS EASY FOR U.
Skills: CORE KNOWLEDGE, SPEAKING SKILLS
College Name: KIIT UNIVERSITY
Motivation: DREAM COMPANY FOR EVERY SINGLE MECHIE
Funny Moments: when hr asked why u wanted to join apart from packafe...i said ki

Round: Test
Experience: Questions were a bit tough. However as there was no negative marking, one could try his luck. In technical section more focus was given on conceptual part. In electronics section much focus was given on biasing. Various sections were there and one cannot traverse back. So questions must be handled carefully.
Tips: For technical section, concepts must be very much clear. And for numerical ability part and book of gate/cat can be of great help. For electronics part ac/dc biasing must be studied carefully.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Discussion should include real life examples. Also focus should be given on in-depth analysis with substances.
Tips: Should have eye contact with everyone. Voice level should be normal. Rest one can refer any standard norms of a GD.

Round: HR Interview
Tips: One should not be nervous while telling these answers

Round: Technical Interview
Tips: Clear basic doubts about machines.

General Tips: Have confidence while saying anything. This is what counts at the end of the day 'answer' with proper way to convince someone.
Skills: Analytical skills, Communicative skills
College Name: NIT ROURKELA

Round: Test
Experience: PPO- I was selected for intern after my third year. There was no cut- off for written test. So almost whole mechanical branch was present there. 120 questions were there; 30 apti and 90 tech. Apti were ok type, I rate the toughness level 7/10. But the technical part was pretty tough.
Total Questions: 120

Round: Other Interview
Experience: Out of around 110 students, 10 were shorlisted for the interview

General Tips: Interview was purely technical, so I would suggest STUDY, nothing else will help. HR questions were pretty simple and I don't think they were serious about HR part. Well I was told that company has excellent policy of awarding PPOs, I was pretty happy with that.
Skill Tips: Well, I was not at all prepared. Anyways, the technical part they asked, it wouldn't have helped much even if I studied.More weightage was from thermodynamics, MOM, SOM and metal cutting.
College Name: NIT SURATHKAL