Pierian Services Associate Consultant Interview Questions and Answers

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Be yourself. If don't know anything don't give wrong answer

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Be confident

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Stay calm, it's more of a discussion

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The case I got was about an International brokerage firm trying to enter India. It had three options to do so, acquiring an Indian firm, JV, and entering alone. Case involved a lot of data. I took a good 2-3 minutes initially to come up with a good MECE(mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive) structure to work with, which was appreciated by the interviewer. Finally, he asked me to value a firm based on some data that he had given me, as I was going along the acquisition route.
Tips: It is essential to go about getting the structure right. think aloud, ask the interviewer at every point as to whether you are going on the right path, look for subtle hints from the interviewer.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: A lot of questions related to my CV were asked from positions of responsibility to my social work initiatives. He also clarified a lot of my doubts about the PMP practise at McKinsey, which I intended to work for.
The case was about a tractor firm, which was the market leader till about six months back, but has lost market steadily since then. I used the Porter's value chain framework, which he was very impressed with, He straightaway told me to skip quite a few analyses areas and I quickly came with problem as the company was offering less margin to its non-exclusive retailers, as compared to the competition. I triangulated my conclusion by asking as to what were the margins offered before the firm started losing market share and the interviewer was very happy about this.
Tips: Thinking aloud is something I cannot stress upon enough. Use MECE approach to make your framework waterproof. Try triangulating the conclusions drawn if any.

General Tips: Ask for clarification if you get stuck in-between.
Maintain your calm.
Skills:
Duration: 2 months
College Name: IIM Lucknow

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I asked him about the product X? and how important it is for the telecom service providers? is it a big part of their costs ? – he said some arbit stuff – this was a hint that it was a bigger overall strategy case and not into details – so I defined the case as – the CEO wants to know, what to do to increase the profits both in short and long term – he said yes - I immediately moved to the standard profit loss framework and started looking at revenue first - he said OK – I said profit = Price* Quantity and went to pricing... he had said that the telecom service providers were not very sensitive to pricing in the business.. so I dint come to reducing the pricing... I asked about the competitive landscape – our client is 35% business... it went on and on an on ..... could not reach anywhere.. so we went to costs... discussed everything.. excess capacity.. joint ventures.. MnA,..still nothing..so he said.(the discussion was a very intelligent substance discussion.. not general profit loss cases.). – we had a great discussion on both prices and quantity,, why don’t u see decreasing the price – I said.. “ooooooo I thot of it, but then u said that the players are insensitive to price “ - he said “ they WERE, the whole industry as I told u is seeing some problems” – PICK UP THE HINTS... -- once he said this I went to the cost structure of the firm again – I said that our client can play price war only if a) his variable costs are lower than competitors variable costs and he is playing on high investment low variable cost model (reliance model) – he said YES it is exactly this way – I said OK , then let him price X above his variable cost but below the others variable costs and drive the competition away. – I also said, to speeden this up he should in fact price it lower than his variable costs also (extremely low and he can afford it because he has cash with him as he has been on 40% profits for the last 4 – 5 years.. so there should not be an issue on the working capital side – he sair “great” .. he wanted to stop and asked me to summarize the case.. – I summarized the case, and also gave some more ideas like .. seeing the cost and benefit of doing away with excess capacity rite now and adding again when the market is doing good, buying high fixed cost players in the sector.. etcc etc.. a lot more.. – he patiently listened to everything Then he asked me if I had anything to ask him? I asked similar question as I asked in Mck – “ has India become a net contributor to the knowledge base..- he told me about low cost Indian manufacturing.. I said cool... and he said super cool!
Tips: a) work on your resume b) Make the resume in such a way that irrespective of whatever – the you are able to guide the interviewer to THE thing you want to talk about – link all answers to that DO NOT OVERPREPARE – DON’T LOOSE YOUR NATURAL SELF

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Upfront questions – where in the value chain? – ans.. they make towers and maintain them .. and into providing services too.—so I asked details on the portfolio of services and portfolio of work of tower etc. – he gave me everything including margins.. so margins in tower making etc were low – I asked him if he is sure that its not just an accounting issue.—he appreciated the point and said .. no, they do ABC and might be small accounting issues but not really one—I said ok.. and moved on to profitability framework .. revenue – costs --- so I said we will look at the tower making etc.. (pareto) – he said perfect.. – went to revenue... he hinted therez nothing there , I said great! Jumped to costs (didn’t waste time at all) - asked him costs heads .. he gave the following .. – a) Tower making, b) people c) administration (I don’t remember the terminology correctly but the remember the discussion) Discussion on tower making – I said “ so Navneet, what does it include” – he said making and servicing and maintaining and some back office work – so I said following can be wrong (BE CREATIVE, I started throwing solutions/ideas) (i) are the people skilled? Know how much material are they using (extra material = extra cost) (ii) is the quality of material too high (more than required quality increases the costs) (iii) is there rework happening? – are people good?(iv) What kind of designs are there – he said there are various different types of designs – I asked why? – he said no one knows – I said .. are they required? – he said , no – I said then standardize the design! He looked happy – so I started throwing more ! – he said no, lets move on to other ones Discussion on people – people cost = wage * numbera) are outsourced people expensive – yes they are – are they doing some specialized job? – not really, they can be replaced – then replace them b) can we multiskill people – yeah we can – then do that! c) Can we move our service centers to low cost destinations – yes we can d) Can we reallocate people to reduce number of people – yes we can – but can we fire them? – are they unionized? – yes they are and he appreciated the point that I touched upon the fact that the unions are tough to handle ( learning : know your industry, small things can make you win the case Discussion on administration a) planning happening ok? – no – so scheduling, audits have to be done again and again (I did not come up with this point alone. It was a result of a thorough discussion .

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: i said – its an opportunity (no structure , we were taking a walk after all) because it opens up a full market – he said ‘ what shud the competitors do” – I kept on saying a lot of things... - they should lobby with government to stop this .. bla bla bla bla – the discussion was round and round and round.. I was tired with my high heels—then suddenly I said – Arvind can you tell me if I am on the right track ? , am little tired – he smiled and said, ok I again ask you “ what can they do to stop the nano or get ready for the market” – this statement gave me clarity and I said “ ok we can stop nano from coming, or do some other stuff” – he said great , so lets discuss both one by one – (remember that once you asked for clarity then you have to crack the rest of the case, else you are dead) –so I picked up stopping nano to hit the market discussion on stopping Nano to hit the market –
(i) demand side hit – lobby with the activists and say that the infrastructure isn’t ready and hence nano should not be allowed ( he liked it)
(ii) demand side hit -Increase the advertisements on how “Indians have to be sensitive about infrastructure” ( he liked it)
(iii) supply side hit – can we buy out the suppliers? – can we promise them some other meat? – like get them under long term agreements etc
(iv) Supply side hit – can we buy out the low cost suppliers to tatas ( I told them, that my thinking was to stop providing necessary materil that gets into nana
(v) Supply side – can we buy their engineers
(vi) And some more discussion, I don’t quite remember .but ya on similar lines What else they can do till they develop their own low cost (i) can they give fire to second hand car market ( as this is the immediate competition to nano) (ii) he kept on probing me on public transport till I said – why cant they collaborate with the government and make the public transport so easy and good and safe that people don’t need nano! BINGO.. ( he loved it- tho he only got that in my head – amazing guide he is) he still looked dissatisfied and asked me there is something else that is missing.. – something that is a real threat to the competitors of tatas. – we kept on discussing, till I suddenly remembered the team that made the engine is of 30 years average age (READ THE CURRENT ISSUES, IT HELPS BUILD PERSPECTIVE) – so I said “ they have the engineering skills, which can be used to enter other segments (like they can make cheaper engines for indigo .. or come up with new car in ford Ikon category etc).. and this resource is just too good! – BINGO
Tips: a) Be genuine b) Be grounded c) Be yourself d) Be confident e) Be transparent f) Be blunt (but carry it ) g) Connect with the interviewer – genuinely h) Be aware of the current issues

Skills: Case Solving Ability, Case Analysis
College Name: Indian School Of Business (ISB)

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: Case Study Interview
Experience: After some general questions related to my profile, academic background, work-experience and interests they moved to cases.
1. Your client wants to establish a cement factory. How would you approach and what all factors would affect the location decision?
2.Your client has developed an eye solution, using which a customer can do without spectacles. However, one unit works only for one day. So, an user will have to consume fresh unit everyday for solving same problem. Assume that the cost of producing these units is negligible. The cost incurred so far is on Research and Development which is substantial amount. How should they market and price the products?
3. Estimate the market for second hand cars in India?
4. Moser bear has launched DVD range at affordable prices of Rs. 30-40. a MUSIC COMPANY, x has been in the market for last few years and has been selling DVD's for Rs. 250-300. How should they react to the situation of continuously falling demand?
5. Estimate the demand for cricket bats in India
6. Estimate the size of surat textile Industry?
Tips: Don't focus on getting the right solution as cases don't have just one solution. The interviewer is interested in seeing your approach not the result.

General Tips: Focus and pick up the cues from the interviewer.
Skills:
Duration: 2
College Name: IIM Lucknow

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