Quantizer Research Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Wait time is very long to check your patience.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I actually made one mistake in my calculations, but was able to identify it on my own and eventually correct it.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: This interview went really well for me – mainly because I had prepared really pretty well for questions to ask the company after going through their site and discussing it with my friends – so I had 4 good questions to ask them. What also helped me was that I could take 2 very big things off my resume to talk about when asked about my experience in a specific HR situation. After I mentioned the outline of my experience in both situations I was asked 5-6 more probing questions to find out more about the incident and I answered them pretty well.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: It involved a lot of calculations. There were 3 different credit card offers with different costs and profits and we had to choose the best offer for the company. I was told later that my formulation of the problem was good since I set it up and then just put the numbers in the same setup to get the answers.

Skill Tips: a) DONOT lie in your resume
b) Know your resume through and through – you should be able to take 5 minutes on even the most insignificant point of your resume
c) Make it as balanced as possible (in terms of academic, extra curricular, etc)
d) Put specific thought into the words used for all your points – don’t be generic anywhere.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: Test
Experience: DI based questions were asked. Guys preparing for CAT will breeze through the test. Just make a note that the cutoff of Cap One Test is pretty high (Around 22). So try and attempt as many questions as possible.
Duration: 30-45 minutes
Total Questions: 30

Round: Interview
Experience: It was a general HR cum Case interview. 
I had done my internship in one of the analytics companies. So, he seemed interested in the project I had done. Then there was a case “I had to estimate the profitability of a car loan in the city of Texas. Given was the population of
Texas and the Loan amount. Any further data required was to be asked.
Tips: I had breezed through one of my mock interviews a couple of days ago. So I got a bit over confident and made calculation mistakes. These guys are edgy about calculation mistakes and don’t expect you to commit one. So be a bit careful while solving a case.

General Tips: I would like to start this article by telling you something about your major concern, and that is “Will this economic crisis has a telling effect on your job prospects ?”. And the answer is both Yes and No. I am a 5th year Mathematics student and have closely seen the placements of 3 batches and from my experience, I can surely say that “One who prepares well , gets through, No matter how tough the situation is". It happened with my batch and your batch won’t be an exception (Unless a catastrophe happens).


Dilemma:
Most of you guys sitting for placement shall be in your 7th semester which is considered to be one of the most hectic of all the semesters. Many of you might be preparing for CAT, others for GRE, some of you would have got a tough guide for your final year project. So you need to prioritize things. You need to think it through; “A Realistic Self Analysis” always helps. 
I’ll share what I did. I did join coaching classes for CAT but my first priority always was placements and accordingly I planned and executed things. Getting a 99+ percentile and then clearing the GD and PI’s was too much of a risk for me to take. So this might be one of the better times to go for your MBA but always have other options ready just in case.


Resume for Analytics Companies:
Most of the analytics companies have a lot of Statistical Analysis and Data Management work. So, candidates having an experience in Data handling are preferred. If some project of yours involved Data Handling, mention it in detail. If you have done some of the applied Statistics courses in the Maths/IME department, mention it in your resume.
College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: First step involved writing down everything that I had accomplished in my tenure at IITB. Then, grading each point on the basis of accomplishment and innovation involved along with details in about 4-5 lines. Carefully went through 10 resumes from the previous year to get an idea of the prevailing format. Prepared a resume and got the feedback from 4- 5 people and then on the basis of the feedback finalized the resume. I attended the Pre-Placement talks of companies, I was interested in. It was a good exposure for understanding the skill sets and the values that companies were looking for in a candidate and the possible future paths in the organisation. The talks also helped in  increasing the overall awareness about the different companies  
.

Round: Test
Experience: a) Written DI based test with emphasis on interpreting graphs, calculating percentages etc. 100 people shortlisted. Candidates go through psychometric test
Tips: Interview preparation was best done in groups of 2-3 at a time: One interviewer, one interviewee and one observer. Tests were best prepared for by referring to the CAT study material

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: c) ~40 people selected after this stage d) 3-4 interviews –first case study , second HR , third and fourth case study. 3 people made final offers. a) First case study involved understanding the details of two marketing strategies. Then, comparing the effectiveness of the two in terms of revenue generated incase of limited budget and in case of specific no. of customers to be contacted. The final task involved calculating the point at which transition occurred in effectiveness for the two strategies for the two cases.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: b) Second interview consisted of HR questions like a. Why capital one? b. Why not research? c. An instance of working under time and resource constraints? d. An instance of leadership. e. An instance of innovation and thought leadership.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: c) Third interview was again a case study involving credit card strategies. The task involved calculating the effect of reduction in the credit limit or an increase in the rate of lending for high risk customers. In both the cases, it was required to calculate the % reduction in customers for the profit to remain same. Then a question was asked regarding which strategy I thought was better and how would I decide it? Note: Capital one case studies are simple mathematical case studies with a focus on understanding and calculations. These are different from the ones asked by consultancy companies like Mckinsey BCG etc. where the candidate is expected to ask the right questions before supplying any data. All the data for case studies in Capital one is provided at the start itself. If someone wants to appear for this company, what all should he/she ideally prepare? Someone preparing for Capital One should practice numerical case studies like the ones gives in Tucks Case study book 2002. They should also try the case studies available on the capital one website. Its important to prepare the HR based questions well because they might ultimately decide whether you are in or out. Another important advice is that you should think aloud while solving the case studies. It helps a lot in avoiding silly mistakes as well as in keeping the interviewer interested.

College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: Group Activity
Experience: There was initially an interview of about 5 mins in which they asked me to describe a situation where I worked in a team.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Then there was a case study round. It was a slightly involved case on the credit card industry and involved a lot of
calculations. There were 3 different credit card strategies with different rates of interest and credit limits and we had to choose the best strategy for the company. I came up with correct strategy and hence got through the first round. 

The 2nd case was that of Dominos evaluating a new scheme wherein they would offer a 30% discount instead of 100%, in cases where the pizzas could not be delivered within 30 minutes. Next the discount was changed to 70%. I was asked to evaluate the on-time delivery that they can risk not to have in order to make the same profit as they make when they give 100% discount and have 90% on-time delivery. Then I was asked to plot a graph between on-time delivery and the discount offered and interpret it. It was there that I lost track and couldn't come up with the right conclusion. Nevertheless I was selected for the next round.

Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: It was a behavioral interview wherein I had to describe them 3 situations in detail. During the entire interview the interviewer kept writing something on the paper. The key to this round was choosing the right incidents and then describing each and every point in detail. It lasted for about 30 mins. Ideally there were to be only 2 rounds of case interview and one behavioral interview but I was again called for a 3rd case interview round. It was very similar to the 1st case except that the credit card company was replaced by a dish-tv one. This one didn't go very well as I was very much exhausted and hence faltered at several places.

College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Test
Experience: The process of selection included a written aptitude test (DI based), followed by an online psychometric test.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: There were 2 case interviews and a HR interview Interview 1: Case Study on home loans. I was asked to consider all the sources of revenue and expenses of a firm involved in home loans. The second part involved calculating the default rate the firm can afford. The interviewer was quite helpful and gave me hints by saying ‘are u sure?’, ‘u can look at the calculations again, the numbers seem too out of the way.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Interview 2: HR. The interviewer had a collection of the answers of the online psychometric test of every candidate. Situational cases based on the replies were constructed and grilled upon. A few general questions “Why CapOne?” etc were also asked

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Interview 3: Case Interview, The first 2 interviews were absolute crack so I was immediately called for the third and final interview. It was a case on Pizza (the second favorite topic of CapOne). I was asked to analyze a scheme in which Pizza Hut is considering the option of giving 30% discount to customers to which it is unable to deliver in time (30 minutes) instead of the free pizza (100% discount) option. The revenues and market size in both cases was calculated. The profits for both cases and break even point was calculated (on the basis of the no of customers that the firm can afford to lose to have the same overall profit in the second case.) The interviewer was looking for the term ‘profitability’ to explain the results obtained through calculations. That was a take away. After the interview, the interviewer (who was an IIMA alumni) discussed (for 15 mins) the scheduling process of the placement cell and suggested the dream job funda as is followed in IIMs.

General Tips: The first 2 interviews went amazing. The key idea being good practice and following case study tips (think
aloud, organize your thoughts properly etc.). I messed up the last part of the second case interview and that made the difference, I kept revolving round the point and confused the interviewer. Prepare well, don’t get over confident. The process of resume short listing might sound weird to a few, but one should never compare himself to others. Don’t stress yourself too hard, don’t get disheartened. Reach the venue at least 15-20 mins before the interview. Ensure that your formals, shoes, copies of CV etc. are in place a day before the interview. And most importantly stay cool headed!
College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: Test
Experience: CAT-type data interpretation test.30 questions in 35 minutes.Fast graph interpretation and quick calculations.
Tips: CAT preparation will help.
Duration: 35 minutes
Total Questions: 30

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: A simple case, based on the credit card industry or any other field, is given. Cases lay more focus on quantitative skills apart from the focus on asking the right questions.There is a shortlist made after each case round.
Tips:  Fast calculation and insight into what data may be required to solve the case are essential.Practice the cases given on their website and at www.beprepared.in.

Round: Behavorial Interview
Experience: Questions are asked based on incidents- give examples of instances when you led a team successfully or when you had to go against your team, etc.
Tips:  Practice HR questions from HLPQ.

General Tips: Positions Of Responsibility (PORs) are required but not mandatory. They are of secondary importance if one has scored well in the exam. A good CV with good internships/projects will help one to get shortlisted.
Skill Tips: "Student needs to be quick with simple percentage calculations."
Skills: Basic Quantitative skills
College Name: IIT Kharagpur