Shell Interview Questions, Process, and Tips for Freshers

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Initial shortlist is done based on an online application.

Round: Interview
Experience: The first interview is a technical round that lasts for about an hour. After the initial shortlisting, the students are asked to submit a write up on two projects of their choice. During the interview, questions are asked regarding all the aspects of any of the projects. During the interview, questions like your contribution are asked. Generally, questions are related to the current affairs or social topics and the approach towards them.
Tips: More emphasis on the projects done and the special skill sets the candidate possesses is needed.Thorough knowledge of core subjects for technical round is necessary.
Really good projects.

Round: Interview
Experience: The second round is a case study round. A case study based on the business model of Shell is given. The candidate is given 90 minutes to go through it and prepare a presentation for five minutes. The presentation is followed by a question and answer session. The candidate is judged on the solution presented, the technical knowledge and confidence.
Tips: Problem solving approach. Practise case studies, understand the business problems.

General Tips: General knowledge
College Name: IIT Madras

Round: Test
Experience: A scenario/problem was given with four options/solutions out of which the best and the worst had to be chosen after which each option was to be rated on the scale of 5.
Duration: 80 min minutes

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: There was an E-tray round before the main interview.This was a case study interview the time constraint was of one hour. About 12 mails were sent containing scenarios with four options, here again the best and worst option was to be chosen and also all the options were to be rated on the scale of 5.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: In this round a scenario was to be analysed with four options, we had to mention the advantages, the disadvantages of each option and also mention the risks involved in choosing each.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The interviewers completely analysed my resume questioning me about the projects(including my B.Tech project) and my internship that i undertook. To each point in my resume related to my projects or interviews i had to detail as to what problems I faced ,how i overcame them and who were the stake holders involved. They were keen to know my experience in being a part of a team and leading one.

General Tips: My experience in different case-study competitions and doing a detailed study on the company's background helped me in my interview.
Skill Tips: Courses related to petroleum profile were helpful.
Skills: Spontaneity, Logical Thinking, Ability to make quick calculations.
College Name: IIT MADRAS

Round: Test
Experience: The questions asked will test your personality, psychology.It’s a MCQ test having 4 choices.We have to solve 120 Questions in 1 hour duration
Duration: 60 minutes
Total Questions: 120

Round: Test
Experience: It’s a basic level test and you should write it from your hostel rooms.This test is used to judge our speed at solving simple problems. 20 questions will have to be answered in 20 minutes.
Tips: TIME material will be useful to crack this test. Make sure you bring calculators for the test
Duration: 20 minutes
Total Questions: 20

Round: Other Interview
Experience: The questions will be of the kind: Why do you want to apply for the shell? Why should we recruit you? After the 3 tests the company will shortlist the candidates for the interview.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The shortlisted candidates will be having a case­study 1 day before the interview. In this case­study you need to show team spirit to them.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: Technical interview is the final challenge. Mostly interview is done by HR ,where questions from your test 1 will be asked and thereby check your personality (do not write fabricated answers in test 1 as they are related to your personality).
Tips: If you think you have a chance of getting selected after 3 tests, put in your full efforts, or else it would be impossible to get a spot.Selection will be based on overall score of tests, case­study and interview. It will not be based only on interview. Be thorough with the project /internship mentioned in your resume. They will ask you a lot of questions on this point. So be well prepared on your internship/project work.Make sure that you are consistent, honest in your interview because they will judge you from the answers in psychometric test.

College Name: IIT MADRAS

Round: Other Interview
Experience: So the call came at 8 in the morning. Important note again, the call can come anytime on a predefined date, so be prepared with all your documents, a pen and a few A4 sheets, calculator and calendar. Note down the name of the person calling you. Forgetting the name of your interviewer is a bad sign and it’s not rare to happen as the call may prolong to over an hour, mine being around 75 odd minutes. The interviewer generally decides the layout of the interview so stick to it. Also the interviewer is a HR personnel and he/she will be jotting down each and everything you’ll be saying so think before you speak. At times it may happen that you may be saying something but there will be no response from the interviewer, don’t panic. He/she may be busy writing down your sayings so don’t pause. If it’s awkwardly long, then you can stop and ask for a response.

First fifteen minutes will be the settling time, you’ll be answering questions related to you which won’t be judged, so calm down, relax and have a normal conversation with the interviewer. The next half an hour/45 min will be the one on which they will ask questions related to your work, your achievements and your experiences which will be judged and
noted. The last 15 min will be a general topic will be given to you and your views will be asked about on the topic. Remember, no one is omniscient. So if you don’t know about the topic, you can obviously ask the interviewer to give a general idea on the topic. DON’T GOOGLE. The interviewers are trained people who know when you are reading and saying the answer. It’s better if you give your perspective and the process you take to know and speak about the new topics is better as it will show how you learn as well as give YOUR idea on the topic.

The interview is generally HR based so technical knowledge is not required but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t know about your projects. Review your projects, know the nittygritty of your work and describe it in such a way that the person on the other end can understand, appreciate and indulge himself/herself in the talk.
Tips: Once my resume was over, I got a notification from Shell that I will be judged over a telephonic interview. Again an important notice, telephonic interviews are not that easy and simple, as they seem to be. Also in my case it was tough as I was competing against 17 other equally qualified people for one or two positions. Here your knowledge about the company, its background, its requirements come into picture. You should be able to tell why you are better than the others without criticizing them, in fact by showing your true skills in a positive manner.

General Tips: The Preparation:
Since the start, I was reading about the companies coming at IITK, reading about their work, their new challenges, the opportunities that I would have with them. Shell, of all companies, captivated me the most. I came to know about the Gourami challenge from the seniors selected and since I was in dual degree, it also gave me the time to prepare for it.
There are three modes of recruitment in Shell namely (1) Internships (2) Gourami Business Challenge and (3) SRD (Shell Recruitment Day). The most enchanting one as I felt was the 2nd one. But all play and no work makes Jack stupid. So prepare hard, it’s a single opportunity of your lifetime.
First of all, you should work on your resume; it’s your first impression. Prepare a master resume and as many companies have their own format, try to fit into their requirements. Don’t overindulge in various activities if you can’t handle studies with extra curriculars. A good CPI shows your determination towards your academics, which is by far the most important thing in the campus. But two different students with almost same CPI are differentiated on the basis of extra curriculars and internships. So these things are not unimportant.So, resume is a very important part of the application. It should show your abilities to their full extent. Not to mention, it is you telling about yourself in absence. Add your strong points, make it delightful to read, use simple plain English so that a non-technical person is also able to understand. FYI the resumes are generally short listed by HR members so you have to make them understand your skills. Don’t repeat your stuffs, sort out and order your important achievements as per the requirements.
College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Test
Experience: This was a very basic aptitude test which went along the lines of English, and IQ questions.

Tips: Since it is an online test, go to some place that has good internet connectivity, no disturbance and make sure you already have what you need beside you.
Total Questions: 56

Round: Test
Experience: This was a technical test with a total of 36 questions. 12 questions per section. There was also a little bit of English and virtual stipulation.
Tips: It is very important to have presence of mind while attempting such tests. Sometimes we end up screwing the easiest of all questions because we rush into them. Time is definitely a constraint. Manage your time well. There is no negative marking so attempt all.Be patient.
Total Questions: 36

Round: Video making
Experience: This was a very different round. Here we had to make videos with the help of an app named Hirevue. Questions would appear on the screen and all we had to do was make a 30 second long video answering those questions.
Tips: Try to look as presentable as you can during the video. Try not to stammer or repeat lines. Prepare in advance what you will say and be calm. I saw a few of their past videos and spoke to a senior who had applied for the same internship in his first year.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: I was interviewed by 3 different people. While only one was asking questions the other two were closely noticing my body language and gestures. The questions they asked started from casual ones like talk about your family to some related to my CV. I had made two research papers in my first and second year which I had mentioned there so they asked me to elaborate on that. The interview lasted for 30-35 minutes and they were all British.
Tips: Dont exaggerate anything during the interview. Dont lie either. If you are the kind who has a problem understanding british accent then watch a few english movies in advance so that you dont waste their time asking them to repeat. Again its a skype interview so look good and find a place that is calm and has good internet connectivity.

College Name: VIT Vellore

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: You will get numerous help from Google and also many workshops those are held before Placements.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: For GD its a group work. Come up with a group involving people from you Hostel wing mates or departmental mates. Take any recent topic (non-political) and talk among yourselves.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: For interview you will get some soft copy titled "64 Interview Questions", go through that and also attend the class held by IMS b4 placement.

Round: Other Interview
Experience: They held a 3 phase of selection with an elimination round after 2 phase. 1st phase: They provide with a case study of 20-25 pages with 60 min of time. After that we are called for an interview session where one has to place 5 min verbal presentation on the case study. Then rest 20-25 min they will ask question on it. 2nd phase: Interview session on submitted project work (your BTEch/Mtech/Summer Internship) a week ago. Mainly on your managerial skills nothing technical. Then there will be elimination round followed by a GD. Then comes the final results.

Skill Tips: You better get acquainted with Case Studies.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY