SmartOwner Interview Questions and Answers

Round: Test
Experience: The questions were related to Data Interpretation. I felt severe time constraint in the paper.
Tips: Selectivity among the questions proved beneficial in clearing the cut-off.
Duration: 60 minutes
Total Questions: 30

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Preliminary(Long before Placement Season) 
It was a 10-minute one on one interview. They had given the link for few practice case-studies. The Case Study given at their website is the most important one. It helps you understand the standard approach they look for in a candidate.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: This was a 50-minute interview during the placement season.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: This was a 20-minute interview. It was a case interview similar to the first one.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It was a behavioral Interview.
Tips: Questions were expected to be answered in detail.

College Name: IIT KANPUR

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: I had a standard resume for this company as per our institute placement cell norms. Also my seniors advised me that for an analyst profile they would definitely look for consistent academic performance as well as academic achievements (at school/Olympiad level). So I had taken care to include the same in my resume (since the resume in our case is a standard one and does not change from a company to company basis).

Round: Test
Experience: Since I was aware of the profile they were recruiting for, I had anticipated the test. There was also guidance from my seniors as well as peers in other colleges. The written test had 30 questions and the total duration of the test was 35 minutes. The questions focused on data interpretation. Data about a company’s revenue, profit and sales in the form of graphs and pie charts was given and students were asked to analyse the same. Questions were simple and the use of calculators was allowed. The cut-off was around 23 questions (based on discussions/feedback from various students). People who have prepared for CAT would have a good idea about the kind of questions and are also aware of the relative difficulty level of various questions.
Tips: In these tests the focus should be on accuracy. Since a lot of people prepare for CAT there is high probability that a lot of candidates would be able to attempt all the questions in the written test. The focus then shifts to accuracy.
Duration: 35 minutes
Total Questions: 30

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The first round was a case study round held in the month September (three months prior to the actual placement process). This interview lasted for approximately 15 minutes. It dealt with the break even analysis of a credit card company’s marketing and promotion campaign. The company had the option of sending letters of promotion to prospective clients via simple postal mail or through courier. The data provided was – cost of each promotion strategy, the probability of reaching the correct client and the conversion rate of a prospective customer into a customer for the particular case. There was a constraint on the marketing budget and hence one needed an optimized solution to maximize the profits.
The first part involved giving pros and cons for both the strategies and thereafter giving a data based analysis for the given promotion strategies to come up with one which was more profitable.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The second round of the interview was held at the time of the main placement season – this time a one on one case study interview. This case focused on the break even analysis of a telecom company. The data given was the cost to company for a call (on a per minute basis), fixed price paid by the customer for the first 10 minutes and the price paid per minute of usage thereafter.
After analysis, I found that there were two break even points. Up to the first point the company was making a profit. Then there was an intermediate call duration period when the company made losses and beyond the second break even point, the call was again profitable.
As the head of the telecom company I had to decide whether to take the plan or not based on the probability distribution of the call duration and also analyse the probabilities of profit/loss.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: I learnt about the company and the profile from the seniors working at the company and the pre-placement talk. The placement talk was useful in getting to know about the job responsibilities and the expectations from the candidate.

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: 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: Guesstimate Interview
Experience: Company 2:Capital One   Was asked a very simple guess-estimate about the earnings of a credit-card company with the launching of a new scheme. Did well ,but the next question about how a change in one of the variables would affect profit, was ill- explained. Realised I had become over-confident about solving the guess-estimate easily and hence messed up the second part. Most importantly, at one point during a casual conversation with the friendly interviewer, I let slip that my first interview was with BCG.I think that was uncalled for and raised the bar of his expectations and might have even seemed slightly boastful. Something any sensible candidate should avoid. I was never very keen on Capital one, and so they weren't keen on me either :) .Good Chemistry, but no job offer!

College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: Test
Duration: 30 minutes
Total Questions: 35

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: One mini calculative case interview and 2 major calculative

General Tips: Don’t relax too much and do prepare religiously inspite of whether or not your wingie or close friend is taking placements seriously. Also, do help out your wing mates once you are done with yours. There is no better joy than seeing a close friend landing up a dream job. Most importantly, never lose hope. This comes from a 7.1 who failed to make into the shortlists of every company for internships and still landed a job within the first 3 hours on the first day. Just keep believing you’ll do well and you would.
College Name: IIT Kanpur

Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: After the 4th round, they told me that they were making me an offer, and that was a big moment of relief for me.

General Tips: Prepare well for the GDs’ and interview because, a good CV only takes you to the interview and becomes irrelevant after that. Only preparation matters in selection. Also, prioritize your sectors based on your interest, and profile. Be realistic and practical while doing this. Also, If possible, keep one or two options ready beforehand (Ph.D., MBA, civil services, startup/family business) in case you are not able to crack a good job as it prevents you from getting panic. Also, if you are shortlisted in multiple companies in a single slot, do take a friend with you to manage everything. Never be overconfident if you have a very good CV. There have been various instances where many so-called high profile people have struggled with placements due to lack of preparation. Also, do not waste your time preparing for all the sectors, as you won’t be able to become a master in any of them.
Skills:
College Name: IIT Kanpur