Summit Business Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Resume is the candidates face before the interview. All the things that he/she wants to communicate should be communicated well and in an organized manner. Giving excessive and irrelevant information doesn’t heed well with the company and the recruiting staff. For, non-core jobs a long resume is not necessarily a good resume. They generally prefer a short and concise resume giving only the details relevant to the job profile being offered. For example, for a post of Business Analyst giving a long list of technical and course projects will not help the candidates cause. I personally focussed a lot on Position of Responsibilities and extracurricular activities, especially those showcasing my leadership and oratory skills.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The first interview began with some questions about me. The interviewer asked me to tell something about me and my hobbies. Then he moved on to my resume and asked questions related to my intern and the PORs I had held and asking me to give a brief description about the duties involved. These questions were basically to ease me into the interview. Then he asked the routine interview questions like why consulting, why not a core job, what makes you think you are suited for this job. He asked me to relate some incident that showcased my leadership and teamwork skills. After the HR part, he gave me a case study. I was asked to estimate the market size of the bulbs market in India. It was an easy enough case study and I asked a lot of questions like whether I have to estimate for commercial and domestic both, for bulbs and CFL both etc. The catch in the question was to consider the replacement ratio for the bulbs and CFL.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The second interview also had a similar beginning with the routine questions. Then he moved on to case study which was a number crunching problem. He gave me almost no details and just narrated the situation. I had to as all the questions probing for the numbers and the data. The case went on as he kept elaborating the case with new additions.

Also, the interviewer was senior partner in the firm and I felt that I had made a genuine rapport with him. I felt free and asked him a lot of questions about his job, the job profile and how important an MBA degree is for the future. He explained me the details and I had a very healthy communication with him.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: This one was pretty short and quick. The interviewer decided to ask me questions about my hobbies. We discussed about Hollywood movies, actors, football and my other interests. We both shared an interest in Hollywood movies and we had a nice time discussing the merits of my favourite actor, MORGAN FREEMAN. Then he gave me a puzzle. There are 25 horses and only 5 can race in one race. I had to determine the fastest three horses in the minimum number of races (the answer is 7. Try it out. It’s not very tough). I was not able to solve the puzzle on my own but he guided me with various clues and finally I was able to complete the puzzle with his help.
Tips: Be prepared with the routine answers but don’t mug them up. Remember them in points and elaborate them as you go through the monologue. Answers to questions like why consulting and why should we hire you should be prepared very well. Prepare these answers yourself and don’t mug up some standard answers. The interviewer will know when you do that. Prepare some questions of your own about the job and the company and ask them to the interviewer when he gives you the chance. Don’t get nervous if you can’t get some question but instead try a new approach or ask for help.

General Tips: Focus a lot on extracurricular and PORs in the resume but at the same time keep it balanced. Prepare for case study interviews and puzzles. Be through with your resume and why you are there for the interview. Getting selected for the interview means you have an equally good opportunity as anyone else, so be confident.
College Name: IIT KANPUR
Motivation: The major information about the company was obtained from the pre-placement talk held by the company at the college campus. Also I talked to some of my seniors working there and in other consultancy firms as business analyst to get a feel about the profile and job description. Also enquiring about the attributes that the company majorly looks for from the seniors helped a lot.