Van Rees Managing Director Interview Questions and Answers

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Be prepared on your subject matter as they ask deep questions

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - be yourself

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Asked about my wiling Ness to travel shift nd work experience
Tips: Clear nd concise

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Salary nd location
Tips: Say yes

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: Just walk truly the work done

Round: Guesstimate Interview
Experience: Client round
Tips: Goals nd ambitions

Round: HR Interview
Experience: This round was primarily a personal round revolving around the CV. The question broadly covered the various things done at ISB and the extra-
curricular. A lot of expected question were there on the Strengths, weaknesses, successes, Stay at ISB, Comparison with Undergrad education at IIT-B.
The interviewer was insistent that I answer both but I answered the first part and said that there was nothing I could think of for the second part because I just could not relate to such a separation in personal and professional personalities. Of course the answer was detailed and elaborate and ultimately convincing.

The conversation was a very easy one. I think I was able to break ice very early in the discussion and was always conscious for the crispness of my answers. As a result we were able to have a long discussion about a lot of different issues during the 30 minute+ long discussion. I was also trying to build a coherent storyline throughout by citing examples and connecting back to things I had earlier said in the interview.
Tips: Be sure to have a consistent story for all of the above and make sure that you keep corroborating your claims and assertion from time to time. For every aspect I was asked to site an example.
Be very thorough with you CV. Elaborate every point of your CV and prepare answers to the standard expected questions. Make sure you have rehearsed them well enough.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I started by looking at the international retailer (Company) and its Indian partner? Why the venture, what strengths, type of contract, etc. it seems the company had efficient back end operation and the front end expertise was with the Indian partner. They would need 6 months to get out of contractual obligations. The operation is merely breaking even right now. I also looked at the competition and customers buckets and there was not enough information available on this.
After this initial analysis the case question was flipped to find out the drivers of setting up a retail store. Some of the drivers discussed were :
- Geography (decided by regulation, logistics, operations, etc)
- Store format (Departmental, Hypermart, location in city or outside city)
- Product Mix ( What would be item stocked)
- Partnerships (potential allies)
- Competition
- Target Customers (to decide Footfalls X Conversion Rate X Ticket Size)
The next part of the case was that where will I gather information about all these, customers, geographies, etc. I said there could be two ways of collecting information: Primary Research and Secondary Research. Primary we can collected from other stores, scanner data, Pilot study, survey, etc Secondary could be done through industry and analyst reports like Crisil, Datamonitor, ISI Emerging markets, These reports normally give detailed outlook about cities, types of formats, conversion rates, catchment area and other parameters. Given that we had just one monthinformation, Secondary research would be more appropriate.
Tips: Keep your cool

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

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: So, like a normal Market Entry Case interview, I asked the basic qualifying questions to understand the client, industry etc. After structuring the case, I understood more about competition. Then we understood that the potential was there but Supply chain models needed to be looked into.
Tips: Read about structures. Practice cases with peers. Case study interviews are about confidence, practice and understanding how to structure a problem. That's what the interviewer is looking for.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: A typical HR Interview this was.
Tips: Be calm, confident. And answer in an audible tone with a natural tonal flow. That's best.
Also, prepare a list of HR answers in advance. That is a must do!

Round: Partner Round
Experience: It involves an interview with a Partner of the firm. It is a culture fit interview. I was asked to estimate number of cigarettes sold in India in a year, which a classic guesstimate.
Also, I was asked GK questions. Wherever I didn't know, I confessed honestly.
By the end, we both were having more of a conversation than an interview
Tips: Partner is there to see if you will fit well with the organization. Act yourself, make the person feel comfortable. Have a good conversation.

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Prepare well for every interview. Know your work related area in depth and the basic concepts related to your work.

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Stay confident and firm with your answers, all the best