Zinnov Management Consulting Research Executive Interview Questions and Answers

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: CASE 1:
No numbers were expected, neither knowledge of broadband technology. The key here was increase in the number of uses along with the users. None of the established frameworks really helped. The interviewer was very helpful and gave me cues when I was not making progress.

CASE 2:
Again no numbers no data was expected. On asked about the missed out aspects, the interviewer discussed the key aspects with me and also told me where I had gone wrong.
Tips: 1.When they ask questions about academic projects try to pick something with practical applications.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: 1. The interviewer told me exactly what he wanted.
2. It was a two way discussion and a very comfortable conversation3.He told me the four departments he wanted me to look at.
4. I was to check for 'synergies' or potential benefits of the acquisition of these departments.
Tips: 1.Sleep well.
2.Wear comfortable footwear.
3.Don't starve yourself.
4.Sit down a minute between interviews and take deep breaths.

General Tips: 1.Attend PPTs of all companies you are interested in.
2.Don't try and squeeze too much in your resume.
3.Case studies are must for consultancies so be careful in that.
4.Don't prepare answers to the last word, but think about some common questions.
Skills: No as such particular skills tested.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: With the help of my good resume, i was being shortlisted.
Tips: Your resume is the first impression you make for yourself on the company or the interviewing panel. Most companies have a resume shortlist for their interviews where they reduce the field from roughly 600 applicants to 20-30. So, your resume is of utmost importance. 
Different companies look for different things in the resumes of their applicants. For example, the consulting firms look for people who are all-rounders and have spikes or achievements across the board. Other firms like people who are strong in the Positions of Responsibility department specially.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I had four interviews with the Boston Consulting Group. 
Each interviewer made me solve a small case. 
There wasn’t any personal interview. 
Cases that I solved here were also largely similar. 
Some examples include how to price a new cab service, how to improve market share for companies like flipkart etc.

General Tips: Build your resume stronger as much as you can, and solve case studies.
The main format of interviewing for consult companies is the case interview format. Here they give you a small business problem in the form of a case and ask you to solve it on the spot. There are a lot of prep books for this on the internet. The one I found most useful was Case in Point. I formed a case group of 2-3 people and practiced cases from this book. Mock interviews with people from the consulting companies also helps a lot.
College Name: IIT MADRAS

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Here we had to look at alternatives, such as cost of wearing glasses all your life, and the amount you would be spending, and discounting the amount you spend each year. I mentioned the cost of glasses, doctor visits, contacts, also laser surgery etc, to finally compute the price.
The second case which I got in the 3rd round, was also about a medical company which was facing a problem of falling profits. Here there were several problems, low productivity, and falling sales as well. Here the sales force was required to convince the doctors about its products, as they would then prescribe the medicines. Important thing here was whether they were targeting the right doctors who had a lot of patients, whether doctors were already loyal to some other company etc.
Tips: Practising a lot of cases not only with others, but also going through solutions on your own helps a lot. It is important to keep analyzing your mistakes rather than doing a lot of cases. HR answers are probably even more important than the case themselves, so it is important to prepare them well in advance.

Skills: Case Solving Ability, Case Analysis
College Name: IIM Lucknow

Round: resume shortlisitng
Tips: Resume format:  30 seconds, 1-2 page, formatting, alignment,clear, crisp, precise, use power words, state highest achievement,bullet points not exceeding a line,2-3 bullets under each main heading,get reviewed by seniors.For an Outstanding resume: Well written, aesthetic and impressive,2-3 peaks,weave story about achievements, leadership skills,dynamic, all rounder,ability to work under pressure,multi-task, handle challenges, perseverance and determination.

Round: Case Study Interview
Tips: Break down complex problem, structure the problem, approach more important than conclusion, multiple solutions possible, think out of the box, do not force fit frameworks, don’t over prepare!

Skill Tips: ""
Skills: Confidence, Interpersonal skills, Connect with the interviewer, Ability to think on your feet, Stress management, Problem-solving skill, Analytical ability, Logical thinking, Strategy making skill
College Name: IIT Madras

Round: CV Submission
Experience: This is an elimination phase, so it's important that your CV puts you in a good light. BCG would most likely conduct a CV building workshop. If they don't, McKinsey would. 
Tips: Keep in touch with seniors and get their advice and opinions too. Make sure you're happy with your final CV, and that it has been okay-ed by enough people before you ship it out.Don't make your CV on the last day. Put in sufficient effort - it will pay off.

Round: case workshop
Experience: BCG conducts a case workshop a couple of weeks before the interview process starts.Since the interview is entirely case based, make sure you pay attention in the case workshop. 
Tips: Also, it is advisable to form groups of 3-6 members with whom to practice business cases. I would suggest that you start with your case preparation in advance of the workshop, so you have things in perspective by then. Case books to practice cases from would most likely be circulated in advance. It also helps to make up your own cases, and have cases administered to you by people in Consulting.Do ask good questions in the case workshop. Although it's non-evaluative, it pays to make a good impression straight off the cuff.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Four interviews (2 rounds with 2 interviews each). Out of the 21 shortlisted candidates, 12 made it to round 2. Out of the four interviews, one was with a Senior Partner, two with Team Leads, and one with a Principal.My first case was about optimizing the transportation logistics of a cement manufacturer. The second case was about figuring out the issue with the business model of a hotel franchise experiencing falling revenues. The third case was about figuring out the reason for falling revenues of a retail outlet in Sri Lanka. The fourth case was about troubleshooting a new house-loan sales strategy, which was not performing up to expectation.Same set of skills as mentioned above. Make sure you're clear in what you say. 
Tips: There will be some minimal HR, which you must prepare for. The discussion will be a lot more informal than you would expect, but make sure your answers are crisp, sharp and to the point. Feel free to be exploratory and creative, making sure you're telling the interviewer exactly what you're thinking. They'll be at least as smart as you are (trust me on this), and it won't take much effort on your part to explain what you're thinking. Work with him/her. This is important. Don't be too slow or too fast. Develop a style based on your practice sessions, and play your strengths.

College Name: IIT Kharagpur

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: LHR airport is building Terminal 5. Why? Identified the purpose of terminals, and its physical layout. Defined capacity as throughput of baggage (big mistake: capacity here was supposed to be that of airport with runways being the bottleneck!!). Compared capacity of T-5 with that of other terminals. Basically, T-5 is being built to accommodate the A380. I knew this from my GK but didn’t exactly shine through in the interview.
Identified it as an operations issue. After that everything went downhill. About halfway through the interview, I realized that I was dinged anyhow (I’d have rejected me had I been the interviewer), so there was less pressure and I had a relaxed time with the case after that.
Tips: Don’t neglect operations based cases. These were the least favorite ones of mine during prep. Even if interviewer is hostile, keep a cool head and think logically, don’t let the pressure get to you

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