ZS Business Analytics Associate Interview Questions and Answers

Round: Test
Experience: No negative marking, just go for simple aptitude preparation. If anyone wants to do good aptitude preparation then just go for CAT preparation. Once you have cleared the aptitude test, then everyone is at the same platform.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: There was 1 partner and 1 senior.
Tips: Panel changes with every round so never expect that if you have a good impression on one of the panelist then it can get you along with the whole process.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Duration was 1 hour.
Which one to choose?
Given: The type of people who’d be attracted to different type of credit cards (business class, middle class)
1. How to advertise these 2 credit cards?
Given: There are bonus options for employee. Bonus increases exponentially after 80 hours.
2. Which card will an employee promote more?
For each of these questions, you have to come up with an answer at the end. Half an hr was given to think about the case and then they call you in to explain for another half an hour.
Tips: Case study was nothing but simply data interpretation.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: 1. It was a bit stressed interview. They keep on asking you why you want to go for consulting or analytics or say why ZS. Long term goals, short term goals. I said Photography and he said: "We want to open a photography school in India, now estimate the no. of students who’d enroll in it."
2. In the whole process, he just wanted to know whether I fit in the group or not. He brought me in my comfort zone. 3. He asked me questions about my internship. One of my intern projects appealed to him because he had worked in that area as well. I was able to connect to him.
4. In the end he asked me if I had any questions for him. Now this last part is very crucial. It shows your interest in their company. Do take time and read everything about the company beforehand and show your interest. This is a very important for them to know you.
Tips: My suggestion is that be cool and don’t be nervous throughout the process.

College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Test
Experience: The company screens the large number of initial applicants through a written test which is of around 90 minutes duration and consists of Aptitude, Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning, Attention to Detail. The paper was on the easier side that's why it was essential to try to answer each and every question. There was a time crunch though and therefore if you get stuck on a question, it is important to move forward and skip that question.
Tips: To get through this round, practice of the quant section of CAT should be more than enough. And try not to get stuck at one question, attempt all the questions to the best of your ability.
Duration: 90 minutes

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: The written test was followed by a Group Discussion in which every year students are asked to discuss something from the current affairs. We had to discuss on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during our gd. Students were evaluated in this round based on their fluency, quality of their ideas and their ability to control the group and put their views forth in a group. Try to make sure that your ideas are heard but don't get too aggressive at the same time. This is more of an eliminative round than a selective round i.e. most of the people (around 4-5 out of 8) progress to the next round.

Round: Problem Statement
Experience: The next round is Case Interview which probably is the most critical round of all. In this, the interviewer explains a Case Study superficially to you and gives you 30 minutes in which you are supposed to answer 4 questions. (all of which have two parts). After 30 minutes, you are supposed to present the answers tothose four questions to the interviewer. The case study of each of the three profiles differs from the other according to the requirements of the profile you are applying for (Ex- BTA profiles are asked to write SQL commands) While appearing for this round, you'll face shortage of time. So make sure you are able to at least get an idea of how to approach those four problems. If you can, try to complete all the questions along with the calculations in the allotted time but if you can't do so, at least have a basic approach ready on how to go about each of the questions. The interviewer will allow you to perform the calculation in front of him (after the allotted 30 minutes) too. You don't want to end up in a situation where you've solved two or three questions perfectly and have no clue with the fourth one. Also, try to have a discussion with your interviewer. Don't be afraid to put forward your hypothesis or alternative answers even if their is a chance that they might be incorrect. The questions will be quite logical, so if you back yourselves and don't get nervous, you'll be able to solve them.

Round: Interview
Experience: Through the previous three stages, the company tested your skills for this job. The purpose of the next two is to find out whether you'll be a good fit for the company and whether you are interested in this job. The interview starts with basic HR questions like "Tell me about yourself"and "What are your major strengths and weaknesses" and proceeded to few others such as "If I ask a friend about you, how do you think he'll describe you?"After this the candidate is asked situational questions such as "Give me an instance when your attention to detail mattered" or "Tell me an instance when things didn't go as planned in a team and how you handled that situation." Be prepared to answer these kind of questions with instances which are mentioned in your resume. (This is where your Thomso or Cognizance, BAJA or FSAE or any other group work comes in) After this, some puzzles/guesstimates are asked from the candidate. ("Estimate the number of pizzas sold in IIT Roorkee campus in a month", "Estimate the number of streetlights in Roorkee) This is followed by the HR Round which is taken by some high level employee ("Principal") of ZS who makes the final call regarding the selection of candidate. It is more or less an extension of the Behavioral Round.

General Tips: Make sure you prepare for aptitude even if you're not appearing for CAT. Almost all companies (even the technical ones) take quantitative ability based tests and mere inherent ability won't be enough to get you to the next round.Try to read up on few case studies (Vault Study Guide, Ace your Case, Wharton Case study guides) to help you with qualitative case studies asked in flipkart etc. Prepare for GD by forming groups amongst your own and practice talking on current affairs as well as abstract topics (for companies like Schlum). You must prepare for the standard HR questions like Tell me about yourself, Your strength and weakness,A few Instances by writing your answers and trying to improve them. Give Interviews to your friends and ask for their feedback. Being well versed with your Resume is a must! You should also prepare Guesstimates from the net. Some Indian guesstimates can be found onPagalguy.com. Last but not the least, be confident and don't lose faith in yourself and your abilities even if you screw up a few interviews (believe me, most of you will). You don't want to be in a situation when you had an opportunity and you lost it because you'd lost confidence. Also, try to be as honest and frank in the interview as you can. Make sure you give evidence of each and every answer from your past (if possible from your Resume) about your strength, weakness and other questions and to show how these qualities can be an asset for the company. Best of luck!
Skills: Aptitude, Case studies, Group discussion, Guesstimates
College Name: IIT Roorkee