ZS Business Technical Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Be honest, polite and confident at all points of interview, the rest will fall in place automatically.

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - It is very important to have a positive aptitude rather than just having technological knowledge to get into Deloitte. They dont test you for your technical skills as they believe technical knowledge can be taught to a person but the right aptitude cannot be taught to a person.

Topics to prepare for Deloitte Business Technical Analyst interview:

• Technical Skills

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Ask for expected and more than the expected salary because the work life balance is not great and working hours are very high.

Round: Online Technical Test
Experience: You would be asked to give an online exam for which the linked would be shared with you by Deloitte Recruitment Team.
Exam Platform: Co Cubes
No of Questions: 30
Duration: 30 mins

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I believe that the resume is the very crucial since it is the single most important basis for getting shortlisted. It also helps the interviewer know you and form an initial opinion about your strengths. Hence it becomes very important to have a strong, well drafted resume, regardless of the company you are applying to. You should mention all your strong points on your resume. Whether it is academics or some project that you might have undertaken or some other extra-curricular activity, all of them should appear on your resume.

When I prepared my resume, apart from the academic details and projects which form a standard part of the resume, I did make it a point to specify all the noteworthy extra-curricular activities I had under taken. I did provide a very brief description for each of the activities.

When you are applying for different companies with different profiles on offer, apart from a few minor changes, the resume remains more or less the same. I did my internship at BHEL. So whenever I used to apply to a core Electrical Engineering Company, I did mention it in my resume. However for other non technical firms, I didn’t mention it. From my personal experience following key points should be kept in mind while preparing the resume

For a core company (electrical engineering companies in my case) make sure that in your resume you focus on your academic details, projects and internships related to the field of that company (as far as possible).
For other firms such as consultancy firms, focus on your extra-curricular activities.
If it is an IT firm you are applying to, then you should focus on your software skills.
Your resume, should be in line with the post that you are applying for and the work that you would be supposed to do after joining.

Round: Test
Experience: The first round was a written test in which all the eligible candidates (as per the eligibility mentioned above) were allowed to appear. The test was held a couple of months prior to the placement season and was very similar to CAT with quantitative, logic based and verbal ability based questions. In fact, it was a bit easier than CAT, so the students who had prepared for CAT found it very easy. The cut off was high I guess. About 100 students appeared for the test, and 31 were shortlisted for the second round of the selection process for ERS profile.

Different companies have different types of written tests. Since I always wanted to go for a consultancy firm, I prepared mainly for the general quantitative aptitude test such companies generally follow. Prior preparation for CAT (entrance test for IIMs) definitely helped a lot in preparation for these tests.

Apart from this, I also revised the basic concepts of electrical engineering from standard textbooks for tests of core Electrical Engineering companies. Some of my friends also helped me in revising basic concepts of C++ for tests of IT companies.
Tips: This is the single most important part of the selection process where many students falter because of lack of preparation. Thus they do not even get a chance of getting interviewed. Practising questions from MBA entrance exams do help in the aptitude tests since most of the aptitude tests have a pattern very similar to these entrance exams.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: The next round was a group activity where the group was given a case. Everyone in the group was supposed to analyze the case and discuss this amongst themselves to reach to a final conclusion. In the case given to our group, a company had to launch one of its new technologies in three different zones. The details about the 3 zones i.e. market share, competition etc. were given in the case. The group had to discuss the three selling strategies mentioned – phased approach, big bang approach and hybrid approach – reach a final conclusion and then the group had to give a short presentation on the same.

I didn’t prepare for Group Activities in particular because according to me it is more of a spontaneous activity. The group is given a topic, which might be completely unexpected at times. You should be able to communicate well and present your point effectively in a group activity. If someone is good at it, then there is no need for any specific preparation for group activities.
Tips: It is important to have good communication skills. One should be able to make his or her point clearly and make sure that others in the group pay attention to the same. The presentation should be good.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Thirteen students, who got shortlisted from the group activity, made it to the final interview round. It was a behavioural interview and was a pretty simple one. I prepared for the interviews individually, although I did get a lot of help from my friends. There are a few specific questions which are almost always asked in an interview like:
1) Tell us about yourself
2) About you strengths/weaknesses etc.
Although I didn’t frame the actual answers but I did have the points in my mind which I would speak about during the interview.
I also did a bit of research and homework before going for the interview about what the company does and what it expects from the selected hires.
Tips: For the interview, just be confident. A behavioural interview is easy if you have framed answers to some typical questions or have at least thought of some points for the same.

General Tips: As I already had in my mind that I wanted to go for Deloitte, I went through their website thoroughly and other sources of internet as well to gain as much knowledge about the company as I can. As I was already preparing for CAT, the written test didn’t require any other specific preparation. The group activity and the interview were quite general and from my point of view, do not require any specific preparation.
College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: Deloitte offered two job profiles in this year’s placement session – Technology Consulting and Enterprise Risk Services. I believe that knowing the company profile in detail is very necessary for success in an interview.

1) I talked to my seniors (who were working with Deloitte) to get more details about the job profile being offered.
2) I attended the Pre-Placement Talk given by the company when it visited our campus. Also I went through their website to find out more about Deloitte.
So, although I was still not quite sure about what would my work exactly involve, but I had a very good idea about the job profiles on offer before going for the selection process.

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I had a standard resume for this company as per our institute placement cell norms.
I usually changed my “Areas of Interest” as per the company profile. For Deloitte I laid emphasis on my extracurricular activities and feel it is especially beneficial if you highlight points where you have worked in a team, shown leadership or have done something new or out of the box.
An idea about what work the person has to do for the profile may also seem beneficial.

Round: Test
Experience: I had prepared for CAT (MBA entrance test for IIM’s) and it helped a lot in the written test. It basically helped in clearing tests for Deloitte (as well as ZS Associates). The tests for these companies were conducted by AMCAT (which is a organisation which helps students prepare for CAT). So preparation for CAT would certainly help in clearing the written test for these companies.

The first round was the written test of 60 minute duration. There were three sections in all; two of those were aptitude and the third was English. Some students faced difficulty because they got a lot of questions from Permutation and Combination. Having prepared for CAT exam earlier I found this written test comparatively easier and no special preparation was required.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: The second round was a group case study. The candidates were divided into different groups. Each candidate of the group was supposed to play the role of an expert in a particular area. Then a business problem was given to the entire group and 3 minutes were allotted to discuss the problem. The group was supposed to finally come out with a feasible solution after studying the different aspects of the problem.

The case given to our group was about a medical centre that wanted to convert the patient data into soft copy from the existent hard copy storage including data like X-ray results and so on, and then send this data to the patient over the internet in form of electronic mail. We as an expert panel were expected to find the problems that might be encountered during this process and consequently come out with feasible solutions to tackle the same. A lot of possible issues were discussed – the major ones being that of the financial burden of the entire process, getting contacts of patients who had been treated in the past, the man power required for process and how to dispose off the present hard copies of the data.

There were 10 people overall in my group out of which 6 qualified for the next round.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The next round was the personal interview round. They asked me whether I knew C++ and I replied yes. Since I had revised C++ thoroughly, I was confident. One of the questions they asked me was to write a program/algorithm that gives the Fibonacci series as the output. Some HR (Human Resource) questions were also asked like ‘Since you belong to the N.C.R. region would you be able to adjust to living in southern India.’ These questions were mainly aimed to check my interest in the company. The technical questions that I was asked were very simple. They did not have in depth knowledge about the domain of my project and I feel the main aim of asking questions about one’s projects is to check the dedication towards the task in hand.

General Tips: If you are interested in working in a sector not related to your core area of study, then this company is a very good choice. A good knowledge of C++ and fluency in speaking English is a must to get selected in Deloitte.
College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: Most of the information regarding the company was obtained by attending the Pre Placement Talk. The company has been visiting the campus for many years and has a good reputation amongst the students.  It will be good if one knows what actually he has to do in the profile offered as it would be an added advantage during the personal interview round.