INTERVIEW PREPARATION
IIT Bombay
6th October 2012
Anant Gupta (IITB ‘03)
WHAT QUESTIONS COME TO MY MIND?
Should I “Suit Up”?
What should I carry for the interview?
How can I make a positive connection as soon as
I enter?
“The Real Deal”
How can I show I am keen?
SHOULD I SUIT UP?
Dressing is Important
What should I wear?
“I don’t have any ties”
“I got this from my wingmate; it does
not go too well with my orange shirt but then
they are recruiting me for who I am and not
for my tie”
Safest options:
Shirts (white or blue) with a good tie
Black trousers (no browns or khakis)
Black shoes
What should I carry with me?
Never hurts to carry the basic essentials: a pen, a scratch
pad, copy of your resume and if you have some claim to
fame (like some media coverage on what you did at IIT etc)
Don’t carry a thick folder with hanging papers though
HOW CAN I MAKE A POSITIVE CONNECTION AS
SOON AS I ENTER?
A firm handshake – No “fishy” handshake
No discrimination
Eye contact
Good to meet you
Small talk help open up but be careful with the
questions you ask
BODY LANGUAGE IS IMPORTANT
How should I sit in my interview?
How can I use my body to increase
the impact of what I am saying
Nobody likes to work with people
who lack energy and enthusiasm
THE REAL DEAL - PREPARATION
Preparation is the key
General Preparation
Write key questions you think could be asked
Prepare bullet point answers
Practice talking through them
Toughest interviewer is the mirror
Mock interviews – Set up small teams and interview with your
batch and senior batch if someone is around
Take feedback and build on it
Company Specific Preparation
Why are you excited about this Company and this role?
What in your past helps you bring out the point that you have
always looked for this role?
Who all have you met or who all inspired you about the
Company?
“Dropping names” might help as well
THE REAL DEAL – PERSONAL INTERVIEWS
In every personal interview, 60%-70% of questions never change
Long term / short term goal
Leadership and Team work experience
Challenging Experience
Internship Experience
Why us?
Stress questions
Why didn’t you get a PPO?
Why is your GPA low?
Almost in every interview, someone will ask you to “Walk him
through your resume”
Practice before hand
“Most decisions on recruiting someone are made in the first few minutes
of the interview. The rest of time is spent in validating and confirming
the hypothesis”
Be ready to deliver the story in 2-3 minutes
What you did?
What was your role?
What did you achieve?
THE REAL DEAL – TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
Technical Interviews (Core-based Firms)
Discuss with your immediate seniors on what sort of
technical questions are asked?
Prepare before-hand
Knowing is one thing and communicating is another
Have an interview prep group where you question each
other on explaining various aspects
In many cases people will be keen to understand what
you did in your technical internship. Practice walking
through that
THE REAL DEAL - TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
Technical Interviews (Non Core Firms)
Consulting
Cracking the case is the key
Prepare solving cases of different types
A large number of case studies available online
Practice different “guesstimates” types
Have case-prep groups
Financial Services
Keen on understanding the analytical frame of mind you have
Energy and enthusiasm and willing to work longer hours if required
Biggest concern: Will you enjoy financial services or you are a pure
techie?
Management
Leadership and team work
Real-life problem solving ability
Technical questions will most be limited to your internship or some
key project you did
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US?
Never say no – just shows you have not done enough
research or are not keen for the role
Prepare few questions before the interview –
Interviewers try to judge what you are thinking about
through your interviews
Sample Consulting Questions
How are the teams set up?
How does the firm make sure the analyst get good
experience across industry and functions?
What sort of training and mentorship programs are in
place to improve your skill set?
Most of the consulting firms have a 2 year program for
undergraduates – understand what does it take to move to
next level?
Don’t go overboard in terms of asking too many
questions. Depending on the time, 2-3 questions are
sufficient
