REAL ISB INTERVIEW EXPERIENCES

Consulting and Analytics / 3 years 5 months

1) Give us a brief introduction of yourself and your work

I was a bit slow to get started, but once I reached the core aspects of my work, I found my groove. This initial answer went on for about 3-4 minutes and helped me gain confidence for the rest of the interview, as it didn’t require much thinking on my part and was about things I had done earlier.

2) What did you do in ZS Associates?

Somehow they had a perception that ZS was only about pharma sales force consulting. Explained that now it is not just about that, though that segment continues to be the biggest. Spoke about my work in research and in analytics.

3) Tell us about a specific project you worked on

I covered this easily. Then they came back with a couple of questions asking me to define my role within the project and not the entire project. Then, a googly – they asked if someone else in the same role would have performed as well as me or worse, along with reasons. I explained what I had brought to that project, but also said that as ZS is a big company, I am sure had I not been there, they could have found someone else to fill my shoes, but that this did not diminish my contribution in any way, I felt. The main interviewer smiled at this and seemed convinced.

4) I had written about automating processes. They asked me about details. How had I achieved the automation? What could I have done better?

I went into the details of the project. To my surprise, they were conversant with the technical parts, and asked me questions on those too. I was able to answer.

5) Tell us about a conflict you faced at work and how you resolved it.

The first example that popped up in my mind here was that of a situation in which I had failed to resolve a conflict, and ZS actually lost the client. Fortunately, I had prepared well for situations like this (i.e. what to do when one has used an example that was not the best for the situation) and handled it. They asked some questions asking about what I learnt and why ZS did not punish me. Explained.

6) Why wasn’t this automated process used earlier in your organization? The client may, say, ask you to remove (human) resources? Then what will you do?

Had a bit of a discussion with them on this. I spoke about how the march of technology inevitably means that resources will be reduced, but they asked about how this would affect ZS margins. I had to put in a long explanation of how ZS would ultimately make up those margins. Some views were (politely and with smiles) exchanged on the virtues and vices of technology.

7) What motivated you to social service? What other social service did you do apart from what is mentioned in your application?

Explained that social service was not something I did for any benefits or credit but it was a part of who I am. At this, one of the panelists said that every interviewer says the same thing. I laughed, but also explained why I had said it, and gave examples to back my points. They did not object or ask any further questions on this.

8) Any questions for us?

Asked about Advaita and how it helps students. They gave a patient hearing to the question and answered it quickly. I thanked them and left.