Date: 8th Mar'08
Venue: IIML Campus, Noida
Pre-Interview Details: For me interviews were virtually over after IIMB interview on 6th March , Friday. I enjoyed all day on Saturday. Was lazing around at BD's place. Then my mom announced that she is coming to visit my place in Gurgaon. She was visiting Jaipur and other places in Rajasthan. She said she will drop at my place on return. In the last 2.5 years that i have stayed in Gurgaon, i have managed to keep her off my place somehow. But now she said she is coming, argument being that she might not get a chance to see my place (my getting selected :) ).
So a good day of lazing around was suddenly turned into a cleaning frenzy. Called up my Flat-mate Mohan to clean up the mess. Showed mom around. Took her to my office.
Now the fun part.... My interview originally was scheduled on 6th March 2 P.M. Since it was clashing woth IIMB interview so i got it shifted. They gave me a date on 8th. I for some reason presumed that it is at 2 P.M only. So i had planned that i will leave my place at Gurgaon at around 11 A.M on 8th, get a printout of interview shift mail from office and then go for interview. But since i had come to office with Mom, i decided to take the printout then only and then i read..."10 A.M. IIML Noida Campus on 8th March"... mom got a feeling of her real son..irresponsible and careless.. anyways mini-tragedy avoided.
Left Gurgaon in hurry for Noida Saturday might only. Reached a friend Setia's place at around 11. He also had interview next day. Told me that printouts of first and last salary slips were needed. Thought of getting them next morning. Couldnt get them. All shops were closed. So reached venue without required documents.
Group Discussion: Topic given was "Start of journey should not be mistaken for success". First 20 minutes for writing a 300 word essay and next 20 minutes for discussion. I was bored writing the essay. Didnt write much. Wrote example of IPL and US Presidential elections. That success should not be decided at start, it's always in long term that success should be decided. It was the first discussion that started as a fish market. After 2-3 minuted they stopped us and asked to not shout. There on it was a little peaceful. I made some good points.
Interview: I was called in 5th. Two intervieweres. One old lady(P1) and a middle-aged male prof (P2).
P2 starts looking at my certs and P1 starts
P1: Anurag tell me what you do
ME: Dunnhumby..retail analytics.. Work for BBY
P1; What is BBY
ME: Best Buy. We work on their emerging-market entry strategy. I am solutions lead for Non-US markets. Work for Turkey, Uk and Mexico
P1: You are clubbing UK with Turkey as an emerging market
ME: Mam i meant new market entry strategy
P1: But you said emerging.
ME: Mam i meant new. Sorry for that.
P1: Describe the nature of your responsibilities.
ME: Blah Blah
P2: Anurag i am seeing a very strange thing on your 10th certificate. There are two rows for Punjabi..one for Punjabi subject and one for Punjabi culture and History.. You have a 134/150 and 1/150 in them.
ME: Looked at my mark-sheet. There were two rows. Scratched my head..yeh kya ho raha hai..Told him ki sir ek hi subject tha. Total of 150 marks. koi sub-section hoga..Probably 5 marks of hand writing honge. Vahan i must have got a 1/5.
P2: Smiling..No explain it.
ME: Dont know sir. But i am sure it's not that i have 135/300 . Used my topper card. Sir i had a total of 610/650 in 10th class. Was first in AMritsar and 8th in Punjab.
P1: Irritated... But you should be able to explain it
ME: Mam never noticed it....
P1 looking at P2: He has this certificate with him for last 8 years. I am sure even his parents must have noticed this.
ME: Thinking..parents kahan se aa gaye yaar..jo baat karni hai mujhse karo....mere parents ko beech mein mat lao..Sorry mam. Just dont know
P1: There are two more rows that have you getting one mark out of 50. Thay dont even mention the subjects that you got tehse marks in
ME: What? I looked at my certificate and there were infact two more columns which had 1 out of 50 each. What the f** is going on. Told them ki sir its some gardes i guess. SUPW ya Physical education ka hoga. Cant remember....yeh mein kya bol raha hun...man i am on fire today
"Explanation for above events. This is decoded after i reached home. Actually that was not 1. It was just a vertical line. Whosoever prepared the mark-sheet used vertical instead of horizontal lines for showcasing not applicable ( - ). That is where there were no subjects mentioned, there was a vertical bar..meaning not applicable. Similarly in front of Punjabi History and Culture there was a vertical bar..because i had not taken that subject"...How dumb can i be. SUPW aur Physical education kahan se aa gaye the yaar.. :)
P2: Ok Anurag leave it. Tell me what you do.
ME: Expalined it. Told him statistical analysis
Next few minutes were spent on cluster analysis and factor analysis
Then next few minutes on logistic regression. Then he asked me about probit model. Told him what it does and that i have never used it.
They asked me how i knew about stats, being an engineer. Told him that we are given a training. Then an internal project.
P1: Tell me what tools do you use.
ME: SAS, Knowledge Studio, CART, Excel for data manipulation
P1: Manipulation..you do data manipulation
ME: Smiling..mam i meant analysis
P1: No you said maipulation
ME: Thinking..bachhe ki jaan loge kya..analysis mam
P1: Anurag what are EVMs
ME: Electronic voting machines.
P1: Tell me about their use
ME: They are being used for elections in India.
P1:Irritated..Anurag i meant you being an electronics engineer, do you know how they work
ME: remembering i was an elec engg at some point...mam har ek party ke saath associated ek counter hoga. Every time you press one, it is incremented.
P1: How are they tempered.
ME: Mam they must have reset it. Not at the end of the day..but in between. Kyunki nahin to din ke end mein zero hoga to fight ho jayegi. Mechancial counter hota to they can take it to any value. Kyunki electronic hai, you cant get into teh code. Voh to chip mein embedded hai..you can only reset it to 0. Isiliye will not be done at day end..will be done some point in between.
P1: Sure or are you just guessing
ME: Not sure mam..but should be this way only
P2 looking at P1: I think we are done
ME: Getting up. Sir the students are waiting outside since you have not asked for any certificates copies to be deposited and it was mentioned in the form that they are to be submitted.
P1: irritated..No they can go. We did not ask them to stay
ME: I jsut asked mam
P1: More irritated...they can ask themselves..
ME: Ok..Good afternoon mam. And left the room..
Worst interview ever....Worst interview ever
I would be shocked if i get elected here. That old lady was hell bent on screwing me. Anyways, i guess i was too informal for this interview. Should have taken it more seriously.
Good thing though, interviews are over..yippie...it's party time now.
Results on 10 April....Fingers crossed.. and as one friend commented...legs crossed too :) ....
P.S: I got through. Wonder how!!!! :)
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
IIMA Interview
Date: 5th Mar'09
Venue: IIFT, New Delhi
Pre-Interview Details: Interview was at 2. I reached at 1:30. They took roll call. Divided into 3 panels. Motioned us to our halls. To everyone' surprise they started at 1:45.
A little heads up here. I was at my goofiest best.
They ushered us in a room for essay writing. I took the form where essay was to be written and went inside. I didnt carry my certificate file with me inside. Now there was a round table around which we were all seated. Round table had no section from where you could enter the well of round table.
And it was IIMA. Things had to happen. I placed my form on the table. The moment i sat on my seat and laid my heavy arms on the table, a gust of wind blew and carried my form into the well. Now i was looking around..hoping that no one had seen it. But everyone was staring at me and laughing. One of the prof(P1) said, "Anurag i have already deducted 1 mark for this. So how do you intend to retrieve it"
I sat on the table on my ass, spun around, picked the form, sat on the table on my ass, spun around again and the task was done. Everyone was laughing.
It doesnt end here
Prof gave instructions that we had to submit our certificates with the essay form at end of scheduled time. My head went for a toss. Hadn't brought my certs. I got up, told the prof(P2) that i had left my file outside. Prof said,"So Anurag i have deducted another mark, go get your file"...everyone was laughing. I got my file and essay started.
Essay - "Recession is the mother of all innovation"
Wrote some good points. We got 10 minutes for this.
Interview: I was fifth in line. Average interview duration for candidates before me was 20-25 minutes and general reaction after the interview was," Accha nahin hua. Bahut maar rahe hain".
After long wait P1 came out. Looked at me, smiled and said," So Mr. negative 2, why dont you come in for interview"...
I was thinking," I am so gonna pay for my little spinning adventure exhibited earlier"
P2 took my file and started going through it. After around 30-40 seconds
P2: Anurag tell em your work profile
ME: BBY, data analysis, segmentation, factor analysis, etc etc. I packed in a lot of detail as he was not interrupting or asking any question.
P2: Anurag go step by step from start and go a little slow
ME: survey, data to us, value segmentation, need segmentation, cluster analysis, etc
P2: Explain cluster analysis
ME: fastclus procedure. Seed selection, observation addition, iteration, minimization of euclidean distances.
P2: What is euclidean distance. Say a point on this table in front of us and one on the ceiling, then what is euclidean distance?
ME: Take a ruler, measure the distance. That's the euclidean distance.
P2: point X1, Y1 and X2, Y2 then euclidean distance
ME: Explained..
P2: Any other distances you know of?
ME: Mahalanobis distance, but sir dont know how it's calculated
P2: Why do we use euclidean distance?
ME: clusters should be close, minimize the intra cluster distance, etc
P2 hands over to P1. P1 was the one who had given me negative 2.
P1: Smiling....Anurag, i was going through your certs. You have almost all A's in first 5-6 semesters except one C. Can you tell me which subject?
Me: Smiling...Sir Human values and professional ethics
P1: Smiling....Anurag what is the explanation?
ME: Sir theory subject. No numerical. Cut-offs very close. I got C at 72. People had A at 78.
P1: Smiling... But for a C-grade professional ethics guy your company pays you pretty well.
Me: Smiling...Sir C is not a reflective of my ethics. I am a very ethical person.
P1: Smiling..So Anurag you seem a guy who is more interested in quantitative side.
At this point i realised he might move to maths..So i cut him while he has talking
ME: Yes sir, we use a lot of statistics at work
P1: Smiling..what statistics
ME: Logistic regression
P1: Why is it called Logistic regression
ME:Because of use of logistic function.
P2: Why logistic. Why not linear..
ME: Explained
P2: What is intercept?
ME: Indicative of probability even when all independent variables are 0.
P2: What does it mean?
ME: Explains the variation that is not accounted for by independent variables
P2: No Anurag, that is something else. Can you tell me what stat measures the explained variation of target variable
ME: Sir coefficient of determination
P2: So intercept term? Can it be the effect of variables not present as input?
ME: Immediately picking his point...Yes sir, it captures the effect of variables that are not included in the model and that effect the target variable.
P2: Anurag, can we use any other function instead of logistic function
ME: Yes sir, we can
P2: Do you know any function
ME: No sir, but we can use the logistic function by changing x to 2x or something. It will still give between 0 and 1.
P2: Anurag have you of probit, tobit?
ME: Yes sir, have heard but never used them.
P2 looks at P1. Both say that they are done. Offer me a candy. Return my file. I wished good afternoon. Came out.
Total of around 8-10 minutes. Dont know what to make outta this. Was very brief and cool interview. No stress.
This was IIMA. Hoping that dream comes true when the results are declared. Till then fingers crossed.
Next stop IIMB...
P.S: Two good looking chicks were there for interview. Ray of hope........ :)
Results:IIMA here i come......
Venue: IIFT, New Delhi
Pre-Interview Details: Interview was at 2. I reached at 1:30. They took roll call. Divided into 3 panels. Motioned us to our halls. To everyone' surprise they started at 1:45.
A little heads up here. I was at my goofiest best.
They ushered us in a room for essay writing. I took the form where essay was to be written and went inside. I didnt carry my certificate file with me inside. Now there was a round table around which we were all seated. Round table had no section from where you could enter the well of round table.
And it was IIMA. Things had to happen. I placed my form on the table. The moment i sat on my seat and laid my heavy arms on the table, a gust of wind blew and carried my form into the well. Now i was looking around..hoping that no one had seen it. But everyone was staring at me and laughing. One of the prof(P1) said, "Anurag i have already deducted 1 mark for this. So how do you intend to retrieve it"
I sat on the table on my ass, spun around, picked the form, sat on the table on my ass, spun around again and the task was done. Everyone was laughing.
It doesnt end here
Prof gave instructions that we had to submit our certificates with the essay form at end of scheduled time. My head went for a toss. Hadn't brought my certs. I got up, told the prof(P2) that i had left my file outside. Prof said,"So Anurag i have deducted another mark, go get your file"...everyone was laughing. I got my file and essay started.
Essay - "Recession is the mother of all innovation"
Wrote some good points. We got 10 minutes for this.
Interview: I was fifth in line. Average interview duration for candidates before me was 20-25 minutes and general reaction after the interview was," Accha nahin hua. Bahut maar rahe hain".
After long wait P1 came out. Looked at me, smiled and said," So Mr. negative 2, why dont you come in for interview"...
I was thinking," I am so gonna pay for my little spinning adventure exhibited earlier"
P2 took my file and started going through it. After around 30-40 seconds
P2: Anurag tell em your work profile
ME: BBY, data analysis, segmentation, factor analysis, etc etc. I packed in a lot of detail as he was not interrupting or asking any question.
P2: Anurag go step by step from start and go a little slow
ME: survey, data to us, value segmentation, need segmentation, cluster analysis, etc
P2: Explain cluster analysis
ME: fastclus procedure. Seed selection, observation addition, iteration, minimization of euclidean distances.
P2: What is euclidean distance. Say a point on this table in front of us and one on the ceiling, then what is euclidean distance?
ME: Take a ruler, measure the distance. That's the euclidean distance.
P2: point X1, Y1 and X2, Y2 then euclidean distance
ME: Explained..
P2: Any other distances you know of?
ME: Mahalanobis distance, but sir dont know how it's calculated
P2: Why do we use euclidean distance?
ME: clusters should be close, minimize the intra cluster distance, etc
P2 hands over to P1. P1 was the one who had given me negative 2.
P1: Smiling....Anurag, i was going through your certs. You have almost all A's in first 5-6 semesters except one C. Can you tell me which subject?
Me: Smiling...Sir Human values and professional ethics
P1: Smiling....Anurag what is the explanation?
ME: Sir theory subject. No numerical. Cut-offs very close. I got C at 72. People had A at 78.
P1: Smiling... But for a C-grade professional ethics guy your company pays you pretty well.
Me: Smiling...Sir C is not a reflective of my ethics. I am a very ethical person.
P1: Smiling..So Anurag you seem a guy who is more interested in quantitative side.
At this point i realised he might move to maths..So i cut him while he has talking
ME: Yes sir, we use a lot of statistics at work
P1: Smiling..what statistics
ME: Logistic regression
P1: Why is it called Logistic regression
ME:Because of use of logistic function.
P2: Why logistic. Why not linear..
ME: Explained
P2: What is intercept?
ME: Indicative of probability even when all independent variables are 0.
P2: What does it mean?
ME: Explains the variation that is not accounted for by independent variables
P2: No Anurag, that is something else. Can you tell me what stat measures the explained variation of target variable
ME: Sir coefficient of determination
P2: So intercept term? Can it be the effect of variables not present as input?
ME: Immediately picking his point...Yes sir, it captures the effect of variables that are not included in the model and that effect the target variable.
P2: Anurag, can we use any other function instead of logistic function
ME: Yes sir, we can
P2: Do you know any function
ME: No sir, but we can use the logistic function by changing x to 2x or something. It will still give between 0 and 1.
P2: Anurag have you of probit, tobit?
ME: Yes sir, have heard but never used them.
P2 looks at P1. Both say that they are done. Offer me a candy. Return my file. I wished good afternoon. Came out.
Total of around 8-10 minutes. Dont know what to make outta this. Was very brief and cool interview. No stress.
This was IIMA. Hoping that dream comes true when the results are declared. Till then fingers crossed.
Next stop IIMB...
P.S: Two good looking chicks were there for interview. Ray of hope........ :)
Results:
IIMB Interview
Date: 6 Mar'09
Venue: India Habitat Centre
Pre-Interview Details: Interview was scheduled at 2 P.M. I reached at 1:30. Met a few familiar faces. Refrained from addressing anyone by name, fully aware that i might screw up with names. Three panels. 7 students each batch. 2 Profs in each panel.
Case Study: Working professional who stays in out-skirts of the city with his parents. He is facing a bitch of a commute. Was missing out on post office fun. Also was tired after he came back and was not doing anything productive. On the other hand wanted to be with his parents to take care of them. Also wanted to keep a look on his sister to prevent her from doing any "mischief"....This really got me interested in the case :) ....His sister asks him to move to city but he doesnt want to because he will miss home cooked food. Sister offers to come with him and stay with him. So should he move to city or not...
10 minutes were given for thinking but got extended because one of the professors took some time attending a call. Everyone was looking at each other after 5-6 minutes. Nothingmuch to think in this case. I started the discussion. Very peaceful discussion. Lots of different points made. I talked about 3 days in city 2 with his family kinda thing, getting a help from his town in city for food issue, flat sharing to reduce the cost of living in city, seeing if its feasible for hsi family to move with him, etc... Well received points.
During discussion one of the guys started talking about the "mischief" thing and that he needs to keep an eye on his sister as she is young. Another guy topped that with "she will acquire certain traits even if he is watching her".. I was hearing laughing in my head. Girl sitting across me was actually feeling a little uncomfortable with this point. I shifted the discussion. Rest was good.
Last 10 minutes were given for writing summary.
Interview: I was called in 3rd. Profs P1, P2 and ME.
P1: So Anurag, 9.5 CPI. You topped your batch kya?
ME: No sir. Was DR 3. Batch rank around 7-8.
P1: For me still a topper.
ME: Smiling ....
P2: So tell me Anurag what do you in your job.
ME: Work for BBY..market study.. recommendations for store assortment, taget customer group, segmentation, etc.
P1: So retail person.. Tell me the retail situation in US. Tell about your client
ME: Sir January sales are 7 Bn $. 7% growth compared to same month last year. But like for like store sales are -6%. Indicates that they are facing serious challenges. Growth in sales has been due to new stores. Also they have benefited from Circuit City's bankruptcy.
P1: Why didnt BBY buy Circuit City
ME: Circuit City was is too big and almost identical to BBY. BBY has a good distribution n/w. Problems are not internal. Customers are just not spending.
P1: So you do statistical analysis. Can i ask you a question on stats.
ME: Sure sir.
P1: Draw normal distribution curve.
ME: drew it.
P1: WHat does it represent.
ME: Probability distribution function..area under curve..etc etc
P1: So the value on y-axis is probability.
ME: yes sir
P1: Can it be greater than 1
ME:No sir
P1: How many values within +/- 3 stdev
ME: 99%
P1: So lets say std dev is .1 . Draw a rectangle around curve with 6 stddev as base (+/- 3 on both sides of mean) just touching the curve at its top. Since you are saying that value on Y-axis cannot be greater than 1, lets say it is .9 . Whats the area under curve
ME: .9*.6=.54
P1: Less than 1. But you said area under curve is 1.
ME: Thinking... haila, yeh kya ho raha hai...
P1: So Anurag can value on Y-axis be greater tahn 1.
ME: A little confused, No sir, it is probability. Has to be less than 1.
P1: Ok Anurag, what is the probablity of occurence of mean.
ME: Sir 0.. ( Phir mujhe chamka..Its a continuous probability distribution function. Gives probablity of occurence of a range of values..Discrete probability distribution functions have individual probabilities for events which are less than 1)...I said sir it can be greater than 1.
P1: Ok.
P1: So Anurag you worked at Inductis for 2 years. Is into financial services.
ME: Yes sir, primarily financial analytics.
P2: Where are you based
ME: Gurgaon, New York, New Jersey
P1: So after Inductis you joined Dunnhumby. Was finding it hard to pronounce
ME: Told him that its from Edwind Dunn and Clive Humby
P1: So you got a pretty decent jump after Inductis
ME: Yes sir
P1: Anurag in current scenario, you know its highly likely you might end up getting less than what you get currently.
ME: Sir, not about money..value addition...will help in long term
P1: Where do you see yourselves 5 years from now
ME: Leading a team of 25-30 analysts
P1: In financial domain, you will not get to do it for along time. Life will be on a spreadsheet.Only after becoming VP will you get a chance to lead that many people.
ME: Dependent on industry and organization you enter. My current manager graduated in 2001. Currently leads a team of 30 analysts.
P1: So you wont mind coming back to your existing firm
ME: Yes sir, i wont mind that
P2: Anurag what do you want to specialise in?
ME: Sir marketing (CFA L2 ki aatma andar se ro rahi thi...)
P2: Makes sense. You have worked in that domain.
ME: Yes sir
P1: So Anurag what do you read
Me: Latest was White Tiger by Arvind Adiga.
P1: Tell me about serious literature if you ahve read any
ME: Sir i read classics in college. A tale of two cities, Jane Eyre.. (and then problem started. I couldn't recall any other. I had read a lot of classics. Just couldnt remember any)... Sir one by Fyodor Dostovosky. Cant remember the name..(amidst this confusion i did the next blunder)..sir read a lot of sidney sheldon
P1: That is titillating fiction. Am talking serious literature.
ME: A little confused. Sir dont read much books (Pichle 6 saal ki saari reading ko maine 1 minute mein bhula diya :( Yeh maine acchha nahin kiya )
P1: Anurag we are talking of 100' s of pages of reading to be done everyday in courses and cases.
ME: Sir i can do that. academic record is a proof of that
P1: Academic record is indicative of marks. Tell me what you read?
ME: Newspaper
P1: Just front and last page
ME: No sir. Editorials also
P1: Which newspaper. What columnists
ME: TOI, jug suraiya, bachi karkaria, Swaminathan ankaleshwar aiyar, Bobili Vijay Kumar, Shashi Tharoor
P2: Ok. So Anurag what are the latest inflation figures.
ME: Sir for week ending Feb 21 its 3.02%
P2: Effect of low inflation on firms
ME: Sir they can reduce the increment offered to employees. Raw material costs will stay stable.
P2: Any change in their borrowing costs
ME: Will come down due to loe interest rates that will be there because of low inflation
P1 looking at P2: Done
P2: Yes
P1: Thanks Anurag. Best of Luck. Any questions for us
Me: Yes sir. Has there a change in profile offered by companies on campus this year
P1 answered.
Me: Thanks sir..
Good afternoon...Good afternoon...
Overall just an ok type interview. P2 will select me. I have doubts about P1.
Could definitely have done better, especially about reading question.. I have read a lot. Had i racked by brain a little there, i would have been able to mention a lot of books..(btw dostovosky's book was Brother Karamzov)
Next stop IIML on Sunday. Last interview :)
Results: I got through :) . 4th result that i checked after having cleared L,K and I
Venue: India Habitat Centre
Pre-Interview Details: Interview was scheduled at 2 P.M. I reached at 1:30. Met a few familiar faces. Refrained from addressing anyone by name, fully aware that i might screw up with names. Three panels. 7 students each batch. 2 Profs in each panel.
Case Study: Working professional who stays in out-skirts of the city with his parents. He is facing a bitch of a commute. Was missing out on post office fun. Also was tired after he came back and was not doing anything productive. On the other hand wanted to be with his parents to take care of them. Also wanted to keep a look on his sister to prevent her from doing any "mischief"....This really got me interested in the case :) ....His sister asks him to move to city but he doesnt want to because he will miss home cooked food. Sister offers to come with him and stay with him. So should he move to city or not...
10 minutes were given for thinking but got extended because one of the professors took some time attending a call. Everyone was looking at each other after 5-6 minutes. Nothingmuch to think in this case. I started the discussion. Very peaceful discussion. Lots of different points made. I talked about 3 days in city 2 with his family kinda thing, getting a help from his town in city for food issue, flat sharing to reduce the cost of living in city, seeing if its feasible for hsi family to move with him, etc... Well received points.
During discussion one of the guys started talking about the "mischief" thing and that he needs to keep an eye on his sister as she is young. Another guy topped that with "she will acquire certain traits even if he is watching her".. I was hearing laughing in my head. Girl sitting across me was actually feeling a little uncomfortable with this point. I shifted the discussion. Rest was good.
Last 10 minutes were given for writing summary.
Interview: I was called in 3rd. Profs P1, P2 and ME.
P1: So Anurag, 9.5 CPI. You topped your batch kya?
ME: No sir. Was DR 3. Batch rank around 7-8.
P1: For me still a topper.
ME: Smiling ....
P2: So tell me Anurag what do you in your job.
ME: Work for BBY..market study.. recommendations for store assortment, taget customer group, segmentation, etc.
P1: So retail person.. Tell me the retail situation in US. Tell about your client
ME: Sir January sales are 7 Bn $. 7% growth compared to same month last year. But like for like store sales are -6%. Indicates that they are facing serious challenges. Growth in sales has been due to new stores. Also they have benefited from Circuit City's bankruptcy.
P1: Why didnt BBY buy Circuit City
ME: Circuit City was is too big and almost identical to BBY. BBY has a good distribution n/w. Problems are not internal. Customers are just not spending.
P1: So you do statistical analysis. Can i ask you a question on stats.
ME: Sure sir.
P1: Draw normal distribution curve.
ME: drew it.
P1: WHat does it represent.
ME: Probability distribution function..area under curve..etc etc
P1: So the value on y-axis is probability.
ME: yes sir
P1: Can it be greater than 1
ME:No sir
P1: How many values within +/- 3 stdev
ME: 99%
P1: So lets say std dev is .1 . Draw a rectangle around curve with 6 stddev as base (+/- 3 on both sides of mean) just touching the curve at its top. Since you are saying that value on Y-axis cannot be greater than 1, lets say it is .9 . Whats the area under curve
ME: .9*.6=.54
P1: Less than 1. But you said area under curve is 1.
ME: Thinking... haila, yeh kya ho raha hai...
P1: So Anurag can value on Y-axis be greater tahn 1.
ME: A little confused, No sir, it is probability. Has to be less than 1.
P1: Ok Anurag, what is the probablity of occurence of mean.
ME: Sir 0.. ( Phir mujhe chamka..Its a continuous probability distribution function. Gives probablity of occurence of a range of values..Discrete probability distribution functions have individual probabilities for events which are less than 1)...I said sir it can be greater than 1.
P1: Ok.
P1: So Anurag you worked at Inductis for 2 years. Is into financial services.
ME: Yes sir, primarily financial analytics.
P2: Where are you based
ME: Gurgaon, New York, New Jersey
P1: So after Inductis you joined Dunnhumby. Was finding it hard to pronounce
ME: Told him that its from Edwind Dunn and Clive Humby
P1: So you got a pretty decent jump after Inductis
ME: Yes sir
P1: Anurag in current scenario, you know its highly likely you might end up getting less than what you get currently.
ME: Sir, not about money..value addition...will help in long term
P1: Where do you see yourselves 5 years from now
ME: Leading a team of 25-30 analysts
P1: In financial domain, you will not get to do it for along time. Life will be on a spreadsheet.Only after becoming VP will you get a chance to lead that many people.
ME: Dependent on industry and organization you enter. My current manager graduated in 2001. Currently leads a team of 30 analysts.
P1: So you wont mind coming back to your existing firm
ME: Yes sir, i wont mind that
P2: Anurag what do you want to specialise in?
ME: Sir marketing (CFA L2 ki aatma andar se ro rahi thi...)
P2: Makes sense. You have worked in that domain.
ME: Yes sir
P1: So Anurag what do you read
Me: Latest was White Tiger by Arvind Adiga.
P1: Tell me about serious literature if you ahve read any
ME: Sir i read classics in college. A tale of two cities, Jane Eyre.. (and then problem started. I couldn't recall any other. I had read a lot of classics. Just couldnt remember any)... Sir one by Fyodor Dostovosky. Cant remember the name..(amidst this confusion i did the next blunder)..sir read a lot of sidney sheldon
P1: That is titillating fiction. Am talking serious literature.
ME: A little confused. Sir dont read much books (Pichle 6 saal ki saari reading ko maine 1 minute mein bhula diya :( Yeh maine acchha nahin kiya )
P1: Anurag we are talking of 100' s of pages of reading to be done everyday in courses and cases.
ME: Sir i can do that. academic record is a proof of that
P1: Academic record is indicative of marks. Tell me what you read?
ME: Newspaper
P1: Just front and last page
ME: No sir. Editorials also
P1: Which newspaper. What columnists
ME: TOI, jug suraiya, bachi karkaria, Swaminathan ankaleshwar aiyar, Bobili Vijay Kumar, Shashi Tharoor
P2: Ok. So Anurag what are the latest inflation figures.
ME: Sir for week ending Feb 21 its 3.02%
P2: Effect of low inflation on firms
ME: Sir they can reduce the increment offered to employees. Raw material costs will stay stable.
P2: Any change in their borrowing costs
ME: Will come down due to loe interest rates that will be there because of low inflation
P1 looking at P2: Done
P2: Yes
P1: Thanks Anurag. Best of Luck. Any questions for us
Me: Yes sir. Has there a change in profile offered by companies on campus this year
P1 answered.
Me: Thanks sir..
Good afternoon...Good afternoon...
Overall just an ok type interview. P2 will select me. I have doubts about P1.
Could definitely have done better, especially about reading question.. I have read a lot. Had i racked by brain a little there, i would have been able to mention a lot of books..(btw dostovosky's book was Brother Karamzov)
Next stop IIML on Sunday. Last interview :)
Results: I got through :) . 4th result that i checked after having cleared L,K and I
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